Friday, September 19, 2008

Bloggers Stunned by SEC Decree on Short Selling, Give Collective WTF?

The operative word is collective, comrade. Here's a quick headline roundup.
From 24/7 Wall Street:
The Socialists Killed The Short Sellers

From Blogging Stocks:
SEC bans short selling in financial stocks -- why stop there?


From Infectious Greed:
Details on the SEC's New No-Shorting Rule

[Update] A few quick nuggets from perusing the list:

  • Some SEC dyslexic likely meant MPB, which is Mid Penn Bancorp, and they blocked shorting of MBP instead, which is Metabolic Pharmaceuticals.
  • Lehman is on the list, which is hugely reassuring given its current bankruptcy status.
  • The SEC is blocking shorting of NAHC, which is Nigerian Aviation Holding Company. Damn Nigerians. It's not enough they have all the best scams; they get shorts blocked too.
  • Silver State Bancorp is on the list. Recall, it's a failed bank already seized by the FDIC.
From The Big Picture:
Terror Attack on US Financials? Details of SEC Short Ban

...It appears that the lion's share of shorting was coming out of overseas bourses such as London and Dubai.It may not be a coincidence that the financial short selling ban is both here and in London.

Then there is another coincidence: The huge increase in shorting of the financials occurred on the anniversary of 9/11. And on top of that, the same institutions attacked on 9/11/01 were the ones suffering in recent days....

From Market Movers:

Banning Terrorism

A World Without Shorts