The Montreal Exchange to Introduce New S&P Canada 60 Index Futures and Options Contracts

The Montreal Exchange will introduce new S&P Canada 60 index futures and options contracts on September 7, 1999. These new contracts, to be offered under an agreement recently signed with Standard & Poor's, will be part of a range of products based on the S&P/TSE 60 index. Other products will also include a long-term options class. Mr. Gerald A. Lacoste, the Montreal Exchange's President and CEO, expressed great satisfaction over the signing of the agreement. "We are very pleased to be associated with a world leader in financial services and indexes. The introduction of this new contract fits in nicely with our efforts to maintain optimal performance and the integrity of our derivative products market. New products such as this will significantly broaden the choice of strategic solutions available to our users for their wide-ranging investment requirements, and will play a critical role in the long-term development of the Canadian futures market." "We are pleased to be working with the Montreal Exchange," said Jack Zwingli, Group Vice-President, Standard & Poor's. "Similar to the S&P 500, the S&P/TSE 60 provides investors with a portfolio index they can use for index products, derivatives and benchmarking. This new index futures contract is an important step for both of us as we continue to serve the needs of investors in Canada and around the world." The S&P/TSE 60 is part of the S&P Global 1200, the new global index covering all seven major regions of the world. The S&P Global Index also includes the S&P 500 for the U.S., the S&P Euro and Euro Plus for Continental Europe and the S&P/TOPIX 150 for Japan, along with forthcoming indices for Asia/Pacific, Latin America and the United Kingdom. S&P also maintains a wide variety of indices including the S&P/TSE Canadian MidCap and S&P/TSE Canadian SmallCap indices. Last March, Canada's four exchanges submitted a Memorandum of Agreement proposing a reorganization of the exchanges according to market sector strength, by which the Montreal Exchange would specialize in derivatives. In this context, the launching of the S&P Canada 60 index futures and options contracts is subject to regulatory approval. The Montreal Exchange has become the leading centre for exchange-traded financial futures in Canada. Among others, two major futures contracts are currently trading: The Three-month Canadian Bankers' Acceptance Futures Contract (BAX) and the Ten-Year Government of Canada Bond Futures Contract (CGB). The BAX acts as the benchmark for Canadian short-term interest rates. Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., provides financial, economic and investment information and analytical services to the global financial community. For information on S&P indices, visit www.spglobal.com. Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. is a leading information services provider meeting worldwide needs in education, business, finance, the professions and government. The corporation employs 16,500 people located in more than 400 offices in 32 countries. Sales in 1998 were $3.7 billion.