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To: Virtual Magazine employees

From: Lauren Popko, General Affairs Director

Date: May 3

Subject: Computer security software update

We are contacting you today to make you aware that the Technology Security Division of our company will be running an upgrade of our firm’s computer security software on May 18 from 6 P.M. to roughly 9 P.M. This will involve total virus and spyware protection and a real-time upgrade of our current antivirus software.

While we admit that it may cause some inconvenience, this work is necessary to protect our computers from the risk of attacks. While the installation is going on, you are not allowed to use computers to access the Internet and please make the necessary arrangements and back up any important data, as this might delete files from your hard drive.

If you have any questions, please contact David Orr in the Technology Security Division. He can be reached at 5429-3290 or at extension 128. Please do not contact the General Affairs Division as it has nothing to do with any technical issues of the software update.

Regards,

Lauren Popko

A Closer Look at the Glaxo Global 1,000

Glaxo, the corporation that ranks the performance of companies in the U.K, is now evaluating the top international companies round the world in what is called the Glaxo Global 1,000 group. As part of the statistics and analyses made available on their Website, www.glaxoratings.com, they are taking a closer look to see what the secrets of the successes of these top organizations are. They say that being big helps a company stay competitive in a global economy, but size alone does not guarantee success.

In an attempt to better analyze the reasons for success, Glaxo looked at various statistics and results of their multidimensional rating system that is based on sales, market value, profits and assets. They then regrouped these 1,000 companies by industry and analyzed what was happening to each of them in terms of profits earned, long- and short-term return on equity, the dividends paid, sales growth and the market price of the company’s stock. They received the assistance of one outside company in making growth forecasts and another company that could audit accounting methods. With the assistance of these firms, they crossed out corporations from their study that didn’t meet the standards of accounting, management, or legal issues.

Of the 1,000 companies, fewer than 100 passed in all categories. One global high performer was the Japanese company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone. This company showed a 49% growth in profits and a 46% total return in the past year. The debt-to- total capital is only 12% and the growth forecast for the next three to five years is expected to be 40%.