Apr. 16, 2026
The CAT system was intended on providing transparency to investors and especially of interest to many is the activity of short sellers where currently there is none while long owning investors are very transparent. Of heightened interest is the potential manipulative activities of short sellers including but not limited to wash trading, fails to deliver and technology used improperly in steering stock prices as desired by certain participants. The public was promised to to be getting this reporting on short activity around two years ago and it has has been delayed twice and now not expected according to SEC statements for another two years. This is vital for transparency for all investors, especially with the power short sellers exercise in our market, especially with small cap companies. All short activity is hidden except for the totals of the listed or official short and most of their activities occur in secret alternative exchanges - dark pools away from lit exchanges. The removal of the uptick rule and market maker exemption for naked shorting has been especially devastating to smaller companies given the known and certain activities of short sellers, so transparency seems like the least our system and overseers could provide for fairness. Also, this proposal that looks like it is moving forward to delete CAT data older than three years looks especially unfair and suspicious given these damaging activities in many issues goes back far longer and if that data is deleted for such examples, how can you properly and fairly enforce the law and protect investors? Our free and "fair" markets where supply/demand forces only are supposed to dictate trading and pricing have been severely interfered with and it's a well known fact that bad actors and organized crime are heavily involved in stock manipulation and other nefarious activities. What possible reason other than protection would you want to do that and erase evidence. The cost to the participants and work involved is too high and too much for them? How much money have these interests and institutions made from the short side? I do not believe the cost and work is overwhelming, especially with the availability of technology, especially AI. It's easier for "investors" with such powers to destroy than it is to build and sustain and short sellers, which make up a very small percentage of our market participants but are some of the largest and most powerful participants, have certainly made more than plenty to allow for everyone else to have this transparency, confidence and trust in our markets and system and this secrecy keeping everything hidden is not the American way and it's certainly not right and fair. This is certainly a major issue now with the investing public and the public wants transparency and fairness at the very least. Also, is it not still against the law for participants to use computer programs and advance algorithms and other technology (AI now) to steer and drive stock prices. The majority of this short activity now is computer automated. The SEC's mission and purpose is to protect the public and ensure fair markets and dealing. We know that our markets today in key areas are not fair and the public is not being protected from the nefarious activities of unscrupulous short sellers and we know these things have been going of ubiquitously and pervasively for quite some time. The least our government can do is give us this needed transparency and hopefully get back to leveling the playing field and making everything fair for everyone involved as our markets are intended to be. All forms of stock manipulation are against the law and wrong.. Please enforce the law and do not gut the CAT, and please give us that vital data ASAP. I believe having publix trust in our markets demands it! I hope this gets read and considered properly. Sandy Leff