What the author fails to explore here is illegal naked shorting. Traders selling shares that don't exist and that have no intention or ability to deliver. Trades that never settle. In effect, stealing shareholder value right in plain sight.
Correct. Any crook would love to be able to sell a non-existent item, receive payment for it, fail to produce it, and yet go unpunished for the act. This goes on thousands of times a day on Wall Street.
A short seller doesn't get paid anything until he delivers the stock.