Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 86 / Thursday, May 2, 1996 / Notices 19651

1See Securities Exchange Act Release No 26198

(Oct. 19, 1988), 53 FR 41637 (Oct. 24, 1988).

2See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 36414

(Oct. 25, 1995), 60 FR 55630 (Nov. 1, 1995).

*‘‘Dow Jones Industrial Average’’ is a service

mark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

the duration of a trading halt due to a

250 point decline in the DJIA, and to

shorten from two hours to one hour the

duration of a halt due to a 400 point

decline in the DJIA.

Commentary .03 to Rule 117 also

provides that if the DJIA declines 250

points at or after 3:00 p.m. or 400 points

at or after 2:00 p.m., trading in securities

shall halt for the remainder of the day.

However, if the 250 point level is

reached between 3:00 p.m. and 3:30

p.m., or the 400 point level is reached

between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., the

Exchange may use abbreviated

reopening procedures to either permit

trading to reopen before 4:00 p.m. or to

establish closing prices. The Exchange

proposes to amend Commentary .03 to

provide that the Exchange may use

abbreviated reopening procedures to

establish new last sale prices in the

event the 250 point level is reached at

or after 3:30 p.m., or if the 400 point

level is reached at or after 3:00 p.m.

Because such closing transactions

may need to be effected after 4:00 p.m.,

the Exchange is proposing to amend

Rule 1 (Hours of Business) to provide

that closing transactions may be

permitted after 4:00 p.m. where the

Exchange has determined to permit

such transactions pursuant to Rule 117.

Rule 117 was approved by the

Commission on a pilot basis on October

19, 1988 1 and has been extended

annually since then, with the most

recent extension expiring on October 31,

1996.2 The Exchange proposes to adopt

amendments to Rule 117 to coincide

with the year-to-year pilot program. The

Exchange proposes to amend Rule 1 on

a permanent basis.

The Exchange believes the proposed

amendments are an appropriate,

measured response to the significant

technological progress made by the

securities markets and the broker-dealer

community since 1988 in efficiently

accommodating large order imbalances

that may occur under volatile market

conditions. The shortened time periods

should now provide sufficient

opportunity for market participants to

evaluate market conditions and will

avoid unnecessary delays in resumption

of trading.

In connection with abbreviated

reopening procedures to establish new

last sale prices under Rule 117,

Commentary .03, the Amex will

examine whether additional procedures

to facilitate a single trade auction are

appropriate. Such procedures would be

filed by the Exchange pursuant to Rule

19b–4.

2. Statutory Basis

The proposed rule change is

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act,

in general, and furthers the objectives of

Section 6(b)(5), in particular, in that the

proposed rule change 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, 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 will impose

any inappropriate 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 either

solicited or received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the 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 the 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, 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 at

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 Exchange. All submissions

should refer to File No. SR–Amex–96–

13 and should be submitted by May 23,

1996.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–10925 Filed 5–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–37145; File No. SR–NYSE–

96–09]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

Relating to Amendments to Rule 80B

(Trading Halts Due to Extraordinary

Market Volatility) and Rule 51 (Hours of

Business)

April 26, 1996.

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 11, 1996, the

New York Stock Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘NYSE’’ 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 Exchange proposes to amend

Rule 80B to modify the time periods for

halting trading on the Exchange when

the Dow Jones Industrial Average

(‘‘DJIA’’)* has declined by 250 or 400

points. The Exchange proposes to

amend Rule 51 to permit closing

transactions after 4 p.m. if Rule 80B is

put into effect during the last half-hour

of trading (in the event of a 250-point

decline) or during the last hour of

trading (in the event of a 400-point

decline).
19652 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 86 / Thursday, May 2, 1996 / Notices

1The NYSE has represented to the Commission

that it will use the intermarket telecommunications

system known as Information Network for Futures,

Options, and Equities (‘‘INFOE’’) system as well as

the Consolidated Tape to announce the precise time

when the circuit breaker thresholds are reached.

Telephone conversation between Brian McNamara,

Vice President, Market Surveillance, NYSE, and

Alton Harvey, Office Head, Division of Market

Regulation, SEC on April 24, 1996.

2The text of the proposed rule change provides

that the NYSE may use abbreviated reopening

procedures to establish new last sale prices when

the 250-point or 400-point trigger is reached at 3:30

p.m. or 3:00 p.m. respectively. Notwithstanding the

Rule’s reference to specific times, however, the

Exchange has interpreted its proposed rule change

as allowing the use of such reopening procedures

anytime the 250-point or 400-point levels are

triggered thirty minutes or one hour before the

scheduled close, in the event that the Exchange is

scheduled to close earlier than 4:00 p.m. Telephone

conversation between Brian McNamara, Vice

President, Market Surveillance, NYSE, and Alton

Harvey, Office Head, Division of Market Regulation,

SEC on April 24, 1996.

3The Working Group on Financial Markets was

established by the President in March 1988 to

determine what coordinated regulatory actions were

necessary to strengthen the nation’s financial

markets in the aftermath of the October 1987 market

break. The Working Group consists of the heads of

the Commission, the Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures

Trading Commission, and the Department of the

Treasury.

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

self-regulatory organization 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 self-regulatory organization has

prepared summaries, wet 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

2. Purpose

Rule 80B provides, in part, that if the

DJIA falls 250 or more points below its

previous trading day’s closing value,

trading in all stocks on the Exchange

will halt for one hour. It further

provides that, if on the same day the

DJIA drops 400 or more points from its

previous trading day’s close, trading on

the Exchange will halt for two hours.

The Exchange is now proposing to

revise those time periods to one-half

hour and one hour, respectively.1

Rule 80B currently also provides that

if the 250-point trigger is reached during

the last hour, but before the last halfhour, of trading, or if the 400-point

trigger is reached during the last two

hours, but before the last hour, of

trading, the Exchange may use

abbreviated reopening procedures either

to permit trading to reopen before 4:00

p.m. or to establish closing prices. Rule

80B further provides that if the 250-

point trigger is reached during the last

half-hour, or if the 400-point trigger is

reached during the last hour, the

Exchange shall not reopen for trading on

that day. The Exchange is proposing to

amend Rule 80B to provide that if the

250-point trigger is reached during the

last half-hour of trading, or if the 400-

point trigger is reached during the last

hour of trading, the Exchange may use

abbreviated reopening procedures to

establish new last sale prices.2

Such closing transactions may need to

be effected after 4:00 p.m. Accordingly,

the Exchange is proposing to amend

Rule 51 to provide that the 9:30 a.m. to

4:00 p.m. trading session may be

extended to permit closing transactions

pursuant to Rule 80B. The Exchange

proposes to amend Rule 51 on a

permanent basis.

Based on constituent input and in

consultation with the Working Group on

Financial Markets (‘‘Working Group’’),3

the Exchange believes that it is

appropriate to reduce the time period

during which trading will be halted,

particularly given the current level of

automation support for the trading

process. These revised time periods

should be sufficient to provide a

meaningful ‘‘time out’’ for participants

to evaluate changing market conditions,

without unduly constraining trading

activity. The Exchange is not proposing,

at this time, to revise the 250/400 point

triggers. The Exchange intends to

continue discussions with its

constituents as to whether any revisions

to these point parameters might be

appropriate.

With respect to the use of abbreviated

reopening procedures, the Exchange

believes that if the trigger value is

reached and trading halted during the

last half-hour, respectively, of trading, it

may be appropriate to provide the

opportunity to establish new last sale

prices. In that regard, the Exchange will

be assessing whether additional

procedures to facilitate a single trade

auction are appropriate. Such

procedures would be filed with the

Commission for approval.

Rule 80B was approved by the

Commission on a pilot basis on October

19, 1988, and has been extended for an

additional one year period every year

since then, currently running to October

31, 1996. The Exchange is proposing to

adopt these amendments to Rule 80B to

coincide with that year-to-year pilot.

2. Statutory Basis

The basis under the Act for this

proposed rule change is the requirement

under Section 6(b)(5) that an Exchange

have rules that are 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, in

general, to protect investors and the

public interest. The Exchange believes

that amending Rule 80B on a one-year

pilot basis and amending Rule 51 is

consistent with these objectives in that

the revised trading halt periods and

opportunity to establish new last sale

prices during a period of significant

stress can be expected to provide market

participants with a reasonable

opportunity to become aware of and

respond to significant price movements,

thereby facilitating, in an orderly

manner, the maintenance of an

equilibrium between buying and selling

interest.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rule change will impose

any inappropriate 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 either

solicited or received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the 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 the 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, N.W.,
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 86 / Thursday, May 2, 1996 / Notices 19653

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 at

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 Exchange. All submissions

should refer to File No. SR–NYSE–96–

09 and should be submitted by May 23,

1996.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–10924 Filed 5–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

[Declaration of Disaster Loan Area #2848]

Indiana; Declaration of Disaster Loan

Area

Morgan County and the contiguous

counties of Brown, Hendricks, Johnson,

Marion, Monroe, Owen, and Putnam in

the State of Indiana constitute a disaster

area as a result of damages caused by

severe storms and tornadoes which

occurred on April 19, 1996.

Applications for loans for physical

damage may be filed until the close of

business on June 24, 1996 and for

economic injury until the close of

business on January 24, 1997 at the

address listed below:

U.S. Small Business Administration,

Disaster Area 2 Office,

One Baltimore Place, Suite 300,

Atlanta, GA 30308

or other locally announced locations.

The interest rates are:

For Physical Damage: Percent

Homeowners with credit available elsewhere ........................ 7.250

Homeowners without credit

available elsewhere ................ 3.625

Businesses with credit available

elsewhere ................................ 8.000

Businesses and non-profit organizations without credit available elsewhere ........................ 4.000

Others (including non-profit organizations) with credit available elsewhere ........................ 7.125

For Economic Injury:

Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives without

credit available elsewhere ...... 4.000

The number assigned to this disaster

for physical damage is 284812, and for

economic injury the number is 883400.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 59002 and 59008).

Dated: April 24, 1996.

John T. Spotila,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–10895 Filed 5–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

[Declaration of Disaster Loan Area #2847]

North Carolina; Declaration of Disaster

Loan Area

Wake County and the contiguous

counties of Chatham, Durham, Franklin,

Granville, Harnett, Johnston, and Nash

in the State of North Carolina constitute

a disaster area as a result of damages

caused by high winds and tornadoes

which occurred on April 15, 1996.

Applications for loans for physical

damage may be filed until the close of

business on June 21, 1996 and for

economic injury until the close of

business on January 22, 1997 at the

address listed below:

U.S. Small Business Administration,

Disaster Area 2 Office,

One Baltimore Place, Suite 300,

Atlanta, GA 30308

or other locally announced locations.

The interest rates are:

For Physical Damage: Percent

Homeowners with credit available elsewhere ........................ 7.250

Homeowners without credit

available elsewhere ................ 3.625

Businesses with credit available

elsewhere ................................ 8.000

Businesses and non-profit organizations without credit available elsewhere ........................ 4.000

Others (including non-profit organizations) with credit available elsewhere ........................ 7.125

For Economic Injury:

Businesses and small agricultural cooperatives without

credit available elsewhere ...... 4.000

The number assigned to this disaster

for physical damage is 284712, and for

economic injury the number is 883300.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 59002 and 59008)

Dated: April 22, 1996.

Philip Lader,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–10896 Filed 5–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

[Declaration of Disaster Loan Area #2824]

Pennsylvania; Declaration of Disaster

Loan Area (Amendment #3)

In accordance with a notice from the

Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA) dated April 19, 1996, the abovenumbered Declaration is hereby

amended to extend the deadline for

filing applications for physical damages

until May 3, 1996.

All other information remains the

same; i.e., the termination date for filing

applications for economic injury is

October 21, 1996.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 59002 and 59008).

Dated: April 23, 1996.

Bernard Kulik,

Associate Administrator for Disaster

Assistance.

[FR Doc. 96–10897 Filed 5–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection

Request

Normally on Fridays, the Social

Security Administration publishes a list

of information collection packages that

will require submission to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance in compliance with Pub. L.

104–13 effective October 1, 1995, The

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Since

the last list was published in the

Federal Register on April 26, 1996, the

information collections listed below

have been proposed or will require

extension of the current OMB approvals.

(Call the SSA Reports Clearance Officer on

(410) 965–4123 for a copy of the form(s) or

package(s), or write to her at the address

listed below the information collections.)

Survey of Employers Regarding A Preretirement Satellite Broadcast—0960–

NEW. The Social Security

Administration (SSA) is attempting to

establish satellite communications with

private sector employers as an

economical and efficient means of

providing program information and

training. SSA will broadcast a preretirement seminar via satellite and ask

employers to provide information on the

broadcast. The information collected by

SSA will be used to determine employer