The political landscape a wasteland, the meme lords move to Wall Street.

So at what point does Data buy america and complete this horrible novel so the program can end and they can beam back up to the enterprise?

 

In the case of Gamestop they've actually been making money, but the plunging stock price driven partially by mass shorting makes it harder for them to raise funds by issuing shares or taking out loans.

Apparently AMC were quick on the ball, and were able to use the higher stock price to secure some much needed funds.

 

s/Ted Cruz/Ken Paxton/ too. “Skinks of corruption”, he’s one to fucking talk.

 

Lol. As if anyone inside Gamestop, staff or customers, is that attractive.

 

Robinhood is blocking other trades as well. Like GM and Starbucks.

 

Bloomberg's take.

More at the link, but Bloomberg decided to block me so I can't c&p the rest of it.

 

https://www.reportdoor.com/meme-stock-rally-rescues-amc-theaters-from-600m-debt/

Explanation in this article of how AMC has benefited from the current situation.

 

AMC might not be doomed as a business. I could see movie theaters always being a place that attracts people because it is an entertainment event you cannot get in your home. I am sure they will have someplace, but maybe not as common of a place. I see a gamestop as being fucked like blockbuster. With broadband becoming ever more popular in america physical media is becoming more and more obsolete. Not to mention you could find it in other places that have a broader product variance.

If AMC is smart they take this moment to re-organize for the post COVID world where I am pretty sure people will want a theater experience. That might be something some investors may want to save and be a part of. That might be a particular business people want to save and perhaps influence with their "ownership." That would be something that would be the plus of the stock market. If you could organize a community of small investors to take ownership and responsibility for a corporation that they like but might be failing that could be a way to keep things in a capitalistic society.

 

Now, witness the power of this fully armed and operational troll movement.

 

WallStreetBets bought a billboard in NYC with some of the money they made...

 

There is much fuckery afoot.

 

A lot of those amateurs are going to get crushed.

 

I would go so far as to say the people of wallstreetbets just exploited the rigged system to make money off of the little guy the same way the big guys do. It seems to be pure exploitation of PR to pretend like the little guy could make some quick money while they were the ones who made their money by leaving the little guy holding the bag. All the pretense of getting the rich really neglected the fact they can weather the storm and cover their bets on volatility.

In the end it seemed obvious the short sellers would easily make another killing on the back end when the stock falls like a brick.

I do have to wonder how much of this money is really being funneled back to the rich from the stimulus people looking to increase their checks.

 

But, see, that's the thing I'm not seeing covered. All the ones I know, myself included, don't care.

I bought two shares at $65. I sold one at $350. I set my original $130 aside and reinvested the remaining $220. I don't care if it all evaporates tomorrow. It's the principal of the matter. I've lost nothing, but in the smallest fraction of a percentage point, I've told Wall Street to get bent.

 

I can't find it now, but there's a story out there about someone who was able to take a profit in the rise of GameStop shares to buy a bunch of Nintendo Switches for a children's hospital. That's pretty fucking cool. And it is a lot more than many billionaires would be willing to do, even if they could get a tax credit for it.

 

I can’t believe all these people telling people to Hold as the price plummets. I’d have been out last Friday with the shorts ending now.

 

You can't look at this through the traditional lens. These people aren't out to make money. They're here to prove a point, and they've succeeded. It's principle, not principal.

I'm content to ride my few shares all the way into the ground if it means the hedge funds still lose. Some have, stupidly, invested more than they can afford to lose. But, for the most part, this is millions and millions of people investing a few hundred dollars each of fun money to prove a point.

I spent some of this month's hobby money. I've already broken even. What happens now, happens.

 

Let me make clear I'm shedding no tears for any short seller. Their whole schtick is based on the idea that they're smarter than everyone else. I also have heard anecdotes that indicate that they are a zero sum lot (in some cases I've also heard that many of them are heavily involved with Scientology. ) not content to just what for prices to fall on their own, but willing to actively work to undermine confidence in the stocks/companies. So, if they get skinned, it's fine by me. I'm also highly amused by the thought that hobbyists that are willing to put some mad money into the effort and put any gains to good use. All good. On the other hand, I put the over/under at a week before sob stories start showing up describing how some millenial committed suicide after losing his life's avings, cleaning out his mother's bank account, maxing out his credit cards when things suddenly went south. I've never believed that the markets are always totally efficient, but I do believe that inefficiencies are short-lived and once spotted are quickly corrected. Whoa to those who are overextended on the wrong side when that happens.

 

Been around, just not here so much. Conversations move too quickly to keep up with.

 

I get it completely.

That being said, the price is plummeting, and I'm sure that other funds simply shorted the stock after the initial blitz.

So quite a few Wall Street suits are making money off of this, even if the first few funds got clobbered.

The best good of this will be if Congress gets off its ass and stops the concept of shorting more stocks than actually exist. That's ridiculously destructive.

 

...and just as I predicted a lot of the amateurs who were so happy to ride the rocket up are now trying to figure out how to stick the landing.
Evan Oosterink, a 19-year-old college student in the Netherlands, knew almost nothing about GameStop when in December he chose the company for one of his first big stock-market bets, calling it some kind of “American games shop where you can get all your games,” he said.

But his favorite Reddit forum, WallStreetBets, was increasingly obsessed with it, casting it as a way to crush billionaires, move the market and profit heavily in the process. Energized by its rising price, Oosterink said he invested another 8,000 euros last month — nearly $10,000, mostly from years of savings from his parents and some government college loans — leaving only about 30 euros in his personal account.

Had he sold last week, he could have pocketed a typical American’s annual salary. But as the stock has crumbled, he has turned to the forum for reassurance, posting a screenshot from his online-banking app showing the day’s losses, totaling about $9,000. He said he was “deep in losses but holding will prevail,” and included the emoji for a rocket and “diamond hands,” the forum’s lingo for not selling when a stock nose-dives.

“Being a part of WallStreetBets, it’s like a religion you’re devoted to,” he said on a Tuesday phone call from his parents’ home, where, in his bedroom, he has hung up a printed-out meme image featuring Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, with GameStop’s logo shining above them.

“There’s this enormous power driving WallStreetBets, this energy: ‘Hold the line. We aren’t giving in. We aren’t giving up. We are in for that ride to that moon,’ ” he said, reiterating several of the forum’s catchphrases. “That is the power that keeps everyone holding their shares.”

 

I bought some penny stock in 2017 that went from $.25 to $1.50 unexpectedly due to something to do with blockchain and I cashed out, putting the money into some more, stable stocks.

.....and then the stock tapped out at $15 a share seven months later!

Lost potential down payment for a condo notwithstanding, Warren Buffett has the best investing advice: don't invest in something if you don't understand how it works or why it's moving so quickly in price.

 

Wow, I didnt know Tuttle worked at Robinhood.