Do you maybe know where the 140% figure comes from? Most websites simply copy FINRA report stating that 61,780,000 shares were short against 102,270,000 shares outstanding: https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NYSE/GME/short-interest/
Honestly.... I'm only going by what Bloomberg and CNBC said. I assume its valid. At least from Bloomberg.
This is this whole idea of fractional reserve banking. Money can be multiplied out by lending it out, and then borrowing up. It would be the same with lending shares. As long as brokers abide by the margin requirements from the Fed, they can lend the shares to the next broker over, which then sells them right back. Is it a good idea? Probably not. Is it stable? Probably not. Can it be done? It works for dollars, so why not shares? Also, from an arbitrage viewpoint, I could draw up a contract that promises to pay out the value of a share, and sell it. I don't actually need to own any shares at all, since it can be cash settled. It's the same idea with futures trading. The only way you could convince me that publishing that data frequently helps, is if some actor in the system would take advantage of this knowledge and put long pressure on the stock. In other words, 100% is a completely arbitrary number, why stop there?
so why isn't this data published? Whether it helps or not, you and I can debate forever. What's to lose by publishing it? Why do I have to get a short interest on a stock 4 weeks delayed? Remember, its two weeks.... for the PRIOR two weeks. I mean using your logic, you could sit here and say "you don't need to see the volume on a stock". Like I said, anything can be argued. And this place thrives on that. Et. But whatever. So this diagreement is going nowhere. Bottom line... the f'ing data is out there. Let the traders see it and let them decide. I know damn well it would work for me. 4 weeks? What is this (?) 1975....! These brokers know down to a single share how much of a particular stock has been shorted on any given day. If THEY know it... I WANT TO KNOW IT. Case closed.
Like I said, I mostly agree with you, I just don't think it will have the effect you want. More transparency is better IMO.