Tossed To The Dogs?

While pondering SEC Restricts Shorting 19 Financial Stocks I could not help but notice the financial institutions conspicuously absent from the ruling.

With that in mind let's recap the list of shorting curbs placed by the SEC.

Shorting Curbs

BNP Paribas Securities Corp
Bank of America Corp
Barclays PLC
Citigroup Inc
Credit Suisse Group
Daiwa Securities Group Inc
Deutsche Bank Group AG
Allianz SE
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
Royal Bank ADS
HSBC Holdings Plc ADS
JPMorgan Chase & Co
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
Mizuho Financial Group Inc
Morgan Stanley
UBS AG
Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae

Who Is Missing?

Where is Washington Mutual (WM)? Wachovia (WB)? Were they tossed to the dogs?

What about Corus Bank (CORS), Bank United (BKUNA), National City Corporation (NCC)?

It is beyond all belief that naked short selling is affecting Goldman Sachs (GS) more than Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Corus Bank, Bank United, and National City Corporation.

Is this a hint of the banks and brokers the Fed and SEC want to protect at all costs? Or is this some kind of setup play, an open invitation to short the others before the same stunt is pulled again.

The only problem I have with the latter kind of thinking is that it gives these bureaucrats credit for thinking and executing a plan. Of course whatever it is they are doing is going to blow sky high anyway because that is the nature of all such market manipulations.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock