Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 / Notices 20225

the Use of Panoramic Dry SourceStorage Irradiators, Self-Contained Wet

Source-Storage, and Panoramic Wet

Source-Storage Irradiators,’’ dated

December 27, 1984. In addition, this

draft report also contains pertinent

information found in Technical

Assistance Requests and Information

Notices.

This draft report is for public

comment only, and is NOT for use in

preparing or reviewing applications for

10 CFR Part 36 irradiators until it is

published in final form. It is being

distributed for comment to encourage

public participation in its development.

DATES: The comment period ends July

22, 1998. Comments received after that

time will be considered if practicable.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch,

Division of Administrative Services,

Office of Administration, U. S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555–0001. Hand deliver

comments to 11545 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland, between 7:15 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m. on Federal workdays.

Comments may also be submitted

through the Internet by addressing

electronic mail to DLM1@NRC.GOV.

Those considering public comment

may request a free single copy of draft

NUREG–1556, Volume 6, by writing to

the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, ATTN: Mrs. Sally L.

Merchant, Mail Stop TWFN 8F5,

Washington, DC 20555–0001.

Alternatively, submit requests through

the Internet by addressing electronic

mail to SLM2@NRC.GOV. A copy of

draft NUREG–1556, Volume 6, is also

available for inspection and/or copying

for a fee in the NRC Public Document

Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower

Level), Washington, DC 20555–0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs.

Sally L. Merchant, Mail Stop TWFN 8–

F5, Division of Industrial and Medical

Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear

Materials Safety and Safeguards, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301)

415–7874; electronic mail address:

SLM2@NRC.GOV.

Electronic Access

Draft NUREG–1556, Vol. 6 is also

available electronically by visiting

NRC’s Home Page (http://www.nrc.gov/

NRC/nucmat.html).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day

of April, 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Donald A. Cool,

Director, Division of Industrial and Medical

Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 98–10846 Filed 4–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–39878; File No. SR–Amex–

98–18]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness

of Proposed Rule Change by the

American Stock Exchange, Inc.,

Relating to the Elimination of Fixed

Percentage Tests for Trading Halts in

Index Options

April 16, 1998.

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’), 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1), notice is

hereby given that on April 10, 1998, the

American Stock Exchange, Incorporated

(the ‘‘Amex’’ or 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 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 Amex proposes to amend

Exchange Rule 918C to eliminate certain

fixed percentage tests that presently

apply to the decision to halt trading in

index options as well as the decision to

resume trading after such a halt. The

text of the proposed rule change is

available at the Office of the Secretary,

Amex 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

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. The 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 the

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

1. Purpose

The Exchange seeks to amend

Exchange Rule 918C, ‘‘Trading Halts or

Suspensions,’’ to eliminate certain fixed

percentage tests that presently apply to

the decision to halt trading in index

options as well as the decision to

resume trading after such a halt.

a. Trading halts. Currently, under

Exchange Rule 918C, one of the

enumerated factors that the designated

Exchange officials may consider in

deciding whether to halt trading in an

index option is whether trading has

been halted or suspended in underlying

stocks whose weighted value represents

‘‘20% or more of the current index

group value.’’ The Exchange is

concerned that by including a fixed

percentage test among those factors that

‘‘may be considered,’’ the present rule

may imply that it would be improper for

the designated Exchange officials to

consider trading interruptions in

underlying stocks whose weighted value

represents less than 20% of the index

value.

The Exchange believes such an

interpretation would conflict with the

purpose of Exchange Rule 918C, which

grants designated Exchange officials the

discretion to halt index option trading

whenever they ‘‘deem such action

appropriate in the interest of a fair and

orderly market or to protect investors.’’

Because Exchange Rule 918C(b) sets

forth a non-exclusive list of factors that

Exchange officials may consider in

exercising that discretion, the Exchange

contends it would be inappropriate to

prohibit those officials from considering

trading disruptions in underlying stocks

that fall below a predetermined level.

Accordingly, the proposed rule change

would clarify that Exchange officials, in

evaluating whether to halt trading in

index options, are not limited to

situations in which 20% of the

underlying stocks have halted, but

rather may consider ‘‘the extent to

which’’ trading is not occurring in the

underlying stocks.

In addition, the proposed rule change

would provide Exchange officials with

the flexibility to consider not only

whether trading in underlying stocks

has been ‘‘halted or suspended,’’ but

also whether such trading is ‘‘not

occurring.’’ The term ‘‘halted or

suspended’’ indicates that Exchange

authorities have taken formal action to

discontinue trading in a stock. However,

in deciding whether to continue trading

a derivative instrument like an index
20226 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 / Notices

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(e)(6).

5 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

option, Exchange officials should be

able to consider the full extent to which

underlying stocks are not trading,

whether trading is not occurring

because of formal exchange action,

systemic problems, market emergencies,

or other cause. The proposed rule

change would clarify that in

determining whether to halt index

option trading, Exchange officials may

consider the extent to which ‘‘trading is

not occurring’’ in the underlying stocks,

without limiting that consideration to

formal halts or suspensions.

The Exchange also believes that

Exchange Rule 918C may imply that the

Exchange is required to calculate, on an

ongoing basis, the extent to which

stocks underlying a subject index are

trading. The Exchange contends that

such calculations would be difficult to

perform on a real time basis for those

indexes comprised of a large number of

stocks (e.g., the S&P MidCap 400 Index,

which consists of 400 stocks). The

removal of the fixed percentage tests

from Exchange Rule 918C is expected to

rectify any misperception regarding the

Exchange’s duty to maintain and

calculate trading information for stocks

underlying an index on which options

are traded.

b. Resumption of trading after trading

halts. Currently, trading may resume

when the designated Exchange officials

determine that (i) the conditions that led

to the halt no longer are present; (ii)

underlying securities constituting 50%

or more of the stock index value are not

subject to halt or suspension in the

primary market for the trading of such

underlying securities; and (iii) two floor

governors in consultation with a senior

executive officer of the Exchange

conclude in their best judgment that the

interests of a fair and orderly market are

served by a resumption of trading. The

proposed rule change would eliminate

the provision in Exchange Rule

918C(b)(ii) that makes trading in a fixed

percentage of stocks underlying an

index a prerequisite to the resumption

of index options trading after a trading

halt.

The Exchange will continue its

practice of assessing the extent to which

underlying stocks are trading in

deciding whether to resume trading

after an index options trading halt.

However, the Exchange believes it is

inappropriate to delay the resumption of

trading until the level of trading in

stocks underlying an index has reached

a predetermined, fixed level,

particularly since it often may be

difficult to make a precise

determination of trading activity for

indexes with a large number of

constituent stocks.

Accordingly, the proposed rule

change would eliminate the 50% fixed

test and instead would specify that one

of the factors that Exchange officials

may consider in determining whether

the ‘‘interests of a fair and orderly

market are served by a resumption of

trading’’ is ‘‘the extent to which trading

is occurring in stocks underlying the

index.’’

The proposed rule change would

enable the Exchange to resume trading

as soon as conditions warrant, without

interposing an artificial barrier that

might result from a fixed percentage

test. The Exchange believes the

proposed rule change continues to

provide Exchange officials with the

opportunity to give appropriate weight

to the extent to which underlying stocks

are trading.

2. Statutory Basis

The proposed rule change is

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act,1

in general, and furthers the objectives of

Section 6(b)(5),2 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

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rule change will impose

any burden on competition.

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 is based on substantively

identical rules governing halting and

resumption of trading in index options

in place at the Chicago Board Options

Exchange, Inc. (See Securities Exchange

Act Release No. 39480 (December 22,

1997) 62 FR 68327 (December 31, 1997)

and: (1) does not significantly affect the

protection of investors or the public

interest; (2) does not impose any

significant burden on competition; (3)

does not become operative for 30 days

from April 10, 1998, the date on which

it was filed, and the Exchange provided

the Commission with written notice of

its intent to file the proposed rule

change at least five business days prior

to the filing date, it has become effective

pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the

Act 3 and Rule 19b–4(e)(6) 4 thereunder.

At any time within 60 days of the filing

of the proposed rule change, the

Commission may summarily abrogate

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 the 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.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. 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, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such

filing will also be available for

inspection and copying at the principal

office of the Amex. All submissions

should refer to SR–Amex–98–18 and

should be submitted by May 14, 1998.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.5

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–10753 Filed 4–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M