Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 28089 

20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(34). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 In Amendment No. 1, the Exchange clarified 

that pursuant to Article IV, Section 1(d) of the 

Amex Constitution, applicants for associate 

membership are also currently required to provide 

five letters of reference. 

4Article IV, Section 1(d) of the Amex 

Constitution provides that applications for associate 

membership shall be in a form and manner 

prescribed by the Exchange. The Exchange also 

currently requires associate member applicants to 

provide five letters of reference, as is set forth in 

Rule 353. 

5The Exchange stated that it intends to reduce 

the requirement for associate membership 

applicants from five to two letters of reference to 

correspond with the proposed change effecting 

regular, options principal members or LTP holders. 

Telephone conversation among Nyieri Nazarian, 

Associate General Counsel, Amex; Jennifer Colihan, 

Special Counsel, Commission, Division of Market 

Regulation (‘‘Division’’); and Kristie Diemer, 

Special Counsel, Commission, Division on May 2, 

2007. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

It is therefore ordered that CBOE is 

relieved of those responsibilities 

allocated to the NASD under the Plan in 

File No. 4–536. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.20

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–9569 Filed 5–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55756; File No. SR–Amex2007–42] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice 

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change as 

Modified by Amendment No. 1 

Amending the Required Number of 

Letters of Reference an Applicant Must 

Provide 

May 14, 2007. 

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 26, 

2007, the American Stock Exchange LLC 

(‘‘Amex’’ 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 

substantially prepared by Amex. On 

May 3, 2007, Amex submitted 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 

change.3 The Commission is publishing 

this notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change, as amended, from 

interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Amex Rule 353 to require member 

applicants to provide two, instead of 

five, letters of reference. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available at the 

Amex’s Office of the Secretary, at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 

and on the Amex’s Web site at http:// 

www.amex.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, 

Amex 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. Amex 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 

Amex Rule 353 currently requires a 

member applicant to provide five letters 

of reference from any person seeking 

status as a regular, options principal 

member or LTP holder.4 The Exchange 

proposes to amend Rule 353 to require 

member applicants to provide two, as 

opposed to five, letters of reference from 

responsible persons.5 Requiring five 

letters of reference has proven 

burdensome and time-consuming for 

member applicants and often delays the 

application process. Furthermore, the 

content of such references is of little 

consequence in an applicant’s ultimate 

approval. Finally, with the availability 

of more objective background 

information provided through other 

resources, such as WEBCRD, FBI 

fingerprints, and credit reports, Amex 

believes that the need for these letters of 

reference has largely been diminished. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6 of the Act 6 in general and 

furthers the objectives of Section 

6(b)(5) 7 in particular in that it is 

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 

facilitating transactions in securities, 

and to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

This proposed rule change does not 

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 

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 Amex 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. 

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–Amex–2007–42 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–Amex–2007–42. This file 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
28090 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53621 

(April 10, 2006), 71 FR 19568 (April 14, 2006) (SR–

CBOE–2006–32). 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53930 

(June 1, 2006), 71 FR 33322 (June 8, 2006) (SR–

CBOE–2006–56). 

7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54347 

(August 22, 2006), 71 FR 51242 (August 29, 2006) 

(SR–CBOE–2006–72). 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54876 

(December 5, 2006), 71 FR 74968 (December 13, 

2006) (SR–CBOE–2006–103). 

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

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

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 inspection and copying in 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room. Copies of such filing also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of the Amex. 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–Amex–2007–42 and should 

be submitted on or before June 8, 2007. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.8

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–9570 Filed 5–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55758; File No. SR–CBOE–

2007–43] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change Relating to the Extension 

of the Pilot Period Applicable to 

CBOE’s Listing and Trading of Options 

on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets 

Index Fund 

May 14, 2007. 

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 3, 

2007, 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 

substantially prepared by the Exchange. 

The Exchange filed the proposed rule 

change as a ‘‘non-controversial’’

proposed rule change pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A) 3 of the Act and Rule 

19b–4(f)(6) thereunder,4 which renders 

the proposal effective upon filing with 

the Commission. 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 extend the 

pilot period applicable to CBOE’s listing 

and trading of options on the iShares 

MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund 

(‘‘Fund Options’’). CBOE is not 

proposing any textual changes to its 

rules. 

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. 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 April 10, 2006, the Commission 

approved a CBOE proposal to list and 

trade Fund Options for a sixty-day pilot 

period that was due to expire on June 

9, 2006 (‘‘Pilot’’).5 On June 1, 2006, the 

Pilot was extended for an additional 90 

days, until September 7, 2006.6 On 

August 22, 2006, the Pilot was extended 

for an additional 90 days, until 

December 7, 2006.7 On December 5, 

2006, the Pilot was extended for an 

additional six months, until June 7, 

2007.8

CBOE now proposes to extend the 

Pilot for an additional six months, until 

December 7, 2007. The Exchange 

represents that the Fund Options 

continue to meet substantially all of the 

listing and maintenance standards in 

CBOE Rules 5.3.06 and 5.4.08, 

respectively. For the requirements that 

are not met, the Exchange represents 

that sufficient mechanisms exist that 

would provide the Exchange with 

adequate surveillance and regulatory 

information with respect to the Fund. 

Continuation of the Pilot would permit 

the Exchange to continue to work with 

the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores to 

develop a surveillance sharing 

agreement. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6(b) of the Act,9 in general, and 

furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) 

of the Act,10 in particular, because it is 

designed to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices, and, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change would 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 

The Exchange has neither solicited 

nor received written comments on the 

proposed rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the 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 after the date of 

filing (or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate if consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest), the proposed rule 

change has become effective pursuant to 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES