DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires burning in Canada
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Robinhood Markets on Thursday defeated an appeal by investors over the stock trading platform's decision to restrict purchases of 13 "meme stocks" during a January 2021 frenzy that squeezed hedge funds.
Customers who owned stocks such as AMC Entertainment, the former Bed Bath & Beyond and GameStop claimed in the proposed class action that they lost money because Robinhood stopped them from buying more as social media-fueled trading drove prices skyward.
Other holders of the stocks also said they were harmed, because the restrictions eventually caused prices of their stocks to fall.
But in a 3-0 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said Robinhood's standard customer agreement specifically authorized the restrictions, and did not suggest that Robinhood would accept all trade orders.
The court also dismissed claims that Robinhood was negligent in failing to keep investors from losing money, or failed to ensure that its "mission critical systems" would work properly.
"When Robinhood restricted its customers' ability to buy meme stocks, it took a sizable - and perhaps justifiable - hit in the court of public opinion," Circuit Judge Britt Grant wrote. "But in this court, Robinhood is only accountable for specific legal duties."
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Robinhood and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Thursday's decision upheld a November 2021 ruling by Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the Miami federal court.
The meme stock frenzy has been fueled in part by investors using online forums such as Twitter and the subreddit WallStreet Bets.
It led to a "short squeeze" that caused big losses for hedge funds betting stock prices would fall, and what Robinhood called "outsized regulatory collateral calls" for the Menlo Park, California-based company and other brokers.
Robinhood is also being sued by investors who sold nine meme stocks at a loss in late January and early February 2021.
Shares of Robinhood were up 3 cents at US$10.83 at midday on Thursday.
The case is In re January 2021 Short Squeeze Trading Litigation, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-10669.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York. Editing by Matthew Lewis)
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal 'misguided' and 'disastrous.'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.