February 20, 2010
Dear Mary Shapiro, SEC
Please institute the uptick rule. However more importantly enforce the rules against naked shorting. This practice is criminal in nature and rampant.
...If shares are not available on a real time basis to be borrowed with which to go short then the short should not be allowed. I don,t believe their should be any extended time period for shorts to replace borrowed shares ....either the shares are available or they are not. I believe shareholders who hold their shares in street name in brokerage accounts should be given the right to segregate their shares and restrict the brokerage house from making their shares borrowable to be shorted against. This would go a long way to deal with criminal naked shorting
Naked shorting is illegal and needs to be addressed. This criminal activity allows for gross manipulation of stock valuations and hurts the small retail investor and pension funds. Most retai investors are investors not scammers and manipulators who skirt SEC enforcement rules with impunity to the detriment of all.
Sincerely
Robert Wilson