Press Releases

MONT-ST-HILAIRE, QUEBEC, CANADA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/02/09 -- Mr. Renaud Hinse, president and C.E.O. of Abcourt Mines Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ABI)(BERLIN: ABI)(FRANKFURT: ABI), is pleased to announce a brokered private placement, as described below, for a total amount of up to CDN $2,000,000.

Brokered Private Placement

The Company has signed a letter of agreement with Northern Securities inc., as Agent, pursuant to which the Agent will, on a best efforts basis, lead an offering of $2 million through an issue of non Flow-Through Units (the Units) of the Company and Flow-Through Units. This offering is comprised of 7.1M Units (the Units) at a price of $0.13 per Unit and of 5.9M Flow-Through Units at a price of $0.17 per Flow-Through Units. Each "Unit" is comprised of one Class B (common share) and one common share purchase warrant, which allows the subscriber to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.17 and is valid for a period of 24 months from the date of the closing. Each Flow-Through Units is comprised of one flow-through share and one half common share purchase warrant, one whole warrant being required to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.19 and is valid for a period of 24 months from the date of closing.

The net proceeds from this placement will be used for exploration work on the Company's mining properties and for general corporate purposes.

Northern Securities Inc. will receive a commission of 7% in cash based on all the "Units" and Flow-Through Units sold. In addition, the Agent will receive broker warrants equal to 8% of the Units sold pursuant to this offering. Each broker warrant will be exercisable into one Unit at any time prior to the date that is 24 months form the date of closing.

The securities issued pursuant to the private placement mentioned above will be subject to a hold period of four months from closing. This placement is subject to the conditional approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Abcourt Mines Inc. is an exploration and development company with strategically located properties in Northwestern Quebec, Canada. The Abcourt-Barvue project with 43-101 silver-zinc ore reserves and resources and the Elder mine with 43-101 gold resources and the Aldermac property with historical copper-zinc resources are all former producers. Abcourt is now focused on bringing the Abcourt-Barvue and Elder projects back in production and at the same time, it is working on other projects (Aldermac, Jonpol and Vendome), to increase its mineral resources inventory. A positive 43-101 feasibility study was completed in 2007 on the Abcourt-Barvue project. In addition, mill equipment has been purchased. To know more about Abcourt, please consult our web site www.abcourt.com and Sedar www.sedar.com, see "Abcourt Mines Inc". A small location plan and longitudinal projection of the Aldermac mineralized zones are shown on our web site. A small location plan of the Elder and Tagami properties is also shown on our web site.

The Abcourt shares are trading on the TSX Venture Stock Exchange under the symbol ABI.V and at Frankfurt and Berlin in Germany.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for statements of historical facts, all statements in this news release, including, without limitation, statements regarding forecasts, plans and objectives of Abcourt Mines Inc., are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Abcourt Mines Inc.
Renaud Hinse, President
819-768-2857 or 450-446-5511
819-768-5475 or 450-446-3550 (FAX)
rhinse@abcourt.com

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings has published its U.S. CMBS Focus Performance Report on Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust, series 2006-TOP23 (MSCI 2006-TOP23). The report provides a detailed and up-to-date perspective on key credit characteristics of the MSCI 2006-TOP23 transaction and property-level performance of the related trust loans.

The report is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' under 'Latest Research', as well as under the following headers:

Sectors >> Structured Finance >> CMBS >> Research

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE.

    Source: Fitch Ratings

GIBBSTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Deon Vos has been named President and Managing Director of EMD Chemicals Inc. He succeeds Meiken Krebs, who will assume the position of Senior Vice President of Strategy, Organization and Business Processes, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (EMD Chemicals is a North American affiliate of Merck KGaA). These appointments will take effect on January 1, 2010.

Vos will be based at the EMD Chemicals headquarters in Gibbstown, N.J., and report to Dr. Bernd Reckmann, Head of the Chemicals business sector and Member of the Executive Board, Merck KGaA. Krebs will be based at the Merck KGaA global headquarters in Darmstadt and report to Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Merck Executive Board.

Vos, a native of South Africa, is currently the Managing Director of Merck (Pty) Ltd. in South Africa, responsible for leading the company's overall activities in that country. Vos joined Merck's South African affiliate in 1986 as Marketing Manager and then held the position of General Manager for the Chemicals business followed by being General Manager for the Pharma business. In 1998, he was appointed General Manager, Pharma International Asia and Asia Pacific, based in Darmstadt. In this role, Vos helped to bolster the presence of Merck KGaA in Asia by establishing the subsidiary in Hong Kong and laying the groundwork for setting up operations in China, Korea and Vietnam. He then returned to South Africa in a pharmaceutical role in 2000 and assumed his current position in 2002.

"Deon is an experienced leader with a profound knowledge of Merck KGaA's business and products," said Dr. Bernd Reckmann, Head of the Chemicals business sector and Member of the Executive Board, Merck KGaA. "We are confident that through his leadership, EMD Chemicals will thrive and grow in the markets it serves by consistently bringing innovative solutions to our customers."

About EMD Chemicals Inc.

EMD Chemicals represents the North American chemical sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. It is an international organization with nearly 1,000 employees and revenues of more than $US 300 million in 2008, providing specialty chemicals for pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetic, automotive, plastics and other industrial applications. With headquarters in Gibbstown, N.J., EMD Chemicals is also engaged in the development, manufacture and distribution of a broad array of reagents used for life science research. Its sister company, EMD Crop BioScience located in Milwaukee, Wis., specializes in plant growth enhancement products for agricultural applications, including Optimize(R). EMD Chemicals is known in the market by its product brands including Iriodin(R), Xirallic(R), Rona(R), Calbiochem(R), Novabiochem(R) and Novagen(R), among others.

About Merck KGaA

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of EUR 7.6 billion in 2008, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approximately 33,000 employees in 60 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

All Merck Press Releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Website. Please go to http://www.subscribe.merck.de to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.

    Source: EMD Chemicals Inc.

LONDON, Dec. 2, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Having been a victim of harsh twists and turns at an early age, author Angela Walters-Kitone believed that life was bad and would never amount to anything -- until the love of her husband and children dawned on her. A gripping recollection of her life awaits readers as Xlibris releases Complicated Lifestyle: From Child to Teenager, an autobiographical novel.

Written in vivid details, Complicated Lifestyle: From Child to Teenager recounts the painful events in Kitone's life that etched permanent marks in her memory. Being a daughter of an abusive father, getting pregnant at fourteen, widowed even before she gave birth, and arrested more than once before the age of thirty, were only a few of the struggles she had to put up with, among others. However, when she met her husband, Sammy, life started to show compassion for her -- love has drenched her heart, and her life has changed forever.

Touching on topics like bereavement, divorce, murder, marriages, teenage pregnancies, prison, and crime, this novel exposes readers to the cruel realities of life, educating them to avoid the same rocky path. Moreover, Complicated Lifestyle: From Child to Teenager shares a valuable lesson to everyone-that despite the times when one feels trapped, sunshine still prevails amidst the complications; sometimes, it just takes a while. For more information on this book, log on to www.Xlibris.com.

About the Author

Angela Walters-Kitone lives with her husband and youngest son, who is eighteen years old. She has a twenty-six-year-old son and a twenty-three-year-old daughter. She went through many difficult stages in life to get her where she is now. Today, they run a family business together, which is a security company.

            Complicated Lifestyle * by Angela Walters-Kitone
                        From Child to Teenager
                    Publication Date: November 24, 2009
           Trade Paperback; $19.99; 245 pages; 978-1-4415-6232-6
            Trade Hardback; $29.99; 245 pages; 978-1-4415-6233-3

Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7479. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7876.

For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.

CONTACT:  Xlibris
          Marketing Services
          (888) 795-4274 x. 7876
          MarketingServices@Xlibris.com

SHREWSBURY, Mass. & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- U.S. Bank has been named trustee, registrar and paying agent for nearly $550 million in Project Revenue Bonds for the University of Massachusetts Building Authority. More than $271 million are in the form of Build America Bonds.

"The Authority is pleased to be the first organization in Massachusetts to access the taxable market using Build America Bonds," said Steven Dansby, chief financial officer for the University of Massachusetts Building Authority. "We were able to lower our overall debt service payments by almost $1 million a year over the payments the Authority would have made by issuing tax-exempt bonds. We appreciate being able to work with our partner, U.S. Bank, in completing this transaction."

The University of Massachusetts Building Authority is responsible for providing dormitories, dining commons and other buildings and structures for the use of the students, staff and their dependents located on five of the university's campuses located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The University of Massachusetts Building Authority is committed to aiding and contributing to the performance of the educational and other purposes of the University of Massachusetts and its nearly 55,000 full time students.

U.S. Bank has 46 corporate trust offices across the country and offers a complete line of trust services. U.S. Bank serves as trustee and paying agent for the issuance of taxable and non-taxable securities, including the review of documents and indentures, registration and authentication of bonds, receipts and disbursement of bond sale proceeds, successor trusteeships, escrow account services and transfer and paying agency services. Also, U.S. Bank provides mortgage-backed and asset-backed securitizations, money market paying agency services, bond and tax administration, escrow services and document custody services.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $265 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2009, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the sixth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,002 banking offices in 25 states and 5,170 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.

    Source: U.S. Bank