Self-Regulatory Organizations; American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to a Rebate of the Exchange's Options Cancellation Fee, 14258-14259 [E6-4011]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2006 / Notices
Commission will hold the following
meeting during the week of March 20,
2006:
A Closed Meeting will be held on
Thursday, March 23, 2006 at 2 p.m.
Commissioners, Counsel to the
Commissioners, the Secretary to the
Commission, and recording secretaries
will attend the Closed Meeting. Certain
staff members who have an interest in
the matters may also be present.
The General Counsel of the
Commission, or his designee, has
certified that, in his opinion, one or
more of the exemptions set forth in 5
U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), (9)(B), and
(10) and 17 CFR 200.402(a)(3), (5), (7),
9(ii) and (10) permit consideration of
the scheduled matters at the Closed
Meeting.
Commissioner Glassman, as duty
officer, voted to consider the items
listed for the closed meeting in closed
session.
The subject matter of the Closed
Meeting scheduled for Thursday, March
23, 2006 will be:
Institution and settlement of
injunctive actions;
Institution and settlement of
administrative proceedings of an
enforcement nature; and
Formal orders of investigation.
At times, changes in Commission
priorities require alterations in the
scheduling of meeting items.
For further information and to
ascertain what, if any, matters have been
added, deleted or postponed, please
contact: The Office of the Secretary at
(202) 551–5400.
Dated: March 16, 2006.
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06–2765 Filed 3–17–06; 11:06 am]
BILLING CODE 8010–01–M
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–53478; File No. SR–Amex–
2006–21]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness
of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to
a Rebate of the Exchange’s Options
Cancellation Fee
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
March 14, 2006.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on February
1 15
2 17
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:01 Mar 20, 2006
Jkt 208001
24, 2006, the American Stock Exchange
LLC (‘‘Amex’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III below, which Items
have been prepared by the Exchange.
The Amex has filed the proposed rule
change as one establishing or changing
a due, fee, or other charge imposed by
the Amex under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii)
of the Act 3 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) 4
thereunder, which renders the proposal
effective upon filing with the
Commission. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change
from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to rebate the
options cancellation fee collected by the
Exchange for the months of September
and October 2005. The text of the
proposed rule change is available on the
Amex’s Internet Web site at (https://
www.amex.com), at the principal office
of the Amex, and at the Commission’s
Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Amex included statements concerning
the purpose of, and basis for, the
proposed rule change and discussed any
comments it received on the proposed
rule change. The text of these statements
may be examined at the places specified
in Item IV below. The Amex has
prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
(1) Purpose
In November 2001, the Amex
established a fee for the cancellation of
options orders.5 Pursuant to this fee, a
clearing firm is subject to a charge of
$1.00 for every order it cancels in any
month in which the total number of
orders cancelled by that clearing firm
exceeds the total number of orders
executed by that firm in that month. The
3 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 45110
(November 27, 2001) 66 FR 63080 (December 4,
2001) (notice of filing and immediate effectiveness
of SR–Amex–2001–90).
4 17
PO 00000
Frm 00095
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
fee does not apply to clearing firms that
cancel fewer than 500 orders in a given
month. The options cancellation fee was
deemed to be necessary given the often
disproportionate number of order
cancellations received relative to order
executions and the increased costs
associated with the practice of
immediately following an order routed
through Exchange systems with a cancel
request for that order.
The Amex’s billing system receives
only completed transaction data and
does not receive data regarding orders
that have been cancelled. Therefore, the
information necessary to determine
whether the cancellation fee should be
charged is compiled outside the billing
system. It came to the Exchange’s
attention a few months ago that the
options cancellation fee was not
currently being charged and may never
have been charged, even though some
clearing firms may have triggered the
charge. The problem was corrected, and,
beginning with options orders and
cancellations entered in September
2005, the Exchange began billing the
cancellation fee to the clearing firms
when appropriate. Unfortunately, notice
of the application of this fee, almost 4
years after the fee was adopted, was not
widely disseminated to the clearing
firms. Many clearing firms first learned
of the application of the fee when they
received their September 2005 invoices.
As a result, the clearing firms were
unable to notify their customers of the
fee or convert their billing systems to
charge back this fee to their customers.
The Exchange now proposes to rebate
the amounts billed and collected
pursuant to the options cancellation fee
for the months of September and
October 2005. The clearing firms were
fully notified by November 1, 2005;
therefore, the Exchange believes that it
is only necessary to rebate the fees
billed and collected for the months of
September and October. The Exchange
believes that the rebate of options
cancellation fees for a limited period of
time is appropriate given its failure to
fully inform the clearing firms of the
application of the fee.
(2) Statutory Basis
The Amex believes that the proposed
rule change is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act,6 in general, and furthers
the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) of the
Act,7 in particular, in that it is intended
to assure the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees and other charges
6 15
7 15
U.S.C. 78f(b).
U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM
21MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2006 / Notices
among its members and issuers and
other persons using its facilities.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Amex does not believe that the
proposed rule change imposes any
burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received from
Members, Participants or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule
change establishes or changes a due, fee,
or other charge imposed by the
Exchange, it has become effective
pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the
Act 8 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) thereunder 9.
At any time within 60 days of the filing
of such proposed rule change, the
Commission may summarily abrogate
such rule change if it appears to the
Commission that such action is
necessary or appropriate in the public
interest, for the protection of investors,
or otherwise in the furtherance of the
purposes of the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for inspection and copying in
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room. Copies of such filing also will be
available for inspection and copying at
the principal office of the Amex. All
comments received will be posted
without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying
information from submissions. You
should submit only information that
you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–Amex–2006–21 and should
be submitted on or before April 11,
2006.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated
authority.10
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–4011 Filed 3–20–06; 8:45 am]
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
Electronic Comments
Self-Regulatory Organization; Board of
Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.;
Notice of Filing and Immediate
Effectiveness of Proposed Rule
Changes Relating to Listing Standards
for Security Futures Products
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
No. SR–Amex–2006–21 on the subject
line.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission,
Station Place, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–Amex–2006–21. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISISON
[Release No. 34–53486; File No. SR–CBOT–
2006–03]
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(7) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–7 under the
Act,2 notice is hereby given that on
February 21, 2006, the Board of Trade
of the City of Chicago, Inc. (‘‘CBOT’’ or
‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rules
described in Items I, II, and III below,
which Items have been prepared by the
10 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(7).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–7.
8 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
9 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:01 Mar 20, 2006
1 15
Jkt 208001
PO 00000
Frm 00096
Fmt 4703
CBOT. The Commission is publishing
this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rules from interested persons.
The CBOT also has filed the proposed
rules with the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (‘‘CFTC’’), together
with a written certification under
Section 5c(c) of the Commodity
Exchange Act (‘‘CEA’’) 3 on February 16,
2006.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Description of the Proposed Rules
The CBOT is proposing to adopt
listing standards and related regulations
to permit the trading on the Exchange of
physically-settled single security futures
products, and the trading of security
futures products based on narrow-based
securities indices, in compliance with
the requirements under Section 6(h)(3)
of the Act 4 and the criteria under
Section 2(a)(1)(D)(i) of the CEA,5 as
modified by joint orders of the
Commission and the CFTC.6 The text of
the proposed rule change is available on
the CBOT’s website (https://
www.cbot.com), at the CBOT’s principal
office, and at the Commission’s Public
Reference Room.
The CBOT’s Listing Standards 7 are,
for the most part, identical to the sample
listing standards (‘‘Sample Listing
Standards’’) included in the
Commission’s Staff Legal Bulletin No.
15 (‘‘SLB 15’’),8 except that the CBOT’s
Listing Standards:
• Reflect the modifications to the
statutory listing standards requirements
jointly adopted by the Commission and
the CFTC with respect to shares of
exchange-traded funds (‘‘ETFs’’), trustissued receipts (‘‘TIRs’’), shares of
registered closed-end management
investment companies (‘‘Closed-End
Fund Shares’’), and American
Depositary Receipts (‘‘ADRs’’); 9
• Permit share-weighted,
approximately equal dollar-weighted,
and modified equal dollar-weighted
methodologies for futures based on
37
U.S.C. 7a–2(c).
U.S.C. 78f(h)(3).
5 7 U.S.C. 2(a)(1)(D)(i).
6 See Joint Order Granting the Modification of
Listing Standards Requirements (American
Depositary Receipts), Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 44725 (August 20, 2001) and Joint
Order Granting the Modification of Listing
Standards Requirements (Exchange Traded Funds,
Trust Issued Receipts, and Shares of Closed-End
Funds), Securities Exchange Act Release No. 46090
(June 19, 2002), 67 FR 42760 (June 25, 2002).
7 The CBOT’s Listing Standards are set forth in
proposed CBOT Regulations 5719.01 and 5818.01.
8 Commission, Division of Market Regulation,
Staff Legal Bulletin No. 15: Listing Standards for
Trading Security Futures Products (September 5,
2001) (available at https://www.sec.gov/interps/legal/
mrslb15.htm).
9 See supra note 6.
4 15
March 14, 2006.
Sfmt 4703
14259
E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM
21MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14258-14259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4011]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-53478; File No. SR-Amex-2006-21]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; American Stock Exchange LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change
Relating to a Rebate of the Exchange's Options Cancellation Fee
March 14, 2006.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on February 24, 2006, the American Stock Exchange LLC (``Amex'' or
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II,
and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Amex
has filed the proposed rule change as one establishing or changing a
due, fee, or other charge imposed by the Amex under Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \3\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \4\ thereunder,
which renders the proposal effective upon filing with the Commission.
The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
\4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to rebate the options cancellation fee
collected by the Exchange for the months of September and October 2005.
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Amex's
Internet Web site at (https://www.amex.com), at the principal office of
the Amex, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Amex included statements
concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Amex has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections
A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
(1) Purpose
In November 2001, the Amex established a fee for the cancellation
of options orders.\5\ Pursuant to this fee, a clearing firm is subject
to a charge of $1.00 for every order it cancels in any month in which
the total number of orders cancelled by that clearing firm exceeds the
total number of orders executed by that firm in that month. The fee
does not apply to clearing firms that cancel fewer than 500 orders in a
given month. The options cancellation fee was deemed to be necessary
given the often disproportionate number of order cancellations received
relative to order executions and the increased costs associated with
the practice of immediately following an order routed through Exchange
systems with a cancel request for that order.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 45110 (November 27,
2001) 66 FR 63080 (December 4, 2001) (notice of filing and immediate
effectiveness of SR-Amex-2001-90).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Amex's billing system receives only completed transaction data
and does not receive data regarding orders that have been cancelled.
Therefore, the information necessary to determine whether the
cancellation fee should be charged is compiled outside the billing
system. It came to the Exchange's attention a few months ago that the
options cancellation fee was not currently being charged and may never
have been charged, even though some clearing firms may have triggered
the charge. The problem was corrected, and, beginning with options
orders and cancellations entered in September 2005, the Exchange began
billing the cancellation fee to the clearing firms when appropriate.
Unfortunately, notice of the application of this fee, almost 4 years
after the fee was adopted, was not widely disseminated to the clearing
firms. Many clearing firms first learned of the application of the fee
when they received their September 2005 invoices. As a result, the
clearing firms were unable to notify their customers of the fee or
convert their billing systems to charge back this fee to their
customers.
The Exchange now proposes to rebate the amounts billed and
collected pursuant to the options cancellation fee for the months of
September and October 2005. The clearing firms were fully notified by
November 1, 2005; therefore, the Exchange believes that it is only
necessary to rebate the fees billed and collected for the months of
September and October. The Exchange believes that the rebate of options
cancellation fees for a limited period of time is appropriate given its
failure to fully inform the clearing firms of the application of the
fee.
(2) Statutory Basis
The Amex believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with
Section 6(b) of the Act,\6\ in general, and furthers the objectives of
Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\7\ in particular, in that it is intended to
assure the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other
charges
[[Page 14259]]
among its members and issuers and other persons using its facilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\7\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Amex does not believe that the proposed rule change imposes any
burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received from Members, Participants or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule change establishes or changes a
due, fee, or other charge imposed by the Exchange, it has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \8\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(2) thereunder \9\. At any time within 60 days of the filing of
such proposed rule change, the Commission may summarily abrogate such
rule change if it appears to the Commission that such action is
necessary or appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in the furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\9\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://
www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File No. SR-Amex-2006-21 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Station Place, 100 F
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-Amex-2006-21. This
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used.
To help the Commission process and review your comments more
efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all
comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments,
all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating
to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person,
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of such
filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the
principal office of the Amex. All comments received will be posted
without change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying
information from submissions. You should submit only information that
you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to
File Number SR-Amex-2006-21 and should be submitted on or before April
11, 2006.
For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation,
pursuant to delegated authority.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-4011 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
