American Stock Exchange Reports an Increase in Short Interest

NEW YORK, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) member and non-member organizations today reported short interest of 1,317,736,480 shares as of the May 15, 2008 settlement date, an increase of 37,264,754 from the 1,280,471,726 (adjusted) shares reported on April 30, 2008. The figure represents trades through May 12, 2008.

In the year ago period, short interest totaled 940,482,902 (adjusted).

The May short interest position reflects short interest reported by all broker-dealers (not only Amex member firms) in Amex-listed stocks. A short position of 5,000 or more shares existed in 821 issues. Some short position was shown in 1,410 issues.

The attached short interest report was compiled by the Amex on the basis of information obtained from its member and non-member organizations covering all securities dealt in on the Exchange on both round and odd-lots.

Adjusted short interest for the preceding 12 months is shown below:

April 30, 2008 1,280,471,726 November 30,2007 1,128,730,384
April 15, 2008 1,293,366,375 November 15, 2007 1,141,428,683
March 31, 2008 1,267,154,289 October 31, 2007 1,022,353,131
March 14, 2008 1,318,018,828 October 15, 2007 989,803,872
February 29, 2008 1,239,338,377 September 28, 2007 1,004,190,347
February 15, 2008 1,173,888,724 September 14, 2007 1,030,629,307
January 31, 2008 1,099,855,774 August 15, 2007 1,194,902,117
January 15, 2007 1,125,171,967 July 13, 2007 1,097,414,533
December 31, 2007 1,095,365,559 June 15, 2007 1,092,317,747
December 14, 2007 1,083,504,928 May 15, 2007 940,482,902

Changes in the Amex's Short Interest Reporting:

Please be advised that there is a new way of accessing short interest information for the Amex through www.amexdata.com. Access to the site will be in addition to the standard Amex press release on short interest. The short interest data will be available to registered members of the media at
About the American Stock Exchange

The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRS(SM). 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 401 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.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: American Stock Exchange

CONTACT: Catherine Chantharaj of American Stock Exchange,
+1-212-306-1689, catherine.chantharaj@amex.com

Web site: http://www.amex.com/
http://www.amexdata.com/

2008-05-21 17:11:41 0368254 PRNEWSWIRE