SEC News Digest

COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commission Meetings

Following is a schedule of Commission meetings, which will be conducted under provisions of the Government in the Sunshine Act. Meetings will be scheduled according to the requirements of agenda items under consideration.

Open meetings will be held in the Auditorium, Room L-002 at the Commission's headquarters building, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. Visitors are welcome at all open meetings, insofar as space is available. Persons wishing to photograph or videotape Commission meetings must obtain permission in advance from the Secretary of the Commission. Persons wishing to tape record a Commission meeting should notify the Secretary's office 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Any member of the public who requires auxiliary aids such as a sign language interpreter or material on tape to attend a public meeting should contact SECInterpreter@SEC.gov at least three business days in advance. For any other reasonable accommodation related disability contact DisabilityProgramOfficer or call 202-551-4158.

Open Meeting - Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - 10:00 a.m.

The subject matter of the open meeting will be:

1. The Commission will hear oral argument on an appeal by Gary M. Kornman from an initial decision of an administrative law judge barring him from associating with any broker, dealer, or investment adviser. The law judge based her decision to impose associational bars on Kornman's having been criminally convicted of making a false statement to the Commission in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Issues likely to be considered include whether it is in the public interest to bar Kornman from association with any broker, dealer, or investment adviser.

2. The Commission will hear oral argument on an appeal by Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (Nature's Sunshine or the Company) from an initial decision of an administrative law judge. The law judge found that Nature's Sunshine had violated Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Exchange Act Rules 13a-1 and 13a-13 by failing to file any annual report on Form 10-K since filing its Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004, and by failing to file any quarterly report on Form 10-Q with financial statements that had been reviewed by a registered independent public accounting firm since filing its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. Issues likely to be considered include whether it is necessary or appropriate for the protection of investors to revoke the registration of Nature's Sunshine's common stock.

Closed Meeting - Thursday, January 8, 2009 - 1:00 p.m.

The subject matter of the closed meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 8, will be: formal orders of investigation; institution and settlement of injunctive actions; institution and settlement of administrative proceedings of an enforcement nature; an adjudicatory matter; and other matters relating to enforcement proceedings.

At times, changes in Commission priorities require alterations in the scheduling of meeting items. For further information and to ascertain what, if any, matters have been added, deleted or postponed, please contact: The Office of the Secretary at (202) 551-5400.

ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS

In the Matter of Joseph Lovaglio

On December 31, the Commission issued an Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Notice of Hearing (Order).

In the Order, the Division of Enforcement alleges that from at least August 2005 through November 2007, Respondent, age 26, was the managing director of Rabinovich & Associates, LP (the Fund or the Firm), an unregistered broker-dealer and investment company, and head of its sales operation. The Order further alleges that the Fund's general partner and portfolio manager, with whom Lovaglio also was associated, was Alex Rabinovich, an unregistered investment adviser, and that from March 2005 until October 2005, Lovaglio was a registered representative associated with a broker-dealer registered with the Commission.

The Order further alleges that on Dec. 5, 2008, a final judgment was entered against Lovaglio, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder, in the civil action entitled SEC v. Rabinovich & Associates, L.P., et al., Civil Action Number 07 Civ. 10547 (GEL), in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The final judgment was based upon findings of fact and conclusions of law made by the court in granting the Commission's motion for summary judgment against Lovaglio. Among other things, the court found that, from at least August 2005 through November 2007, Lovaglio and Alex Rabinovich operated the Fund, an unregistered investment company and broker-dealer, out of a storefront boiler room in Brooklyn; that during that period, Lovaglio and others raised approximately $2,250,000 through the sale of limited partnership interests in the Fund from more than 150 investors by making fraudulent statements about the Fund's investment performance and other material facts; that Lovaglio repeatedly misrepresented to investors and prospects, both personally and through the salesmen that he supervised and the firm's website and account statements for which he was responsible, that the Fund was highly profitable, when in fact it had done nothing but lose money throughout its existence and that the firm was located on Wall Street and was a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, when it was not, and failed to disclose that Rabinovich had been barred by the NASD from working for a member broker or dealer and that he himself was facing similar sanctions; and that Lovaglio had illegally offered and sold unregistered securities and illegally operated as an unregistered broker-dealer.

A hearing will be scheduled before an administrative law judge to determine whether the allegations contained in the Order are true, to provide the Respondent an opportunity to establish any defenses to such allegations, and to determine what, if any, remedial action is appropriate in the public interest.

The Order requires the Administrative Law Judge to issue an initial decision no later than 210 days from the date of service of this Order, pursuant to Rule 360(a)(2) of the Commission's Rules of Practice. (Rel. 34-59190; IA-2825; File No. 3-13322)

SELF-REGULATORY ORGANIZATIONS

Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Changes

A proposed rule change filed by NYSE Alternext US to extend the implementation of the NYSE Alternext Book Clerk program from Jan. 1, 2009, through March 31, 2009, (SR-NYSEALTR-2008-20) has become effective under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59176)

A proposed rule change (SR-NYSE-2008-136) filed by the New York Stock Exchange to extend the pilot liquidity provider credit on the NYSE Bonds system has become effective under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59177)

A proposed rule change (SR-NYSE-2008-137) filed by the New York Stock Exchange to extend the pilot program that offers liquidity takers a reduced transaction fee structure for certain bond trades executed on the NYSE Bonds system has become effective under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59178)

A proposed rule change (SR-NYSEALTR-2008-16) filed by NYSE Alternext US to make permanent the NYSE Alternext Bonds System fee schedule which is currently set to expire on Dec. 31, 2008, as well as make technical amendments to the fee schedule has become effective under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59179)

A proposed rule change (SR-CBOE-2008-130) filed by the Chicago Board Options Exchange relating to the Options Regulatory Fee has become effective under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59182)

Immediate Effectiveness of Amendment to a National Market System Plan

The proposed amendment to the National Market System Plan for the Selection and Reservation of Securities Symbols filed by NASDAQ OMX BX in order to become a party to the plan, has become effective pursuant to Section 11A(a)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 608 thereunder. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59187)

Approval of Proposed Rule Changes

The Commission approved a proposed rule change (SR-NYSEArca-2008-121), submitted pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by NYSE Arca, through its wholly owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca Equities, Inc., amending Rule 5.2(j)(6) to increase the permissible aggregate weight of underlying foreign country securities. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59180)

The Commission approved a proposed rule change (SR-FINRA-2007-021), as modified by Amendment No. 1 thereto, filed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority relating to amending the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes and the Code of Arbitration Procedure for Industry Disputes to address motions to dismiss and to amend the eligibility rule related to dismissals, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59189)

Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Changes

The Commission granted accelerated approval to a proposed rule change (SR-NYSEArca-2008-143) submitted by NYSE Arca pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to extend the pilot period for the NYSE Arca Realtime Reference Prices pilot program. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59184)

The Commission granted accelerated approval to a proposed rule change (SR-NYSE-2008-141) submitted by the New York Stock Exchange pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to extend the pilot period for the NYSE Realtime Reference Prices pilot program. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59185)

The Commission granted accelerated approval to a proposed rule change (SR-NASDAQ-2008-103) submitted by The NASDAQ Stock Market pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to extend the pilot program for NASDAQ Last Sale Data Feeds. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59186)

Proposed Rule Change

NYSE Arca filed a proposed rule change (SR-NYSEArca-2008-139) pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 amending the minor rule violation plan to increase certain sanctions. Publication is expected in the Federal Register during the week of January 5. (Rel. 34-59191)

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