Jay Clayton is so close to being done, you guys. Not as close as his buddy Bill Barr, of course, but close enough. But he’s still keeping busy, and not just with his sulking–middle-fingers-extended-high-into-the-air/future-client-recruitment program of deregulation. For instance, now that Robinhood has got another regulatory matter to deal with, it’d really like to get this one squared away, and Clayton is only too happy to oblige, lest Gary Gensler or Preet Bharara have other ideas.
Robinhood agreed to pay a $65 million civil penalty, without admitting or denying SEC’s findings…. “One of Robinhood’s selling points to customers was that trading was ‘commission free,’ but due in large part to its unusually high payment for order flow rates, Robinhood customers’ orders were executed at prices that were inferior to other brokers’ prices,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Luckin Coffee was faced with the difficult decision of working something out with a China-hating but slap-on-the-wrist giving Trumpkin-led SEC or waiting for a less-China-hostile but more accounting-fraud-disapproving one, and decided to go with the former.
Luckin Coffee “materially” misstated revenue, expenses and net operating losses “in an effort to falsely appear to achieve rapid growth and increased profitability and to meet company’s earnings estimates,” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.
Luckin Coffee, which had been under investigation for months, has agreed to pay a $180 million fine to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations, the SEC said.
SEC charges Robinhood with misleading customers about how it makes money [CNBC]
Luckin Coffee charged with fraud, to pay $180 million in settlement, SEC says [MarketWatch]
SEC Approves Scaled-Back Disclosure Rule for Energy, Mining Companies [WSJ]