If you were able to listen to Glen Greenwald's video, which I posted earlier
today, then this article will make sense to you.
Miriam
Published on
Thursday, January 28, 2021
byCommon Dreams
'This Is Unacceptable': AOC, Tlaib Demand Hearing Into Robinhood Blocking
Customers From GameStop Trades
"They're blocking the ability to trade to protect Wall St. hedge funds,
stealing millions of dollars from their users to protect people who've used
the stock market as a casino for decades."
byKenny Stancil, staff writer
"We now need to know more about Robinhood's decision to block retail
investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade
the stock as they see fit," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on
Thursday, January 28, 2021. (Photo Illustration: Justin Sullivan/Getty
Images)
"We now need to know more about Robinhood's decision to block retail
investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade
the stock as they see fit," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on
Thursday, January 28, 2021. (Photo Illustration: Justin Sullivan/Getty
Images)
Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib on Thursday
called on Congress to investigate Robinhood after the trading app-which
helped amateur investors on Reddit boost the price of GameStop's stock in
what progressives described as a lesson in the "absurdity" of
capitalism-stopped allowing users to purchase stock in the video game
retailer and other hot picks.
"This is unacceptable," said Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of the House
Financial Services Committee.
"We now need to know more about Robinhood's decision to block retail
investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade
the stock as they see fit," Ocasio-Cortez noted, adding that she would
support a hearing if necessary.
As Jordan Pearson reported for Vice:
According to screenshots shared on social media, on Thursday morning a
notification appeared on Robinhood telling users that they could close their
position on GameStop's stock but not buy any additional shares. Redditors
are currently panicking, looking for ways to transfer their shares of
GameStop off of Robinhood to other platforms, and are generally furious at
the platform.
In a blog post, Robinhood confirmed that it has placed restrictions on
several stocks due to volatility. "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 $AMC, $BB, $BBBY, $EXPR, $GME, $KOSS, $NAKD and $NOK. We also
raised margin requirements for certain securities," the blog post read...
This is likely to have a massive impact on Robinhood users and ultimately
the company. Holders are now unable to freely trade it; the app is only
allowing users to close out their positions, meaning they can sell it but
not buy more. This is potentially devastating for novice investors or those
who simply want to follow the general marching orders of the
r/WallStreetBets subreddit, which is to hold (and buy more) GameStop stock
until further notice.
The price of GameStop's stock "fell as much as 68% Thursday after curbs were
imposed," Al-Jazeera reported, prompting Robinhood users to sue the company.
Tlaib (D-Mich.) called Robinhood's actions "absurd," and echoed her
colleague's demand for "a hearing on Robinhood's market manipulation."
"They're blocking the ability to trade to protect Wall St. hedge funds,"
Tlaib said, "stealing millions of dollars from their users to protect people
who've used the stock market as a casino for decades."
Many commentators have decried the double-standards that allow Wall Street
firms to manipulate markets to maximize profit but punish Redditors for
doing the same.
"If Redditors rallying GameStop is unacceptable market manipulation,"
tweeted former labor secretary Robert Reich, "what would you call it when
greedy Wall Street bankers gambled away our entire economy in 2008 and faced
no consequences?"
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) added to the chorus, pointing out that "the moment
regular folks beat [Wall Street] at their own rigged game, it's SHUT IT
DOWN." Instead, Omar suggested, Congress should impose a financial
transaction tax to redistribute the wealth appropriated through speculative
trading.
Ocasio-Cortez said she'll be on Twitch at 8:30 pm ET "to discuss today's
developments with GameStop."
Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License. Feel free to republish and share widely.
