Press Releases

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As part of its continuous surveillance efforts Fitch Ratings affirms the 'A' rating to Hillsborough County, Florida's outstanding $150.5 million solid waste and resource recovery revenue bonds including:

--$110.2 million outstanding series 2006A, AMT;

--$40.4 million outstanding series 2006B, non-AMT.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The 'A' rating on the county-owned system's bonds reflect the system's various revenue sources, in particular the more than half of system revenues derived from property-based assessments for residential collection and disposal services. The rating also reflects a good liquidity position, and sound financial performance with strong historical and projected coverage of debt service well above indenture covenants arising from the legal and economic flow control of waste to the system. Credit concerns include the need for periodic renewal of waste disposal contracts, legal provisions that allow future rate increases and improvements to be included in revenue projections along with up to 25% of rate stabilization funds to meet the rate covenant and additional bonds test (ABT) of 1.10 times (x) net revenues, although another provision of the rate covenant requires at least sum sufficient operations from gross revenues excluding reserves. Projections though fiscal 2015 reflect slowly growing pledged revenues following the renewed terms of the electric contract coupled with weak growth in waste tonnage.

The county's solid waste management system is an enterprise fund of Hillsborough County. The system collects and disposes of solid waste and sells electricity generated from its waste-to-energy operation. Preliminary fiscal 2009 operating revenues of $95.5 million rose 3.8% from the prior year and were derived almost 54% from residential collection and disposal assessments collected on the property tax bill with a lien on property; county property tax collections rates are high. Residential collection costs are recovered through the property tax assessments. Residential disposal assessments increase 3% annually beginning Fiscal 2008-2011 to offset lower revenues from renewal of the energy contract. The increase can be discontinued at the discretion of management in fiscal 2012 if debt service coverage in fiscal 2011 is 1.65x or above. Another 19.6% of fiscal 2009 operating revenues was derived from three franchise haulers under contracts expiring in 2013 which commit all of the waste to the system. Revenues also include 17.4% from electricity sales to Tampa Electric Company (rated 'BBB' by Fitch) through a contract that expires in 2010. Municipal agreements account for 4.6% of revenues with the cities of Tampa and Temple Terrace; renewal of the Tampa agreement is underway and the Temple Terrace agreement was renewed for another 20 years. The waste-to-energy facility operation and management contract with Covanta Hillsborough, Inc. was extended to 2029 with final acceptance of the fourth burner in August 2009. As contracts renew periodically over the term of the bonds through 2034, the county anticipates that the system's competitive position will enable contract renewals

The county manages the system to substantially exceed its legal rate covenant, operating to provide debt service coverage of 1.45x from net revenues. Series 2006 bond amortization was structured to meet the 1.45x threshold, especially through the projected drop of energy sales revenue upon renegotiation of the electric sales contract in fiscal 2011. Updated 2009 projections reflect slower growth in waste and revenues from the initial feasibility projections. Nonetheless, debt service coverage remains sound through the forecast period fiscals 2010 to 2015 with debt service coverage expected to remain above 1.45x due to scheduled rate increases in tipping fees and collection assessments.

Fiscal 2008 debt service coverage was a strong 2.38x reflecting the first year of the 3% rate increases. Preliminary fiscal 2009 debt service coverage is 1.65x and was above initial projections of 1.46x. Current projections anticipate discontinuance of the 3% fee increase between fiscal 2012-2015 with annual debt service coverage around 2.13x in fiscal 2011 to 1.95x in fiscal 2015 for the series 2006 bonds. Debt service is anticipated to remain above 1.45x even including $58 million in projected debt financed capital improvements. The county's net asset position has been strong with unaudited fiscal 2009 net assets of $155.5 million. Levels remain sound over the forecast period despite declines to $111.1 million by fiscal 2015. Unrestricted assets were $40.9 million in fiscal 2009 down slightly from $41.9 million in fiscal 2008.

The series 2006 bonds funded the expansion of the county's resource recovery system with a fourth burner, increasing daily tonnage to capacity to 1,800 from 1,200 tons per day. Also financed were improvements to the county's transfer stations and construction of additional sections of the county's landfill.

General obligation bonds of Hillsborough County are rated 'AA+' by Fitch, with a Stable Rating Outlook, reflecting the county's solid fiscal track record, strong proactive management, a diverse economy anchoring the county as the economic center of Florida's Gulf Coast and somewhat mitigating the effects of the current national economic slowdown, and low overall debt levels.

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

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 4, 2009) -

Company:          Frontera Copper Corp Notes

TSX Symbol:       FCC.NT only

Reason:           Pending News

Halt Time (ET):   1:45pm

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
        Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada- IIROC
        416-646-7299
        inquiries@iiroc.ca
        www.iiroc.ca

Source: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)

CINCINNATI, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) will present at the 2009 Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference in New York City on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at approximately 9:20 AM EST.

Kevin T. Kabat, chairman, president and chief executive officer will represent Fifth Third. Slides with audio webcast may be accessed live and for approximately 14 days after the conference through the Investor Relations section of www.53.com. Additionally, slides used in the presentation will be made separately available in a printer-friendly format on the Company's website.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $111 billion in assets, operates 16 affiliates with 1,306 full-service Banking Centers, including 101 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,357 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 49% interest in Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2009, has $184 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $25 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB."

SOURCE Fifth Third Bancorp

CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PXG), announced today that it has entered into a new two year, secured revolving credit facility with First Community Financial, a division of Pacific Western Bank. The facility replaces the Company's previous credit facility with Wells Fargo Business Credit. The new credit facility provides for a line of credit up to $4.5 million, subject to a borrowing base limit, and as of December 4, 2009, has $2.0 million in borrowings, net of cash, outstanding under the new facility.

Borrowings under the new credit facility bear interest at an annual rate of prime plus 2.75%, subject to a minimum of 6%. Additionally, the there is a minimum monthly interest charge of $10,000 for the first year of the facility and $5,000 for the following year. The new credit facility is secured by liens on certain personal property of the Company and its subsidiaries.

"We are pleased to be able to announce our new credit facility. While this has been a lengthy process, it has resulted in a significant increase in capacity, a more competitive cost of funds and a multi-year commitment giving us working capital strength and flexibility to support our efforts to grow our brands", said Rusty Hall, Phoenix Footwear's Chief Executive Officer. "We finish the year having accomplished our critical initiatives including; rightsizing the organization, divesting or exiting two lines of business and recapitalizing our balance sheet. We have also gained momentum of late with a substantial increase in our future orders and number of new retail partners. We are working to translate this into a return to sustained, profitable growth."

About Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc.

Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc., headquartered in Carlsbad, California, designs, develops and markets men's and women's footwear and accessories. Phoenix Footwear's brands include Trotters®, SoftWalk® and H.S. Trask®. Emphasizing quality, fit, and traditional and authentic designs, these brands are primarily sold through department stores, specialty retailers, mass merchants and catalogs. Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc. is traded on the NYSE Amex under the symbol PXG.

Forward-Looking Statements

The words "anticipates," "will," "expects," "intends" and words of similar meaning identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements also include representations of the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events that involve risks and uncertainties, including the risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any update or revision to any forward-looking statement contained herein if there are changes in the Company's expectations or if any events, conditions or circumstances on which any such forward-looking statement is based.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future growth and performance of individual brands, Phoenix Footwear's expected financial performance and condition for fiscal 2009 and/or statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believes," "could," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "projects," "seeks," "exploring," or similar expressions. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in Phoenix Footwear's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and in any subsequent reports filed with the SEC, all of which are available at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. These include, without limitation: the risk that Phoenix Footwear could be delisted from the NYSE Amex; the risk that Phoenix Footwear will not be able to continue as a going concern; Phoenix Footwear's ability to sustain its return to profitability despite its restructuring efforts and debt reduction; risk associated with the recent disruptions in the overall economy and the impact on the retail industry, including Phoenix Footwear's customers; risk associated with Phoenix's accessories business; the concentration of Phoenix Footwear's sales to a relatively small group of customers; changing consumer preferences and fashion trends; Phoenix's ability to execute on its growth strategies, including the introduction of new products or the distribution of products through new channels; competition from other companies in Phoenix Footwear's markets; the potential financial instability of Phoenix Footwear's customers and the risk of loss of future and pending orders; Phoenix Footwear's ability to protect its intellectual property rights; the risk of losing third party trademark licenses; Phoenix Footwear's ability to manage inventory levels; fluctuations in its financial results as a result of the seasonality in its business; the risks of doing business in international markets; Phoenix Footwear's reliance on independent manufacturers, including those to whom the Company may be past-due; disruptions in Phoenix Footwear's manufacturing system; the loss of one or more senior executives; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials; a decline in general market and economic conditions; and, risk associated with claims arising from divestiture transactions, including indemnification claims. Although Phoenix Footwear believes that the assumptions underlying the forward- looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Phoenix Footwear or any other person that the objectives and plans of Phoenix Footwear will be achieved. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on Phoenix Footwear's current expectations and projections about future events, based on information available at the time of the release, and Phoenix Footwear assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc.

New Software Speeds Up Typing on the PopularApple(R) iPhoneTM and iPod Touch(R)

LANCASTER, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLP), a leading provider of simulation and modeling software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, announces the launch of a new product for the popular iPhone based on its long-standing Abbreviate! software for personal computers.

Walt Woltosz, chairman and CEO of Simulations Plus, said, "This exciting new product is not in our usual pharmaceutical software business, but it takes advantage of the work we've done over the years in our Words+ subsidiary in developing language strategies that help users of our augmentative communication software to communicate faster and with less effort. Years ago we recognized that some of those technologies could benefit everyone, not just those who experience physical disabilities, and we created Abbreviate! for the PC. It has been used by people in all walks of life, but has seen especially strong usage by medical transcriptionists, legal secretaries, and others who make their living by typing. For medical transcriptionists, the faster they can type out text containing long medical terms, the more money they make. With Abbreviate! they can type considerably faster and they avoid spelling errors by using a few keystrokes to represent many more, such as 'ostp' for 'osteoporosis' or 'rha' for 'rheumatoid arthritis'. Legal professionals use abbreviations such as 'phg' for 'preliminary hearing' or 'stp' for 'stipulate'. Almost everyone can use common abbreviations for frequently used words and phrases such as 'iwl' for 'I would like' and 'wyl' for 'would you like'.

"I've used Abbreviate! for years on my PC, so I miss it when I'm on anyone else's computer. When I first had an iPhone, I missed having Abbreviate! on it. We believed it would be a fantastic application for those who do much text typing on these highly popular devices. I've had a beta version on my iPhone for some time now, and it's such a convenience to be able to use all the abbreviations I use on the PC, which have become second-nature to me after years of use. We're very pleased to announce that it has now been launched and is available in the Apple Store."

Woltosz continued, "Earlier this year it was reported that, at that time, Apple had over 50 million iPhone and iPod Touch customers. We believe that millions of those users frequently type e-mails on their devices. With Abbreviate! for the iPhone, these people can significantly reduce the time required to type an e-mail or other lengthy text. It's easy to compose an e-mail in the Abbreviate! window and then transfer the text to the Email application with a single button. The Abbreviate! web site www.abbrv.com shows a video of an example of the time difference in typing a typical e-mail with and without Abbreviate!. We believe that Abbreviate! could become one of the most-used applications on the iPhone."

About Simulations Plus, Inc.

Simulations Plus, Inc. is a premier developer of groundbreaking drug discovery and development simulation and modeling software, which is licensed to and used in the conduct of drug research by major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. The Company's Words+, Inc. wholly owned subsidiary provide augmentative communication systems and other technologies for persons with disabilities. Simulations Plus, Inc., is headquartered in Southern California. For more information, visit our web site at www.simulations-plus.com.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The actual future results of the Company could differ significantly from those statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the market acceptance of Abbreviate! for the iPhone and continued acceptance of the other products of the Company, the ability of the Company to maintain its competitive advantage, the general economics of the pharmaceutical and assistive technology industries, the ability of the Company to attract and retain sufficient scientific and technical staff to sustain its R&D and customer support functions, the continued high renewal rate for the Company's software licenses, and a sustainable market. Further information on the Company's risk factors is contained in the Company's quarterly and annual reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Source: Simulations Plus, Inc.