September 30, 2009
I continue to urge the commission to move forward with restrictions on short selling as proposed. It would be a mistake to accept the short-sellers view, that this will impair liquidity. We have heard this argument for how long? Too much liquidity and you drown. The NYSE first did 1 billion shares of daily volume in 1997. Share prices were at 1997 levels in March of this year. Volume now runs anywhere from 4 billion to 12 billion shares. How much liquidity do you need? Is the cost of trading so low that people don't always think before they trade? Is that good? Good luck.
Howard Ward, CFA
Director of Growth Equities
GAMCO Investors