NEW YORK,- American Express today announced the launch of American Express Business Insights, a new analytics and consulting organization that draws on the power and reach of the Company's global network to help business customers develop better-informed strategies to grow their business.

Unlike conventional research that relies on static, self-reported information or surveys, Business Insights combines fresh, real world aggregate trend analysis to provide unique business planning and marketing expertise. Business Insights will identify strategic opportunities drawn from the aggregate spending patterns on approximately 90 million cards in force across 127 markets. It will work with business clients to provide data-driven insights focused on specific customer segments that will help them to develop customized marketing and growth strategies.

Business Insights will be housed within the American Express Global Merchant Services unit. In keeping with American Express' privacy principles, all data analysis is done only on an aggregate level and does not disclose any personally identifiable information to merchants or partners for marketing purposes. At American Express, aggregate data involves pooling transactional data to create customer segments such as 'ultra-affluent' or 'large corporate' to better evaluate the purchasing patterns within a business.

'Our ability to interpret trend patterns across the American Express global network represents an unprecedented reserve of competitive insights for businesses that are fighting hard every day to improve their offerings and reach their customers more effectively,' said Bill Glenn, president, Global Merchant Services, American Express. 'Using the power of the American Express network, we can help companies make smarter, more rigorous, and more customer-focused decisions – delivering a real competitive advantage in a continually challenging market environment.'

Business Insights will deliver a range of potential consulting applications that includes:

* Identifying consumer spending trends
* New product innovation
* Geographic expansion
* Customer acquisition and retention
* Improved marketing and advertising strategies
* Customer relationship management
* Improved procurement processes

'We are most excited about being able to provide our over 450 hotels with customized reports that contain invaluable insight into their customers' purchasing behavior. The reports provided by American Express Business Insights afford our colleagues the ability to strategically and effectively manage the allocation of their resources,' said Claudia Kozma Kaplan, SVP, Marketing and Communications, The Leading Hotels of the World. 'In a global marketplace where precise communications are increasingly important, this type of information is essential.'

The approximately 90 million cards in force and more than four billion transactions that take place each year at American Express serve as the foundation for analyzing consumer, small business and corporate spending patterns. Business Insights will customize its analyses and also draw on publicly available market data to provide valuable advice that businesses can act on.

'Businesses constantly wrestle with thorny questions like which markets to enter or expand, where to open new stores and how to define their ideal customer by seeking answers from research that is usually an arm's length removed from real world behavior,' Mr. Glenn added. 'Business Insights brings an entirely fresh perspective to solving these age-old questions.'

Business Insights provides a tiered offering to customers with products and services that match the needs of any sized company. In addition to large-scale, global consulting projects, Business Insights also offers a suite of quarterly benchmarking reports that provide spending trend analysis among various customer segments, vertical industry trends, and specific merchants' market share and customer mix.

Business Insights services are available immediately to companies around the world. A current selection of products for U.S. businesses is available online at: www.americanexpress.com/businessinsights.

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Deutsche Börse is expanding the offering of its Market Data & Analytics segment by acquiring the US financial news service Need to Know News. A purchase agreement was signed on 20 November 2009. For a US$ amount in the one digit million range including a performance-related payment, Need to Know News will become a 100 percent subsidiary of Market News International (MNI), a Deutsche Börse Group company.

'The acquisition of Need to Know News reflects our growth strategy with globally relevant information for algorithmic traders. We see an increasing demand from market participants pursuing automated trading strategies to integrate financial news and other event data into their algorithms, in addition to real-time market data', said Holger Wohlenberg, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse Market Data & Analytics.

With this transaction, Deutsche Börse acquires a pioneer in the delivery of machine readable news for algorithmic trading. The acquisition allows Deutsche Börse to combine its expertise in the development of ultra high speed data feeds with content provided by Market News International and with the proven market experience of Need to Know News. Together, the businesses aim to assume a leading role in the delivery of real-time data to the growing number of market participants with automated trading applications. At the same time, Deutsche Börse is expanding its client base for its offering of real-time news relevant to financial markets.

Based in Washington D.C., Need to Know News has 25 employees and delivers trading relevant news to market participants in the US and Europe.

About Market Data & Analytics
Deutsche Börse Market Data & Analytics collects, refines and disseminates independent capital market relevant data and information. The product range includes price data, trading statistics, analyses, master data, financial news and over 3,000 indices which document market movements and bring transparency to international financial markets. With the acquisition of Market News International (MNI) in January 2009, Market Data & Analytics extended its services with trading relevant macroeconomic real-time news. MNI has employees in 12 locations in Europe, Asia and the USA.

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To handle a rising tide of information stemming from various corporate systems, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service® sought a software solution that would quickly synthesize external information, including new tax law changes, the tax implications of new legislation, and the tax impact of a natural disaster for faster distribution to its franchisees and company-owned locations managers to help best serve clients.

As a result of quick and easy access to critical business information, employees will be able to improve client service more quickly and efficiently.

IBM business analytics technology will significantly cut programmer servicing time, especially during peak times of the year, and will allow Jackson Hewitt® franchisees to use a more self-sufficient model to independently review relevant business information at-a-glance to more effectively run their office operations and analyze business reports in real time. The new analytics solution will also help Jackson Hewitt enhance office and employee performance through such tools as real-time fee and discount tracking.

"We selected IBM's business analytics system after a rigorous bid process," said Danamichele Brennen, senior vice-president and chief technology officer, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. "With analytics technology we can effectively and expeditiously empower our franchisees, corporate partners and internal stakeholders with the right information at the right time. They'll get the relevant data and analytics insight they need to provide our customers with exceptional service."

"Smart midsize organizations like Jackson Hewitt are laying the foundation for 21st Century growth with business analytics that provide and enhance data-driven decision-making," said Mychelle Mollot, vice president of worldwide marketing, BI and Performance Management, IBM. "Business analytics helps all clients glean new intelligence from their data that can be effectively applied for smarter decision-making."

About Jackson Hewitt:

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), with approximately 6,600 franchised and company-owned offices throughout the United States during the 2009 Tax Season, is an industry leader providing full service individual federal and state income tax return preparation. Most offices are independently owned and operated. Jackson Hewitt is based in Parsippany, New Jersey. More information may be obtained at www.jacksonhewitt.com.

About IBM:

For more information about IBM Smarter Planet, please visit www.ibm.com/press/smarterplanet

For more information about IBM Information Management, please visit http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/.

— WebWireID108224 —

TORONTO, BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO), has been named the Best Bank for the Canadian Dollar by FX Week Magazine.

This is the first time BMO Capital Markets has received this honour, which is determined by votes from foreign exchange market professionals around the world. The FX Week Best Bank Awards are presented annually in London, U.K. during November.

'As the benchmark for the performance in the global FX industry, the FX Week Best Bank Awards are the most accurate indicator of who is leading the forex marketplace,' said Stephen Couling, Publisher, FX Week. 'And there is no question BMO Capital Markets has earned the No. 1 ranking in the Canadian dollar as judged by some of the largest and most influential FX participants.'

In this year's survey, nearly 7,000 respondents from banks, corporate treasurers and investors, including fund managers, institutional investors and hedge funds, nominated their preferred banks, brokers and vendors in 39 categories. Each institution was awarded three points for a first-place nomination, two for second-place and one for third-place. In the Canadian dollar category, BMO Capital Markets was ranked first by banks and investors and second by corporations – which resulted in a first-place finish overall.

This recognition is one of several awards that BMO Capital Markets has recently won for its overall excellence in foreign exchange. In September, BMO Capital Markets was named the best foreign exchange bank in Canada by European CEO Magazine. Earlier this year, BMO Capital Markets was voted best FX market-maker in a survey by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) and the Interbank Funding Centre. Global Finance Magazine also named BMO Capital Markets the Best Investment Bank in Canada in a 2008 survey.

'We are honoured to be recognized by FX Week as the No. 1 dealer for the Canadian dollar globally,' said Jamie Thorsen, Global Head of Foreign Exchange Products, BMO Capital Markets. 'Our goal is to continue to build long-term sustainable client relationships and provide a unique perspective that offers a differentiated depth of expertise in the Canadian dollar. We are all about helping our clients turn currency risk into reward.'

BMO Capital Markets' Foreign Exchange Group is a team of nearly 100 professionals around the world from Beijing to Chicago. BMO has FX offices in eight cities globally, including a foreign exchange sales and trading desk in London, U.K., which opened in 2007.

The FX group holds a dominant position in the Canadian-dollar foreign exchange market and is top-ranked by large hedge funds and pension funds for institutional liquidity and pricing capacity. BMO's Foreign Exchange Group trades in all major and other exotic currencies – close to 50 tradable currencies and exotics and over 100 currency pairs. The group offers clients a wide range of capabilities, including:

* Canadian-dollar market making
* North American hedging
* Chinese transactions
* 24 hour trading
* Structured risk-management solutions including derivatives, swaps and options, and real-time order monitoring and quotes through its leading web-based platforms DirectLine® and eFXpedite
For more information, visit: www.bmocm.com/products/marketrisk/fx/

About BMO Capital Markets
BMO Capital Markets is a leading full-service North American financial services provider, with over 2,200 employees operating in 14 North American offices and 27 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with
US$385 billion total assets and 37,000 employees as at July 31, 2009.

About FX Week Magazine
Published since 1990, FX Week is the industry's exclusive publication for foreign exchange and money market professionals working within banks, brokerages, institutions and corporate treasuries. FX Week's expert editorial team operates out of London, the heart of the foreign exchange market, with support from editorial offices in New York and Hong Kong, ensuring that subscribers are provided with the information on the powerful forces that are making the markets tick and the events that are shaping the FX industry world-wide. For more information, visit, http://www.fxweek.com

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According to the ADA, the cost of diabetes care in the United States in 2007 was more than $174 billion, including $116 billion in excess medical expenditures attributed to diabetes and $58 billion in reduced national productivity. The ADA estimates that people with diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures that are approximately 2.3 times higher than the expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes and that approximately $1 in $10 health care dollars is attributed to diabetes. A significant portion of overall diabetes care costs, approximately $7 billion according to industry sources, is attributable to costs associated with monitoring blood glucose levels, and that market segment is projected to grow substantially by 2010 as patients and their physicians seek ways to manage glucose levels more effectively.

About Echo Therapeutics, Inc.

Echo is developing the Symphony tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system for patients with diabetes and for use in acute and critical care. Echo's non-invasive Symphony tCGM System consists of its Prelude SkinPrep System, which incorporates patented and leading-edge skin ablation control technology, and wireless transmission and proprietary transdermal biosensor technologies. Echo's Symphony tCGM System is designed to provide both diabetes and hospital patients with a reliable, needle-free, easy-to-use, affordable and comfortable-to-wear continuous glucose monitoring device. Echo is also developing its needle-free Prelude SkinPrep System for transdermal drug delivery of a wide range of novel topical reformulations of widely-used, FDA-approved products.

The full special report on the company appears today at http://www.stockshaven.com/technical-trading-alert-for-echo-therapeutics-otcecte-ob/

Disclosure: Long ECTE

To feature your publicly traded company in StocksHaven.com Alerts or as a fully profiled company, email us at michaelvlaicu@stockshaven.com or visit http://www.stockshaven.com/ir_contract/ for more info

###

About MiV Investments Inc.

MiV Investments Inc. can be found at StocksHaven.com. It is a company offering a news portal covering the world financial news and equities sector. It features its own blog, free level 2 quotes, two way linking capability, mass e-mail distribution alerts, stock research reports, conference calls, news feeds, mailing list, videos, press release capability, stock commentaries, company reviews and other unique content including expert stock analysis from Michael Vlaicu. The company also offers Investor Relations contracting services.

For more financial and investment news, visit www.StocksHaven.com

Certain sections of this report contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reporters' expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates" and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include but are not limited to projections of revenues, earnings, segment performance, cash flows, contract awards, FDA announcements, trial and drug approvals, and company stability. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors including but not limited to the status or outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report or, in the case of any document incorporated by reference, the date of that document. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or any person acting on the company's behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements in this section. StocksHaven.Com on behalf of MiV Investments Inc. does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this report.

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'The GAO makes it clear that regulating interchange fees presents significant challenges, and would hurt both consumers and merchants,' said Shawn Miles, MasterCard head of global public policy and regulatory strategy.

Among the conclusions of the GAO report are:

* Card acceptance benefits merchants, including through increased sales, faster and more convenient payment, and lower labor costs;
* Consumers benefit from competition in the credit card market through cards with no annual fees, lower interest rates, and greater rewards;
* Government intervention in this area could hurt both consumers and merchants; and
* Existing law grants the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission with sufficient authority to investigate claims of anticompetitive behavior.

'We're pleased that the GAO recognizes the many benefits that payment cards provide merchants,' Miles said. One of the most significant benefits is the ability to shift credit risk to the card issuer. 'Merchants benefit greatly due to their ability to shift credit risk to someone else when they accept a credit card.'

The GAO report also confirms that interchange regulation in Australia hurt consumers. It concludes that when the government mandated interchange be cut in half, Australian cardholders saw their annual fees rise and benefits shrink. At the same time, the report says, it is difficult to find any evidence that retailers lowered prices to reflect the lower interchange fees.

'If the merchant lobby succeeds in artificially reducing their acceptance costs, consumers will pay higher card fees while having fewer payment choices with fewer benefits. Nowhere in the report is there a conclusion that if merchants are successful in shifting their costs to consumers that they will pass any savings on to their customers in the form of lower prices' Miles said. 'The merchant lobbyists have staked their entire argument on the assertion that consumers will somehow benefit if consumers are asked to pay more for their payment cards,' noted Miles. 'The GAO, however, exposes the weakness of that argument.'

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Presentations were given by numerous successful CRM customers such as CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, Markel Corporation, Volvo Construction Equipment, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, Scientific Games, and Comag Marketing Group. The conference offered a wide variety of breakout sessions on CRM portal development, advanced customization techniques, dashboarding and tips from Customer Effective's Microsoft CRM MVPs.

A special sneak preview of upcoming product capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics CRM was presented by Brian Galicia, Microsoft Product Manager. Brian highlighted Microsoft's roadmap for the Dynamics CRM product and previewed upcoming product releases in 2010.

'The user conference was fun, engaging, and nicely done to say the least,' said Kerry Benson, Managing Director/Chief Information Officer of Public Financial Management Inc. 'The sense of enthusiasm for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform exhibited by conference attendees convinced me that customers are pleased with the benefits and value they're receiving from their investment in CRM. I left the conference encouraged that my decision to invest in this strategic platform and engage Customer Effective as my implementation partner was indeed the right one.'

'We had already implemented a large part of our system before attending the conference, so although I was happy to attend with my team, I had no idea how much we would benefit,' said Allison Denlea, Business Process Supervisor at Markel Corporation. 'The conference was a great resource for networking with other CRM users and learning what other Customer Effective customers have done helped bring a new perspective and focus to the Markel CRM project. We greatly benefited from sending the project team to the conference and we look forward to attending next year!'

'Our goal in hosting our annual User Conference is to provide a platform for our customers, partners and consultants to share ideas on how to leverage Microsoft Dynamics CRM to drive business success,' said Scott Millwood, CEO of Customer Effective. 'While our team of experts certainly have a lot to share about how to best leverage Microsoft CRM, it was really our customer presentations and round table discussions that made the 2009 conference a big hit. These were lively and collaborative sessions featuring real world stories that help shine a light on the best ways to be successful with CRM. We look forward to doing this again in 2010.'

A video highlighting the conference can be viewed here: http://www.customereffective.com/2009_User_Conf_Video

About Customer Effective

Customer Effective, with headquarters in Greenville, S.C., is a leading innovator in customer interaction solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, CRM Consultant and Solution Implementer having completed hundreds of Microsoft CRM implementations and development projects. Recent CRM and Microsoft awards include recognition as the 2009 Microsoft Dynamics Financial Services Partner of the Year, being named to the 2009 Microsoft Dynamics President's Club, recipient of the 2008 and 2009 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle distinction, and member of the 2008 Inc. 500 list. For more information, visit www.CustomerEffective.com.

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BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Just in time for the holidays, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announces another significant savings to customers: $7 money transfers. Starting today, customers can send up to $200 anywhere in the U.S. or internationally at a Walmart MoneyCenter or customer service desk for the new low price of $7. Transferring money at Walmart is a quick and secure way to send money to loved ones during the busy holiday season with funds available for pick up in just 10 minutes.*

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of year to send money. According to Walmart's internal research, during the month of December the number of transfers typically increases by 14 percent over the previous 11 month average.

'Saving our customers money is one of our highest priorities at Walmart. This new $7 fee for both U.S. and international money transfers is continuing our commitment to provide low prices for our customers,' said Jane Thompson, president of Walmart Financial Services. 'Customers will on average save more than 40 percent when they send money transfers for up to $200 from Walmart.'

Walmart offers convenient and secure money transfer services through MoneyGram®. Money transfers can be sent and received at the Walmart MoneyCenter or customer service desk in more than 3,500 Walmart stores across the U.S. Sending a money transfer at Walmart is easy because it does not require a bank account or credit card and Walmart offers the extended hours of its stores to add to the convenience.

"With our strong and growing worldwide agent network of more than 186,000 locations across the globe, we are well positioned to continue to offer great value and convenience to our customers in the U.S. and internationally,' said Dan O'Malley, president of the Americas at MoneyGram International.

'Now more than ever before, Americans are searching for alternatives to high priced money services,' said Thompson. 'We're particularly pleased to offer our lowest money transfer price ever to our customers during these challenging economic times.'

Everyday ways to save on financial services
As families across the nation look for ways to save during the holidays, Walmart's $7 money transfer will bring a low-cost option to millions of shoppers. Walmart is a leading provider of accessible and affordable financial services that help customers manage their money throughout the year, including check cashing, bill payment and the Walmart MoneyCard.

* Check Cashing -- With Walmart check cashing, customers can conveniently cash payroll or government checks, including tax checks, starting at $3.
* Bill Payment -- Walmart offers three-day, next-day and same-day bill payment delivery options, with prices starting at 88 cents.
* Walmart MoneyCard – The Walmart MoneyCard is a leading reloadable, pre-paid Visa debit card, available for the low price of only $3. American families underserved by traditional financial institutions can have many of the advantages of a checking account, including depositing their paychecks on a safe and secure card, checking their balances, paying bills and shopping anywhere Visa debit is accepted. The Walmart MoneyCard has no overdraft fees.

*Subject to agent hours and availability.

About Walmart
Every week, millions of customers visit Walmart stores, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to its online store at www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $378 million to local communities in the United States. More information about Walmart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com.

About MoneyGram®
MoneyGram International offers more control and more choices for people separated from friends and family by distance or those with limited bank relationships to meet their financial needs. A leading global payment services company, MoneyGram International helps consumers to pay bills quickly and safely send money around the world with funds arriving in as little as 10 minutes. Its global network is comprised of 186,000 agent locations in 190 countries and territories. To learn more about money transfer or bill payment at an agent location or online, visit www.moneygram.com.

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The MasterCard Over-the-Air Provisioning Service is a Web-based service that securely transfers encrypted consumer payment card details via the carrier network into the high security area of the consumer's NFC-enabled mobile phone, on-demand and in real time. The service allows financial institutions to launch contactless payment programs on their MasterCard and Maestro® cardholders' mobile phones—quickly and simply.

Since launching the MasterCard Mobile Over-the-Air Provisioning Service in 2008, MasterCard has extended the service to include the EMV configuration supporting Maestro PayPass and Maestro Prepaid using the Mobile MasterCard PayPass M/Chip™ application. This extension makes the service available to financial institutions in the regions where chip cards are prevalent, such as Europe, Canada and Latin America. By investing in the delivery of new capabilities for issuers and their cardholders, MasterCard is making the launch of PayPass programs easier and faster on mobile phones, giving issuers a source of differentiation and bringing cardholders convenient new ways to use their MasterCard accounts.

'We are committed to offering our customers mobile financial services to make their lives simpler and more manageable as they increasingly embrace mobile technology,' said Peer Theien, General Manager, Group Payments and Infrastructure, DnB NOR Bank ASA 'By partnering with MasterCard, we have been able to implement a simple program with minimal infrastructure investment that gives our cardholders the ability to make PayPass payments with their mobile phones.'

The ubiquity of the mobile phone and consumers growing dependence on it in their daily lives combined with the continual advancement of mobile payment technology creates vast opportunity for mobile payments. With the MasterCard Over-the-Air Provisioning Service, financial institutions are able to capitalize on this opportunity by offering a broader set of services that enhance their MasterCard and Maestro cardholders' overall banking experience.

'By managing the mobile phone payment personalization process from beginning to end, we are continuing to build a valuable mobile payments ecosystem that benefits all involved parties, including mobile phone operators,' said Joshua Peirez, Group Executive, Innovative Platforms, MasterCard Worldwide. 'We are very pleased that we're able to successfully implement this service with DnB NOR so that they can deliver innovative payments services to their cardholders in a way that creates value and convenience.'

Peirez added, 'We will continue our efforts to create a viable mobile payments ecosystem to allow our customers to benefit from the growing trend toward mobile payments, to build greater value in their cardholder relationships as well as to generate value for all others involved.'

One Stop Shopping for Mobile Payment Programs
With MasterCard Over-the Air Provisioning Service, financial institutions get one-stop-shopping for assistance with the personalization of mobile devices, including single high security access to the latest certified OTA service providers, end-to-end management and support, and interface to MasterCard-approved handsets.

In order for accountholders to use their mobile phones to make purchases, they need to have a mobile phone equipped with NFC capabilities and a mobile data subscription. First the PayPass application is encrypted and transferred onto a high security area of a consumer's mobile phone via the mobile network. Next the PayPass application is personalized with the consumer's individual payment account details. MasterCard has created a simple way for issuers to enable their accountholders to perform this process themselves over-the-air. The service will be made available to consumers through their issuing banks' websites.

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(Springfield, MA) - When the Strunck family of Charlotte, North Carolina, recently sought to update their financial plans, they discovered that the intervening years and changes in their medical histories had limited their planning choices and increased their challenges.

For the Struncks, whose need for planning is heightened by their son having autism, the lesson was clear: 'Don't put these decisions off, because your family's well-being could be at risk,' said Mike Strunck.

'Thank goodness we were proactive with our early planning,' he added. 'Given some recent health issues, if we had waited, we might not have been able to put in place the plan that we did. We probably would have had to pay more for the policies we obtained, or not have been able to obtain them at all. We're grateful we got started when we did, and now we're even more grateful given our ability to tap the cash value of our whole life insurance policy* as the result of a recent job relocation and inability to sell our home.'

Despite such cautionary tales, many people put off making important financial decisions without realizing that stalling and procrastination can put them in harm's way.

'The worst thing that can happen is for you to look back in hindsight and say, 'I should have taken care of that,' because, needless to say, we don't get do-overs,' said Tara Reynolds, corporate vice president, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual).

A delay in purchasing life insurance can 'cost' a consumer in one of at least three ways, according to Reynolds:

1. As you get older, the cost of purchasing a life insurance policy increases. 'Putting off the purchase of life insurance for even one year could cost tens of thousands of dollars more over the life of the policy,' said Reynolds.

2. If you develop health problems, a new life insurance policy can cost you even more, as premiums reflect your deteriorating health.

3. If your health condition is serious or life threatening, you could be denied life insurance coverage altogether.

The same is true for disability income and long term care insurance. In fact, a study conducted by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance in 2008 found that 70 percent of submitted life/long term care insurance combo policy applications by individuals between the ages of 45 and 54 were accepted by insurers, compared to around 61 percent of applicants between ages 65 and 74.

'Many people neglect to think about one 'hidden' consequence of losing or changing a job,' said Reynolds. 'Most people may think about health insurance, but forget that life insurance and even disability insurance coverage may end the minute they walk out the door. If their employer-provided coverage is all that they have to rely on, they may be left exposed. Planning ahead with permanent insurance solutions can help solve for this and provide options.'

Health problems that crop up while waiting to begin or refresh planning can also create difficulties. When it came time to develop his family's financial plans, another MassMutual policyholder (who asked that his full name not be used for privacy purposes) shared that one of the important decisions was purchasing life insurance to provide for his wife and two children. Convertible term life insurance made the most sense at the time so that he could convert his temporary coverage to permanent as his needs and budget changed. He and his financial professional had the foresight to include a safeguard: a waiver of premium rider** should he become disabled and unable to pay for the premiums for his policy.

Years later, the policyholder was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder, the kind of health change that many Americans undergo but one that, once diagnosed, can make obtaining insurance more costly or – in the worst cases – impossible.

'I hate to think of the difficult spot we'd be in today if we had put off our planning,' he said. 'The choices my wife and I made just a few short years ago helped make sure our family has a permanent safety net, regardless of how my eye condition progresses, and that's incredibly important as our family grows.'

People often put off planning because they don't know where or how to begin, or they don't believe they can afford to implement the plan. Working with a Financial Professional can clarify options and help with decision-making. 'You cannot afford to avoid or neglect planning. That's not an option, especially today,' said Reynolds. 'If nothing else, our current economy has taught many people that they need to be proactive in setting up safety nets to protect what they have, and to take control over what they can control for their financial health today and tomorrow.'

Because health and life circumstances can change abruptly and without warning, choosing permanent insurance, such as whole life insurance, can be a smart choice. As long as policyholders pay their premiums, the insurance coverage remains in force, creating a permanent yet flexible base for a long-range plan that includes guarantees of cash value growth, ability to earn dividends,*** and a generally tax-free death benefit.

To hear from other MassMutual policyholders or if you are a policyholder and would like to tell us your story, visit www.massmutual.com/customervoices.

* Distributions under a policy (including cash dividends, withdrawals and partial/full surrenders) are not subject to taxation up to the amount paid into the policy (the cost basis). If the policy is a Modified Endowment Contract, policy loans and/or distributions are taxable to the extent of gain and are subject to a 10% tax penalty. Access to cash values through borrowing, withdrawals or partial surrenders can reduce the policy's cash value and death benefit, increase the chance the policy will lapse, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.

** Riders are available at an additional cost.

*** Dividends are not guaranteed.

— WebWireID108104 —

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), a global payments technology company, today announced the opening of a new global data processing center in North America. Concurrently, Visa implemented several IT enhancements, chief among them the implementation of a new operating system that underpins VisaNet, its global transaction processing network.

Together, these technology investments further enhance the flexibility, reliability and scale of VisaNet, and increase Visa's ability to process the ever-growing number of increasingly complex electronic payments around the world, which now account for 33 percent of global consumer spending. [1]

* Greater reliability, capacity - The opening of the new center is a key milestone in Visa's multi-year technology upgrade, that results in Visa now having two synchronized, secure and reliable data centers in North America, each capable of carrying Visa's entire global payments volume in the event of a natural disaster or systems outage. Instant fail-over technology between Visa data centers around the globe ensures the 5-nine level of uninterrupted service that cardholders, merchants, governments and financial institutions have come to expect from Visa.
* New operating system - Developed in partnership with IBM, the system, known as zTM Transaction Processing Facility (z/TPF), is a 64-bit operating system that allows more information to be manipulated at once and perform more complex processing functions in milliseconds. Importantly, this paves the way for Visa to deliver new, information-intensive applications such as advanced fraud analysis, and mobile payments and services.
* Enhanced security - This centralized processing structure, combined with the new operating system, provides Visa with a comprehensive view into the global payment system, leading to high levels of intelligence around spending patterns, enabling Visa to provide a broad range of information-based services, and improving the company's ability to detect and prevent fraud in near real-time.

"Visa's commitment to continuous technology upgrades differentiates us from competitors and helps Visa play a key role in facilitating the migration to electronic payments. Few people recognize the critical role VisaNet plays in supporting our extensive brand acceptance, securing our products and facilitating payment innovation," said Mike Dreyer, Chief Information Officer, Visa Inc. "As we activate our second new data center in four years and complete a transition to the latest information technology, we are laying the foundation for the future of Visa payments and related services."

Data Center Expands Global Capacity, Flexibility

Located in the Eastern United States, Visa's new data center is a 370,000 square foot, state-of-art facility architected to support multiple authorization engines and process hundreds of millions of transactions each day. With more than 140,000 square feet of raised floor space the center houses some of the payments industry's most advanced payment processing services and is capable of handling more than 10,000 transaction messages per second.

Visa's new processing center completes a global network of four data centers on three continents connecting more than 16,000 financial institutions, and millions of merchants and processing partners through more than 1,600 network endpoints around the world. For the four quarters ended June 30, 2009, Visa's total volume was nearly $4.3 trillion dollars. With the growing worldwide migration away from cash and checks and towards electronic payments being fueled by new merchant acceptance locations, new products like mobile payments and prepaid, and new services like money transfer, and mobile alerts and notifications, the volume and complexity of Visa transactions are expected to grow.

New Operating System Boosts Visa's Processing Power

Beyond its new data center, Visa has also recently implemented a new operating system to enhance the processing capabilities of its authorization platform, the Visa Integrated Payment platform (VIP). Visa selected the new IBM System zTM Transaction Processing Facility (z/TPF), one of the most advanced operating systems in the world for handling transaction-based computing tasks. The system is specifically designed for ultra high capacity and high-availability, and for systems designed for rapid expansion needed to handle high peak periods or spikes of transaction activity.

Visa partnered with IBM on the implementation of z/TPF and provided input on key operating system features to ensure seamless integration with Visa's payment processing applications. Visa is the first large company to implement z/TPF.

"The ability to provide a business platform that delivers a predictable and dynamic environment for increased transaction volume is crucial to success in commerce today," said Mark Anzani, IBM VP and chief technology officer for System Z. "Visa has raised the standard for future transactions processing by tapping the reliability and security of the new Z10 mainframe and the power of the new z/TPF software to connect an ever-increasing number of merchants, banks and consumers."

Annual VisaNet Stress Test Sets New Record

The new data center began processing transactions immediately following Visa's annual "stress testing" of its network. The testing is designed to simulate extremely heavy transaction loads, well beyond those expected at the height of the holiday shopping season, which is Visa's busiest. [2]

The stress test, conducted in an IBM facility configured to match an operational Visa data center, confirmed that as currently configured, VisaNet is has more than sufficient capacity and processing power to support the busiest hour of the busiest day projected for the year, even if an entire data center was to go offline.

Annual Software Update

In October, as part of its semiannual software update, Visa completed the upgrade of its global payment platform, as well as introducing a number of advanced processing capabilities. For this latest update, Visa programmers, engineers and testers have invested more than 85,000 labor hours to create and incorporate upgrades to VisaNet. That includes the addition of several new currencies to the 175 for which Visa already processes transactions.

As with past updates, these significant system changes and improvements were made while VisaNet remained fully operational, ensuring that cardholders, merchants and financial institutions could continue to rely on Visa to process their transactions.

Visa's software updates improve the network in crucial areas such as security while continually adding the technology to support the growth and complexity of electronic payments. These include the development of information-based services that help financial institutions provide more value to their cardholders and increase loyalty; provide ways for businesses to use Visa to maintain greater control and transparency over card spending; and help governments deliver benefits with more efficiency and accountability.

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According to Hugh O'Toole, senior vice president and head of sales and client management for MassMutual's Retirement Services Division, MassMutual's nonprofit expertise and financial stability are attractive to advisors and their clients in the nonprofit space. 'MassMutual's strength in consolidating multiple plans under a single provider is highly valued in this market,' says O'Toole. 'In addition to tremendous growth in the healthcare market, MassMutual has achieved sales success in several nonprofit sub niches including charitable 501c(3) organizations, private education, and religious organizations,' he adds.

'We recently completed the consolidation of $100 million in retirement plan assets from 403(b), 401(a), 457(b) and 457(f) retirement plans for a large healthcare organization with more than 3,200 employees,' says M. Palmer Whitney, national managing director for MassMutual's nonprofit market. 'The nonprofit market presents unique challenges and the regulatory environment can be overwhelming for plan sponsors. Even in complex situations, MassMutual has the expertise to achieve a smooth, successful transition.'

For more information about MassMutual's retirement services, please call your retirement plan advisor or contact MassMutual at (888) 626-4911.

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UFX Bank a leading online forex dealer who offer their clients trading of over 200 currency pairs and commodities including gold and oil, realized just how important it is to have liquidity offered through such a well-trusted investment house. Safety and security are two of the most crucial factors in any dealing with clients.

Vincent Laforet, Vice President of Business Development for UFX Bank, states: 'We are very excited to have access to top tier liquidity and pricing provided by Divisa Capital. We feel that the price transparency and deep liquidity will lead to superior trade execution for our clients.'

Michael Markarian, President of Divisa Capital, says: 'We are thrilled to be working with UFX Bank, a pioneering firm in the retail FX market. UFX focuses on providing their clients with the tools and education necessary to be an informed trader."

About Divisa Capital LP:
www.divisafx.com
Divisa Capital LP ('DCFX') is an investment house that provides spot foreign exchange trading services to a diversified client base that ranges from financial institutions through to private individuals.

About UFX Bank:
www.ufxbank.com
UFX Bank, who have already become a brand name amongst Forex traders have built their brand on a very simple and quick execution turnaround. It is this simplicity that has shot this brokerage firm to the hearts and minds of traders across the globe. UFX Bank offer instant execution on dozens of currency pairs, as well as Silver and Gold and Oil. UFX Bank give their customers full support and all the resources they need to make educated trades.

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Deutsche Bank is the first major bank to offer such a service, which is an important development for thousands of institutional, banking and corporate users of FX options. Through an easy to use order screen, clients can place orders which when filled will help them to achieve preferable FX options level.

Ian O'Flaherty, global head of FX e-commerce at Deutsche Bank, said: "Historically, organisations wishing to buy or sell FX options electronically could only do so at the rates being offered at the time. To trade at a particular price they had to monitor the screens constantly and then hope that they executed quickly enough. AutobahnFX Option Orders changes all that. Clients can be sure they're getting the best possible price - even if the best price only occurs for a milli second."

About Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With 78,530 employees in 72 countries, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services throughout the world. The bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people.

www.db.com

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In a new report produced by Lloyd's 360 Risk Insight and the Microinsurance Centre, Insurance in developing countries: exploring microinsurance and other commercial opportunities, the size of the potential market is estimated to be between 1.5 and 3 billion policies, with significant demand for a range of products, including health, life, agricultural and property insurance. Over 135 million people are currently covered with microinsurance which around 5 % of the potential market. Annual growth rates are currently over 10%.

Launching the report, Lloyd's Finance Director, Luke Savage, said:

'Bringing insurance to three billion low income individuals is a real opportunity to reduce poverty and give individuals the ability to invest in sustainable projects without the fear of loss from natural catastrophes or other destructive forces.

''But it is not a one way trade. There are benefits for commercial insurers too, which include larger and diversified risk pools, first mover advantage into new markets, market intelligence and innovations that can be applied to other business activities,' he said.

The demand for microinsurance is set to rise on the back of the global recession, with 50-90 million people predicted to be plunged back in to poverty over 2009.

While recessionary pressures will influence the amount seeking microinsurance, the policies and business itself will be further shaped by numerous variables, including: economic growth; urbanisation; financial sector development; climate change; and information technology.

Mr Savage pointed out that the partnership between business and government in this field is not new, highlighting the success of government subsidised schemes.

The report looks at the role of regulation in building and improving the provision of microinsurance, including:

- Responding to the implications of limited data and information on policyholders and different risk structures.

- Ensuring that products are appropriate to the needs of low-income consumers in terms of coverage, structure and even language.
- Recognition and if necessary regulation of fast and cost-effective settlement mechanisms, which may include simpler documentation requirements and claims handling by the distribution channel

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The first in a series of graduate programmes kicked off earlier this year in order to train graduates to full financial planner status. The scheme aims to provide young professionals with in-depth knowledge of the industry and equip them with the adequate skills to become trusted and well-informed financial advisers. 'We enjoyed having the graduates on board and believe it was a positive experience for the company as a whole. We look forward to rolling out many more successful courses in the future' commented Nigel Green, CEO for the deVere Group.

Graduates obtain the industry-recognised Certificate in Financial Planning. Upon completion of the course, they are offered the opportunity to join one of the group's forty offices worldwide. The next graduate course is due to start in Q1 2010.

About the deVere Group

The deVere Group is the world's largest independent international financial consultancy group. International investors and expatriates employ us to find financial services products that suit their medium to long term requirements for investments, savings and pensions. With in excess of US$7 billion of funds under administration and management, deVere has more than fifty thousand clients in over a hundred countries. Our independence and ability to offer financial products that are tailor-made to fit an individual's needs are behind our success. As a result we now have offices in over forty countries. You can find us in Abu Dhabi, Brussels, Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Mexico, Moscow, Shanghai, Tokyo and Zurich, amongst others.

Please visit http://www.devere-group.com for more information about the deVere Group.

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About Power3 Medical Products, Inc.

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (Power3) is primarily engaged in commercializing its intellectual properties in the area of diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In the area of neurodegenerative diseases and breast cancer, Power3 has completed research and clinical validation studies involving over 1,500 patient samples. Power3 uses biostatistical analysis to monitor appropriate panels of biomarkers for diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for disease, normal and disease controls. By testing patient body fluids and tissues, including blood serum (for breast cancer and neurodegenerative diseases), and bone marrow aspirates (for leukemia patients), the Company has discovered protein biomarker patterns in over 1,500 patient samples that cover a range of diseases.

The full special report on the company appears today at http://www.stockshaven.com/power3-investors-feeling-bullish-prior-to-expo-otcpwrm/

Disclosure: Long PWRM

To feature a publicly traded company in StocksHaven.com Alerts or as a fully profiled company, email us at michaelvlaicu@stockshaven.com or visit http://www.stockshaven.com/ir_contract/ for more info

###

About MiV Investments Inc.

MiV Investments Inc. can be found at StocksHaven.com. It is a company offering a news portal covering the world financial news and equities sector. It features its own blog, free level 2 quotes, two way linking capability, mass e-mail distribution alerts, stock research reports, conference calls, news feeds, mailing list, videos, press release capability, stock commentaries, company reviews and other unique content including expert stock analysis from Michael Vlaicu. The company also offers Investor Relations contracting services.

For more financial and investment news, visit www.StocksHaven.com

Certain sections of this report contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reporters' expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates" and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include but are not limited to projections of revenues, earnings, segment performance, cash flows, contract awards, FDA announcements, trial and drug approvals, and company stability. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors including but not limited to the status or outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report or, in the case of any document incorporated by reference, the date of that document. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or any person acting on the company's behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements in this section. StocksHaven.Com on behalf of MiV Investments Inc. does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this report.

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Effectively integrating the provision and return processes has long been one of the key pain points for corporate tax departments – until now. The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters is introducing Enhanced Provision and Return Integration to relieve these pain points and significantly streamline corporate tax workflow.

'The tax provision and the tax return are reported according to different levels of detail, at different times, and for different purposes,' said Joe Harpaz, senior vice president and general manager of ONESOURCE™ TaxStream Provision at Thomson Reuters. 'Our enhanced integration benefits users of our leading corporate income tax and provision software solutions through sophisticated, yet simple, integration that solves the challenge of the incompatibility of data detail between a tax provision and tax return. As a result, we've automated tasks that are typically manual and redundant in nature, thereby allowing tax professionals to devote more time to value-adding tax analysis and planning.'

The new enhanced integration can break out a single line item in ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision into multiple line items in ONESOURCE Income Tax and vice versa. Likewise, it can consolidate multiple line items on a return into a single line item on the provision and vice versa.

'This revolutionary solution effectively generates specific detail levels needed for each process,' said Steve Mendelsohn, senior vice president and general manager of ONESOURCE Income Tax at Thomson Reuters. 'We're excited to present the first ever solution with one-to-many and many-to-one data transfer and a solution that can considerably improve the efficiency and accuracy of a tax department.'

The new enhanced integration of ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision and ONESOURCE Income Tax enables tax professionals to:

* dramatically automate manual processes and improve efficiencies during every stage of the tax lifecycle;
* compare a filed tax return from ONESOURCE Income Tax with the prior year annual provision from ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision, then post the delta to the current year annual provision;
* feed trial balance data, book-tax differences, and pre-tax book income from ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision to ONESOURCE Income Tax to get a head start on the return;
* automatically send state rate and apportionment data from ONESOURCE Income Tax to ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision to generate state-specific provision reports.

The enhanced integration will be available on Dec. 1 to all customers of ONESOURCE Income Tax (formerly InSource) and ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision (formerly TaxStream). 'We continue to make major strides in enhancing the functionality of our market leading corporate tax products and specifically in the integration across products, thereby enabling our customers to further leverage their investment in Thomson Reuters solutions,' said Harpaz.

ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision is a global provision platform that seamlessly integrates with General Ledger and Return Systems, ONESOURCE TaxStream Provision automatically generates all calculations, reports, and documentation to satisfy tax planning, provision and audit requirements. Built-in user controls, audit trails, and guaranteed calculations generate SOX compliant tax footnote reports. Automated interim reporting, state provisions, estimates and extensions, journal entries, deferred balance tracking, tax basis balance sheet management and integrated analysis of uncertain tax positions are all calculated using one consolidating software.

ONESOURCE Income Tax is a complete tax management solution that seamlessly integrates federal, state, local, and international income tax compliance and management for corporate enterprises with multinational operations. ONESOURCE Income Tax also provides comprehensive solutions for insurance companies, partnerships, and fixed asset management.

Additional information can be obtained by visiting www.onesourceprovisionandreturnintegration.com or calling 201-356-6519.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters is the leading provider of technology and information solutions, as well as integrated tax compliance software and services to accounting, tax and corporate finance professionals in accounting firms, corporations, law firms and government. Tax & Accounting includes the Corporate Software & Services, Professional Software & Services, and Research & Guidance business groups.

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WALLDORF, Germany - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that Microsoft Corporation supports the SAP® BusinessObjects™ Planning and Consolidation application, version for the Microsoft platform, as a preferred solution for customers running their business applications on the Microsoft platform. The companies are currently identifying potential targeted go-to-market initiatives to accelerate the adoption of SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation among the Microsoft user base, as well as the SAP® BusinessObjects™ Edge Planning and Consolidation application among small to midsize organizations. The companies are also planning to collaborate to further optimize these solutions for the Microsoft platform to deliver superior performance for customers at a lower cost of ownership. The companies aim to help customers tap the business value of a best-in-class application to perform efficient and effective planning, budgeting and forecasting and deliver a faster, more compliant financial close.

"SAP has taken an aggressive stance that its business planning and consolidation product from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio can be used by all firms, not just SAP customers," said John Hagerty, vice president and research fellow at AMR Research. "The company commits to continued development and support with Microsoft's product stack. Existing customers and prospects should rest assured they can choose the technical platform that makes most sense for them."

"SAP provides a leading unified planning and consolidation solution that delivers value for customers on the Microsoft platform," said Tom Casey, general manager, SQL Server Business Intelligence, Microsoft Corporation. "The application takes advantage of the latest available versions of Microsoft Office 2007, including integration with Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008, enabling customers to use the familiar tools they work with every day while benefiting from the features of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 database and SQL Server Analysis Services."

Best-in-Class Solution Brings Business Value for Customers
Part of the portfolio of SAP BusinessObjects enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions, SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation, version for the Microsoft platform, is used today by well-known companies including retail information systems provider Toshiba Tec, oil and energy trader Marquard & Bahls and Iberiabank, a leading North American financial institution.

"We chose the application versus competing solutions based on its flexibility to adapt and evolve as our business grows," explains Mark Herpin, financial planning manager, Iberiabank. "We recently upgraded to the new version in conjunction with an upgrade to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and are seeing dramatic performance improvement. We use Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) to calculate most of our banking ratios. Modifying applications and processing can now be done at speed of light compared to before. Reporting performance has exceeded our benchmarks."

Broad Functionality for the Business User
SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation provides business users with a single solution for planning, budgeting, forecasting and financial consolidations. The application allows users to fulfill increasingly strict global regulations and comprehensive legal consolidation requirements.

To provide the most value, and to help customers face the reality of operating in an increasingly complex and globalized world, the application also comes with an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) starter kit. The kit contains pre-built patented process flows to guide users through the consolidation process and generate consolidated financial statements. Other content, such as charts of accounts and input schedules, is available to help facilitate the transition to IFRS.

In addition to management and legal consolidation capabilities, the application streamlines planning, budgeting and forecasting by supporting top-down and bottom-up planning, which leads to timely, more accurate plans that are aligned with strategic goals. It also helps facilitate collaborative planning across all functions for more accurate budgeting, and enables continuous planning and rolling forecasts to meet rapidly changing business conditions and reduce budget cycle time.

"We see a mutually beneficial opportunity for both Microsoft and SAP to offer customers a best-in-class solution," said Sanjay J. Poonen, executive vice president and general manager, Performance Optimization Applications, SAP. "For SAP, it strengthens our commitment to operate in both SAP and non-SAP environments. Customers choosing SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation, version for the Microsoft platform, will benefit from an application that drives agile planning and compliant consolidation processes within their organizations. Microsoft's support for SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation further underlines SAP's leading vision, commitment and execution in the EPM market, and underscores the business value that our ongoing strategic partnership delivers to customers."

About SAP
SAP is the world's leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 92,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol "SAP." For more information, visit www.sap.com.

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, and related applications.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

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Signs are emerging that the market is starting to pick up, with organisations starting to prioritise recruitment. Tessa Hollingworth, Operations Director at Hays Banking, explained: "Clearly, we're not out of the woods yet by any stretch of the imagination, but we are experiencing an increase in the demand for a variety of banking roles, particularly within the major retail banks and building societies."

Building societies are looking to fill variouis banking jobs, from cashiers and customer service advisers through to assistant managers, senior branch managers and regional managers. "Recruitment is taking place across the board with these organisations looking for a mix of junior candidates and for those with managerial experience," added Hollingworth. "Organisations will look carefully at an individual's work history - evidence of loyalty to an employer is advantageous. Prior experience is preferred for more senior roles although for the more junior roles the right attitude is just as important."

Recruitment in corporate banking jobs and commercial banking jobs has also picked up momentum, with a demand for restructuring and recovery roles in particular. These are challenging roles and individuals need to be excellent problem solvers and have first-class communication skills. Distressed debt is one of the key issues in today's market and specialists with this specific experience remain highly sought after in the current market, given the requirement for strong credit, risk and accounting knowledge. "Employers are keen to hire individuals with excellent relationship management skills and strong credit skills," added Hollingworth.

Business development also remains a focal point for retail banks and building societies with a strong track record in sales being one of the key competencies sought after by employers in the field of business banking jobs. Professionals can use their transferable skills from the wider retail environment to put them at an advantage when applying for jobs in this sector. Qualified financial advisers who are able to achieve targets consistently are also highly sought after, relevant industry qualifications such as FPC/CeFA are essential.

Professionals looking for retail banking jobs need to differentiate themselves in the current market and this means being thorough with CV preparation.

"With competition for roles extremely high, it is in the interests of every individual to spend as much time as possible refining their CVs. Candidates also need to work on their interview technique and be aware of competency based interviews and what employers are expecting," continued Hollingworth. "For all roles, providing clear examples of past achievements and the impact they have had on the bottom line is particularly important. Specialist recruiters can provide tailored advice to help candidates in all aspects of the recruitment process."

-ends-

Note to editor:

About Hays:
Hays plc (the "Group") is the leading global specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe. It operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

The Group employs 6,933 staff operating from 345 offices in 28 countries across 17 specialisms.

For the year ended 30 June 2009:
- The Group had revenues of £2.4 billion, net fees of £670.8 million and operating profit of £158 million.
- The Group placed around 50,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 270,000 people into temporary assignments.
- The temporary placement business represented 56% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 44% of net fees.

PR Contact:
Alexandra Tucker
Hays Plc.
2nd Floor
Stockley House
130 Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1LQ
020 7630 4282
www.hays.co.uk/banking

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