Thanks to Jason Goepfert of sentimentrader.com for pointing out the following from 1932:

NEW EXCHANGE RULE CURBS SHORT SALES

In the most drastic reform introduced since the country-wide controversy over short selling began, the New York Stock Exchange announced yesterday that, beginning April 1, its member firms would be required to obtain the express consent of customers before their stock could be lent to protect commitments on the down side of the market.

The stock market wobbled, then rose over the following few days, and then fell by more than 50% over the next four months. As Georges Santayana said: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

GOOG is up 2%, AAPL is up 3%, the mo-mo boyz are back. Everything’s alright, I guess. No need for the bailout. Bernanke just testified that, under the Paulson plan, the taxpayer will pay “hold-to-maturity” prices, not “fire-sale” prices. That’s it then, free money for the boyz. Gotta preserve that executive compensation and put the taxpayer at risk. This is becoming criminal.