Amex New ETF Listings Surge 100%; Amex Launches New Electronic Trading Platform; NEW YORK, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) today released its 2006 year-end results, highlighting the launch of AEMI(SM), its new state-of-the-art trading platform, which places the Exchange's technology among the most advanced in the world for electronic trading. The Amex continued to focus on innovation and product diversification to create new opportunities and compete aggressively in its business areas. 2006 Highlights * Amex launches AEMI, its new trading platform, which will provide immediate and automated execution of electronic orders and will be in full compliance with Regulation NMS. * Amex has a record year in exchange traded funds (ETFs) by listing 92 new ETFs, doubling the number of listings from 2005 and continuing its dominance in the industry. * Amex launches remote options market-making program with three of Wall Street's largest options players. * Amex Composite Index (XAX) surges 17%. * Amex lists more than 100 structured products for the fifth consecutive year. "The American Stock Exchange worked hard to transform its technology and business strategy in 2006, re-emerging as a robust and healthy exchange with strong leadership and great potential," said Neal Wolkoff, Amex Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "As we re-establish business relationships and move forward with our strategic plans, I am confident that we are well positioned to pursue new opportunities and continue the momentum we have gained." Technology The Amex successfully launched its new state-of-the-art trading platform, AEMI, on November 6. The new trading platform, which was designed to be as fast as an ECN, provides immediate and automated execution of electronic orders. AEMI also supports brokered orders and the best qualities of the auction market when conditions warrant human interaction. The AEMI platform will trade equities and ETFs at the outset but it has the capability of trading multiple instruments. By the end of 2006, Amex migrated nearly 300 products to the AEMI platform, including ETFs, equities and structured products. The Exchange intends to ramp up the migration over the next few weeks and have all its equities and ETF products onto AEMI in advance of the February 5, 2007 deadline set by the SEC for SRO compliance with Regulation NMS. "The launch of AEMI is an important achievement and milestone for the Amex and provides our customers with world-class technology and puts the Amex in a much more competitive position for the future," said Antoine Shagoury, Chief Information Officer. Exchange Traded Funds The Amex had a record year in ETF listings in 2006, continuing to be the premier listing venue for ETFs, a product category it pioneered in 1993. The Amex ETF Marketplace listed 92 new products from 12 different issuers, doubling the previous year's listings. The Amex closed the year with a total of 222 ETFs and $225 billion in assets. In 2006, the Amex was successful in helping new issuers bring their innovative products to market and building upon existing issuer relationships. Claymore Securities, MACRO Securities Depositor, Van Eck Global, ProShares Advisors, Deutsche Bank and Victoria Bay Asset Management are new issuers who launched their products on the Amex, marking their first foray into the ETF marketplace. The Amex also welcomed new products from returning issuers including First Trust Advisors L.P., PowerShares Capital Management, The Vanguard Group, State Street Global Advisors, Rydex Investments and iShares. The selection of the Amex as a listing venue by these 12 different issuers is a testament to Amex's renowned innovation, expertise and product support for ETF listings. Cliff Weber, Senior Vice President of Amex's ETF Marketplace, said, "2006 was an exceptional year and the outlook remains bright as we continue to be the listing venue of choice for new and innovative products. We look forward to working with our existing partners and with new entrants to the marketplace." Options In 2006, the Amex options business launched its remote options market- making programs -- Remote Registered Options Traders (RROTs) and Supplemental Registered Options Traders (SROTs). The RROT program allows on-floor market makers and specialists to electronically quote in products outside of the trading crowd they stand in -- creating greater quote competition and adding liquidity. SROTs stream quotes from off the trading floor in their assigned classes, which are drawn from the most actively traded options industry wide. The SROT program was launched with three of Wall Street's largest options players, Citadel Derivatives Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s SLK-Hull Derivatives LLC unit and Timber Hill/Interactive Brokers. "Having such high-caliber names in the industry join the first phase of our SROT program is a vote of confidence for the new Amex," said Michael T. Bickford, Senior Vice President of Options. "In 2007, we plan to expand our SROT program with the addition of three more firms." On the technology front, Amex activated two new data centers in 2006 to support ANTE, the Amex's options trading platform. The completion of a new ticker plant to improve system performance and the introduction of a FIX front end for more flexible order entry are on schedule for early 2007. In 2006, the Amex garnered a total of 197,045,745 options contracts traded, and an average daily volume for the year of 785,043. In equity options trades, which make up the majority of the Amex's options trading volume, the Amex traded 186,995,065 contracts and an average daily volume of 745,000. Equities The Amex Composite Index (XAX), a barometer of the performance of Amex- listed stocks, continued its strong performance in 2006, rising 17% in to 2056.43. The index outpaced most domestic broad-based indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, New York Stock Exchange Composite, Russell 2000 and S&P 500 over the past five and 10 years. The XAX is up 143% over five years and 259% over 10 years. In 2006, 69 companies from a wide range of sectors including biotechnology, finance, mining, Internet services and energy selected the Amex as their listing venue due to the many value-added services the Amex makes available to meet the needs of developing companies in today's competitive public marketplace. Overall, the average market capitalization at the time of listing of this year's group was 27% higher than the average in 2005. Strength in the 2006 listings was also evidenced by an increase of 52% in the share price of the average listing over 2005. Among the Amex's international listings in 2006 were companies located in Canada, China and the United Kingdom. "The Amex continues to help identify the needs of small and mid-cap companies so they can capitalize on opportunities in a highly competitive market," said John McGonegal, Senior Vice President of Equities. "We leverage our strength within the domestic markets and further expand our commitment to attracting desirable international listings by demonstrating the unique value proposition a listing on the Amex provides." Capital Markets The Amex's Capital Markets Group showed impressive strength in 2006, having a solid year in bringing new products to the marketplace and continuing to exemplify why it has become a premier destination for structured products issuers. The Amex listed 114 new issues in 2006. As of December 31, 2006 the Amex traded a total of 394 structured products. "The Amex's Capital Markets Group continues to surpass expectations and bring new and innovative structured products to the marketplace," said Richard Mikaliunas, Senior Vice President of the Capital Markets Group. "This is the fifth consecutive year that we have listed more than 100 new issues and we expect to continue to be the industry leader in 2007." Closed-End Funds The Amex strengthened its closed-end fund business in 2006, adding 10 new closed-end funds and welcoming back five issuers. The Amex listed six Credit Suisse-advised closed-end funds that voluntarily transferred from the New York Stock Exchange, which included: The Chile Fund, Inc. (CH), Credit Suisse Asset Management Income Fund, Inc. (CIK), Credit Suisse High Yield Bond Fund (DHY), The Emerging Markets Telecommunications Fund, Inc. (ETF), The First Israel Fund, Inc. (ISL), and The Latin America Equity Fund, Inc. (LAQ). These funds have a combined market capitalization of more than $1 billion and join Credit Suisse's The Indonesia Fund, Inc. (IF), which has been listed on Amex since 2003. All Credit Suisse-advised closed-end funds are now listed on the Amex. Clough Capital Partners L.P. returned to list their third closed-end fund, Clough Global Opportunity Fund (GLO). GLO ranks as one of the largest closed- end fund IPOs in the U.S. in 2006. Other returning issuers include RMR Advisors, Inc., which listed its fifth fund on the Amex, RMR Asia Pacific Real Estate Fund (RAP). First Trust Advisors L.P., returned to list their sixth closed-end fund on the Amex, First Trust Tax-Advantaged Preferred Income Fund (FPI). Central Fund of Canada Funds listed their second trust, Central Gold- Trust (GTU), which invests in gold bullion. GTU began trading in 2003 on the Toronto Stock Exchange and is now dually listed on Amex. These firms are among 32 leading closed-end fund issuers who have chosen to list their funds on the Amex. The Amex is the second largest closed-end fund exchange in the U.S., with 149 listings and total assets exceeding $32.5 billion as of year-end 2006. About the American Stock Exchange The American Stock Exchange (Amex) offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRS. In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 229 ETFs to date. The Amex is also one of the largest options exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks. For more information, please visit http://www.amex.com/. DATASOURCE: The American Stock Exchange CONTACT: Mary Chung of American Stock Exchange, +1-212-306-1641, Web site: http://www.amex.com/

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