>and it is DOWN for now!
this blurb from the jan 23 ny times seems to agree with you:
Uncovered Short Sales Fall
NEW YORK -- Open positions of short sales declined in the most recent period on both the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange.
Open short positions declined 2.5 percent on the Big Board from a record 3.67 billion shares to 3.58 billion shares.
On the smaller American Stock Exchange, the decline was much sharper, with open short positions falling 10.6 percent from 189,131,890 to 171,012,058. Short positions on the American exchange also declined a month ago, down 1.8 percent.
A short position is created when an investor sells shares that have been borrowed from the owner. If the share price falls the investor can profit by buying new shares at a lower price to replace the ones that were borrowed.
While a decrease in short positions may indicate more bullish views on prices, the volume of short positions can also be affected by complex trading strategies involving options, futures and other stock-related derivatives.
Both stock exchanges reported positions as of Jan. 12.
The largest decreases in short positions were RJR Nabisco Holdings, Hasbro and Nationsbank. The largest increases were in Micron Technology, Green Tree Financial, and Eastman Kodak. |
