Overview

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission') today is proposing an amendment to Rule 11Ac1-1 ("Quote Rule') under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The proposed amendment reinforces the Commission's recent initiatives to foster market liquidity, transparency and efficiency. The amendment to the Quote Rule will mandate continuous two-sided quotations from over-the-counter ("OTC') market makers and exchange specialists that account for more than 1% of the transaction volume in a security included on the Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq security').