AHT Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc

NEW YORK, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P REIT Composite indices after the close of trading on October 5, 2007: -- S&P MidCap 400 constituent Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE:NBL) will replace Archstone-Smith Trust (NYSE:ASN) in the S&P 500, Lamar Advertising Co. (NASD: LAMR) will replace Noble Energy in the S&P MidCap 400, and Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. (NYSE:AHT) will replace Archstone-Smith in the S&P REIT Composite. Archstone-Smith is being acquired by affiliates of Tishman Speyer and S&P 100 and 500 constituent Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approvals. Standard & Poor's will monitor these transactions, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Noble Energy engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. Headquartered in Houston, TX, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Sub-Industry index. Lamar Advertising provides outdoor advertising services. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Advertising Sub-Industry index. Ashford Hospitality is a REIT that invests in the hospitality industry. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, the company will be added to the S&P REIT Composite GICS Specialized REITs sub-industry. Following is a summary of the changes: S&P 500 INDEX - October 5, 2007 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Noble Energy Energy Oil & Gas Exploration & Production DELETED Archstone-Smith Financials Residential REITs S&P MIDCAP 400 - October 5, 2007 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Lamar Advertising Consumer Discretionary Advertising DELETED Noble Energy Energy Oil & Gas Exploration & Production S&P REIT COMPOSITE INDEX - October 5, 2007 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Ashford Financials Specialized REITs Hospitality DELETED Archstone-Smith Financials Residential REITs Additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the companies concerned. About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 21 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/. About The McGraw-Hill Companies: Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: David M. Blitzer, Ph.D. Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee (212) 438-3907 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/ http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/

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