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Non-Tech : Shorting with Offshore Accounts -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Larry Levine who wrote (41)	2/16/1999 8:40:00 PM
From: Mark L.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 127

While I can't explain what happened in your case, I do need to point out that there's nothing illegal about shorting BB stocks, even if you live in the US. I have a big short position currently in a BB stock at both Smith Barney and Paine Webber. The issue with shorting BB stocks is the same issue as shorting stocks below $5: will your broker accommodate you? The broker may try to hide behind any number of excuses, but the bottom line is that, if you are a big enough account at a non-Internet broker, they'll accommodate you, just as they will on $3 stocks. I'm not an expert on Internet brokerages, but it seems like they automatically make BB stocks out of bounds for shorts. If some reader here knows how to make it work at E*Trade, where I have an account, I would appreciate their explaining to me the process.