Roundtable on Short Selling Price Test Restrictions and Short Sale Circuit Breakers, 21423-21424 [E9-10483]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 / Notices SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [File No. 500–1] Harvard Industries, Inc., HealthCor Holdings, Inc., and Helm Capital Group, Inc. Order of Suspension of Trading May 5, 2009. It appears to the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of Harvard Industries, Inc. because it has not filed any periodic reports since it filed a Form 10–Q for the period ended June 30, 2001. It appears to the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of HealthCor Holdings, Inc. because it has not filed any periodic reports since it filed a Form 10–Q for the period ended March 31, 1999. It appears to the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of Helm Capital Group, Inc. because it has not filed any periodic reports since it filed a Form 10–QSB for the period ended September 30, 2000. The Commission is of the opinion that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension of trading in the securities of the above-listed companies. Therefore, it is ordered, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that trading in the securities of the above-listed companies is suspended for the period from 9:30 a.m. EDT on May 5, 2009, through 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 18, 2009. By the Commission. Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. E9–10716 Filed 5–5–09; 4:15 pm] Electronic Comments • Use the Commission’s Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/ news/press.shtml); or • Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File Number 4–581 on the subject line. BILLING CODE 8010–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–59855; File No. 4–581] Roundtable on Short Selling Price Test Restrictions and Short Sale Circuit Breakers AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission. ACTION: Notice of roundtable discussion; request for comment. SUMMARY: In light of current instability in the financial markets and the erosion VerDate Nov<24>2008 17:03 May 06, 2009 Jkt 217001 of investor confidence, the Commission is evaluating the issue of short sale price test restrictions and short sale circuit breakers. On April 8, 2009, the Commission unanimously voted to propose two new approaches to short selling regulation. The first approach proposes two permanent market-wide short sale price test restrictions. The second approach proposes three circuit breaker rules that, when triggered by a significant intraday decline in a security’s price, would impose either a temporary halt on short selling of an individual security, or a temporary price test restriction. The proposing release is available on the Commission’s Internet Web site at https://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/ 2009/34–59748.pdf. The Commission will host a roundtable to discuss the effectiveness and impact of short sale price test restrictions generally, as well as the proposed regulatory alternatives. The roundtable discussion will be held in the auditorium of the Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters at 100 F Street, NE., in Washington, DC on May 5, 2009 from 10 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m. The public is invited to observe the roundtable discussion. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The roundtable discussion also will be available via webcast on the Commission’s Web site at https:// www.sec.gov. DATES: The roundtable discussion will take place on May 5, 2009. The Commission will accept comments regarding issues addressed in the roundtable discussion and otherwise regarding the proposed rule amendments until June 19, 2009. ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: Paper Comments • Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. All submissions should refer to File Number 4–581. This file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help us process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 21423 will post all comments on the Commission’s Internet Web site (https:// www.sec.gov). Comments are also available for public inspection and copying in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. All comments received will be posted without change; we do not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Division of Trading and Markets, at (202) 551–5720, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington DC 20549–7561. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 8, 2009, the Commission proposed amendments to Rule 201 of Regulation SHO under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The proposed amendments would permanently place restrictions on the prices at which NMS stocks may be sold short (‘‘short sale price tests’’ or ‘‘short sale price test restrictions’’) or would impose temporary limitations on short selling in a particular NMS stock during a specified market decline in the price of that security (‘‘proposed circuit breaker rules’’). In connection with the proposed short sale price tests and the proposed circuit breaker rules, the Commission also proposed to amend Regulation SHO to require that a brokerdealer mark a sell order ‘‘short exempt’’ if the seller is relying on an exception to a proposed short sale price test restriction or a proposed circuit breaker rule. The proposed amendments would come almost two years after the Commission eliminated all short sale price test restrictions in July 2007. Prior to removing short sale price test restrictions, the Commission reviewed the issue extensively, sought public comment and directed staff study and empirical analysis on the market impact of short sale price test restrictions over a period of several years. As the current financial crisis has continued to erode investor confidence, the Commission has received requests from many commenters to consider imposing restrictions with regard to short selling, in particular to reinstate some form of short sale price test restrictions. Due to the extreme current market conditions, the Commission believes it is appropriate at this time to examine and seek comment on whether to impose a short sale price test or a short sale circuit breaker rule. The May 5, 2009 roundtable will help ensure that any policy decisions the Commission E:\FR\FM\07MYN1.SGM 07MYN1 21424 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 / Notices at https:// nasdaqomxphlx.cchwallstreet.com/ NASDAQOMXPHLX/Filings/, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. makes based on these proposals is the product of a highly deliberate evaluation process. Dated: May 1, 2009. By the Commission. Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary. [FR Doc. E9–10483 Filed 5–6–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8010–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–59852; File No. SR–Phlx– 2009–39] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc. Relating To Trading Post/Booth and Registration Fees April 30, 2009. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1, and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on April 24, 2009, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, Inc. (‘‘Phlx’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend the Exchange’s Fee Schedule to: (1) Rename the Trading Post/Booth fee and increase the fee from $250 to $300 per month; (2) designate certain space on the trading floor as Market Maker Trading Space and assess members a fee of $300 per month; (3) eliminate the Trading Post with Kiosk fee of $375 per month and replace it with a Specialist Post fee of $4,500 per month for a full post and $1,125 per month for a quarter post, up to a maximum of $4,500; (4) increase the Floor Facility fee from $125 to $200 per month; (5) increase the Trading Floor Personnel Registration fee from $25 to $50 per month; and (6) make other minor amendments to the Fee Schedule. While changes to the Exchange’s fee schedule pursuant to this proposal are effective upon filing, the Exchange has designated this proposal to be effective on May 1, 2009. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s Web site 1 15 2 17 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). CFR 240.19b–4. VerDate Nov<24>2008 17:03 May 06, 2009 Jkt 217001 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 and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The purpose of the proposed rule change is to increase the costs of certain floor-related charges due to a rise in occupancy expenses. The Exchange proposes to adjust its fees related to certain trading floor charges to keep pace with the rising overhead costs associated with maintaining the trading floor. The Exchange has not made any significant changes to these fees in several years. The Exchange proposes to increase the Trading Post/Booth fee from $250 to $300 per month. The Trading Post/ Booth space is physical space on the Exchange’s trading floor, which space typically is used by floor brokers. The Exchange proposes to increase this fee to cover increasing occupancy costs, such as electricity usage due to the increase of member computers on the trading floor. Additionally, the Exchange proposes to rename the Trading Post/Booth fee as the ‘‘Trading/ Administrative Booths and Market Maker Trading Space’’ fee. The Exchange proposes to designate certain space on the trading floor to be termed as ‘‘Market Maker Trading Space’’ and assess members $300 per month for that space. The Exchange would clearly define space where Register Options Traders could locate computer and related equipment required to function as a Streaming Quote Trader.3 The 3 A Streaming Quote Trader or SQT is an Exchange Registered Options Trader (‘‘ROT’’) who has received permission from the Exchange to generate and submit option quotations PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Exchange proposes to implement this fee to cover increasing costs associated with the trading floor. The Exchange proposes to eliminate the Trading Post with Kiosk fee of $375. The kiosk is an open, flat surface that contains computer terminals and allows specialists to face the trading crowd. The fee is currently imposed on specialists with a trading post with kiosk on the trading floor. Instead, the Exchange proposes to adopt a Specialist Post fee which would vary with the size of the post. Specialists would be assessed a Specialist Post fee of $1,125 per month for a quarter post and $4,500 per month for a full post with a maximum fee of $4,500 per month. Currently the specialists have multiple, contiguous, trading posts with kiosks on the trading floor. This fee should result in no additional increase to the specialists currently on the trading floor as the total amount paid currently for each trading post with kiosk, or $375, multiplied by the total number of posts utilized is equivalent to the fee range of the proposed charges, $1,125 for a quarter post and $4,500 for a full post, per month. Additionally, the Exchange is capping the total amount of fees paid by a specialist for the Specialist Post fee at $4,500 per month. The posts would continue to facilitate specialist interaction with the trading crowd. The Exchange proposes to increase the Floor Facility fee from $125 to $200 per month. The Floor Facility fee is applicable to floor members and foreign currency options participants that are not currently assessed fees related to the usage of a Trading Post/Booth and would not be assessed a Trading/ Administrative Booths and Market Maker Trading Space fee. The Floor Facility fee is intended to fairly allocate costs attendant to providing members and participants with services necessary to the conduct of business on the floor of the Exchange. The Exchange proposes to increase this fee to offset the increased costs of operating a trading floor facility. The Exchange also proposes increasing the Trading Floor Personnel Registration fee from $25 to $50 per month. Pursuant to Exchange Rule 620 4 all trading floor personnel are required to be registered with the Exchange. This electronically through an electronic interface with AUTOM via an Exchange approved proprietary electronic quoting device in eligible options to which such SQT is assigned. See Exchange Rule 1014(b)(ii)(A). 4 See Exchange Rule 620(a), titled Trading Floor Personnel Registration, ‘‘Each Floor Broker, Specialist and Registered Options Trader on any Exchange trading floor must register as such with the Exchange. * * *’’ E:\FR\FM\07MYN1.SGM 07MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 87 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21423-21424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10483]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-59855; File No. 4-581]


Roundtable on Short Selling Price Test Restrictions and Short 
Sale Circuit Breakers

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION: Notice of roundtable discussion; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In light of current instability in the financial markets and 
the erosion of investor confidence, the Commission is evaluating the 
issue of short sale price test restrictions and short sale circuit 
breakers. On April 8, 2009, the Commission unanimously voted to propose 
two new approaches to short selling regulation. The first approach 
proposes two permanent market-wide short sale price test restrictions. 
The second approach proposes three circuit breaker rules that, when 
triggered by a significant intraday decline in a security's price, 
would impose either a temporary halt on short selling of an individual 
security, or a temporary price test restriction.
    The proposing release is available on the Commission's Internet Web 
site at https://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/2009/34-59748.pdf. The 
Commission will host a roundtable to discuss the effectiveness and 
impact of short sale price test restrictions generally, as well as the 
proposed regulatory alternatives. The roundtable discussion will be 
held in the auditorium of the Securities and Exchange Commission 
headquarters at 100 F Street, NE., in Washington, DC on May 5, 2009 
from 10 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m. The public is invited to 
observe the roundtable discussion. Seating will be available on a 
first-come, first-served basis. The roundtable discussion also will be 
available via webcast on the Commission's Web site at https://www.sec.gov.

DATES: The roundtable discussion will take place on May 5, 2009. The 
Commission will accept comments regarding issues addressed in the 
roundtable discussion and otherwise regarding the proposed rule 
amendments until June 19, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/news/press.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number 4-581 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number 4-581. This file number 
should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help us 
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). Comments are also available for 
public inspection and copying in the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business 
days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. All comments received will 
be posted without change; we do not edit personal identifying 
information from submissions. You should submit only information that 
you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Division of Trading and Markets, 
at (202) 551-5720, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, 
NE., Washington DC 20549-7561.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 8, 2009, the Commission proposed 
amendments to Rule 201 of Regulation SHO under the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934. The proposed amendments would permanently place 
restrictions on the prices at which NMS stocks may be sold short 
(``short sale price tests'' or ``short sale price test restrictions'') 
or would impose temporary limitations on short selling in a particular 
NMS stock during a specified market decline in the price of that 
security (``proposed circuit breaker rules''). In connection with the 
proposed short sale price tests and the proposed circuit breaker rules, 
the Commission also proposed to amend Regulation SHO to require that a 
broker-dealer mark a sell order ``short exempt'' if the seller is 
relying on an exception to a proposed short sale price test restriction 
or a proposed circuit breaker rule.
    The proposed amendments would come almost two years after the 
Commission eliminated all short sale price test restrictions in July 
2007. Prior to removing short sale price test restrictions, the 
Commission reviewed the issue extensively, sought public comment and 
directed staff study and empirical analysis on the market impact of 
short sale price test restrictions over a period of several years.
    As the current financial crisis has continued to erode investor 
confidence, the Commission has received requests from many commenters 
to consider imposing restrictions with regard to short selling, in 
particular to reinstate some form of short sale price test 
restrictions. Due to the extreme current market conditions, the 
Commission believes it is appropriate at this time to examine and seek 
comment on whether to impose a short sale price test or a short sale 
circuit breaker rule. The May 5, 2009 roundtable will help ensure that 
any policy decisions the Commission

[[Page 21424]]

makes based on these proposals is the product of a highly deliberate 
evaluation process.

    Dated: May 1, 2009.

    By the Commission.
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-10483 Filed 5-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
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