Ghost-Gun Firms Find New Ways to Sell DIY Weapons as U.S. Rule Takes Effect
Makers of easy-to-assemble firearms offer products in pieces after regulation mandates serial numbers, background checks on kits
Sellers of the easy-to-assemble firearms known as ghost guns are finding ways to continue to offer their products online, soon after the Biden administration implemented a rule aimed at regulating their sales.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule that went into effect Aug. 24 requires licensed gun manufacturers to add serial numbers to kits that can be quickly assembled into working firearms and for retailers who sell them to conduct background checks on buyers.
Ghost-gun companies have concluded that they can continue operating amid those requirements by selling the parts separately, instead of in a single kit, and leaving purchasers to put the parts together to create a working weapon themselves, people who work in the industry said. Some are offering only some of the needed components for sale.
“If somebody wants to make a firearm at their home without a serial number, they can do it just as easily as they could last week,” said Rob Pincus, a firearms instructor, author and consultant who has built many homemade firearms.
One of the largest ghost-gun makers, Polymer80 Inc., has stopped selling its unserialized “Buy Build Shoot” kits that contain all the parts needed for a ghost gun. However, it still offers on its website most of the parts needed to make homemade guns.
Representatives for the company didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Nevada company was raided two years ago by the ATF, but no charges have been brought.
Some ghost-gun sellers are still offering the key building block for weapons: the unfinished receiver, a metal or polymer piece that houses the firing mechanism. The companies call them “80% receivers” because buyers need to make modifications for them to be 100% complete.
“We can ship to your door because 80% lower receivers are not considered firearms by the ATF,” a seller called 80 Percent Arms says in a product description.
The company didn’t respond to requests for comment.
President Biden ordered the new restrictions last year to clamp down on ghost guns, which law-enforcement officials say appeal to criminals because all the parts can be bought and assembled without a background check.
Gun-rights advocates say that such concerns are overblown and that homemade firearms are the province of hobbyists.
“This rule will make it harder for criminals and other prohibited persons to obtain untraceable guns,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said when the law went into effect. “It will help reduce the number of untraceable firearms flooding our communities.”
About 20,000 ghost guns were reported to the ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations in 2021. That is up more than 10 times from the number recovered in 2016.
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction in favor of a company called Tactical Machining that sells parts used to make homemade guns, which had challenged the new rule in court.
Friday’s ruling applies only to the one company, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor wrote. But he also said that the new rule conflicts with a 1968 law that legally defined a firearm. The judge ordered further briefings by both the company and the government.
Under federal law, the only part of a gun considered a firearm is the receiver. Manufacturers are required to stamp receivers with serial numbers. Anyone buying a serialized receiver must undergo a background check just as with a completed gun. Police use those serial numbers to trace weapons used in murders and other violent crimes.
Gun hobbyists found that if they took a receiver that wasn’t completely finished—and didn’t yet have a serial number—they could finish it in their workshops with tools as simple as a drill press. Companies such as Polymer80 soon started selling kits with unfinished receivers and all the parts to build a complete firearm.
ATF spokesman Erik Longnecker said companies can still offer unfinished receivers if they are sold alone, but they must not be able to be readily completed.
The ATF will evaluate receivers submitted to it and decide whether they are all right to sell, he said. Dealers who violate the regulation could face up to five years in prison.
Under the new rule, the ATF will take into account whether the receivers are being sold alongside guides known as jigs that fit around the receiver and show people where to drill and machine to finish the part.
Polymer80 now lists unfinished receivers for sale on its site, as well as other parts used to make guns, but it no longer offers jigs.
Cody Wilson, an executive at Ghostguns.com, said his website is gearing up to sell jigs without receivers.
“This is going to mean that very little will change,” said Mr. Wilson.
Alex McCourt, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that eliminating the ability to buy all the pieces with one online order will likely cut down on the availability of ghost guns.
“I do think it will make a dent,” he said.
Gun-control advocates have also said that any change that makes it more difficult to obtain and build a ghost gun is worthwhile to deter crime.
VW defends timing and structure of Porsche IPO
Carmaker seeks to reassure investors after concerns about thin float and governance
Volkswagen has defended the timing and structure of the long-awaited listing of its Porsche brand, as it seeks to reassure investors with concerns about corporate governance and the gloomy economic environment.
“There’s a lot of capital in the market and we think that the Porsche IPO could be an icebreaker . . . and show what’s possible,” said Porsche chief executive Oliver Blume, who also took over as VW boss earlier this month.
Blume’s comments came after VW confirmed late on Monday that it intended to float a small portion of Porsche’s shares, with retail investors only being offered non-voting stock.
The group said it aimed to take its most profitable subsidiary public in Frankfurt towards the end of this month or at the start of October, barring a significant shift in market conditions.
Bankers involved in the transaction said investor interest so far pointed to a valuation close to €80bn, the upper end of analysts’ estimates.
If achieved, that would value Porsche’s initial public offering at about €10bn, just behind Deutsche Telekom’s $13bn public debut in 1996 in the list of largest German flotations.
But the thin size of the float, which involves the sale of just 12.5 per cent of the sports car maker as well as concerns about governance after the appointment of Blume as VW boss, were not well received by investors, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Porsche had initially pitched the partial IPO as a route to “increased corporate independence” for the Stuttgart-based marque and said it would have more autonomy as profits would no longer be handed over to VW.
Months later, former VW chief executive Herbert Diess was suddenly defenestrated by shareholders and unions, leading to the appointment of Blume who will maintain both roles even once the IPO is completed.
“In my role as Volkswagen Group chief executive, I will at the same time work on ensuring that synergies continue to exist in both directions in terms of sales volume, components, technologies or plans,” Blume said on Tuesday.
“If conflicts of interests nevertheless arise, we will strictly separate matters,” he added, emphasising that while VW and Porsche “have the same interests”, the Porsche board would always make “independent decisions”.
VW’s chief financial officer Arno Antlitz defended the structure of the planned flotation, which will involve only 10 per cent of Porsche shares on offer after VW shareholder Qatar earmarked 2.5 per cent, with almost half of the IPO proceeds paid out as a special dividend.
“This is the best of both worlds,” Antlitz said on Monday. “It is half way between an IPO and a spin off, and from our point of view very well balanced.”
As part of the transaction, VW will split Porsche’s share capital into two and allow the Porsche-Piëch families that control VW to buy 25 per cent of voting shares.
Research Calls
- Upgrades:
- Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABEV) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC Securities
- Euronav (EURN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $20
- Frontline (FRO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $16
- Greif (GEF) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt raised to $70
- Mettler-Toledo (MTD) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; tgt $1500
- NextEra Energy (NEE) upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; tgt raised to $99
- Newmont Goldcorp (NEM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
- Nordic American Tanker (NAT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $4
- Organon (OGN) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler; tgt lowered to $34
- Perrigo (PRGO) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo; tgt raised to $54
- PPG Industries (PPG) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Redburn
- TEN, Ltd. (TNP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $25
- Tesla (TSLA) upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research; tgt $360
- Toro (TTC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Northcoast
- Transocean (RIG) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG Research; tgt $8
- W.R. Berkley (WRB) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette; tgt raised to $80
- Downgrades:
- Alvotech (ALVO) downgraded to Sell from Buy at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $5
- Apollo Commercial Real Estate (ARI) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $11
- Carlyle Group (CG) downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA Securities; tgt lowered to $33
- Ciena (CIEN) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $45
- Claros Mortgage Trust (CMTG) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $17
- Discover Financial Services (DFS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $113
- Edison (EIX) downgraded to Underweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; tgt lowered to $62
- Enact Holdings (ACT) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt $27
- Entergy (ETR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS; tgt lowered to $128
- FedEx (FDX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $225
- Greif (GEF) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo; tgt lowered to $71
- LegalZoom.com (LZ) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Mkt Outperform at JMP Securities
- Rocket Companies (RKT) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $8.50
- StoneCo (STNE) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman; tgt lowered to $7.80
- WhiteHorse Finance (WHF) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt $14
- Others:
- Akili Inc. (AKLI) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen
- Cadre Holdings (CDRE) initiated with a Buy at BofA Securities; tgt $30
- Dropbox (DBX) initiated with a Buy at BofA Securities; tgt $34
- Lumentum (LITE) initiated with a Buy at BofA Securities; tgt $105
- Mesoblast (MESO) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler; tgt $7
- Procore Technologies (PCOR) initiated with a Mkt Outperform at JMP Securities; tgt $70
- Sun Country Airlines (SNCY) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen; tgt $25
- United Bankshares (UBSI) initiated with a Buy at Janney; tgt $40
- WesBanco Inc (WSBC) initiated with a Neutral at Janney; tgt $37
Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- KC -5.6%
Other news:
- DWAC -22.3% (Truth Social did not get shareholder support from Digital World (DWAC) to extend SPAC deal)
- BBBY -15.9% (mourns the loss of CFO)
- ALVO -6.3% (Update on Initial AVT02 Biologics License Application; also downgraded to Sell from Buy at Citigroup)
- ZYME -4.9% (Release of ESMO Abstract for Phase 1 Study of Zanidatamab Zovodotin (ZW49) in Solid Cancers)
- APGN -1.5% (New Data from a Phase 2 Trial Evaluating its CD40 Antibody, Sotigalimab, in Combination with Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation in Patients with Resectable Esophageal and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancers at ESMO Congress 2022)
- CHD -1.4% (signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Hero Mighty Patch brand and other acne treatment products for $630 mln, consisting of cash and Church & Dwight restricted stock)
Analyst comments:
- CG -2.2% (downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA Securities)
- ARI -1.3% (downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan)
- CIEN -0.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan)
Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- UMC +0.8% (August revs)
Other news:
- ECOM +54.4% (to be acquired for $23.10 per share)
- ISEE +42.3% (topline data from Zimura GATHER2 phase 3 clinical trial in geographic atrophy)
- GLUE +10% (receives FDA clearance of Investigational New Drug Application for MRT-2359)
- IDYA +4.9% (reports first-patient-in for Phase I clinical trial to evaluate darovasertib monotherapy)
- LPTX +4% (New Data from DisTinGuish Study of DKN-01 Plus Tislelizumab and WAKING Study of DKN-01 Plus Tecentriq at the ESMO Congress)
- ILMN +4% (confirms it intends to appeal European Commission's decision in GRAIL deal)
- MNKD +2.9% (completes phase 1 study of inhaled clofazimine)
- ATHA +2.8% (update to its plans for the ongoing LIFT-AD clinical trial of fosgonimeton)
- PAC +2.7% (August traffic)
- TKR +2.5% (to acquire GGB Bearing Technology, expanding its engineered bearing portfolio with complementary products)
- HUT +2.1% (production and operations update for August 2022)
- IRWD +1.3% (topline data from a Phase III clinical trial evaluating LINZESS 72 mcg)
- DVN +1.2% (Devon Energy and Delfin Midstream enter LNG Export Partnership)
- GOL +1% (August traffic)
Analyst comments:
- EURN +1.5% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies)
- FRO +0.8% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies)
Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- ISEE +42.3%, MNKD +9%, LPTX +6%, IDYA +4.9%, WING +3%, APGN +2.1%, UMC +2%, HUT +1.6%, AZN +1.3%, GOL +1%, IWM +0.9%, CS +0.8%, SPY +0.8%, QQQ +0.8%, DIA +0.7%
- Gapping down:
- DWAC -18.7%, BBBY -15.2%, ZYME -4.9%, VLRS -3.5%, PAC -1.3%
Luxury logos are finally on the way out
Showing off insignias and brand hook-ups seems absurd amid a cost of living crisis
I’m calling it. Logomania is over.
I first got a sense that the worm had turned on a trip to Bicester Village this summer, at the height of the UK heatwave. As I dragged myself down the mall’s main thoroughfare, I was overcome by a feeling of malaise. Not only was the weather soporific in the extreme, but every single person, old or young, tall or short, seemed to be wearing an item of clothing emblazoned with some kind of massive logo, and it made my soul feel knackered.
I know what you’re thinking: how can logos be over if everyone’s still wearing them? But trends are like spots. The moment they reach critical mass is also the moment they’re on a path to disappearing and, in the case of logos, losing all cachet. When you start seeing so many monograms and insignias around the fashion equivalent of Chieveley motorway services as you do strolling the pristine pavements of Old Bond Street, you know that critical mass has been reached.
I should establish early on that I really don’t like logos. My favourite brand is Bottega Veneta, the luxury leather goods house that made its strapline “when your own initials are enough”, and even though I can’t really afford to buy anything from the label, the sentiment chimes.
I think if you feel the need to wear a logo to establish your superiority, well, you’re probably not as culturally astute or superior as you think.
How did the luxury logo become so ubiquitous? It’s not a stretch to suggest that its recent rise ran in tandem with the ascent of Instagram. It’s also not a coincidence that just as the Meta-owned platform launched in 2010, showing off online became perfectly acceptable. In 2015, deified Gucci designer Alessandro Michele put the brand’s defunct yet totally IG-friendly GG belts back at the centre of his seasonal collections, and logomania was given the official high-fashion nod to run riot.
The demise of this latest logo craze, therefore, has been a long time coming. But the true beginning of the end — its very own Danniella Westbrook in head-to-toe Burberry house-check moment — came, in my opinion, during the pandemic, when lockdown meant we had no reason to show off our clothes any more, and wearing anything more glamorous than a pair of black pique trousers from Lululemon felt a bit daft. When, eventually, we came crawling out of our Covid hovels, blinking and gurning into the sunlight, that sense of embarrassment stuck around.
It’s a change that chimes with the shift in our social media habits, too. Instagram’s growth in monthly users is forecast to dip to 5.8 per cent this year from 16.5 per cent in 2021, while TikTok, a platform on the rise, is far less geared towards showing off your finery in a two-dimensional way and more directed to being creative with your outfit choices.
The Fendace show, unveiled in September 2021, mixed Fendi and Versace’s logos . . . © Alfonso Catalano/SGP
. . . while the Gucci Aria collection, in the same year, featured a mash-up between Gucci and Balenciaga © Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for Gucci
What’s interesting is that all this change also falls in line with the over-proliferation of big-brand fashion collaborations. Where once said partnerships provided clever opportunities for small streetwear brands to team up symbiotically with luxury megaliths — and for each party to feed on the other’s respective credibility and heft — more recently massive logo-driven link-ups between the likes of Gucci and Balenciaga, and then Fendi and Versace, have pushed logomania into slightly manic new territory.
The shift is being reflected in our shopping habits. “We have seen a significant move away from logo-driven product towards brands opting for seasonal iterations of their logo and subtle, less graphic representations of their house codes,” says Damien Paul, head of menswear at London-based luxury retailer Matches Fashion.
The world’s biggest brands are keeping pace. Prada’s autumn/winter 2022 collection, for instance, was an ultra-slick celebration of razor-edged tailoring and proper shoes, as demonstrated with élan by Matt Smith at the recent House of the Dragon premiere. Sure, the collection featured a few Insta-friendly nods — a marabou-feather sleeve here and an oversized triangular-branded plaque there — but on the whole it was back to logo-free basics.
It was the same at Vetements — arguably the luxury brand that has held the oversized logo in the closest embrace in recent years — where creative director Guram Gvasalia toned down his penchant for logos dramatically. And then, of course, there’s everything that Bottega Veneta does.
So, to low-key elegance we return, but what does that mean for your wardrobe? In real terms it’s easy. Dig out all your old Jil Sander smock shirts and slim-cut Hedi Slimane for Dior suits and shove those voluminous branded tees to the back of your wardrobe until the logo trend comes around again. Because as sure as I’ll return to Bicester before the month is out, it’ll come around again.