{"product_id":"sold-short-9780471383383","title":"Sold Short","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA revealing expose by one of today''s most successful and controversial speculators\u003cbr\u003e Short-selling, or betting on a drop in the price of a stock, has been described by its many opponents as everything from shady to downright evil. And no one today personifies the practice better than short-seller extraordinaire Manuel Asensio. Though he has been branded in the press as a market saboteur, Asensio staunchly defends his practices, claiming that, above all, he is out to expose rampant fraud being perpetrated by unscrupulous stock promoters. Is Asensio a Minion of Satan as they say in the online chat rooms, or is he really a misunderstood guardian angel of free market capitalism? In this tell-all account, Asensio offers readers a lively narrative, peppered with unforgettable anecdotes such as the story of why he shorted Diana, General Nutrition, Solv-Ex, Turbodyne, and many other high-profile stocks. And he arms investors with proven techniques for reducing the inherent risks of short-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe's in the Index, Too\u003cbr\u003e Look for Wall Street and business-media types to scan index pages in the just-published Sold Short: Uncovering Deception in the Markets by famous short-seller Manuel P. Asensio. He delights in naming dozens of analysts, journalists and brokerages he says helped pump up dubious stocks that later tanked after he issued withering research reports. On the next-to-last page Asensio finally mentions the $75,000 fine he paid regulators last year to settle charges that, among other things, he and his Asensio \u0026amp; Co. overstated their own investment record.\u003cbr\u003e --Forbes May 28, 2001\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Short-sellers have a natural appeal to journalists. Members of\u003cbr\u003e both occupations require deep scepticism about the motives of\u003cbr\u003e the rich and powerful, and both engender a black humour that\u003cbr\u003e can be off-putting to the innocent and uninitiated.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Short-selling is the sale of borrowed or never-owned securities\u003cbr\u003e with the intention of profiting from a decline in their price. The\u003cbr\u003e profit is made when the shares price has declined, and the\u003cbr\u003e short-seller is able to repay the loan of the securities or makes\u003cbr\u003e good the promise to deliver with securities bought at a lower\u003cbr\u003e price.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The profit is limited to the price of the security at the time the\u003cbr\u003e short sale is made; the loss can be as high as a security's price\u003cbr\u003e can rise.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e There are quiet, behind-the-scenes short-sellers - and then\u003cbr\u003e there is Manuel Asensio. His brokerage house, Asensio\u003cbr\u003e Company, specialises in executing short sales for clients, some\u003cbr\u003e of which are almost certainly investment funds in which he has\u003cbr\u003e an interest.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e He searches for frauds and simple overvaluations in the\u003cbr\u003e securities market, sells them short on behalf of his clients, and\u003cbr\u003e then trumpets their shortcomings to the world.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Along with other journalists, I have made use of Asensio's\u003cbr\u003e material, though not without checking it first. When I did, it\u003cbr\u003e turned out to be quite reliable.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Not everyone has the same feeling about Asensio. He is\u003cbr\u003e regularly sued by promoters and others connected with the\u003cbr\u003e objects of his research and mockery. He has, however, only\u003cbr\u003e paid one fine to the National Association of Securities Dealers,\u003cbr\u003e and believes he has been vindicated after he agreed to that\u003cbr\u003e settlement.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Now he has written a book, Sold Short, to tell the world how he\u003cbr\u003e does it.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e To use the type of military metaphor popular on Wall Street,\u003cbr\u003e Asensio is the sort you would choose to lead an infantry charge\u003cbr\u003e against a fortified position. However, as another short-seller\u003cbr\u003e says: \"I think I'd prefer to wait for the armoured division.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Even though the book has a professional co-author, Jack Barth,\u003cbr\u003e the tone is pure Asensio: attack, attack, attack. Promoters are\u003cbr\u003e scum. Establishment companies are corrupted by greed. A\u003cbr\u003e typical sentence reads: \"The bad guys were on the other side of\u003cbr\u003e the river, laughing, with their saddlebags full of loot.\" Asensio\u003cbr\u003e was wise to choose short-selling over a career in the diplomatic\u003cbr\u003e service.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sold Short is most useful for the detail it provides on the stock\u003cbr\u003e promoter's bag of tricks. You can get more stringent, academic\u003cbr\u003e detail on securities valuation from such classics as Graham and\u003cbr\u003e Dodd's Securities Analysis, but the standard works are not as\u003cbr\u003e revealing on the social, as well as the financial, patterns that\u003cbr\u003e fraud takes.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Another short-seller said Asensio's analysis was good, but that\u003cbr\u003e the market values of the companies he goes after were too\u003cbr\u003e small to have the liquidity a large fund needed.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Asensio's response was an unrelenting lecture on the market\u003cbr\u003e caps of his targets along with cutting inferences about the\u003cbr\u003e courage and work habits of the unnamed commentator.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sold Short is a helpful book, though not a literary masterpiece.\u003cbr\u003e The reader and the market participant should be fully aware that\u003cbr\u003e Asensio is talking up (or down) his position. But he's very\u003cbr\u003e straightforward about that.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --Financial Times May 5, 2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiana Day Afternoon.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Making of the Short Seller.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The First Short: General Nutrition Takes Ill.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Diana: \"The Switch Works!\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Solv-Ex: Something Oily.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Schonberg's List.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e By-the-Numbers Stock Promotions.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Gross Mismanagement.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Abusing the Process.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e How to Sell Short.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Get Ready for a Big One.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Index.","brand":"John Wiley \u0026 Sons Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49402579091799,"sku":"9780471383383","price":45.12,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780471383383.jpg?v=1730480836","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/sold-short-9780471383383","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}