In the Financial News:

Bloomberg.com February 29, 2008
	Reporter Jeremy R. Cooke pointed out that "borrowers from California to New York City plan to convert securities to longer-term debt, raising concern that a flood of bonds will overwhelm already sparse demand from banks and hedge funds." Brian Battle, a trader and vice-president at Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article. "We're going to get smashed with new-issue volume from all these auction-rate bonds'' that are being converted" said Brian Battle, a trader and vice-president at Performance Trust Capital Partners, a Chicago-based bond trading firm.

CNNMoney.com January 31, 2008
	Editor at large Paul R. La Monica noted that there were good opportunities in the market if investors were "willing to look beyond the Armageddon headlines." Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article. "Stocks are priced much better than Treasury bonds right now," said Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, a Chicago-based bond trading firm after the rate cut yesterday. "Bonds are extremely overvalued and stocks are a better place to invest if you are trying to avoid risks."

Reuters.com January 30, 2008
	Financial markets reporter Ros Krasny points out the parade of official dissents against Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and the trend some analysts feel undermines the bank's ability to gain traction with its policy shifts. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article. "Bernanke has given permission to dissent, and people are using that permission," said Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago. "Bernanke is a consensus builder, not an autocrat."

Chicago Tribune December 14, 2007
	Financial markets columnist Bill Barnhart reported that the credit crunch seems to be limited to Wall Street, not Main Street. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article. “Liquidity is fine,” Berg said. “I hear the guys at Goldman (Sachs) and Merrill (Lynch) and Citigroup screaming about how bad it is, and then I hear the guys in the real banks say, ‘This is pretty good.’ ”

Reuters December 12, 2007
	Financial markets reporter Ros Krasny discusses reaction to the emergency liquidity move from the Federal Reserve. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article. Berg said the Fed was trying to fix “a big, trillion dollar toothache” in money markets. “They needed to give something very specific to the tooth, not just another dose of Tylenol,” he said.

Associated Press December 11, 2007
	Fixed income reporter Leslie Wines talked to Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, about the interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Rich was quoted in the story, saying the Fed statement was "lukewarm” and "all the Fed is really doing is saying that it is paying attention to your pain and that it will keep moving along until it is less painful. This looks like a way to buy more time and hope that the financial system will work out its own kinks,” he said.

CNNMoney.com December 11, 2007
	Senior business writer Paul La Monica reported on why the Federal Reserve chose to lower interest rates for the third time to head off a recession. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the story, saying the Fed’s goal isn’t to rescue banks and borrowers. “The Fed is not going to bail out the market,” Berg said. “Time will heal these wounds. People don't want to hear that but it's the real world," he said.

Dow Jones Newswire November 5, 2007
	Markets reporter Romy Varghese reported on the credit markets' reaction to the large write-off from Citigoup due to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article, saying investors have no appetite for risk, creating liquidity issues, and market volatility will increase during the last months of the year. “I believe it will get worse before it gets better," he said.

The Wall Street Journal October 25, 2007
	Markets reporter Romy Varghese wrote about the bond market’s reaction to a rating downgrade on Merrill Lynch due to heavy writedowns from the mortgage securities meltdown. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Patners, is quoted in the article. Rich said the higher than projected writedown was eroding investor confidence in financial firms. “What we’re finding out is that the iceberg is a lot deeper than we thought,” he said.

Chicago Tribune October 8, 2007
	Financial markets columnist Bill Barnhart reported on the subprime mortgage meltdown’s effect on the economy. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted extensively in the article. "The availability of credit will be a lot less in the next five years than in the last five years," he said. Non-traditional debt created by investment banks and hedge funds to finance corporate takeovers, as well as home buying, has been a principal contributor to economic growth and stock market gains for several years, he said. "That segment of the credit engine has been severely crippled for a while," Berg said. "Credit drove the stock market. Credit drove housing." With a major portion of loan generation hobbled, even briefly, "the odds don't look good" for investors going forward, Berg said. Yet, "the stock market is reflecting the underlying belief that things will improve," he said.

Marketwatch.com September 18, 2007
	Markets reporter Nick Godt writes about the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis point interest rate cut. Rich Berg, chief executive officer of Performance Trust Capital Partners, is quoted in the article. Rich was not impressed with the Fed’s decision to cut rates, citing inflation concerns. "Bernanke blinked," he said. "He had a chance to do something that his predecessors hadn't done. Easing credit is just not good if you look at inflation out there, and this will drive interest rates higher down the road," he said.