Oh dear : FSA bans short-selling

[Alf W]

What is the difference between buying shares in a company in the hope that they will be worth more when you come to sell them than selling shares ... less than .. buy them back? Nothing. The two options need to balance each other out in an open market.

There's other more highly leveraged ways of doing this, CFDs, options and futures so banning the most simple mechanism isn't going to help one bit.

Is anyone suggesting that in a rampant bull market the practice of buying shares should be banned? Utter rubbish.

The banks that got in the 5h1t are the ones who got themselves too highly geared. Lloyds TSB has been criticised over the past few years for being too boring and conservative. HBOS has aggressively pummelled the UK market, overstretched itself and not diversified globally. All eggs in one basket and CRASH.

IBs similarly take big gambles with borrowed monies. They've tripped over their big swinging d*cks.

Barclays has been a bit lucky as it very nearly over-Americanised itself a couple of years ago. Pimping itself to the Chinese and Arabs has proved to be a blinder of a move.

Anyway, **** off Howard. We'd had enough of you in any case.

[AtW]

What is the difference between buying shares in a company in the hope that they will be worth more when you come to sell them than selling shares ... less than .. buy them back? Nothing. The two options need to balance each other out in an open market.

Big difference - buying shares for dividends and long term growth is positive - it puts money into the company, where as shorting fks up company by depressing its shares so it will increase borrowing costs (when shares were the collateral) and many other negative consequences including forcing long term investors to get scared and drop shares.

Shorting is NOT meant to balance out buying - selling is, but shorters sell something they don't have in order to create something from nothing at the expense of every other normal market participants.

[Diver]

Big difference - buying shares for dividends and long term growth is positive - it puts money into the company, where as shorting fks up company by depressing its shares so it will increase borrowing costs (when shares were the collateral) and many other negative consequences including forcing long term investors to get scared and drop shares.

Shorting is NOT meant to balance out buying - selling is, but shorters sell something they don't have in order to create something from nothing at the expense of every other normal market participants.

"Con artists" is the term you're looking for AtW

[Alf W]

I'm not going to argue with you AtW over this, as it would feel like a bit like punching a man in a wheelchair.

[AtW]

I'm not going to argue with you AtW over this, as it would feel like a bit like punching a man in a wheelchair.

How do you know how it feels? Sounds like you punched someone

[Bagpuss]

He's a city fan, men in wheelchairs is their division

[AtW]

He's a city fan, men in wheelchairs is their division

Here is my brilliant solution to all Man City bitter dejected fans problems - close the shop and support the real team in the City - ManU. No shame in joining the winning team - you'd be happy as it would win, obvious solution to all problems. This would save a lot of wheelchair users from being punched too

[ace00]

If this stays in place will it not have the opposite effect to that intended?
ie. many investors will not buy the stock as they are restricted in covering their position by shorting? And secondly will it further spook UK markets due to fear of further government intervention by Mr. G."lets sell our Gold at $250" Brown?

[GreenerGrass]

I'm disappointed, I was 99% certain the first thread I would see this morning would be titled "BOOMED! Markets that can only ever go up!" by DimPrawn.

[Diver]

I'm disappointed, I was 99% certain the first thread I would see this morning would be titled "BOOMED! Markets that can only ever go up!" by DimPrawn.

Boom Is Doomed I'm afraid

HTH