Document ID: SEC-2010-0208-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes: NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.
Posted Date: 2010-02-08T05:00Z

[Federal Register: February 8, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 25)]
[Notices]               
[Page 6235-6237]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08fe10-96]                         

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-61456; File No. SR-BX-2010-011]

 
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Add 75 
Classes to the Penny Pilot Program

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 27, 2010, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (the ``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.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (the ``Exchange'') proposes to designate 75 
options classes to be added to the Penny Pilot Program, as referenced 
in Chapter V, Section 33 of the Rules of the Boston Options Exchange 
Group, LLC (``BOX''). The Exchange intends to notify BOX Options 
Participants of the classes to be added to the Penny Pilot Program via 
Regulatory Circular. The text of the proposed Regulatory Circular is 
attached as Exhibit 2.\3\
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    \3\ The Commission notes that the text of the proposed 
Regulatory Circular is attached at Exhibit 2 to the Form 19b-4, but 
is not attached to this Notice.
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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, 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
    On October 19, 2009 the Exchange submitted a proposed rule change 
\4\ with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') to, 
among other things, expand the number of classes included in the Penny 
Pilot Program over four successive quarters, with 75 classes added in 
each of November 2009,\5\ February 2010, May 2010, and August 2010.\6\ 
Options classes with high premiums will be excluded for the quarterly 
additions.\7\
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    \4\ See Securities and Exchange Act Release No. 60886 (October 
27, 2009), 74 FR 56897 (November 3, 2009) (SR-BX-2009-067). This 
proposal was effective immediately upon filing.
    \5\ The Exchange filed a proposal similar to the present 
proposal for the November 2, 2009 expansion of 75 classes. See 
Securities and Exchange Act Release No. 60950 (November 6, 2009), 74 
FR 58666 (November 6, 2009) [sic] (SR-BX-2009-069). This proposal 
was effective immediately upon filing.
    \6\ The quarterly additions will be effective on November 2, 
2009, February 1, 2010, May 3, 2010 and August 2, 2010, 
respectively. For purposes of identifying the classes to be added 
per quarter, the Exchange shall use data from the prior six calendar 
months preceding the implementation month, except that the month 
immediately preceding their addition to the Pilot would not be 
utilized for purposes of the six month analysis. For example, the 
quarterly additions to be added on February 1, 2010 shall be 
determined using data from the six month period ending December 31, 
2009.
    \7\ The threshold for designation as ``high priced'' at the time 
of selection of new classes to be included in the Penny Pilot 
Program is $200 per share or a calculated index value of 200. The 
determination of whether a security is trading above $200 or above a 
calculated index value of 200 shall be based on the price at the 
close of trading on the Expiration Friday prior to being added to 
the Penny Pilot Program.
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    Based on trading activity for the six months ending December 31, 
2009, the Exchange proposes to add the following 75 classes to the 
Penny Pilot Program on February 1, 2010:

[[Page 6236]]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Symbol                       Company name                 Symbol                Company name
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABT.................................  Abbott Laboratories.      LEAP...................  Leap Wireless
                                                                                          International Inc.
AEM.................................  Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.   LLY....................  Eli Lilly & Co.
AET.................................  Aetna Inc.                LO.....................  Lorillard Inc.
AFL.................................  Aflac Inc.                LOW....................  Lowe's Cos Inc.
AKAM................................  Akamai Technologies Inc.  M......................  Macy's Inc.
AMAT................................  Applied Materials Inc.    MCO....................  Moody's Corp.
AMR.................................  AMR Corp.                 MET....................  MetLife Inc.
ANF.................................  Abercrombie & Fitch Co.   MMM....................  3M Co.
APC.................................  Anadarko Petroleum Corp.  MU.....................  Micron Technology Inc.
ATVI................................  Activision Blizzard Inc.  NUE....................  Nucor Corp.
BBD.................................  Banco Bradesco SA.        OXY....................  Occidental Petroleum
                                                                                          Corp.
BCRX................................  BioCryst Pharmaceuticals  PARD...................  Poniard Pharmaceuticals
                                       Inc.                                               Inc.\8\
BK..................................  Bank of New York Mellon   PEP....................  PepsiCo Inc/NC.
                                       Corp/The.
BRCM................................  Broadcom Corp.            PM.....................  Philip Morris
                                                                                          International Inc.
BTU.................................  Peabody Energy Corp.      PNC....................  PNC Financial Services
                                                                                          Group Inc.
BX..................................  Blackstone Group LP.      QID....................  ProShares UltraShort
                                                                                          QQQ.
CAL.................................  Continental Airlines      SHLD...................  Sears Holdings Corp.
                                       Inc.
CF..................................  CF Industries Holdings    SLM....................  SLM Corp.
                                       Inc.
CMCSA...............................  Comcast Corp.             SLW....................  Silver Wheaton Corp.
CSX.................................  CSX Corp.                 SQNM...................  Sequenom Inc.
CVS.................................  CVS Caremark Corp.        STEC...................  STEC Inc.
CX..................................  Cemex SAB de CV.          STX....................  Seagate Technology.
DD..................................  EI du Pont de Nemours &   SU.....................  Suncor Energy Inc.
                                       Co.
ERTS................................  Electronic Arts Inc.      TCK....................  Teck Resources Ltd.
EWJ.................................  iShares MSCI Japan Index  TEVA...................  Teva Pharmaceutical
                                       Fund.                                              Industries Ltd.
FDX.................................  FedEx Corp.               TLT....................  iShares Barclays 20+
                                                                                          Year Treasury Bond
                                                                                          Fund.
FNM.................................  Federal National          TZA....................  Direxion Daily Small
                                       Mortgage Association.                              Cap Bear 3X Shares.
FRE.................................  Federal Home Loan         UAUA...................  UAL Corp.
                                       Mortgage Corp.
GILD................................  Gilead Sciences Inc.      URE....................  ProShares Ultra Real
                                                                                          Estate.
GLW.................................  Corning Inc.              UTX....................  United Technologies
                                                                                          Corp.
HBC.................................  HSBC Holdings PLC.        WFR....................  MEMC Electronic
                                                                                          Materials Inc.
HES.................................  Hess Corp.                WFT....................  Weatherford
                                                                                          International Ltd.
HL..................................  Hecla Mining Co.          WLP....................  WellPoint Inc.
HOG.................................  Harley-Davidson Inc.      XLB....................  Materials Select Sector
                                                                                          SPDR Fund.
HON.................................  Honeywell International   XRX....................  Xerox Corp.
                                       Inc.
JOYG................................  Joy Global Inc.           XTO....................  XTO Energy Inc.
JWN.................................  Nordstrom Inc.            YRCW...................  YRC Worldwide Inc.
KFT.................................  Kraft Foods Inc.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with the 
requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act,\9\ in general, and Section 
6(b)(5) of the Act,\10\ in particular, in that it is designed 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 for a free and open market and a national market 
system and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest, 
by identifying the options classes added to the Penny Pilot Program in 
a manner consistent with prior rule changes.
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    \8\ Please note that PARD is presently not listed for trading on 
BOX. If PARD is listed for trading on BOX at a later date it will be 
subject to the applicable minimum trading increments as set forth in 
Chapter V, Section 6(b) of the BOX Rules.
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition 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

    The Exchange has neither solicited nor received comments on 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)(i) of the Exchange Act \11\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(1) 
thereunder,\12\ because it constitutes a stated policy, practice, or 
interpretation with respect to the meaning, administration, or 
enforcement of an existing BOX rule.
    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 
change, the Commission may summarily abrogate the rule change if it 
appears to the Commission that the action is necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or would

[[Page 6237]]

otherwise further the purposes of the Act.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(i).
    \12\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(1).
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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 e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-BX-2010-011 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-BX-2010-011. 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, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549, 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 the Exchange. 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 No. SR-BX-2010-011 and should be 
submitted on or before March 1, 2010.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\13\
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    \13\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-2585 Filed 2-5-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P