17 replies to this topic

[Tor]

I was accused of this once, and it suprised me. Any thoughts anyone for the weekend? All the best.

[Rogerdodger]

If shorting is unpatriotic, then selling would be also.
Yet most stock holders plan on selling at some time in the future.

Shorting adds necessary liquidity to the market.

Patriotic rallies are started by shorts covering.

Thank you shorts!

Edited by Rogerdodger, 30 March 2007 - 04:50 PM.

[timer]

I don't, but I don't mention it to my friends anymore because I think they get pi**ed off that I'm making money when they're losing it. (Most people that I know don't know how to short, and wouldn't even if they knew -- too risky in their minds.) Plus, I know that Wall Street has somewhat instilled in people that shorting is unpatriotic, so that's another reason to keep my mouth shut. People probably think that if anyone shorts, they're adding to the market drop, when in reality us little people shorting doesn't affect the market in the least. Most don't realize and never will that the shorts are what helps to brings the market back when they cover/buy. Geez, I could go on and on.

[PorkLoin]

Tor, I have to laugh. Don't know if this is what you referred to, but there was once a guy here who really got on that horse; that selling was somehow morally wrong, etc. Good grief....

Roger, you're right -- are some people never going to sell? Well, this is the last trading day before April Fool's Day.




Doug

[Russ]

Short sellers don't cause the market to go down, lack of buyers does.

[Jnavin]

First of all, you're not off-topic at all. A discussion of shorting is always on-topic. Secondly, no I don't think shoring is unpatriotic. That's the opinion of some corporate executive who's had to cut back on the amount of champagne in his private jet because his stock options were only worth 1.2 billion instead of 1.3 billion. On the contrary, anything that helps to provide liquidity is good for markets.

[securelstmile]

If shorting was unpatriotic than any business where you sell goods you don't officially own would be unpatriotic. So the farmer who sells the corn he hasn't yet grown or the small business owner who sells t-shirts he hasn't yet received from China are both going short.

[Rogerdodger]

Besides, most of us are short the US dollar most of our lives.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 30 March 2007 - 06:26 PM.

[TechSkeptic]

Short-selling of borrowed stocks is not unpatriotic, and I see nothing wrong with it. As people mentioned, it makes a market and provides liquidity.

On the other hand, naked short-selling of individual stocks by brokers is at least unethical, if not illegal, as is naked short selling of commodities by large traders.

If shorting was unpatriotic than any business where you sell goods you don't officially own would be unpatriotic. So the farmer who sells the corn he hasn't yet grown or the small business owner who sells t-shirts he hasn't yet received from China are both going short.

But the farmer presumably has resources to grow the corn and he is shorting to hedge the crop in the field. Just as the individual stock trader borrows stock from another account holder and puts up cash as collateral to cover the loan of the security. Both of these scenarios are totally different from naked short-selling by commodities traders and stock brokers.

[ed rader]

i thought buying was patriotic the day the market re-opened after 9/11 (i was flat on 9/11) and lost about 20% quickly thanx to patriotic shortsellers. but i was even in about two weeks on the trade . ed rader