Disappearing shorts: As stocks soar, skeptics surrender
By STAN CHOE
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The skeptics of Wall Street have gone missing. As the stock market surges to record after record, activity has dwindled to a nearly two-decade low for the traders known as short sellers, who make their money betting stocks will fall. That will sadden nearly no one. Critics from Capitol Hill to Main Street often paint short sellers as merchants of pain who only hurt the market. But experts and remaining short sellers say they provide an important service suited for this moment: offering a counterweight against stock prices that may be rising too high, too fast.
