der nächste Zacken aus der Hedgefondkrone...
An already exuberant move in the equity market was bolstered by none other than Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who said he expects the “uptick rule” — a requirement done away with in July 2007, which required investors to wait until a company’s stock rose before it could be sold short — to be restored in about a month.
That the removal of the uptick rule has damaged markets has been an article of faith for investors for months. The rule was removed in July 2007, and markets have tanked, ipso facto, the uptick rule is responsible. (The second pillar of evidence comes from the past– it was first put in place in 1938, at the tail end of the worst period for stocks in history. Once again, quod erat demonstratum.) Never mind, of course, the overleveraged financial industry sinking as if trapped in a tar pit under the weight of bad loans and the high cost of servicing their debt.
Since the rule was officially suspended on July 6, 2007, the markets have gotten hammered. Volatility has certainly picked up, with the Chicago Board Option Exchange’s volatility index rising from levels in the low 20s to the 40-to-50 range it finds itself in currently. Traders were indeed glad to hear that discussions were taking place. Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities, said that “the fact that they’re looking at it and discussing market structure is positive.” He tempered his enthusiasm, saying that “as far as the short-sale rule specifically, it still remains to be seen.”
“I think it’s a feel-good thing so Congress and everybody involved can act like they’re doing something concrete,” says Eric Newman, a portfolio manager at TFS Capital. “I don’t think the short-sellers have made it any worse.”
Still, the rule may end up fading into the sunset before long. And if it does — after major averages have declined by more than 50% in one of the worst bear markets in memory — some will invariably point to the rule’s restoration. Quod erat demonstratum.
blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2009/03/10/all-hail-the-uptick-rule/
Benjamin Franklin: „Wer der Meinung ist, dass er für Geld alles haben kann, gerät leicht in den Verdacht, dass er für Geld alles zu tun bereit ist.“