Press Release - June 14, 2000 First Call and B-Bop Jointly Unveil XML Specification for Financial Research Specification, Intended to Promote Coordinated Industry Effort to Create an XML Standard, Now Available on www.firstcall.com and www.b-bop.com BOSTON, MA and BURLINGAME, CA, June 14, 2000 -- First Call Corp., a Thomson Financial company, and B-Bop, The XML Platform Company, today released a jointly created Document Type Definition (DTD) for financial research documents utilizing Extensible Markup Language (XML). This DTD provides an initial framework for structuring the content of such documents. First Call and B-Bop are making the DTD available to the public, free of charge, via First Call's institutional Web portal at www.firstcall.com and B-Bop's Web site at www.b-bop.com. XML offers a common and open format for data interchange between business partners and provides the key element for developing interoperable systems over the Internet. To facilitate the exchange of information, a number of industries have sought to adopt standards for specific types of content to ensure information consistency and compatibility. Such a standard is obtained when there is a broad-based adoption of a single DTD within an industry. In developing the DTD and releasing it to the public, First Call and B-Bop seek to promote an open dialogue that will advance the effort to create an XML standard within the financial services industry. To ensure that the needs of the industry are addressed by the standard, the dialogue should involve a wide array of organizations creating, distributing, and receiving financial research. Given the high level of interest in XML by industry participants, First Call and B-Bop look forward to a single, broad and coordinated approach to creating a standard. "B-Bop's expertise in XML was invaluable in this DTD effort," said Doug Morgan, executive vice president of FIRST CALL Capital Markets. "The result should serve as a substantial starting point for a broader effort that includes participation from organizations across the industry. We want to contribute this DTD to a process that is open and democratic, accelerating the creation of a public standard that meets the requirements of the brokerage and asset management communities." "XML is rapidly becoming the essential foundation for e-business information," said Sanjay Manchanda, CEO of B-Bop. "We strongly believe that it's important for the industry to adopt a DTD standard in order to fully leverage the revolutionary benefits provided by XML. In turn, we expect that this will lead to better product offerings. First Call's industry knowledge, and their ability to incorporate early input from buy- and sell-side firms, added tremendous value to this initial DTD and greatly accelerated its delivery. To this end, we support the efforts of companies involved in the creation, distribution and consumption of financial research to develop and adopt an industry standard." A broadly accepted XML standard within the financial services industry will ensure that the independent elements included in a research document (earnings estimates, recommendations, analyses, etc.) are structured in a conformant manner across all organizations. This will facilitate the parsing of the research document into separate components. These components can then be distributed to the appropriate end-user, either separately or in various combinations, allowing for truly customized information aimed at meeting the unique needs of each recipient. XML documents can also be easily converted to the format specified by recipients and delivered seamlessly over the Web and to wireless devices and other applications. B-Bop, The XML Platform Company, is the leading provider of a standards-based XML platform for Web-based content management and e-business information exchange applications. B-Bop's products and services enable businesses to transform, store, and repurpose critical information between their customers, suppliers and business partners. Whether the data comes from internal, external, or a combination of sources, B-Bop's Xfinity Server - delivers unprecedented levels of dynamic, personalized and up-to-date content to maximize its usefulness to the information consumer. For additional information, please visit B-Bop's web site at www.b-bop.com. First Call Corp. is the global financial community's leading Internet provider of real-time broker-sourced research, earnings estimates, equity and fixed income ownership information, insider trading information, and corporate news releases. More than 5,800,000 research documents are available on the FIRST CALL Network. First Call's distribution capabilities, research services, competitive intelligence product, usage reports and customized business solutions provide value-added links between the institutional buy-side and the sell-side worldwide. For more information, visit First Call's Web site at www.firstcall.com. Thomson Financial is a US$1.2 billion provider of information services and work solutions to the financial and corporate communities worldwide. 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, a leading e-information and solutions business with annual revenues of more than US$6 billion. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the Toronto and London stock exchanges. For more information on Thomson Financial, visit www.thomsonfinancial.com. From: http://www.b-bop.com/press_release.htm