Shorts' Dirty Dozen

This column was originally published on RealMoney on March 14 at 9:17 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

You asked for it. You asked for what some would regard as irresponsible, but others would describe as prudent. You asked for the Dirty Dozen that the shorts are operating on, and here they are:

1. IndyMac(NDE)
2. CharterMac(CHC)
3. Friedman Billings(FBR)
4. Fremont General(FMT)
5. Redwoods Trust(RWT)
6. Newcastle Investment(NCT)
7. American Home Mortgage(AHM)
8. Gramercy(GKK)
9. RAIT(RAS)
10. Accredited(LEND)
11. Thornburg Mortgage(TMA)
12. CapitalSource(CSE)

Notice that I'm not including NovaStar(NFI), which is on its deathbed. I am also not including ECC Capital(ECR), which is also, to me, a goner.

Accredited is still alive, but I believe not for long, at least in this current form.

I do not believe that Washington Mutual(WM) or Countrywide(CFC) is in trouble, although both are not done going down. H&R Block(HRB) is in trouble, but it's been crummy for so long, I guess it doesn't matter. I do believe that GMAC is still a bleeding hole but I would no more short GM(GM) than GE(GE) off this stuff, although a lot of others will.

Do I think that all of the Dirty Dozen will go out of business? That's not the question. I'm saying that these are the shorted stocks. If you think that some of them have liquidity problems, then you short them to zero. If you think that they don't, wait a week and buy them.