Headlines---

 

Feds to Cut Prime on November 6^th???

   Internet Sales Tax Issue Answered

       Major Event for Leasing-- - Definition Completed

                + Multi-State Tax Report

                    by   Dennis Brown, ELA

          Silicon Valley Not What It Was a Year Ago

                ePlus Introduces  Procure+; Paperless Procure+ 6.5

                    Good News: Housing Industry  Only Slight Downturn Predicted

                       McKenzie Bay Adds Power Systems and Leasing Subsidiaries

                          TCF Announces 5% Stock Repurchase Program

                             Provident Bank Selects Harland Financial Solutions' Encore

 

 

Special Report---

      Acquisitions, incremental growth no longer work;

         Recreate your business model, says Deloitte Research

 

                    Friday---Leasing News “The List” is Up-Dated

 

### denotes press release

 

  To Cut Prime on November 6^th?

 

 Finds widespread economic fallout from terrorist attacks

 

By Martin Crutsinger

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

WASHINGTON – No region of the country has escaped the economic fallout from the terrorist attacks, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Analysts said the Fed's new assessment of business conditions around the country increased the likelihood that the central bank will cut interest rates for a tenth time this year when its policy-makers meet on Nov. 6.

Releasing its latest survey, compiled from reports from its 12 regional banks, the Fed said that the Sept. 11 attacks had depressed consumer spending, forced cancellation of orders to manufacturing companies and caused widespread layoffs across a variety of industries.

"Layoffs and plants closings have been reported in many industries from financial services on the East Coast to media and advertising on the West Coast to auto parts in the central states," the report stated.

Most economists said the new report made a tenth rate cut all but inevitable. Many predicted the reduction will be the larger half-point that the central bank has used for most of this year.

The Fed has cut rates by 4 percentage points since Jan. 3, pushing its key federal funds rate to 2.5 percent, the lowest level in nearly 40 years.

"I think the Fed will cut by a half-point because of the mushrooming and spreading weakness in the economy and also because anything less would disappoint the markets," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis.

The Fed survey, known as the beige book for the color of its cover, depicted an economy that came to a virtual standstill in the days immediately following Sept. 11, as air travel was temporarily suspended and Americans stayed home to watch television news reports.

In fact, the survey said, in the week following the attacks spending dropped sharply for all items "except those that were likely purchased in preparation for possible additional attacks."

The Fed found increased spending for groceries, security devices and bottled water. Purchases of insurance also rose.

Since the initial shock, consumers have returned to the stores, but spending was below the level of early September, causing many retailers to lower their expectations for upcoming holiday sales.

The Fed survey found that the temporary suspension of all commercial flights disrupted the delivery of fresh vegetables from the West Coast to the East Coast and caused problems for manufacturers trying to get parts from suppliers.

However, the Fed said these disruptions proved temporary as air cargo was rerouted to trucks. All Fed districts except Boston and Kansas City reported sharp declines in hotel, airline and tourism industries, although some canceled conventions have now been rescheduled.

"Business activity recovered quickly from some aspects of the shock, but longer-run aspects are more difficult to assess," the report said.

In terms of the impact on employment, the Fed noted large layoffs in the aircraft and aircraft parts industries as orders for new planes have been cut sharply. It also noted sharp job losses in many other industries.

The Fed said seven of its districts – Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and St. Louis – had reported sizable manufacturing layoffs.

The Dallas, Richmond and Philadelphia districts reported declines in employment at retail establishments, the Fed said. All parts of the country reported job losses at hotels, tourism and the airlines.

"The continued weakness in manufacturing has contributed to pessimism about when orders will improve," the survey said. "Many districts do not expect a turnaround until 2002."

Many economists believe that economic output contracted in the July-September quarter and will fall even more sharply in the current quarter. The traditional definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of falling gross domestic product.

Economists are forecasting a rebound in early 2002, helped by massive amounts of government stimulus in the form of increased spending, new tax cuts and the lower interest rates provided by the Fed.

Speaking in Mexico City on Wednesday, Robert McTeer, president of the Fed's Dallas regional bank, sought to respond to criticism that the Fed's rate cuts have proven ineffective in preventing a recession.

"It wasn't effective enough to please us, but I don't think that means it was ineffective," McTeer said. The aggressive easing had kept the slowdown from being even more severe, he said.

 

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Internet Sales Tax Issue Answered

 

 The moratorium expired last Sunday but will be reenacted into law.  Doesn't really matter since it has no impact on the  Streamlined Sales Tax Project.  It only stops sales tax from being applied to your internet access account.  In other

 words, it stops states from application of sales tax to your AOL bill -- nothing more.

 

T he Internet Tax Freedom Act does not apply to taxable nexus, although the internet industry led by AOL is fighting to make it so.    The Bellas Hess case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court laid down the basic case law outlining a taxable presence.

 

Dennis Brown

DBROWN@ELAMAIL.COM

 

( Mr. Brown has a report on the multi-sales tax issue.

 

No Internet Sales Tax:  Not only are local cities, counties, and states not receiving tax revenue, this is also an unfair advantage to many leasing companies regarding equipment purchased over the internet. For instance, a client in California can buy laptops from CDW in Chicago, and since they do not have Nexus in California, there is no sales tax.

 

The buyer saves 8%, if he is located in Santa Clara County.   If American Leasing buys the laptop, the company must charge the lessee an 8% user tax.

 

Sometimes that difference makes the client want to either pay cash or borrow the money, as they save the sales tax.  This also occurs on large dollar machines

ordered over the internet. editor )

 

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Lease Definition Completed

 

        --Dennis Brown, Equipment Leasing Association

 

The Lease Work Group of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP or Project) completed the lease/rental definition during meetings on October 22-23.  The record will remain open for one week to take final comment before it is presented to the SSTP Executive Committee no later than November 2.  The lease definition will be inserted in Section 312 of the revised Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement finalized by the Project at the meeting scheduled Monday and Tuesday, December 3-4, at the Embassy Suites Hotel Denver - Downtown in Denver, Colorado.  Governing States will subsequently examine this revised Agreement before issuance as model legislation.  Several states are expected to attempt enactment even before it is taken up by Governing States. The new definition appears at the end of this email message.  The Agreement can be viewed at web address www.streamlinedsalestax.org. 

 

Sale-Leaseback/Upfront versus Lease Stream

 

Attention now shifts to definition of a sale, placement of sales tax upfront versus the lease stream and double taxation of sale-leasebacks.  As the Lease Work Group enters this new phase members were reminded the Project strives for uniformity and simplicity.  In some states this will mean big changes in law while other states will find conformity to be easy.  The difficulty in altering existing state procedures is not the measure for Project activity on a subject unless the outcome brings more complexity. The Project looks to where states should go rather than being tied down by current rules.

 

In general, three factors involved in reviewing an election between upfront versus lease stream incidence of tax were length of the lease, type of property and nature of the lessee.  Rail cars present special problems when discussing but rail car representatives were not present to discuss them. Also, several states felt including an election between upfront and lease stream in the interstate agreement would create administrative problems for revenue departments. 

 

The discussion relating to an election often found representatives of the automobile industry voicing separate concerns.  How to deal with credits was one topic.  Auto lessors expressed a desire to be treated like all other equipment but circumstances encountered by them deemed uncommon to other lessors might dictate separate treatment.  A committee of the Lease Work Group will review these concerns in consultation with auto leasing representatives.  The committee will report back at the December meeting in Denver.

 

Similar action was taken on the sale-leaseback issue.  A subcommittee will be led by Eleanor Kim, Assistant Director, Tax Administration, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.  Primary concerns were resale exemptions, the election time period and those states that offer relief according to the type of lease, for instance capital leases in several states. One possible outcome would be a definition of sale-leaseback available for adoption by states currently exempting these transactions from double tax.  This committee will report at the December meeting.  To participate in these committee discussions contact dbrown@elamail.com with your name and company in the request. 

 

In other activities, leasing industry representatives made a presentation to the Sourcing Work Group.  Automobiles are presently excluded from the sourcing and local rate provisions but will be added during upcoming meetings of the Project.  The presentation by industry to the sourcing group allowed time to outline issues they will address in the future.  It was an opportunity to alert these state revenue officials to concerns industry will bring to them at that time.

 

Two items follow.  First, a paper reviewing future issues that provided a basis for discussion with the Lease Work Group.  Second, the lease definition presented to the full Streamlined Sales Tax Project by the Lease Work Group.

 

STREAMLINED SALES TAX

LEASE WORKGROUP

Issues and Concerns from Industry

 

ELA State Government Relations Chair Val Guerrieri, Tyco Capital - CIT Technologies, presented the Lease Work Group a summary of problems and issues industry wishes the Project to examine.  This listing goes beyond definitions for simplification of sales/use taxation of lease and rents.  It seeks updates in many states that lack clarity in definition, sourcing, imposition and measure of leasing transactions.  The following is not intended to be a complete list.

 

WHAT IS NEEDED:

 

Uniform Distinction between Sales, Leases and Finance Leases

 

[This issue was tackled in the definition completed on October 22]  Remove disparity of interpretations that currently exist between Internal Revenue Code, General Accounting Principals, Uniform Commercial Code and other federal, state and local statutes. A Streamlined lease definition should provide a simple bright line determination of what constitutes a lease versus a financed sale (commonly referred to as a conditional sale or a finance lease).  The industry proposes a simple nominal purchase price test that has been in place for at least 20 years in California and several years in Florida.  It is easy to understand, provides minimal or no conflict and is widely accepted in the industry and among consumers.

 

Uniform Tax on the Lease Payments or Uniform Election

 

For multi-state business, it is much simpler to measure tax as a percentage of the individual lease payments rather than on an accelerated basis of sum total of the lease contract payments or on the purchase price of goods to be leased or rented.  Industry has traditionally proposed a measurement section that establishes the measure for leases based on the lease payments as they become due, or are received.   Streamlined must be sensitive to the fact that some states provide an election to lessor to pay tax on purchase of goods to be leased or rented in lieu of payment of tax on the receipts.   This election should be preserved for continuity in those states where intrastate and small business has found simplicity with the election to pay tax on their purchases. 

 

Motor Vehicles and other Mobile Property (excluding instrumentalities of interstate commerce)

 

Uniform Imposition

 

Many states are unclear as to the imposition of tax on lessee or lessor.  Or whether it is a sales or use tax when the lessor and lessee enter into a lease across state borders.

 

Uniform Sourcing and Credits

 

The incidence and measure of tax become a complex matter when property under lease moves from one state to another.  Some states place the incidence of tax on leased property based on the delivery while others place the incidence of the tax on the periodic lease payments.  The states that tax based on delivery and continue to collect tax on the measure of the periodic lease payments even after property is moved to another state.  Left as is, the states propose use of tax credits to remedy the pyramiding of tax on interstate movement of leased property.  For instance, consider a 36-month lease that delivers to lessee in South Carolina, 12 months later the property moves to New Jersey and 6 months later it moves to Texas.  SC taxes the periodic payments as they become due at 5% each month and sources the entire 36 months lease payments to SC based on delivery.  NJ has an accelerated tax on leases, after credit for the 5% SC tax, NJ accelerates its tax at a net 1% of the remaining 24 month lease payments. Six months later the equipment moves to TX with a 8.25% tax  the lease payments and after credit for 5% SC tax, 1% net NJ tax; TX imposes a net 2.25% tax on the remaining 18 months.  Although this seems economically fair, it is an administrative nightmare and currently impossible to administer with tax calculation software.  It is also highly unlikely to work with Model 1, 2 or 3 seller technology.  Industry proposes a uniform sourcing of the lease payments to the state where the equipment is known to be located at the time the periodic lease payments become due.  In the example given, SC would impose its tax on 12 months of lease payments at 5%, NJ would tax 6 months of lease payments at 6% and TX would tax the remaining 18 months of lease payments at 8.25%.  Because equipment moves in both directions, this change should be revenue neutral for most all states. [Credit issues for non-mobile equipment to be outlined separately]

 

Uniform Provisions for Sale Leaseback Exclusion

 

Sale-leasebacks are an example of where literal application of outdated sales tax laws have contradicted their intent and pyramided the sales tax on an end consumer.  The sale-leaseback can be a popular consumer alternative to finance equipment, balance budgets and manage cash flow.  Much like a consumer's choice to exchange or return goods, today's consumer can also select from many finance alternatives.  A sale-leaseback is one of their finance alternatives. Through a third party, a consumer can sell and leaseback equipment under a variety of payments and terms to fit their budgets.  In some states this is after the sale option to the consumer, in other states the consumer faces time limits, limited lease alternative or is just taxed a second time on the lease payments which include financing of the tax they paid on their original purchase. 

 

Many states recognize the need for sale-leaseback provisions and have statutory exclusions or administrative rulings to remedy the dual sales tax.  Other states take a hard line and uphold the tax on the consumers' purchase and subsequent lease of the same equipment.  Of the 30 (or so) states that provide consumers with tax relief on sale-leasebacks, very few have like provisions.  Some allow a resale claim and refund the tax on the original purchase, some exempt the lease payments, some limit the time for the consumer to elect the sale-leaseback and others give a credit for the tax on purchase against the tax on lease payments.  If the sale-leaseback options aren't confusing enough, the addition of sales tax complexities and lack of uniformity amongst the states make this issue too complex for most small and mid-size business to handle.  Therefore, simplification through Streamlined is needed to move the sales tax into the 21st century and recognize sale-leasebacks as a consumer's choice just as they have a choice to exchange goods for color, size and preference.  Simplification would be for states to uniformly exempt the lease receipts on sale-leasebacks, remove the variations in time limits and lease types that qualify. Exempting the lease will also eliminate the need for a purchaser, seller and state to expend valuable time for processing paper work and refunds on purchases.

 

Uniform Lease Price

 

[Issue to be reviewed at a future date]

 

Motor Vehicles

 

Motor vehicles are currently excluded from sourcing rules and multiple rates but otherwise are in the Agreement.  More motor vehicle issues will be examined in the future.

 

Lease/Rental Definition

 

Finally, the Lease Work Group completed the following lease/rental definition.  It will be inserted in Section 312 of the revised Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.

 

 

 

 

                                                DEFINITION OF LEASE OR RENTAL

 

To be inserted in Agreement, Section 312.  Definitions.

 

LEASE or RENTAL

 

Lease or rental means any transfer of possession or control of tangible personal property for a fixed or indeterminate term for consideration.  A lease or rental may include future options to purchase or extend.

                        1)        Lease or rental does not include:

                          a)         A transfer of possession or control of property under a security agreement or deferred payment plan that requires the transfer of title upon completion of the required payments; or

                          b)         A transfer of possession or control of property under an agreement that requires the transfer of title upon completion of the required payments and payment of an option price that does not exceed the greater of $100 or 1% of the total required payments; or

                         c)         The provision of tangible personal property for a fixed or indeterminate period of time along with an operator.

 

                        2)            Lease or rental does include:

                                                Agreements covering motor vehicles and trailers where the amount of consideration may be increased or decreased by reference to the amount realized upon sale or disposition of the property as defined in 26 USC 7701(h)(1).

 

                        3) Characterization of Transaction for Other Purposes:

                                                The definition provided in this section shall be used for the purposes of this chapter regardless if a transaction is characterized as a lease or rental under generally accepted accounting principles, the Internal Revenue Code, the [state commercial code], or other provisions of federal, state or local law.

 

This definition will be applied only prospectively from the date of adoption and will have no retroactive impact on existing leases or rentals.

 

 

 

Dennis Brown

DBROWN@ELAMAIL.COM

 

  ( Readers should not only thank Mr. Brown and all those that have worked

   upon this, but we should show support, either by joining the Equipment

   Leasing Association, purchasing their products and reports, and find ways

   to encourage all the work they do for the leasing industry. editor ).

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

States Multi-Tax

 

Kit, Interesting prediction  - - fulfillment

 

  Never thought you could get this many states to agree on anything.

 

  cheers from Charlie Bancroft

bancroft@aglease.com

 

 

Multi-State Tax

 

 

I'm told Michigan, not Missouri, should be listed as a proving ground state

and Missouri should be listed as a swing state.

 

It is always interesting to revisit predictions to determine if the forecaster was accurate.  In November 2000 Forrester Research predicted states that would lead the way in adopting the Streamlined system and those prophesies still look good. Following are those predictions one year later.  For additional information contact Jeremy Sharrard, Forrester Research, at 617/613-6066 or email address jsharrard@forrester.com

 

Forrester Research Predictions from the November 2000 Forrester Report

"Making Net Sales Tax Pay"

 

 

2001-2002            Proving Ground States

The First To Adopt

States participating in the technology pilot project and depend heavily on sales tax revenue.

FL, KS, MN, MO, NC and WI

 

 

2002-2004            Cautious Optimists

States with uniform bases will wait until the first wave of state adoptions proves successful before passing SSTP.

CT, KY, MD, NV, NJ, RI, SD, TN, WA and WV

 

 

2004+ Swing States

States that rely less on sales tax revenue and have more complex tax codes will take longer to adopt Streamlined legislation.

AL, AZ, AR, CA, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, NM, ND, OH, OK, PA, SC, TX, UT, VT and WY

 

 

Holdouts

States with no sales tax or great local control over tax bases and rates may never take the necessary steps to streamline their tax systems.

AK, CO, DE, MT, NH, NY, OR and VA

 

Dennis Brown

DBROWN@ELAMAIL.COM

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

          Silicon Valley Not What It Was a Year Ago

 

 

BY DAVID A. SYLVESTER

  San Jose Mercury-News

 

As Silicon Valley suffers from the worst sales drop ever for personal computers and semiconductors, a rash of technology companies this month are reporting plummeting revenue, dismal earnings or even serious losses.

 

And with the attacks of Sept. 11 damaging the already slowing U.S. economy, experts now think the valley's economic recovery -- once hoped to begin this fall -- won't start until the second half of next year.

 

``Business is worse than expected, so the recovery has been pushed out a couple of quarters,'' says Sung Won Sohn, chief economist for Wells Fargo & Co.

Corporate profits -- a key driver of the valley's economy -- peaked during the spring of 2000 and have tumbled ever since. As the corporate bottom lines shrank, companies began laying off employees and cutting back on spending, further weakening the economy.

 

``A lot of layoffs are based on poor earnings,'' said Sohn.

The results from 181 Silicon Valley companies that have reported third quarter earnings are abysmal compared to the same quarter a year ago: Sales have declined 22 percent and last year's profits of $3.4 billion have turned into a collective loss of $9.3 billion.

 

Stated another way, these 181 companies were earning 8 cents on every $1 of sales of their products last fall. During this year's quarter, they lost 28 cents on every $1 they sell. (This includes an assortment of one-time charges, write-offs and other items.)

 

On Tuesday, tech companies that announced losses ran the gamut: disk-drive maker Maxtor, chip maker LSI Logic, online retailer Amazon.com, personal computer maker Compaq Computer, photocopying giant Xerox and telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies.

 

Last week, Sun Microsystems reported a loss while Intel, Microsoft and Apple Computer saw profits fall sharply. EBay was one of the few companies to announce strong profits in the past two weeks. Its profits rose 24 percent as more cost-conscious shoppers turned to the online auction company to find the lowest prices.

 

National results

Nationally, profits for technology companies on Standard & Poor's 500 are expected to fall 58 percent in the final three months of this year compared to a year ago, according to the research firm of Thomson Financial/First Call. Tech profits also are expected to fall sharply during the first quarter of 2002 before turning around by the end of the year.

 

The slump has hammered Santa Clara County employment. Since last December, the county has lost about 45,000 jobs, or about 2.4 percent. Of these, about 17,200 were lost in manufacturing and 27,800 in services, according to the state Employment Development Department.

 

This is the worst job loss since early 1992 when the valley was mired in a five-year slump. Then, jobs peaked at about 815,000 at the end of 1989 and didn't break that level and start growing until early 1995.

 

The worst-hit industries are the semiconductor and personal computer makers. The current prediction is that the worldwide semiconductor industry will shrink 30 percent this year, the biggest decline ever for the industry and twice as bad a drop as forecast last June. The Semiconductor Industry Association will reveal its new forecast Nov. 7.

 

Chip companies had hoped a wider range of customers would buffer them from this kind of steep decline, but the fallout of the dot-com collapse was greater than expected.

 

Falling apart

 

``It all fell apart,'' said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst for Insight 64, a research firm tracking chips used in computers.

 

The computer world also is struggling.

 

Worldwide personal computer shipments are expected to drop 6 percent this year, says Charles Smulders, a vice president of research firm Gartner Dataquest. That's far worse than the 2 percent decline in 1985 during another glutted marketplace.

He estimates PC shipments declined about 12 percent in the third quarter and should decline by the same in the fourth quarter. And next year is unlikely to show any more than 3 percent growth.

 

``The key factor is what happens in the U.S. economy,'' Smulders said. ``We believe we won't see signs of a return to growth until confidence improves.''

Most economists are now looking for a recovery next year, although tech companies are expected to take longer to rebound.

David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, has estimated the worst of the current recession will hit during the last three months of this year, with a mild improvement in the first quarter of next year.

 

Overall, stock market analysts haven't fully adjusted their estimates for corporate profits to reflect the deeper plunge that has developed, Wyss said.

``I think people are too optimistic for next year,'' he said.

 

Contact David A. Sylvester at dsylvester@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5019.

 

 

 

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ePlus Automates Business Processes With New Version of Procure+; Paperless Procure+ 6.5 Automates Back Office Processes and Reduces Mail Room Volume

 

 

HERNDON, Va--ePlus, Inc., (Nasdaq NM:PLUS), a leading provider of Business solutions and services, announced today the sixth-generation of its flagship eProcurement solution, Procure+ 6.5. 

 

The new version automates the entire purchasing process from the first input of an order through electronic payment via a secure and paperless process.

 

Procure+ 6.5 augments a well rounded family of ePlus industry solutions that address the most mission critical areas of business process management, including procuring goods and services, tracking and reporting of related financial data, managing the lifecycle of company assets, outsourcing accounts payable, fulfillment, content technology, and related services. 

 

Orders can be managed electronically through each step of the business process:

 

--  Online catalog selection from management approved vendors

 

--  Dynamic approval process workflow to reduce procurement cycle

        time

 

--  Placement, management, and tracking of orders to preferred

      vendors

 

--  Order receiving workflow and three-way invoice matching to

       ensure proper delivery and reconciliation of accounts payable

 

--  Electronic invoicing and electronic payment

 

--  Planning, budgeting, and reconciliation of purchases

 

Michael Baker Corporation, a leading international services firm, uses the hosted version of Procure+. "Our company has already realized significant cost savings by implementing the Procure+ solution," said Bruce Higgins Jr., Director of Digital Services at Michael Baker Corporation. "With its advanced system functionality, Procure+ enables us to monitor our orders through its comprehensive approval functionality, ensuring that every single purchase we make is cost efficient, and helps us reduce overall back-office expenditures. It is simple, easy to use, and will be an invaluable tool as Michael Baker continues to grow in today's challenging economy."

 

Procure+ 6.5 is available in three full-featured editions:

 

--  Hosted - for organizations in need of a quick and immediate

       solution maintained on their behalf at a secure data center;

 

--  Enterprise - for those organizations that wish to maintain

       applications within their own IT environment; and

 

--  MarketBuilder - creating added revenue streams by providing

        the ability to sell their goods and services to clients

 

electronically and without paper processing.

 

"Customers are diligently trying to reduce paper flow to increase efficiency and trim mail volume to mitigate risk" said Phillip G. Norton, chairman and CEO of ePlus. "Our e-Business solutions help eliminate mail as a requirement to complete transactions, while offering a simple, electronic system that delivers all the functionality customers need without the cost and lengthy implementations required by other solution providers. The need has always been present and we are pleased to fulfill it."

 

"At a time when many businesses are forced to pare their operating budgets to maintain profitability, ePlus is pleased to announce a greatly enhanced version of our Procure+ software that is currently helping many satisfied customers reach their goals of improved efficiency and lowered costs, while adding the benefit of reducing unnecessary paper," said Phillip G. Norton, Chairman and CEO of ePlus. "Procure+ 6.5 is a perfect complement to our suite of Business Process Outsourcing solutions, which focus on promoting proven business, financial and procurement principles that deliver the highest value dollar for dollar."

 

About ePlus

 

A leading provider of Web-based e-procurement, asset management, financing, leasing, sourcing, and eContent technology and services, ePlus delivers comprehensive and high-value business solutions.

 

Through the ePlusSuite of products and services, including Procure+, Manage+, Finance+, Service+, and ePlusMarket, ePlus helps businesses around the world dynamically streamline, improve and gain management control while delivering the highest return on investment.

 

ePlus(TM), ePlusSuite(TM), Procure+(TM) , Manage+(TM) , Service+(TM), B14ZR(TM), OneSource(TM), OneReq(TM), CLG(TM) and MarketBuilder(TM) are trademarks of ePlus inc. Finance+(SM) is a registered service mark of ePlus inc.

 

Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in Herndon, VA and has more than 30 locations in the US. For more information, visit our website at www.eplus.com, call 800/827-5711 or email to info@eplus.com.

 

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements. 

 

Actual and anticipated future results may vary due to the following risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, general economic conditions; fluctuations in operating results; its ability to effectively manage future growth, to retain and efficiently integrate our executive management team, and to identify, hire, train and retain, in a highly competitive market, individuals highly skilled in the Internet and its rapidly changing technology; the lack of long-term contracts in certain business units; its ability to enter into and retain its existing, strategic relationships; market acceptance; rapid technological change; a decline in Internet usage and intense competition in its market; its ability to effectively integrate the operational, managerial and financial aspects of future acquisitions; demand and competition for the Company's lease financing and equipment sales and asset management services, and the products to be leased or sold by the Company; the continued availability to the Company of adequate financing including permanent non-recourse and recourse debt, and working capital lines of credit; the ability of the Company to recover its investment in equipment through remarketing; the successful execution of its e-commerce strategy; the amount of equipment ordered, purchased and/or leased by its customers; and other risks or uncertainties detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Investors are cautioned that current financial results may not be indicative of future results.

 

 

 

 

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Housing economists predict only slight, short downturn for industry  that has been pillar of economy

 

        By Jennifer Loven, Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (AP)   Before last month's terrorist attacks, one of

Thomas Pellerito's customers picked out a big, lavish new home

where Washington's sprawling suburbs extend deep into Virginia's

picturesque foothills.

The customer has changed his mind. He is buying instead one of

the new development's cheaper townhouses with fewer bells and

whistles, said Pellerito, president of the southeast region of K.

Hovnanian Co., one of the nation's largest homebuilders.

But the man did buy, after all, and that modest good news sums

up the outlook for an industry that many believe could play a large

role in determining how long the nation's economic malaise will

continue and how severe it will be.

Real-estate economists predicted Tuesday that housing activity

won't maintain its recent breakneck pace but, barring more

crippling attacks, should see only a slight downturn that starts

picking back up around the middle of next year.

The red-hot housing market, representing about 14 percent of the

nation's output of goods and services, was among the only remaining

pillars in the struggling American economy before Sept. 11. Now the

nation's mounting job losses and jittery stock market in the

aftermath of the attacks will exacerbate a slight housing slump

most had expected was on its way, experts said.

''The housing market will see a downturn, but we think it will

be the smallest of any recession,'' said David Berson, chief economist for government-chartered wholesale mortgage company

Fannie Mae. ''Then it's likely to be the strongest decade for

housing ever.''

A major reason for that, the economists said, are low interest rates expected to offset losses in consumer confidence.

With the average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages around 6.6 percent, David Seiders, chief economist for the National

Association of Home Builders, said the housing and real-estate

financing industry will see a record year in 2001.

Though applications for mortgage loans to buy homes were down in

the first half of October, he said, applications to refinance,

which puts more money in a family's pocket, are up.

The housing sector also has much lower inventory than when the

country headed into previous recessions, removing one barrier to

increased housing production that could spur economic growth later.

But a post-Sept. 11 National Association of Home Builders index

of housing activity, compiled from a survey asking builders to rate

sales, traffic and expectations, posted its largest single-month

decrease in 16 years. It showed a fall in sales, lower buyer

traffic and some increase in those canceling contracts.

However, the economists agreed that home prices will continue to

rise, if not as much as in the last year.

They also agreed that the number of housing units on which builders begin work, as well as of purchases of existing and new

homes, will drop off only slightly compared with past recessions

and will start rising in the latter half of 2002.

''We're in new times. It's a New World Order,'' said David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

''But the fundamentals in housing are excellent.''

On the Net: National Association of Home Builders: http://www.nahb.com

National Association of Realtors: http://nar.realtor.com

Fannie Mae: http://www.fanniemae.com

 

 

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Special Report:

 

 

Financial Services Firms Toss Out Old Growth Strategies;

   Radical Surgery Required to Survive in Today's Uncertain Economy

            says Deloitte Research report.

 

        NEW YORK  Acquisitions, incremental growth no longer work;

         Recreate your business model, says Deloitte Research

 

    Feeling the effects of a bleak economy and intense competitive

pressures, financial services firms can no longer afford to yield only

incremental improvements. To be successful and even survive, commercial banks, securities firms and insurance companies need to

undergo a radical change of their strategies and operations according

to a new Deloitte Research report.

 

    These fundamental shifts in procedure--termed reinvention--will

allow firms to satisfy increasingly demanding customers, exceed the

expectations of and entice investors, and hire and keep the brightest

professionals. Reinventing Financial Services: Succeeding with

Corporate Transformation examines how leading financial services

firms, including Bank of America, LendingTree.com and MasterCard

International, have already successfully implemented reinvention

programs.

 

    In the report, Deloitte Research identifies six transformation

tactics that firms can implement to meet the demands of the new

business world:

 

1)  Build rapid deployment capability--Establish new approaches to

    designing and deploying projects that allow firms to execute at

    Internet speed.

 

2)  E-enable the enterprise--Move more transactions online and

    integrate the Internet throughout the firm.

 

3)  Redesign business processes--Achieve enormous improvements in

    efficiency and customer satisfaction by streamlining business

    processes to eliminate elements that do not add value.

 

4)  Create a customer-centric organization--Integrate customer service

    information across products and channels to create a consolidated

    view of customer relationships to assess profitability and

    customer needs.

 

5)  Develop an extended enterprise--Extend capabilities and enter new

    lines of business by turning vendors into strategic partners.

6)  Recreate the business model--Rethink the set-in-stone assumptions

    of a firm's business model.

 

    The report also finds that during the past decade, many financial

service companies sought growth through acquisitions, but most failed

to deliver the cost savings and earnings growth promised. "Couple this

letdown with a business landscape today far more treacherous than in recent memory, reinvention is no longer optional, but essential," says

Annette Tirabasso, Partner in Deloitte Consulting's Financial Services

Practice. "Now more than ever, firms must abandon this method of

convention and adopt one of reinvention. Those that can successfully

transform themselves will exceed the expectations of everyone they

touch--customers, employees and investors. Firms that don't will not

survive."

 

    The path to reinvention requires a larger commitment of time and

resources than conventional improvement projects and involves a series

of changes that need to be planned and coordinated. It does not simply

address a firm's existing business, but instead is forward-looking to

create a platform for substantial growth.

 

    In order to decide which transformation tactic to apply, companies

need to assess their current situation, identify their weaknesses and

pinpoint initiatives that promise to deliver the greatest impact on

performance. Deloitte's Reinvention Decision Framework tool can assist

companies in crafting the appropriate strategy. No matter which tactic

pursued, senior leadership must fully support the initiative with

adequate resources, authority and their own personal involvement for

it to succeed.

 

    To obtain a copy of the Reinventing Financial Services report,

please contact Rebecca Patrick at 212-419-8320 or at

rebecca.patrick@citigatedr-ny.com.

 

    About Deloitte Research

 

    Deloitte Research, a permanent thought leadership organization

established by Deloitte & Touche and Deloitte Consulting, is dedicated

to providing ongoing research and insight into the critical global and

industry-specific issues facing business today. Comprising both

practitioners and dedicated research professionals from around the

world, Deloitte Research combines industry experience with academic

rigor. Our research identifies and analyzes the market forces and

major strategic, organizational, and technical issues that are

changing the dynamics of business. It focuses on leading-edge,

industry-specific issues and global trends, providing insight into new

and evolving challenges.

 

    About Deloitte Consulting

 

    Deloitte Consulting is one of the world's leading consulting

firms, providing services in all aspects of enterprise transformation,

from strategy and process to information technology and human resources. The firm's professionals help clients, from new economy

start-ups to Fortune 1000 global organizations, to create, reinvent

and defend their business models by guiding them through the

complexities of the evolving digital economy. Deloitte Consulting is

part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the world's leading

professional services firms, providing world-class consulting, assurance and advisory, and tax services through nearly 90,000 people

in over 130 countries to nearly one-fifth of the world's largest

companies, public institutions and successful fast-growing companies.

For more information about Deloitte Consulting, visit www.dc.com.

 

 

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McKenzie Bay Adds Power Systems and Leasing Subsidiaries

 

 

BRIGHTON, Mich--McKenzie Bay International Ltd. (OTCBB:MKBY) - has taken steps to become a vertically integrated supplier of electricity generation and storage systems by forming two new wholly owned subsidiaries - Stable Power Co and Stable Power Leasing Co.

 

Stable Power Co was formed to supply alternative electricity generation and storage systems for on-grid electricity users and providers as well as off-grid electricity users. These power systems surround the Vanadium Redox Battery "VRB" electricity storage technology utilizing various electricity generation resources, separately or in combination, such as wind turbine, solar, diesel and flywheel technologies, to produce and store electricity. Stable Power Co will be capable of providing cost competitive, high quality, continuous, uninterrupted electricity from environmentally friendly generation sources for various end users.

 

These forms of energy generation and storage systems are ideally suited for off-grid electricity users, including remote locations and island communities providing significantly lower costs per kilowatt-hour than current electricity providers. The generation and storage systems are equally beneficial for on-grid users and providers requiring continuous, quality, electricity such as factories, office complexes and substations to protect against power interruption.

 

Stable Power Leasing Co. has been formed to provide lease financing for products supplied by Stable Power including, entire alternative electricity generation and storage systems and/or system components such as vanadium electrolyte, vanadium and VRB's to private industry and existing electricity providers.

 

Discussions and negotiations with technology acquisition targets, partners and end users for the advancement of these new subsidiaries are in various stages of completion.

 

Plans to bring the Lac Dore vanadium deposit near Chibougamau, Quebec into production are being staged, with SNC Lavalin preparing a feasibility study and, if positive, construction will begin on the first primary producing vanadium mine in North America. Lac Dore is the largest vanadium deposit in North America and second largest in the world containing a combined proven, indicated and inferred mineable vanadium pentoxide resource of five billion pounds. SOQUEM INC., a division of SGF Mineral Inc, which is a subsidiary of Societe generale de financement du Quebec ("SGF"), has the right to acquire a 20% interest in the Lac Dore Project upon acceptance of a positive bankable study.

 

McKenzie Bay is planning to produce and supply battery grade vanadium oxides at Lac Dore and expects to become a significant producer of vanadium electrolyte for VRB technologies. McKenzie Bay anticipates forming a company for vanadium electrolyte production, which will be part of the Stable Power Co division.

 

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company's operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of management of the company as of the date of this release, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the company's dependence on third parties, general market and economic conditions, technical factors, the availability of outside capital, receipt of revenues and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the company. The company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. In addition, the description of past or present performance as to any person is not an indication of future performance or success. The company will remain dependent upon obtaining future financing to support its continued growth and development, and to successfully implement its business plan.

 

Website: www.mckenziebay.com

 

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TCF Announces 5% Stock Repurchase Program

 

 

WAYZATA, Minn.,

 

 

TCF Financial Corporation (NYSE: TCB) (TCF) announced today that its board of directors has authorized a new program for the company to acquire up to 5 percent of TCF common stock, or approximately 3.8 million shares.  The shares will be acquired from time to time, depending upon market conditions, through open market or privately negotiated transactions.

 

Since January 1998, TCF has repurchased 18.5 million shares of its common stock at a total cost of $536.4 million for an average price per share of $29.00.  TCF has 2.9 million shares remaining in its current stock repurchase program previously authorized by its board of directors.  TCF has approximately 76.9 million common shares outstanding.

 

TCF is a Minnesota-based national financial holding company with $11.7 billion in assets.  TCF has 369 banking offices in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado and Indiana.  Other TCF affiliates provide leasing, mortgage banking, and investments and insurance sales.

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Provident Bank Selects Harland Financial Solutions' Encore!(TM) Platform Software to Drive Customer Service Initiatives

 

      Court Square Leasing and Provident Lease Corp 

 

ATLANTA, / -- Harland Financial Solutions, a division of John H. Harland Company (NYSE: JH), announced today that Provident Bankshares Corporation recently licensed its branch automation software, Encore!(TM) Platform.

 

The Encore! Platform software is part of Harland Financial Solutions' integrated retail banking suite which also includes Encore! Teller and Encore! Call Center systems.  Encore! Platform helps financial institutions build customer relationships by delivering information for servicing purposes, aiding service staff with cross-sales and product information, speeding account opening and tracking sales.  The Encore! suite of products operate in traditional client/server as well as thin client web-based environments and feature interfaces to most major host providers.

 

The $5.3 billion asset sized Provident Bank has been using Encore! Teller since 1997.  When searching for a customer relationship management solution, Provident evaluated a number of products but chose Encore! Platform because of the software's sales and service features, state-of-the-art technological design, and inherent compatibility with their existing Encore! Teller system.

 

Jay Fitzhugh, Provident Bank's Senior Vice President in charge of Strategic Direction, who headed the yearlong search, reiterated the Encore! Platform features that helped influence their decision to purchase.  "Aside from the customer relationship management and sales features, the software's open architecture and ease of implementation sealed the decision for us," he said.  Dan Sigmon, Managing Director of Provident's Information Services agrees.  "Encore!'s administrative tailoring tools will let us rollout quickly, without a lot of expensive customization."

 

At a time where gaining customer wallet-share is becoming more competitive, Provident realized the need to deploy more intelligent customer data to call center and branch staff.  The software supports Provident's strategy of in-store banking.  Almost half of Provident's branches are in retail stores such as supermarkets. "When fully deployed, Encore! Platform will provide Provident with enterprise-wide information about customer relationships, profitability and buying behavior, no matter where their customers bank with them," said Connie Bruce, Director of Harland Financial Solutions' Branch Automation Group.  Through the implementation of the Encore! Platform software, Provident hopes to bridge 7 days-a-week convenience with outstanding customer needs assessment and superior service.

 

About Provident Bankshares Corporation  

 

Provident Bankshares Corporation is the holding company for Provident Bank, the second largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Maryland.  With $5.3 billion in assets, Provident serves individuals and businesses in the dynamic Baltimore-Washington corridor through a network of 99 offices in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and southern York County, PA. Provident Bank also offers related financial services through its wholly owned subsidiaries.  Mutual funds, annuities and insurance products are available through Provident Investment Center and leases through Court Square Leasing and Provident Lease Corp.  Visit Provident on the web at www.provbank.com .

 

About Harland Financial Solutions  

 

Harland Financial Solutions (http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com ) supplies software and services to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes.  Harland Financial Solutions is a leader in deposit & loan origination, platform, teller, call-center, mortgage, business intelligence, core processing, and customer relationship management systems.

 

About Harland  

 

Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (www.harland.net ) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "JH."  Harland is a leading provider of software and printed products to the financial institution market. Harland's software solutions include, deposit & loan origination, platform, teller, call-center, mortgage, business intelligence, core processing, and customer relationship management systems.  Harland's printed products offerings include checks, direct marketing and financial forms.  Scantron Corporation (www.scantron.com ), a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of software services and systems for the collection, management and interpretation of data to the financial, commercial and educational markets.

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