BOSTON, Thursday, September 2nd 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– SapientNitro, part of Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE), has partnered with online financial management solutions provider Geezeo and respected blogger and BANK 2.0 bestselling author Brett King to publish “Banking on the Future: New Era of Engagement Banking,” an interactive white paper that examines the impact of technology on the retail banking industry and outlines what banks can do to innovate and stay relevant.

“Welcome to the era of engagement banking,” said Alex Sion, vice president of financial services at SapientNitro. “Customers today demand an array of options at their disposal, including in-person contact at branches, online and mobile banking, interactive voice response systems, ATMs, direct mail, and more. There has been a dynamic power shift in the personal banking paradigm, and the consumer is now calling the shots.”

The report begins by discussing the time when community banks were the center of civic life. First, the ATM, then, digital technology – such as online banking and mobile banking – came along and changed the game. Digital channels made financial transactions efficient but also distanced banks from their customers. Relationships were cast aside in favor of more profitable, efficient and convenient channels.

A SapientNitro survey reveals that today 70% of people do not know the name of someone at their bank. Continues Sion: “Banks became bigger, lack of personal knowledge and understanding increased risks on both sides, the economy tanked, and consumer distrust swelled.”

In the midst of an economic downturn and financial legislation reform, perhaps nothing has affected the banking industry more in the past few years than the impact of technological innovations on customer behavior. The rapid mainstream acceptance and ubiquity of mobile smartphones with applications, the explosion of social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, and the proliferation of online banking, bill paying, and personal finance tools have collectively made an indelible impact on the way customers prefer to interact with their banks. Banks have had to shift their focus from in-branch sales and services to engaging current and potential customers on their own terms – when, where and how it is convenient for the customer.

Brett King, author of BANK 2.0 adds: “Rapid changes in behavior, channel interactions, modality, brand equity and customer service expectations mean banks need to innovate around customers in development cycles measured in days and weeks, not months or years. These shifts in customer behavior are perhaps only just beginning.”

“At Geezeo, we’re seeing that customers are decreasingly making a distinction between what is physical, such as interpersonal interactions with bank tellers, and what is digital, such as online bill payment. We have found that bank customers expect a high level of customer service to be delivered seamlessly and consistently across multiple channels,” added Peter Glyman, co-founder of Geezeo. “Ironically, the same technology that disrupted the bank-customer relationship holds the key to closing the customer experience gap. Banks that leverage new tools, such as Personal Financial Management, to enhance the customer experience across touch points will be the winners.”

The “Banking on the Future” report provides insight into:

* How new technologies, such as geotagging, augmented reality, near field communications (NFC) and radio frequency identification (RFID), can enhance customer connectedness and engagement

* How the online banking experience can leverage Personal Financial Management (PFM)

* How mass adoption of mobile, mobile payments and person-to-person payments (P2P) will shape banking in the near future

* How to successfully engage with influencers via social media

* What innovative banks will do to drive improvements in operations and customer service in the next five years

“Banks must innovate or be disintermediated out of existence,” said King. “It wasn’t that long ago that we were using public phones to make calls, going to buy our music in stores and renting videos from the corner store, but these industries have been completely disrupted in recent times by changes in customer behavior. Unfortunately, the changes coming to the retail banking industry are even more massive and will challenge leaders in this space in the years ahead.”

The “Banking on the Future” interactive white paper can be viewed at: www.sapient.com/engagementbanking.

About SapientNitro

SapientNitroSM, part of Sapient®, is the world’s first customer experience company. We create and engineer highly relevant experiences that accelerate business growth and fuel brand advocacy for our clients. By combining multi-channel marketing, multi-channel commerce, and the technology that binds them, we influence customer behavior across the spectrum of content, communication, and commerce channels, resulting in deeper, more meaningful relationships between customers and brands. SapientNitro services global leaders such as Citi, The Coca-Cola Company, Mars, Singapore Airlines, Target, and Vodafone through our operations in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit http://www.sapientnitro.com or follow us on Twitter @sapientnitro.

About Geezeo

Founded in 2006, Geezeo offers an integrated suite of Online Financial Management (OFM) tools and services including Personal Financial Management (PFM) software for banks and credit unions. PFM empowers online customers, giving them a holistic view of their financial assets, liabilities and budgets. Geezeo’s unique platforms help financial institutions develop online customer dialog while generating growth through customer acquisition and increased wallet share. For more information on the privately held company, visit www.geezeo.com.

BANK 2.0 – How customer behavior and technology will change the future of financial services (Marshall Cavendish; March 2010) exposes the massive flaws in the retail banking system due to dramatic shifts that have taken place in customer behavior and the complete failure of banks to recognize and respond to those shifts. As a writer, King stimulates, entertains and challenges his readers to rethink long held traditions that are challenged by rapidly changing customer behavior. Whether a banker, an entrepreneur or a consumer of financial services – BANK 2.0 is an entertaining read that challenges the very concept of what banking means in today’s changing society. Follow Brett on Twitter @brettking, or watch his blog at http://www.banking4tomorrow.com.

Sapient is a registered service mark of Sapient Corporation.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Sapient
David LaBar, +1 646-478-9846
dlabar@sapient.com

Becker Public Relations
Jeanne Becker, +1 305-444-2181
jbecker@beckerpublicrelations.com

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Thursday, September 2nd 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– MiaSolé, the leading manufacturer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) independently confirmed the 14.3% efficiency of its large area production modules (1 square meter in size).

14.3% module efficiency is the highest independently confirmed efficiency for any commercial scale CIGS module technology.

“We are pleased that we continue to make progress in the execution of our technology, cost reduction and manufacturing roadmaps,” said Dr. Joseph Laia, CEO of MiaSolé.

MiaSolé now offers bank financeable solar modules with efficiency comparable to polysilicon combined with lower manufacturing costs of thin-film modules.

MiaSolé’s unique manufacturing process deposits CIGS on a flexible stainless steel substrate and produces all of the layers required for its highly efficient solar cell in a single continuous process. MiaSolé is the only thin-film solar company that uses sputtering processes every step of the way for coating the solar modules, thereby reducing manufacturing time and cost of production.

MiaSolé shipped 6.5MW in the first half of this year, and will ship 22MW in 2010. The company’s products are designed for utilities and independent power producers to use in industrial scale deployments such as large-scale rooftop and ground mount installations.

About NREL

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

About MiaSolé (www.MiaSolé.com)

MiaSolé is a pioneer and leading developer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, one of the lowest-cost, highest efficiency solar panels in the world. MiaSolé’s primary mission is to advance the extraordinary potential for harnessing solar power as a competitive, sustainable energy source and enable grid parity by 2012. Based in California, MiaSolé currently operates two manufacturing facilities with plans to open a third facility in 2010.

For media enquiries, please contact:

MiaSolé
Ben Williams, 408-919-5770
Ben.williams@miasole.com

SHENZHEN, China, Thursday, September 2nd 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today announced that ZTE had shipped 28 million handsets globally in the first half of 2010, which represents a significant 40% increase year-on-year. This is attributed to the increasing market demands from international markets, as well as a spike in 3G usage in China and smartphone popularity worldwide.

Continuous breakthrough in high-end markets

In the first half of 2010, ZTE had shipped 17 million handsets to the international markets (i.e. markets outside China), making up 60% of total shipments. This is an increase of 30% year-on-year. For the European market, ZTE recorded a year-on-year increase of 150%.

In UK, the sales of ZTE handsets in Q2 2010 exceeded 1 million units, and the sales in France also exceeded 1 million in the first half of the year. ZTE partnered with all the top operators in Europe, and received widespread recognition from clients through its work in custom-made Android smartphone handsets and WCDMA custom-made units.

ZTE has also achieved a tremendous breakthrough in the U.S. market. Salute, a custom-made handset developed by ZTE with Verizon, was launched in the U.S. on August 19, 2010.

In Japan, ZTE collaborated with Softbank to introduce customized handsets for the elderly and a 3G monitor, which were key products in Softbank’s summer product launches.

3G in China drives demand for ZTE handsets

ZTE capitalized on the burgeoning China 3G market to provide a comprehensive range of terminal products for the three major telecom operators in China. ZTE has shipped 11 million handsets in China in the first half of 2010, representing a solid 75% year-on-year increase.

ZTE provided a comprehensive range of China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) terminal products to support China Mobile’s mobile TV interactive services. ZTE’s flagship U230 handset was also a top seller for China Mobile. In the area of WCDMA and EVDO handsets, ZTE’s 3G handsets (around RMB1000; approximately USD 147) were a major factor driving the rapid adoption of 3G usage in China.

In addition, ZTE intensified its R&D efforts to target the high-end consumer market. ZTE holds the biggest number of 3G terminal product patents in China, and will launch a full series of Android smartphones for the three major mobile phone standards.

Excels in the smartphone market

According to IDC’s latest report, the total global shipment of smartphones in 1H 2010 was 118 million units, which represents an increase of 54% compared with 76.8 million units in 1H 2009. This rapid increase in market demand is a strong driver for the growing popularity of ZTE smartphones.

In the first half of 2010, ZTE launched nearly 10 types of Android handsets, including the Racer, Link and X850 models which had been adopted by H3G in the UK, Bouygues Telecom in France, VIVO in Brazil and other markets. In China, the ZTE X850 phone became one of the major Android mobile devices offered by China Unicom.

As a partner of Microsoft, ZTE is working closely on Windows Phone 7.0 product development after the global launch of the WM6.5 handset last October in Portugal and other countries.

In terms of engineering and design, ZTE’s handsets support various mainstream smartphone operating systems ranging from Linux to Windows, from Android to OMS, and from BMP to Meego. The company provides comprehensive handset customization services for global operators.

For media enquiries, please contact:
ZTE Corporation
Margrete Ma, +86 755 26775207
ma.gaili@zte.com.cn

Edelman PR
Jowie Law / Andres Vejarano
+852 2837 4747 / 2837 4735
jowie.law@edelman.com / andres.vejarano@edelman.com

MCLEAN, Va. & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, September 2nd 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– Hilton Worldwide today announced that Rudi Jagersbacher will become Area President, Operations, Middle East and Africa, for the hospitality company, effective January 1, 2011. Jagersbacher will replace Jean-Paul Herzog, who will retire from Hilton Worldwide at the end of the year after 40 years of service.

Ian Carter, President, Global Operations and Development, said, “Jean-Paul has been an important part of the success of our company for the last four decades and we wish him well in his retirement. We are delighted that someone of Rudi’s talent, depth of experience and knowledge of the market will be stepping into the role. I am confident that he will build upon Jean-Paul’s legacy of accomplishments in the Middle East and Africa as we advance our business in the region in the years to come.”

Jagersbacher is currently Area Vice President for operations in the Benelux, Nordic and Italy. He joined the company in 1974 after holding senior leadership positions at the Savoy and Claridges in London. He was appointed to General Manager positions in flagship properties such as the Langham Hilton and the Park Lane Hilton followed by Vice President roles in London and Dubai. He is also a founding member of the Hilton in the Community Foundation, which is a grant-making organization that fundraises throughout Hilton Worldwide properties in Europe to support disadvantaged children and young people.

Jagersbacher will remain in his current post until he assumes the new position as Area President, Operations, Middle East and Africa on January 1, 2011.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 91 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,600 hotels and 600,000 rooms in 81 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®.

The company currently operates 44 hotels in Middle East & Africa – 16 hotels in Egypt, nine hotels in the UAE, six in Saudi Arabia and one each in Oman and Kuwait, plus another 11 hotels in Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Hilton Worldwide has a signed development pipeline of an additional 27 properties across Middle East & Africa in the U.A.E., Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Namibia, Nigeria and Cape Verde.

For more information about the company, please visit www.hiltonworldwide.com and www.hiltondevelopment.com.

The Hilton Reservations and Customer Care telephone numbers in the Middle East are as follows:

UAE

- 8000 20000 11

Qatar

- 800 20 222

KSA

- 800 82000 10

Egypt

- 19009

Bahrain

- 8000 4058

Jordan

- 00202 25805927

Kuwait

- 222 56 200

Lebanon

- 00202 25805928

Oman

- 800 78 788

Syria

- 00202 25805926

For media enquiries, please contact:

d’pr
Keren Gatty Saunt
+971 4 344 4901
keren@d-pr.ae

(BUSINESS WIRE)– The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA), the voice of the global semiconductor industry, today announced the addition of four new members to the GSA Asia-Pacific Leadership Council, which serves as advisors to the GSA Board of Directors on regional issues. The new members added to the council include:

* Dr. Youm Huh, chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board, Silicon Mitus, Inc.

* Dr. Tetsuya Iizuka, chief executive officer and founder, THine Electronics, Inc.

* Wayne Liang, founder and chairman, MStar Semiconductor, Inc.

* Dr. Sung-Wook Park, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.

“The addition of these extraordinary leaders to the Asia-Pacific Leadership Council extends the council’s diversity of knowledge and industry experiences. GSA is devoted to identifying the best and brightest global leaders who have a passion for this organization. I feel honored to have these outstanding leaders’ participation,” said Jodi Shelton, co-founder and president of GSA. “I would especially highlight Dr. Iizuka san, our first Japanese representative on the council. His support will help us to achieve one of GSA’s major goals in 2011 and beyond of expanding mutual collaboration between Japan and the global semiconductor industry.”

Dr. Huh founded Silicon Mitus, Inc. in 2007. Prior to Silicon Mitus, he was the founding CEO of MagnaChip Semiconductor, a spin-off from Hynix which he led the separation process with private equity firms. Prior to MagnaChip, Dr. Huh was executive vice president and general manager of System IC Business of Hynix Semiconductor. In 2005, he was decorated with the Silver Tower Medal from the Korean Government in recognition of his contribution to the industry. Dr. Huh presently serves as Vice Chairman of Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA).

Dr. Iizuka founded THine Microsystems in 1991 and also THine Electronics in 1992, the latter initially being a joint venture with Samsung Electronics. After closing an MBO deal from Samsung Electronics in 1998, he continued to take the responsible role to establish a global fabless LSI maker with its own brand ASSP. He has been Chairman of the Japanese Semiconductor Ventures Association (JASVA) since its establishment in 2000. Prior to founding THine, Dr. Iizuka took a leading role in Toshiba as General Manager of the LSI Development Department of Toshiba’s Semiconductor Device Engineering Laboratory.

Mr. Liang served several key positions in wafer foundry sales and marketing functions with companies such as TSMC, WSMC and Winbond Electronics prior to MStar. MStar, a fabless IC design company focused on the display and communication products, was founded in 2002 by Mr. Liang and several partners. He was VP of sales and marketing at WSMC before WSMC was merged with TSMC.

Dr. Park is responsible for Hynix company operations including the research, development, and manufacturing divisions. Dr. Park currently serves as a member of System IC 2010 government enterprise R&D committee, a member of Nanofab Center steering committee, and a member of the forum for new growth power at Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

With the four new additions, GSA’s Asia-Pacific Leadership Council is now comprised of 20 members. To learn more about the Asia-Pacific Leadership Council and to read council biographies, please visit: http://www.gsaglobal.org/association/index.aspx?tab=3&cid=2

About GSA:

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) mission is to accelerate the growth and increase the return on invested capital of the global semiconductor industry by fostering a more effective fabless ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation. It addresses the challenges within the supply chain including IP, EDA/design, wafer manufacturing, test and packaging to enable industry-wide solutions. Providing a platform for meaningful global collaboration, the Alliance identifies and articulates market opportunities, encourages and supports entrepreneurship, and provides members with comprehensive and unique market intelligence. Members include companies throughout the supply chain representing 25 countries across the globe. www.gsaglobal.org

For media enquiries, please contact:
GSA AP
Amber Mo, 886-2-8712-8661 ext. 11
Senior Marketing Manager
amo@gsaglobal.org

GSA U.S.
Nicole Bowman, 972-866-7579 ext. 129
Senior Marketing Manager
nbowman@gsaglobal.org

(BUSINESS WIRE)– DVD6C PATENT LICENSING / News

DVD6C Licensing Group

(Authorized Licensor: Toshiba Corporation)

The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) consisting of nine leading developers of DVD technology and formats — Hitachi, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. — today announced that it has revised its worldwide patent licensing program beginning on and after January 1, 2010, including offering a new license agreement (the “New DVD6C License Agreement”), which offers reduced royalty rates on certain products and additional licensing options.

Key changes to the new licensing program include the following:

* Reduced royalty rates for DVD Recorders (i.e., the DVD-RAM Drive, DVD-RW Drive, DVD-R Drive and DVD Video Recorder licensed DVD Product categories) from (i) the greater of 4% of the net selling price or US$6.00 per recorder to (ii) a flat rate of US$4.00 per recorder on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement; provided, however, that such reduced royalty rates will apply retroactively as of January 1, 2010 for licensees who sign the New DVD6C License Agreement by October 31, 2010.

* Reduced royalty rates for DVD Players (i.e., the DVD-Video Player, DVD-ROM Drive and DVD-Audio Player licensed DVD Product categories) from (i) the greater of 4% of the net selling price of the player (up to a maximum of US$8.00 per player) or US$4.00 per player (US$3.00 per player for licensees licensed on or after January 1, 2005) to (ii) a flat rate of US$2.00 per player effective on or after the later of (i) the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement and (ii) January 1, 2011.

* Shortened initial term of the license, which now runs to the end of 2012.

* Clarification that Blu-ray Disc (“BD”) products are not covered by the new license, irrespective of whether they include DVD functionality.

Interested parties will remain free to negotiate individual license agreements with DVD6C’s member companies, rather than entering into a single portfolio license or license for a category of products. The member companies have committed to provide such licenses under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.

For the convenience of current and prospective licensees, the royalty rates to be offered under the New DVD6C License Agreement are shown below:

Category

Royalty

DVD-Video Player

(Newly revised)

The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling price (up to a maximum of US$8.00 per player) or
(ii) US$4.00 per player (US$3.00 per player for licensees licensed on or after January 1, 2005); provided, that the reduced royalty rate of US$2.00 per player will apply on or after the later of (i) the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement and (ii) January 1, 2011

DVD-Audio Player

(Newly revised)

The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling price (up to a maximum of US$8.00 per player) or
(ii) US$4.00 per player (US$3.00 per player for licensees licensed on or after January 1, 2005); provided, that the reduced royalty rate of US$2.00 per player will apply on or after the later of (i) the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement and (ii) January 1, 2011

DVD-ROM Drive

(Newly revised)

The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling price (up to a maximum of US$8.00 per drive) or
(ii) US$4.00 per drive (US$3.00 per drive for licensees licensed on or after January 1, 2005); provided, that the reduced royalty rate of US$2.00 per drive will apply on or after the later of (i) the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement and (ii) January 1, 2011

DVD Video Recorder

(Newly revised)

US$4.00 per recorder on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement; provided, that the reduced royalty rate will apply retroactively as of January 1, 2010 for licensees who sign the New DVD6C License Agreement by October 31, 2010

DVD (Recordable Disc) Drive

(Newly revised)

US$4.00 per drive on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement; provided, that the reduced royalty rate will apply retroactively as of January 1, 2010 for licensees who sign the New DVD6C License Agreement by October 31, 2010

DVD-ROM Disc

US$0.04 per disc on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

DVD-Video Disc

US$0.04 per disc on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

DVD-Audio Disc

US$0.04 per disc on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

DVD Decoder

US$0.50 per decoder on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

DVD Encoder

US$0.75 per encoder on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

DVD-R Disc

The greater of:

(i) 4% of the net selling price or

(ii) US$0.075 per disc or;

US$0.045 per disc on or after January 1, 2006

DVD-RW Disc

The greater of:

(i) 4% of the net selling price or

(ii) US$0.065 per disc on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

DVD-RAM Disc

The greater of:

(i) 4% of the net selling price or

(ii) US$0.065 per disc on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

Recordable Disc Case

The greater of:

(i) 4% of the net selling price or

(ii) US$0.005 per case

+R Disc

The greater of:

(i) 4% of the net selling price or

(ii) US$0.075 per disc or;

US$0.045 per disc on or after January 1, 2006

+RW Disc

The greater of:

(i) 4% of the net selling price or

(ii) US$0.065 per disc on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License Agreement

Please note that BD products, irrespective of whether they include DVD functionality, are not covered by the New DVD6C License Agreement. Licenses for the DVD portions of BD products granted to existing licensees under the prior DVD6C License remain unchanged until the existing licensees enter into the New DVD6C License Agreement.

For further information regarding the DVD6C licensing program, please visit the 6C web site (www.dvd6cla.com) or contact one of the following regional contacts:

Japan:

Masayuki Miyanaga

Vice President, General Manager

Licensing

Toshiba DVD License Services, Inc.

5th Floor, Sumitomo-Hamamatsucho Bldg.

18-16, Hamamatsucho 1-chome, Minato-ku

Tokyo 105-0013, Japan

Phone: +81-3-5777-3286

Fax: +81-3-5401-2503

E-mail: dvd6c-jp@dvd6cla.com

Europe and Africa:

Doris Reed

DVD6C Licensing Administrator

Toshiba Information Systems (U.K.) Ltd.

Toshiba Court

Weybridge Business Park,

Addlestone Road,

Weybridge, Surrey KT15 2UL

United Kingdom

Phone: +44(0)1932 825061

Fax: +44(0)1932 839121

E-mail: dvd6c-eu@dvd6cla.com

Asia (excluding Japan), Oceania and the Middle East:

Shigeru Komatsu

Senior Manager

DVD Licensing Center

Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd.

292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku,

Yokohama, 244-0817, Japan

Phone: +81-45-415-2135

Fax: +81-45-866-5824

E-Mail: dli-inquiry@itg.hitachi.co.jp

The Americas:

Tatsuya Ii

Regional Contact for Americas, Panasonic

201 Redwood Shores Parkway, Room #410,

Redwood Shores, California 94065, USA

Phone: 650-802-3146

Fax: 650-802-3100

E-Mail: dvd6c@gg.jp.panasonic.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Toshiba Corporation
Yuko Sugahara,

+81-3-3457-2105
yuko.sugahara@toshiba.co.jp
Corporate Communications Office
Fax: +81-3-5444-9202

NEW YORK, Wednesday, September 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– SecondMarket, the largest secondary market for illiquid assets, announced today that it has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2011 Technology Pioneer. This award is presented annually to the most innovative technology start-ups from around the world, and SecondMarket is the only technology company in the financial services sector this year to receive the prestigious honor. SecondMarket will be recognized at the Forum’s conferences in Davos, Switzerland and Tianjin, China.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected for this amazing award,” said SecondMarket Founder and CEO, Barry Silbert. “It truly is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the SecondMarket team, and to be recognized by the preeminent global economic organization is incredibly gratifying and humbling.”

Hundreds of companies from around the globe were evaluated for the award and the Forum selected 31 winning companies from 13 different countries. More than half of the companies are based in the United States and three of the winners – SecondMarket, foursquare and Knewton – are based in New York City. It marks the first time that three New York City-based companies have been selected as Technology Pioneers in the same year.

“The World Economic Forum is proud to recognize SecondMarket and the other outstanding companies as Technology Pioneers for 2011,” said André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Economic Forum. “Their technologies and business models will have a durable and valuable effect in several industries and society as a whole.”

A Technology Pioneer must be involved in the development of a major technology and/or innovation, and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. An award recipient must also demonstrate visionary leadership, indications of being a long-standing and sustainable market leader, and proven technology. Past winners include Google, Twitter, Mozilla, Etsy and PayPal. The entire list of the 2011 Technology Pioneers can be found at www.weforum.org/techpioneers.

“This is a fantastic accomplishment for the entire SecondMarket team,” said Lawrence Lenihan, CEO of FirstMark Capital and a SecondMarket Board Member. “I have always been extremely impressed with Barry and his vision for SecondMarket, and I fully anticipate that SecondMarket will continue to exceed expectations in the coming years.”

SecondMarket has completed billions of dollars in transactions across a variety of asset classes, including shares in the world’s leading venture-backed private companies, limited partnership interests in private equity and real estate funds, structured products (ARS, ABS, MBS and CDOs), commercial and residential whole loans, bankruptcy claims and restricted securities in public companies. More than $20 billion in assets are currently available for sale on SecondMarket. It is free to access SecondMarket.

About SecondMarket

Founded in 2004, New York-based SecondMarket is the largest secondary market for illiquid assets, including private company stock, limited partnership interests, auction-rate securities, bankruptcy claims, collateralized debt obligations, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, warrants/restricted stock and whole loans.

SecondMarket has over 15,000 participants, including global financial institutions, regional and community banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, mutual funds, corporations and other institutional and accredited investors. SecondMarket’s investors include FirstMark Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq: SIVB), the Li Ka-Shing Foundation and Dunearn, a subsidiary of (Singapore) Temasek Holdings. SecondMarket is a registered broker-dealer (Member FINRA, MSRB and SIPC). For further information, please visit www.SecondMarket.com.

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/secondmarket

For media enquiries, please contact:

SecondMarket, Inc.
Mark Murphy, 212-825-1619
mmurphy@SecondMarket.com

BRUSSELS, Wednesday, September 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) and its new hip hotels brand, Aloft® Hotels, today announces the opening of Aloft Brussels Schuman, the first Aloft hotel to open in Europe. Aloft Hotels delivers urban-inspired, modern design and an energetic guest experience at an affordable price point.

Owned by Thornsett Group, Aloft Brussels Schuman introduces jet-setting style at a steal to Belgium. Located in the heart of the buzzing European Union district, the hotel will feature 147 loft-like guest rooms including three ‘Breezy Lofts’ (Aloft’s re-interpretation of a suite), a buzzing bar scene in the open lobby, an urban-inspired grab-and-go café and industrial design elements throughout. A vision of W Hotels, Aloft’s stylish urban attitude is set to shake up the European mid-market hotel scene.

With more than 40 hotels open since its June 2008 debut, Aloft Hotels has become the talk of the hospitality industry by going global while in launch mode. Aloft currently operates hotels in five countries – the USA, Canada, China, the United Arab Emirates and India, with Belgium marking its sixth destination. Besides opening its first hotel in Europe with the Aloft Brussels Schuman, Aloft is continuing its global expansion with further openings planned in India and the USA as well as brand introductions in Thailand and the UK.

“The launch of Aloft in Europe underscores the strength of the Starwood network and the power of the Aloft brand,” said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President, Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. “Aloft’s emphasis on high design and affordability translates globally and is attracting a growing group of loyal travellers. In fact, Aloft represents one of the strongest brand launches in industry history and its international expansion so early in the brand’s life cycle is unprecedented.”

Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Europe, Africa and Middle East commented:

“We are thrilled to introduce Aloft to Brussels, a fitting choice for the brand’s debut in Europe. The hotel’s strategic location in the heart of the European Quarter makes a bold statement about how the brand is taking its innovative, fresh perspective on hotels to the most important locations around the world.”

Aloft Brussels Schuman will boast atmospheric public spaces where guests can mix and mingle, read the paper, work on laptops, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the re:mixSM lounge and w xyzSM bar. The w xyz bar is set to quickly become one of the places to be in the EU quarter. A destination bar for hotel guests and local residents alike, the w xyz bar is the ideal place to have a cocktail with friends or dance the night away at one of the many DJ evenings.

The spacious guest rooms (minimum of 28m2) will feature the brand’s signature ceilings of nearly three meters high, oversized windows and an ultra-comfortable bed as well as roomy walk-in showers and bath amenities created by Bliss® Spa. Each Aloft room will also be equipped with complimentary wireless Internet access and a unique plug-and-play connectivity solution which connects most electronic devices to the 42″ flat-screen TV, turning the room into a high-tech office as well as an entertainment centre.

Travellers will be able to de-stress and re-energize in the re:chargeSM fitness centre whilst the 24-hour grab & go food and beverage area re:fuelSM by Aloft is a one-stop, offering sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages.

For work meetings, training courses and presentations, the hotel’s Tactic meeting rooms, which are equipped with the latest generation of audiovisual hardware, provide a creative space for groups of up to 50 people.

Aloft Brussels Schuman is the fifth Starwood Hotel in Belgium, joining Le Méridien Brussels, Sheraton Brussels Hotel, Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Brussels.

About Aloft Hotels

Created to shake up the staid, traditional select service segment of the hotel industry, the Aloft brand delivers style at a steal with urban-influenced, modern, open and vibrant design – and a social guest experience – at an affordable price point. In the same way that W Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel arena a decade ago, Aloft is shaking up the industry for the next generation of traveler. Aloft hotels are geared toward savvy, design-conscious consumers who have witnessed the democratization of design and are seeking the same in the hotel space. Building on its tech-savvy DNA, the brand recently pioneered the industry’s first “keyless entry” automatic check-in program at Aloft Lexington in Massachusetts.

With 40 hotels open in the 18 months since Aloft first arrived on the scene and 10 more opening in 2010, Aloft can be found everywhere from Abu Dhabi and Baltimore to Dallas and Beijing and everywhere in between. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com.

Aloft Hotels, like all brands within Starwood’s portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest® program, which offers a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learn more, please visit www.spg.com.

About Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Press only:
Aloft Brussels Schuman
Coen Van Niersen, +32 496 1957 45
Hotel Manager
coen.vanniersen@alofthotels.com

Starwood EAME
Helen Wilson, +32 2 204 5572
Communications Manager
helen.wilson@starwoodhotels.com

(BUSINESS WIRE)– Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced the agenda for its investor meeting on Wednesday, September 15, 2010. The event will be held at The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, New York, NY. A webcast of the presentations will begin at 12:00 pm and the webcast will conclude by 5:00 pm.

The program will include presentations by Covidien’s Chairman, President and CEO Richard J. Meelia and other members of the senior management team, including the leaders of each of Covidien’s three business segments. For those investors who are unable to attend the meeting in person, but who would like to ask a question of the management team during the meeting, questions can be emailed to 2010cov@gmail.com.

Agenda

10:00 am

Registration Opens

10:15 am

Product Displays and Senior Management Reception

12:00 pm

Presentations begin

– Richard J. Meelia, Chairman, President and CEO

– James C. Clemmer, President, Medical Supplies

– Timothy R. Wright, President, Pharmaceuticals

– José (Joe) E. Almeida, President, Medical Devices

– Joseph Woody, President, Vascular Therapies

4:00 pm

Charles J. Dockendorff, Chief Financial Officer

5:00 pm

Presentations and webcast end

Advanced registration is required and attendance will be limited to those who register in advance. To register for the meeting, please go to the following website: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AVCGMQHWX

Individuals who are unable to attend the meeting in person will be able to view a live video and webcast at Covidien’s website: http://investor.covidien.com. A replay of the presentations and the presentation materials will be available at the same website following the conclusion of the meeting.

ABOUT COVIDIEN

Covidien is a leading global healthcare products company that creates innovative medical solutions for better patient outcomes and delivers value through clinical leadership and excellence. Covidien manufactures, distributes and services a diverse range of industry-leading product lines in three segments: Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies. With 2009 revenue of $10.3 billion, Covidien has 42,000 employees worldwide in more than 60 countries, and its products are sold in over 140 countries. Please visit www.covidien.com to learn more about our business.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Covidien
Eric Kraus, 508-261-8305
Senior Vice President,
Communications
eric.kraus@covidien.com

Bruce Farmer, 508-452-4372
Vice President
Public Relations
bruce.farmer@covidien.com

Coleman Lannum, CFA, 508-452-4343
Vice President
Investor Relations
cole.lannum@covidien.com

Brian Nameth, 508-452-4363
Director
Investor Relations
brian.nameth@covidien.com

MILPITAS, Calif., Wednesday, September 1st 2010 [ME NewsWire]:

(BUSINESS WIRE)– At today’s inaugural Global Technology Conference, GLOBALFOUNDRIES showcased the industry’s first open-access 28nm Analog/Mixed-Signal (AMS) production design flow development kit. The company is making the flow available to customers as a platform to build upon proven foundry methodologies and enable successful design. GLOBALFOUNDRIES has teamed with Cadence Design Systems to deliver this AMS production design flow.

“Collaboration and openness have never been more essential to enabling innovation at advanced technology nodes,” said Richard Trihy, director of design methodology at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “We are working closely with our ecosystem partners to deliver optimized design solutions. Customers can build on the leading-edge 28nm production design flow platform we’ve developed with Cadence to differentiate their designs and product offerings.”

The AMS flow is designed to emphasize the advanced features of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 28nm Gate First High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) technology. The flow includes silicon-driven guidelines and recommendations for better manufacturability. Customers will have access to IP, libraries, reference kits and foundry collateral, which will allow them to recreate the design and flow to meet their individual design specifications. GLOBALFOUNDRIES also will be the first in the industry to support a flow with DRC+, GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ silicon-validated solution that goes beyond standard Design Rule Checking (DRC) and uses two-dimensional shape-based pattern-matching to enable a 100-fold speed improvement in identifying complex manufacturing issues without sacrificing accuracy.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES has joined with Cadence to deliver the major elements of the AMS production design flow in Q3, 2010, with all of the flow steps supported by the GLOBALFOUNDRIES PDK. The reference flow contains PCells that enable critical advanced features within Cadence Virtuoso custom design tools. The complete production-level AMS flow is expected to be released to customers in Q4 2010, with silicon validation scheduled for early 2011.

“Cadence continues to be the ecosystem partner of choice for aggressive development projects that have a very tangible and positive productivity impact for companies working at advanced nodes,” said David Desharnais, product management group director at Cadence. “Our collaboration with GLOBALFOUNDRIES on this 28nm fully-integrated, open-access AMS production flow provides the industry with a deterministic path to Silicon Realization, one of the key foundational components of the EDA360 vision.”

The flow encompasses analog block design and mixed signal design, demonstrating mixed analog and digital design with GLOBALFOUNDRIES PDKs and partner standard cell libraries. All aspects of the design are covered in the reference flow including managing parasitic concerns, rapid circuit layout prototyping, analog layout guidelines and routing, simulation (e.g., choice of corners, Monte Carlo), inductor synthesis, metal fill and EM/IR analysis.

The design flow is also augmented with whitepapers and collateral on common challenges and GLOBALFOUNDRIES-recommended solutions. In addition, the flow incorporates top-level physical signoff steps for manufacturing using GLOBALFOUNDRIES 28nm requirements for DRC, lithography simulation and CMP.

ABOUT GTC 2010

GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ inaugural Global Technology Conference features keynotes from industry leaders and presentations from senior members of the GLOBALFOUNDRIES management and technical teams, with a special emphasis on how the company achieves time-to-volume leadership by leveraging global collaboration with customers and partners. GTC 2010 begins Wednesday, September 1 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, kicking off a series of GTC 2010 “Road Show” events to be held at strategic international venues including China, Taiwan, Japan and Europe. For more information on GTC 2010, visit: http://www.globalfoundries.com/gtc2010/.

ABOUT GLOBALFOUNDRIES

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first full-service semiconductor foundry with a truly global manufacturing and technology footprint. Launched in March 2009 through a partnership between AMD [NYSE: AMD] and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides a unique combination of advanced technology, manufacturing excellence and global operations. With the integration of Chartered in January 2010, GLOBALFOUNDRIES significantly expanded its capacity and ability to provide best-in-class foundry services from mainstream to the leading edge. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is headquartered in Silicon Valley with manufacturing operations in Singapore, Germany, and a new leading-edge fab under construction in Saratoga County, New York. These sites are supported by a global network of R&D, design enablement, and customer support in Singapore, China, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

For more information on GLOBALFOUNDRIES, visit http://www.globalfoundries.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and include, without limitation, statements regarding the company’s current expectations, assumptions, assessments, anticipations, objectives, plans, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially. Some factors which contribute to these risks and uncertainties include the economic conditions both in the United States and around the world; the difficulties in developing new customers; the demand and supply outlook in the overall semiconductor / foundry industry; the sourcing strategy of potential customer base; competitor actions; the success of company technology alliances; construction progress on additional manufacturing facilities as well as associated governmental processes; the availability of components and equipment; labor and employment issues at manufacturing facilities; the progression of advances in technology and processes; and unforeseen events.

The company has no duty to update any forward-looking statements in this release based on new information or events.

For media enquiries, please contact:

GLOBALFOUNDRIES
Jason Gorss, 518-305-9022
Communications
jason.gorss@globalfoundries.com