The following comment on Letter Type E,
or variations thereof, was submitted by
2 individuals or entities on S7-23-03.

Letter Type E:

I've been an investor in Nasdaq and OTC stocks for quite some time now. What I've seen happening on these markets the last couple of years has amazed me. I see companies that trade millions of shares each day while giving out good press releases and yet their price has come down gradually during this period to a mere freezing point.

Naked shorting is a virus that needs to be stopped. I liked the comment that Richard Altomare CEO of Universal Express (USXP.OB) was saying on an interview a few weeks ago. Naked shorting is like playing poker where your opponent always tells you that his cards beat your cards but he never shows his cards. He only takes your money. This is something that can not be tolerated. As an organisation you have the responsibility to insure that every investor on every market you control has a fair chance of seeing his investment being treated in a fair and correct manner. Naked shorting is in my opinion neither fair nor correct.

I welcomed your proposal regarding shorting and naked shorting. However, what are you planning to do with all the current short stocks. Are you going to force market makers and brokers to come clean with the past and cover their existing short position? I would hope so. There are many small investors that have lost their life savings to these shorters. It would be nice to see some or all of it returned to the rightful owners.

One of my investments is Pinnacle Business mgt (PCBM.PK). This company is currently under investigation by the SEC since May 2002. Since then we've seen some Wild West scenario's in the trading of PCBM. I never understood how the trading on a stock that is under the watchful eye of the SEC can be so manipulated each and every day. We've been on zero bid for months now, still millions and even Billions are traded every day with no effect on the price. Very strange things have happened with this company and we the investors have been out in the cold during all this time. I suspect naked shorting is the root of all problems that happened with Pinnacle. Anyway, shareholders have at least the right to know the true story .

I end up with thanking the commission for their efforts to stop naked short selling. I hope we can see a more honest cleaner market in the upcoming months when you stop the daily abuse that has been happening in especially the OTC markets.

Regards from Belgium

http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s72303/s72303typee.htm