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15 Nov 2007

Germany as Europe's Most Attractive Destination For Renewable Energy Investors

Germany has emerged as Europe's most attractive destination for commercial investors in the renewable energy sector, while the UK has lost momentum due to a comparative lack of pace on policy matters, according to the latest "Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices", which tracks and scores global investment in renewable energy.

The index, launched at the World Energy Congress in Rome, reveals that Germany has jumped from fifth to second place, displacing the UK, India and Spain, which jointly held this position last quarter.

It also suggests that although the credit crunch has left many investors overexposed to certain sectors, renewables projects still offer a relatively low-risk option for investors.

Although EU countries dominate the Country Attractiveness Indices, the US remains the most attractive destination overall for investment in renewables, a position it has held for two years.

Jonathan Johns, Head of Renewable Energy at Ernst & Young, says the US will continue to attract the lion's share of global investment particularly if changes to legislation continue.

The Ernst & Young Country Attractiveness Indices provide scores for national renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies. The indices provide scores out of 100 and are updated on a regular basis.

BlackRock Launches Distressed Securities Funds

BlackRock, the biggest listed US asset manager, on Tuesday announced the launch of more distressed securities funds to take advantage of the current credit market troubles, according to Reuters.

Chairman and Chief Executive Laurence Fink said the firm would launch hedge funds investing in distressed mortgages and distressed real estate. These funds would raise "multibillion dollars". BlackRock has already raised a "very large" leveraged-loan fund and is now in the process of investing the money.

Just last week, BlackRock again earned first place in DALBAR’s 2007 Trends & Best Practices in the "Leading Mutual Fund Statements" category. DALBAR issues this award annually.

"At BlackRock, our goal is to produce a comprehensive investor statement tailored to
shareholder needs" said Anne Ackerley, managing director at BlackRock. "Receiving this award for three consecutive years demonstrates our successes and is a clear indication of our ability to deliver beyond expectations and surpass the industry standard."

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. With a reported AUM of $1.3 trillion as of September 30, 2007.