FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

JEFFERIES APPOINTED PRIMARY MARKET OPERATOR
AND TREASURY BILL SPECIALIST IN PORTUGAL

LONDON and NEW YORK, 2 February 2010 – Jefferies announced today that the Portuguese Treasury and Government Debt Agency (Instituto de Gestão da Tesouraria e do Crédito Público, IGCP) has appointed the firm as an EBT (Especialistas em Bilhetes do Tesouro) for Treasury Bills and as an OMP (Operadores de Mercado Primário) for long-term bonds. This brings the total number of EBT primary dealer firms in the Portuguese bond market to 15.

"We are very pleased to be appointed as a Primary Market Operator and Treasury Bill Specialist in Portugal and see this designation as integral to the continued expansion of our global rates business," commented Tim Cronin, Global Head of the Fixed Income Division at Jefferies.

In recent months Jefferies has been appointed as an official member of the Federal Republic of Germany's bidding group, a Gilt-edged Market Maker (GEMM) jointly by the UK Debt Management Office and London Stock Exchange, and as a Dutch Primary Dealer by the Dutch State Treasury. Additionally, Jefferies was designated a US Primary Dealer by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York in June 2009.

This announcement underscores Jefferies' growing strength in fixed income, where the firm now has more than 450 professionals globally who are focused on the sales and trading of investment grade corporate bonds, high yield bonds, government and agency securities, repo finance, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, municipal bonds, whole loans, leveraged loans, distressed securities and emerging market debt.

Jefferies, a major global securities and investment banking firm, has served companies and their investors for more than 45 years. Jefferies & Company, Inc. is the principal US operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF: www.jefferies.com), and Jefferies International Limited is the principal UK operating subsidiary. Jefferies International Limited, a UK-incorporated company, is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority.
For further information, please contact:

Tom Tarrant, Jefferies & Company, Inc., 212-284-2389, ttarrant@jefferies.com
Desiree Maghoo, Jefferies International Ltd, 44 20 7029 8085, dmaghoo@jefferies.com
Josh Passman, CJP Communications, 212 279 3115, x203, jpassman@cjpcom.com