Thomson Extel Survey and Real IR Announce Major New Joint-Venture; The Thomson Extel Survey Awards for IR Excellence to be presented at the Real IR Annual Dinner, London Hilton on Park Lane, September 14, 2006

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2006

LONDON -- The Thomson Extel Survey, Europe's most accurate, independent and comprehensive assessment of investor relations activity, has joined forces with Real IR, Europe's leading investor relations magazine, to hold the first truly pan-European awards ceremony for the IR profession.

For the first time, Europe's best IR operations in every sector will be officially recognised by the Thomson Extel Survey for IR Excellence, exclusively announced at the Real IR Annual Dinner. The event will be organised by Caspian Publishing, publishers of Real IR.

--"This creates a genuine gold standard event for Europe's IR professionals," said Steve Kelly, Head of the Thomson Extel Survey. "The Thomson Extel Survey Awards for IR Excellence are the only truly pan-European rating and ranking of investor relations teams: they are based on the biggest, most accurate and most comprehensive survey of investment professionals in Europe." Steve Kelly added: "We are delighted to be working together with Real IR, Europe's most respected publication for investor relations professionals. No other magazine knows the region's IR community so well."

--Mike Bokaie, Chief Executive of Caspian Publishing, commented: "We are delighted to be working with the Thomson Extel Survey on this major initiative. No other awards will come close in terms of quality or independence." Mike Bokaie added: "The centrepiece of the Real IR Annual Dinner will be the Thomson Extel Survey Awards. But Caspian's expertise at staging and organising major events means that this new event will be memorable and entertaining in a variety of ways. It will be the one night that Europe's investor relations community cannot afford to miss."

About Caspian Publishing

Caspian Publishing is one of the UK's fastest-growing B2B publishers and event organisers. Caspian's proprietary stable includes: Real IR, Real Finance, Real Deals and Real Business. Caspian Customer Publishing publishes Business Voice (for the CBI), Financial Management (for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), Business Standards (for BSI Group), European Business Forum (for the Community of European Management Schools), and Thales's Future magazine. For more information on Caspian Publishing, visit www.caspianpublishing.co.uk

About Thomson Financial

Thomson Financial is a US$1.73 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.10 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE:TOC) (TSX:TOC). For more information on Thomson Financial, visit www.thomson.com/financial

About Thomson Extel

Thomson Extel (www.extelsurvey.com) is part of Thomson Financial, a US$1.73 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.10 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE:TOC) (TSX:TOC). For more information on Thomson Extel Survey, visit www.extelsurvey.com