FEES PUBLIC COMPANIES WILL PAY IN 2012 TO REGISTER SECURITIES

The following is an excerpt from the SEC website: "Fee Rate Advisory #2 for Fiscal Year 2012 Washington, D.C., August 31, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that in fiscal year 2012 the fees that public companies and other issuers pay to register their securities with the Commission will be set at $114.60 per million dollars. The Commission determined this new rate in accordance with procedures required under the securities laws. Accordingly, the Commission consulted with both the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget regarding the annual adjustment. A copy of the Commission's order, including the calculation methodology, is available at http://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2011/33-9255.pdf. Background The securities laws require the Commission to make annual adjustments to the rates for fees paid under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Commission must set rates for the fees paid under Section 6(b) to levels that the Commission projects will generate collections equal to annual statutory target amounts. The statutory target amount for fiscal year 2012 is $425 million. The annual adjustment to the fee rate under Section 6(b) also sets the annual adjustment to the fee rates under Sections 13(e) and 14(g). Under changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act, the annual rate changes for fees paid under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 must take effect on the first day of each fiscal year. Therefore, effective Oct. 1, 2011, the Section 6(b) fee rate applicable to the registration of securities, the Section 13(e) fee rate applicable to the repurchase of securities, and the Section 14(g) fee rates applicable to proxy solicitations and statements in corporate control transactions will decrease from $116.10 per million dollars to $114.60 per million dollars. The Section 6(b) rate is also the rate used to calculate the fees payable with the Annual Notice of Securities Sold Pursuant to Rule 24f-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940." The Commission will issue further notices as appropriate to keep the public informed of the effective date of the fee rate changes under Section 6(b), Section 13(e) and Section 14(g)."