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Thursday, December 6, 2001 Sorry for the delay. We have been talking to three law firms about what we have written. And you know how that goes. editor. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Headlines--- Ohio Creates Up-Front Sales Tax---Important It’s Official----Colonial Pacific/GE Closing Portland, Oregon Office “To Whom It May Concern”—Our apologies to Jones and Woodley Streamlined Sales Tax Project Meets In Denver Live Capital/Federal Capital BancWest-BNP Paribas Transaction Approved by Federal Reserve CIT/Tyco/Number One SBA Lender Intel, AMD say revenues are recovering History of Colonial Pacific---Monday ### denotes press release Ohio Legislation Creates
Up-Front Sales Tax
The
Equipment Leasing Association has
learned a legislative conference committee of the Ohio Legislature assigned
the task of closing the budget shortfall has decided to accelerate sales
tax on tangible personal property used by business, commercial vehicles
under 10,000 pounds, private (commercial) aircraft and watercraft. Amended
Substitute House Bill 405 originally focused on vehicles and was the
target of lobbying by auto lessors. Dennis
Brown has further information on the mutl-tax issue ( see below ). No hearings will be scheduled on this broadening
of the Ohio legislation and the conference committee has not released
any text or summary. Information contained in this advisory could change
significantly upon public release of specifics. ELA will distribute
relevant information as state legislators release it. As
more states experience budget deficits during these tough economic times,
ELA is wary that other states will also shroud in secrecy comparable
legislation with no viable public forum available to protest. Upon
detecting such attempts industry members will be notified and encouraged
to contact state officials. ( courtesy of ELAonline.com ) ( No tax on the Internet, so states are looking
elsewhere, so be prepared. editor ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #### ######################## ########################## ##################
### ############################ ######################### Leasing News reported this last Thursday, a
week ago. There was a full story in our Monday edition: http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/December%202001/12-03-01.htm This was perhaps one of the best run leasing companies in history. Our report on Monday will document that statement. Right now 200 employees are being let go before Christmas. The good news is GE is “paying for their guilt, and then some.” According to several employees who do not want to be named, they will not be moving to Chicago, Illinois. With the acquisition of Mellon and Heller, a large rooftop was created in Chicago, meaning capacity, and GE simply wanted the leasing operation under one rooftop. CPL/GE at the beginning of the month had over 500 brokers, according to a highly reliable source. Some 15% to 20% were chosen to remain, based solely on volume and profitability. There is no appeal process. The rumor about attracting new broker business the first of the year was questioned as to why GE would go through this, and then start again. Basically Leasing News was told this was not true. There are many long term employees, from Jim Adler who had 22 to 24 years to Curt Lynse, 13 years. January they will be gone; happy new year. There are many experienced and dedicated people who made this company one of the best, if not the best leasing company for brokerage business. The commercial side was doing 33% of the portfolio, too. The leasing economy, as Jim Raeder described it, has be “ruthless.” Nuetron Jack Welch was recently in Silicon Valley promoting his book. We reported about his visit and his approach to doing business. Ironically, today is history, 1922, the first electric generator built by GE was put in place. The company has been around a long time. Travis Fox sent this in last August 3: You were undoubtedly present as well at the luncheon, where Sudhir Amembal was the Keynote speaker.
The topic was the future of the leasing industry, and among Mr. Amembal's comments were that brokers that had been in the business for some time would be selling out as an exit strategy, and there would be a conglomeration of these smaller operations. The larger entities that resulted would form alliances to get even better economies of scale, etc...
Then, as a (half?) joke he stated "and they will all be bought by GE Capital".
I clearly recall the room breaking out in a chuckle at the joke, and then stopping just as suddenly, and becoming very quiet for a moment or two, before he continued on...
Or was that just a dream I had once?
Travis Foxx travisfoxx@merchantcapital.net A very highly reliable source at Colonial Pacific basically said what will happen when the operation moves to Chicago may mean the loss of “broker repeat business protection,” “vendor protection,” or what was the way in Oregon, is not the way it will be in Illinois. Leasing News has received many reactions to the closing of the facility, and here are only a sampling of the many e-mails we received ( many wanted their name with held, and the only one we are printing is from someone who I have personally known for over twenty years, maybe more: ) We were a top 10 broker for CPLC for over 10yrs. After we quit doing business with them, they solicited all of our EP-2 Customers. When I called the toll free number given to the customer, I inquired to where was Timmerman Leasing, and I was told that we were out of business. I was surprised to here that! If you think your customers will not be solicited you will be surprised! We have much documentation to verify this fact. Welcome aboard..... Leo Timmerman tli@visi.com We won't mourn the loss, however, as they sank w-a-a-a-a-a-y down on our list of preferred funding sources after GE Capital acquired them. (We funded only 11 leases with them since January. About $26K in broker fees collected YTD. CPLC became a much less 'broker-friendly' funder with some policies that I found both stupid and objectionable, but on which they wouldn't bend. Colonial Pacific used to be our #1 funding source way back in the good old days. I was assured by our rep that they will continue to take our calls for customer service issues and will honor our residual ownership for those leases in our existing CPLC portfolio. When I asked whether our lessees and vendors would be solicited by CPLC, I was told it wouldn't be any different than it already is - but that unless it was a substantial vendor relationship resulting in several million in annual fundings - GE Capital wouldn't have any interest in soliciting them. Yeah, Right! -- Gary Greene, CLP Lease $mart - Equipment Leasing & Financing for Business & Industry http://www.lease-smart.com http://www.WeFinanceWebSites.com Happiness is . . . A Positive Cash Flow (TM) 520/628-9929 ----- Everyone take notice..... We have a very good customer whom we have an outstanding $200,000 approval with CPLC/GE which will expire before the job will be completed and funded. I called my customer this afternoon and explained we were loosing our funding source and I would go elsewhere for an approval which I am comfortable I can get as it is a very good credit. After telling me that would be fine, they said they were confused as they received another phone call from an Account Manager, GE Capital Leasing Solutions.....wanting to know if they could provide some financing for them. A co-incidence? I wonder if this is just the beginning. Jim Borland jimborland@usenergycapital.com I am not timid. However at this time I would prefer not to be quoted. I have ***** that are soon to be funded. GE Colonial has just proved to the world that they are not to be trusted. I personally believe that they are a predator, maybe they always were. I think that the brokers that gave them deals, or maybe the NAELB organize a class action suit against GE Colonial that prohibits the distribution of our vendors and lessees to other divisions of GE. This is how they make believe that their hand are clean. I am disgusted and feel like we have all been used and violated and now they will capitalize on the fruits of our labor from the past 15 years. I will be very vocal and go public at the proper time. For now, I would put $500.00 in a pool with the NAELB or with other brokers for the litigation. Until my last few deals are funded I want to stay under wraps. Name With Held Automation has nothing to do with the consolidation of GE operations. And, GE is still accepting select broker business through their BlissNet program. Don't blame automation on this one....automation was not a variable in the equation here. If it were, GE would not consider it a "critical component of our value proposition to our broker customers." Best Wishes, Steve ____ I wouldn't be inclined to draw any negative conclusions about BlissNet either. The success of a program like BlissNet is DIRECTLY related to the sophistication of the programming, mathematical & statistical models used AND as importantly, the size of the database that can be referenced/accessed to predict performance based on equipment types, industries and dozens of other parameters. WHO has access to more of the components AND the money to "do it right," than GE? Who IN THE WORLD? Consider this alternative hypothesis : What if GE is getting ready to significantly ramp up its direct origination business? (they are doing it now in several markets) What if BlissNet was just a "beta test" for a major expansion into the direct origination biz? A few tweaks here and few tweaks there, a few hundred thousand dollars, maybe more, for marketing in trade and industry journals...and bingo!, BlissNet (with all that GE "credibility") is ready to go online at a web site near you! And to start sucking down aps by tens of thousands. And who could approve them and process them faster than anyone else? Grabbing what they want and tossing the rest. And it WOULD work. SierraCities used to handle lots of broker biz, then they "got bought" by the biggest direct financial services MARKETER, in the country... Just some food for thought. Bob bob@leaseexperts.com Monday, Leasing News will have a full history of Colonial Pacific Leasing to date. There will never be another company like this one. editor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “To Whom It May Concern: “The Leasing News is a media where news in the equipment leasing industry may be exchanged for the benefit of the equipment leasing industry. The Leasing News does not support or condone any improper actions of those persons who intend to use The Leasing News for their own vendettas or for improper purposes. If statements are made by the persons having access to the Leasing News that may cause damage to others, The Leasing News apologizes to any persons damaged by unauthorized statements made. “Recently, there were messages broadcast in The Leasing News by a person referring to unethical conduct by Westover Financial, Joe Woodley, and Steve Jones (collectively “Westover”). The Leasing News has no knowledge of any unethical conduct by Westover and to the extent that such statements were made that has caused any damage to the reputation of Westover, The Leasing News apologizes to Westover and retracts these statements. The statements were made by someone other than The Leasing News and any such statements should not be considered to be an endorsement of these statement by The Leasing News.” Leasing News was “threatened” to print the above statement. We were told by Andrew K. Alper of Frandze, Robins Bloom & Casato, LC and were required to deal “…with the fact that false and disparaging statements were published that have caused embarrassment, ridicule, and problems for both Joe Woodley and Steve Jones. “ We were told to “…focus your attention on the problem caused by the publication of the false statement.” Leasing News made no false statements. In fact, we wrote a rather supporting article of Joe Woodley becoming the United Association of Equipment Leasing new CEO (http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/new%20CEO.htm) followed by two to three days of e-mails from his friends and supporters on his new position. All of the Leasing News advisors speak very highly of he and his company; one was a partner several years ago, I believe. He and Mr. Jones are highly respected in the leasing community. We did publish three e-mails criticizing and questioning potential conflicts, plus Bill Grohe, the membership executive being listed on the company website. We did not knowingly make any disparaging remarks, nor do we intend to. We are fair to everyone whether he is a broker in business for one year or a CEO in business for twenty-five years. We try to give everyone the right of free speech. We try to serve the entire leasing community, not just the elite. We do apologize to Mr. Jones and to Mr. Woodley if they feel Leasing News spoke disparaging about them. We did not. We sincerely apologize if we caused any embarrassment, ridicule, and any problems for Mr. Woodley or Steve Jones. We have also asked Mr. Woodley, UAEL executive staff, Joanie Dalton, Bill Grohe, Bette Kerhouas, and incoming Bob Fisher for a comment on the criticism several times as we wanted to be fair to what was said by three of our readers. They have never responded, except for Mr. Fisher, who is not available until next week (I am out of pocket until Monday, but will be in contact with excom Bob Fisher. ) Again, we have never made any disparaging statement, these are two fine gentlemen, highly respected in the leasing industry, and we hope this clears the legal matter up as presented to us by Mr. Alper and Victor Harris. If we have not reported this correctly, again, please let us know and we would be glad to print any comment that you might have. Kit Menkin, editor/publisher ______________________________________________________ Streamlined Sales Tax Project Meets In Denver The Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP or Project) writing provisions of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (Agreement) met in Denver on December 3 & 4. Drafting a sale-leaseback definition, examining issues unique to leased vehicles together with sale and use definitions were an ELA focal point. Discussion on these issues will continue at the next Project meeting scheduled Wednesday and Thursday, January 23-24 in New Orleans. Delegates to the new Implementing States organization will meet in the same location Friday, January 25 and perhaps ˝ day on Saturday, January 26. Although the Marriott on Canal Street is the preferred location, final announcement of the meeting hotel has not been issued. Leasing Definition The new definition of leasing did not reach a final vote of the Project at the meeting in Denver. It is expected to gain final approval in New Orleans and be passed to the Implementing States Delegates. It will be a provision in the model legislation sent to state legislatures. Sale-Leaseback Definition An industry subcommittee has been formed to draft a definition of sale-leaseback. In January it will be presented to the Project for consideration. If the Project and Delegates to a new Implementing States organization concur, it would be an optional definition a state could adopt when enacting the interstate Agreement. ELA members are encouraged to participate in the drafting committee led by ELA State Government Relations Committee Chair Valerie Guerrieri, Tyco Capital/CIT Technologies. To participate in committee deliberations contact dbrown@elamail.com with your name and company in the request. An industry conference call on the sale-leaseback definition is also anticipated in January. Tangible Personal Property and Software The subgroup writing separate definitions of Tangible Personal Property, Digital Property, Computer Software, Custom Computer Software, Modifications to Computer Software and Configuration of Computer Software met during the SSTP meeting. At times I felt their rambling discussion resembled primeval discourse over how many angels could land on the head of a pin. I'd intended to relate the discussion in this update but after several hours concluded it would be a commentary of interminable length with no authoritative conclusion. One point of interest is the Custom Computer Software definition beginning with the sentence "Custom computer software means computer software that has been designed and created exclusively for a specific identifiable customer." Some private sector representatives felt the word "exclusively" should be changed to "greater than 50% of direct costs". Any thoughts you have on the subject can be passed along to dbrown@elamail.com. The subgroup will continue to meet and I urge industry members with interest in this arena to join the standing room only crowd.
Bundling The Bundling subgroup requests examples of problem areas they should seek to resolve and current tax treatments that need to be preserved. Please send any examples to the email address shown above for conveyance to SSTP or copy on your submission. Exemptions An important ELA objective is preservation of exemptions. The experience of other industries is instructive in this effort. When enacting the Agreement, Minnesota decided not to maintain existing exemptions for selected installation and freight charges. A similar fate was experienced by vending machine businesses. The soft drink and candy industries are facing comparable prospects in other states if revisions are not made in their definitions. ELA looks to these outcomes when advising state revenue officials in efforts to insure the tax base is not broadened for equipment lessors by provisions of the Agreement. Promoting a definition of sale-leaseback is one such effort to preserve exemptions and avoid double sales tax. This uniform sale-leaseback definition would be an optional provision for states to enact or ignore. Those states with sale-leaseback definitions in statute and/or those wanting to preserve exemptions in statute could elect to adopt the definition in the same manner that the Project is providing a discretionary definition of digital products for a limited number of states. Simplification Finally, an attorney for the City of Birmingham, Alabama rose in dissent during the public comment session. Like other local jurisdictions, Birmingham protested the Agreement mandating central collection of all state and local sales tax at one location in the state capitol. Additionally, he objected to the interstate Agreement removing audit powers from local home rule jurisdictions. In an enlightened conclusion, he stressed that allowing individual cities and counties to audit business would be more efficient than centralizing this authority. His presentation points up the great hurdles business must surmount before simplification is achieved. Dennis Brown Federated Capital Improves
Lease Decision Process with DecisionExpress™ from LiveCapital
Leading small-ticket
leasing company speeds sales, reduces costs
San Mateo, CA. – LiveCapital, a leader in business credit automation, today announced that Federated Capital Corporation, a diversified lease financing company, has implemented DecisionExpress to automate and simplify their lease decision process. “DecisionExpress represents an important part of our expansion strategy,” said Jay Apsey, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Federated Capital. “The product’s workflow management and real-time collaboration aspects streamline the approval and documentation process for our vendors and employees. DecisionExpress enables us to use increasingly sophisticated scoring models, which allows us to approve more customers, helping our vendors sell more equipment. Partnering with LiveCapital will help us solidify our position as a leader in the small ticket marketplace.” DecisionExpress is being used by Federated today to enhance its automated lease application and decision process. Federated will use the collaboration and workflow management capabilities of DecisionExpress to route applications and decision information to the right people in the organization, speeding up both automated decisions, and those where manual review is needed. In the future, Federated Capital will use DecisionExpress to provide its vendors with a single point-of-entry to multiple commercial and consumer finance programs. DecisionExpress was implemented for Federated in less than two months, providing quick payback on Federated’s investment. “Federated’s rapid time-to-market with an enhanced lease decision process demonstrates the tangible impact DecisionExpress is having on our customers,” said Mike Grossman, CEO of LiveCapital. “In this time of tightened IT budgets, companies are focusing on the projects that can be completed quickly with the most direct bottom line impact. The credit process is an area where streamlining makes a huge difference to costs and productivity. We worked closely with D&B, our strategic distribution partner, to deliver the value of both automation and comprehensive business credit data to Federated.”
DecisionExpress’
flexible decisioning engine accommodates different business and consumer
credit data sources, both custom and standard scorecards, business rules
and risk-based pricing for leasing and trade credit. The collaboration
capabilities provide for streamlined workflow of any decisions that
must be made by credit analysts, as well as facilitating interaction
between credit analysts and sales reps for improved customer satisfaction. About
LiveCapital
LiveCapital is a leading provider of credit automation products to Fortune 1000 companies. The company's core product, DecisionExpress, automates the credit approval process to speed sales and reduce operational costs. Privately held and headquartered in San Mateo, California, LiveCapital has streamlined credit management for industry leaders including United States Steel, John Deere and Autodesk. Investors include D&B and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. For more information, please visit www.livecapital.com. About
Federated
Federated Capital is a diversified lease financing company serving a variety of small-ticket equipment vendors. Established in 1974, it is the parent to several well-known niche leasing companies, including Lease Acceptance, Manufacturers’ Commercial Finance, Fed Cap Services, Radio Dealers Leasing and LeaseTrack. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese trading giant Nissho Iwai, with sales of over US$56 billion in 2000. For more information, see www.federatedcapital.com. # # # #### ################################ ############### BancWest-BNP Paribas Transaction Approved by Federal Reserve
PARIS and HONOLULU, / -- BNP Paribas and BancWest Corporation (NYSE: BWE) announced today that the Federal Reserve Board has approved the acquisition by BNP Paribas of the 55% of BancWest stock it does not already own for $35 in cash per share. The transaction was approved by BancWest stockholders at a special meeting September 20, 2001. The parties expect the $2.5-billion transaction to close December 20, 2001. When the transaction is completed, all outstanding BancWest shares (except those owned by BNP Paribas) will be converted into the right to receive a $35-per-share cash payment. BancWest will also pay a prorated dividend with a record date immediately prior to closing. Following the close of the transaction, BancWest stockholders who have stock certificates will receive instructions by mail concerning how and where to forward their certificates for payment. BancWest stockholders should exchange their stock certificates for the merger consideration promptly following receipt of these materials. It is not possible to defer recognition of income for tax purposes by delaying the exchange of stock certificates. Brokers will handle conversion for those holding BancWest stock in a brokerage account. The merger does not affect preferred securities or capital securities issued by BancWest Capital I or First Hawaiian Capital I. About BNP Paribas BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com ) is a world leader in banking and financial services, offering retail banking and financial services (consumer credit, leasing, e-brokerage, insurance, car fleet management, etc.) to millions of individual customers and corporations mainly in France (2000 branches), Europe, the United States, Mediterranean basin and Africa. Headquartered in Paris, France, it has one of the most extensive international networks in the world with offices in 87 countries. Active in all major financial centers, and providing services to large corporations and institutions, BNP Paribas enjoys key positions in Corporate and Investment Banking, Private Banking, Asset Management and Securities Services. With total assets of $646 billion (EUR 694 billion), shareholders equity of $19.3 billion (EUR 20.6 billion), and Year 2000 net income of $3.86 billion (EUR 4.12 billion), BNP Paribas was the Number 1 listed bank in France and Number 2 listed bank in the Euro zone at the close of 2000. About BancWest BancWest Corporation (www.bancwestcorp.com ) is a bank holding company with assets of $19.8 billion. It is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, with an administrative headquarters in San Francisco, California. Its principal subsidiaries are Bank of the West (193 branches in Northern and Central California, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington state and Idaho) and First Hawaiian Bank (56 branches in Hawaii, two in Guam and two in Saipan). Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements concerning expectations for completion of the transaction discussed. Such statements reflect management's best judgment as of this date, but they involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the statements. Factors that could contribute to such differences include, without limitation, the possibility of adverse changes in global, national or local economic or monetary conditions. Those factors or others could result, for example, in delay or termination of the transaction discussed above. Readers should carefully consider those risks and uncertainties in reading this release. Except as otherwise required by law, BNP Paribas and BancWest disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments. #### ############################ #################### CIT Small Business Lending Corporation, a Subsidiary of Tyco Capital, Is Ranked Nation's Number One SBA Lender for Second Consecutive Year
LIVINGSTON, N.J., / -- For the second consecutive year, CIT Small Business Lending Corporation has been named the nation's top lender to small businesses by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The award is for fiscal 2001 ended September 30. The SBA credited CIT Small Business Lending with a total of $578 million authorized loans to 1,271 businesses nationwide. "CIT Small Business Lending has established a strong foothold in this strategic niche," said John Canning, President of CIT Small Business Lending. "We are particularly excited and proud to be recognized as the leading lender in this industry for two years in a row." "Our continuing goal is to be the nation's provider of choice in the small business lending arena. And it has truly been an outstanding achievement to grow our SBL business from a start-up in 1993 to become the top lender in such a short period of time. By originating over 1,200 small business loans this past fiscal year, we are helping entrepreneurs across the nation realize their dreams of starting, owning and growing their businesses," added Canning. CIT Small Business Lending Corporation offers SBA loans for business acquisitions and succession financing, commercial real estate financing, franchise financing, equipment financing, construction loans and business expansion. Designated a "Preferred Lender" by the SBA, CIT Small Business Lending's total loan volume in 2001 grew $110.9 million over the previous year when the company loaned $468.9 million. With the "Preferred Lender" status in 61 SBA Districts across the country, CIT Small Business Lending is able to provide quicker credit decisions and loan closings. The Company also provides loans ranging from $50,000 to $2 million to a wide variety of small businesses throughout the U.S., including: physicians, dentists, chiropractors, veterinarians, gas stations and "quick lube" centers, franchise hotels and motels, funeral homes, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, convenience stores, restaurants, day care centers as well as other markets. For more information, access the Company's Web site at www.smallbizlending.com or call CIT Small Business Lending's toll-free number (800) 713-4984. About CIT Small Business Lending Corporation CIT Small Business Lending Corporation, a subsidiary of Tyco Capital, offers Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, franchise financing, construction lending and equipment financing through a network of field representatives. The company's Web site and online SBA loan application are located at www.smallbizlending.com. About Tyco Capital The Tyco Capital family of companies are subsidiaries of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC; LSE: TYI; BSX: TYC). Tyco Capital is a leading, global source of financing and leasing capital and advisor for companies in more than 30 industries. Managing more than $50 billion in assets across a diversified portfolio, Tyco Capital, formerly known as CIT, empowers many of today's industry leaders and emerging businesses offering vendor, equipment, factoring, consumer, and structured financing capabilities. Tyco Capital operates in the United States and Canada with strategic locations in Europe, Latin and South America, and the Pacific Rim. #### ############################# ################## Intel,
AMD say revenues are recovering
San Jose Mercury News Staff and Wire Reports Showing signs the semiconductor
industry may be recovering from the recession, Intel and Advanced Micro
Devices said Thursday that fourth-quarter revenue is expected to meet
or exceed earlier forecasts. Both companies cited
strength in their sales of microprocessors, the brains of all personal
computers, based on better-than-expected holiday sales of PCs. The two
companies are the biggest makers of PC processors. ``The quarter is progressing
at the high end of our expectations and may even exceed them,'' said
Andy Bryant, Intel's chief financial officer. Meanwhile, National Semiconductor,
whose chips power cell phones and flat-panel displays, Thursday reported
a narrower second-quarter loss than had been forecast as sales outpaced
expectations. And another Silicon Valley
tech giant, computer-server maker Sun Microsystems, reported Thursday
that it's on track to meet sales targets this quarter. Taken together, the reports
provide some evidence that the worst of the downturn that has gripped
the tech industry could be easing. Santa Clara-based Intel
said revenue for the three months ending Dec. 29 will be between $6.7
billion and $6.9 billion, compared with the October estimate range of
between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion. Intel earned $106 million,
or 2 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with $2.51 billion,
or 41 cents a share, in the same time last year. Analysts are expecting
profit of 10 cents a share in the fourth quarter, according to a survey
by Thomson Financial/First Call. Sunnyvale-based AMD said
sales would be up 10 percent or better compared with the third quarter's
$765.9 million. The company earlier said it expected flat to single-digit
growth. AMD lost $186.9 million
in the third quarter, or 54 cents a share, compared with a profit of
$408.6 million, or $1.18 a share in the same period a year ago. For
the current quarter, analysts expect a profit of 5 cents a share. Both Intel's and AMD's
announcements came after the day's close of the stock market. Intel's
shares fell 45 cents to $34.16 in trading Thursday before the announcement,
but rose as high as $35.18 after the release. The stock has gained 71
percent since Oct. 1. AMD added 1 cent to $16.25
in regular trading, then rose as high as $18 after the report. The shares
and have more than doubled since Oct. 1. National Semiconductor
on Thursday reported a loss of $46.6 million, or 26 cents a share, which
was narrower than analysts had expected, sending the shares up 6.1 percent.
The company had been expected to have a fiscal second-quarter loss of
31 cents a share, the average estimate in a First Call poll of analysts.
Shares of National Semiconductor
rose $1.98 Thursday to $34.60. At Palo Alto-based Sun,
orders in their second fiscal quarter, which ends Dec. 31, have been
within forecasts, Chief Financial Officer Mike Lehman said. November
results showed improvement over October figures. ``Exiting the year, we
feel great about the strategy,'' said Sun's president and chief operating
officer, Ed Zander. ``Every deal is hard to get -- I'm not going to
underestimate that. We're hoping and praying that the economy starts
to turn around because I think we can take a lot of share from our competitors.''
Analysts are expecting
Sun to lose 4 cents a share this quarter, excluding one-time events,
on $3.1 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Sun amassed $5.1 billion in revenue in the comparable quarter last year.
Sun shares fell 42 cents,
nearly 3 percent, to close at $14.15 on the Nasdaq Stock Market before
the quarterly outlook was released. The stock was up to $14.18 in after-hours
trading. ``I think they were trying
to sound a positive note without getting people bouncing up and down
or holding them to unrealistic expectations for the entire quarter,''
said J.P. Morgan analyst Daniel Kunstler. ``If things had deteriorated,
they would have told us, so it's sort of like you could almost say no
news is good news.'' Mercury News Staff Writer Jennifer Files contributed to this report. # December
6, 1920 Dave Brubeck Birthday |