<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><meta charset="UTF-8" class=""><img src="https://mailgun.substack.com/api/v1/email/open?token=eyJtIjoiPDIwMjEwNjEwMjE0NTM3LjEuZDhjNTFhOTNjMTZkNWE5Mzc4MGUyMjMwNmE4ZjRiMTRAbWcyLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbT4iLCJ1Ijo3NzI1Mjk0LCJyIjoiZ2VlcnRAbmV0d29ya2N1bHR1cmVzLm9yZyIsImQiOiJtZzIuc3Vic3RhY2suY29tIiwicCI6Mzc0NTYwNzgsInMiOjEwNDIsImMiOiJwb3N0IiwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwiaWF0IjoxNjIzMzYxNzE2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMCIsInN1YiI6ImVvIn0.WAcqsnt1-4DAPXGq2-e-UkH6xy1gtPZNAY-RxY5wryg" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; height: 1px !important; 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height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; width: 550px; border: none !important;"></a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="post typography" style="padding: 9px 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"><div class="post-header" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"><h1 class="post-title short published" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-family: "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 2em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 41.599998474121094px; margin: 0.378em 0px 0px;"><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVksmSmzAQhp_G3KDQwnbg4EziBCcw8UxixydKS9vIBkFAmIGnjzyeS6rUrapfvaj6a8EMnNt-Trt2MM7dlWbuINUwDTUYA70zDtCXSqZRhAOcUEemVKI4iB01lKceoGGqTk0_gtONvFaCGdXqewLyKXaqNEIy4gmOheAy9uOIYxLIgHJIkuREMXl0ZaNUoAWkra7n97pOnVbGdMOKrFd4Y49hinPlDSMfDBNXT7SNVTtr9qeuqcBlHQxuxW7gTqyu3cHYMsblwFZkY9or6BX5DPMWCbyf_-D6ml1aUiwZyi9X_8fTduKk8D_0pVh2qLisyfPTpNhh41vtrbhkS74c34rlC7LxnSC5elbbSR4yk_9a-7nKhkwX6KiyMNOfboLsjGj21ZG8dBxTddp5eMybn_Rvd1Nz8y14DUX-VR3yQzZ3pdi91mEm-7za_d5_L4-OSrGPkR8i62lAIg95MhYBYgkRKJSBvaPYB4yJH7L4RDmiK-o3Z_zfjJw-PQP0xj5pMFPbX8VYm7GHwWv78x1aaaOaUSszl6AZr0E-eJrHVrwTLs-gobfbIktmUhRiQkIUoSAOPwBa4CSiQehHsWPby9Zm6fTB7B_kks5r" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: none;" class="">Let the Apes Have Wall Street</a></h1><h3 class="subtitle" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.16em; margin: 4px 0px 0px;">The much-publicized war over "meme stocks" drags a longstanding Wall Street ripoff out of the shadows, to hilarious results</h3><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class=" custom post-meta" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class="post-meta-item author" style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 300; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; padding: 7px 12px 7px 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVkMmOwyAMhp-m3BqxQw8c5jKvEbG4KWoCETiq-vZDm9NIlhew_ctf9AhLbW-3147k42Z87-AKvPoKiNDI0aHNOTljuOI3SZKTiVllSe7zvQFsPq8O2wFkP8Kao8dcy2eAUcnJw_m7DlpzqaK2RjKtJeNas6DkKG1Mp6o_UoYSwdWyvr97yeoeiHu_iJ8L_x2GPoeQp36Ejj4-p1i38bpD3VcYCdeCKnHdPOL1bCXZccoZ1Wx4qYSZ2JRsVMzfRGQ6qRGNpcC5oNrbuwxMXiTdFv5PhDS3ADQcXwXwVdszHiseDfpU2_K5eh5d21EyvmcoPqyQTiB4Yv0imhco0AbuNHt0THMhNDNMWS1OAoOYMFJpaiwZ8qmOqeLOS_4AXJGMIA" style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); display: block; text-decoration: none;" class="">Matt Taibbi</a></td><td class="post-meta-item post-date" style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 300; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; padding: 7px 12px 7px 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;">Jun 10</td><td class="post-meta-item icon" style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 300; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; margin-right: 0px; padding: 7px 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 3px; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;"><span class=""><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVUsmOozAQ_Zpwa4QXlhw4dNKJhlYgzWiS6ZyQMUViwjbGnjR8_Zgkc2jJeiWVq15tjzMF506OYd8NypohU2MPYQu3oQalQFp6AJmJIvR97OIltYqQFihwA0sMWSkBGibqUEkNVq_zWnCmRNfOCcih2LqEOMBuUZYAlGLX5bykfrksKOEeuD4OyKMq04WAlkPYtfV457Xq8KJUPyzI6wJvzVNM5LmwB50PivGrzbvGeFkvDP5FBmYiY-4dvUhgfO5kQbaqu4KxbzC-I46P4yeur1HVkWSKUFxdnd36_ZaTxHn6p2RKUVK9kv36JnhzvJzIzz7HVOzFTrQsFSa-P32mYl9tcFzFU1JtSPzrMERNPfEx8qJ2hU7C-Yrf0jEShoMcheH9xlWmtrs-plPfes2frx_qpE7xx-_D6pDo3eayGqPtyy1FzuFYZuRjWGBPqyYbOi05mEn-7-Dpb6AQupknnEe3RIgdjBwPGaQu8W1kFwF3EVsSjrzCNdYPHMCYOB4LSpojuqBOc8bfdmvJ8AwglflqQd06eeW6VlrCYHfyPB87M1GNboUaM2hZXkPx0IF6qOneTHaGFqRRWZExFSIPE-IhH7mB9zy8EQrxqes5fmCZ8kVnstrwcet_CKzh_g" class="like-button" style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); display: block; position: relative; text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_30,c_scale,f_png,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Ficon%2FHeartIcon%3Fv%3D2%26height%3D40%26strokeWidth%3D2" width="15" height="20" alt="" style="float: left; height: 20px; max-width: 15px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; border: none !important;" class=""></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div class="post typography" style="padding: 9px 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;"><div class="markup body" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 12px; word-break: break-word;"><div class="captioned-image-container-static" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><figure style="display: inline-block; margin: 0px auto; width: 550px;" class=""><table class="image-wrapper" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin: 8px auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="text-align: center;" class=""></td><td align="left" class="content" width="550" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image-link" target="_blank" href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJxVUkuOpDAMPU2xA-ULYZFFa6S5BsrHUFFBwiRhqqtPPwZWI0W2Y8d-jp-dqbCk_NF7KrU5xVQ_O-gI77JCrZCbo0CegtfDwCQbReO18FRJ1YQyzRlgM2HVNR_Q7IddgzM1pHgmUCJY89SzdHY2s7eOS0WclYww4ZUns5VUWXOjmsMHiA50iuvnqtus-lnrXh7868F-43E-duWwpRr36lza0BU2swDqGap7nhrr1PRgv_7cBv9aUvJ4n9dpz2nJUEr4C-gvFWDHjBuCyRNEnjAo7OFegPHcApHWOiVaawxvBR-gHbHp1njLmYVhGJXoCu_MZn5SNO9y94U17llc5tVkuUw_GmtHR1phmGzFSPtWCU5abzwQ6iiGYWJUqW86UtXtcWmCxnlR0lOUQvKho51XTlIzckd7L1EPigBjnPRGzcJS8RBkW9h_s2qyXvBDFUMR6jvllzvWeuA8upSXk7kJX21HDPUzQTR2BX-TWu_VuGieFoiQcWX8ZKqmPeO8pwOVquc3i8g6H4TsyaAahPcJs6KuJlgb_gHo6Mmg" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; width: auto;"><img data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d9abb9c0-4a25-4916-8430-dade01c19abe_2188x1918.png","height":1276,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":5167188,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null}" alt="" width="550" class="wide-image" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_2912,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd9abb9c0-4a25-4916-8430-dade01c19abe_2188x1918.png" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; width: 550px; border: none !important;"></a></td><td style="text-align: center;" class=""></td></tr></tbody></table></figure></div><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">On CNBC’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em class="">Fast Money<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>last week, anchor Melissa Lee appeared to mention the unmentionable. She was talking with Tim Seymour, CEO of Seymour Asset Management, who made offhand mention of the hedge funds shorting now-infamous stocks like AMC and GameStop. “Look, there are a lot of short sellers out there who have been borrowing stock they didn’t have,” Seymour said.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">“Naked shorts, yeah,” said Lee.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">You could almost hear a reverse record-scratch over the airwaves. Did a CNBC anchor really say that out loud?</p><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkM2K3TAMhZ8mXgb_x1l4MVCG9gnaroJjK7lmkjjYckPevs5cEBIcpHPQ5x3CmvJtz1SQPG3C-wR7wFU2QIRMaoE8xWCHgSs-ShKsDMwoQ2KZlgywu7hZzBXIWecteocxHc8Bo5KTl2WLGUCNQo-LEaPxQcmFempGbSQFEd6proYIhwebju3-9iWbfSGepRMfHf9sdV1Xf6eKdYbep_1RHPpXJz7_deLHn_On_zB_2f77V8d1QZexqayQaDnljGrWulRi6FkfjFfMjcIzHVSbg6HAuaDamUXOTHaS7ivvS52bj_960ki2K0DzlPQAvFL-8nXDmqH0Ka_P61Pb2usR8Z7gcPMG4U0F32y_OU0rHJAb8zA5tExzITQbmDJavDE0bGKQStPBkBYfUrs6LLo4z_E_QACNsQ" target="_blank" class="youtube-wrap" style="display: block; margin: 1.6em 0px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/youtube/w_550,c_limit/l_youtube_play_qyqt8q,w_120/XpHcA8Y1mWI" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; width: 550px; border: none !important;" class=""></a><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">The clip went viral. YouTube exploded with videos with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkd1qxCAQhZ8mXgb_zV540VL6GsGfaVY20a2OhLx93S7IGdCZOYfP4BC2Ui_7LA3JS1a8nmAznG0HRKikN6hritYYrvhNkmhlZItaSGrrTwU4XNot1g7k2f2egsNU8muAUcnJ3UpBhaY3JzmjnlFzMyoGvmhgzmvlzdvV9ZggB7Al79f_XrLbO-KzTeJj4t_jnOc5X6Vj9zCHcoybCq3vODq-G7ga7utvh3pN4uuAPbXmJv65AwzN7gFx1HYvFUmynI4wmg2VSpiZzXEJirmbCExHNapZKHAuqHbLj_RMTpIeG59b9w1deLz8SbUbQMXxlAHPUh9hhOkj01zq9oKxjq6j54TXCtn5HeKbE75p_5NbN8hQxy_E1aFlmguhmWFq0eINZoAURipNzUKGfSxjKlt0yfv0BxD8lYQ" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">titles</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>like, “CNBC Just ADMITTED Naked Shorts On AMC!” and “CNBC just revealed GME and AMC are illegally naked short sold!” The frolicsome community of retail investors and activists who call themselves “Apes” and hang out in online forums like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkU2SpCAQhU9TLA3-RFywmE1fYA5AIKQ2UwoOJGN4-8GuCEiSB0m--PAOYcvlNmeuSJ5g8T7BJLjqDohQSKtQbAxmmvjIZ0mCkYHpUZNY7VoADhd3g6UBOduyR-8w5vQUMCo5-TZ81GoKel35qsRI1wCzdl4oKYCtYqafrq6FCMmDyWm_f94lu_lGPOtL_Hrxrz6u6xoKhBBx8PnoQunzdzuhVMzp3TddPiBh7Wn699fXR9sOsKFbvG2I1bdaH3d_WgJLZ8spZ_0OiebJqGI9ylFMAxuC9iNzs_BMhbGvk6bAuaDK6VUuTL4kPTY-1LZUdP79WCLFbAAF-1ECvHJ5-7ZjK1CHXLYHj30cthTxtpDcskP4kMMP_x-WdoMEpf9LsA4NU1wIxSbWKYoPqo5WTHJUdNKktw-5VyWDLi5L_A_Xq5w0" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">r/Superstonk</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkEmOxCAMRU9TLKMwUwsWvelrRAyuFGqKRGAU5fZNKhIy0vfw7RccwrrV0-5bQ3KFBc8dbIGjZUCESnqDuqRotWaSPQWJVkRqpCGpLa8K8HEpW6wdyN59TsFh2srVQGfByNs6p15aCu6Fkk8eKGPc0OC5ABf805nb1fWYoASwW8nndy7J9o24twf_ebDf8Y7jmCrEmHAK22cI9RJdzg1HOXrANgSSLJsZnRUdUUiuJzpFEyR1l7mKcvzazDDWmJUzL-GpeIj5s7Kpdd_Qhb9rPKl2Bag4UgXw2Opf6Bl7hTZtdb1OXUbVp5eE5wLF-QzxpoA3yy-XZYUCdTCOi0NLFeNcUU2lUfw-e2DiWkg1a0OGfdxGV7HokvfpH8fmieI" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">r/wallstreetbets</a>, and who’ve placed the battle over the prices of stocks like AMC and GameStop at the center of one of the more interesting American culture-war developments in decades, rejoiced as one. Here was a representative of CNBC, a frontline agent of the financial establishment, admitting that the hedge funds they’re fighting have been cheating!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">The financial press has been on a crusade to keep the GameStop phenomenon out of the front pages since it burst uninvited into the news cycle like flaming shit-comet earlier this year. “Forget GameStop” headlines have become one of the year’s most unstoppable journalism clichés:</p><div class="tweet" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(225, 232, 237); border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-family: Helvetica, Roboto, "Segoe UI", Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 1em auto; max-width: 520px; padding: 20px 20px 11.6px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkMmOwyAMhp-mHCN26IHDSKN5jYjFzaBJIAKjqm8_pJUsLzL2b77oEbbaXu6sHcnlVnyd4Ao8-w6I0Mjo0NacnDFc8bskycnErLIk9_XRAA6fd4dtADlH2HP0mGu5BhiVnPw6q9mDBhmifGiQSVBjgVpvTABupeUfVT9ShhLB1bK_3nvJ7n4Rz34TXzf-Mw2f-TpoifWY1Xf2Ry3p6wQ7q44eR58Jk5RxJcxdyXmkotwIkh2nnFHNppezt7Al2aiYv4vIdFIzGkuBc0G1tw8ZmLxJemx86SPMzfHv0iTNbQANZ6sAPmv7i2PH0aAvtW3X59f56hgl42uF4sMO6cMFP3TfpNYNCrRJPa0eHdNcCM0MU1aLD4gJThip9MREpnyqc6o49DmE_A9LB4zk" target="_blank" style="display: block; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><div class="tweet-header" style="display: block; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14px; text-decoration: none;"><img class="tweet-user-avatar" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/twitter_name/w_36/DiamondApe8.jpg" alt="Twitter avatar for @DiamondApe8" style="border-top-left-radius: 50%; border-top-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-right-radius: 50%; border-bottom-left-radius: 50%; display: block; float: left; height: 36px; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; width: 36px; border: none !important;"><span class="tweet-author-name" style="color: rgb(28, 32, 34); display: block; font-weight: 700;">Diamond Ape 69 </span><span class="tweet-author" style="color: rgb(105, 120, 130); display: block; font-size: 14px;">@DiamondApe8</span></div>NEVER FORGET <span class="tweet-fake-link" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 242); text-decoration: none;">@GameStop</span> <span class="tweet-fake-link" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 242); text-decoration: none;">#gme</span> <span class="tweet-fake-link" style="color: rgb(28, 161, 242); text-decoration: none;">#NakedShorts</span> <img class="tweet-photo" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/upload/w_728,c_limit/l_twitter_play_button_rvaygk,w_120/p5jusrtcoscx707j3xmk" alt="Image" style="border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; margin: 8px auto 0px; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; width: 508px; border: none !important;"><div class="tweet-footer" style="color: rgb(105, 120, 130); display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px; margin-top: 10px; text-decoration: none;"><p class="tweet-date" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(225, 232, 237); color: rgb(105, 120, 130); display: block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">June 5th 2021</p><span class="retweets" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 8px;"><span class="rt-count" style="color: rgb(28, 32, 34); font-weight: bold;">1</span> Retweet</span><span class="likes" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 8px;"><span class="like-count" style="color: rgb(28, 32, 34); font-weight: bold;">1</span> Like</span></div></a></div><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">GameStop, worth under $5 a share a year ago, rose to an incredible $347.51 on January 27th. The rally was reportedly caused by ordinary folk driven by a thirst for revenge against the financial system, who delighted in conquering billionaire hedge funds who’d put themselves in compromising positions by betting too heavily (and too publicly) against companies like GameStop.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">When a fund called Melvin Capital was forced to <a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlUc3OpCAQfJrhhgFEZA4c9rKvYRBah3wIBpo1vv3iN0mnOqR_qqlyFmHP5TZnrkgeWPA-wSS4agREKKRVKEvwZp7FJN6SeCM915MmoS5bAThsiAZLA3K2NQZnMeT0DHAmBfkYpZXc2FtZPklnpeBi1sppxazko5bbl9U2HyA5MDnF-3cvieaDeNbX-Ocl_va4rmtwaXWDy0d_CiZ4T-wBMXf4gN-Bbi15irbsgODpetMC3geka7bF0wPiv5Cos2dAG6mLufau3JDmje72gIr5pPWTC9J-V3j-QrFB9fYePnhEEsxDzBTvKKdxHvjgtZu4fY-OKz_1PGsGQoxMWb3JlcuXZMcuhtrWitb9PPeTYnaAgr2UAK9cflyL2ArUIZf9UXLpXUdLAe8Fkl0j-K_I-LXqV_ZlhwSlW-gXi4YrMY6Kz3zSavyq2l0YZzkpNmvS6X3uU8mgDesa_gNAe6qi" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">close out its position in GameStop at a cost of nearly $3 billion</a>, and mainstream mouthpieces ranging from Andrew Ross Sorkin to Nancy Pelosi rushed on TV to express horror and “concern” about what one economist called “<a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlUcuOwyAM_Jpya8QrkB447GV_I-LhpmgJRGAU9e-XtJI1RrJnBo29RdhKfZujNCQXrPg-wGQ4WwJEqKQ3qGsMRms-84ckwcjAlnkhsa3PCrDbmAzWDuToLkVvMZZ8ERiVnLyMkA_LJSgL4IJ14an9Y5kFfSpqvYbwdbU9RMgeTMnp_dElybwQj3YTPzf-O-o8z-m07RXzhiVfrMmXfQxcbzFDa-PJKWej0Qu4HrDZHRqW4253f68QQsR7e5U6EFKC2u6nTanhMEQHeGmQaC4ZqthAOQs9sSksfmb2ITxTYR5dLxQ4F1TZ5SkdkzdJ941PrbuG1v9dHyPVbAAVxygDnqX--Z6wV2hTqdsV1jq29p4jvlfI1iUI3xzxe41PsusGGeq4UlgtGqa4EIppNi9KfIMbQQstZ0X1QoZ9KIOVDdroXPwHz7ih3g" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">a flash mob with money</a>,” there were howls of triumph across the Internet. For a hot second, it looked like a bunch of kids with E*Trade and Robinhood accounts were about to go on an extended brain-eating rampage through the top tax bracket, and the specter of a gang of billionaire gamblers being crushed at their own game was poised to become the funniest thing to happen to the United States since the Gerald Ford presidency.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">In an instant, it was over. On January 29th, the Robinhood platform, through which much of the GME buying took place,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlUcuu4yAM_ZqwI-IVki5Y3NHofsDsZhXxcFNUAhU4ijpfP-RWQn5h-1jneIuwlfo2r9KQXGbF9wtMhrMlQIRKjgZ1jcHMs5jETZFgVODLtJDY1nsF2G1MBusB5HW4FL3FWPI1wJkS5GGUcvcbkzO3PLCgb0xDAC2sUnYRWs4fVHuECNmDKTm9f_aSZB6IrzbIr0F893ee5-hSKbuDuo2-7L123dmdrRh9gisUTHDKOBVLT2pxMT9KCTQ22mwMFAsN1Z60ZOorhIg0xQyN3mvZqbP52ajdr75jPxIO8rtVuA_yd_3L_k3tzy8SzYXANO9WTXIe-RgWP3F7k57rMHU_LwyEkEzb5a4cV4Ni-ybGdriG1j-v00k1G0DF_pUBz1KfvsMdFdpY6nYxufau_cgR3ytk6xKED8n4keqH9nWDDLVLGFaLhmshpeYznxYtP6x2FeSsJs3mhXT4UPpUNmijc_E_VC2pzQ" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">halted trading</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in GME under pressure from the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation, the shadowy colossus created in 1973 to centralize the settlement of stock trades. Shares in GameStop plunged from $325 to $53 in a matter of days, inspiring much of Wall Street’s community of Smart People to turn noses skyward as they declared “<em class="">l’affaire GameStop”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>dead. Famed “angry investor” and real-life Gordon Gekko Dan Loeb described GameStop as “no different than other manias over time, going back to the Dutch Tulip Bulb Mania in the 17th century.”</p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">“The short squeeze,” agreed<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em class="">Dealbreaker</em>, “is no more.”</p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">The shutdown of trading in GME looked from the outside like the financial community circling wagons in a blatant play to protect their own, and it seemed for a time like the Loebs of the world were going to be right: GameStop was just one of a long line of fleeting manias, whose backers in this case gained nothing but the satisfaction of having moved a few rich jerks to an amusing public freakout. Even that was worth something, but how much, really?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Then, a funny thing happened. The stocks came back. By Friday, June 4th, the day of Lee’s CNBC broadcast,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://email.mg2.substack.com/c/eJwlkd1u2zAMhZ_GupuhfzsXukiwZAOKFBiKdu2VIUu0o9WWMkmumz395AYQeAiJhxQ-Gp1hDPGmriFltIUu366gPKxpgpwhoiVB7JxVTUMF3XFkFbekFS1yqRsiwKzdpHJcAF2XfnJGZxf8ZiCYU3RRgtGB80aLncSW0kYPXO40by23VNpW3KfqxTrwBlTw0-2rL5rUJedrqti-oqdy1nWtxxDGCWoT5nIxOK-LpWR_l5A3_XE-lvLHt6cip6Qr9v21ovIDbMmovjw_HNc_GH_rH8Xbv8_95fXlxeCHn7_lfKDnXwzM6bw_yMN-dMdDQE5RTAmWpEQuWFOT2rZGEL1jhkgrijYtBkoZlrodeE94xfE80jotfcravG__RFGNADGXJw95DfHdLFNeIqQ6xHFj1pWqefEu3zrwup_A3nHm-1K-AHcjeIhlWbbTWRFJGZOkIaKV7M6v8GYNFxI3LSrjbSgur7J2fe_-Ax0Jnm4" style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); text-decoration: underline;" class="">GameStop</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>closed at $248.36, on its way to a high of $337.36 this past Tuesday, not far off the $347.51 it reached at the peak of its news-cyclone earlier this year. As of this writing, it’s up 159% this past month. AMC, meanwhile, was at $49.34 on June 4th, headed past $55.00 this week, up a staggering 406% in just this month. A series of other meme stocks are also rising again, triggering a round of defections within the financial community, as business leaders began inviting the apes over the wall.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who’s behind the mercurial surges of stocks like GME. Either way, the chaos is exposing Wall Street for the preposterous collection of circus acts it’s always been, with the naked shorting issue being just one example.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class=""><em class="">This is an excerpt from today’s subscriber-only post. 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