Thomson SA IWF Change In The S&P European Indices

Standard & Poor’s will make the following changes in the S&P Europe 350, S&P Euro Plus and S&P Euro indices effective the close of trading Wednesday, September 29, 2004:

• Thomson SA (France, SEDOL: 5988930, GICS: Consumer Discretionary, GICS Code: 25201010), a member of the S&P Europe 350, S&P Euro Plus and S&P Euro indices, Investable Weight Factor will change from 0.9448 to 1. This is following the sale of their entire 5.52% holding by fellow S&P Europe 350 constituent ITV Plc.

Standard & Poor's is a leader in providing highly valued financial data, analytical research and investment and credit opinions to the global capital markets. Among the company's many products are the S&P Global 1200, the first real-time, global equity index, the S&P 500, the premier U.S. portfolio index, and credit ratings on more than 220,000 securities and funds. With 5,000 employees located in 20 countries, Standard & Poor's is an integral part of the world's financial architecture. Additional information is available at www.standardandpoors.com

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The Corporation has more than 322 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2003 were $4.8 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com