[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 249 (Monday, December 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79535-79536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30789]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-59118; File No. SR-NYSE-2008-129]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; 
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To 
Establish the Minimum Price Variation of $0.01 for Orders and 
Quotations in Bonds Admitted to Dealings on NYSE

December 18, 2008.
    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 December 16, 2008, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' or 
``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.
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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 amend Exchange Rule 86 (NYSE Bonds \SM\) 
to establish the minimum price variation of $0.01 for orders and 
quotations in bonds admitted to dealings on NYSE.

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 those 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 parts 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 seeks to amend Exchange Rule 86 (NYSE Bonds \SM\) to 
establish the minimum price variation of $0.01 for orders and 
quotations in bonds admitted to dealings through the NYSE Bond System.
    NYSE Bonds is the Exchange's electronic system for receiving, 
processing, executing and reporting bids, offers and executions in 
bonds. Rule 86 (NYSE Bonds \SM\) prescribes how bonds are traded 
through the NYSE Bonds trading platform, including the receipt, 
execution and reporting of bond transactions. Rule 86 was approved by 
the Commission in March 2007.\3\
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    \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55496 (March 20, 
2007), 72 FR 14631 (March 28, 2007) (approving SR-NYSE-2006-37).
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    Rule 86(f) provides that NYSE Bonds will accept bids and offers in 
bonds priced to three decimal places. The Exchange proposes to amend 
Rule 86(f) to provide that NYSE Bonds will accept bids and offers in 
bonds price to two decimal places.
    The Exchange believes this change will place its bond trading on a 
more competitive basis with how bonds are traded in other systems. 
Since the implementation of the new trading system for NYSE bonds, the 
Exchange has sought to increase the liquidity on its bond trading 
system. The Exchange believes that some of its potential liquidity 
providers, e.g., retail customers, have been reluctant to place orders 
representing such liquidity when there is a high possibility that their 
orders can be ``stepped ahead'' by other orders that ``improve'' the 
price by a sub-penny. To address this, the Exchange believes that a two 
decimal minimum price variation will act to level the playing field 
among its bond customers, and serve to make the Exchange bond market 
more attractive to a retail customer base.
    The Exchange notes that parallel changes are proposed to be made to 
the rules of the NYSE Alternext Exchange (formerly the American Stock 
Exchange). These changes are described in SR-NYSEALTR-2008-13.\4\
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    \4\ See SR-NYSEALTR 2008-13 (formally submitted on December 16, 
2008).
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2. Statutory Basis
    The basis under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act'') 
\5\ for this proposed rule change is the requirement under Section 
6(b)(5) \6\ that an Exchange have rules that are designed 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. The proposed rule change 
also is designed to support the principles of Section 11A(a)(1) \7\ in 
that it seeks to assure economically efficient execution of securities 
transactions, make it practicable for brokers to execute investors' 
orders in the best market and provide an opportunity for investors' 
orders to be executed without the participation of a dealer. As 
outlined above, the Exchange believes that the instant proposal is in 
keeping with these principles in that it seeks to amend NYSE Rule 86 to 
place its bond trading system on a more competitive basis with other 
markets trading bonds.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1(a)(1).
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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 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 with respect 
to the proposed rule change.

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

    The Exchange represented that the proposed rule change qualifies 
for immediate effectiveness pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 
\8\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder \9\ because it: (i) Does not 
significantly affect the protection of investors or the public 
interest; (ii) does not impose any significant burden on competition; 
and (iii) by its terms, does not become operative for 30 days from the 
date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as the Commission may 
designate if

[[Page 79536]]

consistent with the protection of investors and the public 
interest.\10\
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \9\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \10\ In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) 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. The Commission has 
determined to waive the five-day pre-filing notice requirement in 
this case.
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    The Exchange has requested that the Commission waive the 30-day 
operative delay, so that the proposed rule change may become operative 
upon filing. The Commission hereby grants the Exchange's request and 
believes that waiving the 30-day operative delay is consistent with the 
protection of investors and the public interest.\11\ As a result of 
this action, the Exchange will be able to implement without undue delay 
a proposed rule change that reduces the likelihood of quotations or 
orders on NYSE Bonds from being stepped ahead of by an insignificant 
amount. Accordingly, the Commission designates the proposed rule change 
operative upon filing with the Commission.
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    \11\ For the purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative 
delay, the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on 
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 
78c(f).
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    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.

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-NYSE-2008-129 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-2008-129. 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 the 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 Number SR-NYSE-2008-129 and should be 
submitted on or before January 20, 2009.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
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    \12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-30789 Filed 12-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P