June 14, 2007
Your Reg Sho agenda/conference yesterday was a complete was of time to every investor in this country and abroad. The rules changes you are proposing does not close any of the loopholes that continue to exist with options market makers abusively naked shorting stock at will and continue to hedge stock at will. It does not close the loophole of the vague "locate" terminology that is in the current regulations. Locate is not an actual borrow. I can locate a car on a car lot but that does not mean I can borrow it legally without paperwork or legitimacy. This is the problem in the system now. You need to make the rules "REQUIRE" a legal and legitimate borrow.
Extending the close-out requirement to 35 days from 13 only adds an additional problem. The rules for 13 days are not being followed as companies are on the threshold list for 100 to 400 days as it is now. What does extending the deadline to 35 days do? Allow more time for the system to be manipulated. How about "requiring" them to do something instead of "permitting". Your language and loophole teminology is only allowing a door to be opened for more manipulation. Why is the SEC not taking a harder stand on illegal options market making acitivity?
Also, what is the penalty for those who do not comply? There is obvious non-compliance going on or companies would not be on the threshold list for hundreds of days. Is it a $300 fine and a another slap on the wrist that you seem to give anyone who is big business? There needs to be penalties and jail time arranged for those who continue to abuse the system and not follow the rules, yet your commission said nothing about what penalties would be handed out if they fail to comply. They have failed to comply for over 2 years now and the SEC continues to find ways to allow them to cheat the system and the investors in this country. Hell, if these options market makers can steal hundreds of millions each day and only have to pay a measly fine and a slap on the wrist, what do you think they will do tomorrow? The next day?
Our commission needs to get smart here, and stop playing politics with these hedge funds and lobbyist groups and take a stance against illegal activity. This Reg Sho is worthless and not working and will not work unless you completely remove the grandfather clause, remove the options market maker exemption completely, and require a legitimate borrow on a short sale. Why were the numbers off the ncans manipualted and made to appear that the regulation is working, when it is clearly not. If you read all of the comments made in the public forum, the only people/agencies opposing rule changes are those cheating and stealing money from millions of people everyday through their illegal market abuses. Of course, they don't want rule changes, they have a cash machine going.
Is our SEC commission that stupid not to realize what is really going on out here? Change the rules to make it a level playing field and hand down severe penalties to those who do not follow the rules. Its that simple. What was the purpose of this whole extended public comment period and proposal process if the problem is only going to be masked and not fixed again?