Live data from Hacker News

WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

thinkingthrough.substack.com

191–200 of 475 posts

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is disabling purchases and broker-wide outages not bolstering hedge funds? It's government intervention no matter how you look at it. Just because it's not a direct capital infusion does not make it any less bad

Not sure if I missed something but did the government intervene here? I thought it was all private entities that stopped the trading?

The line is blurry.

There was an immediate and emphatic appeal to the regulators, and the way the SEC works is often by encouraging self regulation. The CEO of the NASDAQ even went on air to ask for more SEC regulation.

This isn't unusual, it's pretty much how "government intervention" via the SEC, and a lot of other regulatory bodies, actually works.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#192
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you buy stock with the purpose of pushing the price up so that other people will buy it, that’s market manipulation. What WSB crowd is doing is market manipulation. That's illegal. WSB is doing everything openly and even celebrating it. Getting mad when openly breaking the law is not rational response. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/78i Brokers like Robinhood are reacting because they want too keep SEC…

> What WSB crowd is doing is market manipulation. Shorting GME more than number stocks exist is not market manipulation? HFT isn't? Bailing out greed isn't? Why is this notion of market manipulation such a narrow one-way street?

>Shorting GME more than number stocks exist is not market manipulation?

No, it's just a risky play (as long as not naked) that can blow up and that's fine.

>HFT isn't?

No, HFT provides a service, like it or not. You might think the service isnt worth it but it's not market manipulation.

>Bailing out greed isn't?

That one usually isn't (most bailouts are other private actors' loans) but yes, I guess it can be if it allows actors to make risky plays without having real risk.

That said, what WSB is doing here isn't market manipulation either.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#193
post #137

Once again, this insistence on viewing 'Wall Street' as a monolothic entity. The largest asset management firm on Earth holds over 9 million Gamestop stock, none of the big banks that received bailouts in 08 are affected by this, 99.9% of hedge funds are not affected by this, high frequency traders are probably making a bundle. Institutional money was long Gamestop before this story entered the public consciousness.…

Some retail investors made money. The rest that are still jumping in will lose a lot as the stock returns to it’s correct price over time.

As repeated Reddit, the shorts are still oversubscribed and the short squeeze has yet to start. Retail investors are around 15% -- there are many index funds that are invested, perhaps they might be the last ones holding? Even so, I'll be damned if I understand anything about this.

I think it's interesting that "accredited investors" (e.g. 1MM in assets) can unionize to play in the stock market (e.g. hedge funds) but that the majority of Americans aren't permitted to unionize due to SEC rules. They are stuck with index funds. It's like we only allow top earners to be wolves and force everyone else to be sheep.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#194
I’d just like to suggest the possibility that there’s nothing noble going on in /r/wallstreetbets and this is all being orchestrated by a small number of people taking advantage of useful idiots.

I’m not attempting to proclaim this is the truth, just giving a stray thought of mine.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#195
post #139

I would really appreciate it if somebody could explain to me how people who sell short a stock are somehow “suffocating it” or “killing jobs.” And I say this as someone who has about 18 years of investing experience. I continue to believe stock shorting is one of the most poorly understood parts of equity markets and the wrong parts are most commonly parroted by people with little to no experience with short selling…

This is what I don't get either. I keep thinking of Danny DeVito's speech at the end "Other People's Money."

"You know, at one time there must've been dozens of companies making buggy whips. And I'll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw. Now how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company?"

GameStop sells buggy whips. Why shouldn't people bet against them?

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#196

Once again, this insistence on viewing 'Wall Street' as a monolothic entity. The largest asset management firm on Earth holds over 9 million Gamestop stock, none of the big banks that received bailouts in 08 are affected by this, 99.9% of hedge funds are not affected by this, high frequency traders are probably making a bundle. Institutional money was long Gamestop before this story entered the public consciousness.…

Right now it looks like retail investors stuck it to Wall Street and made some money because GME is still over $400/share this morning. Everyone holding GME can look at their app and feel great. But not everyone is going to be able to sell it at $400... or even $100 in some cases. It will be interesting to see how everyone feels after the sell off.

Sure, once the squeeze is over they'll be holding expensive stock in a fundamentally near-worthless company. But then, they're probably Bitcoin believers too.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What WSB crowd is doing is market manipulation. Shorting GME more than number stocks exist is not market manipulation? HFT isn't? Bailing out greed isn't? Why is this notion of market manipulation such a narrow one-way street?

And they stop the manipulation by more manipulation? Why isn’t the trade blocked entirely for those stocks? Having the ability to sell seems like an inviting open door towards a specific outcome. I closed my RH account today

> And they stop the manipulation by more manipulation?

Moving the goal-posts here, but yes, this ought to be the catalyst to do just that. Changes to regulations may yet happen (not that I agree with it); kind of seems inevitable at this point.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#199
post #35

So you're telling me that by buying GameStop stock, I can help screw over hedge fund managers? I have not bought a single stock in my whole life, but I'm in. How do I start?

No but you can gift your money to them by doing it. Be my guest.

Re: WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm saying they should be sued. So, yes, I am saying that. If you buy securities you can't sell, you're pinned and that's not right, is it. I'm not sure if Robinhood traders signed up to that. Free doesn't matter.

They still allow selling, just not buying.

Allowing only buying OR selling seems like a good lever to manipulate a stock price.
Post reply on HN