Then I fret that who the heck is going to lend the retailers money to hold down inventory for Christmas, and I see the prices of Liz Claiborne (LIZ) and Talbot's (TLB) and Ann Taylor (ANN) and Nordstrom (JWN) and J.C. Penney (JCP) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Sears (SHLD) -- oh man, Sears -- and I think that these are all better than any of the newly private companies like Neiman Marcus, and I know bankruptcies are around the corner.

One day the retailers will rally hard, but it’s not now. And if you want a short trade I’d short Sears [SHLD], Jeff Macke adds.

Q: What about Sears?

Balter: We are quite negative on their prospects, as they have underinvested in both Kmart and Sears. Their Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] dropped from $3.6 billion in 2006 to $2.5 billion last year, and we project it being about $1.6 billion this year.

Owns sears, kmart, lands end, osh and the great indoors.

Owns, Sears, Kmart, Lands End, OSH & The Great Indoors.

Property

These people are also dumping troubled companies that need financing that haven't done equity deals or found Warren Buffett -- think Citigroup (C). They are also dumping everything retail like Sears (SHLD) or Nordstrom (JWN) because -- perhaps unwittingly -- the dire testimony that Bernanke gave us totally freaked us out and made it clear that things are far worse than expected.

From a recent Mad Money show: "Lots of people have been selling this one short. There are more shares sold short than exists. But that ended today with the new rules. This one is sitting pretty and I'm long Sears."

Retailers are going to get a huge boost from the hurricanes and the checks from insurers: Lowe's (LOW), Home Depot (HD) and Sears Holdings (SHLD).

First, let me say that of the ones that are overly shorted, I like Ethan Allen (ETH), Sears (SHLD), Bankrate (RATE) and Panera (PNRA), all profitable, all either doing well or could turn, and all do well if the housing market turns.

sears stinks

management are Not operators

Retail is bad and this stock tanked with no turn around in site

uhhg

glad I didn't...maybe I should?

We're short Sears. We think Eddie Lampert is a smart guy, but see a (short-term) short opportunity here.

Bought it at its high and took a huge a loss. My fault

lost a bunch

They are a mess. Their inventory control is so ineffective that the employees still have to go to the stockroom to check if the product is there.

Continued losses