As we approach the close of the merger in the next few days, I just wanted to let everyone know what an honor, privilege and pleasure it has been to work with you all over the last six years. As I look back, the research group made tremendous strides both internally and externally. That only happens with talented and passionate people who take pride in their work by producing first-class research and ideas. You also can't do that without a talented and dedicated publishing group and support staff. I'm not sure what the future holds but I do know that I'll always have very fond memories of this group. I truly believe it was the best research team on the Street and no one can take that away from us. It was a great ride.

Doug Colandrea
Senior Analyst and Group Head, High Grade Research Department
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.

Elodie Lauten is professional, dependable, and dedicated to doing excellent work.

John F. Foy
Vice President, Fixed Income Research
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.

Elodie Lauten has demonstrated a strong work ethic. I have always been able to rely on her promptness.

Sydney Burtner
Managing Editor
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.

It is with great pleasure that I write a letter of reference for Ms. Elodie Lauten. We extended her assignment (initially short-term) to last almost one year, for we found her performance to be reliable and professional in all aspects. Ms. Lauten has always been punctual, hard working and a team player. In addition, she is very detail oriented, interacts well with supervisors and staff members, and produces quality work. She is also conscientious and takes a high level of interest in her job. For example, during her stay at Deutsche Bank, she wrote a very useful manual of the technical instructions for the publishing and web uploading of our research publications. In conclusion, I highly recommend her without reservation.

Andrew W. Van Houten
Managing Director
Deutsche Bank Securities

I have had the pleasure of working with Elodie Lauten for the past ten months. Elodie is a very talented desktop publisher who has an excellent work ethic. She pays strong attention to detail, takes copious notes, is very easy to work with and has the ability to learn new programs very easily. When Elodie first started working at Deutsche Bank she faced the daunting task of learning new systems and working with a group of 25 analysts. She handled it with ease and instantly became a fixture in the high yield research department. If you would like to discuss Elodie's abilities further, please feel free to contact me.

Dan B. Levine
Vice President
Global Markets Research
Deutsche Bank Securities

It gives me great pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Ms. Elodie Lauten. Ms. Lauten is an extremely gifted and competent web designer with incredible patience. At The Rudd Group where I have worked as an Associate Broker, Ms. Lauten set up our web site and she made it easily readable and accessible. Her work was always done with a minimum of input from me, but always contained all the pertinent material and even included more information that she felt would be appreciated. Working with a professional like Ms. Lauten made my job easier and provided me with the needed backup that one needs in the real estate business. Should you wish to contact me please feel free to contact me should you want more information on her capabilities.

Sandra Serebin
Associate Broker
The Rudd Group, Ltd.

Elodie Lauten freelanced with us here at GCI Group for several months. In that time I found her to be independent, resourceful and a pleasure to work with. I absolutely and completely recommend Elodie to anyone considering using her services. Not only did Elodie do everything that we asked her to do, but also she took it upon herselft to make the work better - she never saw it as her responsibility to just do the minimum. Also, Elodie is incredibly proficient on the computer (both Mac and PC) and was able to show us ways to solve problems that we have previously been unable to work around. Besides having great skills, Elodie was always pleasant to be around and always had a positive attitude.

Patrick Zinn
Director, Creative Services - NY
GCI

I have been extremely pleased with Elodie's skills, her abilities and her very personable way of dealing with people. Our business deals with a lot of rush layout and design, including some difficult chart and graph challenges. Elodie has not failed us once. We have also used her in layout and production of books and newsletters. She is always willing to take on a job no matter the size or time constraint. She is proficient in all design and layout software and we found that she was ble to help us learn a few things. She is able to switch back and forth between Mac and PC format with no problem at all. I've found it wonderful working with her and would recommend her highly.

Kathleen A. Boyer
Vice President, Director of Creative Services
Katz Media Group