Short Stocks: Bets build against insurance, autos, tech

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Short interest fell on the
Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange in mid-October, reflecting a
desire by short sellers to buy back stock and lock in profits.

The following list shows stocks from a number of sectors
that saw increased interest from short sellers, who bet that
their prices will fall, and key recent news events for those
stocks. The data reflect short trades with a settlement date of
Oct. 15.

For full story please see [ID:nN24187736]. For factbox on
changes in short interest on Nasdaq please see [ID:nN24528660],
For factbox on changes in short interest on the NYSE, please
see [ID:nN24353130].

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP (AIG.N)

Short interest rose 10.75 percent in the company.

On Oct. 10, shares in the insurance company, crippled by
losses on bad mortgage bets, fell amid mounting liquidity
concerns after it drew on $9 billion from a government loan the
week earlier. [ID:nN10378457]

About 93.65 million of the company's shares were held
short, or 3.5 percent of its total shares outstanding.

SALLIE MAE (SLM.N)

Short interest rose 25.79 percent in the company.

On Oct. 2, shares of the student loan company rose nearly
10 percent after Chief Executive Albert Lord said it is well
capitalized. But earlier in the week, the shares had fallen 39
percent as it became difficult for Sallie Mae to fund its
business in the securitization markets. [ID:nN02263839]

About 42.51 million of the company's shares were held
short, or 9.1 percent of its total shares outstanding.

FORD MOTOR CO (F.N)

GENERAL MOTORS CORP (GM.N)

Short interest in Ford rose 8.07 percent, while it fell
15.51 percent for GM.

On Oct. 13, GM shares jumped as the No. 1 U.S. automaker
explored options including a merger with Ford [ID:nN13446311],
while Ford's European division reported a 12.3 percent drop in
sales for September [ID:nN13446260].

About 295.1 million shares in Ford were held short, or 13
percent of its total shares outstanding, while about 93.6
million shares in GM were held short, or 16.5 percent of its
total shares outstanding.

DELL INC (DELL.O)

Short interest rose more than 18 percent in shares of the
world's second-biggest computer maker.

On Oct. 23, a Dell official said the company is seeing
softness in demand for personal computers due to the global
economic downturn. [ID:nBOM39147]

About 39.95 million of the company's shares were held
short, or 2 percent of its total shares outstanding.

AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN.O)

Short interest rose 21.4 percent in shares of the online
retailer.

On Oct. 22 the company said sales in the holiday quarter
would fall short of Wall Street expectations as consumers cut
back on spending and a strengthening U.S. dollar eroded the
value of foreign sales. [ID:nN22484392]

About 29.79 million of the company's shares were held
short, or 6.95 percent of its total shares outstanding.

GENTEX CORP (GNTX.O)

Short interest rose almost 30 percent in shares of the auto
parts supplier.

On Oct. 21 the company posted a 49 percent drop in
quarterly profit and said weak consumer confidence and a
slowing economy would weigh on global vehicle production.
[ID:nN21524693]

About 10.2 million of the company's shares were held short,
or about 7 percent of its total shares outstanding.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba and Emily Chasan)