Ann: Ceasing to be a substantial holder - CBA, page-19

Hi hOOts, It's a very difficult reality that we all have to contend with as shareholders! It makes long term investing that much trickier, as it can turn investors with longer term views, into shorter term investors or traders, just so that they can have some hope of gaining some profits, and not lose most of their gains in the resulting huge dips. What you have described above shouldn't be legal, and as we all know, these big institutions really know how to play the system. I remember reading some articles earlier in the year, about the level of manipulation on the ASX, and one of the articles indicated that there would be an investigation into these practices. I wouldn't be alone in wanting shorting to be a banned practice, as it magnifies a company's troubles when struggling, and has a tendency to kneecap the share price, unless there is a lot of strong buying. A friend described it perfectly to me a while back...trade or invest within the shadows of the instos and shorters. And I think that this is what most people are doing! We're very lucky to be members of forums, so that we can have some sort of hope of watching the big players, through broker data, shortman site, charting etc, and having access to a knowledge bank of information. It would be very difficult for the inexperienced, and going it alone! I know a few people who have given up on the sharemarket completely, as they feel that the risks are too great for them. We are doing well when we can make money in this less than perfect market environment. Thanks for your input!