Leasing News

Kit Menkin's Leasing News

Www.leasingnews.org Friday 26, 2002

Accurate, fair and unbiased news for the equipment Leasing Industry

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Headlines----

Consumer confidence in economy drops in July

Bustin Survey--Business Recovery Early 2003

( other surveys says late 2003 )

In Silicon Valley the onslaught of bad news is nothing new

Community Financial Merger With Synovus

ELA San Francisco Conference

Northland Financial Group, Minnetonka, Minnesota Complaint

Phony E-mails Making the Rounds in the Leasing Industry

Prospect of Hershey sale raises questions about town's future

American Express Profits Wrap Up---No Haiku for CIT

News Briefs--plus

Cowboys ride into San Antonio with high hopes

### Denotes Press Release

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Consumer confidence in economy drops in July

By Associated Press

NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) Consumers' confidence in the economy dropped
heavily from June to July, as expectations for future activity plummeted, according
to a report released Friday.

The University of Michigan's report on consumer sentiment for the end of July stood at
88.1, up from 86.5 in the middle of the month, but down from 92.4 at the end of June.

Economists had expected confidence levels to decline even more. They had forecast that
the index would fall to 87.0, and said that consumer confidence has been sapped by
steep drops in the stock market in recent weeks.

The biggest decline came in consumers' assessment of future economic activity, which
was what dragged the overall sentiment index down most. That index slid to 81.0 at
the end of the month, from 87.5 in mid-July and 87.9 in June.

Consumers' assessment of current economic conditions was essentially flat, with that
index at 99.3 at the end of July, compared with 99 in the middle of the month and 99.5 in June.

The confidence index is based on a telephone survey of households and is released twice a month.

While confidence surveys command considerable attention from the financial markets,
economists regularly note that indexes like Michigan's, along with the more the broad-based
one from the Conference Board, don't track actual changes in patterns of consumer spending,
a far more important economic factor.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, in recent testimony before Congress, turned a
cautious eye toward the various confidence gauges. He said ''our interest is in what people do,
not what they say'' about what they are going to do.

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Bustin Survey Finds Companies Still Awaiting Upturn; Most Business Leaders Say Economic
 Improvement Delayed Until Early 2003

    DALLAS----There is a mood among business leaders of dogged determination to hold on
 for better times, according to Bustin & Co.'s latest quarterly business survey.

    The 3Q 2002 examination of business confidence indicates that while far from defeated,
 many companies are stalemated by a market that has been unsettled by the economic 
downturn, corporate scandals and a slowdown in big-company spending.

    The new Bustin Business Climate Index(SM) (BBCI) reveals the extent to which many 
companies are trying to "hold the line" in the short term. The BBCI, which analyzes seven
 key business indicators to produce scores from 1 to 5 of overall short- and long-term business
 confidence, shows significant declines in commitment to fresh capital expenditure and
 maintaining current employment levels, with executives focused more on revenue growth 
and profitability.

    The drop in these two values helped push down the short-term Index from 3.4 in 2Q to 3.2 
this quarter (through Sept. 30). Yet the remaining five indicators actually showed moderate increases
 over previous levels, particularly for investment in research and development, demonstrating that
 confidence still exists. Moreover, the long-term value (through March 31, 2003) remained 
unchanged at 3.6, further indicating that business leaders see an end to the current malaise.

    A detailed breakdown supports this contention. While just over half of the respondents believe the
 recovery is stalling (55%), only 14% believe the economy is heading for a double-dip recession. A
 quarter (26%) of business leaders are still confident that the recovery is already underway, although
 this is a substantial change from Q2, when almost two thirds (62%) of respondents believed the
 recovery was taking place.

    "The new figures indicate that most business leaders are just trying to get through the current 
tough times as best they can," said Greg Bustin, president of Bustin & Co. "They are confident that
 economic recovery is coming, they just don't know when, and they aren't going to overreach until
 they see strong signs of growth. Economic uncertainty, coupled with the depressing impact of 
corporate scandals, seems to have pushed back the timetable for the return to growth."

    Perhaps surprisingly, given the degree of current media focus, most business leaders are 
unconvinced that corporate ethics will remain a factor as the economy picks up. Although a 
sizeable proportion (45%) believes the attention given to ethics will intensify in the short term,
 a majority is convinced that it will soon be "business as usual."

    In general, most respondents seem sure that the long-term picture is being clouded by
 short-term factors such as threats to security and international turmoil such as the conflict
 in the Middle East. These factors may be pushing back the date of recovery, but most 
expect an upturn by early 2003.

    The survey was active from July 1 to July 12 and generated responses from across
 the business community, including leaders of public (21%) and private (68%) companies
 as well as from non-profit organizations (11%). Full analysis of the current survey, an 
opportunity to subscribe to a monthly business bulletin and future survey questionnaires
 are online at www.bustin.com.

    About Bustin & Co.

    Bustin & Co. (www.bustin.com) specializes in helping leaders of change-impacted 
companies become more successful. The firm's client experience includes work for
 large corporations such as OGE Energy Corp., Pizza Hut, AdvancePCS, Ericsson, 
Nextel and TXU, and fast-growing mid-sized companies such as Phoenix 
I Restoration & Construction, VCP International Inc. and WorkScripts.

    --30--lr/da*

    CONTACT: Michael A. Burns & Associates, Dallas

             Craig McDaniel, 214/521-8596 or 214/616-7186 mobile

             cmcdaniel@mbapr.co

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In Silicon Valley the onslaught of bad news is nothing new

By Brian Bergstein, Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) With stock prices tanking, former Wall Street darlings reeling
and corporate practices coming under increased scrutiny, the last few weeks
have been astonishingly depressing in the business world.

Sounds like Silicon Valley over the past two years.

After the dot-com meltdown and the wider high-tech slump since then, the fear,
frustration and dread produced by the recent stock market dive are old hat here.
The main question for the high-tech capital: when will the bad news ever cease?

''Not a single CEO that I've talked to sees any end in sight. It seems like every
day unfolds with the knowledge that it can get worse,'' said Carl Guardino, head
of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, an organization of 190 technology companies.

''For the grizzled, experienced CEOs in Silicon Valley who have seen every downturn,
this is by far the deepest. Time will tell if this is the longest.''

Plunging markets certainly don't help matters. Silicon Valley needs the business
world's confidence to pick up so the stinginess in corporate technology spending
can finally fade.

Meanwhile, while measures to improve corporate accountability might stabilize the
markets, technology executives fear that proposed changes in accounting for stock
options could slash their already weak profits.

Not surprisingly, a recent San Jose State University survey found that fewer than
half of local residents expect business conditions to improve over the next year.

Since the boom went bust, an estimated 100,000 jobs have vanished in Santa Clara
County alone, which includes San Jose and is the heart of what is considered Silicon Valley.
The county's unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in June, up from 4.4 percent in June 2001
and a remarkable 1.3 percent at the end of 2000.

Mike Curran, director of the NOVA WorkForce Board, an area job agency, said the picture is
actually much worse, since many people who live in adjoining counties also can't find work
once plentiful in Silicon Valley.

Factoring that in, he said, the job market resembles one with 12 or even 15 percent
unemployment. He's seen laid-off engineers applying for jobs that pay $8 an hour,
and people in their 40s competing with teen-agers for entry-level positions.

''Every aspect is being touched by the current downturn. It's not only the assembly
worker who speaks limited English, it's sometimes managers of their divisions and
departments,'' Curran said. ''The sense of the prolonged agony of it multiples as time goes on.''

Many people who are working still fear more layoffs, or at the very least see constant reminders
of the weak business climate. For more than a year, posters in break rooms at Cisco Systems Inc.
have reminded employees to be judicious in their consumption of company-supplied beverages,
since little every cost adds up.

Still, Silicon Valley doesn't seem to have entirely lost its trademark optimism. Guardino emphasized
that most executives are confident that their companies' innovations will drive the next boom.

''I don't think anybody is doom and gloom, even though if you look at the numbers, we should be
a little bit more freaked out,'' said Josef Robey, 25, who was laid off from Internet music
flame-out Napster Inc. in March.

With jobs appearing almost nonexistent around here since then, Robey temporarily moved
back home to Austin, Texas, to avoid the high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay area
while looking for another position.

''Maybe I hang out with a positive group of people, but I think we all get that it's life.
You've got to roll with the punches, and things have to pick up.''

On the Net:

Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group: http://www.svmg.org

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Community Financial Group, Inc. Shareholders Approve Merger With Synovus

NASHVILLE, Tenn.----The Board of Directors of Community Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CFGI)
today announced shareholder approval for the proposed merger of CFGI into Synovus (NYSE:SNV),
the Columbus, Georgia based financial services company. Community Financial Group's shareholders
will receive for each of their shares, either: 0.969 shares of Synovus stock, if the average Synovus
stock price is equal to or less than $26.83; or 0.860 shares of Synovus stock if the average Synovus
stock price is equal to or greater than $30.25; or an exchange ratio equal to $26.00 divided by the
average Synovus stock price, if the average Synovus stock price is between $26.83 and $30.25.
The effective date of the sale is expected to be August 1, at which time CFGI will be delisted from
the NASDAQ Exchange.

The Bank of Nashville, a wholly owned subsidiary of CFGI, will retain its separate bank charter and
name after the merger. The Bank of Nashville currently operates five offices in Davidson, Williamson
and Sumner counties with a new office opening in Jackson Downs during the fourth quarter of this year.

"I think there is tremendous future for a community bank providing personalized customer service,
with local decision making capabilities and with the resources to expand both geographically
and technologically to meet the sophisticated demands of its customers," said J. Hunter Atkins,
President & CEO. "After affiliating with Synovus we will be part of a larger financial services
company allowing us to broaden our product offering as well as increasing our lending limits.
In sum, we expect our customers, employees and shareholders will greatly benefit from this affiliation."

About Synovus Synovus(R)

Synovus (NYSE:"SNV") is a diverse financial services holding company with more than
$17.3 billion in assets based in Columbus, Ga. Synovus provides integrated financial
services including banking, financial management, insurance, mortgage and leasing
services through 38 affiliate banks and other Synovus offices in Georgia, Alabama, South
Carolina and Florida; and electronic payment processing through an 81.1-percent stake in
TSYS (NYSE:"TSS"), the world's largest third-party processor of international payments.
Synovus is No. 5 on FORTUNE magazine's list of "The 100 Best Companies To Work For"
in 2002. See Synovus on the Web at www.synovus.com.

CONTACT:

Community Financial Group, Inc., Nashville

Attilio F. Galli, 615/271-2010

Anne B. Livingston, 615/271-2049

SOURCE: Community Financial Group, Inc.

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Rudy Giuliani to Keynote at ELA 41ST Annual Convention

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"Leadership Matters"

41st ELA Annual Convention

October 13-15

San Francisco Marriott

"Leadership. Without it, no endeavor can succeed. With it, no obstacle is

too great."

Rudy Giuliani is living proof. As Mayor of New York, he revitalized and

brought order to a city many thought was ungovernable. And he held that city

together in its darkest days, as his leadership inspired and comforted New

York and the nation following the September 11 attacks.

Could there be a more appropriate keynote speaker for a convention who's

theme is "Leadership Matters?" Giuliani's address is just the beginning of a

program that stresses the importance of leadership in seeing your company

through trying times, and that provides the information and tools to help

you lead. Leadership does matter.

For more on the ELA Convention's featured speakers, go to:

http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/AnnConv/speakers.cfm

Complete Convention information is available on line at:

http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/AnnConv/

New this year -

For ELA Members registering online, you will be able to make your hotel

reservations with Marriott online! So register TODAY the fast and easy way!

Correction about the registration policy for the ELA annual convention in October.
The convention brochure states the following regarding attendance, which has
been the conference registration

policy in effect for a number of years:

Please note that non-member registration is welcome, but is only available to a person
who has not previously attended the ELA convention or to a person from a nonmember
company that has never sent an attendee.

Ralph Petta

VP-Industry Services

Equipment Leasing Association

(703) 516-8364

fax (703) 522-7099

http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/AnnConv/)

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Northland Financial Group, Minnetonka, Minnesota Complaint 7/2000

Leasing News is going to follow the greviance procedure of this complaint

posted at: http://www.leasingnews.org/bulletin_board.htm

The $100 fee and form will be filled with the United Association of Equipment

Leasing Standards and Ethics Committee. We will keep readers informed

of the time line and results given to the complainant. We understand the

actual proceedings are not available to the public, except for the possible

result of expulsion of membership.

Phony E-mails Making the Rounds in the Leasing Industry

Kit Menkin at Leasing News sends no jokes, just Leasing News.

Kit Menkin sends out no attachments in Leasing News.

Kit Menkin sends only text messages only.

( HTML can breach Microsoft Outlook with virus and worms,

and MO is not security proof with HTML messages. No virus

or worm program can be included in a text message due to its

format.)

Kit Menkin uses a Unnix e-mail program. (I don’t want to say

anymore for security purposes).

All e-mail goes through three separate dedicated computers each with their own

(different) anti-virus program, which are kept up to date daily ( manually, some
automatically, plus two separate firewalls, one Unix, and a mail program

that allows us to limit users, on their own dedicated computer. yes, all on separate
dedicated computers. We do a daily virus scan of all drives on all computers daily-- automated ).

We have been hacked in the past, plus have had virus into workstations, operating systems,
and worm programs too. While we hopefully have made friends here, we know we have made
enemies who do not want to return advance rentals or do not like being “exposed.”

Making the rounds through leasing individuals address book is a virus that appears to

come from someone in the address book. Rob Yohe of Stillwater, Kansas received

one from someone he knows in the leasing industry. Unfortunately he opened it

and it wiped out his operating system and files. He is trying to have some files

restored.

The person who allegedly sent it does not keep his address book in the e-mail program,

but separately in another program. Physically, it could not have come from him.

There also appears to be a “hacker” who has gotten into the leasing industry address

chain.

Here is an example received at Leasing News allegedly sent by Kit Menkin at American Leasing
The person who received it is not in the American Leasing address book, and he was
suspicious when he received it, and saved the “header.” I suspect

it is a hacker, and not from an address book, because the return address is not

Kit Menkin’s return address at American Leasing.

------------------------

From: Doug Delack <DDelack@USA.NET>

Subject: RE: Email Subscription

Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 13:19:29 -0400

To: kitmenkin@leasingnews.org

Here is the e-mail virus I received.

(The tool bar has a button that gives you the route of the e-mail,

called “the header.” What you see in your e-mail is the bottom

part, from , to, and subject. The information above is where the

e-mail originated and their IP number.

(note the message was sent in html, but saved in text format).

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

:::::THE HEADER:::::

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Received: from cmsmail05.cms.usa.net [127.0.0.1

by cmsmail05.cms.usa.net via mtad (CM.0402.2.02C)

with ESMTP id 807ggRwHg0500M05;

Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:07:08 GMT

Return-Path: <bjer@xspedius.net>

Received: from smtp.usunwired.net [207.191.20.5

by cmsmail05.cms.usa.net via smtad (CM.0402.2.04);

Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:07:06 GMT

Received: from Jhemfnv ([209.242.29.5])

by smtp.usunwired.net

(Post.Office MTA v3.5.3 release 223 ID# 0-0U10L2S100V35)

with SMTP id net for <DDelack@USA.NET>;

Thu, 18 Jul 2002 17:06:54 -0500

From: kitmenkin <kitmenkin@americanleasing.com>

To: DDelack@USA.NET

Subject: Worm Klez.E immunity

MIME-Version: 1.0

Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary="=_IS_MIME_Boundary"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

:::::THE MESSAGE (ALL THE HTML CODE IN PLAIN TEXT):::::

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">

<BODY>

<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma

size=2>-----Original Message----- From: kitmenkin

[mailto:kitmenkin@americanleasing.com] Sent: None To:

DDelack@USA.NET Subject: Worm Klez.E

immunity </DIV>Klez.E is the most common

world-wide spreading worm.It's very dangerous by corrupting your files. Because of

its very smart stealth and anti-anti-virus technic,most common AV software can't

detect or clean it. We developed this free immunity tool to defeat the

malicious virus. You only need to run this tool once,and then Klez will

never come into your PC. NOTE: Because this tool acts as a fake Klez to fool

the real worm,some AV monitor maybe cry when you run it. If so,Ignore the

warning,and select 'continue'. If you have any question,please <A

href="mailto:kitmenkin@americanleasing.com">mail to me</A>.

</BODY></HTML>

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

(Advice, have all your mail received converted to text. Text messages cannot

contain a worm or virus. The above one was pretty clever, but Doug was

suspicious and opening up the header, he realized the e-mail did not originate

from Kit Menkin.

If you receive any e-mail with an attachment from someone who never

sends you one, or are suspicious, don’t open it up. Use your tool bar

to see who really sent it. If you are not sure, contact the sender to

ask him if he sent the attachment. The delay of waiting for a response,

may save your date.

Prospect of Hershey sale raises questions about town's future

By Martha Raffaele, Associated Press

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) From the replicas of wrapped and unwrapped Hershey's Kisses that
adorn the lampposts along Chocolate Avenue to the sweet aroma of cocoa that hangs
in the air, it's hard to escape the reminders that this town and the company that shares
its name are virtually one and the same.

But now that Hershey Foods Corp. is considering putting itself up for sale, many wonder
whether the town where Milton S. Hershey opened the world's largest chocolate
manufacturing plant in 1905 will stay a company town if the company changes hands.

The company is exploring the possibility of a sale at the request of the Milton Hershey
School Trust, which owns 77 percent of the company's voting stock. Hershey Foods
stock represents about 50 percent of the trust's total assets, and the trust is seeking
to diversify its holdings.

''I'm not sure Milton Hershey would approve,'' said 70-year-old Dolores Hudock, eating lunch
with her husband at a fast food restaurant just blocks from the Chocolate Avenue plant.
''It's just sad that somebody works so hard to accomplish something in his life, and then
somebody else decides what to do with his money. I guess it had to be this way.''

The prospect of a sale also raises new questions about job security for Hershey workers.
The news comes more than a month after 2,700 members of Chocolate Workers Local 464
ended a six-week strike, the longest in company history, over health benefits.

Many workers took out their frustrations on Richard H. Lenny, the first chief executive hired
from outside the company, using a giant inflatable rat named ''Lenny'' as a picketing prop.

''I don't think he'd think twice about selling the company,'' said Marie Bowman, 44, a shipping
department employee. ''If they think it would be profitable, I'm sure he'd do it.''

The trust's sole beneficiary is the Milton Hershey School, established by the company's founder
and his wife, Catherine, in 1909 to serve orphaned and needy children. The school enrolls about
1,300 students, who all live on campus and are provided free room, board and clothing.

For their part, officials with the trust say they are still concerned about preserving the company's
heritage and its relationship with the community. Skip Memmi, chairman of the board of supervisors
for Derry Township, which includes Hershey, said the news took him by surprise and that he hoped the
town of nearly 13,000 people would remain a tightly knit community, despite the possible sale.

''I understand the need for diversification, but Hershey chocolate was their main asset,'' Memmi said.
''I think it gave everyone a sense of comfort, and to see it not be the asset of the trust anymore
changes the whole atmosphere.''

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American Express Profits Wrap Up

By Mary Kelleher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Express Co.this weeky said quarterly profits more than tripled from
a year ago, when it took a big charge for junk-bond losses, as consumers built up debt and it
benefited from cost cuts.