August 20, 2008
Mr. Cox and SEC Governors. I am an individual investor of 30 years experience in the US markets. In my view, there is no longer a coorelation between fundamental value and share price in the current US market environment.
The daily price moves on fundamentally superior stocks show that selling pressure is being applied artificially. In spite of Reg SHO, there is no convincing control exerted over naked shorting.
I will support and vote for state-by-state initiatives to end naked shorting this Fall. This allowance of rampant naked, and illegal, shorting is destroying our sovereign markets, the integrity of our markets is now, at best, marginally intact.
You saw fit to protect 19 financial institutions from naked shorting. In spite of the recent financial media's blatant misrepresentation of the impact of this effort, the ban on naked shorting DID support the beleaguered financial sector, but gave no protection to all other firms trading in US markets, and they continue to be be attacked at will, with no fear of justice.
You can now see that the temporary prohibition, having been lifted, shows the financial sector in distress once again. Certainly there are fundamental reasons for share price decline in this sector, but the acceleration of selling is precipitating a national financial disaster.
This goes beyond the legal shorting, with proper delivery of shares, which should be a part of our markets.
The 'Fails to Deliver' by both domestic financial institutions and by offshore and unregulated hedge funds has brought our markets to the verge of collapse.
As a small investor, I have lost belief that our markets are properly regulated and protected from illegal attacks, possibly by our enemies abroad, who have sworn to destoy our capitalistic system.
It is the duty and responsibility of the government and the SEC to protect our markets from these illegal attacks.
Also, the rollback of the 'Uptick Rule' has turned into an excellent tool for accelerating selling pressure, and when combined with unregulated naked shorting leaves our best companies as sitting ducks for gross manipulation.
It would be best to act very quickly to end all naked shorting and to restore the Uptick Rule. Since you are publically indicating action is imminent, the short attacks will intensify going into any changes you make.
Sieze the moment and stop this tyranny and protect our markets now. This is as real a threat to this countries' sovereignty as a military or terrorist attack on our soil.
Individual investors I know are backing away from the equities markets, others are selling their long-held mutual funds in the face of this corruption.
I have shares in a firm that is a world leader in development of a cure for Alzheimer's Disease. They recently reported strong results in trials for this essential medication. The firm's shares were attacked by naked shorting, with assitance from captive media, who distorted the progress of the firm toward completion of research to market for the drug. The firm's shares were decimated, in spite of positive findings assessed by leading scientist in the Alzheimer's research field.
How does our country expect new products, innovative medicines and technologies to come forward in a market that is infested with those who would deploy disinformation from captive media, combined with naked shorting attacks, with no downtick protection?
Please perform the duty you were charged with, do not fall prey again to the lobbyists representing corrupted financial institutions and make a half-effort. All naked shorting must stop now. You know what the consequenses are.
The SEC has looked the other way for too long, now you see the wreckage this negligence has wrought, take the criminals out of our markets.