Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the emerging Delta variant a cause for great concern and said it is the “greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19.” The variant was first reported in India and is up to 80 percent more transmissible...
Category: SPECIAL REPORT: GAMESTOP by Joe Doran
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ANALYST: GAMESTOP COULD LEAD TO WIDER MARKET SWINGS
Some analysts are worried there’s something other than profit motivating moves of so-called “meme stocks.” They’re blaming internet forums, young app traders who don’t share their valuations – or perhaps their values. “The internet has allowed decentralized bands of activists to coordinate their actions in both politics and finance, and it’s difficult to say if...
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LEFT SAYS GAMESTOP BUYING ESPORTS WOULD MAKE THINGS RIGHT
Late last week, a short-seller previously burned by GameStop stock surges had a suggestion that fueled further speculation about the company’s potential future. Prominent investor and noted short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research, suggested that the brick-and-mortar gaming company should consider buying the Esports Entertainment Group online gambling firm. Stocks of Esports surged on the...
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GAMESTOP REDUX: HERE WE GO AGAIN
A brutal week on Wall Street for tech stocks and others was further upended by new surges in so-called “meme stocks” favored by young app investors. And top of the list, again? GameStop (GME). GameStop led a surge on Wednesday even as the market was generally going south. Shares went up over 100 percent late...
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ROBINHOOD PRIMED THEIR LOBBYING PUMP IN 2020
The controversial brokerage Robinhood is continuing with lobbying efforts that ramped up in 2020 with four hires of outside lobbying firms. The company has recently picked up a former SEC staffer and a former congressional staffer as in-house lobbyists. The Silicon Valley firm revealed the hires in a disclosure filed last week. The new in-house...
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REDDIT SUBCULTURE LOST ON POLITICOS
Dems were more active in questioning the players involved in the GameStop stock market blow-up at the recent House Financial Services committee hearing. But most of the questioning failed to dig into possible collusion or the practice of naked shorting, focusing instead on “gamefication” of the Robinhood app, and other misconceptions about Reddit app traders. ...
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“VIRTUAL” GAMESTOP HEARING ACCOMPLISHES LITTLE IN THE REAL WORLD
All the players in the GameStop saga were there, on screen. So were politicians on the House Financial Services Committee, teeing up questions to later highlight in video spots to their constituents. But very little of substance came from the anticipated hearing, according to analysts. The possible collusion of intertwined Wall Street entities went unchallenged....
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“REDDIT RALLY” HEARINGS IN CONGRESS LIKELY TO PROTECT WALL ST.
Congress is set to hold “Reddit Rally” hearings on 18 February, concerning the GameStop stock saga. The question is, will politicians go after big financial players with well-greased political connections or aim to make an example of the “little guy” retail traders on the WallStreetBets Reddit board who drove up stocks in early January? There’s...
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“NO FEE” TRADING APPS CHANGING THE FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE
Commission-fee trading on phone apps is transforming the stock industry, according to analysts. But they claim the new paradigm is creating trading frenzies and risk-taking that may net negatives. U.S. retail traders have shown their appetite, with rolling net inflows over the past 22 days into equities reaching $32bn, compared to $3bn two years ago,...
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THE GAMES CONTINUE
by Joe Doran This past week saw Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin get involved in the GameStop saga, despite an apparent conflict of interest. Fall-out continued in the markets, with physical silver prices de-coupling from paper and Elon Musk tweeting support for “the people’s crypto,” Dogecoin. We also learned more about how hedge funds, banks, and online brokerages...