6228 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Changes are marked to the rule text that appears 

in the electronic manual of Nasdaq found at 

http://nasdaq.complinet.com. 

4These time frames are influenced by factors 

including the number of companies in the process 

at a given time and the availability of Panel or 

Listing Council members for the review and 

approval of drafts. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–57214; File No. SR–

NASDAQ–2007–096] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing of Proposed Rule Change To 

Modify the Allocation of the Maximum 

Time an Adjudicatory Body May Grant 

a Company To Regain Compliance 

With the Listing Requirements Without 

Modifying the Maximum Time Available 

Under Nasdaq Rule 4802 

January 28, 2008. 

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 December 

3, 2007, The NASDAQ Stock Market 

LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’) 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 Nasdaq. 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 

Nasdaq proposes to modify the 

allocation of the maximum time an 

adjudicatory body may grant a company 

to regain compliance with the listing 

requirements. Nasdaq will implement 

the proposed rule immediately upon 

approval. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

appears below. Proposed new language 

is italicized and proposed deletions are 

in brackets.3

* * * * * 

4802. Purpose and General Provisions 

(a) No change. 

(b) An issuer may file a written 

request for an exception to any of the 

standards set forth in the Rule 4000 

Series at any time during the pendency 

of a proceeding under the Rule 4800 

Series. A Listing Qualifications Panel 

may grant exceptions for a period not to 

exceed [the earlier of 90 days from the 

date of the Panel Decision or] 180 days 

from the date of the Staff Determination 

with respect to the deficiency for which 

the exception is granted, and the Listing 

Council may grant exceptions for a 

period not to exceed [the earlier of 60 

days from the date of the Listing 

Council Decision or 180] 360 days from 

the date of the [Panel Decision] Staff 

Determination with respect to the 

deficiency for which the exception is 

granted, in each case where it deems 

appropriate. 

(c)—(f) No change. 

* * * * * 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

Nasdaq 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 III below. Nasdaq 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 

Nasdaq proposes to modify provisions 

in the ‘‘Procedure for Review of Nasdaq 

Listing Determinations’’ relating to the 

allocation of the maximum time an 

adjudicatory body may grant a company 

to regain compliance with the listing 

requirements (‘‘Exception Period’’). This 

proposal would not increase the 

maximum time potentially available 

under the rule. 

Under the current rules, the Exception 

Period a Listing Qualifications Panel 

(‘‘Panel’’) can grant is limited to the 

lesser of 180 days from the date that 

Nasdaq staff sends a delisting letter 

(‘‘Staff Determination’’) or 90 days from 

the date of the Panel’s decision in the 

matter. Similarly, the maximum 

Exception Period that the Nasdaq 

Listing and Hearing Review Council 

(‘‘Listing Council’’) can grant when 

reviewing a Panel decision is limited to 

the lesser of 180 days from the date of 

the Panel decision on review or 60 days 

from the date of the Listing Council’s 

decision in the matter. As a result, while 

the maximum cumulative exception 

these bodies can grant is 360 days from 

the date of the Staff Determination, the 

actual amount of time can vary from 

company to company based on how 

quickly the company is scheduled for a 

hearing and the speed with which the 

Panel and Listing Council decisions are 

prepared.4 This variability creates 

uncertainty for Nasdaq-listed companies 

and their investors regarding the 

maximum amount of time available 

under an exception. 

In order to eliminate these differences 

and provide certainty to companies and 

investors regarding the Nasdaq delisting 

process, Nasdaq proposes to modify the 

computation of the maximum Exception 

Period such that the maximum time that 

a Panel can provide is 180 days from the 

date of the Staff Determination and the 

maximum time that the Listing Council 

can provide is 360 days from the date 

of the Staff Determination. As such, this 

proposal will eliminate the competing 

deadlines that are based on variable 

events, such as the amount of time it 

takes to schedule a hearing and issue 

decisions reflecting the Panel or Listing 

Council’s conclusions. As is presently 

the case, these adjudicatory bodies may 

grant a company a shorter Exception 

Period, or no Exception Period at all, 

based on their analysis of the applicable 

facts and circumstances. 

2. Statutory Basis 

Nasdaq believes that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

provisions of Section 6 of the Act,5 in 

general, and with Section 6(b)(5) of the 

Act,6 in particular. Nasdaq believes that 

the proposed rule change is designed to 

provide additional transparency to 

Nasdaq’s process surrounding the 

review of delisting determinations, 

thereby protecting investors and 

removing an impediment to a free and 

open market. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

Nasdaq does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will 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 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. 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: 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 6229 

7 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 47954 

(May 30, 2003), 68 FR 34017 (June 6, 2003). See also 

IM–4613—Procedures for Allocation of Second 

Displayable MPIDs. 

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–NASDAQ–2007–096 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Station Place, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NASDAQ–2007–096. This 

file 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 on official business days between 

the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies 

of such filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of Nasdaq. 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–

NASDAQ–2007–096 and should be 

submitted on or before February 22, 

2008. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.7

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–1832 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–57212; File No. SR–

NASDAQ–2008–004] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing of Proposed Rule Change 

Related to Supplemental Market 

Participant Identifiers 

January 28, 2008. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 2 thereunder, 

notice is hereby given that on January 9, 

2008, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq’’) 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 

Nasdaq. 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 

Nasdaq proposes to make permanent 

the pilot program that allows market 

makers and Electronic Communications 

Networks (‘‘ECNs’’) to obtain 

supplemental market participant 

identifiers (‘‘MPIDs’’). Nasdaq also 

proposes to remove any restrictions on 

the number of MPIDs market 

participants can request. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available at 

Nasdaq, the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room and 

nasdaq.complinet.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, 

Nasdaq included statements concerning 

the purpose of, and basis, for the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. 

Nasdaq 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 

Nasdaq proposes to make permanent 

the pilot program incorporated in 

Nasdaq Rule 4613(a)(2) (‘‘Rule’’) that 

allows market makers and ECNs to 

obtain supplemental MPIDs. The pilot 

inadvertently was permitted to lapse on 

November 30, 2006. The Rule has 

operated as a temporary pilot since it 

was first adopted in June 2003 and 

although the pilot lapsed, Nasdaq 

continued to apply the procedures set 

forth in the Rule and the related 

interpretive material.3 The purpose of 

providing supplemental MPIDs is to 

provide quoting market participants a 

better ability to organize and manage 

diverse order flows from their customers 

and to route orders and quotes to 

Nasdaq’s listed trading facilities from 

different units/desks. To the extent that 

this flexibility provides increased 

incentives to provide liquidity to 

Nasdaq systems, Nasdaq believes that 

all market participants benefit. Because 

the Rule has benefited market makers 

and ECNs and has not had any negative 

impact on the Nasdaq market in the 

more than four years that it has been in 

place, Nasdaq believes the Rule should 

become permanent. 

Nasdaq also proposes to remove the 

current restriction in the Rule that limits 

the number of supplemental MPIDs that 

market makers and ECNs can request for 

displaying attributable quotes or orders. 

In accordance with the pilot program, 

market makers and ECNs may be issued 

a maximum of nine supplemental 

MPIDs. The reason for this restriction 

was a technological limitation that 

existed at the time the Rule was 

adopted, but this limitation no longer 

exists. Therefore, Nasdaq proposes to 

remove the restriction. 

In addition, Nasdaq proposes to 

remove IM–4613, which sets forth the 

procedures for allocating supplemental 

MPIDs. The removal of Nasdaq’s 

technological limitation on the number 

of MPIDs for a given security makes the 

procedures unnecessary. 

The decision to remove any 

restriction on the number of 

supplemental MPIDs must be balanced 

against the need to protect the integrity 

of the Nasdaq market. Accordingly, 

market makers and ECNs would be 

prohibited from using a supplemental 

MPID to accomplish indirectly what 

they are prohibited from doing directly 

through a single MPID. For example, 

members would not be permitted to use 

a supplemental MPID to avoid their 

Manning obligations under IM–2110–2, 

best execution obligations under Nasdaq 

Rule 2320, or their obligations under the 

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