Amid these grim and uncertain times, and the signal (and, in this case, bipartisan) lack of leadership from City Hall up to the White House, it’s no surprise that people are looking for some solid ground, some certainty, some kind of sure thing. Investors are people, and feeling extreme seasickness from the dizzying ups-and-downs of the markets over the past month-plus, are also looking for something, anything that’s a guaranteed win. Like, say, an Italian mask maker. Or Jim Bakker’s colloidal silver. Or that video app that everyone seems to be using to retain some semblance of human connection and an economy, even if it’s got some problems and, oh yea, you’re buying the wrong Zoom.
On that same note, perhaps you were intrigued by a penny stock which claimed to have pivoted from selling dental supplies to innovative home coronavirus test kits and was dropping some congressional names to that effect (and having its name dropped by one of those names, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona). Or the Minnesota company that usually makes heated clothing but which now says its making some pretty desirable masks. If so, the SEC—which has been a real bummer through all of this—has some bad news.
The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading in two stocks over potentially inaccurate information about their activities in response to the new coronavirus pandemic…. With No Borders, the SEC said in its order that it had “questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information” on the company, including its statements on testing kits for Covid-19…. The SEC suspended trading in Sandy Steele over concerns about emails from unknown stock promoters to investors claiming that the company “has the ability to produce protective masks that are in high demand due to the COVID-19 crisis….”
Late last month, the SEC suspended trading in a health-care company over statements it had made about having large quantities of N95 masks, which can protect against the coronavirus.
SEC Suspends Trading in Two Stocks Over Coronavirus Claims [WSJ]
Global Markets Follow U.S. Higher [WSJ]