Market Narratives Lag Borrow Reality

Public narratives about short positioning tend to form after borrow conditions have already shifted. By the time stress becomes visible in headlines, it has usually been present in the lending market for some time.

This lag is structural. Borrow markets react continuously, while public indicators update slowly and selectively. As a result, explanations often arrive after the fact, framed around metrics that were never designed to be leading indicators.

Reading borrow conditions directly, rather than waiting for narrative confirmation, remains a persistent advantage.