Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36481

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 40736

(December 1, 1998), 63 FR 68323 (December 10,

1998) (File No. SR–CBOE–98–37).

Closed meetings will be held on

Monday, June 12, 2000 at 10:30 a.m. and

on Thursday, June 15, 2000 at 11 a.m.

Commissioners, Counsel to the

Commissioners, the Secretary to the

Commission, and recording secretaries

will attend the closed meetings. Certain

staff members who have an interest in

the matters may also be present.

The General Counsel of the

Commission, or his designee, has

certified that, in his opinion, one or

more of the exemptions set forth in 5

U.S.C. 552b(c)(4), (8), (9)(A) and (10)

and 17 CFR 200.402(a) (4), (8), (9) (A)

and (10), permit consideration for the

scheduled matters at the closed

meetings.

The subject matter of the closed

meeting scheduled for Monday, June 12,

2000 will be:

• An administrative proceeding of an

enformcement nature.

The subject matter of the closed

meeting scheduled for Thursday, June

15, 2000 will be:

• Institution of injunctive actions;

and

• Institution and settlement of

adminstrative proceedings of an

enforcement nature.

At times, changes in Commission

priorities require alterations in the

scheduling of meetng items. For further

information and to ascertain what, if

any, matters have been added, deleted

or postponed, please contact: the Office

of the Secretary at (202) 942–7070.

Dated: June 5, 2000.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14535 Filed 6–5–00; 4:19 pm]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

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Sunshine Act Meeting

FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION OF PREVIOUS

ANNOUNCEMENT: Published elsewhere in

this issue.

STATUS: Closed meeting.

PLACE: 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, D.C.

DATE PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED: June 5,

2000.

CHANGE IN THE MEETING: Cancellation of

Meeting.

The closed meeting scheduled for

Thursday, June 15, 2000 at 11 a.m. has

been canceled.

Dated: June 6, 2000.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14581 Filed 6–6–00; 11:10 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

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[Release No. 34–42862; File No. SR–CBOE–

00–10]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the Chicago Board Options Exchange,

Incorporated To Permit the Chairman

of the Appropriate Floor Procedure

Committee To Exercise the Authority

of the Committee To Decrease the Size

of Orders Eligible for Entry Into the

Retail Automatic Execution System

During Unusual Market Conditions

May 30, 2000.

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 March 28,

2000, the Chicago Board Options

Exchange, Incorporated (‘‘CBOE’’ or

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change as described in Items I, II, and

III below, which Items have been

prepared by the CBOE. 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 CBOE proposes to amend its rules

to permit the Chairman of the

appropriate Floor Procedure Committee

(‘‘FPC’’), or the Chairman’s designee, to

exercise the authority of the Committee

to decrease the size of orders eligible for

entry into CBOE’s Retail Automatic

Execution System (‘‘RAES’’) during

unusual market conditions.

The text of the proposed rule change

is available at the Office of the

Secretary, CBOE and at the Commission.

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

CBOE 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 CBOE 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

On December 1, 1998, the

Commission approved a CBOE rule

change that allowed the Chairman of the

appropriate FPC, or the Chairman’s

designee, to exercise the authority of the

FPC to increase the size of orders

eligible for entry into RAES.3 This

measure, which has been successfully

utilized at the Exchange, is exercised

when the Chairman, or his/her designee,

believes that taking such action could

alleviate a potential backlog of

unexecuted orders where an option

class is experiencing a large influx of

orders. It has allowed the Exchange to

react more quickly and efficiently to

potential backlog situations. However,

CBOE rules do not currently allow the

Chairman to decrease the contract size

limit for orders eligible for entry into

RAES (an ability that the FPC maintains

pursuant to CBOE Rule 6.8(e)).

The Exchange now proposes to amend

its rules to allow the Chairman of the

appropriate FPC, or the Chairman’s

designee, to exercise the authority of the

FPC to decrease the size of orders

eligible for entry into RAES for equity

option classes during unusual market

conditions.

Exchange Rule 6.8(a)(i) states, ‘‘the

appropriate Floor Procedure Committee

shall determine the size of orders

eligible for entry into RAES.’’ Paragraph

(e) of CBOE Rule 6.8 states that

‘‘[e]ligible orders must be for fifty or

fewer contracts on series placed on the

system * * *. The appropriate FPC, in

its discretion, may determine to restrict

the size and kind of eligible orders,

including but not limited to, lowering

contract limits.’’ The FPCs, particularly

the Equity Floor Procedure Committee

(‘‘EFPC’’), have discovered through

experience in overseeing the operation

of RAES, that it is sometimes necessary

to temporarily reduce the eligible order

size levels (which are amounts that the

Exchange has been aggressively

increasing in recent years) in situations

where unusual market conditions exist.

However, the decision to decrease the

RAES eligible order size to address

these unusual market situations must be

made quickly to be effective. Because

the EFPC commonly consists of twenty

or more members who conduct business

in all parts of the floor, it is not

practicable to provide notice to all the

36482 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices

4 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 5 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3Nasdaq originally filed the proposal of May 11,

2000, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act. 15

U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). On May 17, 2000, Nasdaq

submitted a letter from Robert E. Aber, Senior Vice

President and General Counsel, Nasdaq, to Alton

Harvey, Division of Market Regulation,

Commission, amending the proposal (‘‘Amendment

No. 1’’). In Amendment No. 1, Nasdaq requested

that the Commission consider the proposal under

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act. 15 U.S.C.

78s(b)(3)(A). Because Nasdaq amended the proposal

to file it under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act, the

Commission considers the proposal re-filed as of

the date of the amendment. Therefore, the date of

the amendment is deemed the date of the filing of

the proposal.

members of the Committee and convene

a meeting to make these decisions. It is

also not practicable to expect these

members to monitor the situation when

they are trying to conduct a business on

the floor that requires their attention.

Intra-day meetings are not only

impracticable to convene but would

distract these members from the

conduct of their business on the floor.

Consequently, the EFPC has

determined to delegate its authority

under CBOE Rule 6.8 to the Chairman

of the EFPC, or to the Chairman’s

designee, to decrease the eligible order

size for RAES in unusual market

conditions provided that the Chairman

or his designee believes the action is

warranted and provided the decision is

made for no more than one trading day

(as is currently the case for the

Chairman increasing the order size

eligibility for RAES). As proposed, to

the extent the conditions exist on the

following trading day, the Chairman or

his designee must review the situation

and make an independent decision to

decrease the RAES eligible order size for

that subsequent day. Further, any

decisions made by the Chairman or his

designee to decrease the RAES eligible

order size for a particular option class

for consecutive days will be reviewed

by the FPC at its next regularly

scheduled meeting. After reviewing

these decisions the FPC can provide

guidance to the Chairman or his

designee about the use of this authority

if they feel it is appropriate.

2. Statutory Basis

By allowing the Chairman of the

appropriate FPC or his designee to make

decisions to decrease the eligible order

size for RAES, the Exchange can sustain

the operation of RAES during unusual

market conditions in an efficient

manner. The filing, therefore, is

consistent with and furthers the

objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act 4

in that it is 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 to

protect investors and the public interest.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The CBOE does not believe that the

proposed rule change will impose any

burden on competition 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

Within 35 days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period:

(i) As the Commission may designate up

to 90 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding; or

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory

organization consents, the Commission

will:

(A) by order approve such proposed

rule change, or

(B) institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the proposed rule

change is consistent with the Act.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street NW,

Washington, DC 20549–0609. Copies of

the submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

change that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be

available for inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Section, 450 Fifth Street NW,

Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such

filing will also be available for

inspection and copying at the principal

office of the CBOE. All submissions

should refer to SR–CBOE–00–10 and

should be submitted by June 29, 2000.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.5

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14405 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

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[Release No. 34–42869; File No. SR–NASD–

00–28]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness

of Proposed Rule Change by the

National Association of Securities

Dealers, Inc. Relating to TradeReporting of Average-Price Trades in

Nasdaq-Listed Securities

May 31, 2000.

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 May 17,

2000, the National Association of

Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’ or

‘‘Association’’), through its wholly

owned subsidiary the Nasdaq Stock

Market, Inc. (‘‘Nasdaq’’), filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change as described in Items I, II, and

III below, which Items have been

prepared by Nasdaq. On May 17, 2000,

Nasdaq submitted Amendment No. 1 to

the proposed rule change.3 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

Nasdaq proposes to require all

transaction in Nasdaq-listed securities

that are done on a weighted average

basis or effected based on other specialpricing formulae, to be reported with a

special .W indicator. Proposed deletions

are in brackets.

* * * * *

Rule 4632. Transaction Reporting

(a)(1)–(5) No Change.

(6) All members shall report [agency cross]

transactions occurring at prices based on

average-weighting or other special-pricing

formulae to Nasdaq using a special indicator,

as designated by the Association and set out

in the Symbol Directory.