In reality, short-selling is far from being financial black magic. It is a difficult strategy to pull off, because in the long run stockmarkets tend to rise. It is also a minority activity: only 4.3% of shares on the New York Stock Exchange had been sold short at the end of May (see chart). Data for London are less transparent, but the best proxy is the level of shares being lent (to bet on a share price falling, short-sellers often borrow stock and then sell it). According to Data Explorers, a research firm, only 4.5% of the FTSE 100 index's value is out on loan. Many short sales are innocuous attempts to hedge other positions. Unlike going long, actively betting against a share price involves red tape and runs the risk of unlimited losses (since a share price can, in theory, rise for ever, whereas it cannot fall below zero). The best bears, says Jim Chanos, of Kynikos Associates, the world's biggest short fund, are not bullies but “financial detectives”, scrutinising companies. The short-seller that infuriated MBIA's management, William Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management, was certainly vocal, but nobody doubted that he had done his homework.

基于1个网页-相关网页