Standard & Poor's and the New York Board of Trade today introduced the...

Standard & Poor’s and the New York Board of Trade today introduced the S&P Commodity index, comprising 17 individual agricultural and industrial commodities with U.S.-traded futures contracts. Mark D. Fichtel, president and CEO of the NYBOT, said the new index, which will replace the Bridge/CRB Futures index, should appeal to institutional investors looking to diversify their portfolios and to companies that produce or use agricultural or industrial products as a way of hedging against price fluctuations.