Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 243 / Monday, December 20, 2010 / Notices 79427 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 59755 

(April 13, 2009), 74 FR 18009 (April 20, 2009) (SR– 

NYSEAltr–2009–15) (order granting approval of the 

Pilot); 60808 (October 9, 2009), 74 FR 53539 

(October 19, 2009) (SR–NYSEAmex–2009–70) 

(extending the operation of the Pilot to December 

31, 2009); 61265 (December 31, 2009), 75 FR 1094 

(January 8, 2010) (SR–NYSEAmex–2009–96) 

(extending the operation of the Pilot from December 

31, 2009 to March 1, 2010); 61611 (March 1, 2010), 

75 FR 10530 (March 8, 2010) (SR–NYSEAmex– 

2010–15) (extending the operation of the Pilot from 

March 1, 2010 to June 1, 2010); 62293 (June 15, 

2010), 75 FR 35862 (June 23, 2010) (SR– 

NYSEAmex–2010–50) (extending the operation of 

the Pilot from June 1, 2010 to December 1, 2010). 

5The Exchange notes that parallel changes are 

proposed to be made to the rules of New York Stock 

Exchange LLC. See SR–NYSE–2010–79. 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62293 

(June 15, 2010), 75 FR 35862 (June 23, 2010) (SR– 

NYSEAmex–2010–50) at note 6. Due to a technical 

deficiency in a prior filing, the Exchange did not 

invoke the Pilot between June 1, 2010 and June 7, 

2010. 

7 Id. 

business in security futures products. 

Compliance with Rule 15b11–1 does not 

involve the collection of confidential 

information. Please note that an agency 

may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

person is not required to respond to, a 

collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid control 

number. The Federal Register notice 

with a 60-day comment period soliciting 

comments on this collection of 

information was published on October 

12, 2010 (75 FR 62612). No comments 

were received. 

The public may view the background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following Web site, 

http://www.reginfo.gov. Comments 

should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer 

for the Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, Room 10102, 

New Executive Office Building, 

Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an 

e-mail to: 

Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) 

Thomas Bayer, Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 

6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, 

VA 22312 or send an e-mail to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must 

be submitted to OMB within 30 days of 

this notice. 

Dated: December 12, 2010. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–31819 Filed 12–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–63541; File No. SR– 

NYSEAmex-2010–113] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

Amex LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Amending NYSE Amex 

Equities Rule 123C(9)(a)(1) To Extend 

the Operation of a Pilot Operating 

Pursuant to the Rule Until June 1, 2011 

December 14, 2010. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that on November 

30, 2010, NYSE Amex LLC (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE Amex’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I and II below, which Items have 

been prepared by the self-regulatory 

organization. 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 

NYSE Amex Equities Rule 123C(9)(a)(1) 

to extend the operation of a pilot 

operating pursuant to the Rule until 

June 1, 2011. The text of the proposed 

rule change is available at the Exchange, 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room, http://www.sec.gov, and http:// 

www.nyse.com. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

self-regulatory organization 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 those 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 parts of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

NYSE Amex Equities Rule 123C(9)(a)(1) 

to extend the operation of a pilot that 

allows the Exchange to temporarily 

suspend certain rule requirements at the 

close when extreme order imbalances 

may cause significant dislocation to the 

closing price (‘‘Extreme Order 

Imbalances Pilot’’ or ‘‘Pilot’’) 4 until June 

1, 2011.5 The Pilot is currently 

scheduled to expire on December 1, 

2010.6

Background 

Pursuant to NYSE Amex Equities Rule 

123C(9)(a)(1), the Exchange may 

suspend NYSE Amex Equities Rule 52 

(Hours of Operation) to resolve an 

extreme order imbalance that may result 

in a price dislocation at the close as a 

result of an order entered into Exchange 

systems, or represented to a Designated 

Market Maker (‘‘DMM’’) orally at or near 

the close. The provisions of NYSE Amex 

Equities Rule 123C(9)(a)(1) operate as 

the Extreme Order Imbalance Pilot. 

As a condition of the approval to 

operate the Pilot, the Exchange 

committed to provide the Commission 

with information regarding: (i) How 

often an NYSE Amex Equities Rule 52 

temporary suspension pursuant to the 

Pilot was invoked during the six months 

following its approval; and (ii) the 

Exchange’s determination as to how to 

proceed with technical modifications to 

reconfigure Exchange systems to accept 

orders electronically after 4 p.m. 

During the operation of the Pilot, the 

Exchange believed that the systems 

modifications to allow Exchange 

systems to accept orders electronically 

after 4 p.m. would not be as onerous as 

previously believed when the Pilot was 

initially commenced. The Exchange 

completed the system modifications 

necessary to accept orders electronically 

after 4 p.m. and began the process of 

testing the modifications. The Exchange 

therefore filed to extend the Extreme 

Order Imbalance Pilot until the earlier 

of SEC approval to make such Pilot 

permanent or December 1, 2010.7 At the 

time, the Exchange anticipated that its 

quality assurance review process would 

be completed by December 1, 2010 and 

it would be able to operate under the 

new system. The quality assurance 

review determined that additional 

testing was required in order to assure 

the optimal functioning of the system 

modifications. 

Proposal To Extend the Operation of the 

Extreme Order Imbalance Pilot 

The Exchange established the Extreme 

Order Imbalance Pilot to create a 

mechanism for ensuring a fair and 

orderly close when interest is received 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
79428 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 243 / Monday, December 20, 2010 / Notices 

8See e-mail from Theodore Lazo, Vice President, 

Legal and Government Affairs, NYSE Euronext, to 

David Liu, Senior Special Counsel, Division of 

Trading and Markets, Commission, and Nathan 

Saunders, Special Counsel, Division of Trading and 

Markets, Commission, dated December 13, 2010 

(‘‘NYSE Euronext Email’’). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). In addition, Rule 

19b–4(f)(6)(iii) requires that a self- regulatory 

organization submit to the Commission written 

notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change, 

along with a brief description and text of the 

proposed rule change, at least five business days 

prior to the filing of the proposed rule change, or 

such shorter time as designated by the Commission. 

The Commission notes that the Exchange has 

satisfied this requirement. 

12See NYSE Euronext E-mail, supra note 8. 

13For purposes only of waiving the 30-day 

operative delay, the Commission has considered the 

proposed rule’s impact on efficiency, competition, 

and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

at or near the close that could negatively 

affect the closing transaction. The 

Exchange believes that this tool has 

proved very useful to resolve an extreme 

order imbalance that may result in a 

closing price dislocation at the close as 

a result of an order entered into 

Exchange systems, or represented to a 

DMM orally at or near the close. 

NYSE Amex Equities Rule 123C(9) 

was intended to be and has been 

invoked to attract offsetting interest in 

rare circumstances where there exists an 

extreme imbalance at the close such that 

a DMM is unable to close the security 

without significantly dislocating the 

price. This is evidenced by the fact that 

during the course of the Pilot to date, 

the Exchange invoked the provisions of 

NYSE Amex Equities Rule 123C(9), 

including the provisions of the Extreme 

Order Imbalance Pilot pursuant to NYSE 

Amex Equities Rule 123C(9)(a)(1), in 

two securities on June 26, 2009, the date 

of the annual rebalancing of Russell 

Indexes. Rule 123C(9) has not been 

invoked at the Exchange since that time. 

The Exchange proposes to extend the 

operation of the pilot for a six-month 

period. At this time, the Exchange is 

completing testing of functionality that 

would enable the electronic acceptance 

of orders after 4 p.m. If the tests are 

successful, the Exchange expects to be 

able to implement the new functionality 

by the end of December 2010. If the 

Exchange does not believe it will be able 

to implement the new functionality by 

the end of December 2010, it will work 

with the Commission to set a new target 

date for implementation as soon as 

practicable thereafter. In conjunction 

with the new functionality, the 

Exchange plans to file a proposed rule 

change to amend Rule 123C(9) to 

remove the limitation set forth in Rule 

123C(9)(a)(1)(iii) that only Floor brokers 

can represent interest after 4 p.m. and 

to make Rule 123C(9) permanent.8

2. Statutory Basis 

The basis under the Act for this 

proposed rule change is the requirement 

under Section 6(b)(5) 9 that an Exchange 

have rules that are designed to promote 

just and equitable principles of trade, to 

remove impediments to and perfect the 

mechanism of a free and open market 

and a national market system and, in 

general, to protect investors and the 

public interest. The Exchange believes 

that this filing is consistent with these 

principles. Specifically, an extension 

will allow the Exchange to determine 

the efficacy of providing any additional 

functionality under this Pilot rule. The 

Pilot operates to protect investors and 

the public interest by ensuring that the 

closing price at the Exchange is not 

significantly dislocated from the last 

sale price by virtue of an extreme order 

imbalance at or near the close. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days from the date on 

which it was filed, or such shorter time 

as the Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 10 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.11 The Exchange 

has asked the Commission to waive the 

30-day operative delay so that the 

proposal may become operative 

immediately upon filing. The Exchange 

has represented that it is completing 

testing of a functionality that would 

enable the electronic acceptance of 

orders after 4 p.m., and if successful, the 

Exchange expects to be able to 

implement the new functionality by the 

end of December 2010. If the Exchange 

will not be able to implement the new 

functionality by that date, it will work 

with the Commission to set a new target 

date for implementation. The Exchange 

also has represented that it plans to file 

a proposed rule change to amend Rule 

123C(9) to make the pilot permanent 

and to remove the limitation that only 

Floor brokers can represent interest after 

4 p.m.12

The Commission believes that 

waiving the 30-day operative delay is 

consistent with the protection of 

investors and the public interest 

because it will allow the pilot to 

continue uninterrupted, thereby 

permitting offsetting interest 

represented by floor brokers to alleviate 

extreme order imbalances occurring at 

the close until the Exchange is able to 

allow the electronic submission of such 

interest after 4 p.m. in such 

circumstances.13 Accordingly, the 

Commission waives the 30-day 

operative delay requirement and 

designates the proposed rule change 

operative upon filing with the 

Commission. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

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–NYSEAmex–2010–113 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 SR–NYSEAmex–2010–113. 

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 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 243 / Monday, December 20, 2010 / Notices 79429 

14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein 

shall have the meanings prescribed within the BOX 

Rules. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 53516 

(March 20, 2006), 71 FR 15232 (March 27, 2006) 

(SR–BSE–2006–14); 54082 (June 30, 2006), 71 FR 

38913 (July 10, 2006) (SR–BSE–2006–29); 54469 

(September 19, 2006), 71 FR 56201 (September 26, 

2006) (SR–BSE–2006–38); 55139 (January 19, 2007), 

72 FR 3448 (January 25, 2007) (SR–BSE–2007–01); 

56014 (July 5, 2007), 72 FR 38104 (July 12, 2007) 

(SR–BSE–2007–31); 57195 (January 24, 2008), 73 FR 

5610 (January 30, 2008) (SR–BSE–2008–04); 59311 

(January 28, 2009), 74 FR 6071 (February 4, 2009) 

(SR–BX–2009–007); 59983 (May 27, 2009), 74 FR 

26445 (June 2, 2009) (SR–BX–2009–027); 61065 

(November 25, 2009), 74 FR 62860 (December 1, 

2009) (SR–BX–2009–076); 61577 (February 24, 

2010), 75 FR 9464 (March 2, 2010) (SR–BX–2010– 

017); 61929 (April 16, 2010), 75 FR 21085 (April 22, 

2010) (SR–BX–2010–031) and 62366 (June 23, 

2010), 75 FR 37863 (June 30, 2010) (SR–BX–2010– 

041). 

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 

Exchange. All comments received will 

be posted without change; the 

Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

publicly available. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR– 

NYSEAmex–2010–113 and should be 

submitted on or before January 10, 2011. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.14

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–31816 Filed 12–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–63539; File No. SR–BX– 

2010–079] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

of Proposed Rule Change To Amend 

Chapter IV of the BOX Rules To Allow 

Executing Participants To Provide BOX 

a List of the Order Flow Providers for 

Which the Executing Participants Will 

Provide Directed Order Services 

December 14, 2010. 

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 December 

3, 2010, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’) 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 self-regulatory organization. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Chapter IV, Section 5 (Obligations of 

Market Makers) of the Rules of the 

Boston Options Exchange Group, LLC 

(‘‘BOX’’) to allow Executing Participants 

(‘‘EP’’) 3 to provide BOX a list of the 

Order Flow Providers (‘‘OFP’’) for which 

the EP will provide Directed Order 

services. The text of the proposed rule 

change is available on the Exchange’s 

Web site at http:// 

nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com/ 

NASDAQOMXBX/Filings/, on the 

Commission’s Web site at http:// 

www.sec.gov, at the Exchange, 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 

self-regulatory organization 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 self-regulatory organization 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 

Under the BOX’s Directed Order 

process, Market Makers on BOX are able 

to handle orders on an agency basis 

directed to them by OFPs. An OFP 

sends a Directed Order to BOX with a 

designation of the Market Maker to 

whom the order is to be directed. BOX 

then routes the Directed Order to the 

appropriate Market Maker. Under 

Chapter VI, Section 5(c)(ii) of the BOX 

Rules, a Market Maker only has two 

choices when he receives a Directed 

Order: (1) Submit the order to the PIP 

process; or (2) send the order back to 

BOX for placement onto the BOX Book. 

Chapter VI, Section 5(c)(i) prohibits a 

Market Maker from rejecting a Directed 

Order. This means that upon 

systematically indicating its desire to 

accept Directed Orders, the BOX system 

prevents a Market Maker that receives a 

Directed Order from either rejecting the 

receipt of the Directed Order from the 

BOX Trading Host or rejecting the 

Directed Order back to the OFP who 

sent it. A Market Maker who desires to 

accept Directed Orders must 

systemically indicate that it is an EP 

whenever the Market Maker wishes to 

receive Directed Orders from the BOX 

Trading Host. If a Market Maker does 

not systemically indicate that it is an 

EP, then the BOX Trading Host will not 

forward any Directed Orders to that 

Market Maker. In such a case, the BOX 

Trading Host will send the order 

directly to the BOX Book. 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Chapter VI, Section 5(c)(i) (Directed 

Order Process) of the BOX Rules to 

allow EPs to provide BOX a list of OFPs 

for which the EP will provide Directed 

Order services. Under the proposal, 

prior to accepting any Directed Order 

through the Trading Host, an EP must 

inform BOX of the OFPs from whom it 

has agreed to accept Directed Orders 

(‘‘Listed OFPs’’ or ‘‘LOFPs’’). The Trading 

Host will then only send to the EP 

Directed Orders from LOFPs. In 

addition, unlike all other orders 

submitted to the BOX Trading Host, 

Directed Orders are not anonymous 

based on a pilot program discussed in 

BSE–2006–14.4 This practice will 

continue under this proposed rule 

change because BOX proposes that the 

BOX Trading Host will reveal to the EP 

the participant ID of the OFP sending 

the Directed Order. Shortly after the 

filing of this proposed rule change, the 

original proposal relating to the nonVerDate Mar<15>2010 17:18 Dec 17, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\20DEN1.SGM 20DEN1

jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES