Re:Tesla Enters “Whistleblower Hell”
by jfengel on Monday July 22, 2019 @12:44PM
(#20499755)
In the long term, people shorting for bad reasons only hurt themselves.
But in the short term, it does harm people who are long in the stock. People sell for a variety of reasons: unexpected unemployment, retirement, emergencies, home improvements, etc. They may simply want to rebalance their portfolios, and don't want to wait a decade for the shorts to get caught with their pants down.
That's not an argument for banning shorts, which are a necessary part of the market. But it may contribute to a case for regulating prominent news sources which may have a conflict of interest. The SEC regulates pump-and-dump schemes, so there are precedents.
Again, not claiming that this is the case here. (I have dark suspicions that there are political and ideological motivations, rather than profit.) But it's important to recognize that short selling, and slanting the news to depress the price, are not without short-term consequences.
But in the short term, it does harm people who are long in the stock. People sell for a variety of reasons: unexpected unemployment, retirement, emergencies, home improvements, etc. They may simply want to rebalance their portfolios, and don't want to wait a decade for the shorts to get caught with their pants down.
That's not an argument for banning shorts, which are a necessary part of the market. But it may contribute to a case for regulating prominent news sources which may have a conflict of interest. The SEC regulates pump-and-dump schemes, so there are precedents.
Again, not claiming that this is the case here. (I have dark suspicions that there are political and ideological motivations, rather than profit.) But it's important to recognize that short selling, and slanting the news to depress the price, are not without short-term consequences.