FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  98-10


   SEC ADOPTS RULE REQUIRING PLAIN ENGLISH IN PROSPECTUSES

     Washington, DC, January 22, 1998 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission today adopted a rule requiring plain
English for the cover page, summary, and risk factor sections
of prospectuses.  The Commission also codified earlier
interpretive advice on how public companies can comply with
the current rule that prospectuses be clear, concise and
understandable.

     "Today's plain English rule is very important for
investors who will now be able to read and understand the
information that up to this point had been unintelligible to
all but a few lawyers and market professionals," said Arthur
Levitt, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

     Chairman Levitt also noted that the Commission intends
to practice what it preaches in urging the use of plain
English in its own communications.  Yesterday, Mr. Levitt
released the winners of the "Chairman's Plain English
Challenge," an effort to raise awareness within the
Commission of the need for clear communications.  The
Chairman has also appointed a Plain English Task Force within
the Commission to guide the SEC's internal efforts toward
more effective communications.

     Attached is a fact sheet outlining the main aspects of
the new rule.

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                  Final Plain English Rule
                              
   Today, the Commission adopted the final plain English rule
with some changes from the initial proposals. The rule
applies to prospectuses prepared by operating companies and
mutual funds in connection with their public offerings. With
this new rule and the accompanying amendments to current
rules, prospectuses should become simpler, clearer, more
useful, and, we hope, more used. This rule will go into
effect on October 1, 1998.

        New paragraph (d) to Rule 421 (Regulation C)
   We require registrants to use plain English principles in
the organization, language, and design of the cover page,
summary, and risk factors section of their prospectuses.
Registrants must draft the language in these sections so
that, at a minimum, it substantially complies with each of
the following plain English writing principles:

   *    active voice;
   *    short sentences;
   *    definite, concrete, everyday words;
   *    tabular presentation or "bullet" lists for complex
        material, whenever possible;
   *    no legal jargon or highly technical business terms; and
   *    no multiple negatives.

Also, registrants may include in these sections or other
sections of the prospectus design elements, so long as the
design is not misleading and the required information is
clear.

                    Additional Amendments

   To help implement these changes, we are also adopting
amendments to disclosure regulations and registration forms
for public companies and mutual funds.

                Changes to Initial Proposals

   Based on the experience we gained in the plain English
pilot program and the comment letters we received, we are not
adopting any rules or amendments that would:

   *    limit the length of the summary;
   *    limit lithe number of risk factors; or
   *    prioritize the risk factors.
                              
                  A Plain English Handbook

     In about six weeks, The Office of Investor Education and
Assistance will release, in final form, A Plain English
Handbook: How to Create Clear SEC Disclosure Documents. It
will be available on our Internet site but, because it
contains a lot of graphics, we suggest you request a paper
copy by calling (800) SEC-0330. The Internet address for the
handbook is (http://www.sec.gov/consumer/plaine.htm).