April 15, 2009
Thank you for your reply to my email about the uptick rule to be reinstated and the mark-to- market to be modified. Recent reports imply about 60 days to reinstate the uptick requirement on short sales and using one cent as an uptick. I suggested 5 cents under $20, 10 cents $20 to $100, and 15 cents over $100. The one cent could be applied to penny stocks [under $3 PER SHARE]. Also important is to require all short sales be covered by borrowing stock, no naked shorting at all, including ETF securities. I would also require the uptick to apply to any ETF, not allowing raiding of the markets in the last hour or so the the trading day, especially the ETFs that are leveraged 2X and 3X. Actually, I believe the ETFs have taken money away from needed investments in companies. Finally, I suggest financial stocks cannot be shorted at all since our financial system is imperative to our econmic stability as a nation. Consequently, in times of unusal stress, sources inside the US and outside would not be allowed to run our financial companies and our financial system into the ground such as just been allowed to happen. The comments in the paper suggested some shorting could be restricted . The financial securities would be the priority. Bill Shinn