When two parties purchase a primary residence because one party is unable to purchase the residence on its own. In a shared equity finance agreement, the financially stronger party acts as the investing owner, while the other party is the occupying owner. These agreements are usually charitable in nature, and state that the latter party must pay a proportional share of the mortgage payment as well as expenses, such as insurance and property taxes. Taobiz explains Shared Equity Finance Agreements Shared equity finance agreements are often used by parents who desire to help their children purchase a home. In most cases the occupant pays the investor a monthly rental payment above and beyond the proportional share of expenses. The investing party is usually able to deduct its share of expenses paid, including depreciation.
Purchasing securities in order to close an open short position. This is done by buying the same type and number of securities that were sold short. Most often, traders cover their shorts whenever they speculate that the securities will rise. In order to make a profit, a short seller must cover the shorts by purchasing the security below the original selling price. Also referred to as "buy to cover" or "buyback". Taobiz explains Short Covering For example, suppose a trader has sold short 50 shares of ABC stock at a price of $10 per share because he speculated that ABC will not be successful in the near future. Unfortunately for the trader, the company has been very lucky recently and its price rises to $15 per share. In order to limit his losses, this trader decides to cover his short position by buying back the 50 short sold shares at a price of $15 per share.
A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) trading regulation that restricted short sales of stock from being placed on a downtick in the market price of the shares. Short sales could only be permitted on upticks (last trade higher than the one before) or zero-plus ticks (last trade is the same as previous, which was an uptick). The regulation was passed in 1938 to prevent selling shares short into a declining market; at the time market mechanisms and liquidity couldn't be guaranteed to prevent panic share declines or outright manipulation. This regulation was rescinded in July 2007 by decree of the SEC; as a result short sales can occur (where eligible) on any price tick in the market, whether up or down. The short sale rule was also known as the "plus-tick rule", "tick-test rule", or "uptick rule". Taobiz explains Short-Sale Rule The SEC began examining the possibility of eliminating this short-sale rule following the decimalization of the major stock exchanges in the early 2000s. Because tick changes were shrinking in magnitude following the change away from fractions, and U.S. stock markets had become more stable, it was felt that the restriction was no longer necessary. The SEC ran a test program of stocks in 2003 to see if removing the short-sale rule would have any negative effects. After reviewing the results it was decided that the rule no longer needed to exist. However, naked shorting - selling shares short that don't exist or can't be verified - is still illegal.
A situation in which a lack of supply and an excess demand for a traded stock forces the price upward. Taobiz explains Short Squeeze Short squeezes occur more often in smaller cap stocks with small floats. If a stock starts to rise rapidly, the trend may continue to escalate because the short sellers will likely want out. For example, say a stock rises 15% in one day, those with short positions may be forced to liquidate and cover their position by purchasing the stock. If enough short sellers buy back the stock, the price is pushed even higher.
The act of short selling securities that you already own. This results in a neutral position where your gains in a stock are equal to the losses. For example, if you own 100 shares of ABC and you tell your broker to sell short 100 shares of ABC, you have shorted against the box. An alternative to short selling against the box is to buy a put on your stock. This may or may not be less expensive than doing the short sale. Also known as "shorting against the box". Taobiz explains Short Sell Against the Box Before 1997, the sole rationale for shorting against the box was to delay a taxable event. According to tax laws that preceded 1997, owning both long and short positions in a stock meant that any papers gains from the long position would be removed temporarily due to the offsetting short position. All in all, the net effect of both positions is zero, meaning that no taxes need to be paid. Let's say that you have a big gain on some shares of ABC. You think that ABC has reached its peak and you want to sell. However, the tax on the capital gain may leave you under-withheld for the year and subject to penalties. Perhaps the next year you expect to make a lot less money, putting you in a lower bracket and causing you to want to take the gain at that time. However, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA97) no longer allows short selling against the box as a valid tax deferral practice. Under TRA97, capital gains or losses incurred from short selling against the box are not deferred. The tax implication is that any related capital gains taxes will be owed in the current year.
A market transaction in which an investor sells borrowed securities in anticipation of a price decline and is required to return an equal number of shares at some point in the future. The payoff to selling short is the opposite of a long position. A short seller will make money if the stock goes down in price, while a long position makes money when the stock goes up. The profit that the investor receives is equal to the value of the sold borrowed shares less the cost of repurchasing the borrowed shares. Taobiz explains Short Sale Suppose 1,000 shares are short sold by an investor at $25 apiece and $25,000 is then put into that investor's account. Let's say the shares fall to $20 and the investor closes out the position. To close out the position, the investor will need to purchase 1,000 shares at $20 each ($20,000). The investor captures the difference between the amount that he or she receives from the short sale and the amount that was paid to close the position, or $5,000. There are also margin rule requirements for a short sale in which 150% of the value of the shares shorted needs to be initially held in the account. Therefore, if the value is $25,000, the initial margin requirement is $37,500 (which includes the $25,000 of proceeds from the short sale). This prevents the proceeds from the sale from being used to purchase other shares before the borrowed shares are returned. Short selling is an advanced trading strategy with many unique risks and pitfalls. Novice investors are advised to avoid short sales because this strategy includes unlimited losses. A share price can only fall to zero, but there is no limit to the amount it can rise.
The total value of all short sales in place in a customer's account at the end of the trading day. Taobiz explains Short Market Value The short market value of an account is taken into consideration when determining whether a customer has met the margin requirement on a brokerage account. If the account has both a short market position and a long market position, both margin requirements must be met individually, or the account may be restricted until the margin requirement is met.
The total number of shares of a security that have been sold short by customers and securities firms. Taobiz explains Short Interest Short interest is typically expressed as a percentage. For example, 3% short interest means that 3% of the outstanding shares are held short.