May 5, 2009
Removing the uptick rule was a major mistake. The rule was installed after several years of investigation by the top economists of the time. It was an attempt to control the cowboy market tactics commonly used at the time.
The rule is not out dated it just needs to be adjusted to the new accounting method used for stocks it should be set at a minumum of a nickle or as much as a dime.
Don't kid yourselves that short selling did not contribute to the current recession. Several large corporations with great balance sheets were forced down to near bankruptcy not because of of bad balance sheets but because of panic selling started by short sellers.
The rule has never given any real advantage to long positions over shorts. Shorts have historicaly prospered when the market or an individual stock goes bearish. The rule was created to contain an all out panic and to keep short sellers from manipulating the market, which it has done for almost seventy years.
Also do not fall into the assumtion that the market is too large for a few investment funds to manipulate. Just look at any quarter and you can see where funds skew securities prices just by adjusting their portfolios.
Millions of Americans have their retirements tied to the stock market through 401k's and pension funds. You owe them some sense of security. The SEC has been sleeping on the job. Wake Up Restore the Up Tick rule to as close as possible as it was.