Lunatic? How would you feel if you've been extorted (is that a word?) screwed. Here is Bear Stern's General counsel discussing the scope of the problem before the implementation of the toothless SHO. http://www.ncans.net/bear.htm
"In the middle of a sweep.........".. Notice OSTK is down seven straight trading days since the first call. That is "punishment" THe NSS always do that when you attack them. But keep your eyes peeled. If they told a reporter what they are doing, what i believed they were doing last month, then it's close. Don't let your guard down. These guys are tough, and crooked as a walking stick. PEEK INTO NAKED SHORTS By RODDY BOYD Securities regulators are in the middle of a sweep designed to ferret out brokerages breaking rules designed to eliminate "naked short selling," a practice critics claim is used to drive down stock prices. Examiners from the National Association of Securities Dealers, the New York Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been conducting audits of brokerages, said an official familiar with the plans. He declined comment on what the findings reveal, nor would he comment on prospective penalties. An SEC spokesman said there have been no penalties assessed for naked short selling over the eight months the rule has been in effect. Naked short selling occurs when a short seller hoping to profit from a decline in a stock's price fails to borrow shares prior to establishing the position. The practice is at the core of a battle for many investors, who allege short sellers break rules by shorting many times the available stock float. More troubling is the example of Overstock.com, which has a short position of 6.53 million shares out of 18.69 million available. But of the available stock, about 6 million is held by CEO Patrick Byrne or a fund he controls, High Plains Investments, and another 7 million shares is held by mutual funds. Thus the real float, or base of shares available for trading, is not more than 5.69 million shares. But speculators who want to profit from a decline in a share price have other means of investing. Rocker Partners, the hedge fund being sued by Byrne for manipulating Overstock's stock price, has bet on the decline of Overstock's price with "put" options, which appreciate as the stock price declines. Home -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc. NYPOST.COM, NYPOSTONLINE.COM, and NEWYORKPOST.COM are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc. Copyright 2005 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nice little squeeze in AMLN today. I think they come fast and furious. I'm going to start working up lists of these listed threshold companies. By the way, checked that NYPost story. It is true, and the audits have been going on for while. You have to play these techically, because you can't believe how vicious and stupid these guys are. Been in and out of AMLN twice today Reminds me of my youth!
I'm hearing supeonas went out to 34 stock loan departments related to naked shorting. I hear it's the SEC. Anybody know anything?
Flytiger, you seem to know a lot about this stuff. Am I correct in thinking that Reg SHO allows naked shorting to hedge option positions? In which case wouldn't the put writers be allowed to naked short with impunity?
You have to be able to borrow. That conversation is not for here, now. The "little companies" have found, however, that they traded in Europe, and on the CBOE, really without ever having listed options, or having the companies permission. There is no doubt that some option market makers got screwed royally. But no, you can't just write an option and then short stock w/impunity - legally, that is. Look, it's not the perpetrators! I expect them to do what they do. That's why we have jails. It's the regulatory system that's out of synch, and it needs to be replaced. In the meantime, I look for stocks I know are shorted out the ass, and try to catch them in a day trade or two. Amly, OSTK, hey, look at MSO, a naked short fave!
I agree and am heavily long Ostk Dec Calls but was just trying to find some explanation for why the numbers are so out of whack and regulatory action doesn't seem to be taking place. If what Byrne has been saying is even conservatively correct then I think people will be surprised at how much Ostk wil be able to pop.
This battle has been going on for at least four years. Sedona Corp (SDNA) got infront of the SEC in 12/01. In 2/03, they fined the Badians, who were arrested in 12/03. On 5/16/05, Refco was notified in the matter of Sedona that it was being issued a Wells' Notice. Abouat two weeks ago, Sedona was granted discovery, which is a goldmine. you can see how long it takes. As an official told me, "you talk about it, we have to prove it. You should Sedona trade. It is a joke. Even though the market makers are being monitored by the authorities, they do whatever it takes to keep the stock down. they walk down offers by .001 increments. The reason I mention it, is it is small, and you can see how it's done. It is being done in OSTK, but you can't see it as well because of ECN's. The other day, though, OSTK opens up .70, and finishes the days at it's low. They must keep the stocks under control, or they will get squeezed badly. You can see in smaller stocks they simply pass shares back and forth. Made a few bucks in AMLN. Enjoy reading the commentaries on Briefing, the Broker's etc. Takeover, heavy short interest. No one wants to mention it's on SHO, and they have lost control of the stock. Take a look at the 5 minute yesterday. I'll be spending some time on the SHO list this weekend, charts in hand. I do believe, and I can trace this bullshit back to 1996, that they have outsmarted themselves, and I plan on getting some revenge. By the way, the XDXXXXXXX, through Freedom of Information Act got documents saying OTCBB and Pinks were NSS"d 4 to 5x the amount of the listed. These brokers are sitting on a time bomb, and if they don't act now, the hedgies walk and the BD's hold the bag. One by one, they will fold and buy in. Knowing these thieves as I do, I don't hold the listed overnight. The smaller stuff is to hard to buy, and I hold them for the moves. Good luck in OSTK calls. I might look there too. I would hate to miss a move overnight when Bryne does something cookey, and I expect he has a suicide instinct. He is going to do something to really screw these guys over out of spite. Rich guys aren't used to being screwed with.