SEC Bans Short-Selling

The SEC has taken the dramatic step of temporarily banning the routine practiceof betting against company stocks.

By: WKRG Staff | WKRG-TV
Published: September 19, 2008

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission has
taken the dramatic step of temporarily banning the routine practice
of betting against company stocks.
The move, announced early Friday on the agency's Web site, may
well be unprecedented and a reflection of regulators' concern about
the widening scope of the financial crisis as entreaties come from
all quarters to stem a swarm of short-selling.
In the announcement, the commission said it was acting in
concert with the U.K. Financial Services Authority in taking
temporary emergency action to "prohibit short selling in financial
companies" to protect the integrity of the securities market and
boost investor confidence.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)