Shorting Shares: Radio 4 programme

This blog gives you the latest topical news plus some informal comments on them from ShareSoc’s directors and other contributors. These are the personal comments of the authors and not necessarily the considered views of ShareSoc. The writers may hold shares in the companies mentioned. You can add your own comments on the blog posts, but note that ShareSoc reserves the right to remove or edit comments where they are inappropriate or defamatory.

Mark Northway and Cliff Weight were interviewed as part of this programme which highlighted some of the benefits and issues surrounding short selling. Members may wish to listen to the programme which can be downloaded here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b7fj3g#play

Falling Short – Fake News and Financial Markets

File on 4

If fake news is poisoning public debate, then what is it doing to the financial markets?

Short-sellers – investors who bet on a company’s shares falling, not rising- have a mixed reputation. For some they play a vital role, exposing weak companies – and can make big profits as a result. But others accuse them of using fake information to deliberately damage otherwise healthy businesses.

File on 4 looks into the hidden world of the short sellers, the researchers who give them the information to make their bets and the companies who fall victim to what they publish. Are the shorters overstepping the stock market’s rules on fairness and transparency?

Reporter: Geoff White
Producer: Rob Cave
Editor: Gail Champion.

One comment
  1. cliffw8 says:

    The radio people talked to me for an hour to get the bits they used. I do recall saying that price discovery was important and that short selling can help price discovery. They did not use that quote.

    Unfortunately, it is not possible to have editorial control. They won’t give you that.

    It seems a bit unfair that there have been comments criticising me when said critic only had part of the story. I though you should all know all the background. C’’est la vie.

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