AW Allied Waste Inds

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: http://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 http://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/. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: David M. Blitzer, Ph.D., Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee, +1-212-438-3907 Web Site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/ http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices

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