Stocks & Equities

Google removed 100,000 negative reviews of Robinhood from the Google Play app store after users angry at being not able to trade sent critical reviews that pushed the app’s rating down Thursday. It’s not just the markets that are manipulated.
Matt Novak, Gizmodo

AMC, National Beverage And 8 More Heavily-Shorted Stocks To Watch

The rise in GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) has been one of the hottest stories of the year. The move comes as retail traders on Reddit, Robinhood and elsewhere are searching for stocks with large short percentages.

Here is a look at 10 heavily shorted stocks that have already followed in GameStop’s footsteps. Short percentages come from highshortinterest.com.​

AMC Entertainment: Next to GameStop, one of the most talked-about stock moves has been AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC). The company has 69% of its float traded short. The movie theater company is well known and has been circulated on the WallStreetBets subreddit. The hashtag #SaveAMC has also trended on Twitter several times over the last few days. Shares are up 248% Wednesday.

Bed Bath & Beyond: Known for its large stores and 20% off coupons, Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) could soon be known as the next short squeeze candidate. Over 66% of the Bed Bath & Beyond float is short.

Virgin Galactic: Former SPAC Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE:SPCE) has over 81% of its float traded short. The company counts Chamath Palihapitiya as chairman after and he even bought calls in GameStop and helped take shares higher Tuesday…CLICK for complete article

AMC Entertainment Surges After Raising $917M In Fresh Capital, Avoids Bankruptcy

Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc surged higher by 35% Monday morning after the movie theater company said it has successfully raised nearly $1 billion in fresh capital since December.

What Happened: AMC said in a press release it raised or signed commitment letters to receive $917 million of new equity and debt capital. The capital infusion will allow the company to “make it through this dark coronavirus-impacted winter.”

AMC’s belief it has enough capital to operate through “deep into 2021” is also based on the assumption it will make progress in talks with theater landlords about the amounts and timing of lease payments, the company said. In addition, the company is assuming that a successful vaccination initiative against the novel coronavirus will act as a catalyst for theater attendance…CLICK for complete article

Three Energy Tech Trends To Watch This Year

Transition will be the word of the year in energy, no doubt. But this transition involves a host of technologies that many believe will help the world move beyond the fossil fuels era. Many will need years to become commercially available, which has made some industry observers skeptical about the future of this transition. The dominant sentiment, however, appears to be optimistic, despite the considerable challenges.

Here are three technology areas that, according to a recent report by Lux Research, will dominate the energy discourse for the observable future.

Green hydrogen and fuel cells

Green hydrogen is the new EV revolution in terms of media coverage. From an occasional mention in renewable energy analyses, hydrogen has won its own place among the energy transition stars. The most abundant element in the universe has been touted as an energy carrier, energy storage option, and fuel. With such versatility of use, one might imagine that economies would already be running on hydrogen.

But things are rarely as simple as they seem.

First, not all hydrogen is made equal. For the energy transition revolutionaries such as the European Union, green hydrogen is the one to aim for. Produced through the electrolysis of water using electricity generated by renewable sources, green hydrogen features heavily in the EU’s energy transition plans: it wants to build at least 40 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030, with 6 GW of these to be up and running by 2024.

Green hydrogen, many believe, will be the best way to help industries that have proved hard to decarbonize reduce their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. How? First, it can be used as a fuel for freight vehicles; second, it can be blended with natural gas and used to heat buildings; third, it can be used to store electricity produced by solar and wind farms.

There is just one problem with all this: it is expensive, prohibitively so at the moment. Yet the outlook is optimistic, according to most, with the costs of electrolysis expected to fall significantly.

Fuel cells are another potentially widespread use for hydrogen, but they have been off to a slow start, again because of cost constraints. Fuel cell passenger vehicles are still a rarity despite their major advantage over EVs: much faster charging time. According to the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the biggest obstacle in fuel cell cars’ wider adoption is the lack of a charging station network—a problem that is being addressed. CLICK for complete article

Is Another Crash Coming for Air Canada Stock?

So, you thought 2021 would offer some breathing space for Air Canada stock. But the year has only brought more hurdles. The biggest challenge has been the stringent air travel restrictions, and they just got worst. It has gotten so bad that AC has reduced its capacity by another 25% in the first quarter.

In June 2020, AC slashed 20,000 employees (50% workforce), retired 75 planes, and suspended 30 domestic routes and eight stations until further notice. After six months, the airline is making more cuts. This month, it suspended services to more than six domestic routes and slashed 1,700 jobs and another 200 employees at its Express carriers. The culprit is Canada’s travel restrictions.

Air Canada frustrated with Canada’s air travel restrictions

Since March 21, Canada has had a blanket prohibition on foreign travelers coming to Canada. Canadians and residents returning to Canada have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. AC initiated voluntary COVID-19 testing for all arriving passengers to force the Justin Trudeau government to ease the quarantine requirement for passengers testing negative.

The government even agreed to the testing. But then came the second wave of mutant virus, and Canada made its already stringent requirements more stringent. Starting January 7, all travelers over five years of age flying to Canada from abroad need to get a negative result on the COVID-19 test taken 72 hours before the scheduled departure.

Now, AC proposed to replace the quarantine requirement with COVID-19 testing. But the proposal backfired. Now all travelers from abroad have to present negative test results and also fulfill the 14-day quarantine requirement.

There was confusion around which diagnostic companies’ test results the government would consider. Then even if you get the test done, there is a possibility that the airline might cancel the flight. All this hassle had an immediate impact on AC’s close-in bookings, thereby forcing it to adjust its routes to the expected demand and slow the cash burn…CLICK for complete article