Upcoming Expiration of Shelf Registration Statements

On October 30, 2008, the firm’s Capital Markets Group issued the attached Alert Memorandum entitled “Upcoming Expiration of Shelf Registration Statements.” Under Securities Act rules revised in 2005 in connection with Securities Offering Reform, a shelf registration statement remains effective for three years from its initial effective date if such date was on or after December 1, 2005, or from December 1, 2005, if its initial effective date was prior to December 1, 2005. As a result, all pre-December 1, 2005 shelf registration statements will expire on December 1, 2008, and many WKSI automatic shelf registration statements will expire on that date or soon thereafter. The Alert Memo summarizes the steps issuers should take in light of the upcoming expirations dates.