Leonard writes:

> Wirt Atmar wrote that the spin-off Agilent will have a stock symbol of "A".
>  Just for fun, I tried to get a quote on A and found that A is the trading
>  symbol for Astra AB on the NYSE.

That was true, but it's not anymore. The "A" symbol came up for grabs when
Astra AB merged with Zeneca last year to form a new company called
AstraZeneca.

More than likely, your quote engine's database just hasn't been updated.

Last October, Ed Barnholt, the new CEO of Agilent said, 'It is especially
fitting that our stock will be symbolized by the single letter A, reinforcing
Agilent's leadership position in the marketplace, our commitment to
technological innovation and our unique heritage and core values."

A single letter for a stock symbol doesn't really mean anything. It's more
like a vanity license plate, just cool, but not much more than that.

Wirt Atmar