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Wall Street's top regulator says a report on meme stock mania is coming this summer

06 May 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Wall Street's top regulator says a report examining meme stock mania will be coming "sometime this summer."

The big picture: It will "detail the range of activities" that came out of the January events," SEC chair Gary Gensler said Thursday at a third congressional hearing held to dissect the GameStop trading phenomenon.

Why it matters: The report could be a blueprint for tougher regulation — or a signal that the market chaos won't lead to anything beyond the attention frenzy that's since dried up.

Catch up quick: Gensler fielded the majority of lawmaker questions, though two of the saga's other key players — the head of a clearinghouse and the top executive at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority — testified alongside him.

One fiery exchange: Gensler was pressed on whether investing is gambling. He wouldn't say.

  • "It's risk-taking and risk-taking can be in different forms — I'm trying to use my words carefully," Gensler said.
  • It's a debate that has dragged in legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, who have blamed Robinhood for turning the stock market into a casino — something the trading app pushed back on.
  • Gensler noted the SEC is examining options for apps like Robinhood that "gamify" and reward more trading.

Worth noting: For a hearing about GameStop, several lawmakers focused on everything but. The result was a broader glimpse of Gensler's agenda as head of the SEC, though he often dodged questions by noting he's only been at the agency for a few weeks.

  • On cryptocurrency exchanges: Gensler hinted Congress could play a role in bringing better "investor protection" since they "currently have no regulatory framework."
  • On climate change disclosures: They could help bring "some consistency and comparability" for companies that disclose climate risk.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.