Currency speculators boosted bets against the euro to a record high in the latest week of data (to end December 27) and built up the biggest long dollar position since mid-2010, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Here -- courtesy of Reuters' graphics whiz Scott Barber, is what happens to the euro when shorts build up:
Short-sellers have come under pressure especially after the collapse of Lehman Brothers as regulators and politicians blamed them for wrecking the financial markets.
Mark Lyttleton, fund manager at BlackRock, says short selling is essential in bringing returns, especially in absolute return strategy.
“Unless you have the ability to short, it is very difficult to make money in absolute terms. It is easy to say it but it’s a bit harder to do it,” he told a briefing.
