On September 19, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") took additional steps1 to protect the integrity and quality of the securities markets and strengthen investor confidence. Specifically, the SEC issued emergency orders that ban short selling in financial companies, require certain institutional money managers to report short sales on new Form SH, and ease restrictions on the ability of issuers to repurchase their securities. These orders expire at 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on October 2, 2008, although the Commission has the authority to extend the orders so that they remain in effect for a total of 30 calendar days. For more on the emergency orders, see our recent Email Alert.
1 This alert supplements the WilmerHale alert dated September 18, 2008, which described the short sale restrictions adopted by the Commisson on September 17, 2008.