Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Section 902.02 of the Listed Company Manual To Exempt Companies Transferring From NYSE Arca From Initial Listing Fees and the Annual Fee for the Year of Such Transfer, 36370-36372 [E6-9984]
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36370
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 122 / Monday, June 26, 2006 / Notices
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing rule change: (1)
Does not significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public
interest; (2) does not impose any
significant burden on competition; and
(3) does not become operative for 30
days from the date on which it was
filed, or such shorter time as the
Commission may designate if consistent
with the protection of investors and the
public interest, the proposed rule
change has become effective pursuant to
section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 10 and
Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.11
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 furtherance of the
purposes of the Act.
Nasdaq has asked that the
Commission waive the 30-day operative
delay contained in Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii)
under the Act.12 The Commission
believes such waiver is consistent with
the protection of investors and the
public interest, for it will allow Nasdaq
to modify the methodology for
distributing transaction credits under
NASD Rule 7010(c)(2) in such a way as
to remain competitive within the
marketplace. For these reasons, the
Commission designates the proposal to
be effective and operative upon filing
with the Commission.13
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
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–NASD–2006–067. 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 NASD. 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–NASD–2006–067 and
should be submitted on or before July
17, 2006.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated
authority.14
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–9983 Filed 6–23–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
• 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–NASD–2006–067 on the subject
line.
11 17
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17:00 Jun 23, 2006
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[Release No. 34–54008; File No. SR–NYSE–
2006–43]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; New
York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of
Filing of Proposed Rule Change To
Amend Section 902.02 of the Listed
Company Manual To Exempt
Companies Transferring From NYSE
Arca From Initial Listing Fees and the
Annual Fee for the Year of Such
Transfer
June 16, 2006.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on June 7,
2006, the New York Stock Exchange
LLC (the ‘‘NYSE’’ or the ‘‘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 NYSE. 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
NYSE proposes to amend Section
902.02 of its Listed Company Manual
(‘‘Manual’’) to provide that there shall
be no initial listing and no prorated
annual fee payable with respect to the
first partial calendar year of listing for
any company listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.
(‘‘NYSE Arca’’) that transfers the listing
of its primary class of common shares to
the Exchange. The text of the proposed
rule change is available at the
Commission, at NYSE, and at https://
www.nyse.com.
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
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change. The text of
these statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below.
NYSE has prepared summaries, set forth
in Sections A, B, and C below, of the
most significant aspects of such
statements.
10 15
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
12 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii).
13 For purposes only of waiving the 30-day
operative delay of this proposal, the Commission
has considered the proposed rule’s impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15
U.S.C. 78c(f).
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
1 15
14 17
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2 17
E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
26JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 122 / Monday, June 26, 2006 / Notices
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and
Archipelago Holdings, Inc. merged on
March 7, 2006, leading to the creation
of a new public holding company,
NYSE Group, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Group’’). As
a result of the merger, NYSE Group is
the ultimate parent of two national
securities exchanges, the Exchange and
NYSE Arca.3
NYSE Group expects that companies
that do not yet meet the Exchange’s
initial listing criteria will list first on
NYSE Arca and will subsequently
transfer their listing to the Exchange if
and when they qualify to do so.
Consistent with this approach, the
Exchange proposes to amend Section
902.02 of the Manual to grant
companies transferring the listing of
their primary class of common shares to
the Exchange from NYSE Arca a waiver
of the Exchange’s initial listing fees and
the prorated annual listing fee payable
in connection with the first partial
calendar year of listing on the Exchange.
The Exchange believes this is
appropriate as companies transferring to
the Exchange from NYSE Arca will
already have paid annual continued
listing fees to NYSE Arca for the
calendar year in which they transfer, as
well as the initial listing fee payable
under NYSE Arca’s rules at the time of
initial listing on NYSE Arca. In
addition, the Exchange notes that NYSE
Regulation performs listed company
regulation for both the Exchange and
NYSE Arca, including a substantial
review of companies upon original
listing. Companies transferring from
NYSE Arca will be subjected to the
same rigorous regulatory review as any
other applicant for listing on the
Exchange. However, the Exchange
expects that, on average, the review of
companies transferring from NYSE Arca
to the Exchange will be less costly than
the review of a transfer from the Nasdaq
National Market (‘‘Nasdaq’’) or the
American Stock Exchange, as NYSE
Regulation will already have performed
a substantial review of any NYSE Arca
listed company and will be able to rely
on that prior work as a baseline in
qualifying the company for listing on
the Exchange.
The primary purpose of the proposed
fee waiver is to assist in the
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53382
(SR–NYSE–2005–77) (February 27, 2006), 71 FR
11251 (March 6, 2006) (SR–NYSE–2005–77)
(approving organizational changes in connection
with the merger).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:24 Jun 23, 2006
Jkt 208001
development of NYSE Arca as a listing
market. NYSE Group intends to build
NYSE Arca into an alternative listing
venue for companies whose only
realistic listing option is currently
Nasdaq because they do not meet the
Exchange’s own listing standards due to
their small size or insufficient operating
history. NYSE Arca intends to adopt a
new set of listing standards with
thresholds broadly comparable to those
of Nasdaq and expects to compete
directly with Nasdaq for initial public
offerings that do not qualify for the
Exchange. However, NYSE Group
recognizes that, as a new market, NYSE
Arca will initially face difficulties in
attracting new listings. NYSE Group
believes that NYSE Arca’s affiliation
with the Exchange through their
common parent is highly attractive to
companies considering listing on NYSE
Arca. Companies whose ultimate
objective is to list on the Exchange can
associate themselves with NYSE Group
by listing on NYSE Arca at the time of
their initial public offerings. NYSE
Group believes that many companies
will consider this preferable to listing
initially on Nasdaq and then
transferring to the Exchange upon
achieving the Exchange’s listing
standards and that the Exchange’s
proposed fee waiver will appeal to
companies considering listing on NYSE
Arca because of its association with the
Exchange. By increasing NYSE Arca’s
attractiveness as a listing venue, the
Exchange believes the fee waiver will
lead to greater competition for new
listings, as it will help NYSE Arca
become a viable alternative to Nasdaq,
which does not currently have any
meaningful competition for new listings
that do not qualify for the Exchange.
NYSE Group is willing to forego the
listing fee revenues from NYSE Arca
transfers because it believes that a
significant market opportunity exists for
NYSE Arca to compete successfully
with Nasdaq. However, NYSE Group
does not wish to waive transfer fees for
transfers from all other markets as it
views initial listing fees as an important
source of revenue. If the Exchange
decides to reimpose these fees with
respect to transfers from NYSE Arca in
the future, it will do so by filing a
proposed rule change with the
Commission.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
the requirements of Section 6(b)(4) 4 and
6(b)(5) of the Act 5 that an exchange
4 15
5 15
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36371
have rules that (i) provide for the
equitable allocation of reasonable dues,
fees and other charges among its
members and other persons using its
facilities and (ii) are designed to remove
impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market
and a national market system and are
not designed to permit unfair
discrimination between issuers. The
Exchange believes that the proposed fee
waiver does not render the allocation of
its listing fees inequitable or unfairly
discriminatory. The Exchange expects
that, on average, the review of
companies transferring from NYSE Arca
to the Exchange will be less costly than
the review of a transfer from Nasdaq or
the American Stock Exchange, as NYSE
Regulation will already have performed
a substantial review of any NYSE Arca
listed company and will be able to rely
on that prior work as a baseline in
qualifying the company for listing on
the Exchange. The Exchange believes
that, by making NYSE Arca a more
attractive listing venue, the proposed fee
waiver will assist NYSE Arca in
competing with Nasdaq for listings and
is therefore designed to perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
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
Written comments were neither
solicited nor received by NYSE.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period (i)
as the Commission may designate up to
90 days of such date if it finds such
longer period to be appropriate and
publishes its reasons for so finding or
(ii) as to which the Exchange consents,
the Commission will:
(A) By order approve such proposed
rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM
26JNN1
36372
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 122 / Monday, June 26, 2006 / Notices
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 rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–NYSE–2006–43 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.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–54013; File No. SR–NYSE–
2006–17]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; New
York Stock Exchange LLC; Order
Granting Approval of Proposed Rule
Change and Amendment No. 1
Thereto, and Notice of Filing and Order
Granting Accelerated Approval To
Amendment No. 2, Relating to Listing
and Trading Shares of the iShares
GSCI Commodity Indexed Trust Under
New Rules 1300B and 1301B, et seq.
June 16, 2006.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
On March 7, 2006, the New York
Stock Exchange LLC (‘‘NYSE’’ or
‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to section
19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act
All submissions should refer to File
of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4
Number SR–NYSE–2006–43. This file
thereunder,2 a proposal to adopt rules
number should be included on the
that would provide for and govern the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
trading of Commodity Trust Shares,
Commission process and review your
including shares (‘‘Shares’’) of the
comments more efficiently, please use
iShares GSCI Commodity—Indexed
only one method. The Commission will Trust (‘‘Trust’’). On March 24, 2006, the
post all comments on the Commission’s Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
proposed rule change. The proposed
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
rule change, as amended, was published
submission, all subsequent
for comment in the Federal Register on
amendments, all written statements
April 24, 2006.3 On June 15, 2006, the
with respect to the proposed rule
Exchange filed Amendment No. 2 to the
change that are filed with the
proposed rule change.4 The Commission
Commission, and all written
received one comment letter.5 On May
12, 2006, the Exchange filed a response
communications relating to the
to those comments.6 This order
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than approves the proposed rule change, as
amended by Amendment No. 1.
those that may be withheld from the
Simultaneously, the Commission
public in accordance with the
provides notice of filing of Amendment
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for inspection and copying in
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
the Commission’s Public Reference
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
Room. Copies of such filing also will be
3 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53659
available for inspection and copying at
(April 17, 2006), 71 FR 21074 (‘‘Notice’’).
4 In Amendment No. 2, the Exchange states that:
the principal office of the Exchange. All
(1) The Sponsor (defined below) has informed the
comments received will be posted
Exchange that the Trustee (also defined below) for
without change; the Commission does
the Trust will make the net asset value (‘‘NAV’’) for
not edit personal identifying
the Trust available to all market participants at the
same time; (2) if the NAV is not disseminated to all
information from submissions. You
market participants at the same time, the Exchange
should submit only information that
will halt trading in the Shares; and (3) if the NAV
you wish to make available publicly. All is not disseminated to all market participants at the
same time, the Exchange will immediately contact
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSE–2006–43 and should the Commission staff to discuss measures that may
be appropriate under the circumstances.
be submitted on or before July 17, 2006.
5 See letter from Kevin Rich, Director and Chief
For the Commission, by the Division of
Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated
authority.6
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6–9984 Filed 6–23–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
6 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:00 Jun 23, 2006
Jkt 208001
Executive Officer, DB Commodity Services LLC
(‘‘DB’’), to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary,
Commission, dated March 17, 2006 (‘‘Rich Letter’’).
That letter is available for review on the
Commission’s Web site at: https://www.sec.gov/
comments/sr-nyse-2006-17/srnyse200617-1.pdf.
6 See letter from Mary Yeager, Assistant Secretary,
NYSE, to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, Commission,
dated May 12, 2006 (‘‘Yeager Letter’’). That letter
also is available for review on the Commission’s
Web site at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nyse2006-17/myeager051206.pdf.
PO 00000
Frm 00059
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
No. 2, grants accelerated approval of
Amendment No. 2, and solicits
comments from interested persons on
Amendment No. 2.
I. Description of Proposal
The NYSE proposes to adopt rules
that would provide for and govern the
trading of Commodity Trust Shares. A
Commodity Trust Share is defined as
A security that: (a) Is issued by a trust
(‘‘Trust’’) which (i) is a commodity pool that
is managed by a commodity pool operator
registered as such with the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, and (ii) which
holds positions in futures contracts on a
specified commodity index, or interests in a
commodity pool which, in turn, holds such
positions; (b) when aggregated in some
specified minimum number may be
surrendered to the Trust by the beneficial
owner to receive positions in futures
contracts on a specified index and cash or
short term securities.
Proposed NYSE Rule 1300B(a). In
addition, Proposed NYSE Rule 1301B
sets forth guidelines for specialists in
Commodity Trust Shares and other
products whose price is based, in whole
or in part, on: (a) The price of a
commodity or commodities; (b) any
futures contracts or other derivatives
based on a commodity or commodities;
or any indexed based on either (a) or (b),
above.
Pursuant to Proposed NYSE Rule
1300B, et seq., the Exchange proposes to
list and trade Shares, which fall within
the definition of Commodity Trust
Shares (as mentioned above) and are
linked to the performance of the GSCI
Total Return Index (‘‘Index’’ or ‘‘GSCI–
TR’’).
Description of the Shares
The Shares will constitute units of
beneficial interest representing
fractional undivided beneficial interests
in the net assets of the Trust (described
below). The performance of the Shares
is designed to correspond generally to
the performance of the Index before
payment of the Trust’s and the Investing
Pool’s expenses and liabilities. The
investment objective of the Trust is for
the performance of the Shares to
correspond to the performance of the
Index before payment of the Trust’s and
Investing Pool’s expenses and liabilities.
As discussed below, the value of the
Index reflects the value of an investment
in the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index
(‘‘GSCI’’), a production-weighted index
of the prices of a diversified group of
futures contracts on physical
commodities, together with a Treasury
bill rate of interest that could be earned
on funds committed to the trading of the
E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM
26JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 122 (Monday, June 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36370-36372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9984]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-54008; File No. SR-NYSE-2006-43]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC;
Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Section 902.02 of the
Listed Company Manual To Exempt Companies Transferring From NYSE Arca
From Initial Listing Fees and the Annual Fee for the Year of Such
Transfer
June 16, 2006.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given
that on June 7, 2006, the New York Stock Exchange LLC (the ``NYSE'' or
the ``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 NYSE. 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
NYSE proposes to amend Section 902.02 of its Listed Company Manual
(``Manual'') to provide that there shall be no initial listing and no
prorated annual fee payable with respect to the first partial calendar
year of listing for any company listed on NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE
Arca'') that transfers the listing of its primary class of common
shares to the Exchange. The text of the proposed rule change is
available at the Commission, at NYSE, and at https://www.nyse.com.
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 Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. NYSE has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A, B,
and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.
[[Page 36371]]
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and Archipelago Holdings, Inc. merged
on March 7, 2006, leading to the creation of a new public holding
company, NYSE Group, Inc. (``NYSE Group''). As a result of the merger,
NYSE Group is the ultimate parent of two national securities exchanges,
the Exchange and NYSE Arca.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53382 (SR-NYSE-2005-
77) (February 27, 2006), 71 FR 11251 (March 6, 2006) (SR-NYSE-2005-
77) (approving organizational changes in connection with the
merger).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE Group expects that companies that do not yet meet the
Exchange's initial listing criteria will list first on NYSE Arca and
will subsequently transfer their listing to the Exchange if and when
they qualify to do so. Consistent with this approach, the Exchange
proposes to amend Section 902.02 of the Manual to grant companies
transferring the listing of their primary class of common shares to the
Exchange from NYSE Arca a waiver of the Exchange's initial listing fees
and the prorated annual listing fee payable in connection with the
first partial calendar year of listing on the Exchange. The Exchange
believes this is appropriate as companies transferring to the Exchange
from NYSE Arca will already have paid annual continued listing fees to
NYSE Arca for the calendar year in which they transfer, as well as the
initial listing fee payable under NYSE Arca's rules at the time of
initial listing on NYSE Arca. In addition, the Exchange notes that NYSE
Regulation performs listed company regulation for both the Exchange and
NYSE Arca, including a substantial review of companies upon original
listing. Companies transferring from NYSE Arca will be subjected to the
same rigorous regulatory review as any other applicant for listing on
the Exchange. However, the Exchange expects that, on average, the
review of companies transferring from NYSE Arca to the Exchange will be
less costly than the review of a transfer from the Nasdaq National
Market (``Nasdaq'') or the American Stock Exchange, as NYSE Regulation
will already have performed a substantial review of any NYSE Arca
listed company and will be able to rely on that prior work as a
baseline in qualifying the company for listing on the Exchange.
The primary purpose of the proposed fee waiver is to assist in the
development of NYSE Arca as a listing market. NYSE Group intends to
build NYSE Arca into an alternative listing venue for companies whose
only realistic listing option is currently Nasdaq because they do not
meet the Exchange's own listing standards due to their small size or
insufficient operating history. NYSE Arca intends to adopt a new set of
listing standards with thresholds broadly comparable to those of Nasdaq
and expects to compete directly with Nasdaq for initial public
offerings that do not qualify for the Exchange. However, NYSE Group
recognizes that, as a new market, NYSE Arca will initially face
difficulties in attracting new listings. NYSE Group believes that NYSE
Arca's affiliation with the Exchange through their common parent is
highly attractive to companies considering listing on NYSE Arca.
Companies whose ultimate objective is to list on the Exchange can
associate themselves with NYSE Group by listing on NYSE Arca at the
time of their initial public offerings. NYSE Group believes that many
companies will consider this preferable to listing initially on Nasdaq
and then transferring to the Exchange upon achieving the Exchange's
listing standards and that the Exchange's proposed fee waiver will
appeal to companies considering listing on NYSE Arca because of its
association with the Exchange. By increasing NYSE Arca's attractiveness
as a listing venue, the Exchange believes the fee waiver will lead to
greater competition for new listings, as it will help NYSE Arca become
a viable alternative to Nasdaq, which does not currently have any
meaningful competition for new listings that do not qualify for the
Exchange. NYSE Group is willing to forego the listing fee revenues from
NYSE Arca transfers because it believes that a significant market
opportunity exists for NYSE Arca to compete successfully with Nasdaq.
However, NYSE Group does not wish to waive transfer fees for transfers
from all other markets as it views initial listing fees as an important
source of revenue. If the Exchange decides to reimpose these fees with
respect to transfers from NYSE Arca in the future, it will do so by
filing a proposed rule change with the Commission.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with the requirements of Section 6(b)(4) \4\ and 6(b)(5) of the Act \5\
that an exchange have rules that (i) provide for the equitable
allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among its members
and other persons using its facilities and (ii) are designed to remove
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and
a national market system and are not designed to permit unfair
discrimination between issuers. The Exchange believes that the proposed
fee waiver does not render the allocation of its listing fees
inequitable or unfairly discriminatory. The Exchange expects that, on
average, the review of companies transferring from NYSE Arca to the
Exchange will be less costly than the review of a transfer from Nasdaq
or the American Stock Exchange, as NYSE Regulation will already have
performed a substantial review of any NYSE Arca listed company and will
be able to rely on that prior work as a baseline in qualifying the
company for listing on the Exchange. The Exchange believes that, by
making NYSE Arca a more attractive listing venue, the proposed fee
waiver will assist NYSE Arca in competing with Nasdaq for listings and
is therefore designed to perfect the mechanism of a free and open
market.
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\4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
\5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose 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
Written comments were neither solicited nor received by NYSE.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to
which the Exchange consents, the Commission will:
(A) By order approve such proposed rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
[[Page 36372]]
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 Number SR-NYSE-2006-43 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-NYSE-2006-43. 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 Exchange. 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-NYSE-2006-43 and should be submitted on or before July
17, 2006.
For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation,
pursuant to delegated authority.\6\
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\6\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-9984 Filed 6-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
