July 29, 2008
I urge the SEC to make permanent the ban on naked short selling.
I am a little investor who watches my investments and the markets very closely. Over the last few months, I have watched my investments in Bank of America plummet precipitously. Although I watched all the news on BAC, listened to the conference calls and read all the reports, there was no logical reason for the stock to fall so much so fast. Before the publicity hit, in my head I felt the cause was undisciplined/illegal short selling by hedge funds. Then, many articles appeared which agreed.
When the SEC banned the naked short sales, which for decades I had thought were already illegal, I saw BAC come back fast. The cause and effect was very clear.
Please do not allow hedge funds to continue to cause unremitting destruction to our financial system. I am a simple man, but I think I have common sense. It is only common sense to ban naked short selling. Otherwise, hedge funds will once again keep selling and selling and selling, sometimes even more shares than exist in total, accompanied by false rumors of a financial institution's impending doom, etc. (ala Bear, Stearns), resulting in the most serious rigging of the game and untold losses unfairly/illegally inflicted on little and big investors alike.
Please permanently ban naked short selling. Please thoroughly investigate and prosecute the guilty hedge funds. By common sense and intellect, I know there are some very guilty funds.
William F. Tisch