Investing Information


Short Selling for Investors


Shorts. Let's see. If there are shorts there must be longs. Which is best? Longs or shorts?

If you are trading in the stock the stock market experts like longs better than shorts. If you are "long" that means you own stock and that is "good". If you are short you have sold stock and that is "bad". At least that is what Wall Street preaches. And why do they want to make you believe this and is it true? Let's examine the facts.

Today I hear stories on the financial news and there are articles in the paper that people who are "short" driving the market down. They have sold more stock than they own and this is causing the market to collapse. I even hear that Congress is trying to pass a law that will not allow people to sell short. They are blaming hedge funds who are allowed to sell short. The basic flaw in this concept is when a short sale is initiated it must be done on an up tick. That means the stock must be going up in order to make a "short" sale. No short sale may be made to pressure the market down. That is a fatal pin in the balloon of that lie.

There are reasons people will make the sale of a stock. If you own it you may just need the money now or if it is going down you may not want to lose money should the downward trend continue. There is on old saying in the market - "the trend is your friend". If you see a stock that is declining you may want to sell it first and when it declines further you will buy it back at a lower price later on. This actually puts a floor under that stock because some time in the futures you MUST buy it. Whoever is doing the shorting does not matter whether it is an individual or a hedge fund. They are actually doing two things that are both good for the market. They are providing a future buy to support the price at a lower level that keeps it from going lower and they are providing liquidity to the market.

When you buy long you want it to go up so you can sell it later at a profit. When you sell short you sell it now with the idea of buying it back after it declines. Both are driven by the profit motive. How can one be good and the other bad? It is like saying there is good electricity and bad electricity.

If company CEOs don't want people to short their stock I suggest they look in the mirror to find out who is at fault. The CEO is not running his company properly and that is why the stock is declining. No outside person or group can drive a stock lower that is making a good profit. There is a good reason for the price decline.

Buying short does not put the market down. The ultimate outcome of a short sale (covering the short) is very positive for the market.

INVESTMENT LETTER 3 month free trial.
http://www.mutualfundmagic.comCopyright Albert W. Thomas All rights reserved. Author of "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" Former 17-year exchange member, floor trader and brokerage company owner.


MORE RESOURCES:

Franklin Templeton Investments Ranked #1 for 10-Year Performance in Barron's ...
MarketWatch (press release)
SAN MATEO, CA, Feb 06, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Franklin Templeton Investments ranked #1 out of 45 mutual fund families for its funds' 10-year performance in Barron's annual review of fund families.(1) Barron's rankings are based on ...
Delaware Investments Tops “Barron's Fund Families Report” for 2011Business Wire (press release)

all 9 news articles »


Your Most Important Investing Decision of the Next 10 Years
TheStreet.com
And these are some of the most boring companies you can think of -- real-state investment trusts (REITs), pipeline operators and cigarette makers. But they all have one thing in common. As the chief investment strategist behind High-Yield Investing, ...

and more »


Ask the Experts: What looks attractive for investors?
Kansas City Star
By CLAUDIA BUCK With the economy starting to perk up, investors are wondering where they should be looking next. Here with some recommendations is Glenn Kenes, managing director of investments with Barber-Kenes Capital Management Group in Auburn, ...

and more »


Freedom Investing 2012
Forbes
I've been discussing foreign freedom investing for a decade now. In the spring of 2010, I used the term “Ring-of-Fire” to describe countries with a high debt and deficit and suggested avoiding them. A year later, I revisited that advice and counseled ...

and more »


TD Ameritrade Investor Poll: Younger Investors More Likely to Invest "More" in ...
MarketWatch (press release)
OMAHA, Neb., Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The European debt crisis, US unemployment, the housing market, and political uncertainty - a laundry list of issues that may be causing investors to think more cautiously about their financial futures.

and more »


Finding Fundamentals Key to Gold Investing: Byron King
Business Insider
BK: Kinross has been in the Outstanding Investments portfolio for over four years. I'm hanging on to it in the hopes that it will go higher, but it's been disappointing. It's not been able to get the share price up and keep it up despite a gold price ...

and more »


Moneycontrol.com

Various Ways to Invest in Gold, Silver and Other Precious Metals
CoinWeek (blog)
By Mark Ferguson on February 6, 2012 11:43 AM By Mark Ferguson for CoinWeek – MFRareCoins.com Using gold as an example, the first investing decision you need to make is whether you want to invest in “paper gold” or “physical gold.
Junior Gold Producers: The Cycle TurnsResource Investor
What Lies Ahead For Stocks, Gold, Silver And Platinum After The Greek Default?Seeking Alpha

all 89 news articles »


Book Review Of 'Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Psychological Edge'
Seeking Alpha
Having read and enjoyed his 1998 "Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation", I was pleased to see this comprehensive updated edition ("Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Psychological Edge")by longtime contrarian value investor David ...

and more »


A Growth Stock in the Auto Industry
Motley Fool
By Isaac Pino | More Articles The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which editor/analyst Isaac Pino and technology editor/analyst Andrew Tonner discuss topics across the investing world. In today's edition, Isaac and ...
Another Blowout Quarter for This Mobile MonsterDailyFinance

all 62 news articles »


Globe and Mail

18% of Canadians now use online brokerages but another 16% are thinking about it
Financial Post
More than a third (34%) of Canadian investors now use online brokerage accounts or are considering doing so, according to a BMO InvestorLine survey released Monday. The poll of 1551 Canadian adults (18+) found 320 or 18% currently investing online.
Do-It-Yourself Investing: How to Come Out Ahead by Using an Online Brokerage ...MarketWatch (press release)

all 36 news articles »

Google News

home-bondsnstocks.com | site map
© 2007