I agree that the Finra report is not reporting naked short positions....
It is an indicator of daily stock availability of share inventory, and for me, interesting information to see.
What is not reported is how much ex-clearing and continuous net settlement, etc, is going on. FINRA cant report that which is being hidden from it by hedge funds and broker deealers with billions of cash, utilizing sophisticated methods by which to conceal the system manipulation. If you truly read this entire article, it is fascinating how they do it, and explains why FINRA is powerless to stop it...