EIN TOON: Joint Cover-Up Committee on Financial Crime
GraphicArticle: Hedge fund manager Plotkin’s GameStop short, dissected
Article - Media, PublicationsHedge fund manager Plotkin’s GameStop short, dissected
Hedge fund manager Gabriel Plotkin first bet against the future of GameStop Corp in 2014 when it traded around US$40. But after a harrowing experience with short sellers in recent weeks, he’s wary about holding big short positions again.
BOSTON: Hedge fund manager Gabriel Plotkin first bet against the future of GameStop Corp in 2014 when it traded around US$40. But after a harrowing experience with short sellers in recent weeks, he’s wary about holding big short positions again.
Article: U.S. securities regulator suspends trading in three more ‘meme stocks’
Article - Media, PublicationsU.S. securities regulator suspends trading in three more ‘meme stocks’
Chris Prentice, 19 February 2021
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday suspended trading in more securities that have seen jumps in both prices and trading volumes since late January amid social media interest.
The SEC temporarily suspended trading of Marathon Group Corp, Affinity Beverage Group Inc, and Sylios Corp beginning on Friday and ending on March 4, the SEC said in statements published on its website. Continue reading “Article: U.S. securities regulator suspends trading in three more ‘meme stocks’”
Article: 180 Life Sciences Corp. Announces $11.7 Million Private Placement
Article - Media, Publications180 Life Sciences Corp. Announces $11.7 Million Private Placement
GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 19 February 2021
180 Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: ATNF) (180 Life Sciences or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company with its lead indication in Phase 2b/3, focused on the development of novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and pain, today announced that it has entered into securities purchase agreements with certain institutional investors to raise approximately $11.7 million through the private placement of 2,564,000 shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 2,564,000 shares of common stock at a combined purchase price of $4.55 per share and accompanying warrant. The warrants will be exercisable immediately at an exercise price of $5.00 per share and will expire five years from the date of issuance. The closing of the private placement is expected to occur on February 23, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions set forth in the securities purchase agreements.
Tweet: Who is handling Griffin’s teleprompter?
TweetWho is handling Griffin's teleprompter? pic.twitter.com/IzjzGjmD33
— Rudy Havenstein, be nice to someone for no reason. (@RudyHavenstein) February 18, 2021
Tweet: Citadel CEO Ken Griffin on the current two day period to settle stock transactions
TweetCitadel CEO Ken Griffin on the current two day period to settle stock transactions (T + 2): We should push now for T +1 settlement. We will one day go to real-time settlements.@CNBC @citsecurities $GME
— Bob Pisani (@BobPisani) February 18, 2021
Tweet: Wall Streets Dirty Secret!
TweetWALL STREETS DIRTY SECRET!!Pensions Plans provide the fuel to Short selling Hedge funds. Wanna stop abusive short selling?? Pensions should stop lending @cvpayne pic.twitter.com/fGMacZ1x99
— John Tabacco (@JohnnyTabacco) February 18, 2021
Article: How were more than 100% of GameStop’s shares shorted?
Article - MediaHow were more than 100% of GameStop’s shares shorted?
John McCrank, Reuters, 18 February 2021
But Vlad Tenev, broker Robinhood’s chief executive officer, recently pointed out that some of the stocks involved in the “meme stock” rally were more than 100% shorted, implying that more shares were shorted than were available to trade.
“I just think that’s pathological,” he said on the All-In Podcast late last Friday. “You end up with this situation that could destabilize the financial markets.”
Book: Broken Markets: How High Frequency Trading and Predatory Practices on Wall Street Are Destroying Investor Confidence and Your Portfolio
Book
Broken Markets: How High Frequency Trading and Predatory Practices on Wall Street Are Destroying Investor Confidence and Your Portfolio
Sal Arnuk is partner, cofounder, and co-head of equity trading of Themis Trading, LLC, a leading independent agency brokerage firm that trades equities for institutional money managers and hedge funds. Arnuk has extensive experience in equities trading and is an expert in electronic trading and market structure. Prior to founding Themis in 2002, he was with Instinet Corporation, where he headed the team responsible for equity sales and trading for institutional money managers, for more than 10 years.
Learn
• Why retail investors are pulling their money out of stocks in unprecedented amounts
• How decades of regulation created the broken markets we have today
• Why there are more than 40 exchanges, sub-exchanges, and dark pools rife with conflicts of interest where stocks are traded today
• How the stock exchanges became for-profit companies and fundamentally changed market structure
• Why the Flash Crash happened―and why it will happen again
• How there are two markets―the fast, accurate one that high frequency traders see and the slower one that retail and institutional investors see
Tweet: Citadel Bribes Congress?
TweetIn 2020 Citadel affiliates donated $68 mill to political groups. Included was $37 mill to Senate Leadership Fund and $10 mill to Congressional Leadership Fund. #Robinhood #GameStop
— B.P. Rising (@BP_Rising) February 18, 2021
Article: Short Sellers Still Targeting Retail, Biotech ETFs
Article - Media, PublicationsShort Sellers Still Targeting Retail, Biotech ETFs
Wayne Duggan, 18 February 2021
After a huge second half of 2020, the S&P 500 is off to another hot start to 2021. With stock market valuations getting more bloated by the week, there are plenty of skeptics that believe certain stocks and sectors have come too far too fast.
There is currently $244 billion in aggregate domestic ETF short interest, according to S3 Partners analyst Ihor Dusaniwsky. Over the past month, Dusaniwsky said short sellers have increased their exposure by about $14 billion. Continue reading “Article: Short Sellers Still Targeting Retail, Biotech ETFs”
Article: Trading hot stocks like GameStop seems fun until you look beneath the surface
Article - MediaTrading hot stocks like GameStop seems fun until you look beneath the surface
Congress is asking questions about whether middlemen or “market makers” like Citadel that execute stock trades really give small investors the best prices.
Gretchen Morgenson, ABCNews, 18 February 2021
Market makers like Citadel make money by pocketing the difference between the price at which they buy shares — the bid — and the price they receive from selling them to Robinhood clients, the offer. Other firms in the business are Virtu Americas, G1X Execution Services and Two Sigma Securities.
Article: GameStop frenzy sparks fresh investment in stock-trading apps
Article - Media, PublicationsGameStop frenzy sparks fresh investment in stock-trading apps
Jane Lanhee Lee, 18 February 2021
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – The recent trading frenzy centered on GameStop Corp and other “meme” stocks is sparking a wave of investor interest in start-ups aiming to mimic the success of Robinhood Markets Inc, whose no-fee brokerage app has helped drive a trading boom.
Public.com, a direct competitor to Robinhood that boasts a host of blue-chip backers, said on Wednesday it had raised $220 million, valuing it at $1.2 billion on the private market. Another well-heeled rival, Stash, said earlier this month it had raised $125 million, while Webull Financial LLC, backed by Chinese investors, is also raising fresh funds after enjoying an influx of new users.
Robinhood, meanwhile, raised some $3.4 billion in the midst of the GameStop furor to assure its stability amid rapid growth and demands by its trading partners that it post more collateral. Continue reading “Article: GameStop frenzy sparks fresh investment in stock-trading apps”
Article: Watch Live: GameStop Hearing On Market Manipulation
Article - Media, PublicationsWatch Live: GameStop Hearing On Market Manipulation
Jonathan Ponciano, 18 February 2021
A Congressional hearing into the GameStop mania that triggered the largest weekly selloff since late October is underway, with some of the key players in the saga—billionaire Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev, Reddit Cofounder Steve Huffman and the 34-year-old securities broker behind the Roaring Kitty online persona—all set to testify.
Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-Mo.) kicked off the hearing by asking Tenev whether he misled investors on January 28 when he denied that Robinhood had a liquidity problem despite raising more than $3 billion in the following days to meet reserve requirements from the Securities & Exchange Commission. Continue reading “Article: Watch Live: GameStop Hearing On Market Manipulation”
Article: Texas power consumers to pay the price of winter storm
Article - Media, PublicationsTexas power consumers to pay the price of winter storm
Scott DiSavino, Stephanie Kelly, 18 February 2021
(Reuters) – Texas residents suffering a winter storm that has left millions without power are set to face a future challenge in higher utility bills, after the days-long cold snap put an unprecedented strain on the state’s power network.
Some 2.7 million households in Texas, the largest electricity consuming state in the United States, were without heat on Wednesday as freezing temperatures in a normally temperate part of the country overwhelmed demand, causing blackouts and widespread anger.
Wholesale power prices soared more than 300-fold, stirring memories of the price spikes that accompanied California’s energy crisis of 2000-2001, when Enron and others artificially increased prices. Continue reading “Article: Texas power consumers to pay the price of winter storm”
