Do the guys at the SEC know what they’re doing?

Yesterday, the ban on short-selling was lifted.  Stocks fell another 7%.  Did the ban on short-selling do any good?  It doesn’t look like it, as stocks kept falling anyway. 

Once in place, the SEC should have extended the ban.  The problem was not short-selling but by constantly changing the rules they are making things worse.  This did nothing but add volatility to the stock markets. This action does not cease to amaze me; the market regulator is doing the opposite of what it’s supposed to be doing, which is to provide confidence to the markets.  Changing the rules on traders does not give them confidence.  It makes them constantly reverse long positions and reverse short positions.

Another thing that does not make sense to me is, why did they eliminate the up-tick rule last year? Bring it back!  The up-tick rule makes logical sense to me.  The up-tick rule means that if you want to short a stock you must first wait for an up-tick.  This makes sense and helps to prevent the manipulation that the SEC was so worried about.  With this rule, it means that you could only short if there is still buying pressure left, even if it is small.   In other words, Someone drove the price up before you shorted the stock. (otherwise, shorting has a domino-effect)

The biggest manipulator in the market right now is the SEC!

Read more about the uptick rule on Wikipedia, uptick rule