And while they're at it, they should restore the stock up-tick rule for shorting equities--that is, no short selling of a stock unless the price has moved up.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The SEC should be criticized severely for doing away with the uptick rule on short-selling--no shorting of a stock unless it has moved up in price--and for its failure to enforce rules against naked short-selling--requiring a short seller to first borrow a stock before he shorts it.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Furthermore, the price of financial stock actually stabilized after the short-selling ban was lifted.

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Their discount is off whatever the current stock price is--meaning they can turn a quick profit by selling the stock immediately, before taking possession of the new shares.

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The best way to protect yourself is to use limit orders when placing an order to buy or sell a stock or an exchange-traded fund. (See How Your Buy and Sell Orders Get Filled for more.) Look at the bid-ask spread and set your price limit at the bid for selling a stock and at the ask for buying a stock.

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As ERTS extends its climb back atop trendline support, an unwinding of pessimism in the options pits or short-selling arena, or a round of upwardly revised price targets, could help the stock resume its year-to-date rally.

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The meetings were already met with some skepticism on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have been pushing the SEC to get more aggressive in reining in short-selling, in which a trader borrows shares to sell, hoping to profit from a lower stock price when closing out the loan.

FORBES: Wall Street