Nasdaq To Freeze Certain Data From December 27, 1999, Through January 3, 2000 As Part Of Y2K Plan

The Nasdaq Stock Market® yesterday announced that, as part of its Y2K implementation plan, Nasdaq® will not make data changes for equity and debt issues and market participants on the Nasdaq system from Monday, December 27, 1999, through January 3, 2000. "This data freeze will be imposed to minimize activity in the system during the brief transition period to the new year," said Gregor S. Bailar, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD®)-parent of The Nasdaq Stock Market. "For us, there's no such thing as being over-prepared." The following updates will not be done during the freeze: Initial public offerings (IPOs) on Nasdaq or the OTC Bulletin Board® (OTCBB); New additions (seasoned securities) to Nasdaq; Name changes for Nasdaq OTCBB, non-OTCBB, Mutual Fund Quotation, SystemSM (MFQS) and Fixed-Income Pricing SystemSM (FIPS) securities; Symbol changes for Nasdaq, OTCBB, non-OTCBB, MFQS and FIPS securities; Addition to MFQS (Mutual Fund Quotation System) ; Additions to OTCBB - 211 filings; Additions to non-OTCBB trade reporting file; Name and/or symbol changes for existing NASD members; Name and/or symbol changes for clearing firms or agents; Name and/or symbol changes for Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs); Additions of new NASD members; Additions of new Nasdaq or OTCBB Market Makers; Nasdaq-100 and Nasdaq Financial-100 component changes; SOES tier changes; TSO changes (including Nasdaq-100) Time & Sales updates. The following updates will be permitted:Deletions (retirements) from Nasdaq, OTCBB, non-OTCBB, MFQS and FIPS that result from a merger, exchange listing, etc.; Additions to OTCBB resulting from Nasdaq de-listings; Additions of previously existing non-OTCBB securities for which a member actually has a trade to report; Deletions of NASD members; Deletions of Nasdaq or OTCBB Market Makers and excused withdrawals; Ex-dividend and ex-interest dates; Additions of IPOs to the OTC file for trade reporting purposes; Registration of Market Makers in Nasdaq securities; Reg. M and Passive Market Making updates. The Nasdaq Stock Market lists nearly 5,000 companies, has the largest dollar volume of trades of any financial market, and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. Current market capitalization is $4.5 trillion. Nasdaq is a subsidiary of the NASD, the largest securities-industry, self-regulatory organization in the United States. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews.com.