BBC Blog Network

User Profile

Leonard26

Listed below are comments made by Leonard26 between Tuesday, 3rd June 2008 and Wednesday, 4th June 2008.

«Newer
Older»

Bradford revisited 4:44pm on 04 Jun 2008 I hear a while ago Mr Bradford and Mr Bingley lost their hats.
Now it sounds as though they have lost their shirts.
What price mutuality?
Short-selling banks 9:43pm on 03 Jun 2008 I have learnt a lot today about short selling. However, the conversation has left me perplexed.

Distinguishing between a concert party and a fan club leaves me confused and I have a similar problem with short selling.

Is it always possible to distinguish a naked short from a bear raider?

Could short selling lead to a rash of takeovers that will surface in the real economy as longer dole queues and consequent defaults on mortgage payments?

Is there a collective noun - as in a “nest of vipers” - for bear raiders?
Short-selling banks 5:53pm on 03 Jun 2008 As contributors will have realised I know nothing of how high finance works so I am gratified that my naïve questions have been taken seriously and insightful comments made. The idea of going short naked strikes me as a similar sort of nightmare horror as waking up to find I was streaking though Waitrose - not a pretty prospect nor a wise thing to do.

The suggestion that my questions sounded like a public relations ploy put me out a little. As a piece of personal disclosure I admit that I teach public relations but such an underhand approach is not something I would ever recommend and I am sure my students would never consider doing anything so unethical.

Public relations professionals are too easily a whipping boy or scapegoat for the misdeeds of others in what is sadly so often a corrupt society and with perhaps the odd very few exceptions public relations professionals are honourable men and women. Like Caesar’s wife and journalists, they professionally need to be above suspicion.
Short-selling banks 10:44am on 03 Jun 2008 I seem to remember from the Maxwell case that fund managers can lend shares they manage but do not own and pocket the fee - that makes a lot of sense.
However, what would happen if the hedge fund that borrowed the shares went bust (say because the share price went up significantly instead of down) and the managed fund had the problem of having allowed the hedge fund to borrow something it did not own? Do the managed funds insure against that risk when they lend or are the amounts so relatively small they carry the risk themselves? If the fund managers do not insure is there a risk for the pension fund or whoever actually owned the shares that were borrowed?

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

Leonard26