REGULATORY UPDATES
SEC Leadership Changes
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate voted to approve President Biden’s nomination of Gary Gensler as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) through June 5, 2021. The vote came after the Senate Banking Committee endorsed Gensler’s nomination in March 2021. The confirmation only approves Gensler to serve the remainder of former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton’s term, though the Senate Banking Committee has cleared Gensler to serve another five-year term afterward. Gensler served as chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014, and helped to draft the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as senior advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes. In a statement, the SEC’s four commissioners said they welcome Gensler “and look forward to working together to execute our vital mission.”
FEB 2021: SEC Suspends Trading in Multiple Issuers Based on Social Media and Trading Activity
Posted on 02/27/2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today suspended trading in the securities of 15 companies because of questionable trading and social media activity.
The press release states, “Today’s order states that trading is being suspended because of questions about recent increased activity and volatility in the trading of these issuers, as well as the influence of certain social media accounts on that trading activity. The order also states that none of the issuers has filed any information with the SEC or OTC Markets, where the companies’ securities are quoted, for over a year. As a result, the SEC suspended trading in the securities of: Bebida Beverage Co. (BBDA); Blue Sphere Corporation (BLSP); Ehouse Global Inc. (EHOS); Eventure Interactive Inc. (EVTI); Eyes on the Go Inc. (AXCG); Green Energy Enterprises Inc. (GYOG); Helix Wind Corp. (HLXW); Internationa