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Nvidia Hit a $3 Trillion Market Cap Last Week; Dark Pools Are Making Over 300,000 Trades in the Stock Weekly
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/06/nvidia-hit-a-3-trillion-market-cap-l… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: June 10, 2024 ~ The much-hyped artificial intelligence chipmaker, Nvidia (ticker NVDA), reached a market cap of $3 trillion on Thursday, beating out Apple as the second most valuable company, just behind Microsoft. This morning, Nvidia’s 10-for-1 stock split will become effective, reducing its share price to, ideally, entice more retail investors. Year-to-date, Nvidia’s stock price is up 144 percent through the closing bell on Friday. The company was founded on April 5, 1993 and lived the bulk of its existence in obscurity until a New York Times article appeared on September 1, 2017 with this headline: “Why a 24-Year-Old Chipmaker Is One of Tech’s Hot Prospects.” Browsing the company’s prolific newsroom reveals no shortage of bold pronouncements. A June 2 press release carries this seismic prediction: “The next industrial revolution has begun. Companies and countries are partnering with NVIDIA to shift the trillion-dollar traditional data centers to accelerated computing and build a new type of data center — AI factories — to produce a new commodity: artificial intelligence….” Our first instinct was to take a look to see how much trading in Nvidia’s shares is occurring in Dark Pools – non-transparent trading platforms operated by some of the biggest trading houses on Wall Street (which are also, insanely, allowed to own some of the largest federally-insured U.S. commercial banks which hold trillions of dollars in deposits). Wall Street’s self-regulator, FINRA, began providing some Dark Pool data back in 2014. Unfortunately, the trading data for each Dark Pool and the respective stock it is trading is lumped together for the entire week, not by the minute or hour or day, and the data arrives to the public two weeks late for big cap stocks and four weeks late for smaller companies. The charts below show the top eight Dark Pools that made the largest number of trades in Nvidia’s stock for a recent three weeks that FINRA has made trading data available. The Dark Pool owned by Interactive Brokers has consistently been the largest trader of Nvidia’s shares. In second and third place has been global banking behemoths UBS and JPMorgan, respectively. Dark Pools owned by other global trading powerhouses, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, have also ranked in the top eight. Interestingly, JPMorgan has shelled out $250 million in fines to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; $98.2 million to the Federal Reserve and $100 million (netted down from $200 million) to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission since March for failing to provide proper surveillance of “billions” of trades. The regulators were deafeningly silent on whether JPMorgan’s Dark Pools were involved in these infractions. (See here, here and here.) Following the stock market crash of 1929 (which ushered in the Great Depression), the U.S. Senate Banking Committee conducted an exhaustive investigation into the trading structure and trading practices on Wall Street. The titans of Wall Street were put under oath and troves of documents were subpoenaed. The Senate investigations focused on the collusive dealings of “pools.” The 1930s Senate investigation found the following: “A pool, according to stock exchange officials, is an agreement between several people, usually more than three, to actively trade in a single security. The investigation has shown that the purpose of a pool generally is to raise the price of a security by concerted activity on the part of the pool members, and thereby to enable them to unload their holdings at a profit upon the public attracted by the activity or by information disseminated about the stock. Pool operations for such a purpose are incompatible with the maintenance of a free and uncontrolled market.” The Senate Banking Committee of 1934 concluded as follows: “The conclusion is inescapable that members of the organized exchanges who had a participation in or managed pools, while simultaneously acting as brokers for the general public, were representing irreconcilable interests and attempting to discharge conflicting functions. Yet the stock exchange authorities could perceive nothing unethical in this situation.” As Wall Street On Parade has previously reported, U.S. regulators are not only allowing these quasi stock exchanges to operate in darkness, they are allowing Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase and others to trade their own publicly-traded bank stocks in their own Dark Pools. The U.S. stock market, once the envy of the world, remains dangerously opaque today, in no small part because of the sick revolving door structure between Wall Street and its regulators. Congress does not feel compelled to tackle the problem because corporate media has chosen to ignore the mushrooming problem. Even after bestselling author and Wall Street veteran, Michael Lewis, went on the heavily watched 60 Minutes program on CBS in 2014 and told viewers that “The United States stock market, the most iconic market in global capitalism is rigged,” Congress and the SEC have continued to dance around the problem. Until the public demands change, the darkness will continue to deepen in increasingly dangerous ways.

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Google Ad Tech Case Won't Go To Jury Due To Co.'s Payment
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Google Ad Tech Case Won't Go To Jury Due To Co.'s Payment <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/1844593?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…> By Matthew Perlman A Virginia federal judge ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology will be heard by the bench, and not a jury, thanks to a $2.3 million check from Google covering the amount enforcers could be awarded if they prevail. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/1844593?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/1844593?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…>

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Uber Can Arbitrate With Paralyzed Rider, Mass. Justices Rule
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Uber Can Arbitrate With Paralyzed Rider, Mass. Justices Rule <https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1845653?nl_pk=2bd720dd-746c-4744…> By Chris Villani Massachusetts' highest court on Friday ruled Uber Technologies Inc. had made its terms of service clear enough to move a paralyzed rider's case to arbitration, despite a dissent from one justice who said the company should spell out the rights that riders surrender when they hail a car. Opinion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1845653?nl_pk=2bd720dd-746c-4744…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/1845653?nl_pk=2bd720dd-746c-4744…>

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GOP Sens. Look To Sanction ICC Over Netanyahu Warrant
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

GOP Sens. Look To Sanction ICC Over Netanyahu Warrant <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/1845536?nl_pk=feb6bbba-7878-4d39-be…> By Courtney Bublé Following the House's passage of a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Senate Republicans are pushing for their chamber to follow the House's lead. Bill attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/1845536?nl_pk=feb6bbba-7878-4d39-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/1845536?nl_pk=feb6bbba-7878-4d39-be…>

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Susman Attys Can Exit IP Suit Amid Arigna's Row With Funder
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Susman Attys Can Exit IP Suit Amid Arigna's Row With Funder <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1845668?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Andrew Karpan New York boutique firm Susman Godfrey LLP has persuaded a D.C. federal judge to let the firm out of having to represent patent litigation business Arigna Technology Ltd. following a breakdown in the firm's arrangement with the business's litigation funder. 2 documents attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1845668?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1845668?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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Ex-Director In NYC Mayor's Office Charged With Bank Fraud
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Ex-Director In NYC Mayor's Office Charged With Bank Fraud <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1845130?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Elliot Weld A former director in the New York City Mayor's Office during the Bill de Blasio administration has been indicted on charges that he schemed to defraud over a dozen banks out of about $10 million using illegitimate fraud reports to induce reimbursements. Indictment attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1845130?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1845130?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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'Deceit On Deceit': 7th Circ. OKs Atty's Asset-Hiding Sentence
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

'Deceit On Deceit': 7th Circ. OKs Atty's Asset-Hiding Sentence <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1845305?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…> By Clara Geoghegan The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Chicago-area lawyer's three-year sentence for hiding over $350,000 in her brother's bankruptcy, finding two sentence enhancements were properly applied since she "layered deceit upon deceit" to try to conceal assets and cover her tracks. Opinion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1845305?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1845305?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…>

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Coinbase, Kraken Profit Off Crypto Scams, Suit Says
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Coinbase, Kraken Profit Off Crypto Scams, Suit Says <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1845336?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> By Sydney Price Cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase Inc. and Kraken face a pair of lawsuits filed by a former customer who accused them of using their platforms to attract scammers and victims to make a profit by taking operating fees. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1845336?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1845336?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…>

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Terraform Funder Must Face Class Claims In Illinois
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Terraform Funder Must Face Class Claims In Illinois <https://www.law360.com/capitalmarkets/articles/1845418?nl_pk=abe82add-2a33-…> By Jessica Corso Terraform Labs' financial backer Jump Trading LLC cannot consolidate a pair of proposed class actions accusing it of propping up the failing crypto platform, with a federal judge ruling that purchasers of a massively devalued crypto token can keep their lawsuit against the high-speed trading firm in Illinois. Order attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/capitalmarkets/articles/1845418?nl_pk=abe82add-2a33-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/capitalmarkets/articles/1845418?nl_pk=abe82add-2a33-…>

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Public Schools Tossed From Calif. Social Media Injury Case
by Gunnar Larson 10 Jun '24

10 Jun '24

Public Schools Tossed From Calif. Social Media Injury Case <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1845734?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…> By Lauren Berg Four public school districts cannot pursue their claims against Meta Platforms, Snap, Google, YouTube and TikTok that their allegedly addictive social media platforms fueling a mental health crisis among children have had a ripple effect on schools, a California state judge ruled Friday. 6 documents attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1845734?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1845734?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…>

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