I'm not trying to be the typical ET asshole, but you just don't get it. Since naked shorting is against the rules, why aren't the rules enforced? How is it that the exchanges and the regulators cannot enforce their own rules? THAT'S THE WHOLE ISSUE HERE! Hello? Anybody home? Institutions are breaking the law. The SEC either will not or cannot do anything about it. My theory is (and this is the scary part) they CANNOT do anything about it. It is too widespread, the fraud is too great and the financial system is too damaged right now to even think about doing something. I noticed that you did not provide me with the list of all the "solid businesses" that "have been naked shorted out of existence". That's right. You didn't. That's because I never said it. I don't have that kind of inside information, and more to the point, I don't think solid businesses are the targets of mass naked short selling, unless to manipulate the short term price. It's the once strong institutions with temporary problems (or more serious problems) that have the most to worry about. If you combine legitimate shares with bogus shares and dump them on the market all at once, guess what happens? Here's one video (not the best in my opinion). http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4490541725797746038 I had a better video saved but I can't find it. I'll post it later if I find it.
Like I said earlier, I profit in current market conditions just fine. While 2008 wasn't my best year ever, it was pretty close. But that's not the point. Naked short selling isn't the sole cause (obviously) of our current predicament, but the way it looks now, all the different flavors of fraud has brought our financial system to its knees. Bear with the first few slides, they're extremely basic. http://www.businessjive.com/
Fraud has brought the financial system to its knees? No. Gross incompetence has brought the system to its knees. Hanlon's razor applies: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Well, if stupidity is the case, they say there are more PhDs per square foot in the federal reserve than any other building in the world, that doesn't say much for us as a society. Personally, I'm leaning towards fraud.