Press Releases

BOSTON, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. stocks rose 5.7 percent in November, contributing to a 2.6 percentage-point improvement in the funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan, according to monthly figures published by BNY Mellon Asset Management. The funded status of the typical plan improved to 82.5 percent at the end of November, which was the highest level since May, and up from 79.9 percent at the end of October, according to the BNY Mellon statistics.

Assets for the typical U.S. corporate plan rose 3.6 percent, outpacing the 0.2 percent gain in liabilities during the month, which reflected interest accruals as the discount rate for November was unchanged from October. For the year, through November 30, the funding ratio for the typical plan is up 8.6 percentage points, as represented by the BNY Mellon Pension Liability Index.

"U.S. corporate pension plans continued their road to recovery as domestic and international equity markets registered strong results," said Peter Austin, executive director of BNY Mellon Pension Services, the pension services arm of BNY Mellon Asset Management. "Equities have rallied in eight of the last nine months and have been the driving force for the funding improvement. Liability discount rates are only 14 basis points lower for the year, which has limited the impact on pension plan liabilities. Plan sponsors that maintained their equity allocations, which hasn't been easy given market volatility, have been rewarded for their commitment to their strategic asset allocation."

Plan liabilities are calculated using the yields of long-term investment grade corporate bonds. Lower yields on these bonds result in higher liabilities.

"With funding levels near 2009 highs and 2010 financial planning underway in many organizations, there is increased interest in discussing pension risk reduction programs," said Austin. "These programs would include new or increased allocations to liability driven investing (LDI) strategies. Plan sponsors remain fearful of plan surplus/deficit volatility, which remains a relevant topic given the fragility of the global markets."

Notes to Editors:

BNY Mellon Asset Management is the umbrella organization for BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms and global distribution companies.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.1 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $966 billion in assets under management, services $11.9 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

All information source BNY Mellon Asset Management as of September 30, 2009, except where noted. This press release is issued by BNY Mellon Asset Management to members of the financial press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

SOURCE BNY Mellon

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Streamcore, the global provider of visibility and dynamic performance control solutions to manage application and communication (VoIP, video) delivery over the wide area network (WAN), today announced the appointment of Maurice Abecassis to vice president of sales. In this role, Maurice Abecassis will be responsible for leading Streamcore's global sales team, enhancing customer relations and building Streamcore's sales capabilities.

Maurice Abecassis brings more than 25 years of industry experience in telecommunications to Streamcore. Previously, he was the senior regional sales director for Juniper Networks. He has also held several sales positions for Zhone Technologies, Stratacom and Motorola. Prior to this, he managed Lucent's service providers division in France and North Africa and was part of the executive management team at Ascend and Cascade in France. He completed his engineering degree at Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers.

"Maurice Abecassis possesses an excellent understanding of the enterprise and service provider markets," said Diaa Elyaacoubi, Streamcore's president and chief executive officer. "He will be an asset to the Streamcore executive team and will lead the sales team to meet its goals for market expansion. We are delighted to have him join the team."

"I am pleased to join such a dynamic and innovative company," said Maurice Abecassis. "On top of expanding our current local business, my goal will be to increase Streamcore's foothold internationally by raising the company's profile within our targeted markets and building strategic partnerships in key industries."

About Streamcore

Streamcore is a global provider of visibility and dynamic performance control solutions to manage interactive applications and communications (VoIP/video) delivery over the WAN. Streamcore products enable enterprises to benefit from all-in-one visibility - network, applications, VoIP, Video -, real-time monitoring and advanced on-demand reporting from a single centralized management console. What makes Streamcore unique is that visibility and advanced performance control features are tied together, and can be enabled from data centers to ensure fast deployment and cost-efficiency. Moreover, Streamcore products multi-tenancy capabilities allow service providers to offer innovative value-added services. The company's technology is field-proven with more than 250 global customers, including numerous service providers and Global 1000 enterprises. To learn more visit www.streamcore.com.

    Source: Streamcore

CHARLESTON, W. Va., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- A $50,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation will enable the West Virginia Department of Education to complete teacher training on the use of Verizon Thinkfinity, a free, educational Web resource to support the advancement of K-12 education. With this grant, the Verizon Foundation has provided $175,000 for the program.

West Virginia schools are using Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org) and other online resources to integrate performance skills such as creativity, innovation, oral and written communications, problem solving, and critical thinking into the study of core subjects such as math, science, language arts and social studies. Thinkfinity contains thousands of standards-based K-12 lesson plans, student materials, interactive tools and reference materials. In addition to providing resources from the nation's leading educational organizations, Verizon Thinkfinity also offers a comprehensive professional-development program.

Development of 21st-century skills is a major focus of West Virginia's Department of Education, which recently was honored by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national organization focused on infusing such skills into education.

"Using 21st-century learning tools like Verizon Thinkfinity is not an option; it is a necessity for students who must compete on a global level," said Steve Paine, state superintendent of schools. "Students deserve it, and the world demands it."

B. Keith Fulton, president of Verizon West Virginia, said, "Our children are growing up in a world where they communicate, learn and share ideas digitally. Online technology has had a tremendous impact on our society, and its role will continue to grow with further advances.

"Verizon's business is centered on technology, and we believe it is our responsibility to help people understand how to use the Internet safely and effectively, particularly for learning," said Fulton.

In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 3 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS) today announced it received the award for Best Transition Process as part of the Outsourcing Relationship Management (RMMY) Awards, sponsored by the Outsourcing Institute and Vantage Partners. The RMMY Awards recognize service providers who excel at managing dynamic, complex relationships with their customers.

ACS' Finance & Accounting team received the award based on its unique financial outsourcing project management methodology, which successfully manages client relationships from contract negotiation to solution implementation.

"Congratulations to ACS for their 2009 RMMY award for best transition process," said Frank Casale, chief executive officer for the Outsourcing Institute. "I commend them for their continued investment and improvement in their ability to effectively manage transition with their customers and in the overall area of outsourcing relationship management."

The Outsourcing Institute and Vantage Partners established the RMMY Awards in 2008 to broaden the dialogue about the importance of relationship management and effective governance in achieving value in vendor/client outsourcing partnerships, and to raise the bar for the industry.

"This recognition is a great testament to our proven financial outsourcing methodology and strong collaboration efforts we strive to achieve in every client partnership," said Ron Gillette, senior managing director of ACS Finance & Accounting Services. "Our approach is open, proactive and involves constant communication and transparency with our clients, which enables a successful transition of client processes."

ACS Finance and Accounting Services are core to the company's diversified business process outsourcing service offerings. Our broad spectrum of services includes accounts payable and receivable; billing; general accounting; tax management; and treasury and risk management. The ACS F&A global delivery model supports more than 23 countries and encompasses 20 languages.

About ACS

ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with approximately 76,000 people supporting client operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process and information technology solutions to world-class commercial and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." Learn more about ACS at www.acs-inc.com.

    Source: ACS

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RSC Equipment Rental (www.RSCrental.com), one of North America's largest rental providers, announced today that it has been awarded a nationwide government purchasing contract.

RSC won a shared contract for equipment rentals through 2012 with HGAC Buy, a nationwide cooperative purchasing program. With 36 years of experience and more than 3,000 members in 44 states, HGAC Buy assists all units of local government and non-profits purchase various goods and services.

"We are excited about this new contract because it allows us to better serve existing and prospective government customers. State and local government customers place special value on RSC's 24/7 customer service, and our industry leading safety and preventive maintenance programs," said Nick Kahler, government sales and GSA Manager for RSC. "Government agencies recognize the convenience and savings associated with equipment rental. With more than 445 locations nationwide and a dedicated government sales team, RSC has the capabilities to get state and local agencies the equipment they need, when they need it."

About RSC Equipment Rental, Inc.

RSC Equipment Rental, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is one of the largest equipment rental providers in North America, servicing the industrial, maintenance and non-residential construction markets with an original equipment fleet cost of $2.4 billion. RSC offers superior levels of equipment availability, reliability and 24x7 service to customers through an integrated network of 464 branch locations across 40 states in the United States and three provinces in Western Canada. Customer solutions to improve efficiency and reduce cost include the proprietary Total Control(R) rental management software, Mobile Tool Rooms(TM) and on-site rental locations. With 4,300 employees committed to safety and sustainability, RSC delivers the best value and industry leading customer service. All information is as of September 30, 2009. Additional information about RSC is available at www.RSCrental.com.

    Source: RSC Equipment Rental