dreamchaser....If you're serious, I hope that you aren't playing with what you consider big money. You definitely need to learn the basics before risking your money. ...Selling short means to sell stock before you actually own it, with the intention of buying back later when the price goes down. It is a pessimistic play on a stock. ....A/S means authorized shares. It is the amount of shares the company is authorized to print. As opposed to the O/S or outstanding shares, which are the amount of shares which are currently trading.
Dreamchaser: One of the best articles on short selling, I've read on short selling is before, but before that, A/S=authorized shares. The number of shares a corporation is authorized to issue. O/S=outstanding shares. The number of shares sold by the corporation, hence outstanding and subject to sold by the investor back to the corporation. There has been a lot of talk about short selling. I believe the best way to answer this is to refer you to one of the best articles I've read on the subject. Here's the link. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nakedshorting.asp. I believe you'll understand why the SEC imposed new regulations, effective April 1, 2004 on naked shorting. Good luck!!!