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Janet Yellen calls meeting with financial regulators over GameStop frenzy

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with top financial regulators to discuss the recent stock market frenzy propelled by a mass movement of retail investors on Reddit targeting GameStop and other heavily shorted stocks.

Yellen will meet this week, as soon as Thursday, with the heads of Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Treasury said on Tuesday.

“Secretary Yellen believes the integrity of markets is important and has asked for a discussion of recent volatility in financial markets and whether recent activities are consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets,” Treasury spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna said in a statement to Reuters.

Before calling the meeting, Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chairman, received clearance from ethics lawyers since she was paid a hefty sum by a firm that was a key player in the market volatility.

Yellen received $810,000 by hedge fund Citadel for three events in 2019 and 2020, according to disclosure forms.

The firm reportedly infused $2 billion into Melvin Capital Management, another hedge fund that was hammered by losses in the GameStop struggle waged by small investors.

GameStop’s stock price was elevated to a high of $483 last week, before falling back to earth this week, closing at $90 on Tuesday.

With Post wires