Updated February 2, 2021

Shares of Game Stop (GME) soared over 40% on Friday Jan. 29, only to drop over 30% on Monday Feb. 1, and then another 58% on Tuesday Feb. 2 to close at $94.78 per share. At one point last week, GME shared traded over $450 per share.

 

Investing in the stock market is, by nature, a risky proposition. And until very recently it is generally a game rigged to benefit those with the guts and financial heft to control the market, beat the spreads and exploit the little guy. But some very clever amateur investors have beaten some of the Wall Street bigshots at their own game, but buying and holding shares in small publicly traded coming with heavy short position n the stock. The list of these companies includes the the movies theater company AMC, but the most eye popping example is Game Stop, the video game retailer that sell video games from their store in shopping malls across the country. Game Stop (GME).

What is a Short Squeeze

A short squeeze occurs when the price of a stock jumps sharply higher, forcing traders with short positions to buy it in order to mitigate their losses. Their scramble to buy share only adds to the upward pressure on the stock's price and forces it higher. In the case of GameStop, this squeeze worked because the investor who had bought the shares earlier held on to the stock, even as it soared in value these past few weeks.

 

“It’s extreme capitalism gone wild. We’re a nation of gamblers.”

- Andrew Left from Citron Research

 

How Did This Happen?

Why Did this Happen?

There are a confluence of factors that many say contributed to this phenomena and allowed this to happen. First, the pandemic has kept people locked up up at home an they've been studying research and have become day traders. Second, tools and apps like Robin Hood have made trading easy and have even 'gamified' it, so that anyone with a cell phone and a few hundred dollars can get in. Robin Hood even offers fractional shares, so even someone who doesn't have enough money to buy a share of Tesla or Apple, can but fraction of a share. This is dangerous. Third - an in my opinion the biggest - factor is that the internet, specially Reddit threads, ave allowed people to come to one place online and exchanges ideas. The Reddit thread in question is called WallStreetBets, and it is there where it all started. Regular investors have grown tired of losing at the investment game that they feel is rigged, with the cars stack against them. Hedge funds and high speed traders have always won the bid and gotten the best price, and the little guys have little or no chance of winning by playing by the established rules. If you spend a few minutes perusing the posts comments on the WallStreetBets thread you will undoubtedly detect more than just a hint of rebellious tendencies. These people are not just out to make a few bucks, they want to take down the giants and make a statement. They get the first call, their order take priority in the queue, and the little guy gets the shaft. By identifying the one thing that they could turn against the big guys, short selling, they have managed to stick it to the man. And what isn't fun about getting one over on the big bad bully? But, this is a bubble and bubbles always burst.
 

Eventually the wall of solidarity will crack, and those who have made a bunch of money on this game will capitulate and sell their stock to the hedge funds who are trying to cover. Then the next guy will do it and the route will be on. But if you've f you've got a rebellious side to you and you're interested in joining the revolution, just be careful and prepare for a long, rough ride. As of this post shares of Game Stop had fallen over 50 in one trading day. Buckle up!

On a pretty uneventful morning the other day in Los Angels, something quite unusual happened: for a brief moment it was worthwhile driving for Lyft. I know, pretty much everyone reading this post has either taken a shared ride, driven a shared ride, thought about driving for a rideshare company, or have read about it. And, if you have ever wondered if it is worth driving, take my word for it, it isn't. You can't make much more than $15.00 an hour (and that is on a good day), and overall hourly yield, net of gas, insurance and maintenance expenses will be closer to $9.00 or $10.00 per hour. Maybe less. Over the years as they prepared for their respective IPOs last month, both Lyft and Uber have tinkered with their app, bonus payouts, incentives and other promotional messaging for drivers to get to profitability. They both have bled red ink since the beginning to fund growth, and in their first few days of trading investors have send a clear message buy selling the stock down off their initial public trading prices. So, this means that Lyft and Uber are both going to have to figure a way to avoid legal challenges from states over the status of their drivers (and what benefits they are owed), satisfy demand, maintain supply (drivers), and make each ride profitable. As Amazon does with the constant testing of prices of their basic goods available online, the ride share providers are constantly testing pricing tolerance thresholds for riders. Most agree that fares will increase overall, and rate surges at peak travel times will spike. Indeed, the young people that I drive around in Santa Monica take Uber and Lyft because it is cheaper and less expensive than owning, insuring, parking and maintaining a car. And as long as a combination of ride share, scooters, Waive Cars and public transit come in under say, $600 a month, it is the better deal. Plus you'll have to deal with a valet, a favorite Los Angeles institution.

 

And so, at about 7:30 in Brentwood a flipped on my Lyft app and saw the bonus fare window box open up. It is a new feature since Lyft went public in late April, and involves a pink square or rectangle, surrounded by a purple outer border with a lower bonus. Stay in the pink area and get a bonus, stay with the purple area and get a slightly lower bonus. I was in the pink area and the bonus was $19.09 (it is usually around $1.75). So, I pulled over, stared at my phone just to make sure I was seeing it correctly, and was pinged for a pick-up. I accepted, drove about 5 minutes to pick-up a very nice woman, and drove her to her office in Santa Monica. It was a 2.6 mile ride that took 8 minutes and 54 seconds, which usually earns the driver $3.23. But on this day, at this time, with a $19.09 bonus, I earned $22.32, which correlates to about $120/hour. Since drivers keep about 80% of the fare and the platform keeps 20%, that means the nice lady paid roughly $28.00 for her 9 minute ride. Obviously she needed to get to work so she paid the extra fee, but at what point will riders choose alternate ways of getting around?

In short, it is my opinion that in the the not too distant future, both Lyft and Uber will be forced to pay drivers a basic minimum hourly wage (in California that is $11.00 on it's way to $15.00 by 2022) and provide for some gas and maintenance. In exchange they'll ask their drivers to keep a predictable schedule so they can manage supply.

Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of success is showing up. But he’s old. And he doesn’t have to sit in a cubicle every day with the threat of layoffs hanging over his head like a dim fluorescent bulb.

Success during The Great Recession means you need to boost your performance, outshine your co-workers, and more important, let your bosses know what kind of butt you’re kicking without looking like you’re kissing theirs. Here’s some advice from real job experts -- not some crotchety moviemaker -- on how to get it done.

1. Jump ahead a few years
Our economy will never return to the good ol’ days -- and, most likely, neither will your company’s boom times. To survive long-term, you’ll need to think about how your industry is likely to evolve and the ways you can stay ahead of the curve as it does. “You should be setting yourself up now for what your job will be like a few years from now,” says Penelope Trunk, CEO of the employment advice Web site BrazenCareerist. “This doesn’t mean working harder; it means setting personal goals for growth and getting on the right projects for the right experience -- so the right people notice you.”

2. Don’t be a jerk
A startling number of folks at the office have been sent to the unemployment line recently, and your responsibilities seem like they’ve doubled. The urge to let your boss know exactly how hard you’re working -- to get a little credit and to just vent -- is almost too great to resist. Resist anyway and be an enthusiastic team player now more than ever. If you need to complain, do it to your girlfriend, not your co-workers. “You’d be hard-pressed to find an annoying person in the office who’s not getting laid off right now,” says Trunk. “Being kind and gracious, exchanging information and ideas, reaching out to people -- if you do these things, you’ll do better in your career.”

3. Know exactly what doing a good job means
These days, the corporate bean counters are quick to cut any worker who’s not operating at 100 percent efficiency -- and your opinion of what’s efficient may be completely different than your boss’s. Career coach Marie G. McIntyre, author of Secrets to Winning at Office Politics, uses the example of an old client: a quality assurance manager who was so obsessed with perfection on the assembly line that he disrupted production. “He thought he was a high performer,” she says. “Management thought he was an obstacle. You never want to be seen as an obstacle or hard to manage. That’s an absolute career killer.” Ask your boss for occasional feedback, whether you like it or not, and even set up a quick monthly meeting to ensure you’re both on the same page. You shouldn’t need an annual review -- or a pink slip -- to discover your flaws.

4. Self-promote without sucking up
You’re not just another anonymous entry on a “clean out your desk” list if the company bigwigs know you and what a great job you’re doing. The trick is standing out without sucking up. “People can tell if you’re insincere,” says McIntyre, “but you need to do something to get out of that cloak of invisibility.” Find ways to strike up conversations with the bigwigs under casual circumstances -- like maybe in the lunch line or the elevator, or at the company softball game. Over time, drop subtle information that modestly tells them what you’re working on and shows that you’re well-plugged into the job. Adds McIntyre: “You shouldn’t have an agenda with every conversation, but you do need to manage relationships to achieve your goals.”

Which would you rather face: a sink full of dirty dishes, or your annual performance review? If it’s the former, you’re not alone. In a recent study conducted by Development Dimensions International, sitting through a performance review was ranked ahead of doing housework, paying taxes and having a hangover on a list of situations that employees loathe most. Jazmine Boatman, who has a doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology and is the manager of DDI’s Center for Applied Behavioral Research, understands why: “A lot of managers don’t know how to have these conversations. And people dread the unknown.” The fact remains, however, that your performance review is your opportunity to shine … and to be rewarded accordingly.

Prepare All Year Long
The key, says Ford R. Myers, president of Career Potential LLC, is preparation. The more backup you can bring into the meeting, the better. “Keep a success file throughout the year containing notes and information about all of the good things you’ve done for the company,” says Myers, who is also the author of Get the Job You Want Even When No One’s Hiring. He adds that the success file should not be filled with a list of everyday tasks (i.e., the things you’re expected to do) but rather “the things that go beyond, that produce measurable results.”

Typically, says Myers, “an employee gets a job, puts his head down, and his boss has no idea what he’s doing for the next 12 months.” This approach is especially damaging since the average boss is not in the most generous frame of mind at performance-review time. “He has budgets to meet -- and a boss who’s watching him too,” explains Myers. The upshot? “You need to prove you’re worth more money.”

Make Praise Pay
Whether your goal is a promotion or a raise -- or both -- you’ve got to be proactive. Ryan Kahn, a Los Angeles–based career coach and host of the show “MTV Hired,” says you need to “blow the boss away, demonstrating how you’re bringing extra revenue into the company.” Of course, not everyone can prove he’s generated sales leads or helped the firm’s bottom line. What about the poor chap who’s answering phones? “I would tuck away positive emails, compliments you’ve gotten from customers or others,” suggests Kahn. These testimonials, he explains, will do the bragging for you.

Meetings Can Equal Moola

As a means of showing your mettle and your monetary value, Myers recommends that anytime you take a new position, you get your boss to agree to a strategic meeting with you once a week for the first three months, and then once a month for the duration of your time on the job. “You want to be working on the projects that are most important to that boss,” says Myers, “and to be of as much assistance to him as you can possibly be.”

Go Above and Beyond (and Say So)
Another terrific way to stand out is to keep a bullet list of all of the things you achieve each month and send it to the boss as an attachment. “Send it on the 30th of every month, like clockwork,” says Myers. “When your boss sees you coming in for your year-end review, she’s going to say: “This is a strong person. We need to retain and reward him; we can’t afford to lose him.”

The best part of all? Once you get a raise -- not to mention your big, fat promotion -- you’ll be able to pay someone else to wash the dishes.

Whether you’re unemployed, underemployed, fearful of a layoff or just bored with your job, at some point you’ve probably thought about starting your own business. And like most people, you’ve probably been held back by a host of concerns: whether your idea is good enough, how to get funding, whether you can live without vacation and medical benefits, whether you even have the chops. Now, there’s one more worry to add to the mix: whether it’s crazy to start a business in the wake of a recession.

Here’s the good news. First, all entrepreneurs face those same fears on the road to building a company. Second, many Fortune 500 corporations, including Procter & Gamble, IBM, General Motors and FedEx, were founded during a period of economic uncertainty. “If you launch your business during a difficult time, you know what you can do on a lean basis,” says James King, state director of New York’s Small Business Development Center. Then once the economy starts to bounce back, he says, you’ll be well-positioned to succeed.

We asked King and Rex Hammock, founder of SmallBusiness.com and CEO of the custom media and marketing firm Hammock Inc. -- based in Nashville, Tenn. -- what it really takes to stop working for the man and become your own boss.

Tip No. 1: Seek input.

For starters, you should run your business concept past a few impartial observers before pouring your whole self into it. “Family and friends are not going to give you an honest answer,” says King. And even if it is a great idea, you must remain open to the possibility that your better mousetrap simply might not catch on. If that turns out to be the case, adds King, be prepared to adjust and compensate.

Tip No. 2: Check yourself.
Feeling ready? Put yourself to the test. This online quiz, created by the Small Business Administration, will help you ascertain whether you truly have the drive, perseverance and skill set you’ll need to see your business succeed. Even if you don’t, the SBA offers tips on how to build those credentials. Take advantage of this advice before diving in.

Tip No. 3: Go it alone.
The simplest approach is a start-up with you as the sole employee. Says Hammock: “For consultants, contractors or freelancers, the opportunities are many. Companies are using contracted services to fill in gaps in their workforce.” Being an independent contractor often means you call your own shots and name your hours and fees. The downside is loss of vacation and medical benefits -- though there are ways around that. For medical coverage, seek out programs offered through industry member organizations or groups such as the Freelancers Union. You may have to forego vacations for a while, but once you have a solid client base, you should be able to afford a few weeks of unpaid leave.

Tip No. 4: Find financing.

Less simple, though not impossible, is the path for capital-intensive startups. Hammock warns that these are tough times for getting a loan. “Banks are requiring more personal guarantees and financial collateral than I’ve seen in my nearly 30 years of owning small businesses,” he says. But King claims it’s still doable. “The money is available,” he argues. “You just have to prove the case for it.”

How? Get your ducks in a row by putting together a solid business plan. If you’ve never written one and need direction, avail yourself of the largely free assistance of organizations such as the Small Business Development Center (or SBDC, which maintains help offices in every state in the U.S.). The better prepared you are, says King, the more likely it is that the major financial institutions will work with you.

Another prospective source of financing is credit unions, which picked up much of the small-business lending slack when big banks put on the brakes in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown. Depending on the amount of funding needed for your venture, you can also seek economic support from friends and family, from so-called angel investors or from venture capital firms.

Finally, King advises that you raise or borrow enough money to provide your fledgling company with adequate cushion funding. It may take you longer to turn a profit than you expect, and you don’t want to be left penniless mere months in.

Tip No. 5: Don’t super-size.
Once you’ve hung your shingle, avoid the temptation to grow too quickly. This is particularly true for companies that start making money sooner than expected. “Say you open a restaurant and it quickly becomes a hot spot,” posits King. Before you know it, you’re excitedly adding seating and staff. But chances are good that you’re merely experiencing a new-restaurant bump, and that customer traffic will soon come back down to earth. “If you misjudge that,” warns King, “it can be a disaster for your business.”

Tip No. 6: Beware of the competition.
When you do start to grow, competitors will likely appear where none existed before. “Someone else is going to try to replicate your success,” says King. He recommends going back to your business plan and adjusting it to respond to the new conditions. This will help you stay a step ahead of any changes that could affect your bottom line.

Tip No. 7: Focus on the right components.

The smaller you are, the more you’ll be building your new company’s reputation on the basis of two essential factors: quality and service. “Trying to compete in an arena where price is the only factor in your clients’ purchasing decisions is a train wreck waiting to happen,” says Hammock. “If you can help a customer or client be better at something they want to be better at, you’ve cracked the formula for long-term success.” In other words, make your clients look good, and you’ll look good too. And if that prospect doesn’t have you thinking about punching in your current job’s time card for the final time, nothing will.