SEC: Approval Of Order To Extend The Termination Date Of The Short Sale Pilot Order

On April 20, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved an order to extend the termination date of the short sale Pilot to Aug. 6, 2007. The Pilot temporarily suspends short sale price tests for certain securities so that the Commission can determine the effectiveness of such price tests and the impact of short selling in the absence of price tests. The Pilot had been scheduled to expire on April 28, 2006. Extending the Pilot termination date will maintain the status quo with regard to price tests while analysis of the Pilot results is completed.

Consistent with the Commission's previous orders, the staff has commenced studies based on one year of Pilot data. If the Pilot had terminated on April 28, 2006, market participants would need to make systems changes to comply with price tests for Pilot securities. The Commission's action avoids unnecessarily burdening market participants with the imposition of costs associated with restoring price tests for short sales in Pilot securities while allowing time for the Commission to analyze Pilot results that may be pertinent to any additional short sale rule making.

The Commission's order is available on the Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2006/34-53684.pdf.