After last week, most everyone is at least aware that something weird is going on in the stock market. Shares of video game retailer Gamestop disconnected from reality and briefly surged 2,600% for the year to date.
To be clear, this is not an Amazon or Apple or even Tesla; Gamestop sells new and used Nintendos and PlayStations in retail shopping malls.
And this was not an isolated anomaly. Shares of AMC Entertainment, Bed Bath & Beyond and American Airlines experienced similar, if somewhat less preposterous, share-price spikes.
What is going on?
The proximate cause of this craziness is a market condition referred to as a “short squeeze,” in which investors who have bet against a stock are forced to surrender.