Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2010 / Notices 6231 

7 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(27). 1Financial Reporting Release No. 70. 

d. Dispute Resolution 

Not applicable. 

II. Rule 601(a) 

A. Equity Securities for Which 

Transaction Reports Shall Be Required 

by the Plan 

Not applicable. 

B. Reporting Requirements 

Not applicable. 

C. Manner of Collecting, Processing, 

Sequencing, Making Available and 

Disseminating Last Sale Information 

Not applicable. 

D. Manner of Consolidation 

Not applicable. 

E. Standards and Methods Ensuring 

Promptness, Accuracy and 

Completeness of Transaction Reports 

Not applicable. 

F. Rules and Procedures Addressed to 

Fraudulent or Manipulative 

Dissemination 

Not applicable. 

G. Terms of Access to Transaction 

Reports 

Not applicable. 

H. Identification of Marketplace 

Execution 

Not applicable. 

III. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed 

Amendments are consistent with the 

Act. Comments may be submitted by 

any of the following methods: 

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–CTA/CQ–2009–03 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–CTA/CQ–2009–03. 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 Amendments that 

are filed with the Commission, and all 

written communications relating to the 

Amendments 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 Web 

site viewing and printing in the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549, on official business days 

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

Copies of the Amendments also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of the CTA. 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–CTA/CQ–2009–03 and 

should be submitted on or before March 

1, 2010. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.7

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2586 Filed 2–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 9105; Release No. 61468] 

Securities Act of 1933; Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934; Order 

Regarding Review of FASB Accounting 

Support Fee for 2010 Under Section 

109 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 

February 2, 2010. 

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the 

‘‘Act’’) provides that the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) may recognize, as 

generally accepted for purposes of the 

securities laws, any accounting 

principles established by a standard 

setting body that meets certain criteria. 

Consequently, Section 109 of the Act 

provides that all of the budget of such 

a standard setting body shall be payable 

from an annual accounting support fee 

assessed and collected against each 

issuer, as may be necessary or 

appropriate to pay for the budget and 

provide for the expenses of the standard 

setting body, and to provide for an 

independent, stable source of funding, 

subject to review by the Commission. 

Under Section 109(f) of the Act, the 

amount of fees collected for a fiscal year 

shall not exceed the ‘‘recoverable budget 

expenses’’ of the standard setting body. 

Section 109(h) amends Section 13(b)(2) 

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

to require issuers to pay the allocable 

share of a reasonable annual accounting 

support fee or fees, determined in 

accordance with Section 109 of the Act. 

On April 25, 2003, the Commission 

issued a policy statement concluding 

that the Financial Accounting Standards 

Board (‘‘FASB’’) and its parent 

organization, the Financial Accounting 

Foundation (‘‘FAF’’), satisfied the 

criteria for an accounting standard 

setting body under the Act, and 

recognizing the FASB’s financial 

accounting and reporting standards as 

‘‘generally accepted’’ under Section 108 

of the Act.1 As a consequence of that 

recognition, the Commission undertook 

a review of the FASB’s accounting 

support fee for calendar year 2010. In 

connection with its review, the 

Commission also reviewed the budget 

for the FAF and the FASB for calendar 

year 2010. 

Section 109 of the Act also provides 

that the standard setting body can have 

additional sources of revenue for its 

activities, such as earnings from sales of 

publications, provided that each 

additional source of revenue shall not 

jeopardize, in the judgment of the 

Commission, the actual or perceived 

independence of the standard setter. In 

this regard, the Commission also 

considered the interrelation of the 

operating budgets of the FAF, the FASB 

and the Governmental Accounting 

Standards Board (‘‘GASB’’), the FASB’s 

sister organization, which sets 

accounting standards used by state and 

local governmental entities. The 

Commission has been advised by the 

FAF that neither the FAF, the FASB nor 

the GASB accept contributions from the 

accounting profession. 

After its review, the Commission 

determined that the 2010 annual 

accounting support fee for the FASB is 

consistent with Section 109 of the Act. 

Accordingly, 

It is ordered, pursuant to Section 109 

of the Act, that the FASB may act in 

accordance with this determination of 

the Commission. 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES

6232 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2010 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

4BX also provides a time stamp and message type 

field for reference. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

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

7 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

8 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give 

the Commission written notice of its intent to file 

the proposed rule change at least five business days 

prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule 

change, or such shorter time as designated by the 

Commission. BX has satisfied this requirement. 9 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

10 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

By the Commission. 

Elizabeth M. Murphy, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2591 Filed 2–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–61452; File No. SR–BX– 

2010–010] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change Describing the 

BX Ouch BBO Feed 

February 1, 2010. 

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 January 

22, 2010, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (‘‘BX’’ 

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 BX. BX has designated the proposed 

rule change as constituting a rule 

change under Rule 19b–4(f)(6) under the 

Act,3 which renders the proposal 

effective upon filing with the 

Commission. 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 

BX submits this proposal regarding 

the availability of the BX Ouch BBO 

Feed, a data feed that represents BX’s 

internal view of the best bid and offer 

among all market centers other than BX 

(the ‘‘BBO’’), which is provided at no 

cost. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, BX 

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. BX 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 

BX submits this proposal regarding 

the availability of the BX Ouch BBO 

Feed, a data feed that represents BX’s 

internal view of the best bid and offer 

among all market centers other than BX. 

The BX Ouch BBO Feed is available to 

all BX members equally at no charge, 

and offers all firms transparent, realtime data concerning BX’s internal view 

of the BBO. This data feed reflects BX’s 

view of the BBO, at any given time, 

based on orders executed on BX and 

updated quote information from the 

SIPs. BX makes the BX Ouch BBO Feed 

available to all market participants via 

subscription through an established 

connection to BX through extranets, 

direct connection, and Internet-based 

virtual private networks. 

The BX Ouch BBO Feed contains the 

following data elements: symbol, bid 

price, and ask price.4 Unlike the BX 

TotalView feed, the Ouch BBO feed 

does not contain information about 

individual orders, either those residing 

within the BX system or those executed 

or routed by BX. Unlike the SIP feeds 

containing the National Best Bid and 

Offer (‘‘NBBO’’), the Ouch BBO Feed 

does not identify either the market 

center quoting the BBO or the size of the 

BBO quotes. It merely contains the 

symbol and bid and offer prices. 

By making the BX Ouch BBO Feed 

data available, BX enhances market 

transparency and fosters competition 

among orders and markets. Member 

firms may use the BX Ouch BBO Feed 

to more accurately price their orders 

based on BX’s view of what the BBO is 

at any point in time, which may not be 

reflected in the official NBBO due to 

latencies inherent in the NBBO’s 

dissemination. As a consequence, 

member firms may more accurately 

price their orders on BX, thus avoiding 

price adjustments by BX based on a 

quote that is no longer available. 

Additionally, members can price orders 

more aggressively to narrow the NBBO 

and provide better reference prices for 

investors. 

At this time, BX does not have plans 

to charge an additional fee associated 

with the receipt of the BX Ouch BBO 

Feed. Should BX determine to charge 

fees associated with the BX Ouch BBO 

Feed, BX will submit a proposed rule 

change to the Commission in order to 

implement those fees. 

2. Statutory Basis 

BX believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the provisions 

of Section 6 of the Act,5 in general and 

with Sections 6(b)(5) of the Act,6 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 regulating, clearing, 

settling, processing information with 

respect to, and facilitating transactions 

in securities, 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. BX 

believes that this proposal is in keeping 

with those principles by promoting 

increased transparency through the 

dissemination of BX Ouch BBO Feed 

data and by clarifying its availability. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

BX does not believe that the proposed 

rule change will 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 

No written comments were either 

solicited or received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (i) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (ii) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (iii) become 

operative for 30 days from the date on 

which it was filed, or such shorter time 

as the Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 7 and Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6) thereunder.8

A proposed rule change filed 

pursuant to Rule 19b–4(f)(6) under the 

Act 9 normally does not become 

operative for 30 days after the date of its 

filing. However, Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 10

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES