Document ID: SEC-2010-1868-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes: NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.
Posted Date: 2010-12-09T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 236 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76766-76767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30965]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-63432; File No. SR-BX-2010-082]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of 
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Modify 
Fees for the NASDAQ OMX BX Equities System

December 3, 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 November 24, 2010, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc. (``BX'') 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. 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

    BX proposes to modify pricing for BX members using the NASDAQ OMX 
BX Equities System by clarifying that partial trading days will not be 
counted in the calculation of average daily trading volume for purposes 
of determining a member's eligibility for recently adopted pricing 
tiers in BX's fee schedule. BX will implement the proposed change 
immediatley [sic]. The text of the proposed rule change is available at 
http://nasdaqomxbx.cchwallstreet.com, at BX's principal office, 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, 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 the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    BX recently modified its fees for trades that execute at prices at 
or above $1.\3\ Effective November 1, 2010, BX introduced a tiered 
pricing structure for the fee that it charges to orders that add 
liquidity, under which members adding a daily average of more than 50 
million shares of liquidity during a month are charged $0.00025 per 
share executed, while members adding a daily average of 50 million or 
fewer shares during the month are charged $0.0004 per share executed.
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    \3\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 63285 (November 9, 
2010), 75 FR 70310 (November 17, 2010) (SR-BX-2010-074).
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    Through this proposed rule change, BX is adding language to BX Rule 
7018 to clarify that any day that the market is not open for the entire 
trading day will be excluded from the calculation of a member's average 
daily volume. The change recognizes that many members may have 
extremely light trading volumes on days such as the day after 
Thanksgiving, when the markets are not open for an entire trading day. 
Accordingly, excluding this day from average daily volume calculations 
provides a more accurate assessment of the member's volume during the 
month. There have been no partial trading days during the month of 
November prior to the date of submission of this filing, so the filing 
is not retroactive in effect.
2. Statutory Basis
    BX believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the 
provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\4\ in general, and with Section 
6(b)(4) of the Act,\5\ in particular, in that it provides for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among 
members and issuers and other persons using any facility or system 
which BX operates or controls. The change will clarify the application 
of a recent pricing change by excluding partial trading days from 
average daily volume calculations, making it easier for members to 
achieve more favorable pricing tiers by excluding trading days when 
their volume is likely to be lower.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
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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, as amended.

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. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to 
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \6\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-
4 \7\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other charge 
imposed by BX on its members.
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    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \7\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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    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 e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-BX-2010-082 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-2010-082. 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

[[Page 76767]]

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 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the 
filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of the Exchange.\8\ 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-BX-2010-082 and should be submitted on 
or before December 30, 2010.
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    \8\ The text of the proposed rule change is available on the 
Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov.
    \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-30965 Filed 12-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P