May 9, 2009
I am a professional stock trader with no long or down bias. I have traded the U.S. stock market professionally since 1984. In my opinion markets were much more liquid and efficient in the pre-up tick rule cancellation period, ie. the first 20 years of my career (even with the wider bid-ask spreads, and occasional horrible bear market). If companies are valuable, they will utlimately go up. If they are not valuable, they will ultimately go down. Either process should be the result of millions of buy/sell decisions, not the decisions of a few who are gaming this inefficiency of the system that has developped from the abolishment of the uptick rule. Thanks very much.