Pump up the volume

The stakes are higher than ever in the stock transfer game, with trading volumes notching up new records this year. Individual investors look to be on the rebound, signaled by the falling share of block trades in NYSE volume. This year block trades sank to below 49 percent, the lowest point in over a decade. That compares to 57 percent in 1995. And this new generation of individual investors is different from the Ma & Pa of old: they devour shareholder information, they invest online,