Via ZeroHedge:
...In a statement to CNBC, IB said:
“As
of midday yesterday, (1/27/2021) Interactive Brokers has put AMC, BB,
EXPR, GME, and KOSS option trading into liquidation only due to the
extraordinary volatility in the markets. In addition, long stock
positions will require 100% margin and short stock positions will
require 300% margin until further notice. We do not believe this
situation will subside until the exchanges and regulators halt or put
certain symbols into liquidation only. We will continue to monitor
market conditions and may add or remove symbols as may be warranted.”...
...MORE
See also last night's "A Heads-Up To The Gamestop, AMC etc. Crowd: They Are Going to Change The Rules On You" and "Discord has shut down the /r/WallStreetBets server (GME)":
....When the Billionaire Hunt brothers were
attempting to corner the silver market in January 1980 the head of one
of the world's largest grain traders said "Those boys don't know what
deep pockets are".
The "commercials" had been shorting into the Hunt bros. buying and the grain trader was at the top of the "commercial" heap.
On January 21 the COMEX went "liquidation only".
On January 22 the CBOT went "liquidation only".
On Tuesday the 22nd silver closed at $34, down 27% from its close the previous Friday.
The Hunt's still had enormous paper profits but any attempt to book them would smash the markets even further.
Prices declined to $17 by March, down 66% from
the January high and the Hunt's were receiving calls of $60 Million per
day in variation margin. On March 27 the price dropped from $21.62 to
$10.80 and one of their brokers, Bache was in violation of net capital
requirements and another, Merrill Lynch was on the brink.
As
the attorneys got involved over the next few years, oil prices headed
south, destroying the value of Daddy's creation (and the brother's
piggybank) Placid Oil.
Bunker Hunt filed for bankruptcy in September 1988 as did his brother and Placid.
At the time the grain trader said "Those boys don't know what
deep pockets are" it is
probable that the various branches of the Hunt families comprised the
wealthiest "family" in America.
