Posted on 09/18/2008 10:44:10 AM PDT by Fred
Republican presidential candidate John McCain, in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday, said he thought Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be dismissed.
"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and has betrayed the public's trust," he was planning to say in Iowa, according to a text released in advance of the speech by his campaign. "If I were President today, I would fire him."
In a speech in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sen. McCain said the SEC allowed abusive short-selling, or bearish bets on a company's stock, to turn "our markets into a casino."
Short-sellers have been blamed for piling into commercial and investment bank stocks and driving stock prices lower. Investment banks have been suffering from heavy write-offs from subprime mortgage debt and their falling stock prices have made it harder for them to raise money.
Sen. McCain also criticized Mr. Cox for eliminating a trading rule that acted as a speed bump to prevent short-seller from pounding a stock. The rule, known as the uptick, said traders could only place short-sales following a higher bid in a stock price. The SEC eliminated the rule in July 2007, and market participants have been urging the SEC to reinstate the rule ever since. Mr. Cox has said the rule is ineffective today since markets have changed since it went into effect around the Great Depression.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
So I guess the 3% of Freepers that wanted Cox to be VP are wrong?
LOL Ha Ha Ha
Cox—— Caught dumb in a no dumb zone..
If the speculator does not use fear or fraud and bears the risks and rewards of the trade, then the government has no business getting involved. McCain’s admitted limited knowledge of economics is not serving him well.
>> Short-sellers have been blamed for piling into commercial and investment bank stocks and driving stock prices lower.
Ethical short sellers are a vital part of the food chain.
NAKED short sellers, on the other hand, should be strung up.
If Cox should be fired, so should the last decade's most powerful US Senator: John McCain. His responsibility for the current mess far exceeds the current SEC chairman's.
“Republicans eating their own” update.
Forgot to add:
>> driving stock prices lower
Just like some people need killin’, some stock prices NEED to be driven lower.
Ha! Too bad if that’s the explanation, as Cox might be as smart as Congress has to offer!
The President is responsible for any number of poor personnle decisions from the former head of FEMA, to Gonzales, to Rice to keeping on the Clinton people.
This is just another example.
Bush’s mishandling of his office will overpower his other accomplishments and are creating the scenario for the election of a manifestly unqualified, totally irresponsible individual with unaceptable prior associations - Barack HUSSEIN Obama.
I mentioned the abandoning of the uptick rule right here on FR last night. Maybe John Mac read my post.
The up-tick rule has been in force for a long time. It prevented the kind of parasitic runs we have been seeing lately.
oops........it was 6:30 this morning.
McCain probably should fire himself...as he failed to monitor while as a Senator.
Had McCain worried more about the financial situation...instead of his pro-illegal/anti-American amnesty bill....maybe this mess could have been averted.
Gee, I wonder if Cox is pro-American/anti-illegal...this could explain this more...
Short selling being as old as the markets, naked shorts and suspension of the uptick rule being creations of Cox. For no good reason I've ever heard.
I understand that McCain is running for President and needs to make rash statements that will assign blame for market volatility. These demagogue statements are usually misinformed. Chris Cox does not deserve this bashing. He was a fine legislator and a good head of the SEC. I am sure there was careful study before changing the short selling rule. Perhaps the decision should be revisited after some careful study. The short selling rule is not responsible for the market downturn. Bad economic news is the primary reason.
Re: Ethical short sellers are a vital part of the food chain.
What nonsense. We didn’t have short sellers int he 1950’s and yet somehow the market managed to flourish.
Right, iBe better off trying to confiscating the $100s mils Raines and Gorelick stole from taxpayers.
Let me try that again.
Right, if only we get the right people in there all will be well. Be getter to try to confiscate the $100s mils Raines and Gorelick stole from taxpayers.
John, are ya gonna fire the Head of DHS for not securing the Border?
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