Press Release: February 18, 2000

WR Hambrecht + Co Expands Equity Research to Include Semiconductors and Storage

Veteran analyst Jim Liang to lead coverage group

San Francisco, CA , February 18, 2000—WR Hambrecht + Co, the online investment bank, today announced the launch an equity research group focused on Semiconductors and Storage. Heading the group is veteran analyst Jim Liang, who recently joined WR Hambrecht + Co from Thomas Weisel Partners, where he was instrumental in building the firm’s coverage of the semiconductor industry. Prior to TWP, Jim was a senior industry analyst for semiconductors at Dataquest.

The firm’s Semiconductor research will focus on companies supplying enabling semiconductor technologies for the digital communications and digital consumer markets as well as companies benefiting from the convergence of computing, communications, and consumer applications. Storage research will focus on companies providing enabling technologies to meet the escalating storage requirements driven by the growth of the Internet.

"The more the Internet grows, the more demand there will be for the hardware and infrastructure to support this growth. Jim’s experience and expertise in these areas allows us to analyze these markets and deliver insightful information to our clients," said Keith Bachman, Director of Equity Research at WR Hambrecht + Co.

With the addition of Semiconductor and Storage research, the firm’s total coverage extends into 11 sectors. WR Hambrecht + Co already tracks companies in the following sectors: eMarkets/Portals, eCommerce, eMedia, eSoftware, eHealth, Open Source, eServices, eTailing/Consumer Brands, eLearning, and eNetwork Infrastructure.

WR Hambrecht + Co offers all its research reports free and real-time at www.wrhambrecht.com.