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SEC Awards Nearly $600,000 to Whistleblower

Securities and Exchange Commission

Publication of Hong Kong-Related Sanctions Regulations

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing regulations to implement Executive Order 13936 of July 14, 2020, "The President's Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization." These regulations were published in the Federal Register, and take effect, today. OFAC intends to supplement this part 585 with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive and definitional guidance and additional general licenses and statements of licensing policy.

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SEC Awards Nearly $600,000 to Whistleblower 01/14/2021 11:00 AM EST The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of nearly $600,000 to a whistleblower whose tip led to the success of an enforcement action.  The whistleblower substantially contributed to an open investigation by providing detailed… Issuance of Communist Chinese Military Companies General License 2 and Related Frequently Asked Questions; Issuance of Executive Order on Amending Executive Order 13959 The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued General License 2, "Authorizing Securities Exchanges Operated by U.S. Persons to Engage in Transactions Involving Securities of Communist Chinese Military Companies." OFAC has also published new frequently asked questions (871, 872, 873, 874) related to Executive Order (E.O.) 13959, "Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies." In addition, the President has issued "Executive Order on Amending Executive Order 13959–Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies." For more information on this specific action, please visit our Recent Actions page. What's Happening from Start-Up to Small Cap: SEC's Small Business Advocate to Host Capital Call Feb. 4 01/15/2021 11:29 AM EST The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation will host its second annual Capital Call on Feb. 4, 2020, at 1 p.m. ET, where the office will talk about what’s happening with capital raising… Financial Crimes Enforcement Network FinCEN Extends Comment Period for Rule Aimed at Closing Anti-Money Laundering Regulatory Gaps for Certain Convertible Virtual Currency and Digital Asset Transactions The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced today it is reopening the comment period for its recent proposed rulemaking regarding certain transactions involving convertible virtual currency (CVC) or digital assets with legal tender status (LTDA). Under the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), banks and money services businesses (MSBs) would be required to submit reports, keep records, and verify the identity of customers in relation to transactions above certain thresholds involving CVC/LTDA wallets not hosted by a financial institution (also known as “unhosted wallets”) or CVC/LTDA wallets hosted by a financial institution in certain jurisdictions identified by FinCEN. Read the news release here. Get the latest Pulse Survey releases. Stay up to date with COVID-19 data and Business Formation Statistics. Weekly Pulse Newsletter The U.S. Census Bureau is in a unique position to produce data on the social and economic effects of COVID-19 on American households and small businesses. Small Business Pulse Survey Updates Explore Data See Data Tables Following this week’s data release, we will be pausing Phase 3 of the Small Business Pulse Survey. We expect to provide further information about future releases in February. Based on responses collected January 4 through January 10, the Small Business Pulse Survey estimates that: 23.5% of U.S. small businesses experienced a decrease in the total number of hours worked in the last week by paid employees 12.4% of U.S. small businesses experienced a decrease in the number of paid employees in the last week 46.4% of U.S. small businesses believe more than 6 months will pass before their business returns to normal operations 40.4% of U.S. small businesses have experienced a decrease in operating revenue. For responses collected 12/28 – 1/3, this statistic was 41.8% 75.0% of U.S. small businesses have experienced a large or moderate negative effect from the Coronavirus pandemic 48.0% of U.S. retail trade businesses have experienced domestic supplier delays in the last week 88.7% of small businesses in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area have requested financial assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program since March 13, 2020 Household Pulse Survey Explore Data See Data Tables This is an “off” week for the Household Pulse Survey; results are reported bi-weekly. Help us spread the word about Census Bureau data. Share this story on social media or forward it to a friend. Share This COVID-19 Data Hub and More Resources The Census Bureau has launched a new tool — the COVID-19 Data Hub — designed to help guide the nation as it begins recovery efforts from the sweeping COVID-19 pandemic by providing economic and demographic data. Version 2.0 is now available! Read More More Resources and Recent Releases: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Resource Page Taking the Pulse of American Households During COVID-19 Providing Perspective During COVID-19 Using Census Data Business Formation Statistics Updates Last week was the final week of reporting weekly BFS data. Those data, along with quarterly BFS, will now be released monthly beginning in February with January data. Latest Updates