Standard & Poor's Announces S&P/TSX Preferred Share Index Methodology Changes

TORONTO, July 9 /CNW/ - Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Services announces the following modifications to the methodology of the S&P/TSX Preferred Share Index, which will become effective after the close of trading on Friday, July 16, 2010, with the second semi-annual review of the index in 2010:

    
    -   There will be no limit to the number of preferred share issues from
        any given issuer. Previously, the number of issues per issuer was
        limited to a maximum of three.
    -   There will be a maximum relative weight of 10% set per issuer. All
        eligible lines for an issuer will be included in the index and capped
        on a pro-rata basis to a maximum of 10% of the total index market
        capitalization.
    -   Preferred shares that have a mandatory conversion or a scheduled
        maturity or redemption within 12 months of the review period will not
        be added to the index. Existing index constituents which have a
        redemption or conversion will be removed on the redemption or
        conversion date.
    -   A buffer rule for existing index constituents will be applied for the
        dollar value traded liquidity requirement. Existing constituents must
        have a minimum average dollar value traded in the 3 months prior to
        the review date of C$100,000.
    -   The liquidity requirement to get included in the index will increase
        from C$100,000 to C$200,000.
    -   Effective January 2011 the rebalance scheduled will change from
        semi-annually to quarterly. Rebalancing will occur after the close on
        the third Friday of January, April, July and October.
    

In order to lessen the impact of these changes, the new methodology will be phased in beginning with the July 2010 rebalance. The index will rebalance 25% each month from July to October, effective after the close on the third Friday, where S&P will apply a weight factor to each issue in order to gradually bring each in to the index.

Company additions to and deletions from an S&P 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. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.32 trillion invested and $4.91 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, 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: www.standardandpoors.com.

For further information: Tony North, 1 416 507 3200, [email protected]; Dave Guarino, 1 212 438 1471, [email protected]