Naked Short Selling

  • 25 May 2010 at 5:14 PM

Germany About to Extend Short Selling Ban

By Zachery Kouwe

Just when you thought the market was starting to calm down, the Germans have to go and ban naked short selling on every stock traded on their exchanges. Like last time, the move is only going to spread fear and won’t do jack shit to stop market losses. Continue reading »

  • 19 May 2010 at 12:10 PM

France is Pissed About German Ban on Naked Shorts

By Zachery Kouwe

France is none too pleased with Germany’s unilateral action yesterday to ban bearish bets on certain financial companies and European government’s bonds. Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister blasted the Germans for stepping out of school yesterday, a move she thinks could dampen liquidity on the European bond market.

Lagarde has ruled out imposing its own ban on naked shorting, however it is still enforcing a ban on shorting certain financial stocks that was put in place in September 2008. Sweden and the Netherlands also came out against the Germans yesterday.

“I think we should really request the views of those governments affected by this measure. We did not envisage doing this. And for liquidity reasons, it is useful to continue functioning without banning short selling,” she said.

Backlash builds against German ban [FT.com]

  • 18 May 2010 at 5:20 PM

Germans Ban on Naked Short-Selling Just Fueling More Fear

By Zachery Kouwe

Germany said “auf Wiedersehen” to naked short selling, but it appears the ban is doing nothing but raising fears that Europe is in the midst of a financial crisis of its own. Traders are already clamoring to close out open positions, but who knows if the ban will really prevent a financial calamity. Continue reading »

  • 05 Aug 2009 at 5:32 PM

Get Naked (Shorts)

By Equity Private

Fans of enemies of naked shorting, rejoice. Settlement (no admission of guilt, innocence, neutrality, etc.) for the first enforcement actions brought for the vile enemies of all Christian civilization is at hand.

Hazan and the company were accused of betting that share prices would fall without borrowing and delivering the shares, the SEC said in a statement today. Regulations adopted in July require brokers to identify a source of the shares prior to a short sale and to deliver the securities by a certain date. The SEC also barred Hazan from working with any brokerage.

And just in case you thought these sorts of things didn’t travel in pairs:

In a separate case, the SEC settled similar claims against TJM Proprietary Trading LLC, ordering payment of $541,000 in disgorgement. The suit named trader Michael Benson and Chief Operating Officer John Burke, who will pay $250,000 in fines together with the company.

Maybe it is just us, but when the first actions against the practice involve cases with “complex options transactions,” you are simply trying too hard.
Hazan Capital Settles SEC’s First Claims of ‘Naked’ Short Sales [Bloomberg]