Excellent point Warp10... I concede that you may be right... however my point was that naked shorting works very well, but as with what is happening with gold and silver at the moment, there is a 'tipping point'. Our volume has increased, but not dramatically.

If naked shorting could offset and suck up any buying pressure, why did we rise from that mind numbing .50 cent line we sat at for so long? If we have a number of 'plus days' and set a trend, perhaps the volume may attract some of those quant machines I mentioned.

Heck trust me, the hedgies are not the banks and are only in it for money, not politics. You can predict their moves very easily - basically where is the money to be made - in the shorting or the buying? If it's buying they can be your buddy, if it's selling they'll eat you alive without flinching. Know why the worlds best Hedges stay small and don't allow new money? Because you don't see them coming when they make their moves...