Keith C. Applegate

A subsidiary of IDEAglobal Ltd., IDEAadvisor is a leading global provider of independent, actionable research for the investment community. IDEAadvisor was formed in 1989 when IDEAglobal, the financial market and macroeconomic research company, acquired StreetAdvisor.com. The firm covers the major global markets. Among the company's unbiased analysts are specialists in all of the world's main financial markets and in particular on the equity front, in the sectors of technology, financial, telecom and healthcare stocks. IDEAadvisor focus is primarily U.S. Equities and in addition includes coverage of international equities, global forex and bonds. They are located in London, New York City, Miami and Singapore.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Banc of America Securities (BAS) is the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). The firm provides both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursues a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with investment banking advice and services. They provide high-yield debt underwriting and leveraged finance, in addition to industry coverage groups such as healthcare, media and telecom, financial institutions, real estate and gaming. BAS also does a significant amount of work for Financial Sponsors, or private equity firms, often financing leveraged transactions. Following the strategy of Goldman Sachs, the firm lacks a standalone mergers and acquisitions department, instead employing mergers and acquisitions senior bankers throughout the industry coverage groups. The firm is registered as a broker/dealer with the SEC, is a member of the NYSE, and the NASD. The use of Banc in the BAS's name is indicative of the fact that the company is not a bank, and their deposits and other holdings are not insured by the FDIC.