Short Stocks: Bets against Lehman, Thornburg grew in late March

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - Short interest on the New
York Stock Exchange rose 0.8 percent in late March, the
exchange said on Friday, hitting a fresh all-time high and
indicating a slight increase in bearish sentiment in the stock
market.

The following stocks saw increased interest from short
sellers, who were betting that the price of certain stocks
would fall. The data reflect short trades with a settlement
date of March 31.

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LEHMAN BROTHERS HOLDINGS INC (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

LEHMAN BROTHERS PREFERRED J (LEH_pj.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Short interest rose almost 22 percent in shares of the
investment bank's common stock from mid-March to late March.

Lehman shares dropped more than 40 percent from late
February, until the end of March, amid market rumors that it
did not have enough funding.

On April 1 Lehman said it sold $4 billion of convertible
preferred securities.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is probing
whether short-sellers were spreading bogus rumors to push down
Lehman shares, a person familiar with the matter said March
31.

About 56.6 million of the company's shares were held
short.

The company's series J preferred stock had the largest
short position of any stock on the New York Stock Exchange at
the end of March. Short interest in the security, rose more
than 7,000 percent to more than 557 million shares held short.

THORNBURG MORTGAGE INC (TMA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Short interest rose nearly 40 percent in shares of the home
loan provider.

About 36 million of the company's shares were held short,
or nearly 23 percent of its total shares outstanding.

After the close of the market on March 31 the company said
it raised $1.35 billion from a debt sale. The company has been
trying to avoid bankruptcy.

CAPITALSOURCE INC (CSE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Short interest rose almost 20 percent in shares of the
commercial lending and investment company.

CapitalSource and Nebraska savings bank TierOne Corp
(TONE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said they ended their merger agreement last month.

Capital Source had agreed to buy TierOne in a cash and
stock deal estimated to be worth $652 million at the time.

About 34.8 million of the company's shares were held short,
or 15 percent of its total shares outstanding.

GAP INC (GPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Short interest rose almost 25 percent in shares of the
clothing retailer.

Investors have been worried about the strength of consumer
spending amid recession fears, and several investment banks
including UBS, Credit Suisse and Citigroup, have cut their
investment ratings on the stock in the last few weeks.

About 28.9 million of the company's shares were held short,
or close to 4 percent of its total shares outstanding.

FAMILY DOLLAR STORES INC (FDO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Short interest rose almost 40 percent in shares of the
discount retailer.

The company reported a 30 percent drop in quarterly profit
this month as cash-strapped shoppers limited their
discretionary purchases.

About 17.1 million of the company's shares were held short,
or about 12 percent of its total shares outstanding.
(Reporting by Emily Chasan; editing by Carol Bishopric)