Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 11547 

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The SHORT subscription service became 

effective September 30, 2010. See Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 34–62993, September 24, 

2010 (File No. SR–MSRB–2010–06). 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62755, 

August 20, 2010 (File No. SR–MSRB–2010–02). 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–MSRB–2011–05 and should 

be submitted on or before March 23, 

2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.8

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4692 Filed 3–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–63950; File No. SR–MSRB– 

2011–04] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Municipal Securities Rulemaking 

Board; Notice of Filing of Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the MSRB 

Short-term Obligation Rate 

Transparency (‘‘SHORT’’) Subscription 

Service 

February 23, 2011. 

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 February 

10, 2011, the Municipal Securities 

Rulemaking Board (‘‘MSRB’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

items I and II below, which items have 

been prepared by the MSRB. 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 MSRB is filing with the 

Commission a proposed rule change to 

amend the MSRB’s Short-term 

Obligation Rate Transparency 

subscription service to provide 

subscribers with additional information 

as well as documents. The MSRB has 

requested that the proposed rule change 

be made effective on May 16, 2011. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the MSRB’s Web site at 

http://www.msrb.org/Rules-andInterpretations/SEC-Filings/2011- 

Fillings.aspx, at the MSRB’s principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

MSRB 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 MSRB 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 

Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the 

Proposed Rule Change 

1. Purpose 

The Short-term Obligation Rate 

Transparency (‘‘SHORT’’) System is a 

facility of the MSRB for the collection 

and dissemination of information about 

securities bearing interest at short-term 

rates. Rule G–34(c), on variable rate 

security market information, currently 

requires certain dealers to report to the 

SHORT System interest rates and 

descriptive information about Auction 

Rate Securities (‘‘ARS’’) and Variable 

Rate Demand Obligations (‘‘VRDOs’’). 

All reported information is 

disseminated from the SHORT System 

to subscribers pursuant to the MSRB 

SHORT subscription service 3 and is 

posted to the MSRB’s Electronic 

Municipal Market Access (‘‘EMMA’’) 

web portal pursuant to the EMMA shortterm obligation rate transparency 

service. 

On August 20, 2010, the Commission 

approved changes to Rule G–34(c) that 

will increase the information dealers are 

required to report to the SHORT System. 

This rule change will add to the SHORT 

System documents that define auction 

procedures and interest rate setting 

mechanisms for ARS and liquidity 

facilities for VRDOs, information about 

orders submitted for an ARS auction, 

and additional information about 

VRDOs.4 To provide subscribers with 

access to these additional items of 

information and documents, the 

proposed rule change would amend the 

SHORT subscription service to include 

the additional information and 

documents as well as an ARS ‘‘bid to 

cover’’ ratio that would be computed by 

the SHORT System. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The MSRB believes that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

15B(b)(2)(C) of the Exchange Act, which 

provides that the MSRB’s rules shall: 

be designed to prevent fraudulent and 

manipulative acts and practices, to promote 

just and equitable principles of trade, to 

foster cooperation and coordination with 

persons engaged in regulating, clearing, 

settling, processing information with respect 

to, and facilitating transactions in municipal 

securities and municipal financial products, 

to remove impediments to and perfect the 

mechanism of a free and open market in 

municipal securities and municipal financial 

products, and, in general, to protect 

investors, municipal entities, obligated 

persons, and the public interest. 

The MSRB believes that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the Act. 

The amendments to the SHORT 

subscription service would serve as an 

additional mechanism by which the 

MSRB works toward removing 

impediments to and helping to perfect 

the mechanisms of a free and open 

market in municipal securities. The 

subscription service would make the 

additional information and documents 

collected by the SHORT System 

available to market participants for redissemination and for use in creating 

value-added products and services. 

Such re-dissemination and third-party 

use would provide market participants, 

including investors and the general 

public, additional avenues for obtaining 

the information collected by the SHORT 

System and would make additional 

tools available for making well-informed 

investment decisions. Broad access to 

the information and documents 

collected by the SHORT System, in 

addition to the public access through 

the EMMA web portal, should further 

assist in preventing fraudulent and 

manipulative acts and practices by 

improving the opportunity for public 

investors to access material information 

about Auction Rate Securities and 

Variable Rate Demand Obligations. 

Furthermore, broader redissemination and third-party use of the 

information and documents collected by 

the SHORT System should promote a 

more fair and efficient municipal 

securities market in which transactions 

are effected on the basis of material 

information available to all parties to 

such transactions, which should allow 

for fairer pricing of transactions based 

on a more complete understanding of 

the terms of the securities (including 

any changes thereto). 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
11548 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2011 / Notices 

5The MSRB notes that subscribers may be subject 

to proprietary rights of third parties in information 

provided by such third parties that is made 

available through the subscription. 6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The MSRB does not believe the 

proposed rule change will impose any 

burden on competition not necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. The proposed rule 

change would make the information and 

documents collected by the SHORT 

System available to all persons on an 

equal and non-discriminatory basis. The 

information and documents provided 

through the subscription service would 

be available to all subscribers 

simultaneously with the availability of 

the information and documents through 

the EMMA Web portal. In addition to 

making the information and documents 

available for free on the EMMA Web 

portal to all members of the public, the 

MSRB would make the information and 

documents collected by the SHORT 

System available by subscription on an 

equal and non-discriminatory basis 

without imposing restrictions on 

subscribers from, or imposing additional 

charges on subscribers for, redisseminating such information and 

documents or otherwise adding valueadded services and products based on 

such information and documents on 

terms determined by each subscriber.5

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments Received on 

the Proposed Rule Change by Members, 

Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received on the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 45 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period 

up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may 

designate if it finds such longer period 

to be appropriate and publishes its 

reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which 

the self-regulatory organization 

consents, the Commission will: 

(A) By order approve or disapprove 

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, 

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 (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–MSRB–2011–04 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Station Place, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–MSRB–2011–04. 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 (http://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 Web site viewing and 

printing 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. Copies of such filing 

also will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of the 

MSRB. 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–MSRB–2011–04 and should 

be submitted on or before within March 

23, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4583 Filed 3–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–63959; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2011–031] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change Regarding the 

NASDAQ Order Imbalance Snapshot 

February 24, 2011. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that, on February 

23, 2011, The NASDAQ Stock Market 

LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NASDAQ’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by NASDAQ. 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 is filing this proposed 

rule change regarding the NASDAQ 

Order Imbalance Snapshot, a data feed 

of electronic messages for newswire 

providers to monitor the NASDAQ 

Opening Cross, Closing Cross, IPO Cross 

and Halt Cross. The text of the proposed 

rule change is available at http:// 

nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com/, at 

NASDAQ’s principal office, and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

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 the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

NASDAQ facilitates participation in 

electronic auctions by disseminating the 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES