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Kit
Menkin’s Leasing News
www.leasingnews.org Wednesday, June 12,
2002 Accurate,
fair and unbiased news for the equipment Leasing Industry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headlines---- Haiku by Al Gamper U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray under investigation U.S. Rebound Less Certain, CEOs at Mid-Size Firms Say Now, Questions Turn to Why Tyco's Lawyer Received Bonus Fed's Bies: Not Clear Unemployment Peaked Centerpoint Leasing Close to Funding All Leases in Backlog Accolades for Chuck Brazier’s Performance ---- Leaseback Capital, Canada---Found Great Mantanzas Creek Merlot Special!!! The Funding Tree---Kendra Bernal Probation Requirements GE Donates $1 Million to National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Pacific Capital Bancorp Distributes 4-for-3 Stock Split UCC Direct Services First to Offer XML Filing via Internet
Lycos offers new subscription music service
Free Calculator for Your Website: Lease-vs-Buy.com ####
Denotes Press Release -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Haiku
by Al Gamper The
road to success is rarely a straight line. Maybe
it is time to devise a new strategy... Prepare
for growth... Sharpen
your competitive edge. CIT
The Financial Leader http://www.cit.com/index_flash.asp ________________________________________________________________ U.S.
Bancorp Piper Jaffray under investigation By
Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS
(AP) U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray is a target of a multistate investigation
of Wall Street securities firms and their analysts, said officials from
the state of Washington. Securities
regulators from 40 states want to know whether a dozen of the nation's
biggest securities firms defrauded average investors with overly bullish
recommendations for stocks that later lost most or all of their value.
Critics
claim analysts give companies favorable coverage because it helps their
firm land lucrative investment-banking business and earn big bonuses.
Piper
Jaffray spokeswoman Erin Freeman confirmed the investigation by the
state of Washington. The
probe is an offshoot of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's successful
investigation of Merrill Lynch and Company. Spitzer uncovered e-mail
that showed Merrill Lynch analysts privately disparaged companies that
they touted to investors. Merrill
Lynch agreed last month to pay a $100 million fine and to adopt policies
to insulate analysts from investment banking, such as barring them from
receiving bonuses for helping land investment-banking business. Spitzer's
efforts pushed other regulators off the sidelines, including the Securities
and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators
Association, which put together the 40-state investigation. Washington
drew the role of lead investigator of Piper Jaffray in that probe, according
to Michael Stevenson, chief of enforcement for that state's Securities
Division. Washington is working with regulators in Missouri, Iowa and
New York, which is co- chairing the task force as well as pursuing its
own investigation. Minneapolis-based
Piper Jaffray has expanded from a regional power to a firm with national
reach in recent years. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.
Rebound Less Certain, CEOs at Mid-Size Firms Say By
Carlos Torres, Bloomberg Chief
executive officers at small and mid-size U.S. companies are less optimistic
about the economy's recovery from recession than they were three months
ago, a survey showed. Almost
two-thirds of the company leaders said the world's largest economy has
yet to rebound, according to the survey by TEC International, an association
of more than 6,000 CEOs at U.S. companies with annual revenues between
$1 million and $1 billion. Of those surveyed, 1,450 replied. Fewer
than eight in 10 of the chief executives said a recovery would happen
by the end of the year, down from 86 percent who forecast a recovery
in the previous survey in March. "I
think there was just a little too much optimism" last quarter,
said Nancy Rhodes, chief executive at Furniture Affairs Inc., a home
furnishings discount retailer in Phoenix. "People were looking
for a quicker recovery and that wasn't likely to happen." Seven
out of 10 executives expect the economy will expand by 1 percent to
2 percent for the year. The CEOs are less optimistic than economists
who forecast the economy will expand at a 2.8 percent pace in 2002,
according to this month's Blue Chip Economic Indicators consensus. The
decline in sentiment has led CEOs to change their plans for hiring and
firing, the quarterly survey showed. About 56 percent said they expect
to increase staff during the next 12 months, down from 57 percent in
the previous survey. Fourteen percent said they would cut payrolls,
up from 5 percent in March. The
latest government jobs figures show the economy added 41,000 jobs in
May after a 6,000 April increase, marking the first back- to-back gains
since the start of the recession in March 2001. Some larger companies
such as Home Depot Inc. and Best Buy Co. have announced plans to hire.
Since the first of the year, the economy has lost 142,000 jobs, the
Labor Department said last week. Still,
an increasing number of companies plan to boost investment in equipment
and software, the CEO survey showed. Forty- nine percent said they would
raise capital expenditures in the next year, up from 43 percent of those
polled in the first quarter. Eight
of 10 company leaders expect sales to improve over the next 12 months
compared to the previous year. Three-fifths of the respondents said
tensions in the Middle East had no effect on business. The
industries likely to rebound fastest from the recession are retailing,
manufacturing, and biotechnology, the respondents said. The TEC survey
has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, the organization
said. ______________________________________________________________________ Now,
Questions Turn to Why Tyco's Lawyer Received Bonus By
ALEX BERENSON New York Times. Mark
A. Belnick, Tyco's former general counsel, received a $2 million bonus
near the end of 2000 that was tied to a decision by the Securities and
Exchange Commission to end an inquiry into Tyco's accounting without
taking action, according to a person briefed on the payment. Tyco
has now widened its internal inquiry into payments and loans to top
executives to examine whether the company cooperated properly with the
S.E.C.'s inquiry, which began in December 1999 and ended in July 2000,
this person said. He added that there was no evidence that Tyco hid
any information it should have disclosed to the S.E.C. Stanley
S. Arkin, Mr. Belnick's lawyer, is traveling in Italy and could not
be reached
for comment last night. But another person close to the situation said
Tyco's characterization of the bonus was wrong. Tyco
International fired Mr. Belnick on Monday, contending that he had impeded
its internal investigation and used company money to buy or furnish
a home in Park City, Utah. Mr. Arkin said Monday that Mr. Belnick did
nothing wrong and was cooperating with a criminal investigation of Tyco
by Manhattan prosecutors. That
inquiry began as an investigation into L. Dennis Kozlowski, Tyco's former
chairman, who has been charged with evading more than $1 million in
New York State sales taxes. But it has since widened to include other
apparently undisclosed payments and loans by Tyco to its top executives.
Mr. Kozlowski resigned from Tyco last Monday, one day before being indicted
on the sales tax charges. The
S.E.C. began an informal inquiry into Tyco's financial statements in
December 1999 because of accusations by short sellers that Tyco had
abused accounting rules to make its profits appear stronger than they
really were. Seven months later, Tyco announced that the commission
had decided to take no action. Tyco's
stock, which had fallen below $30 when the investigation was disclosed,
rose to nearly $55 when the company said the inquiry had been dropped. Even
if Mr. Belnick did receive a bonus tied to the end of the investigation,
he did not necessarily do anything wrong, said Seth Taube, a former
chief of enforcement at the New York regional office of the S.E.C. and
now the head of the securities litigation practice at McCarter &
English. "Lawyers
always hope to be compensated for a successful result," Mr. Taube
said. "That is not a motivation for lawyers to distort the facts.
If so, the whole concept of paying lawyers for their work is faulty." Bloomberg
News reported yesterday that the S.E.C. had reopened its inquiry into
Tyco's accounting practices. James Coffman, the assistant director of
enforcement for the commission, declined to comment. But
people close to the commission and Tyco said that they would be very
surprised if the S.E.C. was not investigating, given that its chairman
and general counsel have both been forced out in the last 10 days. Also
yesterday, Bill Miller, a highly regarded fund manager, said he thought
Tyco's shares were a bargain. Mr. Miller, manager of Legg Mason Value,
the only mutual fund to outperform the Standard & Poor's 500-stock
index for the last 11 years, first began buying Tyco's shares as they
slid from almost $60 to about $30 earlier this year. Yesterday, Tyco
closed at $11.05, down 35 cents. Mr.
Miller said Tyco had solid assets and was one of the most undervalued
companies in the stock market, despite its $24 billion in debt, inability
to complete the asset sales it has promised investors, falling profits,
sudden strategic reversals and the indictment and resignation of its
chief executive. "There's
been no evidence so far that anything happened at Tyco except perhaps
disclosure violations," Mr. Miller said. _____________________________________________________________
Fed's
Bies: Not Clear Unemployment Peaked By
Jonathan Nicholson HOT
SPRINGS, Va. (Reuters) - Federal Reserve ( news - web sites) governor
Susan Bies said on Tuesday it was not clear whether the 7-1/2 year high
unemployment rate hit in April would prove the peak for joblessness. Bies
also sidestepped the question of when the central bank would raise interest
rates from the current four-decade lows, except to say it was inevitable
borrowing costs would start to rise at some point after 11 cuts last
year. "Clearly,
I'm not about to forecast interest rates. I've already learned as a
new governor not to forecast rates. But at some point we do know that
interest rates will start to rise again," Bies told the Tennessee
Bankers Association after a speech calling for Corporate America to
clean up its accounting act in the wake of scandals like that involving
disgraced energy trader Enron Corp. When
asked by reporters after the speech if she was certain April's 6 percent
unemployment level would prove the high-water mark for joblessness,
Bies said: "No, I'm not." The
U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 5.8 percent, while
the economy churned out a more modest than anticipated 41,000 jobs,
the Labor Department ( news - web sites) said Friday. Bies'
remarks echoed those of Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert McTeer,
who on Monday said that, while it was "conceivable" the April
number could mark the top for the unemployment rate, "it's probably
not likely" because companies will stay cautious on hiring until
they are certain the expansion is solidly in place. Employment
is one of the indicators that Fed officials watch closely when mulling
interest rate decisions. Bies
said the general trend in job measures and temporary worker hirings
was favorable, but cautioned the employment data are "really noisy"
currently, in part due to new seasonal adjustments and to a temporary
extension of government unemployment benefits. The
Fed governor, who took her board seat in December, said U.S. corporate
executives have little power to raise prices in the current economic
environment, a fact that may have bearing on the central bank's ruminations
on inflation pressures. "There
is basically no pricing ability," she said. Therefore
the easiest way for companies to boost revenues is by cutting costs. Bies
said U.S. companies were taking a "more prudent" approach
to making investments in new equipment and technology and said those
spending decisions are often now being made at higher levels within
companies and were more likely to involve critical areas that can realize
a more immediate payoff. Fed
officials and private economists believe business spending is crucial
to a vigorous and sustained recovery from the shallow recession last
year. CLEAN
UP ACCOUNTING ACT With
the stock market still unsettled by fears of further accounting scandals,
Bies had tough words for Corporate America's accounting methods and
again urged a change in the "industry-driven" discipline process
for accountants. "Given
human nature, we must expect that rules will sometimes be broken. But
we can expect oversight boards to enforce penalties appropriate to the
situation that will discourage others from breaking rules," Bies
said. Her
remarks were an elaboration on a speech she gave Monday, in which she
called for a new oversight process for the accounting profession, particularly
to discipline its wayward members. Changes are under consideration by
Congress, but have been stalled so far. Regulators, in the meantime,
are moving ahead with more modest reform proposals. In
remarks to reporters after the speech, Bies said the continuing revelations
of accounting irregularities among previously high-flying companies
is weighing on stock markets and raising "very serious concerns"
about the integrity of U.S. financial reporting. "There
is some issue about discounting earnings. Investors for a long period
of time are going to be questioning because right now the trust is lacking.
Corporate America and public accounting are going to have to reestablish
that trust," she said. "The
fact that we keep finding more and more breakdowns leads, I think, a
lot of people to believe that there's more of a systemic problem. It
isn't just disciplining a few corporate officers, a few auditors." Bies,
who was an audit officer herself before joining the Fed, said the recent
revelations show the need for a stronger discipline process for the
accounting profession. She also noted many companies subject to accounting
questions have been run by "hard-charging, creative, out-of-the-box
risk takers." "We
don't want to get rid of the entrepreneurial spirit. But we need to
make sure the strength in the governance process is equal to the additional
risk that those organizations take on," she added. ___________________________________________________________
Centerpoint
Leasing Close to Funding All Leases in Backlog The
appeal for help has been heard by Centerpoint. All aspects of credit
decisions will
be considered. Here is one from Jim Fleming at National Business Credit: National
Business Credit is interested in looking at Centerpoint's approval backlog
from its broker network. We take a more subjective approach to looking
at credit, rather than plugging the deal into an automated scoring system
to let the computer make
a decision. We also take more of a partnership approach with our independent
agents. Our arrangement with independent reps is that the rep owns the
vendor relationship, which we will protect in writing.
All interested parties can contact: Jim
Fleming National
Business Crdeit 722
Lake Avenue Suite 126 Lake
Worth, Fl 33460 800-811-8371
Voice 800-811-9701 Fax nationalbusinesscredit@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Accolades
for Chuck Brazier’s Performance ---- It
was good of you to add your favorable personal comments about Chuck Brazier
in the matter of Centerpoint. Those
of us who have known and worked with him for any time (close to twenty
years in my case) have come to know Chuck as one of the genuine good
guys in the industry. I
agree with you --true character shows in the tough times -- and Chuck
Brazier is a gem. I am proud to call him my friend. Barry
Reitman baldguy@keystoneleasing.com KEYSTONE
EQUIPMENT LEASING, INC. ---
I
was glad to read your positive comments on Chuck Brazier's integrity.
I
first met Chuck at the WAEL Convention in Spring 1986 right after I
started Kropschot
Financial Services. He was instrumental in helping me get his employer,
Colonial Pacific, as my first M&A assignment, leading to our sale
of
the company to Pitney Bowes. Chuck
Brazier is one of the real "nice guys” in the leasing industry,
and I have heard nothing but favorable comments on him from those who
have been associated with him. Bruce
Kropschot BKropschot@aol.com Kropschot
Financial Services 116
Estuary Drive Vero
Beach, FL 32963 (772)
234-4544 --
I
have worked with Chuck in his various positions for as long as I can remember
and he has always been completely honest and above board with a very
high level of integrity. I
am or I should say was a broker for Centerpoint and it was an absolute
pleasure working with Chuck. I
absolutely feel that inside this is probably the most difficult time
of his life.
Whatever Chuck does in the future he has my vote of confidence and I wish
him good luck. Phil
Dushey "Global
Financial Services 17 State Street new York NY 10155 Phone 212-935-4370
Fax 212-935-4378 Web www.globaleasing.com email global@globaleasing.com"
<dushey@mindspring.com> ----
Good
Morning Kit, I
have been getting you letter for some time yet have been out of the
leasing industry for about 2 years. I got up this morning and started
reading about Centerpoint and how Chuck Brazier is going the extra step
for his people and the company. That
is the Chuck Brazier I knew! Many
years ago, I was in the leasing business. I was out of a job and ended
up in Southern California. Chuck Brazier gave me a helping hand. I
had kept in contact with Chuck for a while, then after I returned to
the Midwest distance and business had gotten in the way and my contact
with him stopped. I
can say that I really appreciate Chuck Brazier. I found him to be a
wonderful man to be around. He always went the extra mile for the people
he worked with. He has class and is someone that many in the industry
should look to when they are looking for an example of what management
and a team player is all about. I
wish Chuck the best and know he will land on his feet. George
Osbourn george331@peoplepc.com ---
----------------------- "Chuck
Brazier is one of the finest people in our industry and it is time
for his friends to speak up in his defense. After knowing Chuck for the
past 13 years, I consider him a true friend so here goes. To the brokers
that feel Chuck has let them down----you don't have any clue as to
the time and effort he is dedicating to place your deals quietly behind
the scenes with other sources. You
cannot blame Chuck for the demise of Centerpoint since he was the Director
of Sales--not the President, not the CEO and not the money man backing
the company. The decision to close Centerpoint was made at the highest
levels, but Chuck got the dirty job of shutting down the operation and
taking the verbal abuse
and grief from brokers. He is doing this with integrity and style by
taking the abuse and not trying to pass the buck. Chuck,
from your many friends---you are a class act and we wish you success
after Centerpoint is dead and buried. Besides, sandy beaches fit you
better than
snow anyway. Welcome
back to the South". Charlie
Lester clester@lpifinancial.com ---
I
agree with your comments regarding Chuck Brazier. I have known Chuck for
15 years, have done business with him and we've also closed a few bars
together. I
was having dinner with Chuck and Connie Brazier in South Beach when
my youngest daughter, Alaina was born. Chuck and Connie stayed with
me through the entire night because I could not get a flight home until
early the next morning. Chuck also gave me one of the best pieces of
advice I have ever gotten from anyone in this business. About
12 years ago Chuck Brazier explained the difference between the "operational"
management philosophy and the "volume" philosophy. That explanation
and his advice would influence the way we structured and operated
out company until this very day. As
members of the UAEL executive committee we also worked through one of the
toughest times in the history of the association. That was largely because
of a decision that I made as president but Chuck Brazier, to whom
the real brunt of my decision would fall, was behind me all the way. I
would be willing to bet that those who are most critical of Chuck at
a time
like this have no understanding of how the situation at Centerpoint would
affect this man mentally and emotionally. Chuck,
like so many others in this business in the last few years, could have
disappeared, skulked into the darkness for a couple of months taking
advantage of a new company name and the short memories that are so
prevalent in this industry. After all, he was not a principal there. He
could have easily feigned any responsibility. As most of your readers
know, however, he did not do that. He took the angry calls, the verbal
abuse and the arrows for a situation that, I believe, was beyond his
control. If
I were to present one person in this industry that has presented the
example that I have tried to emulate, it would be Mr. Chuck Brazier.
Bob
Rodi, CLP President
LeaseNOW,
Inc. drlease@leasenow.com www.leasenow.com 1-800-321-LEAS
(5327)x 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leaseback
Capital, Canada---Found Name
= Jeremy Lindsay
Address = 5230 South Service Road
City = Burlington
State = On
Zipcode = L6M 1W4
Phone = 1-866-207-0325
Fax = 1-866-207-0399
Email = jlindsay@leasebank.com
Source = Do
not add my name to the posting = yes
Comments = Regarding the Leasebank Capital question. Please feel free
to contact me to find out who we are, what we're doing and how we're
doing it......... jlindsay@leasebank.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great Mantanzas Creek Merlot Special!!! Many
readers know I collect wine, and sometimes run into some super
buys. Here is one that is the best I have seen in many, many years
of collecting wine. This can be drunk now, or save until 2005 or
longer. While
I really love Leonetti Merlot, Duckhorn Merlot...Mantanzas is my favorite. http://www.americanleasing.com/recommendations/Winery%20pages/Mantanzas.htm As
a member of the Mantanzas club, I was able to purchase three cases of
the 1998 for $42 a bottle. When Sue and I went to pick it up, they allowed
her to buy a case
for $48 a bottle ( she was not a member of the club and at the time,
the maximum
a member could buy was three cases---rules have changed today ). I
have been collecting this wine for years. Last year, I ran into some
at Pacific
Wine and Spirits in Los Gatos, and I bought all he had for $65.89 a
bottle. It is that good! I
just bought three more cases, at $31 a bottle. Larry Stepek at Cavemasters
has a sale on the 1998 Mantanzas Creek Wine for $31 a bottle ( one case
minimum order ). Larry and his wife Jackie operate Cavemasters, selling
and importing wine, acting as a consultant, and runs into “buys.”
As an introduction to his company, he is offering this to our readers
at the same price: $31 a bottle. Normally
wine collectors don’t like to give out where they get the good
stuff. The
key to collecting, by the way, is not buying the most expensive wine,
but buying
inexpensive wine that takes like the expensive stuff, and running into great
buys like this. I like to visit wineries. I do have my favorites.
And if you have the right contact, it helps a great deal. (408)
395-6891 They
will ship wine to states that accept UPS delivery of wine. I
have known Larry since his days at Liquor Barn, then going to work at
The Plumed Horse as wine steward, then sommelier, then General Manager;
he and his
wife bought a house in France, they import wine, and in between he was the
Wine Buyer and General Manager of California Cafe in Los Gatos. Besides Cavemasters,
which his wife is the key to the operation, Larry is also general manager
of Cafe Marcella in Los Gatos, which keeps him in touch with many who
not only visit the popular restaurant, but wine salesmen who want to
sell wine,
as the restaurant has a pretty good wine cellar itself: If
you are local, I also recommend his wine storage. I ran out of room
at our
cellar and put cases away at Cavemaster for five years and longer. Also
for the best up-to-date Wine news, no selling: http://www.cavemasters.com/news.htm I
normally don’t send this to Leasing News readers, but you won’t
see a buy on
my favorite Merlot again. Editor ___________________________________________________________________ The
Funding Tree---Kendra Bernal Probation Requirements The
California Department of Corporation Hearing has been postponed, and
Kendra Bernal was reportedly arrested again, for violating parole. Here
is her public probation. Use your common sense and see which provisions
she broke at The Funding Tree. Editor )
Superior Court of California, County of Riverside OTS-INT-230 06/10/02
4.02 Defendant Disposition SUPERIOR CT Inquiry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (
1) Case Number ..: RIF75158 ( 2) Arrest Number ...: PER96267029A
( 3) Defendant Number : 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defn
Name .: KENDRA BERNAL Defn: 2
of 2 Defn
Status: Probation Conviction Date: 10/20/99 Sentence Date: 01/07/00 The
following sentence is from BECKY L. DUGAN:
The
following sentence was modified on 09/26/00.
Disposition:
004/476A PC, 010/532(A) PC, (CONVICTED)
Global Sentence Information:
Defendant has 002 days credit for actual time served
For
Counts: 004/476A PC, 010/532(A) PC:
Formal probation is granted for 060 months.
Probation to expire on 01/06/05.
The following terms and conditions are in effect:
01) Obey all laws and ordinances. (T1)
02) Be committed to custody of RSO for moderate
period of time, 365 days; (TAB)
03) Pay Restitution (Victim) in an amount determined
by the Court as directed by Financial Services;
any dispute to be resolved in a Court hearing. (TCB1)
04) Not have any checking account and not possess any
checks; (TGA1)
05) Submit to search of your business office home
autos storage area under your control & financial
accts w/financ. institute by PO or law enforcmt;
(TGE)
06) Do not accept or work in any position where you
are responsible for receiving or accepting any
type of money on behalf of your employer; (TGF)
07) Do not purchase,sell,register,transfer,lease or
rent a vehicle without prior permission of the
Probation Officer (TGG)
08) Report any law enforcement contacts to the
Probation Officer within 48 hours (TH1)
09) Seek/maintain gainful employment and/or attend a
full-time school or vocational program; (THB)
10) Reside at a residence approved by the Probation
Officer and not move without prior consent of the
Probation Officer. (THC)
11) Not have any direct or indirect contact with the
victim; ALL. (THD)
12) Report to Probation Officer immediately or upon
release from custody for initial instructions and
abide by all reasonable directives of officer; (THL)
13) Not associate with any unrelated person on
probation or parole. (THO)
14) Not own possess, or have under your control any
firearm or deadly weapon or related paraphernalia |