September 26, 2008
Commissioners,
The lack of your ability to even begin to present a fair and orderly market appears to indicate either your lack or interest, or your lack of ability.
For years, you have asked for comments. Received varied and volumes of responses from all levels of investors, and others. You have failed to understand the need for change.
Then you changed something that should not have changed.
Since the uptick rule was eliminated, it has created havoc, increased volatility in many stocks, eliminated the value of honest analysis of the potential of a company's worth.
I did a little comparison between two stocks I own, because their share price was a duplicate in price and pattern this morning. YHOO and BRCM have very different outlooks, and yet they are priced at $18.96 and $18.88 at the moment. They have been up and down, but generally, I could use a single chart and know what the other was doing.
The similarity ends there. While YHOO has analyst earnings estimate for year 2008 of $0.44, BRCM is $1.70. Earnings estimates for year 2009 suggest YHOO may earn $.45, BRCM is $1.67. What is wrong with this picture?
How is this fair and orderly?
YHOO PE is about 45 while BRCM is about 11.
It's the price similarity and the chart similarity that is scary. It is computer generated manipulation.
Oh yes, all accompanied by bogus downgrades by the usual suspects, and published in the rags that are habitually carrying the "worried" releases from these analysts. Next week all of this week's bad news will be repeated in the second tier "worry" rags.
Is a single digit PE for BRCM fair and orderly, or is it the result of the elimination of the uptick rule, along with fuel from rumors and computers?
Good luck to you. I suppose you'll be leaving this mess to the next administration.