SEC Wins Spat Over Apex Off-Channel Communications Settlement

A Texas broker-dealer alleging it received harsher settlement terms than other targets of a Biden-era SEC crackdown on companies over record-keeping practices for business communications on employees’ personal devices lost its appeal challenging the agency’s enforcement action.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s denial of Apex Clearing Corp.'s bid to seek more modest terms and less burdensome sanctions in its off-channel communications settlement was upheld by a panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Apex had argued it was similarly situated to other companies that struck deals without requirements such as hiring an independent consultant and abiding ...

by Bloomberg Law

SEC Drops Ex-Congressman Insider Trading Case After Trump Pardon

The Securities and Exchange Commission is dropping its case against a former Republican congressman who was pardoned by President Donald Trump in June after a 2023 insider trading conviction.

The regulator filed a motion this week to dismiss the civil claims against Stephen Buyer, who had been accused of using confidential information to make more than $349,000 off T-Mobile US Inc.’s purchase of Sprint Corp. and Guidehouse Inc.’s acquisition of Navigant Consulting Inc.

by Bloomberg Law

Predict the KPIs

I think that tokenized stock is clearly a “security” under US law, and prediction markets on corporate valuations are clearly “security-based swaps,” and both of them are subject to the SEC’s disclosure and registration regime. They are very close substitutes for stock, which means that US securities law treats them like stock.

But what about slightly less close substitutes? Instead of selling bets on a company’s stock price, what about selling bets on its net income? Those things are different, but the stock price can theoretically sort of be decomposed into a series of bets on its future net income. Would a bet on net income — a bet that pays $1 per $100 million of Tesla Inc.’s 2026 net income, for instance, or a bet that pays $1 if that net income is above $4 billion and $0 if it’s below — be a security, or a security-based swap?

by Matt Levine – Bloomberg Opinion

Clash Between Prediction Markets and States Sets Off a Furious Political Battle

In lawsuits across the country, red and blue states have united to take on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, setting up a courtroom battle that will determine whether Americans can use them to bet on sports, politics and virtually everything else.

In total, 20 states are locked in litigation over whether the prediction markets are subject to state laws governing sports betting. Last month, 44 states signed a letter attacking the platforms as a “new form of casino” preying on young people.

State leaders have argued that the markets are dodging regulations and failing to pay state taxes — estimated to total at least $2 billion a year in lost revenue, according to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research group.

by NYT

Boston Scientific Stock Price Drops After Cyberattack Triggers Global Outage

A cyberattack at medical-device maker Boston Scientific has triggered a global outage of key operational technology, leaving the company unable to fill orders. The company, which reported $20 billion in revenue in 2025, said it doesn’t know when it will be able to restore systems.

Boston Scientific detected the attack Tuesday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The incident has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, disruptions and limitations of access to certain of the Company’s information systems and business applications that support aspects of the Company’s operations,” the filing said. A spokeswoman for Boston Scientific declined to add anything beyond the SEC filing

by WSJ