[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19560-19561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-7316]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-55619; File No. SR-Amex-2007-31]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; American Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change 
and Amendment No. 1 Thereto Relating to Transaction Charges for 
Equities, ETFs, and Nasdaq UTP Securities

April 12, 2007.
    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 March 30, 2007, the American Stock Exchange LLC (``Amex'' or 
``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 substantially prepared by Amex. On 
April 10, 2007, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule 
change. The Commission is publishing this notice, as amended, 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

    The Exchange proposes to revise the equities, Exchange Traded Funds 
and Trust Issued Receipts (``ETFs''), and Nasdaq UTP Fee Schedules to 
eliminate the five percent discount applied to each firm's total 
charges for customer orders in equities, ETFs, and Nasdaq UTP 
securities. The text of the proposed rule change is available on Amex's 
Web site at http://www.amex.com, at Amex, and in 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 Exchange 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 Exchange 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
    The Exchange recently revised the transaction charges for its 
members and member organizations largely relating to the Exchange's new 
hybrid market trading platform (known as AEMI), the implementation of 
Regulation NMS, and changes in the competitive landscape for equities 
and ETFs.\3\ These new transaction charges became effective on February 
22, 2007. As part of the new transaction charges, the Exchange provided 
that a five percent discount will be applied to each firm's total 
charges for customer orders in equities, ETFs, and Nasdaq UTP 
securities. The five percent discount does not apply to charges for 
specialists and registered traders. The Exchange is now proposing to 
eliminate the five percent discount in all product lines. The Exchange 
will eliminate the five percent discount effective April 1, 2007.
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55458 (March 13, 
2007), 72 FR 13320 (March 21, 2007) (SR-Amex-2007-23).
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2. Statutory Basis
    The proposed fee change is consistent with Section 6(b)(4) of the 
Act \4\ regarding the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, 
and other charges among exchange members and other persons using 
exchange facilities.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).

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[[Page 19561]]

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The proposed rule change does not 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

    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

    Because the foregoing rule change establishes or changes a due, 
fee, or other charge applicable only to a member imposed by Amex, it 
has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \5\ and 
Rule 19b-4(f)(2) thereunder.\6\ At any time within 60 days of the 
filing of the proposed rule change, the Commission may summarily 
abrogate 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.\7\
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \6\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
    \7\ For purposes of calculating the 60-day period within which 
the Commission may summarily abrogate the proposed rule change under 
Section 19(b)(3)(C) of the Act, the Commission considers the period 
to commence on April 10, 2007, the date on which Amex filed 
Amendment No. 1. See 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(C).
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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 [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-Amex-2007-31 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-Amex-2007-31. 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. Copies of such 
filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of Amex. 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-Amex-2007-31 and should be submitted on or before May 9, 2007.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-7316 Filed 4-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P