To the most casual observer, it was painfully obvious that a major shift had taken place regarding the reduction of these spreads. As Professor Christie explains it, in the Contemporary Finance Digest, Summer 1998, Volume 2, Number 2: "On May 27, 1994, the very day that our results were reported in The Wall Street Journal, the market makers in Amgen Inc., Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, and Microsoft initiated the routine use of odd-eighth quotes. Inside spreads narrowed by 50% overnight. Each of these stocks ranked among the 10 most active stocks in 1993 and had previously been quoted exclusively in even-eighths."
