Yep,ban short selling,but when stocks rise too fast,the next time people are making stupid money from spreading ugly rumours of how strong a stocks earnings are going to be and go long..going long is banned.I sold my property last year and rent and want to buy cheaper in 2010,well i shud be in jail

scott h, london, uk

Short selling appears to be symptomatic of a financial services market which has got above itself. without the rest of us creating things to buy and sell, it has no meaning. Since the late 70's it has been building on sand by forgetting that simple fact. Focus on the real economy and rebuild it!

Dave, Chorley,

Short selling has everything to do with the underlying state of the company. No one ever complains about people borrowing to buy shares - so why complain when people borrow to sell shares - the argument against is asymmetrical and the response equally cock-eyed - the problem goes far deeper.

Huw Sayer, London, England

theres so much rubbish talked about short selling by people who have probably never put on a trade in their lives. Only 3% of HBOS's shares were on loan when it was taken over by LloydsTSB, whilst the heaviest shorted bank in the UK ( Barclays- 5.5% of shares shorted) bought Lehman Bros. Work it out

Mike, Wirral, UK

Short sellers are doing what any business does - exploit an opportunity. Fact is if the banks weren't already vulnerable they couldn't profit. Enough of questioning their ethics. The banks need reforming; after operating irresponsibly with depositors money it is their morality in question.

JB, Seef, Bahrain

To all those who think Short Selling is a legitimate way to do business - Lend me ur houses so that I can sell them for a fair price. Then I create a scare about house prices falling - then I buy them back at a knock down price & give u back ur worthless houses.
OK which of u will b 1st in the Q?

Paddy, Cork, Ireland

Short Selling is crazy behaviour from crazy people. Where else in the world would you find someone selling something which they don't own?
Also what has gambling got to do with Ownership of Shares?
Everyone involved in these crazy gambling casinos should be locked up and the key thrown away.

Paddy, Cork, Ireland

banning short selling is purely political. short sellers dont cause the value of shares to drop, they just make a bet that the shares will drop. this is based on research into the underlying value of the stock. banning short selling is effectively the same as banning the sale of stock.
politics

will, grimsby, uk

This is taxpayers funding incompetent bankers.Banning short selling is like banning share prices falling. Might sound good to politicians and the financially illiterate.What if there was a ban on the price of oil falling?Everyone would be bleating oil was $150,when the Saudis were selling it at $95.

mark, london, UK

Surely the viability of a business is down to its liquidity as opposed to the value of its share price? If the true value of the company is greater than the level at which these short sellers are driving the price to, then there's a quick buck to be made for someone else? It's a zero sum game no?

Simon, York, England

Short selling seems to be a clear method in which a few individuals can manipulate and encourage company share prices to drop. When so much of the worlds pension and investment funds are affected by the value of these shares then either an outright ban or strict regulation may be the answer

rob, southampton, uk

Knowingly (and lets not kid ourselves) lending your depositors money to people with no hope of ever paying it back, just to earn yourself commission, is clearly fraudulent. Short selling (was) a honest legitimate trading practice indulged in quite openly. Guess which the regulators have banned?!!

Eric Skelton, Cardiff, Wales

Don't delude yourselves that the 'short selling' ban is to protect small depositors (who are insured). It is intended to stop the bonus stock options of the boardroom crooks from becoming worthless. As always, the regulators support old school cronyism against free market capitalism.

Eric Skelton, Cardiff, Wales

The issue here is not about the short selling, but rather the manipulation of the market through the inbalance of power toward the Hedge Funds
This needs to be reduced, perhaps through regulation. Alternatively, they could try to be more efficient and make money through investment for a change.

Brian C, Billericay, UK

Just make it visible.

Millie Alfred, Ronda, Spain

Without short-selling, anyone can buy a stock, but only stock-holders can sell - this makes for an inefficent and asymmetric market. With short-selling anyone can buy and anyone can sell, which makes for a more perfect market. This ban appears to be a deliberate (political?) distortion of the market

Nick, London, UK

Agree with you Daniel. Glad to see these blood suckers who get away with what appears to be blatant 'acting in concert' actions receive some retribution. Should extend ban to all stocks for same period without any notice.

E O'Donnell, Birmingham,

They should just ban it outright, how can you borrow something then sell it ? It's a scam, the attempts to justify it are self serving excuses.

john, tokyo,

This lending to all, has come to roost, how better than to use the market as a voting machine.

Sub-prime lenders & investors shouldn't be protected. Even without the Hedge funds shorting. Sub-prime will continue to get worse. AIG will once again go cap in hand, giving there last 20 % then what ?

Harjinder Rughai, Birmingham, United Kingtom

Short Selling is nothing less than conspiracy to defraud and I do not see how in any circumstances it can be legal.
Interestingly, the BBA, earlier today actually said that not only is Shorting not illegal, in certain circumstances it can be beneficial!

Alan Hargreaves, Holywell, UK

it is about time that hedge fund managers get named in the same joke with lawyers and second hand car dealers. they are the parasites of the financial world!

ip, haywards heath, UK

Yes it is naive. Shorters look for the weakest link, they can't create it from thin air, it must exist. If a share is overvalued their gamble pays off, if not then they lose their shirts. One has ask why the regulators would wish to prop up share prices which bear no resemblance to the balance sheet

Evan Owen, Harlech, Wales

Of course there are bleats from the fat cats. Short selling has nothing to do with the underlying nature of the companies and are purely a growing way to gamble and often gains made by wild and often utterl nonsense stories which are floated and designed to drive down share prices

Daniel Arbib, London, UK