May 6, 2011
Ability to sell short is important to the investment community if done properly. However, the practice is frequently abused, most notably thru naked shorting by the Tier One players, i.e. Commercials, to the detriment of the Tier Two individuals, i.e. Retail. So much so that the practice can and has driven some companies out of business, and has cause large losses in many retail portfolios.
In additon, there is essentially no transparency which again hurts the retail folks.
I would really like to see the practice of naked shorting truly eliminated and regular short positions made visible as with a long position.
Dark pools, private equity, hedge funds and algorithmic computer driven,micro-second trades to include unrestrained naked shorting have combined to make the market essentially a "casino" for the retail participants.
Thank you for your efforts to restore the market as it was intended to be.....a place for investors to invest for long term gain by providing capital for the growth of good old U.S.A.