Moves are getting just a little bit nearer. This could be a huge boon to InterOil if it became law…

The SEC has introduced rules prohibiting ‘naked shorting’, that is, selling shares one does not own, without first borrowing them. They are extending the rules up until August 12 for the 19 financials for which they apply, but they are considering extending the rule to the general market.

Here from MoneyNews:

• “In addition to continuing the existing order against naked short selling, the commission will continue exploring other remedies for the broader marketplace to further protect investors from ‘distort and short’ artists,” Cox said in a statement.
• The SEC said that extending the restrictions on short selling will allow regulators more time to collect and analyze data on the order’s impact and effectiveness.
• After ban runs out, regulators will move to draw up formal rules to provide additional protections against abusive naked short selling in the broader market, while allowing legitimate short selling, the SEC said.

While some distortionist artists even deny naked shorting existed in the first place, their days could be numbered. What triggered this long inaction in the cosy relations between the SEC and the financial world is that they started to nakedly short the wrong companies, threatening to accelerate the downfall of the whole financial system.

There is a saying (Chinese, no doubt) that every crisis brings new opportunities…