Bang in the middle of everything came SIFMA 2010. Big regulatory changes, lots of politics, the flash crash, volatility, drama, excitement - and then, right on time, an opportunity for the industry to share its 'war stories' and talk about the future. That was SIFMA 2010. You would expect an atmosphere of - what would you guess? - gloom? Pessimism? Defiance? No. Maybe it's that famous New York air; maybe it's something about trading through such interesting times - whatever it is, the delegates at SIFMA were all talking about spending more money on IT next year. Automated Trader's CEO, John Howard, reports from behind the scenes at the show where the industry began - just began - to strike back.