Disclosure Regarding Audit Committee Financial Experts and Codes of Ethics

The accounting and insider-dealing scandals at WorldCom, Enron and Global Crossing led Congress to highlight deficiencies in the practices and composition of public company audit committees and in the implementation and adherence by companies of codes of ethics and conduct among senior management. Acting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Act"), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") has recently established new regulations governing the disclosure by companies subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), of the make-up of their audit committees and of the terms of their ethics codes.