Short Sellers Make a Large Bet Against Sirius

4/25 - "Either short sellers don't think a merger between Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite (NASDAQ: XMSR) will happen, or they don't believe that the deal will save the two debt-laden companies. Short interest in Sirius rose 20.2 million shares for the period ending April 15 compared with March 31. Total shares sold short hit 157.9 million. Shares short in XM also pushed up 6.3 million to 22.7 million.

The bets may be smart ones. The delay in approving the deal at the FCC has probably made it less likely that the merger will get the green light."

"Subscriber growth rates at the two companies are slowing. Both also have negative net income. At this point, neither company has predicted when it might make a profit...Each has over $1 billion in long-term obligation to repay bonds and loans. In a poor credit environment, it is hard to see that paper getting refi...