April 11, 2008
As a retired investor who follows the markets closely, I have long been aware of the increasing manipulation of small-cap and mid-cap stocks by short sellers. This includes naked short selling, which is or should be illegal.
The market is subject to exploitation by massive short selling, whether by individual hedge funds or by groups of short sellers acting in concert. Action by the SEC should be directed against such abuse.
A reasonable solution would be to post short selling figures for every stock at the end of day -- not a difficult task for today's computers and certainly a desirable step toward transparency.
The SEC seems to be oriented more toward the needs and demands of Wall Street than to those of the individual investor. This is contrary to the very reason for existence of the SEC.
I therefore strongly support NIPC Rule Pettion, Customer Account Rule.