Reuters screen systems collapsed global deal times to just 2-4 seconds by 1981

Evidence

In 1973, Reuters first launched a computerized foreign-exchange system called “Monitor,” a generalized market observer, but this system provided mainly news and prices. Eight years later, Reuters launched a new system that went live in 1981 to 145 institutional subscribers in nine countries and was extended within a year to Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East, resulting in a market with a worldwide presence (Read 1992, pp. 310–11). From that point onward, deals could be concluded on screen within two–four seconds, and dealers could communicate via the screen. — Karin Knorr Cetina & Urs Bruegger, Global Microstructures, 99

Categorization

• SEED: A concise genealogy of how Reuters’ 1973 Monitor and 1981 follow-up created the first truly worldwide financial market—usable as a timeline anchor in any financialization piece.