“A market without bears would be like a nation without a free press. There would be no one to criticise and restrain the false optimism that always leads to disaster.” — Bernard Baruch

Among all the activities in finance, short-selling remains one of the most misunderstood. To many, the practice of selling something you don’t own with the intention of buying it back later at a cheaper price appears…abstract. Few baulk at the idea of buying low and selling high, but reverse the chronology and it sows confusion.

Even the Wall Street Journal, a business-focused newspaper of record, often has to explain the concept to its readers. When Russia’s central bank banned short-selling at the outset of the war on Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported that the regulator had “ordered brokers to stop allowing traders to place bets against Russian shares, a practice known as short-selling.”

It went on: “Short sellers borrow stocks they believe are overvalued and immediately sell them, hoping to repu…