El Toro and Robin Hood traders will end up like this…… Stock manipulation is a crime… even on a chat room
Shares of gaming merchandise retailer GameStop rallied over 100% in premarket trading on Friday after trading app Robinhood and El Toro said it would allow “limited buys” of the stock today amid allegations of market manipulation by the company. Robinhood restricted buys of GameStop and other heavily-shorted stocks on Thursday, prompting speculation the broker is unfairly manipulating markets. Lawmakers in the United States from Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Republican Senator Ted Cruz criticized the move, calling for a Congressional hearing on the matter. Robinhood was hit with a class-action lawsuit in the state of New York in the meantime as well.
In a matter of weeks, two hedge-fund legends — Steve Cohen and Dan Sundheim — have suffered bruising losses as amateur traders banded together to take on some of the world’s most sophisticated investors. In Cohen’s case, he and Ken Griffin ended up rushing to the aid of a third, Gabe Plotkin, whose firm was getting beaten down. Driven by the frenzied trading in GameStop Corp. and other stocks that hedge funds have bet against, the losses suffered over the past few days would rank among the worst in some of these money managers’ storied careers. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management declined 10% to 15% so far this month, while Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners, one of last year’s top-performing funds, is down about 20%. Melvin Capital, Plotkin’s firm, had lost 30% through Friday. And it’s not just the big names: Jack Woodruff’s $2.8 billion Candlestick Capital has fallen 10 to 15% in January on its short wagers, while the $3.5 billion Maplelane Capital lost about 33% through Tuesday in part because of a short position on GameStop, according to investors. By end of day Wednesday, Maplelane was down 45%. The pain is likely spreading across the hedge fund industry, with rumors swirling among traders of heavy losses at multiple firms. The Goldman Sachs Hedge Industry VIP ETF, which tracks hedge funds’ most-popular stocks, tumbled 4.3% on Wednesday for its worst day since September.
The hedge funds’ assailants are a collection of traders using Reddit’s wallstreetbets thread to coordinate their attacks, which seem to be focused on stocks known for being held short by hedge funds. The most prominent is GameStop, the beleaguered brick-and-mortar retailer that’s soared more than 1,700% this month, but other targets include AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Nick Note: What you are seeing is nothing short of market manipulation……. Let me tell you how this goes. Some BIG traders using sophisticated tools not available to the average Joe are identifying short interest overloads where the hedge funds are vulnerable. The equations goes like this…. Short sellers borrow the shares of stock to sell. They have unlimited liability because is a squeeze they cannot find the stocks shares they sold short to deliver. Thats what bids up the price to the moon. THe way one identifies the most vulnerable is to find where the hedge funds have sold more shares short then are in existence. This is not a game i play but i know how to do it. You must uncover this information in a timely and sophisticated manner. And useing the published public short interest reports are a joke. Their are far more sophisticated ways that involve dark pool information (that can be purchased) and massive computer power. SO once you find a company where the funds selling represent a short interest of 130% of the shares you can fuck them big time. Because their are not enough shares in existence. So here is how this goes…. your SOPHISTICATED tools identifies the companies where the short sellers are underwater and vulnerable. And you MANIPULATE the stock by getting massive buying. Stupid buying that causes valuations that are on a course to Mars. The new manipulation trick is to get the kids on Reddit and Robin Hood and social media chat rooms all pumped up and get them to buy the stocks in companies you have identified as vulnerable. What you are seeing is a new twist on a old game. And it will end badly. I have been at this a long time. And it will take the bureaucrats at the CFTC and SEC to figure this out. And they will ban this practice and roll back the trades……….They will not be allowed to wipe out the biggest retirement funds and University endowments…… A big kaboom is coming!I
I was charged with market manipulation (after we wiped out several brokers including the biggest of the time) because my trade recommendations swung the markets. It was not manipulation but the fact we had 150,000 subscribers meant a lot of people were making the trades. They claimed we were a internet computerized trading system. It was a battle where i suffered a bitter defeat. Got a ban and at the time the largest fine any individual was ever handed. And lost hundreds of millions of dollars.
So let me repeat. I know a market manipulation when i see one. And this El Toro Robin Hood deal will end badly. And if i can scratch my ass and figure ir out we COULD make a killing.
CHICAGO (Reuters) – After developing and rolling out COVID-19 vaccines at record speed, drugmakers are already facing variants of the rapidly-evolving coronavirus that may render them ineffective, a challenge that will require months of research and a massive financial investment, according to disease experts.
Executives from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE are considering new versions of their vaccines to respond to the most concerning variants identified so far. That is just one piece of the work needed to stay ahead of the virus, nearly a dozen experts told Reuters.
A global surveillance network to assess emerging variants must be built. Scientists need to establish what level of antibodies will be required to protect people from COVID-19 and determine when vaccines need to be altered. And regulators must convey what is needed to demonstrate updated vaccines are still safe and effective. “At this point, there is no evidence that these variants have changed the equation in terms of protection from the vaccine,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota. “But we have to be prepared for that.” Johnson & Johnson told Reuters the concerning variant first identified in South African has got its attention and will tweak its vaccine accordingly if needed. Pfizer said it could produce a new vaccine relatively quickly, but a top vaccine executive said manufacturing it presents additional challenges. Moderna on Monday said lab studies showed antibodies made in response to its vaccine were six times less effective at neutralizing a lab-created version of a South African variant than prior versions of the virus. A study released on Wednesday ahead of peer review found the South African variant reduced neutralizing antibodies 8.6-fold for the Moderna vaccine and by 6.5-fold for the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, although a separate Pfizer-backed study released on Wednesday suggests its vaccine may be more hardy. Moderna said this week it is starting work on a potential booster shot. Just how far protection can drop before a COVID-19 vaccine needs to be altered is not yet known. With influenza, an eightfold drop in vaccine-induced antibody protection means time to update. That does not necessarily apply to this coronavirus. “The problem is we don’t know what the cut point is for coronavirus,” said Dr. John Mascola, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), whose scientists helped develop Moderna’s vaccine. Mascola said both studies testing the Moderna vaccine against the South African variant are roughly in the “same ballpark.” It could be that antibody protection is high enough from the vaccine that it will still be effective, he said. NIAID scientists are analyzing data from Moderna’s late-stage trial to see what level of neutralizing antibodies is required for protection. They are comparing individuals who were vaccinated but got sick anyway to vaccinated people who remained healthy. It could take two months to complete this work, Mascola said. They hope to produce a benchmark for the minimum level of vaccine-induced antibodies needed to protect against COVID-19. A global surveillance network is also needed to identify troubling new variants as they emerge, similar to one used to track fast-mutating flu viruses. That could cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States alone. Richard Webby, a flu surveillance expert from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said the United States could probably build a system to identify variants fairly quickly. Developing the capability to determine whether they evade current vaccines will take more time. The United States is currently conducting genetic sequencing to look for changes in the virus in just 0.3% of positive coronavirus tests. That pales compared with 10% in the UK, which was first to discover a major mutation in the virus that increases transmission by at least 50%. Experts said countries should sequence at least 5% of positive cases to detect significant changes in the virus. Companies are waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to relay what testing will be needed for altered vaccines, said Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer’s top viral vaccine scientists. With influenza vaccines, companies can make changes without new trials. “But that’s after doing it for 50 years,” he said. Peter Marks, who oversees the FDA’s vaccine approval process, has said small trials testing updated vaccines in around 400 participants may be needed at first. Even that could add months to the process. Norman Baylor, chief executive of Biologics Consulting and a former FDA vaccines official, said the agency will lay out the regulatory road. But public health agencies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization would decide when vaccines should be updated, as with flu.
Altering Pfizer’s vaccine would require “a very minor change,” Dormitzer said.
Like Moderna’s, it uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which relies on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks. He estimates the company could make a prototype version in a week or so, and take another two months to scale up and update their lab tests. J&J, which is expected to release late-stage trial data on its vaccine within days, has laid the groundwork to address troubling virus changes, Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels told Reuters. Its trial included sites in South Africa, which should give the company insight on that variant. If a change is necessary, Stoffels said J&J likely would add a second strain into its existing vaccine. “We are looking at this with a lot of attention,” he said.
Nick Note: A study released on Wednesday showed he South African variant reduced neutralizing antibodies 8.6-fold for the Moderna vaccine and by 6.5-fold for the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, a Pfizer-backed study released. With influenza, an eightfold drop in vaccine-induced antibody protection means time to update. Which means the Phizer vaccind COULD be sufficent to protect one from the Out of Africa virus
Nick Note: The panic selling in equities is mindless liquidation by hedge funds of longs in index funds to cover loses and raise cash because of short squeezes on their heavily-shorted individual stocks like GameStop, AMC and BlackBerry.
When there is fund liquidating, word gets out and everyone tries to front run it. The timing — right at the open — is also a indication of fund liquidation to raise and preserve cash. We saw panic stop loss liquidation into the close as well. Because their trade book was overwhelmed. It usually is a big mistake. My preferred strategy is not to liquidate into a selling panic. I prefer to buy… See i am willing to lose money to make money. Sometimes a LOT of money. I am not a investor but a speculator. A much different job description
Regulators are getting all kinds of calls about market manipulation and a consistent problem lately of brokerages web sights going down. The demand among individual investors has overwhelmed online brokerages, with companies including Fidelity Investments Inc. Charles Schwab & Co., TD Ameritrade and Vanguard Group experiencing slowness or other technical glitches.
Fundamentals do not apply to retail traders. It’s all about momentum. ANd the internet means they call all jerk off online and whip themselves into a frenzy. Their is no need for the regulate rs to do a dam thing. The laws of the markets will soon wipe them out and they will return all the money we have loaned them at leg breaker loan shark interest rates…. Their exotic Italian sports cars and cocaine white mansions will soon be up for auction.
The only reason why Tesla is worth what it is is because people are buying the shit out of the company.” This kind of trading ALWAYS ends in disaster!
Panic liquidation is more like an explosion then a forest fire. A forest fire it rages for weeks on end. In a explosion the smoke clears away in a day or two and the markets revert back to their former state. Which means I like to hold as many positions as possible in market action like this.
I believe the upside is still intact. And stimulus and happy check hysteria along with vaccines are here to save the day hyperblow will drive the markets to new higher highs.
So to be clear here. I want to maintain our bullish spread. I am always a buyer in senseless panic liquidations… Everyone is selling kind of thing. Soon everyone will be buying again and then i am looking to turn our spreads to the bearish side……Nick
PS surprise events like this is part of trading. Their is no way to predict these events a head of time.
Dear Mr Lizard, Glad to see your never far away……. This is not savings. this is not investing…… This is balls to the wall speculating and you can lose a shit pot full of money. As in Busted….. I love today’s market action……
AS the coronavirus continues to spread, it has also mutated – with three significant new variants of the virus now present in the US.
Experts have warned the UK variant, which was first discovered in Kent in the south of England is up to 70 per cent more infectious – and has now emerged in the US. One cluster was found in Florida on November 6 and the other in California on November 23. The first discovery in the US was around six weeks before Sage told the UK government about its concerns about the new strain. In the US, the first case of the Kent strain was diagnosed on December 29. Researchers concluded the new UK strain is between 29 and 91 per cent more likely to be fatal – with three different studies showing very different results. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said it could be 1.35 times more deadly, Imperial College London said it was between 1.36, or 1.29 (depending on the method used), and the University of Exeter found it may be 1.91 times more deadly. Experts also revealed this week that the South African strain could also be more deadly. Nervtag scientists said today they had done some analysis on data in South Africa, finding “a hint of increased mortality”. But they cautioned there has not been detailed research into the mortality of the South African variant, as there has been with the Kent one, so they cannot be confident in the finding. The third variant originates in Brazil and has now spread to the US. It also is considered to be rather resilient to the coronavirus vaccine. After the new variants were detected, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said that symptoms aren’t any different to the original strain that emerged in 2020. Scientists agree that the virus affects different people in various ways and what has become clearer as the pandemic has unfolded are the signs to look out for. As the nation continues to battle with a rise in coronavirus infections it’s important to know the official symptoms of Covid-19.
1. New persistent cough
Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) states that one of the three key coronavirus symptoms is a new persistent cough. This is defined as coughing a lot for more than an hour or three or more coughing episodes in a day. If you usually have a cough then it will be much worse that your usual cough and it’s likely to be more frequent.
2. Loss of taste and smell
In May 2020 Public Health England (PHE) added anosmia to the official list of Covid-19 symptoms, falling in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO). Many people who contract the virus reported being unable to taste their food or smell things – this is known as anosmia. Andrew Robson, ENT Consultant at North Cumbria Integrated Care said: “It has been known for some time that viruses can cause anosmia, and this can last for considerable lengths of time. “Anosmia also affects the sense of taste and is understandably quite distressing, affecting an individual’s appreciation of food and drink among other pleasurable scents. “This condition also potentially gives rise to dangerous situations, such as an inability to detect gas leaks, fire or spoilt food.”
3. High temperature
Another key symptom of Covid-19 is a high temperature.
This means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back and the NHS states that you don’t need to measure your temperature with a thermometer in order to check it. If you do measure your temperature – a high reading would be classed as anything above 38C. A high temperature is usually caused by your body fighting infection. If you have any of the three main symptoms as stated above then you should get a test and isolate. But some testing centres are now also offering tests to asymptomatic patients and almost one third of people who have the virus don’t have an signs.
4. Tiredness
Tiredness isn’t one of the main coronavirus symptoms listed by the NHS but many people are left feeling fatigued when they contract the virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists tiredness as another key coronavirus symptom. Many people who contract the virus say they don’t feel as though they have the energy to undertake every day tasks in the same way that they could before.
5. Headache
The WHO also lists headaches as a common symptom and this is also one of the main symptoms in children, according to the ZOE Symptom Tracker App. The study found that 53 per cent of children who contracted the virus also suffered from headaches.
6. Rash
Many people who have contracted Covid-19 have also developed a skin rash. In some cases this is seen on the back and arms, and others have developed conditions such as “Covid-toes” due to the inflammation caused by the virus. While the ZOE study didn’t suggest a rash was one of the five main symptoms in children – it did state that 15 per cent of kids who test positive also present with an unusual skin rash. Just last week one nurse shared shocking pictures of her 17-month-old son’s rash which she says was caused by Covid. Jade Roberts said that her son Bertie had first developed a runny nose before the rash started. She said the rash spread to his cheeks, ears, knees and stomach. Nick Note: Pay close attention to these symptoms. This is not something to trifle with.
The Biden administration plans to buy 100 million more doses each of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in order to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer. ‘The biggest problem, I hope you’re all asking me by the end of summer is that you have too much vaccine leftover,’ Biden said at the White House Tuesday afternoon. Biden delivered the update Tuesday on the heels of Vice President Kamala Harris getting her second shot of the Moderna vaccine at the Bethesda, Maryland headquarters of the National Institutes of Health. Biden said at his appearance that the vaccine program ‘is in worse shape than we anticipated or expected.’ Going forward, Biden said the administration will increase the supply of vaccines to states, tribes and territories from 8.6 million doses to a minimum of 10 million doses. ‘Starting next week, that’s an increase of 1.4 million doses per week,’ Biden said. ‘And so this is going to allow millions of more Americans to get vaccinated sooner than previously anticipated,’ he added. He also promised the state and local leaders ‘will now always have a reliable three-week forecast of the supply they’re going to get.’ ‘Until now, we’ve had to guess how much vaccine to expect for the next week and that’s what the governors had to do: “how much am I getting next week?” This is unacceptable,’ Biden said. By knowing these figures, Biden explain, governors, mayors and local leaders can carry out their plans to vaccinate the largest number of people possible. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are two-shot doses. Biden said by increasing the supply and being transparent about the supply, the U.S. should ‘God willing’ be able to get to his goal of 100 million shots in the first 100 days of the administration. ‘But I also want to be clear, 100 million shots in 100 days is not the end point, it’s just the start,’ the president said. ‘We’re not stopping there. The end goal is to beat COVID-19. And the way we do that is to get more people vaccinated, which means we have to be ready after we hit the goal of 100 million shots in 100 days.’ Biden then relayed the administration’s plan to buy 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 100 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, which would be enough to vaccine 100 million more Americans. Biden continued to call fighting the coronavirus a ‘wartime effort,’ noting that the 400,000-plus death toll topped all the World War II American dead.’And we’re using the Defense Production Act to launch a full-scale wartime effort to address the supply shortages we inherited from the previous administration,’ Biden explained. The president said the administration was continuing to work to get the vaccines into local pharmacies around the country. ‘But the brutal truth is, it’s going to take months before we get the majority of American vaccinated. In the next few months, masks, not vaccines are the best defense against COVID-19,’ the president also said. ‘Experts say that wearing masks from now on, just until April would save 50,000 who otherwise will pass away if we don’t wear these masks.’ Nick Note: Do the math and you will see their will not be enough people vaccinated to build heard immunity (90% vaccinated) until next year. And these numbers do not take into consideration the FACT that at least 1 of the3 more deadly mutations circulating will require a boaster shot. I predict after this latest wave subsides the South African mutation which will become the dominate strain will pour cold water on the stock market wet dream. Reality is contrary to the illusion is the economy will start opening up this spring their will be the most severe lock down yet.
“When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the insurgence. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba – no one knew where. No mail or telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly. What to do!
“Someone said to the President, ‘There is a fellow by the name of Rowan. He will find Garcia for you, if anybody can.’ Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia.
“How the ‘fellow by the name of Rowan’ took the letter, sealed it up in an oilskin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot and delivered his letter to Garcia – are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.
“The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, ‘Where is he at?’ There is a man whose form should be cast in bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, to concentrate their energies: do the thing – ‘carry the message to Garcia.’
Nick Note: Their are 3 mutations the B.1.1.7 the English strain, the Brazilian mutation and the really scary South African highly infections mutation. In the next month its predicted this strain will become the dominate strain. Which means you must get vaccinated and double down and hunker in place. It remains to be seen how effective the current vaccines will be against these deadly mutations, My sniff is less then 50% effective which means we cannot rely on our vaccines. The good news we will be getting a booster shot in the next 12 months. Which means this is NOT over and the fat lady has not sung yet. In the coming months when the Tsunamis hits the US will be forced into total lock down and that might just be the pin that bursts the stock market bubble….
BERLIN (Reuters) – German health authorities put a Berlin hospital under quarantine after 20 patients and staff members tested positive for a more infectious variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and spreading fast around the world, officials said on Saturday. The number of people at the Humboldt hospital infected with the more infectious B117 variant was likely to rise further in the coming days, a spokeswoman of public hospital operator Vivantes told Reuters. The quarantine decision means that the Humboldt hospital in the German capital will not admit any new patients. “New patients and emergencies will be redirected to other hospitals,” the spokeswoman said. Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Thursday to stop complaining about the slow roll-out of a vaccine against COVID-19, and defended a decision to extend a lockdown as necessary to stem the more aggressive variant. Nick Note: Pay attention the mutated coronavirus is getting through joke paper masks and social distancing is proven to be stupidness. The world needs to o into complete lock down and people will have to go to my ugly mask. People will die……..A LOT OF PEOPLE!
Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief investment strategist of Boston’s GMO, believes U.S. stocks have become an epic bubble and will burst in a collapse rivaling the crashes of 1929 and 2000. In this interview, he explains why, discusses the futility of Federal Reserve policy, criticizes the state of American capitalism, and shares his thoughts on gold, Bitcoin, emerging markets and climate change. Nick Note: This is an important post. WATCH THE VIDEO! For the record we are on the verge of the biggest stock market bust ever. I have traded every bust. since 1987 and I can tell you they are life changing experiences. I am 1000% SURE that the biggest crash ever is coming and their is no stopping it. Interest rates will zoom allowing us to buy zeroes and the Feds only way out will be double digit negative rates….. So have a ncse day
