1 percent after index heavyweight HSBC HSBA

BETTER RETAILERS Banks, at the epicentre of the financial crisis, weregenerally weaker, with the FTSE 350 banks index .FTNMX8350down 0.1 percent, after index heavyweight HSBC (HSBA.L) fell. The British government plans talks with banks about boostinglending to business after the Bank of England cut interest ratesto a record low. Retailers also saw some demand after a rash of tradingupdates this week were no worse than feared and after John LewisJLP.UL said its weekly department store sales to Jan 3 rose27 percent. Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), Next (NXT.L), Home Retail (HOME.L)and Kingfisher (KGF.L) rose between 0.8 and 4.4 percent.

BSkyB (BSY.L) sagged 5.3 percent after Goldman Sachsdowngraded the broadcaster to "sell" from "neutral", whilemid-cap ITV (ITV.L) lost 4.4 percent, suffering a downgrade to"sell" from the same broker. Wolseley (WOS.L) sank 3 percent after Deutsche Bank cut itsprice target on the building materials distributor (Editing by Will Waterman) Stocks. TORRANCE, CA, Jan 09 (MARKET WIRE) TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand,today announces the launch of the high-performance 300Mbps ConcurrentDual-Band Wireless N Gigabit Router, model TEW-673GR. Thisallows users to create an advanced hybrid network in which wirelessclients can be assigned to either the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz band. Mostwireless networks use the 2.4GHz radio frequency, in which cordlessphones, cellular phones, microwaves and Bluetooth devices also operate.The crowded nature of the 2.4GHz band can degrade your network's wirelessperformance and actually interfere with and slow your transmissions.Dual-band networking allows users to connect low-bandwidth clients to themore congested 2.4GHz band and high-bandwidth, latency-sensitiveapplications such as streaming HD multimedia content and online game playto the uncongested 5GHz band, resulting is a seamless wireless experience.The TRENDnet TEW-673GR employs Atheros' XSPAN(R) AR9002AP platform, whichconsists of the AR9220 and AR9223 XSPAN dual-band radio chipset. Thissolution robustly supports advanced multimedia applications with reliablewireless throughput and home coverage.

Atheros XSPAN dual-concurrenttechnology provides leading performance, supporting up to 300Mbps physicaldata rates and an impressive 200Mbps of actual user throughput on bothuplink and downlink transmissions. The platform also features Atheros'680MHz AR7161 wireless network processor and Atheros' AR8316 GigabitEthernet switch to support unsurpassed bandwidth to both wired andwireless clients.Wi-Fi Certification ensures that the router has met the most rigorouswireless Draft 11n specifications, thereby providing interoperability withother wireless products and backward compatibility with legacy wirelessstandards.Energy Star Certification provides a 30 percent reduction in powerconsumption versus the previous generation. A unique wireless on/offswitch offers additional energy savings and security by turning off thewireless signal when it is not in use. "Weare pleased that TRENDnet is leveraging our technology to bring advancedwireless multimedia networking into the home."About Atheros Communications, Inc.Atheros Communications is a leading developer of semiconductor systemsolutions for wireless and wired communications products.

Atheros combinesits wireless and networking systems expertise with high-performance radiofrequency (RF), mixed signal and digital semiconductor design skills toprovide highly integrated chipsets that are manufactured on low-cost,standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Atherostechnology is used by a broad base of leading customers, includingpersonal computer, networking equipment and consumer devicemanufacturers. For more information, please visit or sendemail to ut TRENDnetFor TRENDnet logos visit: is an award winning global networking solutions brand, dedicatedto providing a complete line of high quality yet affordable networkingsolutions for small to mid-sized business and home users alike. Founded in1990, TRENDnet is headquartered in Torrance, California, and maintainsbranch offices in Europe, Central America, South America and Asia.TRENDnet products are sold in over 125 countries. The TRENDnet brand isconsistently recognized for high quality, exceptional performance andunparalleled support. For more information visit or call1 (310) 961-5500.NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters setforth in this press release are forward-looking statements within themeaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.