Pacific Asset Management Direct (206) 933-1600 Toll Free (877) 637-2767 Fax (206) 600-3175

February 24th 2011

For Immediate Release:

"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said it converted its issuer and issue credit
ratings on the U.S. Federal Government (AAA/Stable/A-1+) to "unsolicited.”

In other words, following Europe, the US will now lock out S&P in providing the agency with
information. "We are converting our issuer credit ratings on the U.S. government to
"unsolicited," as we do not have a rating agreement with the sovereign. Standard & Poor's
will nonetheless continue to rate the U.S. government and classify the ratings as
unsolicited, as we believe that we have access to sufficient public information of reliable
quality to support our analysis and ongoing surveillance, and because we believe there is
significant market interest in the U.S. government rating."

From S&P:

1. Standard & Poor's is converting its issuer and issue ratings on the U.S. government
to “unsolicited."

2. On May 24, 2011, we will withdraw all of our issue ratings on the U.S. government.

3. The U.S. government unsolicited issuer credit rating will remain outstanding.

4. This conversion follows previously announced conversions of Standard & Poor's

issuer and issue credit ratings on seven sovereign issuers in Europe.

5. New EU regulations require non-EU ratings, where relevant, to be labeled as

unsolicited, in order for them to be considered endorsable into the EU for regulatory
purposes.

NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Feb. 24, 2011--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today
said it converted its issuer and issue credit ratings on the U.S. Federal Government
(AAA/Stable/A-1+) to "Unsolicited."

Pamria, LLC “Pacific Asset Management “ WA State & SEC (Pend) Reg. SIPC, FDIC through C.S. & Co., Inc.
Pacific Asset Management Direct (206) 933-1600 Toll Free (877) 637-2767 Fax (206) 600-3175

This conversion follows previously announced conversions of the ratings on seven

sovereigns in Europe. These actions, in turn, follow new EU regulations on credit ratings
(Article 10(5) of EU Regulation 1060/2009), which address matters relating to the
disclosure and presentation of credit ratings, requiring, among other things, that unsolicited
credit ratings be identified as such.

We are converting our issuer credit ratings on the U.S. government to "unsolicited," as we
do not have a rating agreement with the sovereign. Standard & Poor's will nonetheless
continue to rate the U.S. government and classify the ratings as unsolicited, as we believe
that we have access to sufficient public information of reliable quality to support our
analysis and ongoing surveillance, and because we believe there is significant market
interest in the U.S. government rating.

Standard & Poor's has also converted its U.S. government issue ratings to "unsolicited" and
intends to withdraw these ratings on May 24, 2011.

This decision does not change Standard & Poor's view of the creditworthiness of the U.S.
government. Our AAA/Stable/A-1+ ratings on the U.S. government remain unchanged.

Standard & Poor's unsolicited sovereign ratings may be based solely on publicly available
information and may involve the participation of government officials. Standard & Poor's has
used information from sources believed to be reliable based on standards established in our
Credit Ratings Information and Data Policy, but does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy,
or completeness of any information used.

We have long been aware of the problems with the assumed AAA/AAA rating of US
Government Debt. We have positioned portfolios accordingly and recommend others
inquire who may not have had similar foresight.

Shawn A. Mesaros
Pacific Asset Management
Two Union Square
601 Union Street, Suite #4200
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 933-1600 Direct
(206) 600-3175 Fax
(877) 637-2767 Toll Free
+852-8199-9853 Hong Kong

Pamria, LLC “Pacific Asset Management “ WA State & SEC (Pend) Reg. SIPC, FDIC through C.S. & Co., Inc.