On March 4th, the SEC announced that it will provide conditional regulatory relief for certain publicly traded company filing obligations under the federal securities laws due to the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). These impacts may present challenges for certain companies that are required to provide information to trading markets, shareholders, and the SEC. These companies may include US companies located in or companies with operations in affected areas.

The SEC proposed on February 14th to modernize the infrastructure for the collection, consolidation, and dissemination of market data for exchange-listed market system (NMS) stocks. The proposal would update and expand the content of NMS market data, which would better suit the diverse needs of investors in today’s equity markets. The rules that govern the content and dissemination of NMS market data have not been significantly updated since their initial implementation in the late 1970s. In addition, the proposal seeks to introduce competitive forces into the national market system for the first time. The introduction of and competition among these new data consolidators could, in turn, allow all market participants, including investors, to access and benefit from the expanded content of NMS market data.