jacosa

On Short-Sellers and Dishonest Executives

Obviously, insiders have a piece of the business that they could sell if they chose to, and will react negatively to anything that hurts that as a way to raise money. So they'll gripe about the shorts, and not about anything that creates artificial demand.

I'm an investor. Any irrational move threatens me (I can pick my opportunities, but that runaway truck could come through anywhere). If a company mends its evil ways and seems poised for a turnaround, a determined bear raid can drive it out of business. That's as bad for me as a rockstar CEO producing an unjustified run-up, and a good deal harder to anticipate.

So? Well I'd sure like to have the uptick rule back. And on the other side I'd like to see legal margin requirements (and related capital requirements) used to push back on buying stampedes.