SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro Where art Thou?

March 11, 2009-SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said today that the "uptick rule" may be reinstated. She said that the SEC will "hopefully" propose for public comment next month for the reinstatement of the so-called "uptick rule". Investors have been requesting the reinstatement since the rule was eliminated on June 6, 2007. The uptick rule requires short sellers to sell at a price above a stock's most recent trading price. It would keep short sellers from piling on a stock that is a decline. Schapiro said that "a multitude of investors, both large financial institutions and individuals, have been pushing for the rule to be restored".

Ms. Schapiro appeared before a Congressional panel to request an increase in the SEC budget. She was also asked about "Mark to Market" accounting rule that forces banks to value assets at current prices, as relief for those institutions in the financial crisis. She said "I have a lot of sympathy for" that view adding that "it is not our intention that these assets be written down to zero or to fire-sale prices." The SEC doesn't advocated suspending the rule but is pushing the Financial Accounting Standards Board to come up with new guidance.

Hello Mary...you have the power to suspend Mark to Market Accounting today as you were given that power in September 2008 by Congress. What are you waiting for?? With stocks down over 50% since the uptick rule was eliminated and "Mark to Market" accounting rules were implemented in mid to late 2007, haven't we seen enough evidence that both need to be scrapped for the public good?

If the Obama Administration wants a turnaround on the way Americans are feeling, getting the stock market moving upwards will be a way to restore confidence. With confidence, personal spending will resume.