James Chanos made his fortune by short-selling companies before the value of their stock plummeted, most notably the defunct energy firm Enron.

I will say one thing for bigtime Obama bundler James Chanos: he doesn't let his politics get in the way of making money. Lachlan Markay of the Washington Free Beacon reports:

His latest target is CGI Group, which is the parent company of CGI Federal. CGI Federal is the lead contractor responsible for Healthcare.gov, the glitch-plagued website of the federal Obamacare insurance exchange. Chanos "has placed potentially lucrative bets that CGI shares will fall in value,"Newsweek reported on Wednesday, citing "persons briefed on the matter."

Fascinating. The ship is sinking, and the smart and agile rats are jumping.

In my experience, financial speculators have hair triggers. Shorting a stock can be very risky, though, so you have to be very careful. If the stock rises, or if it becomes difficult to buy enough stock to make good on the obligation to deliver the shares the speculator has already sold, the potential for losses is huge. A "short squeeze" can drive up the price of the stock in such circumstances.

Chanos must be very confident that CGI is toast. One has to wonder what gives him such certitude.