Justice Dept short-selling probe looks at trading in Amazon, Microsoft, JPMorgan: report

The investigation also seeks info from research firms Citron and Muddy Waters

The U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed some short sellers for trading information on firms including Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, and JPMorgan Chase & Co, as part of a short-selling probe, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

The DOJ sent subpoenas over the past few months seeking details on transactions in several blue-chip stocks, according to the report that cited people familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon looks on during the inauguration the new French headquarters of JP Morgan bank, June 29, 2021 in Paris. Dimon laid out a laundry list of big risks looming for the global and U.S. economy in his annual letter to JPMorgan Chas (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool, File / AP Newsroom)

AMAZON ACCUSED OF PRACTICING ANTI-COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR

The DOJ last year also issued subpoenas to dozens of firms, including Citron Research and Muddy Waters Research LLC, as it probes potentially manipulative trading around negative reports on listed companies published by some of their investors.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 202.61 -8.87 -4.19%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 415.00 -11.89 -2.79%
JPM JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 245.33 +3.40 +1.41%

The U.S. securities regulator has also said it has been considering measures that require big investors to disclose more about short positions, or bets that stocks will fall, and the use of derivatives to speculate on stock moves.

The DOJ, Microsoft, Amazon, and JPMorgan did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

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