May 19, 2009
I have worked in the securities industry for 25 years, and I feel sick over what we have been witnessing lately.I cannot believe that we have had so little written about the coincidental lifting of the uptick rule and the market's collapse.I would like to urge that a meaningful uptick rule be reinsatated. The proposal given by the exchanges is self serving and appears to do nothing to protect the interest of individual investors. There should be a substantial uptick requirement, in light of the penny spreads now in place-perhaps as much as 10 cents.Permitting unfettered shorting until a 10% daily?circuit breaker would limit the ability of the shortsellers to only kill 1/2 the value of a company in a week. I hope that's not even given serious consideration. Short sales are a legitimate strategy, of course, but in the current format, their effect on volatility is destroying everyone's trust in the markets. There also needs to be an intense focus on the interaction of Credit Default swaps and short sales of corresponding stock. There need be no reason to allow purchases of CDS', especially by entities which are not covering an existng bond position, and simultaneous shorting of stock, as seems to have led to the destruction of so many firms. Thanks for your consideration of this request.