Press Releases

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent licenses, today announced the offering of a new MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License that will provide uninterrupted coverage for the life of the MPEG-2 essential patents at reduced royalty rates beginning January 1, 2010.

"MPEG LA and the MPEG-2 Licensors are committed to assuring that our MPEG-2 License continues to be responsive to the needs of our customers and the marketplace, and the new MPEG-2 License provides further affirmation of that objective," said Larry Horn, MPEG LA President and CEO.

From the later of January 1, 2010 or the execution date of the new License, the royalty rate for each MPEG-2 Decoding, Encoding and Consumer Product (as defined in the new License) will be US $2.00, down from the current $2.50, and royalties for MPEG-2 Packaged Medium (e.g., DVD Video Discs) will be reduced to US$0.0176 during 2010, and US$0.016 after 2010.

For more information about the new MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License or to request a copy of the License, please visit http://www.mpegla.com/m2/ or email Licensing@mpegla.com.

MPEG LA, LLC

MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses, enabling users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a technology standard or platform from multiple patent holders in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Wherever an independently administered one-stop patent license would provide a convenient marketplace alternative to assist users with implementation of their technology choices, the licensing model pioneered and employed by MPEG LA may provide a solution. Among MPEG LA's licenses is a patent pool for MPEG-2 digital video compression that has helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history. The MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License, which includes more than 870 MPEG-2 essential patents in 57 countries, has more than 1,600 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products including set-top boxes, DVD players, digital television sets, personal computers and DVD Video Discs in the current world market. MPEG LA is an independent licensing administrator; it is not related to any standards agency and is not an affiliate of any patent holder. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.

    Source: MPEG LA, LLC

WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

MONDAY, JULY 6: FIRST FULL SOUND MOVIE

Profile America -- Monday, July 6th. Most movie buffs know the first film with a partial soundtrack was "The Jazz Singer," with superstar Al Jolson. But not too many can name the first movie with a full-length soundtrack, which opened on this date in New York in 1928. It was "The Lights of New York," about the murder of a crime boss, a film which has faded into obscurity. After "The Jazz Singer" stunned the country, movie studios scrambled to change over from silent films to what were then called the "talkies." It was a technical revolution that completely changed the making and viewing of movies. In 1928, Americans went to the movies an average of about twice a week. Now, we each take in about 5 films a year in a theater. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: American Speakers Calendar of Events

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 400

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1203

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Investments support new beverage, juice and snack infrastructure, including Domodedovo plant being inaugurated this week

MOSCOW, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, announced today that it plans to invest US$1 billion in Russia over three years, together with its partner The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG).

The investment will bring the cumulative investment in Russia by PepsiCo and PBG to over $4 billion and is consistent with PepsiCo's ongoing strategy to expand in emerging markets.

"I am delighted to announce that over three years we expect to invest $1 billion in our beverage and food businesses in Russia," said PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi. "This investment reflects very clearly our great confidence in Russia and our long-term commitment to this very important market."

Nooyi is in Russia this week to open a new bottling plant outside Moscow, to join a meeting of business leaders convened by Presidents Medvedev and Obama and to mark 50 years since Pepsi-Cola was introduced in Moscow at the 1959 American National Exhibition.

The investment in Russia is funding various programs to expand manufacturing and distribution capacity. In addition to the new beverage facility opening this week in Domodedovo, a new snacks manufacturing plant is expected to open later this year in the southern city of Azov. PepsiCo and PBG also are planning significant investments to build a state-of-the-art warehousing and distribution infrastructure for the Lebedyansky juice business. And PepsiCo, the largest private user of potatoes grown in Russia, plans to continue its substantial investment in local agriculture, applying the latest technology to ensure the highest productivity and quality standards.

These investments continue a major expansion effort by PepsiCo and PBG that began in the late 1990s, with the opening of the companies' first beverage plant of the modern Russian era, followed by the opening of PepsiCo's first snack manufacturing facility in Kashira in 2002. In 2008, PepsiCo and PBG invested approximately $2 billion to acquire Lebedyansky, Russia's leading branded juice company.

"Russia is a very attractive growth market," said PBG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Foss. "The investments we're making in our Russia business are creating new jobs, providing us with the flexibility to produce a wider range of beverage offerings for consumers, and enabling us to better serve our valued retail partners. Our new plant in Domodedovo reflects our serious commitment to future expansion in Russia. We're looking forward to playing an active role in the country's business community for many years to come."

When operating at full capacity, the Domodedovo plant will be larger than any bottling plant currently in PepsiCo's global system. It will produce a range of beverage brands, including Pepsi-Cola, Aqua Minerale water and ready-to-drink Lipton Iced Teas (through PepsiCo's joint venture with Unilever) for sale by retailers across Russia as well as neighboring CIS countries.

The plant incorporates a number of water-saving and energy-saving features designed to reduce its environmental impact. It employs a state-of-the-art water filtration system that uses ozone molecules for purification. It is also the first PBG plant in Russia equipped to produce ultra-light PET plastic bottles on all bottling lines, with labeling technology that uses no glue, less plastic and less energy than traditional labels. In addition, the plant is designed to utilize energy-efficient lighting systems.

Promoting environmental sustainability is a key part of PepsiCo's "Performance with Purpose" commitment to achieve business and financial success while leaving a positive imprint on society. Consistent with this commitment, PepsiCo said it will also continue to actively support Russian communities through its wide-ranging agricultural program, with initiatives to educate local farmers and help them improve crop yields. Specific activities include grants to academic institutions to support agricultural innovation, and advanced training seminars to promote development-oriented farming among local growers who supply potatoes for Frito-Lay snacks.

50 Years of Pepsi in Russia

Pepsi's history in Russia began in 1959 when former PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Donald M. Kendall, then Pepsi-Cola International President, personally introduced Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev to Pepsi-Cola at the historic American National Exhibition in Moscow. At that event, visitors sampled some three million cups of Pepsi. Many years later, Kendall reached a landmark barter agreement with the Soviet government, under which his company provided soft drink concentrate in exchange for Stolichnaya vodka. As a result, in 1974 Pepsi-Cola became the first Western consumer product to be made and sold in the Soviet Union with the opening of the initial franchise bottling plant in Novorossisk. Over the years Kendall has remained very active in promoting commercial relations between Russia and the U.S., and in 2004 then-President Vladimir Putin honored him with the Russian Federation's Order of Friendship at a Kremlin ceremony.

"We are particularly proud that we are marking 50 years since the introduction of Pepsi-Cola to Russian consumers," Nooyi said. "Today we are optimistic about the future of Russia, and we look forward to continuing to build our businesses here."

Today PepsiCo and PBG comprise one of the largest food and beverage providers in Russia, and are the leading producers of juices and nectars, ready-to-drink teas, bottled water and savory snacks across the country. In addition to popular carbonated soft drinks Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7UP, PepsiCo and PBG together offer a broad portfolio of locally relevant brands that Russians know and love, including Ya, Tonus, Fruktovy Sad and Frustyle juices and nectars from Lebedyansky, and a variety of Frito-Lay snacks, such as Lay's Potato Chips made with potatoes from local farmers, and Hrusteam crispbreads.

Additional information about PepsiCo in Russia is available at www.pepsico.com/russia.

VIDEO B-ROLL, PHOTOS AVAILABLE

Broadcast-quality video b-roll, including historic material from 1959 and excerpts from a recent interview with Donald Kendall, is available to media for free download at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/pepsico.

For free registration, log on to: http://www.thenewsmarket.com.

About PBG

The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (NYSE: PBG) is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages. With approximately 67,000 employees and annual sales of nearly $14 billion, PBG has operations in the U.S., Canada, Greece, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Turkey. PBG accounts for approximately 60 percent of the Pepsi-Cola beverages sold in North America, and approximately 40 percent of the Pepsi-Cola system volume worldwide. In Russia, PBG distributes Frito-Lay snacks in addition to its portfolio of leading beverage brands. PBG employs nearly 5,000 people in Russia. For more information, please visit www.pbg.com.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with 2008 annual revenues of more than $43 billion. The company employs approximately 198,000 people worldwide, and its products are sold in approximately 200 countries. Its principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods. The PepsiCo portfolio includes 18 brands that generate $1 billion or more each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo's commitment to sustainable growth, defined as Performance with Purpose, is focused on generating healthy financial returns while giving back to communities the company serves. This includes meeting consumer needs for a spectrum of convenient foods and beverages, reducing the company's impact on the environment through water, energy and packaging initiatives, and supporting its employees through a diverse and inclusive culture that recruits and retains world-class talent. PepsiCo is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

Cautionary Statement

Statements in this release that are "forward-looking statements" are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends. They inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements. For additional information on these and other factors that could cause PepsiCo's or PBG's actual results to materially differ from those set forth herein, please see PepsiCo's and PBG's respective filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including their most recent annual reports on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Neither PepsiCo nor PBG undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE PepsiCo

NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/06/09 -- Global asset managers, reeling from declining asset pools and client attrition, must take bold steps to strengthen their businesses if they hope to weather the current financial crisis and gain competitive advantage for the postcrisis era, according to a report released today by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The new report, "Conquering the Crisis: Global Asset Management 2009," BCG's seventh annual study of the global asset-management industry, draws on a detailed benchmarking of leading competitors. The report also includes a comprehensive market-sizing study covering 32 countries (representing more than 95 percent of the global asset-management market), as well as a detailed analysis of the forces that are shaping the fortunes of the industry worldwide.

According to the report, the value of professionally managed assets fell globally by 18 percent to $48.6 trillion in 2008. This sharp decline followed average growth of 12 percent per year from 2002 through 2007. Sliding equity markets around the world were the primary driver of the decrease, with only a few countries emerging relatively unscathed.

The report says that deteriorating industry economics will force asset managers to live with lower profits in the future. The average profit (operating margin) of asset managers fell to 34 percent of net revenues at the end of 2008 -- the lowest level in five years -- from 38 percent a year earlier. A more complete profit impact will be felt in 2009, with average operating margins likely falling to 30 percent or lower. Overall, about 80 percent of asset managers suffered profit declines in 2008, while about 70 percent witnessed revenue decreases as well.

The report highlights the fact that the subpar performance of many products that were recommended by investment advisors has led some investors to question both their advisors' judgment and the products themselves. The overall damage has been worse than that inflicted by the bursting of the dot-com bubble early in the decade because more investors have been hurt in asset classes presumed to be reliable. In the future, institutional investors will require more product transparency and will not be willing to pay higher fees for actively managed products that deliver returns similar to those of passively managed products. Retail investors will also be looking for greater product transparency and more insightful advice. Regulators, for their part, will be scrutinizing the investment industry far more closely. Ultimately, BCG says, asset managers must face the fact that investor trust has taken a severe hit that may take years to repair.

Emphasizing the point that asset managers must prepare for all potential market developments, the report describes three possible scenarios for the future: Armageddon (the most pessimistic), Recovery (more optimistic), and Happier Days (the most optimistic). The report says that several factors will determine which scenario -- or any number of variations thereof -- actually comes to pass. First and foremost will be the state of financial markets. Other factors include the evolving health of the overall financial-services sector and the changing regulatory climate.

In any event, BCG says, certain industry trends such as the following will remain important for some time to come:

The Reevaluation of Products. From an asset allocation standpoint, the winners since the crisis began have been money market funds (which benefited from more than $1.5 trillion in net inflows from the beginning of 2007 through 2008), exchange-traded funds, and savings deposits. Going forward, the market should also see a continuing decline of long-only equity products, as investors review their risk versus return profile; growth in fixed-income products, as pension funds move assets into less volatile securities with the retirement of baby boomers; an increasing shift into passively managed products; a shakeout in alternative products (which will nonetheless remain an important asset class as investors seek diversification); and increased interest in tailored investment solutions.

Consolidation. We will see a higher degree of industry consolidation as more large financial groups exit the asset management business in order to focus on other activities -- and because many need capital. Also, the report says, in a hypercompetitive market, subscale players or those with weaker value propositions will have no option but to leave the business. This situation will allow some asset managers to consider M&A options in order to reinforce core businesses or move into markets that were previously seen as too expensive or closed.

Industrialization. Some M&A activity will be driven by an industrialization logic, as more asset managers create "factories" for their traditional range of funds in order to gain scale advantages. In some of the recent, large consolidation deals -- typically between players with geographic or product overlaps seeking cost synergies through integration -- it has been interesting to note that traditional scaleable businesses have tended to get industrialized.

Finally, according to the report, many asset managers have already reacted to the crisis by taking various initiatives aimed at protecting their business and positioning themselves for the postcrisis era. Yet the current downturn may deepen further and last longer than previous crises have. Despite some signs of economic recovery, the question of the moment concerns which additional steps asset managers should take in order to prepare themselves for any possibility. In BCG's view, asset managers should adopt the following initiatives:

-- Prepare for the worst possible market scenario

-- Redefine the core value proposition of their business models

-- Strengthen their core value propositions

-- Continuously refine their operating models

-- Leverage acquisition opportunities

To receive a copy of the report or arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Alexandra Corriveau at +1 212 446-3261 or corriveau.alexandra@bcg.com.

About The Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 66 offices in 38 countries. For more information, please visit www.bcg.com.

HSINCHU, Taiwan and GRENOBLE, France, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TSMC (TWSE: 2330; NYSE: TSM) and CEA-Leti, the leading French semiconductor research institute, signed an agreement today in which TSMC will join the new industrial program IMAGINE, led by CEA-Leti, on maskless lithography for IC manufacturing. Intended to operate for three years, this program allows companies to assess a maskless lithography infrastructure for IC manufacturing and use MAPPER Technology as a solution towards high throughput. It covers a global approach, including tool assessment, patterning and process integration, data handling, prototyping and cost analysis.

"TSMC is always pushing for cost-effective lithography and the development of maskless lithography is one of the potential solutions. We have already announced the joint steps with Mapper to explore multiple e-beam lithography for IC manufacturing at 22 nanometer node and beyond," said TSMC's VP of R&D, Jack Sun. "By joining the IMAGINE program at CEA-Leti, we intend to federate the semiconductor industry around this technology and accelerate its development and introduction for IC manufacturing."

"Lithography is a major challenge for the industry. A maskless approach can offer flexibility and gain in cost of ownership. Together with MAPPER, we see a route towards industrial throughput," said Leti's CEO, Laurent Malier. "Having TSMC on board the IMAGINE program is pivotal and will strengthen the assessment towards manufacturing. It shows the commitment in the technology from the industry and will take maskless lithography to the next step in the development that is required to make it a viable solution for 22-nm manufacturing."

About TSMC:

TSMC is the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology and the foundry's largest portfolio of process-proven libraries, IP, design tools and reference flows. The Company's total managed capacity in 2008 exceeded 9 million 8-inch equivalent wafers, including capacity from two advanced 12-inch - GIGAFABs(TM), four eight-inch fabs, one six-inch fab, as well as TSMC's wholly owned subsidiaries, WaferTech and TSMC (China), and its joint venture fab, SSMC. TSMC is the first foundry to provide 40nm production capabilities. Its corporate headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan. For more information about TSMC please visit http://www.tsmc.com.

About CEA-Leti:

CEA is a French Research and Technology Organisation, with activities in three main areas: Energy, Technologies for Information and Healthcare, and Defence and Security. Within CEA, the Laboratory for Electronics & Information Technology (CEA-Leti) works with companies in order to increase their competitiveness through technological innovation and transfers. Leti is focused on micro and nanotechnologies and their applications, from wireless devices and systems, to biology and healthcare or photonics. Nanoelectronics and Microsystems (MEMS) are at the core of its activities. As a major player in MINATEC excellence centre, Leti operates 8,000 m(2) state-of-the-art clean rooms, on 24/7 mode, on 200 mm and 300 mm wafer standards. With 1,200 employees, Leti trains more than 150 Ph.D. students and hosts 200 assignees from partner companies. Strongly committed to the creation of value for the industry, Leti puts a strong emphasis on Intellectual Property and owns more than 1,400 patent families. In 2008, contractual income covered more than 75% of its budget worth 205 M€. For more information, visit www.leti.fr.

SOURCE TSMC