American Stock Exchange News Release

Structured Products Release
Media Contact: Mary Chung
American Stock Exchange
212-306-1641/mary.chung@amex.com

AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE LISTS MERRILL LYNCH 8% STRATEGIC RETURN NOTES LINKED TO THE CBOE S&P 500 BUYWRITE INDEX

New York, June 8, 2005 -  The American Stock Exchange (Amex) today began trading Merrill Lynch 8% Strategic Return Notes Linked To The CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index.

Priced at $10 with an initial offer size of 14 million shares, this equity trades under the ticker symbol BXA and has a maturation date of June 7, 2010.

The notes are issued by Merrill Lynch. The Amex specialist unit is Kellogg Capital Group.

If you would like to receive a copy of the prospectus for BXA, please contact the Capital Markets Group at the American Stock Exchange at 212-306-1493.

About American Stock Exchange

The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) is the only primary exchange that offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRSSM. In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 164 ETFs to date. The Amex is also one of the largest options exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks.