Republicans warn Wall Street: The GameStop populists are more powerful than you think

[enhanced_deficit]

Top GOP leadership and White House are monitoring latest Wall Street phenomenon per latest news:


Republicans in Washington warn Wall Street: The GameStop populists are more powerful than you think

Published Thu, Jan 28 2021
Eamon Javers

• There are scores of similarities between Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and the GameStop uprising.
• Republicans in Washington have a warning for Wall Street: Be willing to scrutinize yourself. This not going away, and it is probably bigger than you think.
• “There are a few times when you can definitely point to a moment and say society has changed, and this is one of them,” said Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff for GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell.

cnbc.com/2021/01/28/gamestop-republicans-warn-of-trump-style-populist-revolution.html



Some "Social Capital CEO" guy appeared on CNBC and almost suggested as if this was some sort of "democratization of wall street manipulations", not these exact words. Wall Street manipulations and scams have been going on forever, might be coincidence that following two developments (exposing such manipulations by Wall Street insiders usually done quietly) happening right after Trump loss and in such a public and "transparent" manner?

These could also be bringing under wraps wall street plays of some of some "questionabe philanthropists" linked to the only democracy in mideast and its military.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4jMZLX7rAs


"Questionable Philanthropy"

During Plotkin's time at SAC Capital Advisors he was the recipient of illegal insider information according to federal prosecutors.^[23] Reuters identified Plotkin as the so called "Portfolio Manager B" in the Securities and Exchange Commission's civil complaint against Michael Steinberg a fellow SAC PM who was arrested on charges he traded Dell's earnings based on insider information.^[24] Plotkin was allegedly forwarded several emails by Steinberg and others that contained insider information.^[24] Plotkin was never formally charged in the SAC insider trading scandal which sent several SAC employees to jail.

IDF Heroes Appear in New York
The gala, chaired by Gabriel Plotkin and Yaara Bank-Plotkin, also honored Jonathan and Jennifer Harris and Eli and Yael Weiss for their leadership in supporting Israel and its brave soldiers. Rabbi Bentzion Krasnianski, director of Chabad of the Upper East Side, gave the Dvar Torah.

Melvin Announces $2.75 Billion Investment from Citadel and Point72
NEW YORK, Jan. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Melvin Capital Management ("Melvin") today announced that Citadel and its partners and Point72 have made investments into its fund.
"I am incredibly proud to partner with Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen," said Melvin Founder and CEO Gabriel Plotkin. "The team at Melvin is eager to get to work and reward the confidence of these two great investment icons."

Apollo Global Management CEO Stepping Down
Apollo's Leon Black Paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 Million
January 26, 2021, 3:37 AM
Jan.26 -- A report released by law firm Dechert, commissioned by the board of investment firm Apollo Global Management Inc., found that its founder and chief executive officer Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017 -- after the sex offender pleaded guilty to felony charges in 2008 -- for advisory services that helped expand the wealth of one of America’s richest men. Apollo said in a statement Monday that Black will retire as CEO no later than July 31, while remaining chairman. Bloomberg's Tom Metcalf reports.

Controversy continues over MoMa PS1 protest as artists call out questionable philanthropy
Artists are protesting the affiliation between Leon Black, the chairman of MoMA, and Constellis Group, the private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater


Similar questions had come up after former infamous former NASDAQ President Bernie Madoff's Wall Street scam:


Israeli Nonprofits Shaken by Madoff Scam
April 4, 2009
JERUSALEM — The collapse of Bernard L. Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme
The Madoff scheme’s collapse has forced educational institutions and organizations that aid the sick and the needy to reassess their investment strategies, and Israel, which depends heavily on the nonprofit sector to provide such services, has been forced once again to confront its dependence on American donors’ largess.
The crisis “has exposed a very substantial weakness” among nonprofits here, said Eliezer Yaari, executive director of the New Israel Fund, an advocacy organization that promotes equality and social justice in Israel.
nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/middleeast/05israel.html


Hard to say how much financial impact these would have on the financial support for our mideast allies militaries. These devlopments come on the heels of passing of another high profile philanthropist and top MAGA donor who also championed similar foreign military causes.



Related

Reddit's GameStop stock surge is a terrifying new Occupy Wall Street

Commentary: The gains are rooted in disdain for existing financial institutions, tapping into the same emotions as the protests from a decade ago. And it has Wall Street running scared.
https://www.cnet.com/news/reddits-ga...y-wall-street/


Occupy Wall Street Is Not Anti-Semitic
https://www.theatlantic.com/national...emitic/246884/



Chamath Palihapitiya defends investors’ right to sway stocks like pros

With GameStop's stock soaring, Social Capital founder and CEO Chamath Palihapitiya took advantage of the video game retailer's good fortune and donated the half a million dollars he apparently made in profits off of GameStop stocks to Barstool Sports' Barstool Fund, which helps businesses that are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic.

1/27/21

Palihapitiya said the phenomenon around GameStop, and a few other stocks like AMC, is individual investors pushing back against the Wall Street establishment.

Palihapitiya dismissed Wall Street criticism about how individual investors are banding together on social media — particularly the wallstreetbets Reddit message board, and short-squeezing GameStop and a handful of other stocks like pros — as hypocritical. He said hedge funds try to push stocks around all the time.
Allowing hedge funds to go short 140% of GameStop shares could be seen as irresponsible, he said. “To a normal person that doesn’t make any sense. But to a Wall Street mathematician, that’s the game that’s been played. And that game came undone.”

“Instead of having ‘idea dinners’ or quiet whispered conversations amongst hedge funds in the Hamptons these kids have the courage to do it transparently in a forum,” he said. “What it proves is this retail [investor] phenomenon is here to stay. There are 2.7 million people inside wallstreetbets. I think they are as important as any hedge or collection of hedge funds.”

Palihapitiya said the best research on stocks done by retail investors inside wallstreetbets is nearly indistinguishable from the best research on Wall Street. “That edge is gone. Now all of a sudden, retail can be on the same footing and they don’t have to be the ‘bag holder’ to Wall Street.”

cnbc.com/2021/01/27/chamath-palihapitiya-closes-gamestop-position-but-defends-individual-investors-right-to.html

[jkr]

it has a ton of value with unrealised potential gains...imagine if they could buy, like, STEAM with the cash...can i buy steam?

[wizardwatson]

Some "Social Capital CEO" guy appeared on CNBC and almost suggested as if this was some sort of "democratization of wall street manipulations", not these exact words.

How about "democratization of total financial collapse"?

What better way to usher in the Great Reset and the new Fed crypto beast system than to blame the collapse on internet kids who "are very similar" to the MAGA crowd.

Why isn't anyone talking about 2008? Bankrupting hedge fund companies was the catalyst that threatened our "too big to fail" banks who were overexposed to them.

Hello McFly?

I don't trust this AT ALL.

[enhanced_deficit]

I don't fully understand this but this story is shining light on the fact that how messed up Wall Street mechanisms are and how easy it is for a group to manipulate prices and get away with it. If these "kids" can do it, have the hedge funds/Wall Street insiders not been doing similar manipulations to fleece public for decades as some suggested? Many in public could get hurt still in the end.


In other news, a server linked to hate speech has been banned:


Discord bans r/WallStreetBets server over hate speech amid the group driving GameStop shares through the roof

Tyler Sonnemaker
Jan. 28, 2021

• Discord shut down the r/WallStreetBets server Wednesday for repeatedly allowing hate speech.
• The move came amid the online community fueling a massive rally of GameStop shares.
• The group's Reddit forum briefly went dark but was back online Wednesday evening.

markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/discord-bans-wallstreetbets-server-hate-speech-reddit-gamestop-gme-2021-1-1030012434

[enhanced_deficit]

A bit reckless narrative is being pushed also, some in social media are comparing it to "bitcoin", limited supply of shares so many "kids" apparently want to get those.

it has a ton of value with unrealised potential gains...imagine if they could buy, like, STEAM with the cash...can i buy steam?

It's suddenly among top 500 Cos in America, so they could have more options to stay viable including acquistions like the one you mentioned... depending on how much of this price jump actually changes company's bottom line in the end.

How about "democratization of total financial collapse"?

What better way to usher in the Great Reset and the new Fed crypto beast system than to blame the collapse on internet kids who "are very similar" to the MAGA crowd.

Why isn't anyone talking about 2008? Bankrupting hedge fund companies was the catalyst that threatened our "too big to fail" banks who were overexposed to them.

Hello McFly?

I don't trust this AT ALL.

Your point may have some merit and there are reasons to be skeptical about that pov. Some MSM talking heads were even invoking David and Goliath comparisons.
But this episode is also exposing some ugly practices of Wall St insiders like these cited by Social Capital dude. Strong reaction from Wall St big wigs today also suggests this disruption is not welcome.

Allowing hedge funds to go short 140% of GameStop shares could be seen as irresponsible, he said. “To a normal person that doesn’t make any sense. But to a Wall Street mathematician, that’s the game that’s been played. And that game came undone.”

“Instead of having ‘idea dinners’ or quiet whispered conversations amongst hedge funds in the Hamptons these kids have the courage to do it transparently in a forum,” he said. “What it proves is this retail [investor] phenomenon is here to stay. There are 2.7 million people inside wallstreetbets. I think they are as important as any hedge or collection of hedge funds.”

In other news:

Lawmakers from AOC to Ted Cruz are bashing Robinhood over its GameStop trading freeze

Thu, Jan 28 2021 4:25 PM EST
Key Points

• AOC, Ted Cruz, Ro Khanna and other lawmakers criticized Robinhood after it restricted trading in GameStop and other companies targeted by the irreverent WallStreetBets Reddit forum.
• Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a member of the Financial Services Committee, called Robinhood’s move “beyond absurd” and demanding a hearing on “Robinhood’s market manipulation.”
• The White House has said its economic team is monitoring the situation.
• The Democratic leaders of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee said they would hold hearings.

DC political consultants warn of ‘financial populism’ behind Reddit-driven market volatility
Lawmakers from both major parties criticized Robinhood on Thursday after the California-based financial services firm announced it had restricted its customers’ ability to buy stock in GameStop and other companies whose shares have been driven up by retail investors organized online.

Robinhood announced earlier in the day that it had limited trade in GameStop and other stocks targeted by investors on the irreverent WallStreetBets Reddit forum, citing “recent volatility.”
Investors from the message board had sent shares of the video game retailer up 1,500% in recent weeks, in the process pulling off a calamitous “squeeze” for hedge funds who had bet the company’s shares would continue to slide. In a reversal, shares of GameStop tanked on Thursday after the restrictions were put in place.

Amid a clamor from lawmakers, the Democratic leaders of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee said they would hold hearings.
One of the first barbs on Thursday came from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a progressive who represents Silicon Valley, called for “more regulation and equality” in financial markets in a statement about Robinhood’s move.
“While retail trading in some cases, like on Robinhood, blocked the purchasing of GameStop, hedge funds were still allowed to trade the stock,” Khanna said.
“Instead of investing in future technologies to help America win the 21st Century, Wall Street poured billions into shorting this stock to crush this company and put workers out of business. The future of this country lies in that access and equality across every sector of our economy,” Khanna said.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a member of the Financial Services Committee, went further, calling Robinhood’s move “beyond absurd” and demanding a hearing on “Robinhood’s market manipulation.”
“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,” Tlaib said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who also sits on that committee, said she would support a hearing if necessary, condemning Robinhood’s move as “unacceptable.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, the incoming chair of the Banking Committee, said Thursday that he will hold a hearing on the “current state of the stock market.”

“People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones getting hurt,” Brown said in a statement. “American workers have known for years the Wall Street system is broken – they’ve been paying the price. It’s time for the SEC and Congress to make the economy work for everyone not just Wall Street.”
Robinhood was not the only broker to limit sales of GameStop. Interactive Brokers on Wednesday said it had placed restrictions on sales of the stock. Charles Schwab said Thursday that its customers could still trade GameStop but noted that it limited certain kinds of transactions involving more risk.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a conservative Republican from Texas, seized on Robinhood’s branding in a post Thursday morning on Twitter. Using a bemused face emoji, Cruz posted a March 2016 tweet from Robinhood declaring, “Let the people trade,” alongside its statement announcing restrictions on GameStop and AMC.
Cruz later reposted Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet to his own page, writing, “Fully agree.”
...
cnbc.com/2021/01/28/gamestop-cruz-ocasio-cortez-blast-robinhood-over-trade-freeze.html

[wizardwatson]

Your point may have some merit and there are reasons to be skeptical about that pov. Some MSM talking heads were even invoking David and Goliath comparisons.
But this episode is also exposing some ugly practices of Wall St insiders like these cited by Social Capital dude. Strong reaction from Wall St big wigs today also suggests this disruption is not welcome.

I guess to me it's like:

"Hey, the Titanic hit an iceberg and it's sinking." (National Debt, deficits, Federal Reserve, Derivatives bubble, Petrodollar collapsing)
"Well, you think that's bad, look this plumbing in the upper decks is not up to code and these faulty electrical switches in the main dining hall are a disaster just waiting to happen." (Hedge Fund drama)

I thought collectively we were past this.

Chamath (Social Capital dude) I don't know what to think. He was one of the first people (as former Facebook VP) to blow the whistle on social media problems. Sure, he's taking the underdog position, but I'm not sure I even trust him or the creators of "Social Dilemma" (Netflix doc) at Center for Humane Technology.

This is what I'm talking about (narrative control). It's not what IS being discussed it's what ISN'T being discussed. I do see, in the Twitter-sphere some low level WSB accounts talking about monetary system and bankers, but the MSM and the "underdog supporters" like Chamath, and these so-called independent journalists, not so much. Just class warfare garbage.

We should be talking about monetary system.
FEDERAL RESERVE
BANKERS (you know, where the hedge funds get most of their money)
CORRUPT POLITICIANS

Sure, this class warfare narrative is a nice vacation from the race warfare, but cui bono?

This narrative energizes and makes people angry. People get angry they are controlled easier. They do dumb things, or others can do dumb things for them and use them as camouflage.

Anyway, business as usual.

[Pauls' Revere]

Message from Robinhood:

This past year, we’ve seen the financial markets become a voice for the voiceless. We’ve seen a new generation of people come into the markets, sparking conversations about what it means to be an investor. Our customers have shown the world that investing is for everyone—not just institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amid this week’s extraordinary circumstances in the market, we made a tough decision today to temporarily limit buying for certain securities. 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 and we take our responsibilities to comply with them seriously, including through the measures we have taken today.

Starting tomorrow, we plan to allow limited buys of these securities. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and may make adjustments as needed.

To be clear, this was a risk-management decision, and was not made on the direction of the market makers we route to.

We stand in support of our customers and the freedom of retail investors to shape their own financial future. Democratizing finance has been our guiding star since our earliest days. We will continue to build products that give more people—not fewer—access to our financial system. We’ll keep monitoring market conditions as we look to restore full trading for these securities. We will update this Help Center article with the latest changes.

We are deeply grateful to our customers.

[enhanced_deficit]

I guess to me it's like:

"Hey, the Titanic hit an iceberg and it's sinking." (National Debt, deficits, Federal Reserve, Derivatives bubble, Petrodollar collapsing)
"Well, you think that's bad, look this plumbing in the upper decks is not up to code and these faulty electrical switches in the main dining hall are a disaster just waiting to happen." (Hedge Fund drama)

I thought collectively we were past this.

Chamath (Social Capital dude) I don't know what to think. He was one of the first people (as former Facebook VP) to blow the whistle on social media problems. Sure, he's taking the underdog position, but I'm not sure I even trust him or the creators of "Social Dilemma" (Netflix doc) at Center for Humane Technology.

This is what I'm talking about (narrative control). It's not what IS being discussed it's what ISN'T being discussed. I do see, in the Twitter-sphere some low level WSB accounts talking about monetary system and bankers, but the MSM and the "underdog supporters" like Chamath, and these so-called independent journalists, not so much. Just class warfare garbage.

We should be talking about monetary system.
FEDERAL RESERVE
BANKERS (you know, where the hedge funds get most of their money)
CORRUPT POLITICIANS

Sure, this class warfare narrative is a nice vacation from the race warfare, but cui bono?

This narrative energizes and makes people angry. People get angry they are controlled easier. They do dumb things, or others can do dumb things for them and use them as camouflage.

Anyway, business as usual.

Interesting analogies and that Social Capital guy being invited to CNBC frequently may also suggest that this may not be as black n white issue as it is being projected in social media. Fed Reserve role I don't really understand but wall Street abd corrupt politicians nexus is well established. Incidentally, Citadel, one of the "most profitable" hedge funds also linked to this saga funded politicians of both parties including Rahm Emanuel, Rubio, various other Senators etc.

Disagree on this being part of "class warfare", from what I have read many of these guys appear to support people who work for their money the old fashioned way, brick n mortar CEOs and others; their stated rivals are Wall Street crooks & manipulators who make $Billions through insider plays & exploitation of Wall Street mechanisms that regular folks are generally not familar with. There could be big fish on both sides at this stage even if early crusaders were reddit "kids".
Even if this were a minor issue (or bad plumbing in your analogy) in the bigger scheme, exposing of bigger political corruption/financial corruption and exposing of such Wall Street manipulations don't seem mutually excluive.

This name showed up among "Key People" of the hedge fund per wiki, it sounds familar:

Citadel Hedge Fund

Ben Bernanke (Senior Advisor)

Message from Robinhood:
...
Starting tomorrow, we plan to allow limited buys of these securities. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and may make adjustments as needed.

To be clear, this was a risk-management decision, and was not made on the direction of the market makers we route to.

I'm no expert but allowing selling but limiting buying would seem unfair to those who bought in the past as this would sink prices.
If there is an issue, exchage or regulators should halt both.

There are some strange claims being made in social media, some claiming that White House got involved and pressured RH ( have not validated such claims).

This blurb was in MSM:

1 day ago
Yellen received $800G from hedge fund in Gamestop controversy; WH doesn't commit to recusal

The Senate confirmed Yellen on Monday
By Sam Dorman | Fox News

Newly-confirmed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen received around $810,000 in speaking fees from the hedge fund that bailed out one of the primary losers in the recent Gamestop frenzy.
Yellen's financial disclosure shows her making $337,500 for multiple days in Oct. of 2020 from Citadel. She similarly banked $292,500 in October of 2019 and $180,000 in December of that year.
The Senate confirmed Yellen on Monday, making her the first female secretary of the department. She previously chaired the Federal Reserve after an appointment by former President Obama.
SURGING GAMESTOP STOCK CREATING CHAOS FOR HEDGE FUNDS

Both Citadel and Point72 infused almost $3 billion into Melvin Capital, which saw massive losses after betting against the video game retailer Gamestop. The White House said on Wednesday that Yellen was monitoring the situation.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked Thursday during the daily briefing whether Yellen would recuse herself from advising the president on Gamestop. Psaki did not commit one way or another.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
foxnews.com/politics/yellen-robinhood-citadel-gamestop-speaking-fees

[Mordan]

Gamestop and RH drama shows the game is rigged.

Decentralization of power.

Period.

.

.

[enhanced_deficit]

Gamestop and RH drama shows the game is rigged.

EM.
Shows, confirms.. same thing.


Sir Joe Rogan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bya-t5yhwa0






Related

GameStop short sellers are still not surrendering despite nearly $20 billion in losses this month

Fri, Jan 29 2021

• Short-selling hedge funds have suffered a mark-to-market loss of $19.75 billion year to date in the brick-and-mortar video game retailer GameStop, according to data from S3 Partners.
• Still, short sellers mostly are holding onto their bearish positions or they are being replaced by new hedge funds willing to bet against the stock.
• GameStop shares that have been borrowed and sold short have declined by just about 5 million over the last week, marking an 8% dip in the short interest, according to S3.
• Most of the short covering occurred on Thursday, when the stock fell for the first time in six days.

cnbc.com/2021/01/29/gamestop-short-sellers-are-still-not-surrendering-despite-nearly-20-billion-in-losses-this-year.html

Robinhood restricting GameStop trading is 'flat out criminal,' Barstool's Dave Portnoy says

“They basically stole money from their own clients,” Portnoy said on FOX Business' "Varney and Co.,” adding that intentionally cratering the stock at the expense of customers is “flat out criminal.”

foxbusiness.com/markets/robinhood-gamestop-criminal-barstool-dave-portnoy

[enhanced_deficit]

Source is MSM:

The Citadel Link: What Ken Griffin Has to Do With GameStop

Katherine Burton and Sridhar NatarajanSun, January 31, 2021


(Bloomberg) -- The name is a byword for power on Wall Street. But suddenly, there it was, in the White House Briefing Room, too: “Citadel.”Given the wild stock-market spectacle involving GameStop Corp., the question last week for the new press secretary was this: would Janet Yellen, now Treasury secretary, recuse herself from the matter given the hundreds of thousands of dollars she’d collected in speaking fees from Citadel?For people outside financial circles, the answer -- Yellen is a pro, nothing to see here -- was probably less surprising than the fact that Citadel came up at all. But in the is-this-for-real story of GameStop and Robinhood, Citadel, the financial empire run by billionaire Kenneth Griffin, has become a subject of fascination, speculation and, in some corners of the Internet, grassy-knoll conspiracy theories.
No one in a position of authority has officially accused Citadel of wrongdoing. But from Washington to Silicon Valley to Wall Street to cyberspace, the giant financial firm lies at the center of many of the questions being raised, including the big one: what on Earth just happened?Griffin, 52, got his start trading out of his Harvard dorm room, and three decades later, he runs one of the largest hedge funds and one of the biggest market makers in the world. On the brink of extinction during the 2008 financial crisis, the billionaire has now become the ultimate example of a moneyed, Wall Street archetype who is easy to rage against.
Enter the angry retail mob with their “to the moon” bets on GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other stocks. When Robinhood imposed curbs on trading many of those companies last week, Redditors and politicians cried foul. Accusatory fingers pointed at Griffin, a Republican mega-donor, for scheming to stamp out the rebellion of individual investors -- even as Citadel and the online broker both denied any involvement by the billionaire in the decision.
...

finance.yahoo.com/news/citadel-ken-griffin-gamestop-200000130.html

[enhanced_deficit]

Informative video thanks to rivalry between Tucker Carlson/Foxnews and NBC:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0HvhZIyfag

[69360]

I don't know. GME is currently $225 and falling. One hedge fund failed but another will just take it's place. I think wall st wins this one in the end. The WSB crowd probably should have cashed out when the stock topped $400.

[vita3]

Wonder if any hedge fund will be bankrupt?

Shorting @ 140% should be a no no

[Anti Globalist]

I don't know. GME is currently $225 and falling. One hedge fund failed but another will just take it's place. I think wall st wins this one in the end. The WSB crowd probably should have cashed out when the stock topped $400.

Perhaps so, but at least people are sticking it to Wall Street and giving them a taste of their own medicine.

[enhanced_deficit]

I don't know. GME is currently $225 and falling. One hedge fund failed but another will just take it's place. I think wall st wins this one in the end. The WSB crowd probably should have cashed out when the stock topped $400.

It is fading but if it has dropped from 8000% jump to 4000% jump (although second figure is probably inaccurate) compared to level few weeks/months ago, this is still a nightmare zone for hedge funds (that were plotting easy money gain by trying to expedite failing of a struggling brick n mortar business using Wall Street tactics like artificial 140% sell side pressure manipulation). Victims of their own plot.

Wonder if any hedge fund will be bankrupt?

Shorting @ 140% should be a no no

Yea, should be a big no no.
$20B loss , if below report is accurate, though smaller compared to $65 Billion loss of historic Bernie Maddoff scam, it's still a huge chunk. If these hedgies will go out of biz, some others will probably still make money besides some of the redditers. But this would be a significant bruise at least psychologically for hedge fund industry even if it is able to adapt and manipulate its way out of this mess.

Fri, Jan 29 2021

• Short-selling hedge funds have suffered a mark-to-market loss of $19.75 billion year to date in the brick-and-mortar video game retailer GameStop, according to data from S3 Partners.

Perhaps so, but at least people are sticking it to Wall Street and giving them a taste of their own medicine.

Valid point.