2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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MattKnowles
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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mas3cf wrote: Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:01 pm Senate confirms Antony ("Tony") Blinken as Secretary of State.
A. Blinken is the current Secretary of State, not to be confused with former President Abe Lincoln.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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Blinken is a good musician — goes by Ablinken on Spotify if anyone’s interested. Hopefully this means we might be bringing something akin to Jazz Ambassadors back :P
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Volante
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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I'm still on the fence about putting this in the official thread, but apparently the GameStop anti-shorting has now even caught the attention of the Treasury Department.

The short description is a team of reddit traders have decided to mess up short positions that hedge funds hold on GameStop, and are currently succeeding, causing one hedge fund to lose $3.5 bil.

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-stock-drama ... 1846141246

Not that this windfall stock price will help keep GameStop afloat in the end, because Wall Street is Bizarro World to Prime Earth's Main Street...
(I think DC's current 'Earth' is Prime Earth?)
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MarkBarrett
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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Volante wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:27 pm I'm still on the fence about putting this in the official thread, but apparently the GameStop anti-shorting has now even caught the attention of the Treasury Department.

The short description is a team of reddit traders have decided to mess up short positions that hedge funds hold on GameStop, and are currently succeeding, causing one hedge fund to lose $3.5 bil.

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-stock-drama ... 1846141246

Not that this windfall stock price will help keep GameStop afloat in the end, because Wall Street is Bizarro World to Prime Earth's Main Street...
(I think DC's current 'Earth' is Prime Earth?)
TMZ Live covered the story today and it was fun to see Harvey's & Charles's take on it along with chatting with Jaime Rogozinski.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by econgator »

Volante wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:27 pm I'm still on the fence about putting this in the official thread, but apparently the GameStop anti-shorting has now even caught the attention of the Treasury Department.

The short description is a team of reddit traders have decided to mess up short positions that hedge funds hold on GameStop, and are currently succeeding, causing one hedge fund to lose $3.5 bil.

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-stock-drama ... 1846141246

Not that this windfall stock price will help keep GameStop afloat in the end, because Wall Street is Bizarro World to Prime Earth's Main Street...
(I think DC's current 'Earth' is Prime Earth?)
Wish I still had my stock options from when I worked with them.
MattKnowles
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by MattKnowles »

Volante wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:27 pm I'm still on the fence about putting this in the official thread, but apparently the GameStop anti-shorting has now even caught the attention of the Treasury Department.

The short description is a team of reddit traders have decided to mess up short positions that hedge funds hold on GameStop, and are currently succeeding, causing one hedge fund to lose $3.5 bil.

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-stock-drama ... 1846141246

Not that this windfall stock price will help keep GameStop afloat in the end, because Wall Street is Bizarro World to Prime Earth's Main Street...
(I think DC's current 'Earth' is Prime Earth?)
I've been following this but I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. It looks like GameStop's Market Cap is 23.21 billion right now. A year ago it was about 300 million and a month ago it was back up to about 1 billion. So I guess the reddit traders put in 22 billion of their own money on a whim?

The latest playstation and xbox consoles have a version that is download only, there are no physical games. That's the direction games are headed in general. GameStop is arguably going the direction that BlockBuster went, their core business is becoming obsolete. What's actually happening is more interesting though.

Michael Burry touted GameStop before this blew up. He was played by Christian Bale in the film "The Big Short" and has a lot of credibility.

"Stonks only go up" is apparently sound economic theory.
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Volante
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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MattKnowles wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:48 pm
Volante wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:27 pm I'm still on the fence about putting this in the official thread, but apparently the GameStop anti-shorting has now even caught the attention of the Treasury Department.

The short description is a team of reddit traders have decided to mess up short positions that hedge funds hold on GameStop, and are currently succeeding, causing one hedge fund to lose $3.5 bil.

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-stock-drama ... 1846141246

Not that this windfall stock price will help keep GameStop afloat in the end, because Wall Street is Bizarro World to Prime Earth's Main Street...
(I think DC's current 'Earth' is Prime Earth?)
I've been following this but I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. It looks like GameStop's Market Cap is 23.21 billion right now. A year ago it was about 300 million and a month ago it was back up to about 1 billion. So I guess the reddit traders put in 22 billion of their own money on a whim?

The latest playstation and xbox consoles have a version that is download only, there are no physical games. That's the direction games are headed in general. GameStop is arguably going the direction that BlockBuster went, their core business is becoming obsolete. What's actually happening is more interesting though.

Michael Burry touted GameStop before this blew up. He was played by Christian Bale in the film "The Big Short" and has a lot of credibility.

"Stonks only go up" is apparently sound economic theory.
They didn't put 22 bil in. Market cap is only calculated on recent transactions (if not the most recent).

I do love how the masters of the universe are panicking that the unwashed masses have cracked the code (and demonstrated their work). Anyone want to bet there's going to be shorting regulations passed before we get our $2,000 $1,400 checks?
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This Is Kirk!
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by This Is Kirk! »

Volante wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:17 am They didn't put 22 bil in. Market cap is only calculated on recent transactions (if not the most recent).
Not only that but I would assume this sort of thing takes on a life of its own. The Redditors got in and it caused a ripple effect.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by alietr »

I don't like stock manipulation of any sort. And people are going to be hurt financially, not just the ones they were trying to hurt. If they can do it to these stocks, what other mayhem can they cause? Or who else might start doing this, but not just for amusement? It is a very dangerous and slippery slope.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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alietr wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 7:32 am I don't like stock manipulation of any sort. And people are going to be hurt financially, not just the ones they were trying to hurt. If they can do it to these stocks, what other mayhem can they cause? Or who else might start doing this, but not just for amusement? It is a very dangerous and slippery slope.
The same sort of mayhem caused by the smartest people in the room?

The only difference between this and other crashes are this time it's being done by the 'wrong' people and not a venerated Wall Street corporation. The irony is -since- it's being done by the wrong people and making rich people lose money, Congress and the SEC might finally step in to stop valueless things like shorting or day trading or at least adding stops to a stock price rising too fast in a day (you know, like they have for when it falls too fast...)

Addition:

Lawl.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/01/ ... s-private/
The Robinhood app, which allows retail investors to buy and sell stocks with no commission fees, has restricted purchases for a number of highly volatile stocks, including GameStop and AMC. Robinhood users can still sell their current positions in those stocks, but can no longer buy additional shares.
And I'm sure those who don't use Robinhood aren't similarly limited...
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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Volante wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:15 am
alietr wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 7:32 am The only difference between this and other crashes are this time it's being done by the 'wrong' people and not a venerated Wall Street corporation.
If there is some 'right' people for it, I'm not saying they should be doing it either. Wrong is wrong by whomever.
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Volante
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by Volante »

Wow. #GameStonk has even caused Jon Stewart to join Twitter
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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Yes, my post on the main thread is about Elizabeth Keen being the No.1 blacklister on NBC's The Blacklist. It's a big reveal 8 seasons into the show. The show and James Spader playing Reddington have been used in previous clues.

When J! champ Karen Farrell was on J! there were comments across forums that she looked like Megan Boone, who plays Elizabeth Keen.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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mas3cf wrote:Hal Holbrook, Tony award winner for his one-man show "Mark Twain Tonight", has died at 95.
It's too bad the reports of his death aren't greatly exaggerated.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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As long as I get my Stephen King books on the day of release I don't care who runs Amazon.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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me, quite literally the other day wrote:Country crossover star Morgan Wallen (from Tennessee, mullet guy) is also a name to know if you don’t already - latest album is called Dangerous; "7 summers" and "More Than My Hometown" are his latest singles.
...Guess I spoke too soon.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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threearruda wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:11 pm
me, quite literally the other day wrote:Country crossover star Morgan Wallen (from Tennessee, mullet guy) is also a name to know if you don’t already - latest album is called Dangerous; "7 summers" and "More Than My Hometown" are his latest singles.
...Guess I spoke too soon.
People certainly know his name now.
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This Is Kirk!
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by This Is Kirk! »

threearruda wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:11 pm
me, quite literally the other day wrote:Country crossover star Morgan Wallen (from Tennessee, mullet guy) is also a name to know if you don’t already - latest album is called Dangerous; "7 summers" and "More Than My Hometown" are his latest singles.
...Guess I spoke too soon.
He seems like a bit of a--dare I say?--idiot. Wasn't he scheduled to play on SNL and had to have his appearance postponed because he didn't follow COVID protocols?
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

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This Is Kirk! wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:25 pm
threearruda wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:11 pm
me, quite literally the other day wrote:Country crossover star Morgan Wallen (from Tennessee, mullet guy) is also a name to know if you don’t already - latest album is called Dangerous; "7 summers" and "More Than My Hometown" are his latest singles.
...Guess I spoke too soon.
He seems like a bit of a--dare I say?--idiot. Wasn't he scheduled to play on SNL and had to have his appearance postponed because he didn't follow COVID protocols?
Correct, though he did eventually get to host. I also can't remember if it was him doing concerts shortly after restrictions eased up last year or someone else, but I believe there was a (or maybe several) semi-big name in the genre guilty of that. In any event, yes, definitely not his first conduct related issue.
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Re: 2021 Current Events Discussion Thread

Post by TenPoundHammer »

threearruda wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:11 pm
me, quite literally the other day wrote:Country crossover star Morgan Wallen (from Tennessee, mullet guy) is also a name to know if you don’t already - latest album is called Dangerous; "7 summers" and "More Than My Hometown" are his latest singles.
...Guess I spoke too soon.
I've been dunking on him from day one. Never liked his music, and "More Than My Hometown" is one of the worst songs I've ever heard in my life.

Is it too soon and/or too arrogant to say "I told you so"?
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