NASDAQ Supports New SEC Rules Allowing Non-U.S. Companies to File Financial Statements Using International Financial Reporting Standards

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. ("NASDAQ(r)") (Nasdaq:NDAQ) announced it fully supports the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) decision today to allow non-U.S. companies to file their financial statements with the SEC using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The SEC's new rules eliminate the need for non-U.S. companies to reconcile their financial statements prepared under IFRS with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP).

To enable NASDAQ-listed companies to take full advantage of this change, NASDAQ today submitted a proposal to the SEC to allow non-U.S. companies to satisfy NASDAQ's financial listing requirements using IFRS. NASDAQ's filing will be subject to public comment and must be approved by the SEC.

"The SEC's action will help increase the attractiveness of the U.S. as a place to raise capital," said Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President of NASDAQ's Corporate Client Group. "It removes unnecessary costs and steps that create barriers to attracting international companies. The SEC's decision clearly communicates that the U.S. markets are dedicated to wringing the cost and inefficiency out of doing business in the U.S."

About NASDAQ

NASDAQ is the largest U.S. equities exchange. With approximately 3,100 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks as well as a leading liquidity pool for trading NYSE-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.nasdaq.com

The DIRECTV Group Announces Switch to The Nasdaq Stock Market

The DIRECTV Group today announced that it will switch its stock exchange listing from The New York Stock Exchange to The Nasdaq Stock Market, effective December 3. DIRECTV will be listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market and trade on the exchange with the ticker symbol Nasdaq:DTV.

"Our switch to NASDAQ was driven by our desire to achieve greater value for our investors," said Jon Rubin, senior vice president of Financial Planning and Investor Relations for The DIRECTV Group, Inc. "We believe that NASDAQ's vision for leadership coupled with its market structure and vast product offerings will allow for improved service for us and our investors while simultaneously reducing our costs."

"Companies that list on NASDAQ share a common goal of being visionaries within their sectors; moving beyond old ways of doing business and leading through innovation," commented Bruce Aust, executive vice president of The Nasdaq Stock Market's Corporate Client Group. "DIRECTV embodies this strategic vision and is an example of a company meeting their investor needs. We are proud to have DIRECTV list on The NASDAQ Global Select, the market with the highest listing standards in the world. DIRECTV is joining a diverse group of 3,100 companies listed on our exchange such as Starbucks, Whole Foods, Staples, Charles Schwab, and Google and we wish them continued success," added Mr. Aust.

About The DIRECTV Group

The DIRECTV Group is a world-leading provider of digital television entertainment services. Through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and other countries in Latin America, the DIRECTV Group provides digital television service to more than 16.6 million customers in the United States and over 4.6 million customers in Latin America.

About NASDAQ

NASDAQ is the largest U.S. equities exchange. With approximately 3,100 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks as well as a leading liquidity pool for trading NYSE-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.nasdaq.com

New York Stock Exchange Has Halted Trading of Florida Rock Industries, Inc. (FRK)

The New York Stock Exchange announced that the trading halt in the common stock of Florida Rock Industries, Inc. – ticker symbol FRK – will continue pending the disclosure of the final results of the cash and stock election pursuant to the merger with Vulcan Materials Company – ticker symbol VMC. Vulcan has advised the NYSE that an election has been received relating to substantially all of Florida Rock’s outstanding shares.

The Form of Election expired at the close of business November 14, 2007 . The notice of guaranteed delivery is expected to expire on November 19, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Pitney Bowes Board Declares Common, Preference and Preferred Stock Dividends

The Board of Directors of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) declared a quarterly cash dividend on the company’s common stock of 35 cents per share, payable March 12, 2008, to stockholders of record on February 18, 2008; a quarterly cash dividend of 53 cents per share on the company’s $2.12 convertible preference stock, payable April 1, 2008, to stockholders of record March 14, 2008, and a quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share on the company’s 4 percent convertible cumulative preferred stock, payable May 1, 2008, to stockholders of record April 15, 2008.

Pitney Bowes is a mailstream technology company that helps organizations manage the flow of information, mail, documents and packages. Our 35,000 employees deliver technology, service and innovation to more than two million customers worldwide. The company was founded in 1920 and annual revenues now total $6.0 billion. More information is available at www.pb.com.

Intel Announces 13 Percent Increase in Cash Dividend

Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has approved a 13 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 12.75 cents per share beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the first quarter of 2008.

"Intel's product and technology leadership, the company's focus on growth and the success of more streamlined operations have put Intel in an extremely strong position, now and for the future," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "Even with one of the highest dividend yields in the technology industry, Intel's cash generating capability allows us to again increase the dividend as a signal in our faith in the future and to reward shareholders."

Intel began paying a cash dividend in 1992 and has paid out approximately $8.9 billion to its stockholders over the past 60 quarters (through the third quarter of 2007). The Intel dividend rate was last increased in November 2006, effective with the first-quarter 2007 dividend.

The above statements and any others in this document that refer to plans and expectations for 2008 and the future are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Many factors could affect Intel's actual results, and variances from Intel's current expectations regarding such factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Intel presently considers the factors set forth below to be the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the corporation's published expectations:

• Intel operates in intensely competitive industries that are characterized by a high percentage of costs that are fixed or difficult to reduce in the short term, significant pricing pressures, and product demand that is highly variable and difficult to forecast. Additionally, Intel is in the process of transitioning to its next generation of products on 45nm process technology, and there could be execution issues associated with these changes, including product defects and errata along with lower than anticipated manufacturing yields. Revenue and the gross margin percentage are affected by the timing of new Intel product introductions and the demand for and market acceptance of Intel's products; actions taken by Intel's competitors, including product offerings and introductions, marketing programs and pricing pressures and Intel's response to such actions; Intel's ability to respond quickly to technological developments and to incorporate new features into its products; and the availability of sufficient components from suppliers to meet demand. Factors that could cause demand to be different from Intel's expectations include customer acceptance of Intel's and competitors' products; changes in customer order patterns, including order cancellations; changes in the level of inventory at customers; and changes in business and economic conditions, including conditions in the credit market that could affect consumer confidence and result in lower than expected demand for our products.


• The gross margin percentage could vary significantly from expectations based on changes in revenue levels; product mix and pricing; capacity utilization; variations in inventory valuation, including variations related to the timing of qualifying products for sale; excess or obsolete inventory; manufacturing yields; changes in unit costs; impairments of long-lived assets, including manufacturing, assembly/test and intangible assets; and the timing and execution of the manufacturing ramp and associated costs, including start-up costs.


• Expenses, particularly certain marketing and compensation expenses, vary depending on the level of demand for Intel's products, the level of revenue and profits, and impairments of long-lived assets.


• Intel is in the midst of a structure and efficiency program that is resulting in several actions that could have an impact on expected expense levels and gross margin.


• The tax rate expectation is based on current tax law and current expected income. The tax rate may be affected by the closing of acquisitions or divestitures; the jurisdictions in which profits are determined to be earned and taxed; changes in the estimates of credits, benefits and deductions; the resolution of issues arising from tax audits with various tax authorities, including payment of interest and penalties; and the ability to realize deferred tax assets.


• Gains or losses from equity securities and interest and other could vary from expectations depending on fixed income and equity market volatility; gains or losses realized on the sale or exchange of securities; gains or losses from equity method investments; impairment charges related to marketable, non-marketable and other investments; interest rates; cash balances; and changes in fair value of derivative instruments.


• Intel's results could be affected by the amount, type, and valuation of share-based awards granted as well as the amount of awards cancelled due to employee turnover and the timing of award exercises by employees.


• Dividend declarations and the dividend rate are at the discretion of Intel's board of directors, and plans for future dividends may be revised by the board. Intel's dividend program could be affected by changes in Intel's operating results, its capital spending programs, changes in its cash flows and changes in the tax laws, as well as by the level and timing of acquisition and investment activity.


• Intel's results could be impacted by adverse economic, social, political and physical/infrastructure conditions in the countries in which Intel, its customers or its suppliers operate, including military conflict and other security risks, natural disasters, infrastructure disruptions, health concerns and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.


• Intel's results could be affected by adverse effects associated with product defects and errata (deviations from published specifications), and by litigation or regulatory matters involving intellectual property, stockholder, consumer, antitrust and other issues, such as the litigation and regulatory matters described in Intel's SEC reports.

A detailed discussion of these and other factors that could affect Intel's results is included in Intel's SEC filings, including the report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 29, 2007.

Chevron to Pay $30 Million to Settle Charges For Improper Payments to Iraq Under U.N. Oil For Food Program

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Chevron Corporation for its role in illegal kickback payments that were made to Iraq in 2001 and 2002 in connection with the company's purchases of crude oil under the U.N. Oil for Food Program.

Chevron, based in San Ramon, Calif., agreed to pay $30 million to settle the charges brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations.

The U.N. Oil for Food Program was intended to provide humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people while Iraq was subject to international trade sanctions. According to the Commission's complaint, third parties under contract with Chevron made approximately $20 million in illicit payments that bypassed the Oil for Food escrow account and were paid directly to Iraqi-controlled bank accounts in Jordan and Lebanon. The SEC alleged that Chevron knew, or should have known, that third parties were using portions of the premiums they received from Chevron's oil purchases to pay illegal surcharges to Iraq. The SEC also alleged that Chevron failed to devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls to detect and prevent such illicit payments, and Chevron's accounting for its Oil for Food transactions failed to properly record the true nature of the company's payments to third parties.

"This is the Commission's fifth action against a company for participating in the Oil for Food kickback scheme and demonstrates our continuing commitment to combating violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," said Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

Cheryl Scarboro, an Associate Director in the Division of Enforcement, added, "The Commission will continue to vigorously enforce the books and records and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to combat illicit kickbacks."

According to the Commission's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Chevron learned of surcharge demands by Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) in January 2001 and adopted a company-wide policy prohibiting their payment. The policy required traders to obtain prior written approval for all proposed Iraqi oil purchases and charged management with reviewing each proposed Iraqi oil deal.

Chevron subsequently purchased approximately 78 million barrels of crude oil from Iraq pursuant to 36 contracts with third parties from April 17, 2001, through May 6, 2002. In doing so, the Commission alleges, Chevron's traders failed to follow the company-wide policy and Chevron's management did not ensure compliance. Despite being required to consider the identity, experience and reputation of a third-party seller prior to approving a proposed Iraqi oil purchase, Chevron's management relied on its traders' representations.

In one instance, a credit check by Chevron of a proposed third-party seller revealed that the seller was a "brass plate company." This meant that the company had no experience in the oil business, no real business operations, and no known assets. Despite concerns on the part of Chevron's management, Chevron entered into two transactions to purchase three million barrels of oil from the third party in January 2002. Illegal surcharges were paid on both of these transactions and passed back to Chevron in inflated premiums that Chevron paid to the third party.

Also according to the SEC's complaint, a third-party seller whose company occasionally sold oil to Chevron stated that the trader he dealt with at Chevron and the trader's bosses always knew about the illegal surcharge demands by Iraq. The Chevron trader asked the third-party seller to persuade Iraq to reduce the amount of its surcharges. Despite Chevron's premium payments to third parties increasing after Iraq's surcharge demands began, Chevron's management routinely approved the Iraqi oil purchases proposed by its traders.

Chevron consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining it from future violations of Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and ordering it to disgorge $25 million in profits and pay a $3 million civil penalty. Chevron also will pay the Office of Foreign Asset Controls of the U.S. Department of Treasury a penalty of $2 million. Chevron will satisfy its disgorgement obligation by forfeiting $20 million pursuant to an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and paying disgorgement of $5 million pursuant to an agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

The Commission acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the Office of Foreign Asset Controls at the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the United Nations Independent Inquiry Committee. The Commission also acknowledges Chevron's cooperation in the investigation. The SEC's Oil for Food investigation is continuing.

Symbian Acquires Personnel and Technology from Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology as part of Global R&D Strategy

Symbian Limited, today announced the acquisition of personnel and technology from Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd. (‘MoGenesis’), a leading developer of smart OS mobile applications for the Chinese market. The acquisition is part of Symbian’s commitment and strategic growth in the Chinese market, significant to the continuous development of Symbian OS™, the market-leading open operating system for advanced data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones.

Joining Symbian Software Beijing Co. Limited will be the engineers and management team of MoGenesis, including the CEO, Dennis Kung, who has been appointed as the new General Manager for Symbian in China, spearheading Symbian product development in the region. The team brings years of accomplished engineering experience within mobile platforms including Symbian OS and essential product creation capability that will help accelerate Symbian’s R&D operations in Beijing.

Symbian OS is licensed to the world’s leading handset manufacturers and to date, over 165 million Symbian smartphones have shipped worldwide to over 250 major network operators. During the third quarter of 2007, Symbian continued to lead the global smartphone market, with its licensees shipping 20.4 million Symbian smartphones worldwide resulting in a healthy growth of 56% since the third quarter of 2006.

Commenting on the acquisition, Nigel Clifford, Chief Executive, Symbian, said, ‘The acquisition will play a key role in Symbian’s global R&D strategy for our world-leading customers. China is one of the fastest growing markets for smartphones in the world and we will leverage our new Chinese resources to increase Symbian OS global product development. Symbian achieved 60% smartphone OS market share in China with 77% year on year growth, according to one analyst (Canalys) in Q207. We intend to continue growing our sales and our presence in this very vibrant market.’

Dennis Kung has an impressive track record within the high-tech industry. Before founding MoGenesis, he held two senior management positions at Microsoft Corporation where he worked for eleven years. In addition, Mr. Kung worked as a technical consultant for Andersen Consulting (known as Accenture) in the United States.

Dennis Kung, said, ‘My team and I are extremely excited to be part of Symbian’s long term vision in China. With its market leading position, Symbian is able to provide world-class career prospects for my engineers and for new recruits in Beijing. We welcome Symbian’s plans for strategic development and feel confident we can succeed in contributing our unique expertise to the company’s global success.’

Symbian opened its new sales and marketing office in Beijing in January 2007, later adding its new R&D centre in August 2007. Symbian Software Beijing is playing a vital role in Symbian’s strategy for sustained global leadership, whilst deepening its engagement with local customers and partners.

HP to Expand Data Center Services with Acquisition of Global Consulting Company EYP Mission Critical Facilities

HP today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc. (EYP MCF), a consulting company specializing in strategic technology planning, design and operations support for large-scale data centers.

By acquiring EYP MCF, HP will be better able to help customers to transform their data centers, optimize energy efficiency and position them for future business growth. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in New York, EYP MCF has approximately 350 employees with 13 offices in the United States and the U.K. The firm provides mission-critical services to enterprises around the world in business sectors including financial services, telecommunications, technology, broadcast, manufacturing and healthcare, as well as numerous federal, state and county government agencies.

From data centers and command and control centers, to trading floors and supercomputing sites, EYP MCF has designed hundreds of technology-intensive, high-performance facilities where monitoring, operational and energy efficiencies are top-priority business requirements.

EYP MCF’s capabilities – particularly its expertise in energy-efficient operations – complement HP’s extensive Data Center Services and cost-saving power and cooling solutions, such as Dynamic Smart Cooling.

“The data center is the foundation of IT for enterprises, an essential building block for driving business growth and adapting to changing business objectives,” said John McCain, senior vice president and general manager, HP Services. “Acquiring EYP Mission Critical Facilities boosts HP’s ability to help customers transform their data centers and build dynamic computing environments from the ground up.”

Peter Gross, chief executive officer of EYP MCF, said, “Worldwide data center requirements are rapidly growing, with significant year-over-year increases in power consumption, which is fueling demand for energy-efficient power and cooling strategies. HP and EYP Mission Critical Facilities will drive innovation by integrating IT infrastructure into the planning and design of the data center, enabling the customer’s whole organization to be more energy efficient and adaptive.”

The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be completed within HP’s first fiscal quarter.

Dell Completes Acquisition of ASAP Software

Dell announced today that it has completed the acquisition of ASAP Software, a leading software solutions and licensing services provider and a former subsidiary of Corporate Express.

The acquisition will help simplify information technology by combining Dell’s reach as a leading supplier of commercial technology and services and ASAP’s expertise in software licensing and asset management. Dell is strengthening its software business by integrating ASAP’s complementary expertise in managing software licensing, purchasing, renewals, and compliance.

The purchase price was approximately $340 million.

“The completion of this acquisition, which is strategically significant for Dell, represents another important step in our initiative to help our customers use technology to innovate and grow,” said Paul Bell, president, Dell Americas. “We believe we have a unique and compelling offering for our customers and an opportunity to make a significant impact on the IT industry.”

The two companies will be combining to develop and implement customer-focused solutions designed to make technology more efficient, manageable and flexible. The acquisition of ASAP extends Dell’s long-term initiative to simplify IT for customers by removing cost and complexity.

In recent months, the company has announced several other initiatives to support IT simplification, including Dell On-Demand Desktop Streaming, which provides tighter security, easier manageability and better reliability in desktop environments, and Unified Communications, which helps customers reduce complexity and improve their productivity with myriad communications options. Dell’s Data Center Solutions Division is addressing the unique needs of hyper-scale data centers for customers whose businesses rely on enterprise computing solutions. Additionally, Dell’s recent acquisition of SilverBack Technologies, Inc., a service delivery platform provider, and announced plan to acquire EqualLogic, a leading provider of high-performance iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions, further underscore Dell’s commitment to simplify IT.

ASAP provides products and services to help corporations and government agencies evaluate, acquire, and manage IT assets. Its subsidiary, License Technologies Group, specializes in licensing and e-commerce services for software publishers and their partners.

“Our expertise in software licensing solutions and our legacy of delivering a high level of customer satisfaction has been the foundation of our business,” said Paul Jarvie, ASAP president. “We’re excited about the opportunity to broaden our reach and to provide our unique capabilities to serve an expanded group of customers.”

Additional information on Dell’s IT simplification efforts can be found at www.dell.com/simplify.

Microsoft Intends to Acquire Musiwave

Microsoft Corp. today announced it has entered into an exclusivity agreement around its intention to acquire Musiwave SA, an Openwave company and a leading provider of mobile music entertainment services to operators and media companies. The acquisition would bring Musiwave’s relationships with music labels, device makers and mobile operators that deliver digital entertainment to consumers, together with Microsoft’s Connected Entertainment technologies and services, including Windows Mobile, Zune, MSN and Windows Live. Should the transaction proceed, Musiwave would continue to operate out of its current headquarters in Paris.

“Microsoft and Musiwave share the same philosophy in working with hardware and mobile operator partners to deliver great experiences for mobile device users,” said Pieter Knook, senior vice president of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. “Bringing Musiwave on board would provide an opportunity for Microsoft to explore new areas in the mobile space previously untapped, and to showcase the power of software plus services. This contemplated acquisition reflects Microsoft’s recognition of the software and technology expertise in Europe.”

“Musiwave would bring key assets to us as we continue to bring our vision of Connected Entertainment to life,” said J Allard, corporate vice president in charge of music at Microsoft. “Its software expertise and extensive relationships with operators and music companies would help us take our products and services to the next level, giving people access to whatever entertainment content they want, whenever and however they want it.”

Today, Microsoft mobile technology runs on a variety of mobile platforms, featured on more than 140 mobile phones made by 50 handset-makers, sold by more than 160 mobile operators around the world.

Demand for Mobile Music Services Drives Innovation

Today, the mobile music device market is growing at a rapid rate. According to technology research firm Ovum, 1,106 million mobile music phones will be shipped worldwide in 2010. Mobile operators are continually looking for ways to deliver digital entertainment to their customers, and have looked to companies such as Musiwave to deliver music services that help provide the necessary infrastructure. As a provider of white-label music solutions to mobile operators in Europe, Musiwave has helped to bring a rich selection of millions of ringtones, full-track downloads and music videos to consumers.

Musiwave also has a rich history of working with a wide variety of device-makers, across a diverse group of software platforms that produce music and data-capable mobile devices. Today, software developed by Musiwave can be found on most handsets available in Europe.

About Musiwave

Musiwave, an Openwave company (Openwave Systems Inc. NASDAQ: OPWV), is a leading provider of mobile music entertainment solutions, including software, marketing and content management, to operators and media companies worldwide. For more information, please visit www.musiwave.net.

IBM to Acquire Cognos to Accelerate Information on Demand Business Initiative

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Cognos® (NASDAQ: COGN) (TSX: CSN) today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Cognos, a publicly-held company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately $5 billion USD or $58 USD per share, with a net transaction value of $4.9 billion USD. The acquisition is subject to Cognos shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

The acquisition of Cognos supports IBM's Information on Demand strategy, a cross-company initiative announced on February 16, 2006 that combines IBM's strength in information integration, content and data management and business consulting services to unlock the business value of information. Integrating Cognos, the 23rd IBM acquisition in support of its Information on Demand strategy, will enable new business insights to be delivered to a broader set of people across an organization, beyond the traditional users of business intelligence.

IBM said the acquisition fits squarely within both its acquisition strategy and capital allocation model, and that it will contribute to the achievement of the company’s objective for earnings-per-share growth through 2010.

“Customers are demanding complete solutions, not piece parts, to enable real-time decision making," said Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Software Group. "IBM has been providing Business Intelligence solutions for decades. Our broad set of capabilities – from data warehousing to information integration and analytics – together with Cognos, position us well for the changing Business Intelligence and Performance Management industry. We chose Cognos because of its industry-leading technology that is based on open standards, which complements IBM's Service Oriented Architecture strategy.”

Together, IBM and Cognos will become the leading provider of technology and services for Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management, delivering the industry’s most complete, open standards-based platform with the broadest range of expertise to help companies expand the value of their information, optimize their business processes and maximize performance across their enterprises.

The acquisition of Cognos accelerates IBM’s global Information on Demand initiative to unlock the business value of information for our customers. IBM will provide broader reach for Cognos solutions across multiple industries and geographies with a more complete set of offerings, including consulting services, hardware, and other middleware software.

Cognos provides the only complete BI and performance management platform, fully integrated on an open-standards-based service oriented architecture (SOA), and has a strong history of supporting heterogeneous application environments, consistent with IBM’s approach. With Cognos, customers can turn data into actionable insight for coordinated, information-driven decision-making to improve overall performance. Cognos will also extend IBM’s reach further into the CFO office with powerful financial planning and consolidation capabilities.

“This is an exciting combination for our customers, partners, and employees. It provides us with the ability to expand our vision as the leading BI and Performance Management provider,” said Rob Ashe, president and chief executive officer, Cognos. “IBM is a perfect complement to our strategy, with minimal overlap in products, a broad range of technology synergies, and the resources, reach, and world-class services to accelerate this vision. Furthermore, this combination allows Cognos customers to leverage a broader set of solutions from IBM to advance their information management driven initiatives.”

Together, IBM and Cognos will expand IBM’s ability to provide customers with the right information they need when they need it, to optimize operational performance, and to quickly respond to changing market demands. The combination of IBM’s information management technology and Cognos will also help organizations discover new ways to use trusted information spread across their enterprises to identify new business opportunities and significantly reduce the expense and time required to address industry-specific business challenges.

Following completion of the acquisition, IBM intends to integrate Cognos as a group within IBM's Information Management Software division, focused on Business Intelligence and Performance Management. IBM also will appoint current Cognos President and CEO, Rob Ashe, to lead the group, reporting directly to General Manager, Ambuj Goyal.

Cognos has approximately 4,000 employees worldwide and serves more than 25,000 customers. IBM and Cognos have partnered for more than 15 years, with extensive technical integrations and eight pre-integrated joint solutions already supporting many joint customers, such as New York City Police Department, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee, Canadian Tire, MetLife, and Bayer UK.

Other strategic acquisitions in support of IBM’s Information on Demand initiative include Princeton Softech (data archiving and compliance), FileNet (enterprise content management), Ascential Software (information integration), DataMirror (changed data capture), SRD (entity analytics), Trigo (product information management), DWL (customer information management) and Alphablox (analytics).

More information on IBM’s acquisition of Cognos is available on IBM’s investor Web site at: http://www.ibm.com/investor/viewpoint/ircorner/2007/07-11-12-1.phtml.

About IBM

For more information about IBM’s Information on Demand strategy, go to: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/information-on-demand/ . Additional details about the combination of IBM and Cognos are available at: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/info/cognos

About Cognos

For more information, visit the Cognos Web site at: http://www.cognos.com/

Information About the Transaction

The transaction will be completed through a plan of arrangement, which will require the approval of shareholders representing two thirds of the shares cast. Shareholders will be asked to vote on the transaction at a special meeting, the details of which will be announced in due course.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Cognos following delivery of a fairness opinion, which will be included in a proxy circular to be prepared and mailed to Cognos shareholders over the coming weeks providing shareholders with important information about the transaction. A material change report, which provides more details on the transaction, will be filed with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and will be available at www.sedar.com and at www.sec.gov.

Novell Settles One Antitrust Claim with Microsoft for $536 Million, Plans to File Suit on Second Claim

Novell today announced an agreement with Microsoft to settle potential antitrust litigation related to Novell's NetWare operating system in exchange for $536 million in cash. Novell also announced that by the end of this week it will file an antitrust suit against Microsoft in the United States District Court in Utah seeking unspecified damages in connection with alleged harm to Novell’s WordPerfect application software business in the mid-1990s.

Under terms of the settlement, in exchange for the cash payment, Novell has agreed to a general release of claims that it has as of the date of the agreement, with certain exclusions that include patent claims and claims associated with Novell's WordPerfect business. The agreement also includes a release by Microsoft of claims that would have been compulsory counterclaims to the NetWare claims asserted by Novell. Finally, Novell has agreed to withdraw its intervention in the European Commission’s case with Microsoft.

“We are pleased that we have been able to resolve a portion of our pending legal issues with Microsoft,” said Joseph A. LaSala, Jr., Novell's senior vice president and general counsel. “This is a significant settlement, particularly since we were able to achieve our objectives without filing expensive litigation. While we have agreed to withdraw from the EU case, we think our involvement there has been useful, as it has assisted the European proceedings and facilitated a favorable settlement with Microsoft. With the EU case now on appeal, we are comfortable with our decision to withdraw from the proceeding. There is simply not much left for us to do.

“We regret that we cannot make a similar announcement regarding our antitrust claims associated with the WordPerfect business. We have had extensive discussions with Microsoft to resolve our differences, but despite our best efforts, we were unable to agree on acceptable terms. We intend to pursue our claims aggressively toward a goal of recovering fair and considerable value for the harm caused to Novell's business,” LaSala said.

The WordPerfect suit that Novell will file seeks unspecified damages arising from Microsoft's efforts to eliminate competition in the office productivity applications market during the time that Novell owned the WordPerfect word-processing application and the Quattro Pro spreadsheet application. The suit is based in part on facts proved by the United States Government in its successful antitrust case against Microsoft. In that suit, Microsoft was found to have unlawfully maintained a monopoly in the market for personal computer operating systems by eliminating competition in related markets.

GE Provides $225 Million Credit Facility to United Agri Products, Inc., the Largest Independent Distributor of Agricultural and Non-Crop Inputs

GE Commercial Finance’s Global Sponsor Finance business today announced it served as administrative agent for a $225 million term loan Add-on facility to United Agri Products, Inc. GE Capital Markets served as sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner.

The Add-on provides additional liquidity to fund future acquisitions and capital expansion opportunities for UAP’s growth strategies.

UAP is the largest independent distributor of agricultural and non-crop inputs in the United States and Canada. The Company markets a comprehensive line of products including chemicals, seed, and fertilizer to growers and regional dealers. As part of the Company's product offering, it provides a broad array of value-added services including crop management, biotechnology advisory services, custom blending, inventory management and custom applications of crop inputs.

“Once again it was our pleasure to work closely with UAP and their outstanding management team,” said Tony McCord, Managing Director at GE Global Sponsor Finance. “Our team quickly and reliably delivered a capital structure in very uncertain markets, and upsized the Add-on facility from $150 million to $225 million. Given today’s capital markets, it is a true testament to UAP’s financial performance and standing in the market.”

Dennis Roerty, UAP’s Treasurer said, “Given our operational momentum in recent years, we expect this successful Add-on to support our current growth strategy. We appreciate how GE has proven that it is responsive and supportive of UAP and our management team’s plans for growth.”

About United Agri Products, Inc.

UAP is the largest independent distributor of agricultural and non-crop products in the United States and Canada. The Company markets a comprehensive line of products, including chemicals, fertilizer, and seed to farmers, commercial growers, and regional dealers. UAP also provides a broad array of value-added services, including crop management, biotechnology advisory services, custom fertilizer blending, seed treatment, inventory management, and custom applications of crop inputs. UAP maintains a comprehensive network of approximately 370 distribution and storage facilities and three formulation plants, strategically located in major crop-producing areas throughout the United States and Canada. Additional information can be found on the Company's website, www.uap.com.

About GE Commercial Finance, Global Sponsor Finance

With over $8 billion in assets, and offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, GE Commercial Finance, Global Sponsor Finance represents a “one-stop ” source for the comprehensive range of GE’s lending and other structured financial services offered to the private equity sponsor market. For more information, please visit www.gegsf.com.

About GE Commercial Finance

GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of over $250 billion and is headquartered in Norwalk Connecticut. GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work – a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world’s toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com.

China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. Celebrates IPO on NYSE

China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd., the largest retail drugstore chain in China based on the number of directly operated stores, today opened for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “NPD” after its successful IPO in which it raised $334 million.

"China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. is a welcome addition to our fast-growing family of Chinese listed companies," said NYSE Euronext CEO John A. Thain. "NYSE Euronext looks forward to providing China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. and its shareholders with the superior services, market quality and brand visibility provided by listing on NYSE Euronext markets."

To celebrate today’s special occasion, China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. Chairman Simin Zhang rang today’s opening bell, joined by Nepstar CEO Jiannong Qian, Nepstar CFO Andrew Weiwen Chen, and NYSE Euronext CEO John A. Thain.

Background on NYSE Euronext-China:

China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. is the first Chinese Mainland pharmaceutical retailer to be listed on the Exchange.
The NYSE now has 47 companies listed from the Greater China Region, including 35 from Mainland China , 7 from Hong Kong , and 5 from Taiwan .
Year to date, the NYSE listed 16 companies from Greater China. The listing of China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. represents the 15th NYSE listing from Mainland China in 2007 to date.
The total global market capitalization of the 35 NYSE-listed Chinese companies from the mainland is $1.1 Trillion, and for the 47 companies from greater China , $1.6 Trillion.


China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. (NYSE: NPD)

China Nepstar chain drugstore is the largest retail drugstore chain in China based on the number of directly operated stores. As of September 30, 2007 , its store network was comprised of 1791 directly operated drugstores located in 62 cities in China .

Nepstar provides customers with high quality professional and convenient pharmacy services and a wide variety of other merchandise. Nepstar also offers products under its own brand names.

Nepstar stores are generally located in well-established residential communities and prime retail locations in major cities in China 's coastal and adjoining provinces. Nepstar has established leading market positions in a number of the most developed cities in China , including Shenzhen, Guangzhou , Dalian , Hangzhou , Ningbo , Suzhou and Kunming .

About NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX)

NYSE Euronext, a holding company created by the combination of NYSE Group, Inc. and Euronext N.V., commenced trading on April 4, 2007 . NYSE Euronext (NYSE Euronext: NYX) operates the world’s largest and most liquid exchange group and offers the most diverse array of financial products and services. NYSE Euronext, which brings together six cash equities exchanges in five countries and six derivatives exchanges in six countries, is a world leader for listings, trading in cash equities, equity and interest rate derivatives, bonds and the distribution of market data. Representing a combined $30.3 trillion/€21.3 trillion total market capitalization of listed companies and average daily trading value of approximately $139 billion/€103 billion (as of September 30, 2007), NYSE Euronext seeks to provide the highest standards of market quality and integrity, innovative products and services to investors, issuers, and all users of its markets.