I have no idea, But; did Uncle Sam just say one way stock bets?

Whoson1st · Sep 20, 2008

I find it strange that the Governments permits bets either FOR or AGAINST certain business (via the stock market).
I don't know anything about how it works so don't flame me, just inform me.
But if I understand an article on Yahoo yesterday; one can only bet (buy) that a stock is going to go up?
To think I was seriously going to buy a few books to teach me about any of this. :think2::think2:

Buster · Sep 20, 2008

just a guess but i assume this is what you are talking about

Short sellers borrow stock with the aim of selling it, then buy it back at a lower price, hoping to pocket the difference. The commission said short sellers add liquidity to the markets during normal conditions, but recent unbridled short selling has contributed to the recent tailspin in the stock market.

http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/080919/091908_sec_short_selling.html

Presto · Sep 20, 2008

You can bet against stocks going up (short), but not on the financial stocks. As of Friday, there is a list of several hundred stocks that cannot be shorted for at least a few weeks, and possibly longer.

Whoson1st · Sep 20, 2008

Presto said:
You can bet against stocks going up (short), but not on the financial stocks. As of Friday, there is a list of several hundred stocks that cannot be shorted for at least a few weeks, and possibly longer.

I could be very wrong, But this sounds like a one way ticket. (Our way or the Highway type buying/selilng) Please straighten me out here if wrong.

BAGIANT · Sep 20, 2008

I don't see how they can possibly take away a persons option to make money in a down market. They are preventing a person from hedging his account to prevent a serious loss. Have they stopped the trading in "puts" also?

What else would you expect from this administration that caused this to start with.

TTinCO · Sep 20, 2008

Market manipulation is nothing new-but yeah, this is a new level of it.

Whoson1st · Sep 20, 2008

Maybe I am better off not knowing what the gov means. Maybe I'm better off not knowing how to read a stock market in the Newspaper. But I REALLY doubt, that anyone is better off if those that do this for a living can't "sell" short.
They don't like to use other words like "failure". What else could it be?
I am not trying to be smart....at all:think2:

But suppose your local told you: Team A ( -9999) or Team B (no play)? Isn't this exactly what we have here?