\n\tBy Chris Shaw<\/p>\n
\n\tIncreases in short positions outweighed decreases in the week from December 7th, with three companies seeing shorts increase by more than 1.0% against just one fall by a similar amount.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe largest increase was in BlueScope<\/span> Steel ((BSL<\/span>)), shorts increasing by 2.1% to nearly 4.4% as the market continues to adjust to both tough trading conditions and the recently announced capital raising by the company.<\/p>\n \n\tShorts also jumped higher for Whitehaven<\/span> Coal ((WHC<\/span>)) from a negligible level to 1.63%, this following the proposal for a merger of equals between Whitehaven<\/span> and Aston Resources ((AZT<\/span>)). Brokers in general are positive on the proposal, though the price being paid for the Boardwalk Resources assets has been identified as a possible point of concern.<\/p>\n \n\tMedia market conditions remain tough and as a reflection of this shorts in Fairfax ((FXJ<\/span>)) remain at an elevated level, rising a further 1.4% to nearly 13%. The other dominant sector in terms of high short positions is retail, where the likes of Myer ((MYR<\/span>)), David Jones ((DJS)), Billabong<\/span> ((BBG<\/span>)) and JB<\/span> Hi-Fi<\/span> ((JBH<\/span>)) continue to have short positions among the highest in the market.<\/p>\n \n\tInvestors have been proven correct with respect to both Billabong<\/span> and JB<\/span> Hi-Fi<\/span> given both have delivered profit warnings to the market in recent sessions.<\/p>\n \n\tThe most significant fall in short positions for the week from December 7th was in Singtel<\/span> ((SGT<\/span>)), where a decline of 1.1% has total shorts now at 2.45%. There has been little from the company since a quarterly update early in November.<\/p>\n \n\tMonthly changes in short positions suggest concerns over companies exposed to the discretionary retail sector remain, as Flight Centre ((FLT<\/span>)) and Myer both saw shorts rise by more than 1.3% for the period.<\/p>\n \n\tShorts in Iluka<\/span> ((ILU<\/span>)) also rose over the past month by 1.6% to nearly 3.2%, this despite the company announcing strong price increases for titanium oxide that has seen brokers lift earnings estimates for the coming year.<\/p>\n \n\tResource companies in general have been among the more prominent in terms of short position increases over the past month, this as the European debt crisis continues to weigh on the global growth outlook and on the prospects for commodity demand.<\/p>\n \n\tAlkane<\/span> Exploration ((ALK<\/span>)), Ramelius<\/span> Resources ((RMS<\/span>)), Arafura<\/span> Resources ((ARU<\/span>)) and Kingsgate<\/span> Consolidated ((KCN<\/span>)) all experienced increases in shorts of more than 1.0% over the past month. Wesfarmers<\/span> ((WES)), which also has a discretionary retail exposure through the Coles group, was the closest of the industrials as its shorts rose by 0.9% during the period.<\/p>\n \n\tFalls in shorts for the month from November 14th were also dominated by resource stocks, with Santos ((STO<\/span>)), Murchison<\/span> Metals ((MMX<\/span>)) and Paladin ((PDN<\/span>)) all enjoying falls of more than 1.0%. Aristocrat Leisure ((ALL)) was the only industrial stock to enjoy a more than 1.0% fall in shorts for the month from November 14th.<\/p>\n \n\tElsewhere, RBS<\/span> notes Macquarie Group ((MQG<\/span>)) has seen an increase in shorts of just over 0.5% in the past month. In the view of RBS<\/span> this reflects ongoing tough conditions in capital markets given the Eurozone<\/span> crisis continues to drag, something expected to weigh on earnings for Macquarie.<\/p>\n \n\tOne stock where short position moves indicate the market is uncertain is Cochlear ((COH<\/span>)), as RBS<\/span> notes while shorts have risen by almost 1.0% over the past month they have fallen slightly in the last week. The changes have mirrored the news flow from the company, as ongoing concerns about issues with the Nucleus 5 implant may be tempered in coming sessions given the company has indicated it has found out why the device was failing.
\n\t <\/p>\n\n\tTop Ten Largest Short Positions<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \n\t\t\t\tRank<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tSymbol<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tShort Position<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tTotal Product<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t%Short<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t1<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tJBH<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t21613182<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t98833643<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t21.87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t2<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tISO<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t935644<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t5401916<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t17.32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t3<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tFXJ<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t306805187<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t2351955725<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t13.05<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t4<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tMYR<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t71813085<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t583384551<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t12.30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t5<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tBBG<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t29113634<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t255102103<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t11.43<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t6<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tDJS<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t51019454<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t524940325<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t9.70<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t7<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tFLT<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t9514262<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t99997851<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t9.49<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t8<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tLYC<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t117271559<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t1713846913<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t6.83<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t9<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tWTF<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t13734586<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t211736244<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t6.48<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n\t\t\t\t10<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\tPPT<\/span><\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t2714307<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t41980678<\/td>\n \n\t\t\t\t6.45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n