Verus International Inc (VRUS)

[shotsky]

You guys have a completely twisted idea of what MM's actually do, and how they do it. First of all, they are not traders, so they don't buy stock and sell it on the open market. That would be completely illegal because they have an unfair inside view of stock values.
If we didn't have MM's, we would not be trading at all. If you wanted 10,000 shares of some stock, you would have to personally find someone willing to sell them to you at a price you would accept.
No, they operate on the spread - the difference between the bid and ask that THEY set out publicly. They don't even LOOK at any of the individual stocks to set that up - their computer algorithms do that constantly.
MM's are brokers. Just like Etrade and Ameritrade, only one step closer to the action. If you buy something via etrade, that order is handed off to MM's to fulfill the order. If they can find shares at a price that fits the spread, they will fill the order. They MIGHT have to short to get the shares, but not always - it is about supply and demand, when supply is low, shorting may take place. In any event, without MM's, there would be no market at all.