American general finance company

Ciena To Join S&P 500 Index - Standard & Poor's replaces American General - Company Financial Information

Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday that it will replace American General [ACG] in its S&P 500 Index with communications equipment-maker Ciena [CIEN].

The financial services firm said the change will take place after the close of trading on a date to be announced. It also said adding Ciena to its index is subject to regulatory approval.

S&P said it is replacing American Generation on the S&P 500 Index because the company is being acquired by American International Group [AIG], which is also on the S&P 500 Index.

Last week, Ciena lowered its 2001 and 2002 earnings and revenue projections, causing its shares then to hit a new 52-week low. For this year's third quarter, the company reported net income of $58 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with $28.7 million , or 10 cents per share, during the same period last year. >TK