British LibDem party wants to stop hedge-funds from shorting banks

The head of the British Liberal Democratic Party has called for regulators to step and and force hedge-fund managers to stop short-selling failing banks, making billions as the banks stumble and are rescued with tax-money.

Speculation is a normal part of trading in shares, but on this occasion the hedge funds are betting against the taxpayer, since they know that if a leading British bank were to collapse, the Government would have no alternative but to intervene.

It's hard to know who to root against here, the hedgies who invented exotic, incomprehensible over-the-counter instruments or the banks who bought them with their customers' deposits.

FSA must stop 'short selling' of bank shares – Cable