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Background
On Thursday, November 13, 2003 the American Stock Exchange will commence trading in BIOGEN IDEC Inc. (Symbol: BIIB) and SanDisk Corporation (Symbol: SNDK) pursuant to its Nasdaq UTP Program. BIIB is the new stock created as a result of the IDEC Pharmaceuticals acquisition of Biogen (Symbol: BGEN). The new entity will replace BGEN in the S&P 500 Index. Please note that the BGEN- IDEC merger is contingent upon shareholder approval.
SNDK will be added to the Nasdaq-100 Index on November 13, 2003 to replace BGEN. For a complete list of the Nasdaq securities currently trading on the Amex floor, please visit http://www.amex.com/
The Amex Specialist information for the two securities is as follows:
| Symbol | Security Name | Specialist |
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| BIIB | BIOGEN IDEC Inc. | Bear Hunter Structured Products |
| SNDK | SanDisk Corporation | Equitec Specialist, LLC |
Additional Information
S&P and Amex Pilot Program to Provide Closing Prices for Nasdaq Securities
On October 8, 2003, Standard & Poor's and the American Stock Exchange announced a pilot program to provide standardized auction market closing prices for Nasdaq securities in the S&P 500 Index, the most widely used benchmark to track U.S. stock market performance.
The Amex will provide a single closing price for six well-known Nasdaq stocks starting on December 1, 2003. In January, six additional Nasdaq stocks will be added to the program. If successful, the pilot could be expanded by Standard & Poor's to include changes in index pricing procedures for closing prices for all Nasdaq-listed securities in the S&P 500.
The first six stocks to participate in the program are:
- Altera Corporation (Symbol: ALTR)
- Genzyme Corp. (Symbol: GENZ)
- Huntington Bancshares (Symbol: HBAN)
- NVIDIA, Inc. (Symbol: NVDA)
- Starbucks Corporation (Symbol: SBUX)
- Staples, Inc. (Symbol: SPLS)
For more information on this program, see http://www.amex.com/equities/nasdaqUTP/NqSnP500.htm
Trading Rules: Please be advised that the Amex does not have a bid test or tick-test restriction for short sales in the UTP trading of Nasdaq securities.
Service Desk: The Amex has a Service Desk operation specifically focused on the Amex Program to Trade Nasdaq Listed Securities. The UTP Service Desk manager can be reached at 212-306-2600 and will answer any questions regarding orders and executions.
Regulation: For regulatory concerns you may contact the Amex at our UTP Regulation Hot Line: 212-306-AMEX. This number will put the caller in contact with a regulatory analyst from Amex Member Firm Regulation who will address your concerns. For immediate resolution of trade related issues, the call should be first placed to the Service Desk.
Thank you for you attention to this matter. For more Information, please call 800-932-1332 or e-mail tradenasdaq@amex.com.
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