From: Jack Fenchel [jlfenchel@zoominternet.net]
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 2:05 PM
To: rule-comments@sec.gov
Subject: S7-23-03:

Short Selling
 
Stop the short selling Rapist, put a 1% cap on the float.
Adjust the cap up / down as needed each year.
Longs have had it with this Las Vegas Market.
Short selling has destroyed many good CEO's
trying to propup their stock price from short selling
more that the float.
Sorry, but it is true.
If the SEC does not put a cap on short selling? Investors will need 
to push Congress for a short selling float cap.
Give Las Vegas Wall Street back to investors and stop the rapist.
Look at PHSB, no shorting and now look at IMCL 33% shorted, Ouch longs.
Japan tried to help their market and by the looks of it, their market has grew
to more new highs.
Thank you,
Jack Fenchel
 
FSA scolds firms over short selling

The Financial Services Agency on Wednesday ordered five securities houses to 
improve their business practices regarding short selling. 

The securities companies are Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., the Tokyo 
branch of KBC Financial Products UK Ltd., Okasan Securities Co., Credit 
Suisse First Boston Securities (Japan) Ltd. and Nippon Global Securities Co. 

Short selling involves transactions in which shares are borrowed from a 
brokerage house or institutional investor and then sold with the hope they 
can be bought back less expensively at a later date. This way, the stock can 
be returned to the lender and the borrower can pocket the difference. 

Under the securities law, traders are required to declare these transactions, 
but in November, the FSA said, the five companies repeatedly failed to declare 
their short sales. 

The administrative order obliges the companies to take measures such as 
strengthening in-house management systems. 

Japanese securities exchange authorities are tightening their supervision 
of short selling, postulating that the practice may be distorting the stock 
market, which has been falling almost continuously for 12 years. 

Late last month, tighter regulations on short-selling were introduced as 
part of efforts to prop up the sagging stock market. 

Under the new rules, the FSA is requiring securities firms to charge fees 
for all loaned shares. It also is requiring investors to give advance notice 
when they borrow at least 300,000 shares, making it harder for them to take 
large short-selling positions. 

Charge for short sales

Japan Securities Finance Co. will charge brokerages when they borrow shares 
for short sales. 

The move, announced Tuesday, comes in response to a request by the Financial 
Services Agency to tighten regulations on short selling. 

The loan fee will be set at 0.4 percent and will be charged on contracts 
starting May 7. 

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said it will revise part of its regulations 
on margin and loan transactions, asking brokerage firms to set appropriate fees 
when they lend stocks to customers. 

The revision, aimed at improving the use of margin-trading, will also be 
implemented May 7, the bourse said.