Stick it to the Rich! – Whites hurt the Super Rich Hedge Funds on Wall St – My Comments

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[I'm not sure if all the folks involved in this were White, but I'll bet the majority were. It is wonderful seeing the small guys taking on the big scum. I think that the censorship of Whites by Big Tech will in the long term also result in a fight back. I think some exciting things await and don't be surprised when you see Whites using TECHNOLOGY to hit the Rich squarely in the teeth. Jan]

Free-stock trading pioneer Robinhood and Interactive Brokers took steps to curb the wild trading activity in heavily shorted names like GameStop.

In some cases, investors would only be able to sell their positions and not open new ones.
The brokers also raised margin requirements for certain securities.

Robinhood, Interactive Brokers restrict trading in GameStop stock and options

Retail brokerages restricted trading on Thursday in GameStop and other stocks caught in a frenzy that has captivated Wall Street and caused big losses for hedge funds.

Free-stock trading pioneer Robinhood and Interactive Brokers said that in some cases, investors would be able to sell only their positions and not open new ones. Both brokerages raised margin requirements on certain securities.

Robinhood told clients in a blog post that it would close out some positions automatically if the client was at risk of not having the necessary collateral. The Menlo-Park, CA based said it plans to allow limited buys of these securities on Friday.

After the announcement, shares of GameStop initially reversed their gains, sliding quickly into negative territory. The stock, which traded above $500 at one point in premarket trading, closed down 44% on Thursday.

In addition to GameStop, the wild trading affected other heavily shorted stocks, including AMC Entertainment, BlackBerry and Koss.

“We continuously monitor the markets and make changes where necessary. In light of recent volatility, we are restricting transactions for certain securities to position closing only, including $AAL, $AMC, $BB, $BBBY, $CTRM, $EXPR, $GME, $KOSS, $NAKD, $NOK, $SNDL, $TR and $TRVG. We also raised margin requirements for certain securities,” Robinhood said in a statement.

Raising margin requirements increases how much money an investor using leverage and derivatives must have in their brokerage account after a stock purchase.

“As a brokerage firm, we have many financial requirements, including SEC net capital obligations and clearinghouse deposits. Some of these requirements fluctuate based on volatility in the markets and can be substantial in the current environment. These requirements exist to protect investors and the markets,” Robinhhood said in a blog post.

Interactive Brokers said: “As of midday yesterday, Interactive Brokers has put AMC, BB, EXPR, GME, and KOSS option trading into liquidation only due to the extraordinary volatility in the markets. In addition, long stock positions will require 100% margin and short stock positions will require 300% margin until further notice. We do not believe this situation will subside until the exchanges and regulators halt or put certain symbols into liquidation only. We will continue to monitor market conditions and may add or remove symbols as may be warranted.”

Interactive Brokers chairman Thomas Peterffy told CNBC Thursday the broker’s decision was to protect the market and the clearing house, the body responsible for the trusted transfer of securities and funds between the buyer and seller. Robinhood, however, has its own clearing system.

“We are concerned about the ability of the market and the clearing systems, through the onslaught of orders, to continue to provide liquidity. And we are concerned about the financial viability of intermediaries and the clearing houses,” Peterffy said.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/robinhood-interactive-brokers-restrict-trading-in-gamestop-s.html