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Kit
Menkin’s Leasing News
www.leasingnews.org Tuesday,
April 23, 2002 Accurate,
fair and unbiased news for the equipment Leasing Industry
Headlines----
Lessors.com,
Inc. Launches The Lessors Network
Fitch/ABS Equipment Leasing Delinquency Index
Latest Office Survey Shows More of the Same---
California economy seen soaring over decade-forecast
Fed Chairman Greenspan credits technology
Consumer Debt At An All Time High
Pop-Up Killers
Library Research from Home Recruiter
Teri Gerson does not agree with Recruiter Fred St. Laurent
Pomeroy Computer Resources Closes Asset Sale of Leasing Division
BancPartners Announces New Bank Affiliations
American Express---Back in the Winner’s Circle!!!!
Behind American Express' $4 Billion Outsourcing Bet
Credit Raters Get Scrutiny and Possibly a Competitor
Access National Bank Acquires Commercial Finance Corp.
Patriot Bank First Quarter 2002 Earnings Up 33%
#Denotes
Press Release Equipment
Leasing Association Funding Exhibition Chicago, Illinois Leasing
News hopes to have some “feedback” from the conference started yesterday
and ending tomorrow afternoon. We can report from the several hundred
“auto responder” to yesterday’s Leasing News, we have
many readers
in attendance. The
National Association of Equipment Leasing Conference in Orlando had
from 170 to 200 in attendance, including fifty funders, depending on
who’s numbers you use. The up-coming joint Eastern Association of
Equipment Lessors and United Association of Equipment Leasing Conference
in Las Vegas, Nevada, co-incidentally about the same time as
the Association of Government Leasing and Finance Conference in
Baltimore, may have from 225 to 250 in attendance each. The ELA
Conference is usually has the largest attendance. The auto responder to
Leasing News surely is a strong indication to that fact. ###
##################################################### Lessors.com,
Inc. Launches The Lessors Network
- Atlanta, GA - Lessors.com, Inc. announces launching The Lessors
Network from the web site once rated in Yahoo's "Top 10 Most
Popular Leasing Web Sites".
The new site opens to a discussion board for the equipment leasing
and finance markets. Included in the discussion boards is an open
forum, company forum, association forum, job forum, resume forum and
funding forum. All forums are freely available to the public.
Additionally, the Lessors Network provides links to industry news
sources, associations and a innovative new "Event Specials"
service designed to offer discounted attendee registrations to industry
conferences and events. White & Yellow Page services are under
development for industry professionals to advertise their email addresses
and companies to advertise business profiles and contact information.
For additional information, please visit http://www.lessors.com. (This
site has a protection system, verification system, and is well regulated, current
and very much worth your visits. editor ) ###
################################################################## Fitch/ABS
Equipment Leasing Delinquency Index Fitch
Ratings-Chicago-: Fitch Ratings on Monday unveiled a new index that
benchmarks the delinquency performance of equipment lease-backed securities.
Rating approximately 80% of all equipment lease securitizations since
1997, Fitch designed the ABS Equipment Lease Delinquency Index to
become a leading indicator of ABS equipment lease delinquencies and,
ultimately, act as a barometer of credit quality within the leasing
industry. Featured
in the inaugural issue of 'The ABS Equipment Expo', a quarterly newsletter,
Fitch's delinquency index provides investors with new tools and strategies
in assessing current and future credit risk within their ABS portfolios.
In addition to highlighting the equipment lease delinquency index,
the newsletter will also include industry commentary and analysis. The
delinquency index contains 34 publicly placed equipment lease ABS
transactions rated by Fitch since 1997. The index tracks 31-60, 61-90
and 91+ day past due receivables as well as total delinquencies greater
than 30 days past due as a percentage of the monthly Aggregated Discounted
Receivable Balance (ADRB) for all transactions in the index, which
is measured on an actual timeline. By
fourth quarter 2002, Fitch will introduce a larger delinquency index
containing over 100 public, Rule 144A and private equipment lease
ABS transactions. The
newsletter can be found on Fitch Ratings' web site at 'www.fitchratings.com'
or by contacting Market Services at 1-800-853-4824. The ABS Equipment
Expo will be available for three months on the public portion of 'www.fitchratings.com'.
http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/reports/report.cfm?rpt_id=142364 For
inquiries regarding web site registration or a trial subscription,
contact Maria Sedlack 1-212-908-0539, New York. Contact:
John Bella, Jr. 1-312-368-2058 or Sara Grohl 1-312-368-5467, Chicago
or Wendy Cohn 1-212-908-0681, New York. Media
Relations: Matt Burkhard 1-212-908-0540, New York __________________________________________________________________ Latest
Office Survey Shows More of the Same--- BOSTON,
/ -- Despite signs of improvement in the overall economy during the
first quarter of 2002, the commercial real estate market continued
its downward trend with market indicators showing that the office
market nationwide is still weakening, according to a survey by Colliers
International. While not surprising, since real estate is a lagging
indicator, the statistics suggest that the office market will hit
bottom towards the end of 2002, and not mid-year as earlier anticipated. "Unfortunately
there is nothing in these numbers to suggest we have hit bottom and
will likely mean we have another two or three quarters of lackluster
performance before the market rebounds," said Ross Moore, Vice
President and Director of Research for Colliers International. "Job
creation, which fuels the commercial real estate market, has been
quite weak during the first quarter and the negative sentiment from
corporate America concerning corporate profits and investment means
a slow rebound for office space this year," he added. Nationwide,
vacancy rates continue to increase, rising by approximately one full
percentage point during the quarter and are now at the upper end of
the market's comfort zone -- further increases will be less easy to
digest. With leasing activity during the quarter little changed from
the fourth quarter 2001, absorption remains negative for the fifth
consecutive quarter. These figures indicate that the market is still
working off the excesses of the longest economic expansion in US history,
but the amount of new sublease space has slowed, which is a positive
sign. "While
expansion is a word rarely uttered, tenant activity is up, and opportunistic
tenants are renegotiating their leases early," commented Moore.
"While activity is characterized by smaller deals, we are seeing
a 'flight to quality' in many markets, with Class A properties benefiting
from this trend." Moore
went on to say that "landlords are very aggressive, as they do
not want to lose tenants, and asking rents continue to trend lower,"
falling by another 4% -- broadly in line with that recorded in the
fourth quarter of 2001. "Sublease space continues to be tough
to move, and deals are taking a long time to close as tenants evaluate
the myriad of options available to them in this market," added
Moore. Colliers
International is a global partnership of more than 40 commercial real
estate firms. The organization's 8,900 employees span the world in
more than 255 offices in 51 countries. On a worldwide basis, Colliers
manages 465 million square feet, and has revenue of $US 1.1 billion.
For more information about Colliers International, visit our website
at www.colliers.com . SELECT
DOWNTOWN OFFICE MARKETS Market
Q1 Quarterly Q4 Q1 Q1 Quarterly 2002
Change 2001 2002 2002 Change Vacancy
in Absorption Absorption Quoted in Rent Rate
(%) Vacancy (SF) (SF) Class (%) (%
points) A Rent ($PSF)
Atlanta,
GA 12.7 -0.6 (566,000) 600,000 22.70 (5.4) Boston,
MA 10.7 0.9 (814,000) (398,000) 51.40 (5.7)
Chicago,
IL 15.6 1.2 (1,291,000) (1,338,000) 34.00 (2.9) Dallas,
TX 23.7 0.9 (149,000) (331,000) 25.00 0.0 Denver,
CO 14.0 2.7 (451,000) (553,000) 24.95 (1.8)
Houston,
TX 12.4 1.7 (45,000) (686,000) 26.80 10.7 Los
Angeles, CA 18.9 0.1 321,000 (49,000) 24.60 0.0
Miami,
FL 11.4 2.2 42,000 (191,000) 28.40 2.2
New
York (Midtown),
NY 10.3 0.0 (768,000) 1,804,000 59.40 (3.1) New
York (Downtown),
NY 13.4 2.0 (1,438,000) (1,819,000) 41.10 (3.3) Philadelphia,
PA 13.7 1.6 (196,000) (667,000) 23.50 0.0 San
Francisco, CA 14.5 1.0 (831,000) (280,707) 39.00 (7.1)
San
Jose (Silicon Valley),
CA 11.0 2.3 104,000 (145,000) 48.24 (15.5) Seattle,
WA 12.7 -0.1 (299,000) 18,300 30.50 (1.0) St.
Louis, MO 15.0 1.1 (126,000) (127,000) 18.80 (3.6)
Washington,
DC 5.9 0.7 808,000 137,000 48.00 (2.0) SELECT
SUBURBAN OFFICE MARKETS Market
Q1 Quarterly Q4 Q1 Q1 Quarterly 2002
Change 2001 2002 2002 Change Vacancy
in Absorption Absorption Quoted in Rent Rate
(%) Vacancy (SF) (SF) Class (%) (%
points) A Rent ($PSF)
Atlanta,
GA 17.1 0.7 (477,000) 211,000 21.30 (11.3) Boston,
MA 21.8 1.6 (1,745,000) (493,000) 30.00 (7.7)
Chicago,
IL 18.4 1.7 (1,904,000) (1,498,000) 28.00 (3.4) Dallas,
TX 20.0 1.5 (1,512,000) (1,478,000) 23.50 0.0 Denver,
CO 17.0 1.2 (1,330,000) (145,000) 20.65 (4.0)
Houston,
TX 16.7 1.4 399,000 (1,814,000) 21.50 5.4 Los
Angeles, CA 15.7 1.5 (1,040,000) (1,164,700) 29.30 (3.3)
Miami,
FL 12.1 0.9 (55,000) (381,000) 27.60 (1.4)
New
Jersey (Northern)
11.5 0.4 (2,541,000) (650,000) 28.50 (5.0) Philadelphia,
PA 14.3 1.9 (243,000) (1,074,000) 25.00 0.0 San
Jose (Silicon Valley),
CA 11.7 1.1 1,139,000 (279,000) 37.08 (12.1) Seattle,
WA 17.0 1.1 (495,000) (180,000) 22.40 (0.9) St.
Louis, MO 12.2 0.4 282,000 191,000 24.50 0.0
Washington,
DC
(N. Virginia) 15.2 1.0 (2,903,000) 423,000 31.00 (8.8)
Source:
Colliers International PSF
= Per Square Foot ###############
########################################## ############ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ California
economy seen soaring over decade-forecast REUTERS SAN
FRANCISCO – High-tech industries will propel California out of
recession and help the world's fifth biggest economy gain jobs and
income at a faster clip than the rest of the nation over the next
decade, according to a forecast released Monday. While
California will do no better than the rest of the U.S. economy in
2002, a strong foundation in key industries like software, biotechnology
and entertainment will drive the state's economy in the next eight
years, said the annual forecast from the Center for the Continuing
Study of the California Economy, a private think-tank based in Palo
Alto, California. "Even
though job and income gains have stalled during the past year, the
state's economic strengths have not been hurt," said the report's
author Stephen Levy. The
forecast comes as the nation's most populous state faces a potential
$17 billion budget deficit stemming in part from the fallout from
a dot-com blowout and a staggering technology sector. But
the report said the high-tech slowdown is not a permanent one like
the aerospace decline that slammed the state's economy in the early
1990s – a scenario that indicates strong growth ahead for California.
"High
tech is in a down cycle, not a permanent decline and the long- term
prospects for high tech remain unchanged, i.e., very strong,"
the forecast said. The
report saw the state churning out 3.5 million additional jobs by 2010,
representing growth of 22.1 percent, compared with 15.2 percent nationally.
Personal
income will soar as well, rising 49.4 percent compared to 34.2 percent
in the rest of the nation, according to the forecast. But
California's population will also grow rapidly as the state adds 5
million more residents by 2010 – a 14.2 increase versus 8.2 percent
nationally that will strain an aging infrastructure, the report added.
California currently boasts some 34 million residents. This
population boom means officials need to build more houses, fix crumbling
roads and modernize aging schools in order to lure to California new
workers needed to drive the economy, the report said. "Our
biggest economic challenges are providing housing, transportation
and education for all Californians," Levy said. "Companies
demand this and residents require it also so that growth does not
diminish either our quality of life or economic competitiveness." (Doesn’t
feel that way now. 7.4% unemployment in Silicon Valley, “for
rent” signs everywhere. Can’t remember when I have seen
so many office vacancies or
apartment vacancies, and so many “homes for sale.” Prices
have not dropped,
and it is still expensive, but time will tell. editor ) P.S.
While Reuiters makes the above prediction, here is their reality: Reuters
announces 300 new job cuts, says first quarter revenues off PDT
LONDON (AP) -- Reuters
Group PLC also said yesterday it planned to eliminate 300 more jobs,
or about 1.6 percent of its work force, bringing the total number
of staff cuts at the news and financial information provider to 2,100. The
announcement by finance director David Grigson came as Reuters reported
that its first quarter revenue fell to $1.32 billion from $1.4 billion
during the same period last year. The
company said it did not anticipate an improvement in market conditions
soon, and predicted underlying subscription revenues would fall by
between 2 percent and 3 percent over the first half of 2002 and between
5 percent and 6 percent in the second half. "Our
first quarter revenue reflects the performance of the Reuters customer
segments in line with our expectations and significantly reduced revenues
in Instinet," said Reuters Group chief executive Tom Glocer,
referring to the company's electronic brokerage business. "Despite
challenging market conditions, we remain focused on margin enhancement,"
he added. Reuters
said that excluding Instinet, in which it owns an 83 percent stake,
its revenues were up 5 percent to $1.1 billion. Instinet's
revenues plunged 39 percent to $221 million compared with the first
quarter of 2001, when market volumes were booming, Reuters said. Instinet
is an electronic exchange that matches up buyers and sellers of stock
without middlemen. Its
poor showing is bad news for Reuters, as it had been a strong performer. Grigson
told analysts in a conference call that Reuters' cost-cutting efforts
were on track. "One
of the ways in which we are holding to our margin target is by managing
down the cost side," Glocer said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fed
chairman credits technology with helping business to adjust to economic
changes
By
Jeannine Aversa ASSOCIATED
PRESS WASHINGTON
– The country is emerging from what may be the mildest recession
on record, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday
that a lot of the credit goes to technology that allows businesses
to adjust quickly to changing economic conditions. Greenspan
said American economy, jolted by the Sept. 11 terror attacks, has
shown an "impressive ability" to withstand some hard knocks,
including a drop in the stock market and a sharp cutback in capital
spending by businesses, a key reason the economy fell into a slump.
Such
resilience likely reflected U.S. companies' use of computer and other
technology providing them with real-time information, Greenspan said.
That
information was used to help companies better respond to a changing
business climate, he said. For instance, moving to whittle stockpiles
of unsold goods at early signs of a slowdown, rather than adding to
them. "Doubtless,
the substantial improvement in the access of business decision-makers
to real-time information has played a key role," Greenspan said
in a speech delivered via satellite to the Institute of International
Finance in New York. A copy of his remarks was distributed in advance
in Washington. "Thirty
years ago, the timeliness of available information varied across companies
and industries, often resulting in differences in the speed and magnitude
of their responses to changing business conditions," the Fed
chief said. Against
such a backdrop, the process of fixing business problems – namely
getting inventories back in line with sales – was more drawn
out and pronounced, often leading to deep and prolonged recessions,
Greenspan said. "Today,
businesses have large quantities of data available virtually in real
time. As a consequence, although their ability to anticipate changes
in demand seems little improved, they nonetheless address and resolve
economic imbalances far more rapidly than in the past," Greenspan
said. He
made no mention in his speech or in a question-and-answer period afterward
about the future course of interest rate policy. To
rescue the economy from a recession, the Fed slashed interest rates
11 times last year. Fed policy-makers held short-term rates –
now at 40-year lows – steady in January and March. Given the
fledging economic recovery, most economists believe the Fed will continue
to leave rates unchanged when its meets next on May 7. After
shrinking in the third quarter of 2001, the economy bounced back in
the following quarter, growing at a rate of 1.7 percent, a stronger
but still below-par performance. Many
economists believe the economy, as measured by the gross domestic
product, grew at a sizzling 5 percent rate in the first quarter of
this year, boosted in large part by a slowdown in inventory liquidation
by businesses. The government releases the GDP report Friday. Greenspan,
during the question-and-answer period, indicated there has been some
improvement in capital spending, a key ingredient for the economy's
health. "We're seeing the early signs of a recovery in capital
investment," he said. On
other matters, Greenspan renewed his concerns about lower-cost financing
and other government subsidies enjoyed by "government- sponsored
enterprises," such as giant mortgage companies Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac. "Subsidies,
by intent, distort the normal balance of markets," Greenspan
said. Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac are owned by stockholders but were created by
Congress to buy home loans from lenders to supply ready cash to the
mortgage market. Critics
contend that they have become so big that they pose potential risks
to taxpayers, who might be asked to bail them out if they become financially
troubled. Addressing
the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history, Greenspan repeated
his belief that although Enron Corp. was a major player in the sophisticated
derivatives market, the reason behind the energy giant's downfall
was more basic: "an old-fashioned excess of debt."
----
Increased
spending by business could soon help the nation emerge from what many
experts consider the mildest recession on record, Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan said. Greenspan,
in a speech Monday delivered via satellite to the Institute of International
Finance in New York, said, said that ''we're seeing the early signs
of a recovery in capital investment.'' Such
an infusion into the economy is important because consumer spending
on such big ticket items as cars and homes did not abate during the
economic downturn that officially became a recession in March 2001,
Greenspan said. ''It
is left for capital investment to carry this economy forward,'' he
said. Greenspan
said the American economy is showing an ''impressive ability'' to
withstand the stock market decline, the Sept. 11 attacks and a sharp
cutback in capital spending. The
comeback likely reflects U.S. companies' use of computer and other
technology that provides them with real-time information allowing
them to respond rapidly to changing business conditions, Greenspan
said. For
example, companies can now quickly whittle stockpiles of unsold goods
at early signs of a slowdown, rather than adding to them. ''Doubtless,
the substantial improvement in the access of business decision-makers
to real-time information has played a key role,'' Greenspan said.
Decades
ago, that type of information varied widely depending on the companies
and industries, resulting in widely different reactions to changing
business conditions, he said. Against
such a backdrop, the process of fixing business problems namely getting
inventories back in line with sales was more drawn out and pronounced,
often leading to deep and prolonged recessions, Greenspan said. ''Today,
businesses have large quantities of data available virtually in real
time. As a consequence, although their ability to anticipate changes
in demand seems little improved, they nonetheless address and resolve
economic imbalances far more rapidly than in the past,'' Greenspan
said. He
made no mention in his speech or in a question-and-answer period afterward
about the future course of interest rate policy. To
rescue the economy from a recession, the Fed slashed interest rates
11 times last year. Fed policy-makers held short-term rates now at
40-year lows steady in January and March. Given the fledging economic
recovery, most economists believe the Fed will continue to leave rates
unchanged when its meets next on May 7. After
shrinking in the third quarter of 2001, the economy bounced back in
the following quarter, growing at a rate of 1.7 percent, a stronger
but still below-par performance. Many
economists believe the economy, as measured by the gross domestic
product, grew at a sizzling 5 percent rate in the first quarter of
this year, boosted in large part by a slowdown in inventory liquidation
by businesses. The government releases the GDP report Friday. Greenspan
renewed his concerns about lower-cost financing and other government
subsidies enjoyed by ''government-sponsored enterprises,'' such as
giant mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ''Subsidies,
by intent, distort the normal balance of markets,'' Greenspan said.
Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac are owned by stockholders but were created by
Congress to buy home loans from lenders to supply ready cash to the
mortgage market. Critics
contend that they have become so big that they pose potential risks
to taxpayers, who might be asked to bail them out if they become financially
troubled. Addressing
the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history, Greenspan repeated
his belief that although Enron Corp. was a major player in the sophisticated
derivatives market, the reason behind the energy giant's downfall
was more basic: ''an old- fashioned excess of debt.'' On
the Net: Federal
Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov ________________________________________________________________________ Consumer
Debt At An All Time High High
Credit Card Interest Rates Costing Americans Thousands Of Dollars
Each Year “Last
year, Americans charged more than 1 TRILLION dollars on their credit
cards - that works out to 10 thousand dollars per cardholder. This
means the average American credit card holder paid about two thousand
dollars in credit card interest last year, without touching the principal.
That's a lot of money, and the reason why financial experts say it's
smart to get rid of credit card debt. “ A
mortgage re-financing “infomercial” began. The only problem,
historically consumer re-finance,
but instead of taking care of credit card debt, they spend the money.
We are
still a consumption based rather than “thrift” based society. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pop-Up
Killers There
are several versions of software that prevents pop-up advertising,
particularly in Explorer. After being subjected to multiple pop-ups,
some even
leave an icon for future downloading that are difficult to delete,
we searched
for a program to prevent it. http://www.americanleasing.com/exe/PopUpStopper26.exe The
above is a “free version.” You can up-grade for $20 a year.
There are other
such programs. Depending on your version and/or alterations of Explorer,
this one stops the overwhelming majority. Here
is a “lite” version, and free, too: http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2366-10024312.html Some
of them are better, not only saving bandwidth, preventing cookies being
placed on your computer, but stop them all. Here is a list of other
“pop-up killers”. $18.95
http://www.adsgone.com/ $24.95
http://www.meaya.com/ $29.95
http://www.exitkiller.com/ If
you find a really good one that blocks them all, please le us know. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stress
Release. http://www.americanleasing.com/exe/StressRelief.EXE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opera This
continues to be the browser of choice for speed. It is a lot faster
than Explorer
or Netscape. It now has java, and other features. It is fast, and may
not have the “bells” and “whistles” of Explorer,
but when it comes to navigation
and less problems, use “Opera”. http://www.opera.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Library
Research from Home
Gale Group Database
great information available with the use of your library card.
http://www.library.ci.santa-clara.ca.us/about-the-library/borrower.html#library%20cards
( Your library card has a code on it. Remember how your
library card name is issued, as that is your log in.
You also have to add a browser setting, and going here
will tell you:
http://www.library.ci.santa-clara.ca.us/research/remote.html |