Poland’s Strong Consumption and Investment Point to Robust Growth with Mild Inflation Outlook
Ukraine Peace Deal Hopes Weigh on EUR Inflation Swaps as Real Rates Hit New Highs
Germany’s Economy: Three Years of Stagnation With Only Limited Signs of Recovery
Commodities Move on Geopolitics and Weather as Oil Rises, Gas Falls, and Nickel Faces Supply Risks
USD Overvaluation Persists as Geopolitics Dominate and JPY Faces Intervention Risks
Summary:
A US judge said on Thursday that trading limits put in place by the stock trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc during the boom in "meme stocks" from the previous year must be investigated for possible market manipulation.
GameStop Corp., AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., and seven other stockholders may now move forward with a planned class action lawsuit that claims the restrictions artificially lowered share values, according to U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga's decision in Miami.
The retail trading platform was the target of a number of lawsuits after temporarily prohibiting clients from purchasing certain hot stocks in January 2021, including GameStop and AMC.
Due to a social media-driven rise that drove the share prices of certain companies to record highs, trading in the impacted equities was subsequently restricted by Robinhood and others, angering retail investors and shaking market confidence. Hedge funds that had bet against the meme stocks suffered significant losses as a result of the volatility.
In the decision released on Thursday, the judge rejected Robinhood's move to dismiss several claims that it had manipulated the market by canceling purchase orders, selling off its customers' shares, and closing out options in order to artificially lower the values of the nine stocks.
While the restrictions alone would not support a claim of market manipulation, together with "opaque and conflicting statements made to hide its lack of capital" they "evince an intent on the part of Robinhood to artificially depress share prices for its personal benefit," the judge wrote.
HOOD Price Chart
Sources: finance.yahoo.com
