San Francisco - April 11, 2007 - Barclays Global Investors (BGI) announced today that the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (ticker: HYG) began trading on the American Stock Exchange. This product launch continues to solidify iShares as a leader and innovator in fixed income ETFs, providing transparency and liquidity to fixed income markets that are esoteric for many investors. BGI now offers 16 different iShares ETF funds that offer exposure to a variety of fixed income markets. The new high yield fund's expense ratio is 0.50%, significantly less than the 1.08% for the average taxable-bond mutual fund¹.

"Fixed income ETFs are an excellent example of how ETFs create a level playing field for all investors. The new iShares Fund offers financial advisors and individual investors the ability to invest in a diversified, transparent portfolio of high yield bonds," said Lee Kranefuss, CEO of BGI's Intermediary and Exchange Traded Funds Business. "The new fund also allows individual investors to see for the first time pricing of a group of high yield bonds, something that was previously only available to institutional investors."

He added, "The iShares High Yield Bond Fund can be a valuable component to an investment portfolio. Financial advisors are looking to generate income for their 'Baby Boomer' clients and to diversify client portfolios. Institutional investors are looking for easier, less costly ways to make market calls. In addition, iShares ETFs can be shorted on a downtick, making them a valuable risk management tool."

The iShares High Yield Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the U.S. dollar high yield corporate bond market as defined by the iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index. The Index is a rules-based index consisting of the most liquid and tradable U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds for sale in the U.S. The number of issues in the index is typically 50, although this may change from time to time.

High yield securities, commonly referred to as "junk bonds," include those bonds rated lower than "BBB" by Standard & Poor's and Fitch or "Baa3" by Moody's. High yield products are considered riskier than other types of bonds or bond funds, but since they are not highly correlated to stocks, they provide diversification benefits to a portfolio.

The iShares Funds are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges. The iShares Funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses, which may be obtained by calling 1-800-iShares or by visiting www.ishares.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

BGI is one of the world's largest asset managers¹ and a leading global provider of investment management products and services. It has over 2,900 institutional clients and over $1.8 trillion of assets under management as of 12/31/06. It transformed the investment industry by creating the first index strategy in 1971 and the first quantitative active strategy in 1979. BGI is the global product leader in exchange traded funds (iShares) with over 190 funds for institutions and individuals trading in fifteen markets. Globally, BGI and its affiliates have approximately $287 billion of iShares assets under management. BGI is a majority-owned subsidiary of Barclays Bank PLC.

Contacts for Press:

Barclays Global Investors

Lance Berg

415-597-2045

lance.berg@barclaysglobal.com

Christine Hudacko

415-597-2687

christine.hudacko@barclaysglobal.com