Online broker Robinhood restricted trade in about 13 highly volatile stocks such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment to protect the company and its customers, chief executive Vladimir Tenev said.
The app, popular with young investors for its simplicity, has been at the heart of the day-trading mania that has followed calls on social media to buy stocks heavily shorted by hedge funds. The restrictions allowed customers to sell but not buy.
"We absolutely did not do this at the direction of any market maker or hedge fund ... the reason we did it is because Robinhood as a brokerage firm, we have lots of financial requirements," Mr Tenev said in an interview with CNBC.
"In order to protect the firm and protect our customers, we had to limit buying in these stocks," he said, adding it was a "difficult decision".
The company had earlier announced the restrictions, and raised margin requirements, in a blog post which said limited buying would be available on Friday. The move has drawn the ire of angry customers and even politicians.
"We understand our customers are upset, we are doing what we can to re-enable buying in these names," Mr Tenev said.
"We want to be clear in the communications, and I own that we should have been out there a little bit sooner."
Other trading platforms took steps similar to Robinhood's. TD Ameritrade confirmed to CNET that it had restricted trades of GameStop.
Webull allowed users to trade GameStop after blocking activity for some time on Thursday.
"We stand in support of our customers and the freedom of retail investors to shape their own financial future," Robinhood said.
"Democratising finance has been our guiding star since our earliest days.
"We will continue to build products that give more people, not fewer, access to our financial system."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
