Business Law Blog

On Tuesday, February 16, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York against Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC for “violating disclosure and internal controls provisions in rating commercial mortgage-backed securities (‘CMBS’).”» Read More

On Thursday, February 4, 2021, the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a Release (No. IC-34188) (the “Release”) entitled “Request for Comment on Potential Money Market Fund Reform Measures in President’s Working Group Report.” The President’s Working Group (“PWG”) had issued its “Report of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets Overview of Recent Events and Potential Reform Options for Money Market Funds” (“PWG Report”) on December 22, 2020.» Read More

I have already written two blog posts on the GameStop Saga: “Rupture Rapture: Should the GameStop?” on February 2, 2021, and “Inciting to Rupture: Keith Gill and the GameStop Surge” on February 9, 2021. There are a number of other companies whose shares have seen buying surges akin to what happened to GameStop in January 2021: AMC Entertainment; Nokia; Koss, Corp.» Read More

In my February 2, 2021, blog post, “Rupture Rapture: Should the GameStop?” I noted that a report in the Wall Street Journal for Saturday/Sunday, January 30-31, 2021, identified a 34-year-old former Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (“Mass Mutual”) “marketing employee” as the on-line “influencer “ who triggered the interest surge in GameStop.» Read More

In March 2001, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Notice 01-18, pursuant to which the SEC approved rules requiring “Fixed Income Transaction Reporting And Dissemination” under SEC Rule 6200 Series, so that information about the trading of corporate bonds and certain structured products would be publicly available.» Read More

GameStop, described on January 26, 2021, in the Wall Street Journal as a “moribund mall retailer” (which sold electronic games, but not many what with mall closures due to the growth of e-commerce, and even fewer after shutdowns due to COVID) has seen the share price of its stock (listed on the New York Stock Exchange) rise from a low of $2.57 to $483.00.» Read More

On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unanimously adopted a NEW Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the ”IA Act”), replacing old Rule 206(4)-1 originally adopted in 1961, and also eliminating Rule 206(4)-3 originally adopted in 1979.» Read More

On New Year’s Day, January 1, 2021, the U.S. Senate voted 81 to 13 to override President Trump’s veto, thus joining the House of Representatives, which had taken similar action four days earlier 322 to 87, and so making the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) law.» Read More

An important consideration during discovery in any complex litigation is ensuring documents designated as “confidential” under a governing Discovery Confidentiality Order actually meet governing law and the Order’s definition of “confidential.” Last week, the District of New Jersey issued a decision that serves to remind both counsel and litigants that a party cannot use a Discovery Confidentiality Order to shield routine business communications, even if they are harmful, uncomfortable, or embarrassing.» Read More

On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE,” since reorganized as a separate division of the SEC, i.e., the Division of Examinations [“DivEx”]) issued a Risk Alert entitled “Observations from Examinations of Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers: Large Trader Obligations.”» Read More