Ok, here’s the play: Slip information to stock analysts, let whispers spread through the market — and watch the money grow, writes Bloomberg’s Heather Perlberg.
Even for Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street billionaire known for sharp elbows, a move like that might sound close to the line. But there was Lutnick, dialing into a videoconference, suggesting that very idea.
Relax, Lutnick told potential investors. Rules are rules, he assured the listeners — but you can be very smart about them. All the more so because the investors were following Lutnick down the rabbit hole into the Wonderland of SPACs, those soaring — and now sinking — blank-check investments.
One of the most remarkable stories behind the Wall Street SPAC machine is the characters pulling the levers. As insiders have rushed businesses into the public’s hands, they’ve employed a range of maneuvers — some of them downright astonishing to the uninitiated — to win even when investors lose. Read more.
