Standard & Poor?s Announces Changes to U.S. Indices

Wed Nov 26, 6:04 PM

NEW YORK, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 indices:

    --  S&P MidCap 400 constituent The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE: DNB) will replace Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) in the S&P 500,
        Thoratec Corp. (Nasdaq: THOR) will replace Dun & Bradstreet in the
        S&P MidCap 400, and Liz Claiborne will replace Material Sciences
        Corp. (NYSE: MSC) in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading
        on Monday, December 1. As of today's close of trading, Liz
        Claiborne's market capitalization made it more appropriate for
        inclusion in the S&P SmallCap 600, and Material Sciences had a
        market capitalization of approximately $17 million, whereas the minimum
        market capitalization needed for admission to the S&P SmallCap 600
        index is currently $250 million.

    --  S&P MidCap 400 constituent Republic Services  Inc.(NYSE: RSG) will
        replace Allied Waste Industries Inc. (NYSE: AW) in the S&P 500, and
        FTI Consulting Inc. (NYSE: FCN) will replace Republic Services in the
        S&P MidCap 400 after the close of trading on Wednesday, December 3. 
        Allied Waste Industries is being acquired by Republic Services in a
        transaction expected to be completed on or about that date, pending
        final approvals.

Standard & Poor's will monitor these transactions, and post any relevant updates on its website: www.standardandpoors.com.

Dun & Bradstreet provides business information. Headquartered in Short Hills, NJ, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Research & Consulting Services Sub-Industry index.

Thoratec is a manufacturer of circulatory support products. Headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Health Care Equipment Sub-Industry index.

Liz Claiborne designs and markets a portfolio of retail-based brands. Headquartered in New York, NY, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods Sub-Industry index.

Republic Services is a provider of environmental services. The combined company will be headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, and will be added to the S&P 500 GICS Environmental & Facilities Services Sub-Industry index.

FTI Consulting is a business advisory firm. Headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Research & Consulting Services Sub-Industry index.

Following is a summary of the changes:


                             S&P 500 INDEX - December 1, 2008

                  COMPANY      GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR   GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

      ADDED  Dun & Bradstreet     Industrials           Research &
                                                        Consulting
                                                         Services

     DELETED  Liz Claiborne         Consumer        Apparel, Accessories &
                                 Discretionary          Luxury Goods



                            S&P MIDCAP 400 INDEX - December 1, 2008

                  COMPANY        GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR  GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

      ADDED      Thoratec            Health Care     Health Care Equipment

     DELETED   Dun & Bradstreet      Industrials        Research &
                                                        Consulting
                                                          Services



                         S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - December 1, 2008

                 COMPANY      GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR    GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

      ADDED  Liz Claiborne         Consumer        Apparel, Accessories &
                                Discretionary           Luxury Goods

     DELETED    Material
                Sciences           Materials          Specialty Chemicals



                           S&P 500 INDEX - December 3, 2008

                  COMPANY       GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR   GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

      ADDED  Republic Services      Industrials         Environmental &
                                                      Facilities Services

     DELETED   Allied Waste        Industrials          Environmental &
                                                     Facilities Services



                            S&P MIDCAP 400 INDEX - December 3, 2008

                 COMPANY        GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR   GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

      ADDED   FTI Consulting       Industrials      Research & Consulting
                                                            Services

     DELETED  Republic Services    Industrials         Environmental &
                                                    Facilities 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 Index Services

Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.5 trillion invested and $4.85 trillion benchmarked, and the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 23 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.

SOURCE Standard & Poor's