FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    97-38



           SEC ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF AMEX RULE CHANGE



     Washington, D.C., May 5, 1997 -- The Securities and Exchange
Commission today announced that it has approved regulatory and
systems changes proposed by the American Stock Exchange (Amex). 
The changes would allow all Amex-listed stocks priced at or above
$0.25 to trade in increments as small as one-sixteenth of a
dollar.

     Prior to this rule change, Amex-listed equity securities
whose price was equal to or greater than $10.00 could only trade
in eighths, while those priced between $0.25 and $10 could trade
in sixteenths and those priced below $0.25 could trade in thirty-
seconds.  The changes proposed by the Amex and approved today
permit those securities priced at $10.00 and above to trade in
sixteenths.  

     This decrease in the trading increment should benefit investors
and the market by allowing a more complete display of the buying and
selling interest in these securities.  This increased transparency
could lead to tighter quotations, which would reduce investors'
transaction costs.



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