RE:RE:Morning price gymnastics I respectfully disagree.
The Wall St trading desks are enormous profit makers. Despite the fact that it was many years ago, I clearly remember the after-market conversations where the traders would compare notes. The days of public bragging are long gone as anyone with a cell phone is now a potential reporter, but the game hasn't changed as illustrated by the published trading desk profits.
The trading in very wide bans that you refer to are a result of a lack of liquidity.
The bid/ask spread for illiquid stox is much greater than for liquid stox. Guess who wins on the spread. Even at LBS's low volume of 80,000 shares per day, the market maker can make a very nice living.