Mary:
Thank you so much for the quick response. I wasn't aware of that section of additional HTML. I just checked it, but unfortunately, there aren't any characters in any of the available fields.
One thing is certain - it is not a theme specific problem. I've changed the theme, and the "less-than" signs remain. I'm wondering if it is some base file. For example, in 1.9, I recall there being header.html and footer.html documents. I also remember various themes referencing some of the Moodle Themes in their code.
It appears on EVERY page. Using the Firebug, I found it between the <body> and <title> HTML tags (look towards the bottom of the attached picture).