Obama Aide’s Call to Sell Russia Stocks Flops

White House press secretary Jay Carney’s debut as a short-selling tout is off to a rough start.

Since Carney said March 18 that the only investments worth making in Russian equities are wagers the market will decline, short sellers have been pulling out as the Micex gauge stabilized. The percentage of borrowed shares in the biggest U.S. ETF tracking Russia’s market -- a barometer of short selling -- has fallen to 14 percent of the total stock, from 17 percent the day Carney spoke and a record 21 percent on March 3, according to financial data provider Markit.