What does short-selling mean?
458521
As you correctly know 'Short selling' means selling something that you do not have/own. this word is a common terminology used in the capital markets. This word is a combination of 2 concepts. In the capital markets especially the stock makets, if u hold a substantial quantity of a stock or if you are having a paticular stock and you still buy more of it, it means going long or it is said that you are holding a long position or you are long in that stock. Similarly, vice versa if you do not have a particular script/stock nd you still sell it, it means you are going short or you have a short position. The entire process of selling a stock not owned/possesed by you at the time of selling is called 'short selling' whereas the selling a stock owned by you at the time of selling is called 'long-selling' or commonly 'selling'. It is more of a kind of speculation however when done intelligently can give you good profits in a short time. However the catch is that when you short sell the quantity sold must be covered within a definite time frame like the same day, or 1 month from the date of selling,etc. short selling is done when the price of a stock has gone up substantially and you expect it to fall down from thereon. this happens because when the price goes up many people like you come out to sell thus creating more supply then the demand causing the price of the stock to go down. now when the stock goes down many people like you who had gone short earlier look to cover their position thus now creating more demand than supply. also in the stock markets there are people who are ready to buy and sell at every price because someone would find value at that price. You can't really argue as to why would someone like to buy or sell at a particular price coz its a relative concept and depends on person to person. some may find a stock value buy even at 1000 whereas according to you it might not be worth more than 900. Ans as buyers and sellers exist at all levels your stock is bought and sold at all levels.
1186023
Correct..A shortsale is when an Real Estate Investor discounts the mortgage for less of what there asking for.Banks have to do this because they can not have non performing notes on there record.Also when a property is in foreclosure the Bank Already got paid the whole note or amount borrowed through the FDIC..This is why Real Estate is always good..Regardless what the market saids.\n\nGood Luck\n\nwww.foreclousreavoidance.ws
914567
It could mean 2 things - they are still going down or they have hit bottom. If a stock is at or near its 52-week low, I like that it has been there for a while to know that it might have bottomed.  Also, I want to see some peice of positivie news to indicate that the stock can recover. \n\nIf you are looking for cheap "value" stocks, you might want to consider magicformulainvesting.com.  Also, here is a portfolio of stocks that meet the MFI criteria:\n\nhttp://www.top10traders.com/ViewPortfolio.aspx?userID=92\n\nThis portfolio is from http://www.top10traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money.  Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors.  You can also read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas.\n\nHere are this month's best traders:\n\nhttp://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx \n\nGood luck!
916571
A short sale is the sale of a property for less than what was owed. This is very common right now and with the increasing foreclosure rate it will be so for some time. The orginal note holder must contact the lender and request the short sale. The lender then approves the property to be sold at the reduced amount to liquidate the loan. They then 1099 the original note holder for the difference and they take it as ordinary income. This is still far better than the alternative which is a foreclosure.\n\nI write a blog on the subject of credit management, mortgages, real estate trends, etc. Check it out for more information that may be helpful.
232790
People don't know what they are doing and don't know what bankruptcy means.  Once there is a Q on the end of a stock, the price is usually under a dollar.  The average Joe has no concept of risk.  They usually think that the lower the price of the stock, the higher the returns.  Just look at how many questions there are on Yahoo Answers about pink sheet stocks.
130311
you dont have the shares but you got to know that xyz share will fall due to mno reason,,so in anticipation of a fallin share price you sold it first and then purchased it latter on with in the stipulated time frame permitted by stock exchange authorities,,,purchasing a share and selling it latter is common,,here the cycle is reversed,,but the basic funda is same---sell at higher and buy at lower to earn profit otherwise you are a looser,,you are short while selling and then you purchase it to cover the short fall thats why its called short covering,,
524073
Intrepid has the right concept. A short seller borrows shares from a broker to sell into the open market in hopes the price declines. To cover the position, said seller buys the shares back and returns them to the broker. A drop in price produces a short sell profit. A rise in price produce short sell loss.
1149079
In business, when the price of something starts growing (like real estate) rapidly and seemingly beyond what it's real value is. This is called a bubble. Eventually prices get too high and (often spurred by an economic downturn) the "bubble bursts" and prices may stagnate or drift downward. This is what many people are expecting to happen to the real estate market.
453546
market theory suggests shorting a stock (selling a stock not owned with the expectation it can be purchased in the future at a price lower than for which it was sold) in substantial enough quantities creates a temporary imbalance in the supply/demand equilibrium, requiring a lower price to attract buyers to return the stock to a new, but lower s/d equilibrium price.  This is a short run phenomenon for liquid stocks.  It should be noted that stocks with substantial uncovered open short interest are actually less resistant to price drops.
707279
What is a "short sale"?\nIs there a "long sale"?
645060
Specialists make money on the small spread between the bid and ask prices on the stocks they manage. Usually they are buying at the "bid" price and selling at the "ask" price.
722283
Short selling is absolutely insane for you if you are asking a question like this.\n\nA "short sale" is basically a minus sign in front of what would happen if you bought a stock. \n\nSo, if you normally buy a share of stock (say for a hundred dollars) and it goes up a dollar, you make a dollar (or a 1% return). And if it goes down a dollar, you lose a dollar (for a -1% return). When you have sold a share short, if the real share goes up a dollar, you lose a dollar, and vice versa.\n\nThat's all there is too it. You lose money if the stock goes up, and make money if it goes down, the opposite of what would happen if you engaged in the normal transaction of purchasing a share.\n\n(There are a number of related things that happen because you have to pay interest on the borrowed share, but you can invest the money that you got from selling, but at the same time you can't invest the money that you used to buy a share... you can ignore all this and interest you pay or receive all comes out in the wash; the market is fair.)\n\nSo, if it's so simple, why would it be insane for you to do? Because, most stocks go up most of the time. \n\nOther investors have invested their money in companies that are out there, and many of those investors both have done more homework than you, and are smarter all around investors anyway. So, If a company has shares traded, that means that other people think that investment is going to go up. The stock market is not flipping coins, companies create value out of thin air by people working hard. So, people work hard and create value and shareholders benefit from that.\n\nSo, since shares are expected to go up, when would you ever bet that they'll go down?\n\nAnswer: NEVER\n\nSo, why would you short sell?\n\nWell, you short sell to get rid of risk in your portfolio from other investments. Here is the easiest example: if you are Henry Ford VI and you inherited a bunch of Ford shares and you are not allowed to sell them, you can keep them, and short sell somebody else's. You still own yours, but if they go up $1, you don't earn the $1 because you also short sold another one which lost a dollar, so no matter what Ford does, you break even. Now you can invest your money sensibly in what you want, instead of all in Ford. All in Ford is risky, and short selling for you actually reduces your risk instead of increasing it.\n\nThat (and similar transactions) are what short selling is for.
1068913
When you short a stock, you are borrowing shares from your brokerage company, who in turn usually borrows shares it is holding for customers. The shares are then sold. The brokerage firm gets the cash from the proceeds of the sale. Generally, the brokerage firm (not you, and not the clients from whom the shares were borrowed) invests these cash proceeds and keeps the interest on them. If you are a very big client (say a hedge fund) you might be able to cut a better deal.\n\nWhat you pay is: (1) commissions on the sale (2) commissions on the purchase when you close the sale and (3) any dividends paid on the stock while you are short.
81366
Its a preliminary prospectus prior to the IPO, with no price or number of shares stated.  Its called a Red Herring because it states in red it's not trying to sell shares, until the registration is approved by the SEC.
10202
Insider trading is the stock buying/selling done by "insiders" in a corporation of that corporation's  stock. Insiders would refer to officers or others with privileged information regarding the corporation, as to whether the stock prices would be going up or down.  Selling/buying stock by insiders is one indicator of value in a stock, whether it is time to buy more or sell out, but insider trading can also just be insiders redeeming stock for $$. You need to look carefully to tell which.
817443
It can mean many different things.\nI guess it means\nBenefits Purchase Options.\nThis is sort of a retirement plan offered to current employess according to which they can buy shares, share options etc at discounted rates.
665041
Short selling is the selling of a stock that the seller doesn't own. More specifically, a short sale is the sale of a security that isn't owned by the seller, but that is promised to be delivered. That may sound confusing, but it's actually a simple concept. \n\nHere's the skinny: when you short sell a stock, your broker will lend it to you. The stock will come from the brokerage's own inventory, from another one of the firm's customers, or from another brokerage firm. The shares are sold and the proceeds are credited to your account. Sooner or later you must "close" the short by buying back the same number of shares (called "covering") and returning them to your broker. If the price drops, you can buy back the stock at the lower price and make a profit on the difference. If the price of the stock rises, you have to buy it back at the higher price, and you lose money.\n\nMost of the time, you can hold a short for as long as you want. However, you can be forced to cover if the lender wants back the stock you borrowed. Brokerages can't sell what they don't have, and so yours will either have to come up with new shares to borrow, or you'll have to cover. This is known as being "called away." It doesn't happen often, but is possible if many investors are selling a particular security short.\n\nSince you don't own the stock (you borrowed and then sold it), you must pay the lender of the stock any dividends or rights declared during the course of the loan. If the stock splits during the course of your short, you'll owe twice the number of shares at half the price.\n\nAlso, because you are being loaned the stock, you are buying on margin. In fact, you have to open a margin account to short stocks. Your broker will charge you interest on the loan and you are subject to rules of margin trading.