Standard & Poor's Announces Changes in the S&P/TSX Canadian Indices

TORONTO , Sept. 23 /CNW/ - Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes:

    
    -   Barrick Gold Corporation (TSX:ABX) has announced the closing of a
        prospectus share offering. The relative weight of Barrick Gold will
        increase in the S&P/TSX Composite and Capped Composite, the S&P/TSX
        60, 60 Capped and Equity 60, the S&P/TSX Equity and Capped Equity,
        the S&P/TSX Capped Materials, the S&P/TSX Global Gold and the S&P/TSX
        Global Mining indices to reflect this issuance of new shares, which
        will be effective after the close of trading on Thursday, September
        24, 2009.
    -   The shareholders of ABB Grain Ltd. (ASX:ABB) have approved the scheme
        of arrangement with Viterra Inc. (TSX:VT) whereby Viterra will
        acquire ABB Grain for a combination of cash and shares. The relative
        weight of Viterra will increase in the S&P/TSX Composite and Capped
        Composite, the S&P/TSX Completion and Equity Completion, the S&P/TSX
        Equity and Capped Equity and the S&P/TSX Capped Consumer Staples
        indices to reflect the issuance of new shares as part of the
        transaction, which will be effective after the close of Wednesday,
        September 30, 2009.
    

Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.

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. Over $1 trillion is directly indexed to Standard & Poor's family of indices, which includes the S&P 500, the world's most followed stock market index, the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices, the S&P Global BMI, an index with approximately 11,000 constituents and the S&P GSCI, the industry's most closely-watched commodities index. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary 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 offices 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 nearly 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit: www.standardandpoors.com.

For further information: Tony North, [phone], [email protected]; Dave Guarino, [phone], [email protected]