September 12, 2008
The proposed changes should definitely eliminate all grand fathering as well as options market maker exceptions.
The rampant use of naked shorting by hedge funds, institutions, and offshore broker dealers is continuing to decimate the United States equities markets as well as destroy many small and midsize companies. The fact that the SEC has done nothing to increase enforcement of the current rules has simply emboldened the perpetrators and, the manipulation of the markets using this tactic have caused investors to lose faith in the total United States Equities markets.
For the short period beginning in mid July and continuing into early August that the SEC demanded locating a stock before shorting, the volatility and daily manipulation of the markets appeared to slow, which in itself should have signalled the regulators that the problem needed immediate and permanent attention as well as enforcement.
The fact exists that this blatant hole in SEC regulations is motivating individuals and some institutions to game the market in a manner which is totally unfair to the average investor.
In addition, the uptick rule should be reinstated immediately. It's quite obvious that the elimination of the rule this past October has created havoc with many stocks and when combined with existing naked shorting, has resulted in the decimation of a number of companies and the loss of thousands of jobs in the american marketplace.
It's time for the SEC to stop looking the other way and to start fulfilling the mission of maintaining fair and orderly equities markets.