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

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P 100, S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 indices:

-- S&P MidCap 400 constituent Equitable Resources Inc. (NYSE: EQT) will replace Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) in the S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Woodward Governor Co. (Nasdaq: WGOV) will replace Equitable Resources in the S&P MidCap 400, and Forrester Research Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) will replace Woodward Governor in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Thursday, December 18. Transocean is in the process of redomesticating to Switzerland, rendering it ineligible for continued inclusion in the S&P 500.

-- The following changes will be made to the S&P 100 after the close of trading on Friday, December 19: Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) will replace International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP), Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) will replace CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) will replace El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP), Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) will replace The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) will replace Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG), Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE: SGP) will replace American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG), and Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) will replace CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI). All companies being added to the S&P 100 are currently S&P 500 constituents, and all companies being removed from the S&P 100 will remain S&P 500 constituents.

"Standard & Poor's is making these changes to the S&P 100 in order to bolster its representativeness of the U.S. mega-cap equity space. All companies being added have market values of $23 billion or greater, while all being removed have market values below $6 billion," says Dr. David Blitzer, Chairman of the U.S. Index Committee.

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

Equitable Resources is an energy company that focuses on natural gas production, transmission and distribution, and energy management services. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Gas Utilities Sub-Industry Index.

Woodward Governor designs, manufactures and services energy control systems and components for commercial & military aircraft, turbines, reciprocating engines and electrical power system equipment. Headquartered in Fort Collins, CO, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Electrical Components & Equipment Sub-Industry Index.

Forrester Research provides advice to business and technology customers. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS IT Consulting & Other Services Sub-Industry Index.

Headquartered in Foster City, CA, Gilead Sciences engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of life-threatening infectious diseases.

Headquartered in Mooresville, NC, Lowe's operates as a home-improvement retailer.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Devon Energy specializes in oil and gas exploration, development, and production.

Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin is a military weapons manufacturer, as well as a significant supplier to NASA and other government agencies.

Headquartered in Deerfield, IL, Walgreen operates a chain of drug stores across the U.S.

Headquartered in Kenilworth, NJ, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and sells pharmaceuticals.

Headquartered in Beaverton, OR, Nike specializes in footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products worldwide.

    Following is a summary of the changes:



                      S&P 500 INDEX - December 18, 2008

            COMPANY             GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR   GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

    ADDED   Equitable Resources Utilities              Gas Utilities
    DELETED Transocean          Energy                 Oil & Gas Drilling




                   S&P MIDCAP 400 INDEX - December 18, 2008

             COMPANY             GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR  GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

    ADDED    Woodward Governor   Industrials           Electrical Components &
                                                         Equipment
    DELETED  Equitable Resources Utilities             Gas Utilities




                  S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - December 18, 2008

             COMPANY            GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR   GICS SUB-INDUSTRY

    ADDED    Forrester Research Information Technology IT Consulting &
                                                         Other Services
    DELETED  Woodward Governor  Industrials            Electrical Components &
                                                         Equipment



                      S&P 100 INDEX - December 19, 2008
              COMPANY             GICS ECONOMIC        GICS SUB-INDUSTRY
                                  SECTOR
    ADDED     Gilead Sciences     Health Care          Biotechnology
              Lowe's              Consumer             Home Improvement
                Companies           Discretionary        Retail
              Devon Energy        Energy               Oil & Gas Exploration &
                                                         Production
              Lockheed Martin     Industrials          Aerospace & Defense
              Walgreen            Consumer Staples     Drug Retail
              Schering-Plough     Health Care          Pharmaceuticals
              Nike                Consumer             Footwear
                                    Discretionary
    DELETED   International       Materials            Paper Products
                Paper
              CBS                 Consumer             Broadcasting
                                    Discretionary
              El Paso             Energy               Oil & Gas Storage &
                                                         Transportation
              AES                 Utilities            Independent Power
                                                         Producers &
                                                         Energy Traders
              Hartford Financial  Financials           Multi-Line Insurance
              Services
              American            Financials           Multi-Line Insurance
                International
                Group
              CIGNA               Health Care          Managed Health
                                                         Care

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