Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, notice is hereby given that on March 3, 2009, NYSE Alternext U.S. LLC (“NYSEALTR” or 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 NYSEALTR. The Exchange has designated this proposal as one concerned solely with the administration of the Exchange pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act and Rule 19b-4(f)(3) thereunder, which renders the proposal effective upon filing with the Commission. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
17 CFR 240.19b-4.
17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(3).
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend its Certificate of Formation, Amended and Restated Operating Agreement, Rules, and Company Guide to change the name of the Exchange to NYSE Amex LLC.
The text of the proposed rule change is available at NYSE Alternext, the Commission's Public Reference Room, and http://www.nyse.com.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, NYSEALTR 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. NYSEALTR 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 purpose of this proposed rule change is to change the name of the Exchange to “NYSE Amex LLC.” At the time of the acquisition of the American Stock Exchange LLC (“Amex”) by NYSE Euronext on October 1, 2008, the name of the Exchange, as the successor entity to Amex, was initially established as “NYSE Alternext U.S. LLC.” After further analysis following the acquisition, the Exchange has determined that for branding purposes it would be desirable to retain some reference to the historic Amex exchange in the name of the Exchange.
Specifically, the Certificate of Formation of the Exchange shall be amended to remove all references to “NYSE Alternext U.S. LLC” and replace them with “NYSE Amex LLC.” The Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of NYSE Alternext U.S. LLC shall again be amended and restated to become the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of NYSE Amex LLC, with the word “Company” to be redefined to represent “NYSE Amex LLC” and ARTICLE I, Section 1.01 to be revised to state the name of the limited liability company as “NYSE Amex LLC.” In the Exchange's Rules and its Company Guide, all references to “Alternext” or “Alternext US” will be replaced with the word “Amex.” None of the foregoing changes are substantive. Two minor non-substantive corrections to the lettering format in one rule will also be made.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”), in general, and furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) in particular in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in 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. More specifically, changing the name of the Exchange to include a reference to the historic Amex exchange may help eliminate potential confusion among investors and assist in clarifying for them the role of the Exchange in the marketplace and the types of companies whose securities are listed here.
15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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 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 proposed rule change is concerned solely with the administration of the Exchange, it has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act and subparagraph (f)(3) of Rule 19b-4 thereunder. 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.
17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(3).
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-NYSEALTR-2009-24 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-NYSEALTR-2009-24. 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 NYSEALTR. 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-NYSEALTR-2009-24 and should be submitted on or before April 9, 2009.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-5979 Filed 3-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P