LGIM's Launder: Spanish shorting ban will solve nothing

LGIM's head of European equities Gavin Launder has argued the three-month long short selling ban imposed on Spanish securities will have no material impact on the market.

Launder (pictured), manager of the £24m Legal & General European Absolute fund, was caught by surprise when Spanish regulators earlier this week banned short selling until October 23, a move designed to stabilise Spain's Ibex index, as fears intensified that the country may be forced to ask for a full international bailout. Since the ban was enforced on Monday the index has recovered from hitting a two-year low at the end of last week, gaining 1.64% or 99 points to reach 6,004 before markets opened this morning, according to Bloomberg. However, Launder expects the short-term bounce in...