April 9, 2009
Reinstating the uptick rule is an important step in stopping short-selling abuses. The SEC needs to address past computerized short-selling programs that would, as an example, buy a 100 shares of a stock (creating an uptick) then immediately short selling 1000 shares of the same stock bypassing the uptick rule. As we know, Wall Street is very creative when it comes to finding ways to get around rules they don't like.
We are told that short-selling is legal and widely used on Wall Street. The question the SEC needs to address and answer is when massive computerized short-selling artificially manipulates the entire stock market is it still legal? Cliff Lindroth, San Diego, CA