Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Notices 1559 

26See supra note 24. 

27 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

28 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

29 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 73633 

(November 18, 2014), 79 FR 69974 (‘‘Notice’’). 

users can find suitable substitutes for 

most proprietary market data products, 

a market that overprices its market data 

products stands a high risk that users 

may substitute another source of market 

data information for its own. 

Those competitive pressures imposed 

by available alternatives are evident in 

the Exchange’s proposed pricing, and 

indeed in the fact that the changes here 

have the effect of lowering the price for 

NYSE Order Imbalances. 

In addition to the competition and 

price discipline described above, the 

market for proprietary data products is 

also highly contestable because market 

entry is rapid and inexpensive. The 

history of electronic trading is replete 

with examples of entrants that swiftly 

grew into some of the largest electronic 

trading platforms and proprietary data 

producers: Archipelago, Bloomberg 

Tradebook, Island, RediBook, Attain, 

TrackECN, BATS Trading and Direct 

Edge. As noted above, BATS launched 

as an ATS in 2006 and became an 

exchange in 2008, while Direct Edge 

began operations in 2007 and obtained 

exchange status in 2010. As noted 

above, LavaFlow ECN provides market 

data to its subscribers at no charge.26

In setting the proposed fees, the 

Exchange considered the 

competitiveness of the market for 

proprietary data and all of the 

implications of that competition. The 

Exchange believes that it has considered 

all relevant factors and has not 

considered irrelevant factors in order to 

establish fair, reasonable, and not 

unreasonably discriminatory fees and an 

equitable allocation of fees among all 

users. The existence of numerous 

alternatives to the Exchange’s products, 

including proprietary data from other 

sources, ensures that the Exchange 

cannot set unreasonable fees, or fees 

that are unreasonably discriminatory, 

when vendors and subscribers can elect 

these alternatives or choose not to 

purchase a specific proprietary data 

product if the attendant fees are not 

justified by the returns that any 

particular vendor or data recipient 

would achieve through the purchase. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act 27 and 

paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4 

thereunder.28 At any time within 60 

days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

IV. 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: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

NYSE–2014–77 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSE–2014–77. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email 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 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 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of NYSE. 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–NYSE– 

2014–77 and should be submitted on or 

before February 2, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.29

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00213 Filed 1–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–73999; File No. SR–ISE– 

2014–52] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

International Securities Exchange, 

LLC; Order Granting Approval of 

Proposed Rule Change Regarding the 

Short Term Option Series Program 

January 6, 2015. 

I. Introduction 

On November 6, 2014, the 

International Securities Exchange, LLC 

(the ‘‘Exchange’’ or the ‘‘ISE’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

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

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),2 and 

Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3 a proposed rule 

change to extend the current $0.50 

strike price intervals in non-index 

options to short term options with strike 

prices less than $100. The proposed rule 

change was published for comment in 

the Federal Register on November 24, 

2014.4 The Commission received no 

comment letters on the proposal. This 

order approves the proposed rule 

change. 

II. Description of the Proposed Rule 

Change 

On any Thursday or Friday that is a 

business day, the Exchange currently 

may list short term option series in 

designated option classes that expire at 

the close of business on each of the next 

five Fridays that are business days and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
1560 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Notices 

5See Supplementary Material .02 to ISE Rule 504. 

6See Supplementary Material .12 to ISE Rule 504. 

7 Id. 

8See Supplementary Material .02(e) to ISE Rule 

504. 

9See ISE Rule 504(g). The term ‘‘primary market’’ 

is defined in ISE Rule 100(a)(37) as the principal 

market in which an underlying security is traded. 

10See Notice, supra note 4, at 69975. 

11 Id. 

12 Id. 

13 In approving the proposed rule change, the 

Commission has considered its impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 

15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

14 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

15See Notice, supra note 4, at 69975. 

16 Id. 

17 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(2). 

18 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

are not Fridays in which monthly or 

quarterly options expire.5 These short 

term option series may be listed in 

strike price intervals of $0.50, $1, or 

$2.50 depending on the strike price and 

whether the option trades in dollar 

increments in the related monthly 

expiration.6 Specifically, the Exchange 

may list short term option series at 

strike price intervals of $0.50 or greater 

where the strike price is less than $75, 

or for option classes that trade in one 

dollar increments in the related nonshort term option, $1 or greater where 

the strike price is between $75 and 

$150, and $2.50 or greater where the 

strike price is above $150.7 During the 

month prior to expiration of an option 

class that is selected for the Short Term 

Option Series Program, the strike price 

intervals for the related non-short term 

option shall be the same as the strike 

price intervals for the short term 

option.8

The Exchange also currently operates 

a $2.50 Strike Price Program that 

permits monthly expiration options in 

classes admitted to the $2.50 Strike 

Price Program to trade in $2.50 intervals 

where the strike price is greater than 

$25 but less than $50; or between $50 

and $100 if the strikes are no more than 

$10 from the closing price of the 

underlying stock in its primary market 

on the preceding day.9 In certain 

instances, these strike price parameters 

conflict with the strike prices allowed 

for related non-short term options as 

dollar strikes between $75 and $100 

otherwise allowed under the Short Term 

Option Series Program may be within 

$0.50 of strikes listed pursuant to the 

$2.50 Strike Price Program. As a result, 

the Exchange has proposed to amend 

Supplementary Material .12 to Rule 504 

to extend the $0.50 strike price intervals 

currently allowed for short term options 

with strike prices less than $75 to short 

term options with strike prices less than 

$100. With this proposed change, short 

term options in non-index option 

classes will trade in: (1) $0.50 or greater 

intervals for strike prices less than $100, 

or for option classes that trade in one 

dollar increments in the related nonshort term option; (2) $1 or greater 

intervals for strike prices that are 

between $100 and $150; and (3) $2.50 

or greater intervals for strike prices 

above $150. 

With regard to the impact of the 

proposal on system capacity, the 

Exchange states that it has analyzed its 

capacity and represents that it and the 

Options Price Reporting Authority 

(‘‘OPRA’’) have the necessary systems 

capacity to handle any potential 

additional traffic associated with this 

proposed rule change.10 In addition, the 

Exchange states that it believes that its 

members will not experience a capacity 

issue as a result of this proposal.11

Furthermore, the Exchange states that it 

does not believe the proposed rule 

change will cause fragmentation of 

liquidity.12

III. Discussion and Commission 

Findings 

After careful review, the Commission 

finds that the proposed rule change is 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to a national 

securities exchange.13 In particular, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

6(b)(5) of the Act,14 which requires, 

among other things, that the rules of a 

national securities exchange be 

designed to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts, 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 Commission 

believes that the proposed change may 

provide the investing public and other 

market participants more flexibility to 

closely tailor their investment and 

hedging decisions in short term options, 

as well as in related non-short term 

options, thus allowing them to better 

manage their risk exposure. 

In approving this proposal, the 

Commission notes that the Exchange 

has represented that it and OPRA have 

the necessary systems capacity to 

handle the potential additional traffic 

associated with this proposed rule 

change.15 The Exchange further stated 

that it believes its members will not 

have a capacity issue as a result of the 

proposal and that it does not believe 

this expansion will cause fragmentation 

of liquidity.16

IV. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 17 that the 

proposed rule change (SR–ISE–2014–52) 

be, and hereby is, approved. 

For the Commission, by the Division 

of Trading and Markets, pursuant to 

delegated authority.18

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00218 Filed 1–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–73995; File No. SR– 

NYSEMKT–2014–114] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE 

MKT LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed 

Rule Change Amending the Fees for 

NYSE MKT Order Imbalances 

January 6, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

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

notice is hereby given that on December 

23, 2014, NYSE MKT LLC (‘‘NYSE 

MKT’’ 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 the Exchange. 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 the 

fees for NYSE MKT Order Imbalances to 

establish eligibility requirements for 

redistribution on a managed nondisplay basis and an access fee for 

managed non-display data recipients, 

operative on January 1, 2015. The text 

of the proposed rule change is available 

on the Exchange’s Web site at 

www.nyse.com, at the principal office of 

the Exchange, and at the Commission’s 

Public Reference Room. 

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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES