PART VIII SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION As the discussion in prior sections of this Report indicates, most large corporations in which there is a substantial public investor interest have filed registration statements or registration applications under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act with the Commission and are required to file annual and other periodic reports. Widespread public dissemination of the financial and other data included in these documents is essential if public investors generally are to benefit by the disclosure requirements of the securities laws. This is accomplished in part by distribution of the prospectus or offering circular in connection with new offerings. Much of the data reflected therein and in the annual and other periodic reports is also reprinted and receives general circulation through the medium of securities manuals and other financial publications, thus becoming available to broker-dealer and investment adviser firms, trust departments and other financial institutions and, through them, to public investors generally. The documents mentioned above are also available for public inspection both at the offices of the Commission and at the exchanges on which particular securities may be listed. Various activities of the Commission also facilitate public dissemination of information filed as well as other information. Among these is the issuance of a daily "News Digest" which contains (1) a resume of each proposal for the public offering of securities for which a Securities Act registration statement is filed; (2) a list of issuers of securities traded over the counter which have filed registration statements under the Securities Exchange Act; (3) a list of companies which have filed periodic reports disclosing significant corporate developments; (4) a summary of all notices of filings of applications and declarations, and of all orders, decisions, rules and rule proposals issued by the Commission; (5) announcements of the Commission's participation in corporate reorganization proceedings under Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act and of the filing of advisory reports of the Commission on the fairness and feasibility of reorganization plans; (6) a brief report regarding actions of courts in litigation resulting from the Commission's law enforcement program; and (7) a brief reference to each statistical report issued by the Commission. The News Digest is made immediately available to the press, and it is also reprinted and distributed by the Government Printing Office, on a subscription basis, to some 5,000 investors, securities firms, practicing lawyers and others. In addition, the Commission maintains mailing lists for the distribution of the full text of its orders, decisions, rules and rule proposals. These informational activities are supplemented by public discussions from time to time of legal, accounting and other problems arising in the administration of the Federal securities laws. During the year, members of the Commission and various staff officers made speeches before a number of professional, business and other groups interested in the Federal securities laws and their administration and participated in panel discussions of like nature. Participation in these discussions not only serves to keep attorneys, accountants, corporate executives and others abreast of developments in the administration of those laws, but it also is of considerable value to the Commission in learning about the problems experienced by those who seek to comply with those laws. In order to facilitate such compliance, the Commission also issues, from time to time, general interpretive releases and policy statements explaining the operation of particular provisions of the Federal securities laws and outlining policies and practices of the Commission. Publications. In addition to the daily News Digest, and releases concerning Commission action under the Acts administered by it and litigation involving securities violations, the Commission issues a number of other publications, including the following: Weekly: Weekly trading data on New York Exchanges: Round-lot and odd-lot transactions effected on the New York and American Stock Exchanges (information is also included in the Statistical Bulletin). Monthly: Statistical Bulletin." Official Summary of Securities Transactions and Holdings of Officers, Quarterly: Financial Report, U.S. Manufacturing Corporations (jointly with the Plant and Equipment Expenditures of U.S. Corporations (jointly with the Department of Commerce). New Securities Offerings. Working Capital of U.S. Corporations. Stock Transactions of Financial Institutions. Annually: Annual Report of the Commission." Securities Traded on Exchanges under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. List of Companies Registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Classification, Assets and Location of Registered Investment Companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940.* Private Noninsured Pension Funds (assets available quarterly in the Statistical Bulletin). Directory of Companies Filing Annual Reports with the Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934." Other Publications: Decisions and Reports of the Commission." (Out of print, available only Securities and Exchange Commission-The Work of the Securities and Commission Report on Public Policy Implications of Investment Company Cost of Flotation of Registered Equity Issues, 1963-1965.* Report of SEC Special Study of Securities Markets. (Out of print, Institutional Investor Study Report of the Securities and Exchange • Must be ordered from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. b This document is available in photocopy form. Purchasers are billed by the printing company which prepares the photocopies. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION The many thousands of registration statements, applications, declarations, and annual and periodic reports filed with the Commission each year are available for public inspection and copying at the Commission's public reference room in its principal offices in Washington, D.C. Also available at that location are other documents contained in Commission files and indexes of Commission decisions. The categories of materials which are available for public inspection and copying are specified in the Commission's rule. concerning records and information, 17 CFR 200.80, as revised to implement the provisions of the Public Information Amendment to Section 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act which became effective July 4, 1967.1 The rule also establishes a procedure to be followed in requesting records or copies thereof, provides a method of administrative appeal from the denial of access to any record, and provides for the imposition of fees when more than one-half man-hour of work is performed by members of the Commission's staff to locate and make available records requested. The Commission has special public reference facilities in the New York and Chicago Regional Offices and some facilities for public use in other regional and branch offices. Each regional office has available for public examination copies of prospectuses used in recent offerings of securities registered under the Securities Act, registration statements and recent annual reports filed pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act by companies having their principal office in the region, recent annual reports and quarterly reports filed pursuant to the Investment Company Act by management investment companies having their principal office in the region, broker-dealer and investment adviser applications originating in the region, letters of notification under Regulation A filed in the region, and indexes of Commission decisions. Additional material is available in the New York and Chicago regional offices. Members of the public may make arrangements through the Public Reference Section at the Commission's principal offices to purchase copies of material in the Commission's public files. The copies are produced by a commercial copying company which supplies them to the public at prices established under a contract with the Commission. Current prices begin at 12 cents per page for pages not exceeding 811⁄2" x 14" in size, with a $2 minimum charge. Under the same contract, the company also makes microfiche and microfilm copies of Commission public documents available on a subscription or individual order basis to persons or firms who have or can obtain viewing facilities. In microfiche services, up to 60 images of document pages are contained on 4" x 6" pieces of film, referred to as "fiche." Annual microfiche subscriptions are offered in a variety of packages covering all public reports filed on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, N-1Q and N-1R 1 As described in the 36th Annual Report, pp. 204-205, during the fiscal year the Commission adopted a rule (17 CFR 200.81) making requests for noaction and interpretative letters submitted on or after December 31, 1970 and |