VH, Yes, shorting has been around a long time. And that's the...

VH,

Yes, shorting has been around a long time. And that's the exact problem. It's one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time, but history has proved otherwise. History is littered with examples of things that seemed like a good idea, but are either now illegal or have strict regulation following the known impact upon society.

Following the GFC, governments around the world stepped in to tighten up shorting for a reason.

The only reason why one should really WANT a SP to fall is to pick up cheaper shares if you believe in the company prospects, not to negatively impact a company and it's shareholders. The term ' bet' is loose, because you could say anything in life is 'a bet'. In the true sense a CFD is a bet, and is NOT the same as shares, as it is simply an agreement between two parties, just like me have a bet with you that the Ni price will go up or down. We are not physically transacting the shares.

Back on topic, I agree with everything you say about MCR. Hindsight is a brutal teacher at times. I would say management, like everyone else, were expecting Ni price rises up to this point in time!