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December
20, 2002
Post time 7:02a.m. PST |
Pictures
from the Past-1989---Steve O'Neil
Classified
Ads---Ready for Work
MicroFinancial:
Quarterly Dividend Suspended
-Merger
and Acquisition Professionals say, "Buy Now!!!"
Analysts
Fearful of oil at $40 a barrel
Economy
Still Going Though Soft Patch, says Greenspan
Leading economic indicators rise
England Calling----Not So Jolly.
3Com
reports $69 million loss in fiscal second quarter
### Denotes Press
Release
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Pictures
from the Past-1989---Steve O’Neil
 |
Dean Steve O’Neill, president of Nova Leasing, Inc., Tustin,
California with
two State of Washington Cheerleaders.
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Classified
Ads---Ready for Work
Finance: Orange
County, CA
CFO/Controller/IT Director - 15 years experience in leasing
and ABL. Experienced in: Accounting, Finance, Systems, Tax, Operations,Securitizations,
etc.MBA, ELA member. Many accomplishments. Email:gosween@cox.net
Finance: Atlanta,
GA
Twenty five plus years experience in middle market lease/
asset based/cash flow transactions. Heavy banking and credit background,
with particular expertise in structure and negotiation. Email:brown235@bellsouth.net
Legal: Los
Angeles, CA
Experienced in-house corporate and financial services attorney
seeks position as managing or transactional counsel. Willing to re-locate.
email:sandidq@msn.com
Operations:
Experienced Credit, Collections, lease and Finance operations. Manager
w/expertise in improving bottom line performance, excellent trainer,
manager, motivator. Get result/keep the customer coming back. Email:rgmorrill@comcast.net
Operations:
Wayne, NJ
20+ heavily experienced collection/recovery VP looking to
improve someone's bottom line. Proven, verifiable track record. Knowledge
of all types of portfolio. Will relocate Email:cmate@nac.net
Receptionist:
San Diego, CA.
An outgoing, people loving person. Can handle several tasks
at once. 35 wpm, some receptionist exp.in high school office, &some
comp.knowledge. email:dvynangel69@msn.com
full list at:
http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm
######## ########################################################
MicroFinancial Inc.
Announces Quarterly Dividend Suspended
WALTHAM, Mass--The Board of Directors of MicroFinancial Inc.
(NYSE:MFI) has suspended its dividend to comply with the Company's banking
agreements.
MicroFinancial Inc. (NYSE:MFI), headquartered in Waltham,
MA, with an additional location in Woburn, MA, is a financial intermediary
specializing in leasing and financing for products in the $500 to $10,000
range. The company has been in operation since 1986 and has been profitable
each year since 1987.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition,
words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects,"
"views, " and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that a number of important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed
in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company.
Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
which reflect the management's view only as of the date hereof. The
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company
cannot assure that it will be able to anticipate or respond timely to
changes, which could adversely affect its operating results in one or
more fiscal quarters. Results of operations in any past period should
not be considered indicative of results to be expected in future periods.
Fluctuations in operating results may result in fluctuations in the
price of the Company's common stock. For a more complete description
of the prominent risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business,
see the risks factors described in documents the Company files from
time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: For MicroFinancial Inc.
Richard F. Latour,
781/890-0177
Richard.Latour@Microfinancial.com
####
(Recent stories on Microfinancial/Leasecomm:)
(http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasecomm.htm)
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################ ###############################################
-Merger and Acquisition
Professionals say, "Buy Now!!!"
Chicago, IL- "Now
is the best time to buy a company at a bargain price," said Ward
Wickwire, Chairman of the International Association of Merger and Acquisition
Professionals (IMAP) at their fall meeting in Chicago last month.
The cooling economy has decreased the value of companies
and the volume of companies being sold, making it a buyers market. "IMAP members specialize in mid-market
transactions that are becoming more common as large corporations spin
off smaller divisions, keeping closer to their core missions."
"Private companies are still selling for all the reasons
they always do," said Kerry Dustin, President of IMAP. "Strategy, succession planning, a change
in the owner's lifestyle or health, a need for liquidity and industry
consolidations are the main reasons that companies change hands and
those things still occur during economic downturns."
According to Dustin, IMAP members across the globe have closed
over 100 transactions worth over $2 billion in 2002, and more than 250
more are in the pipeline to be completed.
"Mid-market merger and acquisition activity is alive and
well," said Dustin. "Cross
border activity is increasing, especially in the hot markets of healthcare,
security and business process outsourcing," said Dustin.
"IMAP members across the globe are seeing a greater
number of troubled companies being offered for sale. Some companies must raise cash immediately and are willing to sell
their assets for below market value. Buyers and sellers seem to be waiting
each other out," said Frank Vasilkioti of Aegis Ltd. in Toronto. "There are world-class companies out there
that need to raise cash."
Charles Lemmon of C.V. Lemmon and Co. Inc of Dallas, Texas
sees his potential buyers deferring their decision, trying to time their
purchase. "We predict that
when the market does come back, it will happen quickly and will be a
nice jump. Buyers will get in all at once to avoid being
left behind."
There are signs of a return to buying around North America.
"Most people have been sitting on the sidelines, but just
in the last couple of weeks we have seen a flurry of seller activity,"
said Eric Nass, an IMAP member with Executive Sounding Board in Baltimore,
MD. "We're not sure whether
it's a blip or whether it really is a return to activity."
Bruce Kropschot, President of Kropschot Financial Services
of Vero Beach, FL, a major M&A advisor to equipment leasing and
other specialty finance businesses, noted that "the market seems
to have reached a bottom, and we expect merger activity and pricing
will be increasing."
Parts of Mexico and Western Canada are experiencing strong
economic signs, though sellers would like to see higher prices. "Seller expectations are coming down a
little," said Aroon Sequiera of Synergy Partners in Calgary. Gilberto Escobedo of Grupo Serficor in Mexico
City is seeing an influx of buyers from multinational companies from
the U.S. and Europe. "We're
experiencing a pretty good economy, considering the global state of
affairs."
The automotive industry as well as the IT industry are offering
many troubled companies for sale at well below market value. Scott Eisenberg of Amherst Capital Partners
in Birmingham, MI said, "We've seen a high level of distressed
companies, a number of which are in bankruptcy, selling their assets
in auction fashion under section 363 reorganization."
Ron Klammer of OEM Capital in Westport CT noted that "there
will be major consolidations coming in the software industry."
"We've noticed a flood of IT companies, principally
software companies, coming on the market in the last few months. Our impression is that larger corporations
are slashing their IT budgets and the smaller servicing companies are
becoming squeezed. There is
a real dichotomy, however, because IT shops that are specialized continue
to be in demand," said Klammer.
"Either way, these companies are coming up for sale
and now is a great time to buy," said Art Goldenberg of Fincom
in Philadelphia.
IMAP is the preeminent investment banking association with
worldwide member firms distinguished in their respective markets for
their skill and integrity in representing buyers or sellers in middle
market transactions. These firms
share a common code of ethics and trust, which enhances their effectiveness
in working together on projects for the benefit of a client. Kropschot Financial Services is a member of IMAP.
More information can be found on IMAP by visiting their website,
at www.IMAP.com.
Bruce Kropschot
Kropschot
Financial Services
(772) 234-4544
Email: bkropschot@kropschot.com
##### ###################################################
Analysts
Fearful of oil at $40 a barrel
Oil
prices are rising as reduced crude oil supplies resulted from strikes
in Venezuela by Petroleos de Venezuela, the state oil company, bringing
oil prices up more than 50 percent from a year earlier, The New York
Times reported.
Venezuela
is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States, accounting
for 9 percent of its daily crude oil supply.
Before
the strike began Dec. 2, Venezuela was exporting about 2.4 million barrels
of oil a day, half to the United States. Strikers said just two oil
tankers left Venezuelan ports last week. Normally, 12 to 14 tankers
depart daily.
Oil
at $30 per barrel does not threaten a return to recession, economists
said. But "it is certainly enough to forestall a more sustained
recovery in the economy when the recovery is still very tepid,"
said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, a consulting firm in
West Chester, PA.
Prices
at $35 to $40 per barrel are much more of a threat, economists said.
While that may seem far-fetched now, continuing conflict in Venezuela
could combine with war in Iraq to disturb oil supplies so profoundly
that even OPEC would lack the spare production capacity to make up for
shortfalls, industry experts warned.
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Economy Still Going Though Soft Patch, Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan Says
The Associated Press
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday the
economy is still going through a soft patch and it is still too early
to tell whether the Fed has done enough with low interest rates to produce
a sustainable recovery.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's chief policy-making
group, cut interest rates 12 times starting in January 2001, with the
last interest rate reduction of a bold half-point coming last month.
That marked the Fed's first rate reduction this year.
"The Federal Open Market Committee, chose, as you know,
to embark on an aggressive course of monetary easing two years ago once
it became apparent that a variety of forces, including importantly the
slump in household wealth that resulted from the decline in stock prices,
were restraining inflation pressures and economic activity," Greenspan
said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York.
"It is too soon to judge the final outcome of the strategy
that we adopted," he added.
Copies of Greenspan's remarks were distributed in Washington.
Greenspan said the Fed's aggressive lowering of interest
rates had helped cushion the shocks to the economy from falling stock
prices, but he said the markets were hit by another jolt this year in
the form of a wave of corporate accounting scandals.
Greenspan didn't specifically discuss what the Fed might
do on interest rates at its next meeting in late January. At the Fed's
last meeting on Dec. 10, it decided to hold a key interest rate steady
at a 41-year low of 1.25 percent.
The Fed chief did dismiss worries that the Fed was in danger
of running out of ammunition just at a time when economic weakness could
trigger deflation, a prolonged bout of falling prices.
"The United States is nowhere close to sliding into
a pernicious deflation," Greenspan said. If such a threat should
emerge, the Fed would be prepared to use a variety of tools to boost
the money supply beyond its normal approach of targeting the federal
funds rate, he added.
"Clearly, it would be desirable to avoid deflation,"
Greenspan said.
Greenspan said the economic recovery ran into resistance
in the summer as the accounting scandals and concerns about a possible
war with Iraq helped to trigger a further drop in stock prices.
Against that backdrop, Fed policy-makers grew concerned that
the economy's recovery could lose strength.
Greenspan said the Fed's last rate cut on Nov. 6 was meant
as "some insurance against the possibility that the weakening would
gain some footing."
Since that November rate cut, there is limited evidence that
the "U.S. economy has been working its way through a soft patch,"
Greenspan said. "And that patch has certainly been soft."
The labor market has been sluggish as companies, wary about
economic uncertainties, have been reluctant to make big investments
in hiring and in capital spending, two forces restraining the economy's
recovery.
"There is evidence that some corporate managers are
beginning to tentatively venture out on the risk scale," Greenspan
said. "New orders for capital goods equipment and software, after
falling sharply over the preceding two years, have stabilized.... an
improvement, to be sure, but not necessarily the beginnings of a vigorous
recovery."
Manufacturing, hardest hit by last year's recession, was
on the comeback trail earlier this year, but has been struggling in
recent months.
Consumers, whose spending accounts for two-thirds of all
economic activity, have been carrying the economy all year.
Low interest rates and mortgage rates, and extra cash from
a wave of home mortgage refinancing, have helped to support consumer
spending and offset some potentially negative forces, including the
sluggish job market and the turbulent stock market.
Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Banc of America Capital Management,
said Greenspan emphasized two major risks to the economy: a possible
war with Iraq, and corporate profits and business confidence that haven't
been enough to push forward capital spending.
"But he suggested that once the uncertainty over Iraq
is removed, the economy should get back on track with a better performance
in 2003," she added.
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Leading economic indicators rise
By Adam Geller
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK – A stabilizing job market and higher stock prices
helped push up a key measure of U.S. economic activity in November,
a sign the nation's financial situation is strengthening, an industry
group reported Thursday.
In a separate announcement, the Labor Department said new
jobless claims dropped last week, but remain high, suggesting a still
sluggish employment market.
Even so, gains in the longer-term employment picture helped
boost consumer attitudes, pushing the Conference Board's Index of Leading
Economic Indicators up 0.7 percent, the largest monthly gain in a year.
The increase, which was slightly above analysts' expectations,
leaves the Index at 112.3, and follows a revised 0.1 percent gain in
October.
"The financial market slump seems to be lifting a little
this autumn. Recent consumer buying figures have somewhat allayed fears
about a weak holiday season and consumer attitudes have also improved,"
Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said. "The latest leading
indicator readings show that at least some improvement is beginning
to develop."
The jump in the index means the economic reading has now
regained all the ground it has lost since May, and is now 3.6 percent
higher than the low point it reached in March of last year.
The jump in the November index "is an encouraging sign
that the economy is poised to pull out of the soft spot that we're in
right now," said Gary Thayer, chief economist with A.G. Edwards
& Sons in St. Louis. "We may not have strengthened too much
yet, but it looks like we could see some better activity in the months
ahead."
Meanwhile, the Labor Department report released Thursday
showed new claims for unemployment benefits remain high.
"While the labor market is not seriously falling off
a cliff again, it is not really going anywhere," said economist
Clifford Waldman, president of Waldman Associates.
The Labor Department reported new claims for jobless benefits
fell by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 433,000 for the work week ending
Dec. 14. Numbers above 400,000 are associated with a lackluster job
market. The previous week, new claims had shot up by 86,000 in the biggest
one-week gain since July 1992.
On Wall Street, the market finished lower after an initial
boost following release of the reports. The Dow Jones industrial average
closed down 83 points to 8,365. The broader market also fell: the Nasdaq
composite index declined 7 points to 1,354, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 index was off 7 points to 884.
Five of the 10 indicators that make up the leading index
rose in November, including stock prices and real money supply, the
Conference Board said. Negative contributors included vendor performance
and building permits. One component, average weekly manufacturing hours,
held steady.
In addition, three of the four measures in the board's coincident
index, which measures the current economic activity, also rose. That
index now stands at 115.0, up 0.1 percent from the previous month.
The index of lagging indicators, which show economic changes
that have already occurred, declined 0.2 percent to 99.7.
On the Net:
England
Calling----Not So Jolly.
CitiCapital Fleet. Apparently they couldn't sell the operation
here so they've done a deal with another company to fulfill the remaining
obligations in current contracts (road fund licence, servicing etc)
and then its lights out.
Mike won’t
be ringing me. He’s got a new job so he won’t need my services. Not
that I’ve been able to help beyond fixing a couple of perfunctory interviews that
resulted in nothing. I must have 50 to 100 CVs like his, formerly a
high flying salesman in a sales aid leasing company until two years
ago when he was ‘downsized’. He’d love to get back into leasing, ideally
as a sales director.
What does
the UK market look like? There’s been a significant contraction in 2002.
Fewer people are in leasing than was
the case one and two years ago. Mike and many good people are chasing
a smaller pool of jobs.
Banks are
losing their desire to fund business transactions, and who can blame
them when on the one hand we have corporate failures (swap you Marconi
for WorldCom) and on the other house price rises of 30%. Abbey National,
a large banking group, posted a loss that wouldn’t have happened say
the sages if they had stuck to domestic mortgages
Abbey’s board has decided to get out of non-core lending.
Confusion
is rife, for six months there have been persistent rumours that three
major leasing companies are about to be taken over. Redundancies in
a US owned vehicle fleet finance company come into effect next month,
a shockwave that may ripple round other areas of their UK operation.
The business
model is changing with a move away from the established pattern of employing
in-house sales forces toward
dealing only with brokers. Banks are refocusing their sales effort onto
existing bank clients. Sales aid companies have been hit too with British
manufacturing continuing to shrink and evidence that the steam is running
out of consumer spending. Overall the significantly reduced demand for
staff is mirrored across the UK employment scene.
Is it all
bad news? Not at all. My statistics show that factoring and invoice
discounting have been the area of greatest demand. There are pockets
of strong demand due to sound management and / or faith in the future.
It’s still possible to attract top-flight candidates to good opportunities,
but people are much more discerning about where they interview.
Thankfully
this remains a people business and a strong senior team still makes
a difference.
2003? That
particular weather vane is spinning like a top so the best guess is
probably more of the same – contraction mixed with confusion.
Let’s end
on a positive note, Mike’s new job. Back in leasing? No, and not consumer
finance, factoring or vehicle finance.
Mike’s doing PR for a government health initiative here in London. He’s
a civil servant, part of our economy that is booming. Public sector
job advertising this year is up across the board and by a massive 87%
in health.
Regards,
Jeff Underwood
ju@purplesquirrel.org.uk
Purple Squirrel
www.purplesquirrel.org.uk
Tel: 01277
– 366446
---------------------------------------------
3Com reports $69 million loss in fiscal second quarter
By Matthew Fordahl
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN JOSE – 3Com Corp. posted a fiscal second-quarter loss
of $69 million Thursday as the maker of networking equipment continued
to weather a steep slump in corporate spending.
Executives gave no hint the situation would improve soon,
predicting sales would continue to drop in the current quarter.
"We were all hopeful that as we ended calendar year
2002, it would be on a more upbeat note for the industry," said
Bruce Claflin, 3Com's chief executive. "Yet as we all know, that
is not the case."
For the period ending Nov. 29, 3Com lost 19 cents per share
on sales of $303 million. In the same period last year, it lost $103.7
million, or 30 cents per share, on sales of $393.9 million.
Analysts were expecting a loss of 3 cents a share on sales
of $286.7 million, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. The
per share estimate is not comparable to the company's figures, which
are based on General Accepted Accounting Principles, 3Com said.
3Com, which makes products ranging from network interface
cards for computers to networking equipment for businesses and carriers,
was hit hard by the sudden downturn in business spending that struck
in 2000. It shed jobs and products in an effort to cut costs and shrink
the flow of red ink.
The company had 4,200 employees at the end of November, compared
with 4,600 at the end of August.
Mark Slaven, 3Com's chief financial officer, said third-quarter
sales are expected to decline between 5 percent and 7 percent, roughly
in line with seasonal patterns.
Shares of 3Com closed Thursday at $4.59, down 17 cents. After
the results were announced, shares gained a penny in extended-session
trading. 3Com shares are down more than 28 percent for the calendar
year. \
On the Net:
3Com: www.3com.com
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California 95050
E-Fax: (781)459-4789
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