10624 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Notices

3BOE represents that if information of an

impending halts or suspension comes from the

trading crowed or from a source other than hard

information in the Control Room, the senior person

in charge of the Control Room would first verify it

before turning off RAES. To verify the existence of

a trading halt or suspension, the senior person

would rely upon hard information in the Control

Room including (1) the quote of the underlying

security being pulled from the Class Display Screen,

(2) an ST or H appearing on the Class Display

Screen via the Consolidated Tape Association, (3)

a print-out in the Control Room confirming the halt

or suspension of trading in the underlying security,

and (4) notification of the trading halt or suspension

via the ‘‘Hoot and Holler’’ system. The Hoot and

Holler system is a voice linkage between all of the

exchanges and the Commission. Telephone

conversation between Edward Joyce, CBOE, and

John Ayanian, Attorney, Office of Market

Supervision (‘‘OMS’’), Division of Market

Regulation (‘‘Division’’), Commission, on Thursday,

February 16, 1995.

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34126

(May 27, 1994), 59 FR 29309 (June 6, 1994)

(Approval Order giving the Order Book Officials or

the Post Director the authority to suspend trading,

and to turn off RAES for the affected options class

or class whenever trading in the underlying security

is halted). 5 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12) (1994).

charge of the Exchange’s Control Room

to turn off RAES with respect to a stock

option if that senior person confirms

that the Control Room has received a

credible indication (including, but not

limited to, information from the trading

crowd) 3 that trading in the underlying

stock has been halted or suspended.

After exercising such authority, that

senior person would need to

immediately seek confirmation of this

decision from two Floor Officials. The

purpose of this interpretation is to

prevent orders from being placed on

RAES during the interval after the

trading in the underlying stocks has

been halted or suspended but before two

Floor Officials have declared a trading

halt pursuant to Rule. 6.3(a) or before a

Post Director or Order Book Official has

suspended trading pursuant to

Interpretation .01 to Rule 6.3. This

interpretation is necessary because,

when a stock halts due to pending news,

the direction of the effect of the news

may be anticipated and, while Floor

Officials are being called to a post to

decide whether to halt trading, firms

could place an order on RAES which

could be detrimental to the market

makers signed onto the system. Under

the current Interpretations to Rule 6.3,

the Post Director or Order Book Official

must turn off RAES concurrently with

any suspension of trading. If an ‘‘ST’’

symbol (for an exchange listed security)

or an ‘‘H’’ symbol (for a security traded

primarily in the over-the-counter

market) is displayed on the Class

Display Screen that displays current

market information for the underlying

security, the Order Book Official or Post

Director may suspend trading in the

related equity option for a period not to

exceed five minutes and concurrently

shall turn off RAES applicable to the

affected options class or classes.4 The

Control Room, however, may receive

information that trading has stopped in

the underlying stock before the Post

Director or Order Book Official sees the

‘‘ST’’ symbol or ‘‘H’’ symbol on the

Class Display Screen for the underlying

stock. Consequently, it is important for

the Control Room to have authority to

turn off RAES without being required to

wait for the ‘‘ST’’ or ‘‘H’’ symbol to

appear on the class display screen or for

the Post Director or Order Book Official

to act.

The proposal would provide that the

Post Director, Order Book Official, or

their representative will re-start RAES

after the trading halt or suspension has

ceased. This would be consistent with

Rules 6.8(f) and 24.15(f), which provide

that each day RAES is available, a Post

Director or his representative will start

RAES.

Conclusion

CBOE believes that the proposed rule

changes are consistent with and further

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

Act, in that the rule changes are

designed to perfect the mechanism of a

free and open market and to protect

investors and the public interest by

enabling Floor Officials to evaluate and

consider market conditions and

circumstances in determining whether

to halt or suspend trading and in

deciding on a method to reopen trading

after a halt or suspension. CBOE

believes that the proposed rule change

regarding the authority of the Control

Room to turn off RAES with respect to

a stock option upon credible

information that trading in the

underlying stock has been halted is also

consistent with and furthers the

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

in that it is designed to perfect the

mechanism of a free and open market.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

CBOE does not believe that the

proposed rule changes will impose any

burden on competitions.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Changes Received from

Members, Participants or Others

No written comments were solicited

or received with respect to the proposed

rule changes.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Changes 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

80 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reason for so finding or (ii)

as to which the self-regulatory

organization consents, the Commission

will:

(A) By order approve such proposed

rule changes, or

(B) Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule changes

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views and

arguments concerning the foregoing.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20549. Copies of the

submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

changes that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule changes 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 CBOE. All submission should

refer to file number SR–CBOE–95–05

and should be submitted by March 20,

1995.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.5

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–4705 Filed 2–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8101–01–M
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Notices 10625

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

2The 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.

3 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(a)(1).

4 Id. 78o–3(b)(5).

[Release No. 34–35393; File No. SR–NASD–

95–7]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Proposed Rule Change by National

Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

Relating To a Query-Based Vendor Fee

for Distribution of Certain Market

Information

Feburary 17, 1995.

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’),1 notice is hereby given that on

February 3, 1995 the National

Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

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

the Securities and Exchange

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

the proposed rule change as described

in Items I, II, and III below, which items

have been prepared by the NASD. 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 NASD hereby files a proposed

rule change to establish a vendor fee of

$.01/query for delivery of certain market

information, on a non-continuous basis,

to the vendor’s subscribers. In this

context, the term ‘‘vendor’’ may include

an NASD member firm, or a nonmember engaged in the business of

supplying financial data. The

information being distributed would be

real-time market data consisting of

inside bid/ask and last sale information

for securities listed on The Nasdaq

Stock market (‘‘Nasdaq’’), various

Nasdaq indices, and similar quotation

and transaction information on over-thecounter (‘‘OTC’’) equity securities.2 The

proposed fee would take effect within

90 days of the Commission’s approval of

this rule change, and be incorporated

into Schedule D to the NASD By-Laws,

Part VIII, Section C. The full text of the

proposed rule change is set forth below.

New language is italicized.

PART VIII—Schedule of NASD Charges for Services and Equipment

* * * * * * *

C. Special Options

1.—4. No Change

5. Non-Continuous Access to Nasdaq Level 1 and Last Sale

Information.

Permits vendor to process and distribute Nasdaq Level 1

and Last Sale information to its subscribers on a non-continuous or query-response basis.

$.01/query.

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

NASD 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 next of these

statements may be examined at the

places specified in Item IV below. The

NASD 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

The sole purpose of this rule change

is to establish a single fee for vendors

wishing to provide basic, real-time

market data to low volume users. In

recent years, the NASD has been

approached by several member firms

that wished to provide retail customers

with a cost-effective alternative to

calling their brokers for current market

information. Advances in

telecommunications and personal

computers (‘‘PCs’’) have prompted firms

to offer ‘‘snapshots’’ of real-time

information through (i) telephonic,

voice-responsive services, (ii) dial-up

PC services, (iii) display phones, and

(iv) pagers. The typical users of such

services are individual investors who

may be monitoring the value of a

portfolio, tracking intra-day activity in a

given stock to facilitate an investment

decision, or observing a market trend

based on periodic queries for the current

level of a popular stock index. In some

instances, the member firm will levy a

modest charge on its customers who

elect to access current market

information through these devices. In

sum, the market data needs of the target

users do not warrant their subscription

to a bundled service offered by a

commercial vendor which service

frequently includes analytic

information, ticker displays, and

dynamically-updated quotation and

transaction information.

To date, the parties most interested in

providing basic market data directly to

investors have been NASD members

with a large base of retail clients. This

proposal is intended to accommodate

the business needs of such firms at a

price that should prove attractive to

many small investors. Nevertheless, any

commercial data vendors that might

wish to offer this type of service will

also be accommodated. The service

covered by this proposal would be

limited to ‘‘snapshots’’ of real-time

information furnished in response to a

discrete query by the end user. The

information provided through the

query-response process would not be

dynamically updated. Hence, the end

user would 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, the instant

service does not require the end user to

have a costly piece of hardware to

obtain current quotation/transaction

prices on a given Nasdaq stock.

Interested vendors would provide the

service pursuant to a contract with

NSMI. Under this contract, the vendor

would be responsible for monitoring

query traffic and paying the appropriate

amount to NSMI. The contract would

permit periodic audits by NSMI to

ensure payment of all monies due.

The NASD believes that the proposed

rule change is consistent with the

requirements of Sections 11A(a)(1) 3 and

15A(b)(5) 4 of the Act. Section 11A(a)(1)

contains the Congressional findings and

objectives respecting a national market

system. Among other things, the
10626 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Notices

5NASD Manual, Schedules to the By-Laws,

Schedule D, Part VIII, Sec. A(8)(a), (CCH ¶ 1850). 6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12) (1994).

1The PSE’s proposal for the listing and trading of

SCOR securities is currently pending Commission

approval. The proposal was published for public

comment in Securities Exchange Act Release No.

35140 (December 22, 1994), 60 FR 159 (January 3,

1995) (File No. SR–PSE–94–31).

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 fee are

specifically 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 an institutional investor or market

maker would need. This initiative

would enable any end user to receive

selected, real-time market data for a fee

of $.01/query (payable by the vendor to

NSMI) without the user having to

acquire an expensive piece of hardware.

Although the NASD (through NSMI)

already has a non-professional

subscriber fee of $4/month/interrogation

device for receipt of inside bid/ask and

last sale prices,5 the cost of vendor

supplied equipment and the fixed level

of these fees ($13 for access to

information from all markets) tends to

discourage subscription by low-volume

users. Some of these end users instead

choose to pay (to the vendor only) for

electronic access to delayed market

data; Nasdaq does not charge for

delayed information. The instant

proposal would provide a superior

option to small investors wishing to

access current market information, on

demand, for either Nasdaq or OTC

equities. Accordingly, the NASD posits

that this proposal will facilitate broader

dissemination of Nasdaq and OTC

market data to retail investors.

Further, the NASD submits that the

proposal is consistent with the

requirements of Section 15A(b)(5) in

that $.01/query fee is believed to be

readily affordable to small investors, the

most likely end users. As noted above,

some of these individuals may now pay

a fee to vendors to access delayed

market data via telephonic voice

response systems. The proposed fee is

structured to strike a balance between

affordability and the provision of realtime market data in response to discrete

queries by end users. Based on these

factors, the NASD reiterates the belief

that this proposal is consistent with the

requirements of Section 15A(b)(5).

(B) Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The NASD believes that the proposed

rule change will not result in 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

Comments were neither solicited nor

received.

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 NASD 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.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 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

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the NASD. All

submissions should refer to File

Number SR–NASD–95–7 and should be

submitted by March 20, 1995.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.6

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–4649 Filed 2–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–35395; File No. SR–PSE–

95–03]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the Pacific Stock Exchange, Inc.

Relating To Establishing New Listing

Fees Applicable to Small Corporate

Offering Registration (‘‘SCOR’’)

Securities

February 17, 1995.

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 February 13, ‘1995, the

Pacific Stock Exchange, Inc. (‘‘PSE’’ 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 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 PSE is proposing to establish new

fees applicable to Small Corporate

Offering Registration (‘‘SCOR’’)

securities.1

SCOR Marketplace—Listing Fee Schedule

Original Listings

The Original Listing fees are fixed fees and

issues are not charged by the number of

shares being listed.

Common Stock..................................$5,000.00

Preferred Stock....................................5,000.00

Processing Fee

Per Original Listing Application*:......$500.00

Name change..........................................250.00

Change in Par Value...............................250.00

llllllll

*This is a fixed charge for the review of

potential listings and is non-refundable.

Issues approved for listing may have this

charge credited toward the original listing

fee.

Substitution of Original Listing

Per Application..........Fixed charge of $750.00

Substitution may occur as a result of a

change in state of incorporation,

reincorporation under laws of same state, a

reverse stock split, recapitalizations, or

similar events.

Listing of Additional Shares

Per Application:

$.0025 per share

Minimum charge of $500.00

Maximum charge of $2,500.00