American Stock Exchange News Release

Structured Products Release
Media Contact: Melanie Jacobus
American Stock Exchange
212-306-1640/melanie.jacobus@amex.com

AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE LISTS MERRILL LYNCH'S ACCELERATED RETURN NOTES LINKED TO THE ENERGY SELECT SECTOR INDEX

New York, December 22, 2006 -  The American Stock Exchange (Amex) today began trading Merrill Lynch's Accelerated Return Notes Linked to the Energy Select Sector Index.

Priced at $10.00 per unit with an initial offer size of 3,600,000 shares, this equity trades under the ticker symbol ELC and has a maturity date of February 29, 2008.

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 ELC, please visit the American Stock Exchange website at http://www.amex.com.

About American Stock Exchange

The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) 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 222 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. For more information, please visit www.amex.com