May 30, 2009
Short selling destroys companies. I had built a company to develop products for the hydrogen energy future of the United States and we were wrecked by the short sellers and their rumor machines using the internet. After 4 years of steady progress in commercializing technology and supporting lead adapters across the United States we came under an orchastrated attack that in less than a few months drove our stock to an unretrievable depth. I am in awe of the destructive power of shorts and the their ability to apply their predetorial skill quickly. I actually used to go to NYC and visit our market maker and was amazed at the mechanisms the shorts have available to hide their identities. There is too much money available to these people from the capricious decision to blunder on a daily basis any company that comes into their sights. I doubt the SEC can stand up to the short interests but I hope they will. There is no moral or ethical basis for being able to sell what you do not own. The force multiplier for shorts is instantanous information that amplifies the negative connotations of increased selling.
I had to close plants and fire good people because of my lost ability to monotize equity. That ability was lost because faceless thugs choose us to pillage. The real costs of shorting is lost ability of these lost victim companies to execute their business plans and in our case assist the nation to seek energy independence from oil.