September 29, 2009
I hope that the SEC keeps history in mind when debating the reinstatement of the uptick rule. After the suspension of the rule the markets became very volatile, short sellers had "fun," as one said, by driving the markets down, selling shares they had no ownership in, and "piling on" as soon as they saw a downtick driving stocks to lows that were not justified by the fundamentals of the target company.
As an investor, and not a speculator, the marked loss of value of a stock that I may be in, when not justified by the company's fundamentals, is to say the least, unnerving.
I implore the SEC to reestablish the uptick rule, and let the short sellers go to Vegas where they can put their own money on the line. For those of us trying live on our retirement funds the type of gambling by some short sellers is intolerable.
Thank you.