Think Business Futures

Earlier this year, struggling businesses GameStop (NYSE: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings saw their stock prices skyrocket overnight, thanks to a short squeeze initiated by a group of investors on Reddit.com.

It was r/wallstreetbets, a coalition of largely amateur investors on the site- known as the front page of the internet- that created a surge of interest in a number of stocks being shorted by some of Wall Street’s largest hedge funds.

It was seen as a brave new form of financial activism by some, and a terrifying new brand of speculation by others.

In this episode, Think: Business looks back on those whirlwind months of January and February, when it seemed like occupy wall street had moved online.

Max Tillman spoke with Noam Korbl, Director of Compare Forex Traders, an Australian online trading platform, and Professor Michelle Baddeley, Professor in Economics and Director of Research and Development at the UTS Business School.

Producer/presenter: Max Tillman

Aired 23rd March 2021