Fannie Deleted From Dow Dividend Index

Fannie Mae will be deleted from the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index and replaced by Astoria Financial because Fannie's recently announced halving of dividends caused the company to fall below the index's yield requirement, Dow Jones Indexes has announced.To be listed in the index, which includes 100 stocks from the Dow Jones U.S. Total Market Index, companies must be among the top 200 by yield, Dow Jones Indexes said. The replacement of Fannie with Astoria will be effective on Feb. 4. Dow Jones said additions to and deletions from the Select Dividend Index do not reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the companies. In January, Fannie Mae announced a reduction in its common stock dividend from $0.52 per share to $0.26 per share in order to boost the company's capital. Dow Jones Indexes can be found online at http://www.djindexes.com.