Headlines---

 

 Westar/ Another Dot Com Leasing Company Admits Problems

  Need a Sign Leasing Company????? See This Choice Story

    Federal Rate----Teichman vs. Rickards---You Be the Judge

         Rentmaker On-line Service to Offer Equipment Leasing

           Internet Life Tough, Even Mr. Showbiz Takes a Final Curtain Call

               Dodge to build cop cars after 12-year hiatus—Fleming and Petta 

                  Tom Brokaw Back in his own digs ( non-leasing story )

 

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Another Dot Com Leasing Company Admits Problems

 

Westar Financial Seeks Strategic Alternatives

 

 

TUMWATER, WashWestar Financial Services Incorporated (OTC: WEST), the leading automobile e-finance company, today reported that it is seeking to sell the rapidly growing and recently profitable firm.

 

"The continued effects on the capital markets of the 9/11 disaster, coupled with the flight of commercial banks from the leasing sector, have created an environment where we cannot fund our transactions," said R. W. Christensen, Jr., President of Westar. "It is an extraordinary situation. Westar is able to generate record-breaking originations and record credit quality with the lowest risk profile in more than 20 years -- our delinquencies are currently running about 87 basis points -- but unable to secure adequate funding for them.

 

"The capital markets remain in shock from the September attacks," he added. "Given that, we are soliciting interest from major institutions that wish to enter the prime consumer auto finance market at a high level. With more than 2,200 auto dealers under contract and a number of private label partners and opportunities, Westar's revenues grew to $147 million with earnings of $2.2 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2001. Our originations were not significantly affected by the September events. For a firm with a need for assets and substantial reported income, Westar represents a unique opportunity.

 

"In today's chaotic environment, there can be no guarantee that a buyer of Westar will be found," Christensen added.

 

WEST is the leading publicly traded automobile-oriented e-commerce financial portal and ASP. Westar originates, decisions, commits to and fulfills consumer financings for itself or others. Westar completed the first entirely electronic Internet automobile purchase and lease transaction in October 1999. The company operates in the western states and nationally through alliances with AmSouth Bancorporation, USAA FSB, LeaseBanc and others. For more information on WEST visit www.westarfinancial.com.

 

 

CONTACT: 

 

Westar Financial 

 

R.W. Christensen, Jr.

 

President & CEO

 

360/754-6227

 

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Need a Sign Leasing Company?????

 

 

Choice Announces Low-Cost Signage Leasing Program to Back Brand Re-Imaging

 

 

SILVER SPRING, Md--Choice Hotels International, Inc., (NYSE:CHH) today announced a new low-cost, signage leasing program to assist franchisees with signage costs related to the re-imaging of the Quality, Comfort Suites and Sleep brands.

 

Under the provisions of the program, franchisees will be able to acquire their new signage through leasing options that offer little or no up front cost, leasing terms of up to 60 months and attractive purchase options.

 

"The slower economy in 2001, coupled with the negative impacts of the events of September 11, have created a significant challenge for some of our franchisees," said Charles A. Ledsinger, Jr., president and chief executive officer. "As a result, we decided that we should further assist franchisees by providing a leasing option for the signage."

 

He added, "Already more than half of the affected franchisees have ordered their signage surveys and they are clearly eager to move forward with the program. This new leasing program will help add to that momentum."

 

Choice has designated two options for the leasing program: Highline Capital of Boulder, Col., and LinkCrest Capital of Addison, Tex. Both will offer 100% financing for the costs of the signage and installation.

 

Interested franchisees should contact the leasing companies directly for full information on their respective programs. Highline Capital can be reached by calling 1-877-422-4100. LinkCrest Capital can be reached at 1-972-818-8610.

 

In addition, Choice announced that franchisees selecting the signage leasing option remain eligible for further financial assistance under the Guaranteed Return program, which rebates a percentage of the signage costs to franchisees if they proceed with installation before December 31, 2001 or March 31, 2002.

 

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH), the world's second largest lodging franchisor, franchises more than 5,000 hotels in 43 countries under the Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn and MainStay Suites brand names.

 

Additional corporate information may be found on the company's Internet site, which may be accessed at www.choicehotels.com.

 

Comfort, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Guest Privileges and ChoiceBuys.com are registered trademarks, service marks and trade names of Choice Hotels International, Inc. Choice Hotels also owns and uses common law marks, including Profit Manager.

 

CONTACT: 

 

Choice Hotels International, Inc. 

 

John Hawkins, (301) 592-5075

 

Fax: (301) 592-6177

 

John-hawkins@choicehotels.com

 

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Federal Rate----Teichman vs. Rickards---You Be the Judge

 

Kit: I hate to be a nitpick about this, but the rate the Feds changed was the

federal funds rate, not the discount rate. Here are the definitions from the

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank's website, together with a link to the

Federal Reserve Board:

 

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/

 

 

Discount Rate

The interest rate at which eligible depository institutions may borrow funds,

usually for short periods, directly from the Federal Reserve Banks. The law

requires the board of directors of each Reserve Bank to establish the

discount rate every 14 days subject to the approval of the Board of

Governors.

 

 

Federal Funds

Reserve balances that depository institutions lend each other, usually on an

overnight basis. In addition, Federal funds include certain other kinds of

borrowings by depository institutions from each other and from federal

agencies.

 

Federal Funds Rate ("funds rate")

The interest rate at which banks borrow federal funds.

 

Bob Teichman, CLP

Teichman Financial Training

3030 Bridgeway, Suite 213

Sausalito, CA 94965

Tel: 415-331-6445

Fax: 415-331-6451

e-mail: BoTei@aol.com

 

"Providing education and training to the equipment leasing and financing

industry."

 

( Thank you for the edification, Bob.  Appreciate it. I was only following my mentor Russ Rickards, who was one of the  first to discount leases for me in the early 1970’s when he was at  Cenval, predecessor to Bank of the West Leasing. editor )

 

 

I noticed on several occasions you have said that the Fed is cutting the

"Prime Rate".  The Prime Rate is a benchmark used by commercial banks for

their best customers, and is not controlled by the Fed.

 

I believe you mean the Discount Rate, which is the rate the Fed charges

member banks.  They also "set" the target rate for "Fed Funds", which is the

rate that banks lend to each other overnight.

 

Not a big deal, but might be confusing some people.

 

Take care, 

 

Russ Rickards

 

  ( Let me add, in the leasing industry, it is common for us to use

 slang, meaning the  Fed Rate, Discount Rate, Prime Rate, are

 all the same in this manner. . We know there is a difference, but in slang, or usage,

we are speaking the same language.  William Saffire would mention that we have “Americanized” the word. An eponym is a general term used to describe from what or whom something derived its name. Therefore, a proprietary eponym could be considered a brand name (product or service mark) which has fallen into general use.  Such as Xerox, Strryofoam, Jello, Scotch Tape, Spam, and perhaps we can apply it to the product of moneh: The Fed dropping the Discount Rate…

 

and who am I to correct the lead in the New York Times story,” The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again yesterday…..”, when in fact the Fed dropped the Federal Funds rate and it is the banks that dropped their best rate to their best customers and not on fixed loans, and maybe not to their best customers, and certainly not on many credit cards, and it is not uncommon to see “ no interest until

next year or six months or ‘zero” interest on this car loan, not matter

what the “bank prime rate” may be., so where did the interest drop? Or grammatically, perhaps the NY Times reporter is correct.

"Interest" is okay, Fed Fundsis okay, but "discount rate" is not?

 

More importantly, I think most readers know when we say the Feds cut

the rate a half point, they understand it means there will be a drop in

the prime rate and all the other rates pegged to the Fed standard.

 editor  )

 

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Rentmaker On-line Service to Offer Equipment Leasing

 

 

WALTHAM, Mass

 

Rentmaker, Inc. and Innovative Lease Services, Inc. Partner to  Offer Value Added Service to Construction, Industrial and Government

 

industries on-line

 

Rentmaker has partnered with Innovative Lease Services ("ILS"), based in Carlsbad California, to provide Rentmaker users with equipment leasing services along side the traditional equipment rental exchange service Rentmaker has been offering in the US and Canada for the last 2 years.

 

"This partnership is important to Rentmaker as many of our users periodically need to lease equipment on a longer term basis versus traditional renting. Previously our customers would have to seek leasing services elsewhere, now, with ILS, our customers can request and receive equipment rental quotes AND leasing options all on Rentmaker" said Jerome Meier, President and CEO of Rentmaker. "Rentmaker is basically becoming more of a `one-stop shop' for equipment managers and users in the construction, industrial and government arenas."

 

"The Rentmaker partnership is very exciting for ILS as it provides a unique channel of distribution within one of our core industries. This partnership allows us to offer a value-added service to the Rentmaker community by expanding the capital budgeting alternatives available to its members" said Jan Jamison, President of Innovative Lease Services. "We have developed several tax-saving and cash-flow oriented lease products specifically for the Construction, Industrial, and Government industries. The seamless integration of the ILS product within the Rentmaker platform provides the customer with 24-hour access to long term lease quotes, answers to questions, and the ability to complete their application online".

 

"As the industry continues to realize the productivity benefits of using the Internet to rent in, rent out, lease and in general better manage their equipment capacity, more industry professionals will value an on-line resource such as Rentmaker, where they can leverage the Internet for multiple needs, in one location, and save even more time and money," Mr. Meier states. "That's why we wanted to provide leasing as an additional service to our customers. We are especially excited about working with ILS, who have over 75 years of leasing experience and have transacted in excess of $100 million in equipment leases. ILS is a top outfit with integrity and aggressiveness that we are confident will benefit our users."

 

To learn more about Rentmaker and ILS' Equipment Leasing service, please visit www.rentmaker.com.

 

About Rentmaker:

 

Rentmaker, Inc. (www.rentmaker.com) is the Internet's deepest marketplace for business-to-business equipment rentals covering the U.S. and Canada. Rentmaker provides the equipment rental industry a central marketplace where both rental centers and their customers can save time and money as they rent equipment. To date, the company has seen more than $160 million in quotes pass through its site.

 

Rentmaker is a member of the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) and the American Rental Association (ARA). The company is also backed by reputable, institutional and corporate investors, including: Gabriel Venture Partners; The Phelps Dodge Corp.; The Metdist Group and The Hindustan Construction Corp.

 

About Innovative Lease Services:

 

Innovative Lease Services, Inc. (www.ilslease.com) is a recognized leader in the commercial equipment leasing industry. Since 1986, ILS has been the American Business choice for all types of Commercial Equipment Leasing. ILS' seasoned leasing professionals bring a combined total of more than 75 years of leasing experience to every transaction and can assist in leasing transactions that range from $5,000 to $10,000,000.

 

By leveraging extensive funding relationships, ILS can provide 100% financing (including software, installation, shipping, and tax) for a broad range of equipment.

 

CONTACT: 

 

Rentmaker

 

Marcos C. Gonzalez

 

781-893-6720

 

mgonzalez@rentmaker.com

 

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Internet Life Tought, Even Mr. Showbiz Takes a Final Curtain Call

   By Michael Singer

Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Tuesday continued to swallow its Internet-based operations back into the parent company.

The latest victim of the Go.com restructuring it seems is Mr. Showbiz.com.

The site, which was one of the first entertainment-related sites, was cancelled apparently because of bad ratings.

"After six years as the Web's best entertainment site, Mr. Showbiz has retired," says the site. "Thanks for riding shotgun - we've had a lot of fun, and hope you had too. But don't despair. Mr. Showbiz will be everywhere. At the way people laugh at a comedy and ogle a hottie. Wherever there is a badly dressed celebrity or an over inflated ego, Mr. Showbiz will be there too."

Visitors are then redirected to ABCNews.com's entertainment pages, which Disney owns.

Go.com was formed after Disney acquired a majority stake in Infoseek. But after the dot-com bust, Disney said it would hand out about 400 pink slips and the Internet Portal.

Disney officials could not confirm exactly how many jobs were impacted by the Mr. Showbiz shut down, but Reuters reports estimate there have been 26 jobs cut at ABCNews.com and 125 within the Disney Internet Group.

Other Disney Internet properties that are still alive include Disney.com, DisneyAuctions.com, DisneyStore.com, DisneyVacations.com, Family.com, Movies.com, ESPN.com, Soccernet.com and NFL.com.

 

( It is not true that Mike Fleming of the Equipment Leasing Association  drives a Dodge. Ralph Petta may.  editor )

 

Dodge to build cop cars after 12-year hiatus

 

DETROIT (AP.) When the Chicago police chased the Blues Brothers, it was in a Dodge Monaco. When police officers Gunther Toody and Frances Muldoon patrolled in Car 54, it was in a Dodge DeSoto

It has been 12 years since Dodge patrol cars were produced for

police departments. But starting in January, the cars will be rolling off the assembly line again and going back on the beat.

The rookie vehicless will be a police version of the 2002 Dodge Intrepid R/T, a muscle car that can chase down the crooks courtesy

of their 242 horsepower V-6 engines.

''In the '60s, performance cars came out of police car development,'' said John Sloan, senior manager of Dodge marketing.

''Today, as a result of introducing the Intrepid R/T, we had the

pieces in place, suspension, interior room, to make an effective

police package.''

The police version has a big trunk, along with lots of electronics.

''They told us it's not possible to have too many lights,''

Sloan said. ''It's the information age. They have very

sophisticated computers in the cars, they have radar systems, speed detection.''

The Auburn Hills police department has been test-driving prototypes of the new cruisers. By the end of 2002, the department

plans to buy a total of 16 Intrepid R/Ts with the police package.

''We like it,'' Lt. David Chase said. ''That's their little work

office in the car. They carry everything from a radar, to a

computer terminal to a camera and a shotgun.''

From the 1960s through the early '80s, the old Chrysler Corp. dominated the police car business with the Dodge Royal Monaco,

Dodge Coronet, Dodge Aries, Dodge Diplomat, Plymouth Gran Fury and

Chrysler Newport.

But as Chrysler's cars started to shrink in the mid-80s, so did demand from police departments. General Motors and Ford happily

picked up the portion of the police market Chrysler left behind.

Now, DaimlerChrysler AG spokesman Bryan Zvibleman said, the

automaker hopes to go from ''zero to 60,000 in a hurry.''

On the Net:

DaimlerChrysler AG, http://www.daimlerchrysler.com

Chrysler Group., http://www.chrysler.com

An Energized Brokaw Is in the Middle of the Story

By BILL CARTER, New York Times

Tom Brokaw walked into his office on the third floor of NBC's headquarters in the General Electric (news/quote) Building on Thursday, knowing he would find it empty, stripped of all his personal and professional mementos, the photographs of his daughter's wedding, his baseballs autographed by Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, the wooden rocking chair his father had made with his own hands.

Still, when he saw the room, he was stunned. "Look at this place," he said, glancing around a room that looked as though it had been picked clean by someone digging for clues at a crime scene, which is exactly what it was.

It was the first day NBC reopened the area occupied by "Nightly News" after weeks of intensive cleaning by men in hazmat suits. The center of the activity had been Mr. Brokaw's office suite, and principally the outer office where his assistant, Erin O'Connor, had worked. That was where a letter filled with anthrax sat for some 10 days last month.

 

Only a few months ago, the 61-year-old anchor was far from that office, fishing and discussing drought and cattle prices with neighbors in Montana, where he owns a ranch. He was taking the longest vacation of his life, 10 weeks, an extended absence that raised questions that he might be preparing either to retire or to reduce his role. As one senior NBC executive put it, "He truly wanted to step off the train and look at his life, see what his priorities were for his future."

 

But now he is back on the air, in his 18th year as the chief anchor of NBC News, and in the middle of what he calls "the most difficult assignment I've ever had." He is dealing with the challenges of conveying information about threatening events without unduly alarming his viewers and trying to maintain professional distance in a story that contains both deeply emotional and deeply personal elements. And like other anchors and news executives, he is facing questions about whether the impact of network cutbacks over the years on international coverage has left his audience unprepared for the events of Sept. 11 and their aftermath.

 

He is also, much to his regret, part of the story.

 

Walking to a window with a view of 49th Street, Mr. Brokaw pointed to a spot — where a credenza stood behind Ms. O'Connor's desk. "It was right here," he said. The letter, with its block-letter threats about the need for "penacilin," was on top of a pile of hate mail.

 

"It was mostly politically conservative people writing," Mr. Brokaw said. "People saying, `How dare you not support the president in everything he's doing.' "

Of course, this letter was different. "I handled the letter," Mr. Brokaw said, remembering that he had picked it up at least twice. "When I saw it, I thought: if they're going to give me a death threat, they ought to at least know how to spell penicillin."

 

Ms. O'Connor was found to have cutaneous anthrax; she is recovering. Mr. Brokaw never had any manifestation of the disease. Still, the incident hit him hard. Steve Capus, the executive producer of the newscast, said, "It ripped him to shreds, what happened to Erin."

Mr. Brokaw said he had come to accept the idea that someone had been trying to kill him. "But if I let that work on me, I wouldn't go out," he said. "I climb mountains. I white- water raft. I live in New York. I drive my car too fast. I'm not careless about risk. I think risk is manageable. I'm trying to manage this risk as well."

 

Mr. Brokaw acknowledged being "roiled emotionally" on numerous occasions during this story, once after the first pictures of firemen raising a flag in the rubble of the Word Trade Center, when he simply could not go on for some time.

 

Because Mr. Brokaw, Dan Rather on CBS and Peter Jennings on ABC, have served as the chief news voices of their networks for an entire generation of viewers, the competition among them has usually been tight, and always fierce. But in the last four years, Mr. Brokaw has risen to pre-eminence, his weeknight newscast consistently drawing the largest audiences.

 

That position was further validated in the first few days after the terrorist incidents. On Sept. 11, Mr. Brokaw and NBC had 21.8 million viewers for the prime-time hours of 8 to 11 p.m. Mr. Jennings had an audience of 16.9 million. Mr. Rather was seen by 14.2 million.

 

Some at NBC see Mr. Brokaw's ratings edge on the evening news, and the fact that more Americans turned to him in that moment of national crisis, as evidence that he has become the leading network wise man, the Walter Cronkite of his generation. That is a view some analysts, and even Mr. Brokaw, deflect.

 

Tom Rosenstiel, an executive with the Project for Excellence in Journalism, said that all the network anchors had performed "extremely well" during the crisis, each bringing different skills. Of Mr. Brokaw, he said, "He had a knack for delivering the succinct sweeping phrase that put events in context, without ever going too far."

Mr. Brokaw said he had received a flood of comments in the days after the attacks. "People called and said, `You were so important to us; I never thought of you as a father- figure before.' And I said, `I was important to you because I was giving you reliable information.' That's what we do. I don't go into this thinking I've got to be the father-figure for the nation. That would be paralyzing for one thing and inappropriate for another."

 

But the intensity of the story has brought additional scrutiny. The networks have been criticized by some for scaring viewers with dire stories of bioterrorism. Mr. Brokaw feels "we have not gone too far in creating scenarios," he said.

Mr. Brokaw has also encountered accusations that he has not been sufficiently patriotic. "My patriotism is unalloyed," he said, but his reaction to the national push for patriotism has been more restrained than that of Mr. Rather, who went so far as to say publicly that all the president would have to do was tell him where to line up.