Proposed Exemptive Order for ST Gold Futures Contracts, 13867-13870 [E8-5203]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 51 / Friday, March 14, 2008 / Notices
the conservation of the tautog fishery.
Further, the moratorium prohibits
fishing for tautog within New Jersey
state waters and is being implemented
within six (6) months of the agency
findings.
The declaration of moratorium is
consistent with the Administrative
Procedures Act at 5 U.S.C. 555 insofar
as New Jersey was promptly notified of
the Commission’s non-compliance
referral and given an opportunity to
meet with the agency and provide
comments on the matter. New Jersey has
also been promptly notified of the
agency’s determination in this matter.
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds that
providing prior public notice and
opportunity for comment is
impracticable and unnecessary.
Providing prior notice and opportunity
for comment would be impracticable,
because it would prevent the agency
from executing its functions under the
Act in a timely manner. The Act
contemplates quick action on the
declaration of a moratorium that would
not be possible if prior notice and an
opportunity for comment are provided.
Furthermore, providing prior notice and
opportunity for comment would be
unnecessary because it would serve no
purpose. The nature of a moratorium is
described in the Act and, therefore,
cannot be modified in response to
public comments.
The declaration of moratorium does
not trigger the analytical requirements
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601 et seq. because prior notice
and opportunity for public comment are
not required for this determination by
the Administrative Procedures Act or
any other law.
The declaration of a moratorium does
not fall under review under Executive
Order 12866 insofar as the moratorium
is not a regulatory action of the agency
but is an action mandated by Congress
upon the findings of certain conditions
precedent set forth in the Atlantic
Coastal Act, which also prescribes the
nature and extent of the moratorium.
The fishery is smaller relative to other
Commission fisheries and a moratorium
is not expected to materially adversely
affect the economy or have an impact of
over $100 million. The matter creates no
serious inconsistency with actions by
other agencies and it is not expected to
have material budgetary impacts. The
declaration of moratorium is not
significant within the meaning of the
Executive Order.
The declaration of moratorium is not
the result of a policy formulated or
implemented by the agency, but is
instead the result of the application of
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found facts to the Congressional
standards set forth in the Atlantic
Coastal Act and as such, the declaration
does not implicate federalism in the
manner contemplated by Executive
Order 13132. Further, the agency has
consulted with New Jersey to the
maximum extent practicable in this
matter given the truncated timeframe set
forth in the Atlantic Coastal Act. Rather,
the Act provides clear evidence that
Congress intended the Secretary to have
the authority to preempt state law. That
authority has been delegated from the
Secretary to NMFS. The scope of the
moratorium reflects the standards set
forth in the Atlantic Coastal Act, and as
such restricts state law to the minimum
level necessary to further the objectives
of the statute.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.
Dated: March 10, 2008.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 08–1026 Filed 3–11–08; 12:07 p.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
13867
Comments must be received on
or before March 31, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to
the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,
1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC
20581, attention: Office of the
Secretariat. Comments may be sent by
facsimile to 202.418.5521, or by e-mail
to secretary@cftc.gov. Reference should
be made to the ‘‘Proposed Exemptive
Order for ST Gold Futures Contracts.’’
Comments may also be submitted
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
at https://www.regulations.gov. All
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.CFTC.gov.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bruce Fekrat, Special Counsel, Office of
the Director (telephone 202.418.5578, email bfekrat@cftc.gov), Division of
Market Oversight, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20581.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING
COMMISSION
RIN 3038–AC52
Proposed Exemptive Order for ST Gold
Futures Contracts
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed order and
request for comment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (Commission) is
proposing to exempt certain
transactions in physically delivered
futures contracts based on
streetTRACKS Gold Trust Shares (ST
gold futures contracts) 1 from those
provisions of the Commodity Exchange
Act (CEA or Act),2 and the
Commission’s regulations thereunder,
that are inconsistent with the trading
and clearing of ST gold futures contracts
as security futures. The proposed
exemption would be conditioned on the
compliance of transactions in ST gold
futures contracts with the requirements
established for security futures. The
authority for the issuance of this
exemption is found in Section 4(c) of
the Act.3
1 streetTRACKS is a registered service mark of
State Street Corporation, an affiliate of State Street
Global Markets, LLC, the marketing agent for the
streetTRACKS Gold Trust.
2 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.
3 7 U.S.C. 6(c).
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In correspondence dated October 26,
2007, OneChicago, LLC (OneChicago or
the Exchange),4 a contract market
designated with the Commission
pursuant to Sections 5 and 6(a) of the
Act, proposed and requested
Commission approval to list for trading
ST gold futures contracts as security
futures.5 OneChicago is noticeregistered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) as a
national securities exchange under
Section 6(g) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 (’34 Act) for the purpose of
listing and trading security futures
products. The approval request was
filed pursuant to Section 5c(c)(2) of the
Act and Commission Regulations 40.5
and 41.23.6 OneChicago submitted its
request for approval under the 45-day
fast-track review period established by
Commission Regulation 40.5. The fasttrack review period for the Exchange’s
submission was scheduled to expire on
December 10, 2007. The review period
was extended by the Director of the
4 OneChicago is jointly owned by the CME Group,
Inc., IB Exchange Corp., and the Chicago Board
Options Exchange.
5 In accordance with Section 2(a)(9)(B)(i) of the
Act, Commission staff forwarded the new contract
filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission,
the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System on
October 29, 2007. No comments were received in
response to this correspondence. On January 4,
2008, the Exchange filed a rule amendment
concerning minimum price fluctuations to
supplement its initial submission.
6 7 U.S.C. 7a–2(c)(2), 17 CFR 40.5, 41.23.
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Division of Market Oversight, pursuant
to Regulations 40.5(c) and 40.7(a)(1), by
another 45 days beyond December 10,
2007 to January 24, 2008 on the grounds
that the ST gold futures contracts raised
novel and complex issues that required
additional time for review.7 By letter
dated January 23, 2008, the Exchange,
upon the request of the Commission’s
staff, voluntarily extended the review
period to March 17, 2008.8 On February
26, 2008, the Exchange gave a further
voluntary extension of the review
period until April 30, 2008.
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II. Description of the Underlying
Commodity
ST gold futures contracts would
overlie 100 Shares of the
streetTRACKS Gold Trust (Trust).9
The Trust was formed under New York
law pursuant to a trust indenture on
November 12, 2004. World Gold Trust
Services, LLC, a wholly owned limited
liability company of the World Gold
Council,10 is the sponsor of the Trust. In
addition, The Bank of New York is the
trustee of the Trust, HSBC Bank USA,
N.A. is the custodian of the Trust, and
State Street Global Markets, LLC is the
marketing agent for the Trust.11 The
Trust presently does not engage in the
business of investing or trading
securities or commodity futures or
7 Commission Regulations 40.5(c) and 40.7(a)(1)
allow the Commission, and certain staff acting
pursuant to delegated authority, to extend the 45day fast-track review period by an additional 45
days if the product raises novel or complex issues
requiring additional time for review. 17 CFR
40.5(c), 40.7(a)(1).
8 Section 5c(c) of the Act requires the
Commission to approve any designated contract
market instrument submitted for approval within 90
days after the submission of the request unless (1)
it finds that the trading or clearing of the instrument
would violate the Act (or the Commission’s
regulations), or (2) the person submitting the
request for approval agrees to extend the period of
review beyond the 90-day time limitation.
9 By its terms, an ST gold futures contract would
expire on the third Friday of each contract month.
The contract would not be subject to speculative
position limits prior to the last five days of trading.
During the last five trading days, however,
speculative positions would be limited to 13,500
contracts, net long or short. Positions in ST gold
futures contracts would become reportable to
OneChicago when equal to or above 200 contracts.
Positions in ST gold futures contracts would
become reportable to the Commission when equal
to or above 1,000 contracts.
10 The World Gold Council (founded in 1987) is
a not-for-profit association registered under the
laws of Switzerland. The Council is funded by gold
mining companies and is tasked, in part, with
increasing the demand for gold through marketing
initiatives and lowering regulatory barriers to the
widespread ownership of gold products. About the
World Gold Council, available at https://
www.gold.org/discover/about_us/.
11 Prospectus for the Trust’s offering of Shares
(July 24, 2007), available at https://
www.streettracksgoldshares.com/pdf/
streetTRACKS.pdf (provides a detailed description
of the Trust and its operations).
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options contracts. As a result, the Trust
is not registered as an investment
company under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and it is not
managed by a commodity pool operator
registered under the CEA.
The Trust, from time to time, creates,
issues, and redeems Shares which
represent fractional undivided
beneficial interests in the assets of the
Trust. The sole assets of the Trust
consist of gold bullion and limited
amounts of cash. Accordingly, the value
of each Share will fluctuate with the
value of the Trust’s holdings,12 which in
turn is dependent on the spot price of
gold.13 That value may be found by
dividing the aggregate value of the gold
and cash held by the Trust less
applicable fees and expenses by the
quantity of Shares outstanding at any
specific moment in time.14 The Trust is
not actively managed and does not
engage in any investment activities that
are designed to avoid losses or profit
from changes in the price of gold.
Rather, the investment purpose of the
Trust is to issue Shares that will track
the spot price of gold and thereby give
shareholders the opportunity to gain
exposure to the commodity’s price
volatility.
The Trust, on an ongoing basis, will
only issue Shares to, and only redeem
Shares from, Authorized Participants in
baskets of 100,000 Shares (ST Share
Baskets). An Authorized Participant
must (1) be a participant in the
Depository Trust Company that is a
registered broker-dealer or other
securities market participant (such as a
bank or other financial institution) that
is not required to register as a brokerdealer to engage in securities
transactions, (2) have entered into an
agreement with the Trust and the
Sponsor of the Trust, and (3) have
established an unallocated gold account
12 The Net Asset Value (NAV) of the Trust is the
aggregate value of the Trust’s assets less its
liabilities which include (1) fees paid to the
Sponsor, (2) fees paid to the Trustee, (3) fees paid
to the Custodian, (4) fees paid to the Marketing
Agent, and (5) certain administrative expenses
assessed as fees.
13 In determining the NAV of the Trust, the
Trustee values the gold held by the Trust on the
basis of the price of an ounce of gold as set by the
afternoon session of the London Bullion Market
Association’s twice-daily fix of the price of gold.
The gold fix is performed by five members of the
association. HSBC Bank USA, NA, the Custodian of
the Trust, is one of five gold fixing members.
14 By way of a simplified example, assume that
the Trust holds 10,000 ounces of gold, the spot
price of gold is $900 per ounce, and that there are
50,000 Shares outstanding. Assume further that the
Trust has accrued fees and expenses of $50,000.
Under this example, the value of the Trust’s
holdings of gold would be $8,950,000, and the
value of each Share would be 1/50,000 of
$8,950,000, or $179.
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(paper transfer account) with the
Custodian. Upon the payment of a
transaction fee, Authorized Participants
may purchase ST Share Baskets by
depositing gold (and cash if necessary)
in an amount equal to the NAV of an ST
Share Basket per purchased basket.
Likewise, Authorized Participants may
redeem ST Share Baskets in exchange
for an amount of gold (and cash if
necessary) that corresponds to the NAV
of an ST Share Basket per redeemed
basket. All transfers of gold are
accomplished through paper transfers,
as opposed to physical transfers of gold,
and are cleared through the clearing
members of the London Bullion Market
Association. Such members utilize
mutually maintained unallocated gold
accounts for the settlement of
proprietary over-the-counter trades as
well as for the settlement of client
transfers.
Upon purchasing ST Share Baskets,
Authorized Participants may divide the
baskets into individual Shares for resale.
Trust Shares are registered as securities
under the Securities Act of 1933 (’33
Act) and listed on the NYSE Arca
Exchange under the ticker symbol
GLD.15 The continuous Share creation,
sale, resale, and redemption process,
coupled with a highly liquid market,
creates an arbitrage mechanism that
functions to keep the Shares trading at
or near the NAV of the Trust’s gold
holdings.16 Authorized Participants act
as arbitrageurs by taking advantage of
significant premiums or discounts in the
trading price of outstanding Shares
relative to the spot price of gold. If
individual exchange-traded Shares trade
at a price that is below the spot market
price of gold, Authorized Participants
will purchase and aggregate Shares into
ST Share Baskets and redeem the
Baskets with the Trust for an amount of
gold with an aggregate value that is
greater than the aggregate trading value
of the individual Shares that comprise
the redeemed ST Share Baskets.
Similarly, if ST Shares are trading at a
price that is above the spot market price
of gold, Authorized Participants will
deposit gold with the Trust in exchange
for ST Share Baskets that can then be
divided into individual Shares for resale
to retail investors at a premium.
III. Section 4(c) of the Commodity
Exchange Act
Section 4(c)(1) of the CEA empowers
the Commission to ‘‘promote
15 NYSE Arca is the electronic equities trading
facility of NYSE Arca Equities, Inc., a whollyowned subsidiary of NYSE Euronext.
16 See Elisabeth Hehn, Exchange Traded Funds:
Structure, Regulation and Application of a New
Fund Class (January 16, 2006).
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responsible economic or financial
innovation and fair competition’’ by
exempting any transaction or class of
transactions 17 from any of the
provisions of the Act upon determining
that the exemption would be consistent
with the public interest.18 Section
4(c)(2) of the Act provides that the
Commission may grant exemptions only
when it determines that the
requirements for which an exemption is
being provided should not be applied to
the agreements, contracts or transactions
at issue; that the exemption is consistent
with the public interest and the
purposes of the Act; that the
agreements, contracts or transactions
will be entered into solely between
appropriate persons; and that the
exemption will not have a material
adverse effect on the ability of the
Commission or any designated contract
market or derivatives transaction
execution facility to discharge its
regulatory or self-regulatory
responsibilities under the CEA.19 With
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17 Covered
transactions are subject to certain
exceptions not relevant to the publication of this
proposal.
18 Section 4(c)(1) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. §6(c)(1),
provides in full that:
In order to promote responsible economic or
financial innovation and fair competition, the
Commission by rule, regulation, or order, after
notice and opportunity for hearing, may (on its own
initiative or on application of any person, including
any board of trade designated or registered as a
contract market or derivatives transaction execution
facility for transactions for future delivery in any
commodity under section 7 of this title) exempt any
agreement, contract, or transaction (or class thereof)
that is otherwise subject to subsection (a) of this
section (including any person or class of persons
offering, entering into, rendering advice or
rendering other services with respect to, the
agreement, contract, or transaction), either
unconditionally or on stated terms or conditions or
for stated periods and either retroactively or
prospectively, or both, from any of the requirements
of subsection (a) of this section, or from any other
provision of this chapter (except subparagraphs
(c)(ii) and (D) of section 2(a)(1) of this title, except
that the Commission and the Securities and
Exchange Commission may by rule, regulation, or
order jointly exclude any agreement, contract, or
transaction from section 2(a)(1)(D) of this title), if
the Commission determines that the exemption
would be consistent with the public interest.
19 Section 4(c)(2) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. § 6(c)(2),
provides in full that:
The Commission shall not grant any exemption
under paragraph (1) from any of the requirements
of subsection (a) of this section unless the
Commission determines that—
(A) The requirement should not be applied to the
agreement, contract, or transaction for which the
exemption is sought and that the exemption would
be consistent with the public interest and the
purposes of this Act; and
(B) The agreement, contract, or transaction—
(i) Will be entered into solely between
appropriate persons; and
(ii) Will not have a material adverse effect on the
ability of the Commission or any contract market or
derivatives transaction execution facility to
discharge its regulatory or self-regulatory duties
under this Act.
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respect to the term ‘‘appropriate
persons,’’ Section 4(c)(3) of the Act
enumerates several categories of
appropriate persons and provides in
subparagraph (K) that the term shall
include ‘‘[s]uch other persons that the
Commission determines to be
appropriate in light of * * * the
applicability of appropriate regulatory
protections.’’
In order for the Commission to
approve the Exchange’s request to list
for trading ST gold futures contracts as
security futures, it would have to find
that the interest that would underlie an
ST gold futures contract is a security.
However, if the contracts are considered
to be futures contracts based on a
commodity that is not a security, then
they would be subject to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the CFTC under CEA
Section § 2(a)(1)(A), and listing the
contract for trading as a security future
as the Exchange proposes would violate
the CEA.20
ST gold futures contracts would be
based on an innovative and highly
successful product that efficiently and
transparently creates exposure to the
spot price of gold by combining
attributes of exchange traded financial
products, cash commodity ownership
interests, and speculative participation
in the price volatility of a commodity.
The jurisdictional classification of the
underlying instrument, whether as a
security or a commodity that is not a
security, is not straightforward.
In enacting Section 4(c) of the Act,
Congress noted that the goal of the
provision ‘‘is to give the Commission a
means of providing certainty and
stability to existing and emerging
markets so that financial innovation and
market development can proceed in an
effective and competitive manner.’’ 21
Accordingly, the Commission proposes
to use its authority under Section 4(c) of
the Act to exempt transactions in ST
gold futures contracts that would be
listed for trading on OneChicago from
those provisions of the Act and the
Commission’s regulations thereunder
that, if the underlying were considered
to be a commodity that is not a security,
would be inconsistent with the trading
and clearing of ST gold futures contracts
as security futures.22 The proposed
20 7 U.S.C. § 2(a)(1)(A). Security futures are
subject to joint regulation by the CFTC and the SEC
under Section 2(a)(1)(D) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C.
§2(a)(1)(D).
21 H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 102–978, 1992
U.S.C.C.A.N. 3179, at 3213 (H.R. Conf. Rep.).
22 The Commission recently issued a similar order
with respect to exchange traded credit default
products. See Order Exempting the Trading and
Clearing of Certain Credit Default Products
Pursuant to the Exemptive Authority in Section 4(c)
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13869
exemption would require that
transactions in ST gold futures contracts
comply with the requirements
established for transactions in security
futures by the Act and the Commission’s
regulations thereunder.23
In proposing to exercise its exemptive
authority under Section 4(c) of the Act,
the Commission is not required to, and
does not, find either that an ST gold
futures contract is based on a security,
or that it is not based on a security and
is thereby subject to exclusive
regulation under the CEA. In this regard,
the House-Senate Conference
Committee in the legislative process
leading to the enactment of CEA Section
4(c) noted that:
[T]his provision provides flexibility for the
Commission to provide legal certainty to
novel instruments where the determination
as to jurisdiction is not straightforward.
Rather than making a finding as to whether
a product is or is not a futures contract, the
Commission in appropriate cases may
proceed directly to issuing an exemption.24
Futures contracts based on the
underlying Shares of the Trust are
‘‘novel instruments’’ and, as noted
above, the ‘‘determination as to [their]
jurisdiction is not straightforward.’’
Given the potential usefulness of ST
gold futures contracts to the significant
market for the Shares that would
underlie such contracts, as well as all
gold-linked markets, the Commission
believes that this may be an appropriate
case for issuing an exemption without
making a finding as to the precise nature
of the underlying Shares of the Trust.
Exempting transactions in ST gold
futures contracts from the provisions of
the Act, and the Commission’s
regulations thereunder, that are
inconsistent with the trading and
clearing of security futures, and thereby
permitting the trading of ST gold futures
contracts as security futures on
OneChicago, may foster both financial
innovation by expeditiously bringing an
innovative derivatives product to
market, and competition by not
potentially excluding other similarly
innovative products from trading on
regulated futures markets. In addition,
ST gold futures contracts, if traded as
security futures pursuant to an
exemption, would be subject to
regulation by both the SEC and the
Commission. The implementation of an
exemption, under these circumstances,
would not erode customer protections
of the Commodity Exchange Act, 72 FR 32079 (June
11, 2007).
23 Transactions in ST gold futures contracts
would be subject to the provisions of the securities
laws, including any applicable provision of the ’33
and ’34 Acts.
24 H.R. Conf. Rep. at 3214–3215.
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or impair the ability of the Commission
or OneChicago to discharge any
regulatory or self-regulatory duty under
the Act.
IV. Request for Comment
The purposes of the CEA include
‘‘promot[ing] responsible innovation
and fair competition among boards of
trade, other markets and market
participants.’’ 25 Based on the foregoing,
it may be consistent with these and the
other purposes of the CEA, and with the
public interest, for ST gold futures
contracts to trade on OneChicago as
security futures. The Commission urges
interested persons to provide comments
that will assist the Commission in
conducting its analysis of the issues
relevant to this proposal. This release is
not intended in any way to alter the
current status of any transaction that is
subject to one or more provisions of the
’33 or ’34 Acts or the CEA, including
any regulations adopted thereunder.
V. Related Matters
A. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) 26 imposes certain requirements
on federal agencies (including the
Commission) in connection with their
conducting or sponsoring any collection
of information as defined by the PRA.
The proposed exemptive order would
not, if issued, require a new collection
of information from any entity that
would be subject to the proposed order.
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B. Cost-Benefit Analysis
Section 15(a) of the CEA, as amended
by Section 119 of the Commodity
Futures Modernization Act of 2000,27
requires the Commission to consider the
costs and benefits of its action before
issuing an order under the CEA. Section
15(a) of the Act further specifies that
costs and benefits shall be evaluated in
light of the following five broad areas of
market and public concern: Protection
of market participants and the public;
efficiency, competitiveness, and
financial integrity of futures markets;
price discovery; sound risk management
practices; and other public interest
considerations. By its terms, Section
15(a) does not require the Commission
to quantify the costs and benefits of an
order or to determine whether the
benefits of the order outweigh its costs.
Rather, Section 15(a) simply requires
the Commission to ‘‘consider the costs
25 CEA section 3(b), 7 U.S.C. 5(b). See also CEA
section 4(c)(1), 7 U.S.C. 6(c)(1) (purpose of
exemption is ‘‘to promote responsible economic or
financial innovation and fair competition.’’)
26 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).
27 7 U.S.C. 19(a).
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and benefits’’ of its action. Accordingly,
the Commission could in its discretion
give greater weight to any one of the five
enumerated areas and could in its
discretion determine that,
notwithstanding its costs, a particular
order was necessary or appropriate to
protect the public interest or to
effectuate any of the provisions or to
accomplish any of the purposes of the
CEA. The Commission specifically
invites public comment on its analysis
of the costs and benefits associated with
the proposed issuance of an exemptive
order under Section 4(c) of the Act.
The primary cost that could be
associated with the proposed exemptive
order is the burden that may arise from
subjecting transactions in ST gold
futures contracts, and thereby the
market participants transacting in such
contracts, to the dual regulation of
security futures by the Commission and
the SEC. Potential costs arising from
dual regulation, however, are
outweighed by the legal certainty and
additional benefits that could arise from
the issuance of the proposed exemptive
order. For example, permitting the
trading of ST gold futures contracts on
OneChicago, through the issuance of the
proposed exemptive order, could
facilitate price discovery for gold and
gold-linked interests given that a liquid
market in ST gold futures contracts
would serve as an additional source for
discerning the appropriate market value
of gold. As discussed previously, the
issuance of the proposed exemptive
order may also foster competition by
bringing a new derivatives product to
market expeditiously without negatively
impacting potential innovations in other
markets for other commodities.
In addition, the issuance of the
proposed exemptive order would not
result in any costs in terms of reduced
protections for Commission-regulated
markets or market participants.
Transactions in ST gold futures
contracts, pursuant to the proposed
exemption, would be executed on
OneChicago as security futures and
would be subject to extensive and
detailed regulation by the SEC and the
Commission. Consequently, only
intermediaries registered or noticeregistered with the Commission and the
SEC would be able to solicit, accept
orders for, or deal in any transactions in
connection with ST gold futures
contracts. The implementation of an
exemption, under these circumstances,
would not negatively impact any
applicable regulatory measure designed
to protect market participants or the
public interest. With respect to financial
integrity, The Options Clearing
Corporation, as both a derivatives
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Sfmt 4703
clearing organization registered as such
with the Commission and a clearing
agency registered as such with the SEC,
would carry out the clearing and
settlement of OneChicago’s ST gold
futures contracts, including directing
appropriate arrangements for the
payment and physical delivery of the
Shares that would underlie the ST gold
futures contracts.
After considering the factors
presented in this release, the
Commission has determined to seek
comment on the proposed order as
discussed above.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 10,
2008 by the Commission.
David A. Stawick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E8–5203 Filed 3–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Appointment of Army Officials to the
Army Emergency Relief—Board of
Managers and Board of Advisors
Department of the Army, DoD.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: Notice is given of certain
Army officials assigned to positions
authorized to serve without
compensation as a director or officer, or
to otherwise participate in the
management of the Army Emergency
Relief (AER), a military welfare society.
DATES: Effective Date: December 17,
2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sandra Stockel, 703–695–4296, Office of
the Army General Counsel, 104 Army
Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310–0104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office
of the Army General Counsel, in
accordance with 10 U.S.C. 1033 and by
DoD regulation (DoD 5500.7–R,
Standards of Conduct, section 3–202),
announces the appointment of certain
Army officials to serve without
compensation as a director or officer, or
to otherwise participate in the
management of the Army Emergency
Relief, a military welfare society. NonFederal entities in these categories must
be predesignated by the Secretary of
Defense. The Secretary of Defense’s
authority for such designations was
delegated to the Department of Defense
General Counsel, who has designated all
of the organizations, and concurred in
all of the appointments, listed below.
Appointments made under this
authority extend to the named officials,
E:\FR\FM\14MRN1.SGM
14MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 51 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13867-13870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5203]
=======================================================================
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
RIN 3038-AC52
Proposed Exemptive Order for ST Gold Futures Contracts
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed order and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is
proposing to exempt certain transactions in physically delivered
futures contracts based on streetTRACKS[reg] Gold Trust Shares (ST gold
futures contracts) \1\ from those provisions of the Commodity Exchange
Act (CEA or Act),\2\ and the Commission's regulations thereunder, that
are inconsistent with the trading and clearing of ST gold futures
contracts as security futures. The proposed exemption would be
conditioned on the compliance of transactions in ST gold futures
contracts with the requirements established for security futures. The
authority for the issuance of this exemption is found in Section 4(c)
of the Act.\3\
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\1\ streetTRACKS[reg] is a registered service mark of State
Street Corporation, an affiliate of State Street Global Markets,
LLC, the marketing agent for the streetTRACKS[reg] Gold Trust.
\2\ 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.
\3\ 7 U.S.C. 6(c).
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DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 31, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20581, attention: Office of the Secretariat. Comments may be sent by
facsimile to 202.418.5521, or by e-mail to secretary@cftc.gov.
Reference should be made to the ``Proposed Exemptive Order for ST Gold
Futures Contracts.'' Comments may also be submitted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. All comments received
will be posted without change to https://www.CFTC.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Fekrat, Special Counsel, Office
of the Director (telephone 202.418.5578, e-mail bfekrat@cftc.gov),
Division of Market Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission,
Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
In correspondence dated October 26, 2007, OneChicago, LLC
(OneChicago or the Exchange),\4\ a contract market designated with the
Commission pursuant to Sections 5 and 6(a) of the Act, proposed and
requested Commission approval to list for trading ST gold futures
contracts as security futures.\5\ OneChicago is notice-registered with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a national securities
exchange under Section 6(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ('34
Act) for the purpose of listing and trading security futures products.
The approval request was filed pursuant to Section 5c(c)(2) of the Act
and Commission Regulations 40.5 and 41.23.\6\ OneChicago submitted its
request for approval under the 45-day fast-track review period
established by Commission Regulation 40.5. The fast-track review period
for the Exchange's submission was scheduled to expire on December 10,
2007. The review period was extended by the Director of the
[[Page 13868]]
Division of Market Oversight, pursuant to Regulations 40.5(c) and
40.7(a)(1), by another 45 days beyond December 10, 2007 to January 24,
2008 on the grounds that the ST gold futures contracts raised novel and
complex issues that required additional time for review.\7\ By letter
dated January 23, 2008, the Exchange, upon the request of the
Commission's staff, voluntarily extended the review period to March 17,
2008.\8\ On February 26, 2008, the Exchange gave a further voluntary
extension of the review period until April 30, 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ OneChicago is jointly owned by the CME Group, Inc., IB
Exchange Corp., and the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
\5\ In accordance with Section 2(a)(9)(B)(i) of the Act,
Commission staff forwarded the new contract filing to the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on October 29,
2007. No comments were received in response to this correspondence.
On January 4, 2008, the Exchange filed a rule amendment concerning
minimum price fluctuations to supplement its initial submission.
\6\ 7 U.S.C. 7a-2(c)(2), 17 CFR 40.5, 41.23.
\7\ Commission Regulations 40.5(c) and 40.7(a)(1) allow the
Commission, and certain staff acting pursuant to delegated
authority, to extend the 45-day fast-track review period by an
additional 45 days if the product raises novel or complex issues
requiring additional time for review. 17 CFR 40.5(c), 40.7(a)(1).
\8\ Section 5c(c) of the Act requires the Commission to approve
any designated contract market instrument submitted for approval
within 90 days after the submission of the request unless (1) it
finds that the trading or clearing of the instrument would violate
the Act (or the Commission's regulations), or (2) the person
submitting the request for approval agrees to extend the period of
review beyond the 90-day time limitation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Description of the Underlying Commodity
ST gold futures contracts would overlie 100 Shares of the
streetTRACKS[reg] Gold Trust (Trust).\9\ The Trust was formed under New
York law pursuant to a trust indenture on November 12, 2004. World Gold
Trust Services, LLC, a wholly owned limited liability company of the
World Gold Council,\10\ is the sponsor of the Trust. In addition, The
Bank of New York is the trustee of the Trust, HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is
the custodian of the Trust, and State Street Global Markets, LLC is the
marketing agent for the Trust.\11\ The Trust presently does not engage
in the business of investing or trading securities or commodity futures
or options contracts. As a result, the Trust is not registered as an
investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and it is
not managed by a commodity pool operator registered under the CEA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ By its terms, an ST gold futures contract would expire on
the third Friday of each contract month. The contract would not be
subject to speculative position limits prior to the last five days
of trading. During the last five trading days, however, speculative
positions would be limited to 13,500 contracts, net long or short.
Positions in ST gold futures contracts would become reportable to
OneChicago when equal to or above 200 contracts. Positions in ST
gold futures contracts would become reportable to the Commission
when equal to or above 1,000 contracts.
\10\ The World Gold Council (founded in 1987) is a not-for-
profit association registered under the laws of Switzerland. The
Council is funded by gold mining companies and is tasked, in part,
with increasing the demand for gold through marketing initiatives
and lowering regulatory barriers to the widespread ownership of gold
products. About the World Gold Council, available at https://
www.gold.org/discover/about_us/.
\11\ Prospectus for the Trust's offering of Shares (July 24,
2007), available at https://www.streettracksgoldshares.com/pdf/
streetTRACKS.pdf (provides a detailed description of the Trust and
its operations).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Trust, from time to time, creates, issues, and redeems Shares
which represent fractional undivided beneficial interests in the assets
of the Trust. The sole assets of the Trust consist of gold bullion and
limited amounts of cash. Accordingly, the value of each Share will
fluctuate with the value of the Trust's holdings,\12\ which in turn is
dependent on the spot price of gold.\13\ That value may be found by
dividing the aggregate value of the gold and cash held by the Trust
less applicable fees and expenses by the quantity of Shares outstanding
at any specific moment in time.\14\ The Trust is not actively managed
and does not engage in any investment activities that are designed to
avoid losses or profit from changes in the price of gold. Rather, the
investment purpose of the Trust is to issue Shares that will track the
spot price of gold and thereby give shareholders the opportunity to
gain exposure to the commodity's price volatility.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ The Net Asset Value (NAV) of the Trust is the aggregate
value of the Trust's assets less its liabilities which include (1)
fees paid to the Sponsor, (2) fees paid to the Trustee, (3) fees
paid to the Custodian, (4) fees paid to the Marketing Agent, and (5)
certain administrative expenses assessed as fees.
\13\ In determining the NAV of the Trust, the Trustee values the
gold held by the Trust on the basis of the price of an ounce of gold
as set by the afternoon session of the London Bullion Market
Association's twice-daily fix of the price of gold. The gold fix is
performed by five members of the association. HSBC Bank USA, NA, the
Custodian of the Trust, is one of five gold fixing members.
\14\ By way of a simplified example, assume that the Trust holds
10,000 ounces of gold, the spot price of gold is $900 per ounce, and
that there are 50,000 Shares outstanding. Assume further that the
Trust has accrued fees and expenses of $50,000. Under this example,
the value of the Trust's holdings of gold would be $8,950,000, and
the value of each Share would be 1/50,000 of $8,950,000, or $179.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Trust, on an ongoing basis, will only issue Shares to, and only
redeem Shares from, Authorized Participants in baskets of 100,000
Shares (ST Share Baskets). An Authorized Participant must (1) be a
participant in the Depository Trust Company that is a registered
broker-dealer or other securities market participant (such as a bank or
other financial institution) that is not required to register as a
broker-dealer to engage in securities transactions, (2) have entered
into an agreement with the Trust and the Sponsor of the Trust, and (3)
have established an unallocated gold account (paper transfer account)
with the Custodian. Upon the payment of a transaction fee, Authorized
Participants may purchase ST Share Baskets by depositing gold (and cash
if necessary) in an amount equal to the NAV of an ST Share Basket per
purchased basket. Likewise, Authorized Participants may redeem ST Share
Baskets in exchange for an amount of gold (and cash if necessary) that
corresponds to the NAV of an ST Share Basket per redeemed basket. All
transfers of gold are accomplished through paper transfers, as opposed
to physical transfers of gold, and are cleared through the clearing
members of the London Bullion Market Association. Such members utilize
mutually maintained unallocated gold accounts for the settlement of
proprietary over-the-counter trades as well as for the settlement of
client transfers.
Upon purchasing ST Share Baskets, Authorized Participants may
divide the baskets into individual Shares for resale. Trust Shares are
registered as securities under the Securities Act of 1933 ('33 Act) and
listed on the NYSE Arca Exchange under the ticker symbol GLD.\15\ The
continuous Share creation, sale, resale, and redemption process,
coupled with a highly liquid market, creates an arbitrage mechanism
that functions to keep the Shares trading at or near the NAV of the
Trust's gold holdings.\16\ Authorized Participants act as arbitrageurs
by taking advantage of significant premiums or discounts in the trading
price of outstanding Shares relative to the spot price of gold. If
individual exchange-traded Shares trade at a price that is below the
spot market price of gold, Authorized Participants will purchase and
aggregate Shares into ST Share Baskets and redeem the Baskets with the
Trust for an amount of gold with an aggregate value that is greater
than the aggregate trading value of the individual Shares that comprise
the redeemed ST Share Baskets. Similarly, if ST Shares are trading at a
price that is above the spot market price of gold, Authorized
Participants will deposit gold with the Trust in exchange for ST Share
Baskets that can then be divided into individual Shares for resale to
retail investors at a premium.
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\15\ NYSE Arca is the electronic equities trading facility of
NYSE Arca Equities, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NYSE
Euronext.
\16\ See Elisabeth Hehn, Exchange Traded Funds: Structure,
Regulation and Application of a New Fund Class (January 16, 2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Section 4(c) of the Commodity Exchange Act
Section 4(c)(1) of the CEA empowers the Commission to ``promote
[[Page 13869]]
responsible economic or financial innovation and fair competition'' by
exempting any transaction or class of transactions \17\ from any of the
provisions of the Act upon determining that the exemption would be
consistent with the public interest.\18\ Section 4(c)(2) of the Act
provides that the Commission may grant exemptions only when it
determines that the requirements for which an exemption is being
provided should not be applied to the agreements, contracts or
transactions at issue; that the exemption is consistent with the public
interest and the purposes of the Act; that the agreements, contracts or
transactions will be entered into solely between appropriate persons;
and that the exemption will not have a material adverse effect on the
ability of the Commission or any designated contract market or
derivatives transaction execution facility to discharge its regulatory
or self-regulatory responsibilities under the CEA.\19\ With respect to
the term ``appropriate persons,'' Section 4(c)(3) of the Act enumerates
several categories of appropriate persons and provides in subparagraph
(K) that the term shall include ``[s]uch other persons that the
Commission determines to be appropriate in light of * * * the
applicability of appropriate regulatory protections.''
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\17\ Covered transactions are subject to certain exceptions not
relevant to the publication of this proposal.
\18\ Section 4(c)(1) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 6(c)(1), provides
in full that:
In order to promote responsible economic or financial innovation
and fair competition, the Commission by rule, regulation, or order,
after notice and opportunity for hearing, may (on its own initiative
or on application of any person, including any board of trade
designated or registered as a contract market or derivatives
transaction execution facility for transactions for future delivery
in any commodity under section 7 of this title) exempt any
agreement, contract, or transaction (or class thereof) that is
otherwise subject to subsection (a) of this section (including any
person or class of persons offering, entering into, rendering advice
or rendering other services with respect to, the agreement,
contract, or transaction), either unconditionally or on stated terms
or conditions or for stated periods and either retroactively or
prospectively, or both, from any of the requirements of subsection
(a) of this section, or from any other provision of this chapter
(except subparagraphs (c)(ii) and (D) of section 2(a)(1) of this
title, except that the Commission and the Securities and Exchange
Commission may by rule, regulation, or order jointly exclude any
agreement, contract, or transaction from section 2(a)(1)(D) of this
title), if the Commission determines that the exemption would be
consistent with the public interest.
\19\ Section 4(c)(2) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 6(c)(2),
provides in full that:
The Commission shall not grant any exemption under paragraph (1)
from any of the requirements of subsection (a) of this section
unless the Commission determines that--
(A) The requirement should not be applied to the agreement,
contract, or transaction for which the exemption is sought and that
the exemption would be consistent with the public interest and the
purposes of this Act; and
(B) The agreement, contract, or transaction--
(i) Will be entered into solely between appropriate persons; and
(ii) Will not have a material adverse effect on the ability of
the Commission or any contract market or derivatives transaction
execution facility to discharge its regulatory or self-regulatory
duties under this Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order for the Commission to approve the Exchange's request to
list for trading ST gold futures contracts as security futures, it
would have to find that the interest that would underlie an ST gold
futures contract is a security. However, if the contracts are
considered to be futures contracts based on a commodity that is not a
security, then they would be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of
the CFTC under CEA Section Sec. 2(a)(1)(A), and listing the contract
for trading as a security future as the Exchange proposes would violate
the CEA.\20\
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\20\ 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2(a)(1)(A). Security futures are subject to
joint regulation by the CFTC and the SEC under Section 2(a)(1)(D) of
the CEA, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 2(a)(1)(D).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST gold futures contracts would be based on an innovative and
highly successful product that efficiently and transparently creates
exposure to the spot price of gold by combining attributes of exchange
traded financial products, cash commodity ownership interests, and
speculative participation in the price volatility of a commodity. The
jurisdictional classification of the underlying instrument, whether as
a security or a commodity that is not a security, is not
straightforward.
In enacting Section 4(c) of the Act, Congress noted that the goal
of the provision ``is to give the Commission a means of providing
certainty and stability to existing and emerging markets so that
financial innovation and market development can proceed in an effective
and competitive manner.'' \21\ Accordingly, the Commission proposes to
use its authority under Section 4(c) of the Act to exempt transactions
in ST gold futures contracts that would be listed for trading on
OneChicago from those provisions of the Act and the Commission's
regulations thereunder that, if the underlying were considered to be a
commodity that is not a security, would be inconsistent with the
trading and clearing of ST gold futures contracts as security
futures.\22\ The proposed exemption would require that transactions in
ST gold futures contracts comply with the requirements established for
transactions in security futures by the Act and the Commission's
regulations thereunder.\23\
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\21\ H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 102-978, 1992 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3179, at
3213 (H.R. Conf. Rep.).
\22\ The Commission recently issued a similar order with respect
to exchange traded credit default products. See Order Exempting the
Trading and Clearing of Certain Credit Default Products Pursuant to
the Exemptive Authority in Section 4(c) of the Commodity Exchange
Act, 72 FR 32079 (June 11, 2007).
\23\ Transactions in ST gold futures contracts would be subject
to the provisions of the securities laws, including any applicable
provision of the '33 and '34 Acts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In proposing to exercise its exemptive authority under Section 4(c)
of the Act, the Commission is not required to, and does not, find
either that an ST gold futures contract is based on a security, or that
it is not based on a security and is thereby subject to exclusive
regulation under the CEA. In this regard, the House-Senate Conference
Committee in the legislative process leading to the enactment of CEA
Section 4(c) noted that:
[T]his provision provides flexibility for the Commission to
provide legal certainty to novel instruments where the determination
as to jurisdiction is not straightforward. Rather than making a
finding as to whether a product is or is not a futures contract, the
Commission in appropriate cases may proceed directly to issuing an
exemption.\24\
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\24\ H.R. Conf. Rep. at 3214-3215.
Futures contracts based on the underlying Shares of the Trust are
``novel instruments'' and, as noted above, the ``determination as to
[their] jurisdiction is not straightforward.'' Given the potential
usefulness of ST gold futures contracts to the significant market for
the Shares that would underlie such contracts, as well as all gold-
linked markets, the Commission believes that this may be an appropriate
case for issuing an exemption without making a finding as to the
precise nature of the underlying Shares of the Trust.
Exempting transactions in ST gold futures contracts from the
provisions of the Act, and the Commission's regulations thereunder,
that are inconsistent with the trading and clearing of security
futures, and thereby permitting the trading of ST gold futures
contracts as security futures on OneChicago, may foster both financial
innovation by expeditiously bringing an innovative derivatives product
to market, and competition by not potentially excluding other similarly
innovative products from trading on regulated futures markets. In
addition, ST gold futures contracts, if traded as security futures
pursuant to an exemption, would be subject to regulation by both the
SEC and the Commission. The implementation of an exemption, under these
circumstances, would not erode customer protections
[[Page 13870]]
or impair the ability of the Commission or OneChicago to discharge any
regulatory or self-regulatory duty under the Act.
IV. Request for Comment
The purposes of the CEA include ``promot[ing] responsible
innovation and fair competition among boards of trade, other markets
and market participants.'' \25\ Based on the foregoing, it may be
consistent with these and the other purposes of the CEA, and with the
public interest, for ST gold futures contracts to trade on OneChicago
as security futures. The Commission urges interested persons to provide
comments that will assist the Commission in conducting its analysis of
the issues relevant to this proposal. This release is not intended in
any way to alter the current status of any transaction that is subject
to one or more provisions of the '33 or '34 Acts or the CEA, including
any regulations adopted thereunder.
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\25\ CEA section 3(b), 7 U.S.C. 5(b). See also CEA section
4(c)(1), 7 U.S.C. 6(c)(1) (purpose of exemption is ``to promote
responsible economic or financial innovation and fair
competition.'')
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V. Related Matters
A. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) \26\ imposes certain
requirements on federal agencies (including the Commission) in
connection with their conducting or sponsoring any collection of
information as defined by the PRA. The proposed exemptive order would
not, if issued, require a new collection of information from any entity
that would be subject to the proposed order.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).
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B. Cost-Benefit Analysis
Section 15(a) of the CEA, as amended by Section 119 of the
Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000,\27\ requires the
Commission to consider the costs and benefits of its action before
issuing an order under the CEA. Section 15(a) of the Act further
specifies that costs and benefits shall be evaluated in light of the
following five broad areas of market and public concern: Protection of
market participants and the public; efficiency, competitiveness, and
financial integrity of futures markets; price discovery; sound risk
management practices; and other public interest considerations. By its
terms, Section 15(a) does not require the Commission to quantify the
costs and benefits of an order or to determine whether the benefits of
the order outweigh its costs. Rather, Section 15(a) simply requires the
Commission to ``consider the costs and benefits'' of its action.
Accordingly, the Commission could in its discretion give greater weight
to any one of the five enumerated areas and could in its discretion
determine that, notwithstanding its costs, a particular order was
necessary or appropriate to protect the public interest or to
effectuate any of the provisions or to accomplish any of the purposes
of the CEA. The Commission specifically invites public comment on its
analysis of the costs and benefits associated with the proposed
issuance of an exemptive order under Section 4(c) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ 7 U.S.C. 19(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The primary cost that could be associated with the proposed
exemptive order is the burden that may arise from subjecting
transactions in ST gold futures contracts, and thereby the market
participants transacting in such contracts, to the dual regulation of
security futures by the Commission and the SEC. Potential costs arising
from dual regulation, however, are outweighed by the legal certainty
and additional benefits that could arise from the issuance of the
proposed exemptive order. For example, permitting the trading of ST
gold futures contracts on OneChicago, through the issuance of the
proposed exemptive order, could facilitate price discovery for gold and
gold-linked interests given that a liquid market in ST gold futures
contracts would serve as an additional source for discerning the
appropriate market value of gold. As discussed previously, the issuance
of the proposed exemptive order may also foster competition by bringing
a new derivatives product to market expeditiously without negatively
impacting potential innovations in other markets for other commodities.
In addition, the issuance of the proposed exemptive order would not
result in any costs in terms of reduced protections for Commission-
regulated markets or market participants. Transactions in ST gold
futures contracts, pursuant to the proposed exemption, would be
executed on OneChicago as security futures and would be subject to
extensive and detailed regulation by the SEC and the Commission.
Consequently, only intermediaries registered or notice-registered with
the Commission and the SEC would be able to solicit, accept orders for,
or deal in any transactions in connection with ST gold futures
contracts. The implementation of an exemption, under these
circumstances, would not negatively impact any applicable regulatory
measure designed to protect market participants or the public interest.
With respect to financial integrity, The Options Clearing Corporation,
as both a derivatives clearing organization registered as such with the
Commission and a clearing agency registered as such with the SEC, would
carry out the clearing and settlement of OneChicago's ST gold futures
contracts, including directing appropriate arrangements for the payment
and physical delivery of the Shares that would underlie the ST gold
futures contracts.
After considering the factors presented in this release, the
Commission has determined to seek comment on the proposed order as
discussed above.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 10, 2008 by the Commission.
David A. Stawick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E8-5203 Filed 3-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P
