Standard & Poor's Announces Changes to U.S. Indices
January 03 2006 - 4:59PM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make
the following changes to the S&P 500 and S&P SmallCap 600
indices: * Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) will be added to
the S&P 500 after the close of trading on Wednesday, January 4.
Estee Lauder will take the place of S&P 500 constituent Mercury
Interactive Corp. (Nasdq: MERQE), which will be removed from the
index after today's close of trading. Mercury Interactive's stock
will be delisted from the NASDAQ National Market, and will begin
trading on the Pink Sheets, effective as of the open of trading
tomorrow, January 4. * Per-Se Technologies Inc. (Nasdq: PSTI) will
replace NDCHealth Corp. (NYSE:NDC) in the S&P SmallCap 600
after the close of trading on Friday, January 6. Per-Se is
acquiring NDCHealth in a deal expected to close on or about that
date, pending final approvals. Standard & Poor's will monitor
these transactions, and post any relevant updates on its website:
http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Estee Lauder manufactures and
markets skin care, makeup and fragrance products. Headquartered in
New York, NY, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS
(Global Industry Classification Standard) Personal Products
Sub-Industry index. Per-Se Technologies provides integrated
business management outsourcing services and software solutions
focused on the administrative functions of the healthcare industry.
Headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, the company will be added to the
S&P SmallCap 600 Health Care Services Sub-Industry index.
Following is a summary of the changes: S&P 500 INDEX - January
3, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY DELETED
Mercury Interactive Information Technology Application Software
S&P 500 INDEX - January 4, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR
GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Estee Lauder Consumer Staples Personal
Products S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - January 6, 2006 COMPANY GICS
ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Per-Se Technologies Health
Care Health Care Services DELETED NDCHealth Health Care Health Care
Services Additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do
not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the
companies concerned. About Standard & Poor's Standard &
Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the
world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices,
risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately
6,300 employees located in 20 countries and markets, Standard &
Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure
and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing
investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more
confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more
information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Founded in
1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information
services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial
services, education and business information markets through
leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and
McGraw-Hill Education. The Corporation has more than 290 offices in
37 countries. Sales in 2004 were $5.3 billion. Additional
information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: David M. Blitzer, Ph.D.
Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee (212)
438-3907 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/
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