Funds Hub
Money managers under the microscope
This season’s trendy shorts
2008 may have been the year of shorting imperilled financials, but 2009 could be the year of shorting companies with too much debt or those bearing the brunt of the recession.
Numbers from Dataexplorers show Consumer Discretionary and Industrials are among the sectors with the most stock out on loan in the UK– a good indicator of short-selling activity.
Recent articles on Hedge Hub have shown that short-sellers have been setting their sights on stocks in both sectors, targeting those companies for whom the mountain of debt built up in the good times may prove too much, even with an easing of credit markets.
Alternatively, funds may be wary of companies very exposed to a prolonged economic downturn — retailers and manufacturing.
