Academic

I was trying to figure out what to make of the SEC's two "interim final temporary rules" going after the shorts, other than to note that the term should horrify administrative lawyers or fans of George Orwell.  The rules extend the SEC's ban on naked shorting (a somewhat sketchy practice where you short a stock without actually borrowing it) and require large hedge fund managers to disclose their shorts (which I understood the hedges to be nuts about, since they think it gives away their trading strategies).  The interim part means they're being imposed on an emergency basis, the final part means they are enforced now, and the temporary part means that they will expire next year.  So "interim temporary final."  Ugh.  The SEC is willing to receive your comments, you will be glad to hear, about this rule that the agency will not be changing, but good luck getting your client to pay for it.  Larry Cunningham has the best contextualization here.