Category Archives: Stock markets

GameStop shares surge again as Robinhood restores trading

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App helping to fuel share-buying frenzy allows ‘limited buys’ after a $1bn cash injection to safeguard trades

Shares in companies including videogame retailer GameStop soared again on Friday, as an army of small investors taking aim at Wall Street regained access to amateur share trading platform Robinhood.

The app, weaponised by activist small investors to trap hedge funds in a “short squeeze” that has cost them $20bn on paper by some estimates, had suspended buying of stocks such as GameStop, cinema chain AMC and BlackBerry on Thursday.

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Facebook shuts popular Robinhood Stock Traders group amid GameStop frenzy

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Facebook says group, which has 157,000 members, was taken down for allegedly violating policies unrelated to stock price surges

Facebook has taken down the popular Wall Street discussion group, Robinhood Stock Traders, in a move that its founder described as backlash for conversations buoying shares of GameStop Corp and other companies this week.

GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc and BlackBerry have been at the centre of a market battle as individual investors coordinating on social media including Reddit, and using trading apps such as Robinhood, bought shares and squeezed hedge funds that had bet that those struggling companies would tank.

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GameStop shares plunge after ban by Robinhood app

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Meteoric rise fizzles out after small investors are barred from trading in groups that had soared in value

Small investors mounting an assault on Wall Street speculators suffered a setback on Thursday as trading platforms banned them from buying more shares in GameStop, spawning conspiracy theories, political intervention and at least one lawsuit.

Amateur trading app Robinhood stopped users from investing any further in GameStop – a US chain of video games stores – and seven other companies on Thursday, after an extraordinary rise in their value, spurred by users of the chat forum website Reddit, that cost some hedge funds billions of dollars.

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White House ‘monitoring’ GameStop share surge as US hedge fund pulls out

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Melvin Capital Management had bet on failure of store before small investors sent shares soaring

The White House has said it is “monitoring” the extraordinary surge in the share price of ailing video games retailer GameStop and other companies amid a surge of bets by small investors discussing their investments online.

Wednesday’s announcement by the press secretary, Jen Psaki, came as the Treasury and the Securities and Exchange Commission said they were “aware of and actively monitoring the ongoing market volatility in the options and equities markets”.

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Keep Covid rescue programmes or risk triggering stock market crash, warns IMF

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International Monetary Fund says there are concerns about share price bubble

Governments and central banks must maintain their pandemic rescue programmes or risk triggering a stock market crash, the International Monetary Fund has said.

Warning that there were legitimate concerns about a share price bubble, the Washington-based organisation said that without continued low interest rates and government subsidies it was possible a “correction” in stock markets would occur.

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How GameStop found itself at the center of a groundbreaking battle between Wall Street and small investors

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The video game retailer has become one of the hottest stocks this year in a tale that illustrates the changing face of investing

The coronavirus pandemic hit GameStop hard. Like many retailers, already suffering from the shift to online sales, the video games chain is losing money and plans to close 450 stores this year. And yet, surprisingly, GameStop has become one the hottest stocks of the year.

The 37-year-old chain store group is now the focus of a David-and-Goliath battle between an army of small investors and Wall Street that shows no signs of abating and has highlighted some fundamental shifts in investing.

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Dr Martens bosses and backers set for huge windfall in £3.5bn float

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UK footwear brand expected to launch market listing on Monday, with CEO in line for stake worth £58m

The British footwear brand Dr Martens is expected to launch a stock market flotation on Monday that would value the Northamptonshire firm at £3.5bn and generate a huge windfall for its bosses and backers.

The company, known for its boots with chunky air-cushioned soles and distinctive yellow stitching, was owned until 2013 by the Griggs family, who sold to the private equity investment group Permira for £300m but retained a near-10% stake. Just seven years later the business has soared in value and when it lands on the stock market will create numerous multimillionaires.

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Is ‘hysterical’ market speculation pushing us towards another crash?

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Despite Covid, global stocks started 2021 on a high. But some analysts warn of an ‘epic’ bubble, amid fears that the flow of stimulus has created a monster

Insurrections are not usually seen by investors as buy signals. Yet even as rioters stormed the seat of US legislative government last week, stock market indices hit new highs in New York, adding another chapter to 12 months of apparent defiance of economic gravity.

Wall Street, measured by the benchmark S&P 500, was not alone in starting 2021 with a bang. London’s FTSE 100 jumped by more than 6% in the first week of the year as investors took in a heady cocktail of a President Joe Biden ready and able to spend money, cheap borrowing costs, and the hopes that vaccines will end the coronavirus lockdowns. Yet amid the exuberance a serious concern looms: are we on the cusp of another colossal crash?

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Ebullient analysts predict markets will weather the storm in 2021

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Some forecasters, buoyed by the success of big tech and vaccines, are predicting 10‑15% gains

The new year is traditionally a time for looking forwards, for hopeful resolutions, for celebrating. But for economists and investors, the annual forecasts for 2021 might be something of a painful reminder of exactly how much they failed to foresee.

The pandemic quickly made a mockery of all projections. An entertaining analysis of US chief executives’ statements during 2020 by data company Sentieo for the New York Times showed a 70,000% year-on-year rise in the use of “unprecedented”, while “humbled” tripled – perhaps code for “it wasn’t my fault, so you should still pay me the same”. To be fair, though, in March it really did feel like nobody had a clue what to do – even governments, who are meant to have “pandemic” firmly on their risk radars.

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China targeting Biden team, intelligence chief warns, amid fresh trade war measures

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William Evanina speaks of Beijing’s influence campaign ‘on steroids’, as Congress passes bill targeting big companies such as Alibaba

A counterintelligence chief in the US has warned that Chinese agents are already targeting the personnel of President-elect Joe Biden, as well as those close to his team, as Congress unveiled more measures targeting big Chinese companies.

William Evanina, from the office of the US Director of National Intelligence, told the Aspen Institute Cyber Summit on Wednesday it was an influence campaign “on steroids”.

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Asian manufacturing boom offers hope for swifter global recovery from Covid

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Markets respond as manufacturing in China and South Korea grows at fastest pace in a decade

Hopes that the world will bounce back from the ravages of coronavirus in the new year have been buoyed by strong growth in output from Asia’s huge manufacturing centres, led by an accelerating post-pandemic boom in China.

China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in a decade in November, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday, in the latest sign that the world’s second-largest economy is recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

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Stock market rally pushes Dow Jones to record high of 30,000

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  • Dow rallies by 450 points to close above 30,000 for first time
  • Investors cheer hopes of vaccine and smooth Biden transition

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped the 30,000 mark for the first time as financial markets around the world rally amid hopes for a coronavirus vaccine and smooth transition to a Joe Biden presidency.

The landmark for the Wall Street market comes as investors bet rapid medical advances will bring the Covid outbreak to an earlier end than feared, paving the way for a swift economic rebound next year as business activity returns closer to normal and tough government restrictions are relaxed.

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China’s biggest tech firms dive in value as firms fear Beijing crackdown plan

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Frantic stock sell-offs across sector anticipating ‘monopoly’ rules, with Alibaba shopping site shares falling 9.8%

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been wiped off the value of China’s biggest internet companies following two days of frenetic selling with investors fearing Beijing plans to curb the power of homegrown tech firms.

Shares in Alibaba, a Chinese version of Amazon, dropped by 9.8% on Wednesday, while its rivals, Tencent, and JD.com, fell by 7.4% and 9.2% respectively.

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Markets rally as investors brace for US election – business live

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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Mohit Kumar of Jefferies reckons the battle for the Senate could be worth $2tn in potential stimulus measures:

In terms of market impact, a clear result should be positive for risk sentiment, irrespective of a Biden or Trump win.

From a fiscal stimulus perspective, as we have argued before, the Senate elections are as important, if not more, than a Presidential one. A ‘Blue Wave’ with Biden as the President and Democrats having control of both the House and the Senate would see a fiscal stimulus of over $3trn.

Related: The Senate races to watch on election night

This morning’s rally in Europe follows a strong day’s trading for shares in the Asia-Pacific region.

China’s CSI 300 index gained 1.2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped by nearly 2%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.9% after the RBA slashed interest rates to record lows.

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US and European markets dip as Covid containment efforts founder

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Investors’ summer optimism gives way to insecurity as curfews and lockdowns return

Stock markets in the US and Europe fell sharply oas investors focused on signs that rich countries’ efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic were foundering.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index lost 1.8% after heavy falls in German blue-chip stocks. In the US the Dow Jones industrial average closed 2.3% down at 27685.38, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.9% to 3400.97.

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Jack Ma’s Ant set for world’s biggest share offering at £26bn

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Financial technology firm will list on Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets in snub to US

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s financial technology firm is aiming to raise more than $34bn (£26.15bn) in the world’s biggest initial public offering, valuing the business at more than $313bn.

Ant Group, which on Monday set the price for its much anticipated flotation and is expected to start trading early next month, will beat the record $25.6bn sold by state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco in its flotation last December.

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K-Pop band BTS scores huge hit on South Korea stock market in management firm’s IPO

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Investors scramble to buy shares in Big Hit Entertainment amid speculation that the boy band members could be allowed to defer military service

The management company behind the popular South Korean boy band BTS has scored a huge hit on the country’s stock market after its shares doubled on their first day of trading.

Investors scrambled to buy into the success story of Big Hit Entertainment amid speculation that the South Korean government could allow K-pop and other celebrities to defer their military service, citing their huge contribution to the country’s economy and international reputation.

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Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Milgrom and Wilson for auction theory work – business live

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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is awarded

Earlier:

In the 1960s, Robert Wilson began to investigation auctions with a common value - one that is unknown beforehand, but is the same to all bidders, the Academy continues.

That could be bidding for fishing quotas - where the value is determined by not only the quota, but the future value of the fish. Bidders need to estimate that value, so they could potentially overpay.

This is something known as the Winner’s Curse.

Auctions are everywhere. People use auctions to buy and sell items on internet sites, explains the Royal Academy.

Electricity markets are organized as auctions. Financial assets, CO2 emissions allowances and radio spectrum are all organised as auctions.

The auction theory provided by Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson is key for understanding how these objectives can be reached.

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Why Joe Biden is better than Donald Trump for the US economy | Nouriel Roubini

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It’s a myth that Republicans handle the economy better – US recessions almost always occur under the GOP

Joe Biden has consistently held a wide polling lead over US President Donald Trump ahead of November’s election. But, despite Trump’s botched response to the Covid-19 pandemic – a failure that has left the economy far weaker than it otherwise would have been – he has maintained a marginal edge on the question of which candidate would be better for the US economy. Thanks to Trump, a country with just 4% of the world’s population now accounts for more than 20% of total Covid-19 deaths – an utterly shameful outcome, given America’s advanced (albeit expensive) healthcare system.

The presumption that Republicans are better than Democrats at economic stewardship is a longstanding myth that must be debunked. In our 1997 book, Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy, the late (and great) Alberto Alesina and I showed that Democratic administrations tend to preside over faster growth, lower unemployment and stronger stock markets than Republican presidents do.

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Tesla shares plummet 17% as tech sector sell-off continues

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Carmaker’s value plunges after failing to make S&P 500 listing as all major US stock markets fall

The US tech sell-off on Wall Street extended to a third day on Tuesday, with electric carmaker Tesla among the biggest fallers suffering its worst day in nearly six months.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock market dropped close to 3% in morning trading, following similar falls on Thursday and Friday. Wall Street was closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

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