Gardner – Financial Treason & Crime

Emma Newbery , 15 May 2021

It’s hardly surprising that the recent boom in cryptocurrencies has spurred an increase in crypto crime. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one of the bodies that regulates cryptocurrencies, pursued more crypto cases than ever last year.

As of March, the SEC’s actions had brought in over $1.7 billion in penalties, according to a report from Cornerstone Research. That’s from a total of 94 enforcement actions and trading suspensions it pursued between 2013 and 2020. More than half of those cases were in 2019 and 2020. Continue reading “Article: The SEC Has Hit Crypto Companies With Almost $2 Billion in Penalties”

03/26/202103/27/2021

Article: These 2 Meme Stocks Won’t Survive the Next Stock Market Crash

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These 2 Meme Stocks Won’t Survive the Next Stock Market Crash

Leo Sun, 26 March 2021

The Reddit-fueled short squeezes of GameStop (NYSE:GME) and other heavily shorted stocks earlier this year thrust the idea of “meme stocks” — equities that get aggressively promoted on social media platforms — into the broader market’s spotlight.

Some of those meme stocks actually have solid underlying businesses that could allow them to resist a market downturn. However, there are plenty of others with businesses that can’t possibly support their frothy valuations. Let’s take a look at two meme stocks that will likely burn their shareholders the next time the market stumbles.

1. Naked Brand
Shares of Naked Brand Group (NASDAQ:NAKD), a New Zealand-based retailer of intimate apparel and swimwear, surged from about $0.07 last October to an all-time high of $3.40 in late January. Nearly everyone who chased that rally and hung on got burned — the stock now trades at about $0.77 per share.

Naked’s rally had nothing to do with its fundamentals. It was identified as a short squeeze target on Reddit, and its name was cited in discussions about “naked shorting” — the illegal practice of shorting a stock without borrowing it first. Those discussions inexplicably evolved into a movement to promote the stock on Reddit, which caused it to rally alongside GameStop and other meme stocks in January.

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01/27/202103/08/2021

Article: Short Squeeze Costs Tesla Shorts $40 Billion in 2020

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Short Squeeze Costs Tesla Shorts $40 Billion in 2020

Danny Vena, 21 January 2021

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was one of the undisputed winners of 2020, with the stock gaining 743% over the course of the year. There were a number of factors that contributed to the electric car maker’s surging stock price, including five successive quarters of profits, induction into the S&P 500 Index, and a well-received stock split.

However, short sellers that bet against the stock lost a massive $40 billion in 2020, making it the single most unprofitable short of the year. Short sellers lost a combined $245 billion last year, with Tesla costing shorts more than the next nine stocks combined. Continue reading “Article: Short Squeeze Costs Tesla Shorts $40 Billion in 2020”

12/02/202004/13/2021

Article: Why Nano-X Imaging Stock Continues to Surge

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Why Nano-X Imaging Stock Continues to Surge

Rich Smith, 02 December 2020

Shares of Nano-X Imaging (NASDAQ: NNOX), the Israeli X-ray machine maker with the novel business idea of giving its products away for free (and then taking a cut of the revenue when doctors use the machines to take X-rays), is back in investors’ favor again. Over the past 10 days, shares of Nano-X have surged 79% — including a big 7% jump today as of 2:20 p.m. EST.

Why is Nano-X doing so well today? To learn the answer, you first have to go back in time a couple of months to mid-September, when Citron Research published a report branding Nano-X as “Theranos 2.0” and a company that not only “has never published any data showing their machine’s images compared to images from a standard CT scanner,” but has actually never even showed investors that it has a machine at all.

These and similar accusations from the short-seller devastated Nano-X’s stock over the summer, but on Thursday starting at 11:30 a.m. EST, Nano-X will attempt to refute all of the above by hosting “a live demonstration that will showcase the Nanox digital x-ray source tube and a range of 2D and 3D imaging applications performed by the Nanox.ARC at the 2020 Radiology Society of North America Virtual Annual Meeting.”

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11/10/201403/24/2021

Article: Why I Will Never Buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, HSBC Holdings plc And Standard Chartered PLC

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Why I Will Never Buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, HSBC Holdings plc And Standard Chartered PLC

Rupert Hargreaves, 10 November 2014

The godfather of value investing, Benjamin Graham, made it quite clear that the process of investing is nothing like speculation: “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return.” On the other hand, speculation is more akin to gambling, with no return guaranteed.

With this in mind, it’s easy to arrive at the conclusion that banks, which rely on leverage and trading to make a living, can never be deemed true ‘investments’ due to the speculative nature of their businesses. And this is the reason why I’m staying away from banks like Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS), HSBC (LSE: HSBA) and Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN). Continue reading “Article: Why I Will Never Buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, HSBC Holdings plc And Standard Chartered PLC”