27148 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 98 / Monday, May 22, 1995 / Notices

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) (1988).

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4 (1994).

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35393 (Feb.

17, 1995), 60 FR 10625 (Feb. 27, 1995).

4The computer facilities that support the

operations of Nasdaq are owned and operated by

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (‘‘NSMI’’), a whollyowned subsidiary of the NASD. Among other

things, NSMI is responsible for the collection,

processing, and the distribution of real-time

quotation and transaction data originated by brokerdealer participants in Nasdaq and the OTC Bulletin

Board (‘‘OTCBB’’) service.

5While this service is designed primarily in

response to requests of member firms, any

commercial data vendors that might wish to offer

this type of service will also be accommodated.

6 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(a)(1).

7 Id. § 78o–3(b)(5).

8NASD Manual, Schedules to the By-Laws,

Schedule D, Part VIII, Sec. A(8)(a), (CCH ¶ 1850).

September 8, 1995— Expiration of the

Commission’s 120-day decisional

schedule [see 39 U.S.C. § 404(b)(5)]

[FR Doc. 95–12496 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–35721; File No. SR–NASD–

95–7]

Self-Regulatory Organizations;

National Association of Securities

Dealers, Inc.; Order Approving

Proposed Rule Change Relating to a

Query-Based Vendor Fee for

Distribution of Certain Market

Information

May 16, 1995.

I. Introduction

On February 3, 1995, the National

Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

(‘‘NASD’’ or ‘‘Association’’) filed with

the Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)

a proposed rule change pursuant to

Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule

19b–4 thereunder.2 The NASD seeks to

establish a fee of $.01/query for delivery

on a non-continuous basis of certain

market information. The fee will take

effect within 90 days of this order and

will be incorporated into Schedule D to

the NASD By-Laws, Part VIII, Section C.

Notice of the proposed rule change

appeared in the Federal Register on

February 27, 1995.3 No comments were

received in response to the Commission

release. This order approves the

proposed rule change.

II. Description of the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

NASD indicated that the purpose of this

rule change is to establish a single fee

for members and vendors wishing to

provide basic, real-time market data to

low volume users. Specifically, the

service will provide real-time inside

bid/ask and last sale information for

securities included in The Nasdaq Stock

Market (‘‘Nasdaq’’), various Nasdaq

indices, and similar quotation and

transaction information on over-thecounter (‘‘OTC’’) equity securities.4

The NASD submitted this proposal in

response to requests from several

member firms seeking to provide retail

customers with a cost-effective

alternative to calling their brokers for

current market information.5 Typically,

these investors are not interested in

subscribing to a costly service offered by

a commercial vendor which frequently

includes analytic information, ticker

displays, and dynamically-updated

quotation and transaction information.

With the information to be available

through this new service, individual

investors will be able better to monitor

the value of a portfolio, track intra-day

activity in a given stock to facilitate an

investment decision, or observe a

market trend based on periodic queries

for the current level of a popular stock

index.

The service covered by this proposal

will be limited to ‘‘snapshots’’ of realtime information furnished in response

to a discrete query by the end user; this

information will not be dynamically

updated. The end user, therefore, will

have to make individual queries to

obtain, for example, the most current

quotation/last sale information on his/

her portfolio of securities at various

times during the trading day. This

characteristic differentiates the instant

service from most vendor offerings,

which provide a continuous broadcast

of real-time information with dynamic

updating to authorized display devices.

On the other hand, this new service will

not require the end user to purchase

expensive dedicated hardware to obtain

the information.

The firm or vendor providing access

to the service to end users will be

responsible for monitoring query traffic

and remitting the appropriate amount to

NSMI. Vendors will provide the service

pursuant to a contract with NSMI, under

which NSMI will be permitted to

conduct periodic audits to ensure

payment of all monies due.

III. Discussion

The Commission believes that the

NASD’s proposal is consistent with the

requirements of the Act and the rules

and regulations thereunder applicable to

the NASD and, therefore, has

determined to approve the rule change.

Specifically, the Commission believes

that the proposed rule change is

consistent with the requirements of

Sections 11A(a)(1) 6 and 15A(b)(5) 7 of

the Act. Section 11A(a)(1) contains the

Congressional findings and objectives

respecting a national market system.

Among other things, the Congress

advocated the application of new

technologies to effect the widespread

dissemination of quotation and

transaction information to investors.

Section 15A(b)(5) requires the equitable

allocation of reasonable dues, fees, or

other charges among persons using any

facility or system which the NASD

operates or controls.

The proposed service and related fee

are designed to accommodate the

information needs of individual

investors, particularly small investors

who do not require the breadth of

market data and analytic information

that institutional investors and market

makers typically require. Using a

standard personal computer or other

telecommunications device, individual

investors will now be able to access

from their broker or a commercial

vendor real-time market information

regarding Nasdaq and OTC equity

securities. Accordingly, the Commission

finds that this new service will further

the objectives of Section 11A of the Act

by employing the latest technology to

provide widespread dissemination of

inside bid/ask and last sale information

to investors.

Further, this service will allow firms

and vendors to provide individual

investors cost-effective access to market

data without requiring users to acquire

expensive hardware. Currently, nonprofessionals must rely on stale market

data or pay a subscriber fee of $4/

month/interrogation device for receipt

of inside bid/ask and last sale prices 8

plus the cost of vendor supplied

equipment. The NASD’s experience is

that these costs tend to discourage

subscription by low-volume users. The

Commission believes that the $.01/

query fee is an equitable allocation of a

reasonable fee and that it will be

affordable to individual investors. The

Commission, therefore, finds that the

proposal is consistent with the Section

15A(b)(5) of the Act.

IV. Conclusion

For the reasons stated above, the

Commission finds that the proposed

rule change is consistent with the

requirements of the Act.

It Is Therefore Ordered, pursuant to

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, that the
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 98 / Monday, May 22, 1995 / Notices 27149

9 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

proposed rule change SR–NASD–95–7

be, and hereby is, approved.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.9

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–12459 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

[License No. 02/72–0560]

LEG Partners SBIC, L.P.; Notice of

Issuance of a Small Business

Investment Company License

On Friday, December 16, 1994, a

notice was published in the Federal

Register (Vol. 59, No. 241, FR 65115)

stating that an application had been

filed by LEG Partners SBIC, L.P., at 230

Park Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, NY

10169, with the Small Business

Administration (SBA) pursuant to

§ 107.102 of the Regulations governing

small business investment companies

(13 CFR 107.102 (1994)) for a license to

operate as a small business investment

company.

Interested parties were given until

close of business Monday, January 2,

1995 to submit their comments to SBA.

No comments were received.

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant

to section 301(c) of the Small Business

Investment Act of 1958, as amended,

after having considered the application

and all other pertinent information, SBA

issued License No. 02/72–0560 on April

6, 1995, to LEG Partners SBIC, L.P. to

operate as a small business investment

company.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 59.011, Small Business

Investment Companies)

Dated: May 16, 1995.

Robert D. Stillman,

Associate Administrator for Investment.

[FR Doc. 95–12479 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–M

[License No. 08/78–0150]

North Dakota Small Business

Investment Company. L.P.; Issuance of

a Small Business Investment Company

License

On January 24, 1995, a notice was

published in the Federal Register (60

FR 4653) stating that an application had

been filed by North Dakota Small

Business Investment Company, 502

First Avenue North, P.O. Box 1389,

Fargo, North Dakota 58107, with the

Small Business Administration (SBA)

pursuant to Section 107.102 of the

Regulations governing small business

investment companies (13 CFR 107.102

(1994)) for a license to operate as a small

business investment company.

Interested parties were given until

close of business February 8, 1995 to

submit their comments to SBA. No

negative comments were received.

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant

to Section 301(c) of the Small Business

Investment Act of 1958, as amended,

after having considered the application

and all other pertinent information, SBA

issued License No. 08/78–0150 on May

9, 1995, to North Dakota Small Business

Investment Company, L.P. to operate as

a small business investment company.

The Licensee has initial private

capital of $5.1 million, and Mr. David R.

Schroder will manage the fund. No

individual investor will own more than

10% of the licensee.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 59.011, Small Business

Investment Companies)

Dated: May 16, 1995.

Robert D. Stillman,

Associate Administrator for Investment.

[FR Doc. 95–12435 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

[T.D. 95–44]

Retraction of revocation Notice

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service,

Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: General Notice.

SUMMARY: The following Customs broker

license number was erroneously

included in a list of revoked Customs

brokers licenses in the Monday March

27, 1995, Federal Register Vol. 60, No

58.

Tory Erickson—12605

License 12605, issued in the Los

Angeles Customs district, remains a

valid license.

Dated: May 16, 1995.

Philip Metzger,

Director, Trade Compliance.

[FR Doc. 95–12465 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

[T.D. 95–43]

Retraction of Revocation Notice

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service,

Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

SUMMARY: The following Customs broker

license number was erroneously

included in a list of revoked Customs

brokers licenses in the Friday, April 28,

1995, Federal Register Vol. 60, No. 82.

Regina M. Farnin—11771

License 11771, issued in the Los

Angeles Customs district, remains a

valid license.

Dated: May 16, 1995.

Philip Metzger,

Director, Trade Compliance.

[FR Doc. 95–12466 Filed 5–19–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Environmental Impact Statement: Coal

Receiving Systems—Kingston Fossil

Plant

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley

Authority (TVA) will prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for a proposed coal receiving system at

its Kingston Fossil Plant located at the

confluence of the Clinch and Emory

Rivers near Kingston in east Tennessee.

Coal is currently delivered to

Harrisman, Tennessee by both Norfolk

Southern and CSX railroads and then is

transferred to a Norfolk Southern rail

line for shipment to the plant. This twoline transfer increases TVA’s fuel

transportation costs. As a result, TVA is

exploring alternative ways to deliver

fuels to the plant site. These alternatives

include overland conveying systems

(both straight-line and flexible) and a

new rail spur.

DATES: Comments on the scope of the

EIS must be received on or before June

30, 1995. TVA anticipates holding a

public meeting in Kingston or Harriman

in June to discuss the project and obtain

comments on the scope of the EIS. The

time and location of this meeting will be

announced in local news media.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Dale Wilhelm, National

Environmental Policy Act Liaison,

Tennessee Valley Authority, WT 8C,

400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville,

Tennessee 37902–1499.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Robinson, Fossil Fuels,

Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101