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Independent, unbiased and fair news about the Leasing Industry
kitmenkin@leasingnews.org
   

 

Exp. only, 1 Southeast, 1 West Coast
Looking to Expand Your Career
Base Salary & Commission
resumes to : dmitchem@ifsc.com

www.ifsc.com
Stable, profitable independent lessor, 30 years in business,
Chicago suburbs

 


Wednesday, August 1, 2012



Today's Equipment Leasing Headlines

Placard ---Richard Branson's
  5 Rules for Good Business
   Classified Ads---Sales
  Exchange Bank Misses TARP payment
Macrolease joins
  Companies who notify lessee in advance of lease expiration
   and require their discounter to also notify lessee in advance
Marquette removed from
  Companies who notify lessee in advance of lease expiration
   and require their discounter to also notify lessee in advance
    by Christopher Menkin
     Classified Ads---Help Wanted
   The Top 50 Restaurant Franchise Brands
Sales Make it Happen by Christopher Menkin
  "What is the best use of my time now?"
     Why I Became a CLP
     Gary Greene, CLP, BPB
      Digital boosts NBC Olympics ads to $1 Billion
       Build your own app for FREE
   Growth Continues to Weaken in July Credit Managers' Index
        Fox Terrier
        Santa Rosa, California Adopt-a-Dog
News Briefs---
Companies Opt to Lease/Finance Equipment to Preserve Capital
  Caterpillar strike drags into its fourth month
  Facebook shares hit new low, 43% below IPO price
   Martha sees red
     Jerry Garcia celebrated w/birthday screening

Broker/Funder/Industry Lists | Features (collection)
Top Ten Stories Chosen by Readers | Top Stories last six months

  You May have Missed---
   SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer
    Sports Briefs---
     Baseball Poem
      California Nuts Brief---
       "Gimme that Wine"    
          This Day in American History
         SuDoku
           Daily Puzzle
             GasBuddy
               Weather, USA or specific area
                 Traffic Live----

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release” and was not written by Leasing News nor information verified, but from the source noted. When an article is signed by the writer, it is considered a “by line.” It reflects the opinion and research of the writer. It is considered “bias” as it is the writer’s viewpoint.




Please send Leasing News and ask them to subscribe. We are free! Send email to kitmenkin@leasingnews.org and put in subject line: subscribe

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Classified Ads--- Sales



(These ads are “free” to those seeking employment or looking
to improve their position)

California
Aggressive, competitive self-starter with vendor/direct equipment 
leasing and asset-based lending experience. Success in business banking sales and financial planning. 
Email: dsp559@hotmail.com | Resume

Garfield, NJ
15 years experience small to large ticket sales exp. All types of equipment industries. Vendor & direct. Self motivated. Work with leasing company or broker.
Tony Lio tonylio@optonline.net
Montgomery, AL
Individual with 10 years advertising sales exp. & 7 years insurance sales exp. Wants independent contractor situation in Alabama.
Work with leasing company or broker. 334-590-5133
E-mail: billmcneal2003@yahoo.com

Orange County, CA 
20+ yrs. leasing sales/sales mgmt
Established remote office w/Lessee/Vendor following
Request Salary + commission or partnership w/direct funding source.
shermbp@gmail.com

Pittsburgh , PA 
Aggressive self starter looking for leasing position w/10 plus yrs sales exp., plus banking experience 814-227-4592
mwiser500@hotmail.com

San Francisco Bay Area:
15 year Vendor Program Agreement HUNTER. Currently employed at major IT manufacturer captive supporting direct and channel sales. Must have base, commission and benefit package.
E-mail: VdrPgmBizDev@aol.com

Texas/Oklahoma 
15 year lease vet looking for plact to take business.great references. all major equipment types. open to compensation. please contact if interested.
E-mail: bankingdallas@yahoo.com


Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm



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Exchange Bank Misses TARP payment


In the US Treasury auction, they disposed of their investment in 10 of the 12 banks that were selected for the fourth TARP auction. Exchange Bank, Santa Rosa, California, parent of Exchange Bank Leasing, was the only auctioned bank with a missed dividend/interest payment that has not subsequently been repaid, missing one payment in the amount of $585,875, as of June 30, 2012.

Bill Schrader, President, Bruce DeCrona, COO, Greg Jahn, CFO, and Brad Hunter, SVP, of Exchange Bank did not respond as to why the Dividend and Interest payments were not made.

The U.S. Treasury Department stake in Exchange Bank was sold for $39.7 million. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported the 43,000 preferred shares of Exchange Bank sold at $875.25 per share, or a discount of 12.5% off their $1,000 face value, and 2,150 shares at $965.10 per share, or a discount of 4.5 percent.

"Despite the $5.4 million discount given to the winning bidders, taxpayers still made money off the deal, said Matt Anderson, spokesman for the Treasury Department. Exchange Bank paid about $7 million in interest since it received TARP money in 2008."

It appears the dividend and other matters are being left for the next Exchange Board meeting.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120727/BUSINESS/120729588?p=2&tc=pg

Not counting the fees, the US Treasury lost about $55.2 million on the $303.7 million in principal amount of TARP securities sold. The $59.2 million in dividend and interest payments offset the loss.



According to SNL Financial, "The Treasury did not dispose of its entire investment in First Western Financial Inc. or First Community Financial Partners Inc., as bid prices did not meet the minimums set by the Treasury. First Western had only 67% of its series C preferred stock auctioned, and the Treasury did not sell any of the bank's series A preferred stock. First Community Financial did not have its series B preferred stock auctioned, and the bank's series C stock sold at a discount of 33.85%, the highest discount of any security auctioned by the Treasury thus far.

"The discount in which the securities were sold ranged from 3.5% to 33.85%, culminating in an overall median discount of 17.31%. Pricing was not as strong as in the previous three auctions, which featured median discounts of 10.0%, 10.7% and 9.4%, respectively."

Gary DiLillo, President 440.871.0555 or gary@avptc.com

To learn more about the benefits of
outsourcing personal property tax, please click here.


 

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Joins
companies who notify lessee in advance of lease expiration
and require their discounter to also notify lessee in advance

Macrolease Corporation, Plainview, New York
a Bank Rhode Island Company

“I've recently noticed that you are maintaining a list of Lessors who notify clients of lease maturity and residual/renewal amounts due. Please add our name to that list. We have consistently, over forty plus years,  "noticed" our clients about residual or renewal options, six months in advance of maturity dates and are proud of our unblemished reputation within and outside of our client portfolio.

“Thanks for maintaining this important list of credible Lessors.”

Daniel W. West
President

Companies who notify lessee in advance of lease expiration 
and require their discounter to also notify lessee in advance

ABCO Leasing
Advantage Funding
Agility Ventures LLC
Allegiant Partners
American Leasefund, Inc. 
Balboa Capital Corp. 
BancLease Acceptance Corporation 
Bank of Ozarks Leasing 
Bankers Capital
Bank of the West, Indirect Equipment Finance 
Black Rock Capital
BSB Leasing
Calfund
Capital Technology & Leasing, LLC
Cobra Capital, LLC
Commerce National Bank
Dakota Financial, LLC
Direct Capital
eLease

Financial Pacific Leasing 

 


Five Point Capital, In
Forum Financial Services, Inc. 
Gonor Funding
GreatAmerica Leasing
Innovative Lease Services, Inc.
Lease-$mart
Madison Capital
Macrolease Corporation 
Manufacturer's Lease Plans, Inc
Mesa Leasing
Maxim Commercial Capital
Mount Pleasant Capital
National Machine Tool Financial Corporation
Navitas Lease Corp. 
Northwest Leasing Company
P&L Capital Corporation 
Pacifica Capital 
Pawnee Leasing Corporation

Southern California Leasing, Inc 
Standard Professional Services, LLC
TEAM Funding Solutions
Vehicle Lenders Group, LLC

 

 




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Marquette removed from
Companies who notify lessee in advance of lease expiration
and require their discounter to also notify lessee in advance
by Christopher Menkin

Several readers in the article regarding Mazuma Capital Takes Exception on Being on Evergreen List (1) emailed Leasing News naming other companies utilizing the same practice. Several of the readers are well-known to Leasing News, and are officers of their company. One named Marquette Equipment Finance.

According to Dorran Sampson, Vice-President/Broker Relations:
"Marquette Equipment Finance does not offer an Evergreen product. Our master lease provides for extensions but is negotiated at the schedule level. Notice periods are also negotiated at the schedule level and vary depending on the Lessee’s needs."

When the company was bought and became Pacific Western Equipment Finance (a division of Pacific Western Bank) he maintained the same position. It was noted his old company was still on the list, and a request of his "master lease" was made.

"Our docs are the same as when we were with Marquette. Because we’re public now, it is very difficult to get documents released."

I asked him if he could send to a broker wanting to do business with him, "Sorry, can’t forward to you or your brokerage."

A search of PACER, a national index for U.S. district, bankruptcy and appellate courts brought up a number of Marquette cases, and the first one hit pay dirt: Merchants & Farmers Bank, a Mississippi Corporation versus Marquette Equipment Finance and Applied Financial. It was a similar case and while "dismissed with prejudice" (2), it had the arguments regarding the purchase option and a copy of the complete contract with a similar PPR as with Mazuma Capital:

"(g) Lessee's Options at End of Initial Period. At the end of the Initial Period of any Lease, Lessee shall, provided at least one-hundred-eighty (180) days prior written notice is received by Lessor from Lessee via certified mail, do one of the following: (1) purchase the Property for a price to be determined by Lessor and Lessee, (2) extend the Lease for twelve (12) additional months at the rate specified on the respective Schedule, or (3) return the Property to Lessor at Lessee's expense to a destination within the continental United States specified by Lessor and terminate the Schedule; provided, however, that for option (3) to apply, all accrued but unpaid late charges, interest, taxes, penalties, and any and all other sums due and owing under the Schedule must first be paid in full, the provisions of Sections 6(c) and (d) and 7(c) hereof must be specifically complied with, and Lessee must enter into a new Schedule with Lessor to lease Property which replaces the Property listed on the old Schedule. With respect to options (1) and (3), each party shall have the right in its absolute and sole discretion to accept or reject any terms of purchase or of any new Schedule, as applicable. In the event Lessor and Lessee have not agreed to either option (1) or (3) by the end of the Initial Period or if Lessee fails to give written notice of its option via certified mail at least one-hundred-eighty (180) days prior to the termination of the Initial Period, then option (2) shall apply at the end of the Initial Period. At the end of the extension period provided for in option (2) above, the Lease shall continue in effect at the rate specified in the respective Schedule for successive periods of six (6) months each subject to termination at the end of any such successive six-month renewal period by either Lessor or Lessee giving to the other party at least ninety (90) days prior written notice of termination."

The first option is to purchase the equipment for a price to be determined by Lessor and Lessee and requires a certified letter 180 days prior. This sounds like a fair market purchase option, but the “price to be determined” language means that the Lessor can set any price it wants. This option is illusory in my opinion.

The second option is to continue the lease for an additional 12 months, the “Evergreen” period. No notice of this provision is given to the lessee either in advance of signing or prior to exercising this option. Republic Bank purchases these 12 month extensions in advance of their exercise. How would the bank know that the lessee is going to exercise this option, unless everyone knows it is the only practical option for the lessee to exercise? Republic Bank President Boyd Lindquist confirmed in a telephone call that he “buys” these extensions from Mazuma and has for quite some time.

The third option is to return the equipment, but the clause is draped with the condition that the lessee has to re-lease identical equipment for a similar term. It also has 180 day certified letter requirement, and applies to the second option of 12 months, but also has the clause of an automatic six month option. So what is the point of exercising this option? At the end of this re-lease, there would be the same three identical options, so the lessee would be required to re-lease and re-lease. It’s just like Groundhog Day.

Leasing News is working on obtaining information on other companies so named to add to the list, including follow-up on the master lease for Pacific Western Equipment Finance. If you have a copy, please send and will keep your name “off the record.”

(1) Mazuma Takes Exception on Being on Evergreen List
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2012/7_30.htm#mazuma

(2) Order to Dismiss with Prejudice:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Marquette_order_dismiss.pdf

(3) Copy of filing, including contract:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Maquette.pdf

 

(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)



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Leasing News Help Wanted

Exp. only, 1 Southeast, 1 West Coast
Looking to Expand Your Career
Base Salary & Commission
resumes to : dmitchem@ifsc.com

www.ifsc.com
Stable, profitable independent lessor, 30 years in business,
Chicago suburbs

For information on placing a help wanted ad, please click here:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Hwanted/Hwanted-post.htm

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

 


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The Top 50 Restaurant Franchise Brands


Each year QSR magazine ranks the top fifty brands that are setting the pace in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries.

Subway has had the most changes in units, adding 872 locations, followed by Little Caesars at 305 and then Jimmy John's at 199, Five Guys Burgers & Fries at 182, Chipotle Mexican Grill, 150.

The franchises who lost the most units: Quiznos, 334, Starbucks, 310, KFC, 297, Arby's 85, and Sbarro 70.


 

 

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Sales Make it Happen

by Christopher Menkin

“What is the best use of my time now!”

I evolved from an independent lease salesman to a broker to a discounter to a lessor with seven partnerships at one time to fund leases, primarily in Silicon Valley. Not only did I read as much as I could on leasing when I started, but also took sales courses, read sales books, and took other self-improvement courses as I wanted to learn to sell. I had never done this before. I really started to prospect by primarily cold calling on companies from Belmont to South San Jose, California.

The Alan Lakein course really was very helpful. His plaque I still have on the wall today. This is a graphic version as the original is engraved with the six “rules” on aluminum foil:

I thought about what was “A” and “C.” It hit home about sales: to make the best use of my time NOW. I realized perhaps I didn't know what was an “A” or a “C.”

To find out how much time I was actually selling, I bought a series of small monthly calendars, 31 days 3” x 3” and decided to write down what I was doing every day. I divided it into functions: traveling, telephone, credit, sales, lunch. In the beginning, I would do it during the day, and later on I would do it at the end of the day, often rounding it off as much as possible, as every Saturday I would add the category time up and then put it into percentages.

While the actual time was helpful, it was the percentages that revealed the most.

The first thing I realized is that I was spending too much time traveling. In those days, I worked out of the car with an answering service, often actually driving the application to the source, whether it was a half hour away or an hour and a half, which was the main source ( each way, too.)

I took the next good size commission and rented an office in Santa Clara, although I lived in San Bruno, at the time, 45 minutes to an hour away. This was a central location. It was two rooms, and I subleased the second room to a vendor (and also got his business, too.) I went to Levitz with my late wife and bought furniture with 90 days to pay and 12 months at perhaps 25% ( which I could pay off early, but didn't.) I wanted customers, vendors, and others to visit me more often rather than traveling to see them, plus I could work the phone after 4pm for follow-up and credit.

I was on the road when the weather was good, and on the telephone when it was raining hard. I remember walking into a machine shop when it was almost 100 degrees in the summer and the machinist asking what I was doing here in the heat. I told him I was trying to make a sale. He said he was about to order a new lathe and instead of using Westinghouse, anyone who was working in this heat deserved the financing.

As I saw I was spending too much time on credit (getting a “combo,” meaning a verbal and written credit report by mail) and doing banks and trades, I hired a part-time secretary. The idea was to see if I was wasting my time, plus to get an idea if the lease was doable. She took these over plus writing follow-up letters. I did letters, cards (even birthdays in those days, too) and anything to keep the name in front of the person who I got a business card. The more contacts I had, the more follow-up time was recorded. The calendar book expanded to admin., PR (associations I had joined) and always the idea was how much time was I actually spending on sales.

No matter how much I tried, the sales percentage really never increased very much, just the other categories. But it also never went the other way, either. Throughout the growth, I kept this time diary. It kept me focused that sales was my “A.”

To view other "Sales makes it Happen" article, please go here.

 

 


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Why I Became a CLP


Gary Greene, CLP, BPB
General Manager
Lease $mart
Oro Valley, Arizona


I received my CLP Designation in April, 1998 and now proudly tout my CLP credentials on our website and in my email signature. The continuing education, the code of ethics, and the ability to distinguish myself as a Certified Professional in the leasing business; those continue to be bragging points for me as a CLP.

Without a doubt, the knowledge I gained in the certification process and subsequent renewals helps me to provide better service to my clients, but I determined to become a CLP for my own selfish interests: My ability to understand and explain intricacies in transaction structures; to confidently answer challenging questions from clients and referral sources; even my understanding of my own limitations and when to refer a transaction to another CLP with a different area of expertise. These qualities give me an edge – a marketing edge and a personal satisfaction that I’m the best that I can be. I’ve earned the right to set myself apart from other participants in the leasing business, others who have not pursued certification. CLP’s renew that right through continuing education and participation in the CLP code of ethics.

I am a broker member of the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers and also qualified for the Best Practices Broker designation. Both of these distinctions give me an opportunity to explain to my clients what makes me more valuable to them in their business finance decisions.

I got my CLP Designation in April, 1998 and now proudly tout my CLP credentials on our website and in my email signature. The continuing education, the code of ethics, and the ability to distinguish myself as a Certified Professional in the leasing business; those continue to be bragging points for me as a CLP.

I entered the equipment leasing business in 1982 after a successful career as a real estate broker and property manager. My approach in the real estate business was to be the most informed broker I could be:

I wanted to know as much about my clients and their objectives as possible, then I would go out and research properties that met their objectives. As I investigated properties, I also wanted to know as much as I could about the properties I was going to present to my client.

My knowledge and my well-informed approach brought me many grateful and loyal clients. Real estate brokerage has requirements for continuing education, and there were lots of classes put on by various practice specialties and associations. I was constantly attending classes and developing my professional abilities. I really liked being on top of my craft.

When I got into the equipment leasing business, I was learning about a variety of aspects of business finance and, WOW! I was really turned on by all the possibilities. My equipment leasing clients came from a wide variety of industries, so I found a great opportunity to learn "a little bit about a lot of things." That broad variety of client types is something that continues to excite me about the leasing business.

Several years after starting Lease $mart, I was invited to attend a conference of the Western Association of Equipment Leasing ((WAEL)--now National Equipment Finance Association)). I looked forward to the many educational sessions that were offered, and the opportunity to rub shoulders with other professionals in our industry. I had been learning from personal experience before joining WAEL, but this gave me a focused and structured forum for me to learn more about my profession and do so in an accelerated manner. At one of those conferences, someone asked me how long I’d been in the business and confirmed that it was more than five years. ‘Good news!’ they said (note: today it is three years). That meant that I was eligible to become a Certified Leasing Professional, and they told me a bit about what was involved for me to become certified, including sitting for and passing what they described as a grueling, difficult, challenging, all-day exam. I said I’d look into it, but the truth is they almost scared me off!

I continued attending WAEL, then when their name changed to United Association of Equipment Leasing, went to the UAEL conferences and I got regular reminders from them – because I was genuinely interested, even if a bit intimidated by the daunting reputation of the CLP exam. At the 1996 UAEL annual conference, I bought The CLP Handbook and . . . and then I procrastinated some more! The UAEL conference was scheduled to be in Tucson and I took that as my incentive to finally sit for the exam. I studied The "CLP Handbook" as well as "The Handbook of Equipment Leasing" by Amembal & Isom. I studied HARD, until I felt comfortable with each of the many different aspects that I knew I’d be tested on. Maybe I studied TOO hard, because when I finally did take the exam in 1998, I found it was easier than I’d feared it would be.

I am a vocal fan of the CLP organization and I encourage serious leasing professionals to obtain their CLP designation. There are multiple safety nets – prep-sessions, resources and mentors – so that applicants can approach the exam with greater confidence than I had in 1998.

Why I became a CLP
http://www.leasingnews.org/CLP/Index.htm

 


 

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Digital boosts NBC Olympics ads to $1 Billion
Online Publishers Association

The 2012 Summer Games may go down in history as the first “social media Olympics.

Some fans are claiming the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver were the first to be “socialized,” but one look at what’s in store for the 2012 games and its clear: the Olympics have never been seen, heard, or tweeted like this. And NBC, always at the forefront of Olympic coverage, is pushing that envelope with partnerships with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Tumblr and it seems, just about every other platform on the web.

More importantly, NBC’s bottom line has been fattened with its push into digital platforms, saying it hit a record $1 billion in ad revenues by last Thursday. That number includes $60 million in digital ads, up 200% from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. NBCOlympics.com will live-stream more than 3,500 hours of the Olympics and two apps will take the Games uber-mobile. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Stewart, put it this way: “In many ways, this summer’s London Olympics will be a monumental experiment for network television in the digital age.”

Of all the social platforms engaging in the Olympics, Twitter is getting the most attention—perhaps because it’s seen as taking the biggest risk. In partnership with NBC, Twitter will create a “news hub” for the games, a move that GigaOm’s Matthew Ingram sees as meaning that the microblogging service is “about to jump into the global media game with both feet.”

Twitter is so much ingrained into the Games, in fact, that the London Eye, the ferris wheel on the banks of the River Thames, has been rigged to light up in concert with how the Twitter community is feeling about the games that day. If tweeps are happy, it will glow yellow. Not so happy and it will turn purple. Slate’s Will Oremus wrote: “If it sounds like an epic MIT student prank crossed with a bizarre corporate social media campaign, that’s because that’s pretty much what it is.”

(The overload in fact had NBC asking fans to turn off their digital devices as it was effected their bandwidth in broadcasting games. Editor)



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Build your own app for FREE


The website lets visitors follow a step-by-step template to create a customized app, all in half an hour. By selecting a category, users are prompted with five or six suggested modules they can choose from to design their app, adding and deleting items like videos and pictures as they go.

“You customize the app to have the experience that you want your customers to have, because no one knows the customers better than the businesses themselves,” says Scott Hirsch, founder of appsbar.com.

After customers submit their information, it takes 3–5 days for appsbar.com to create the app, and then an additional 3–5 days to be approved by Google Play. The app is an HTML 5 multiplatform application that can be downloaded and viewed on anything from an Android and iPhone to a Blackberry or even Facebook.

But many small business or franchisees may wonder why they should create an app in the first place.

“Billions of downloads are going on in the app stores, so if you don’t have an application, you’re missing out on millions of potential customers and billions of potential opportunities,” Hirsch says. “And in today’s economy, I don’t think you can afford to miss out on one opportunity.”

Oh, and did we mention it’s free? “Whether you end up with 200 or 20 or two new customers, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Hirsch says.

He also adds that apps are becoming must-have tech-marketing tools for every business and a trend that’s set to stick around for quite some time. “Getting in early is important, because if you don’t have an app, your competition will.”

You can go direct to: appsbar.com

For more information, here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oatucw4hoO0&feature=player_embedded

 

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##### Press Release ############################

Growth Continues to Weaken in July Credit Managers' Index

Grim reality of summer 2012 sets in as sales deteriorate
and delays in payment increase


Columbia, Maryland: —The National Association of Credit Management's CMI fell from 54.5 to 53.4 in July. For the first time in over a year, sales fell below 60, and by a significant degree. The reading of 58.5 is worse than at any point in 2011. The new credit applications index sits at 57.2, a long way from the 61.9 registered in January when expectations were upbeat. There were also declines in dollar collections and amount of credit extended. Altogether, the favorable factor index slid from 60.2 to 58.9, marking the first time it has fallen under 60 since November 2011. It became obvious in May that another spring swoon was underway, and the summer is again becoming an extension of the deterioration.


The unfavorable factor index fell to 49.8 marking the first time since the end of 2010 that this index has been in contraction—below 50, the neutral line separating contraction and expansion. Only two unfavorable factors registered above 50 in July. In March, all six factors were over 50. Rejections of credit applications managed to remain stable and there was a small improvement in accounts placed for collection, but there were more disputes, which slipped deeper into the mid-40s to 47.6. Dollar amount beyond terms also fell, to 47.8, after managing to hit 50.5 in June. Finally, dollar amount of customer deductions slipped a bit and filings for bankruptcy worsened.

“This is a precipitous fall, and it is unlikely that a reversal will be swift,” said Chris Kuehl, PhD, economist for the National Association of Credit Management (NACM). “When the specifics of the decline are examined, it is apparent that the real damage occurred in the volatile service sector.”

The service sector index dropped from 55.3 to 54, the lowest reading since November 2011. It was the sector’s unfavorable factors that caused the CMI to drop. The unfavorable index now teeters on the edge of contraction, slipping from 52.2 to 50.3. All factors fell, and only two remain above 50, whereas, in April, all were above 50. Disputes, dollar amount beyond terms and bankruptcy filings all registered sharp drops.


The manufacturing sector index was not exactly promising, falling from 53.6 to 52.8. Sales fell from 59.1 to 57.2 and haven’t been this low since early 2011. “Much of this fall can be attributable to the slump in export activity as well as in inventory numbers,” said Kuehl. “In January, many companies started to build inventory in anticipation of projected growth. Then the economy stalled, and that inventory became an anchor: material and product that could not be sold or turned into anything useful. Now manufacturers have to clear that inventory before they can get engaged in new production, delaying recovery that much more.” The good news from this period had been fewer issues for the companies that survived the first round of economic downturn. It would appear that the companies applying for credit are the ones that are doing well, and approvals are not generally suspect.

The more worrisome data comes from the manufacturing’s dollar amount beyond terms, which slid to 47.8 from 49.2. “This is a concern. It signals that some customers are struggling to stay current and are perhaps having cash flow issues, and these will likely not dissipate in the immediate future,” said Kuehl.


In prior CMI reports, Kuehl had noted that the economy can survive a stall in growth, provided there is no further deterioration in business conditions. However, Europe’s continuing crisis affects exports, and now billions of dollars have been lost to the U.S. drought. The two sectors that had been pulling more than their own weight were manufacturing and farming. Thus far it is hard to see what impact the drought will have on the greater manufacturing and service economies, but given that the farm sector helped drive manufacturing last year, the sudden drop in demand for machinery isn’t welcome.

Full Report:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/NACM_2012.pdf

About the National Association of Credit Management

NACM, headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, supports more than 15,000 business credit and financial professionals worldwide with premier industry services, tools and information. NACM and its network of affiliated associations are the leading resource for credit and financial management information, education, products and services designed to improve the management of business credit and accounts receivable. NACM’s collective voice has influenced federal legislative policy results concerning commercial business and trade credit to our nation’s policy makers for more than 100 years, and continues to play an active part in legislative issues pertaining to business credit and corporate bankruptcy. Its annual Credit Congress is the largest gathering of credit professionals in the world.

#### Press Release #############################

Send Leasing News to a Colleague. We are free!!!

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Fox Terrier
Santa Rosa, California Adopt-a-Dog


Dallas
Pet ID: 5029
Fox Terrier
Male
Primary Color: Tan
Secondary Color: White
Weight: 8.8
Age: 4yrs 5mths 3wks
Animal has been neutered
More about Dallas
U-to-date with routine shots
Prefers a home without: young children

"Diminutive Dallas is a pint-sized boy with gallons of personality. He is a world-class lap warmer, and will make sure your face is clean, if you let him get close enough. He is light as a feather on the end of a leash. Dallas is about 3 years young, so he is well past puppyhood and all its accompanying behaviors. Dallas' new home can have children 16 years old and older, cats and another small dog. A leisurely walk, a long snuggle- if this is your idea of a perfect way to pass an afternoon, Dallas would like to meet you!"

Sonoma Humane Society
5345 Highway 12
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
707 542-0882
email: dmalone@sonomahumane.org

Adoption fees:
http://www.sonomahumane.org/adoptions/adoption_fees.html

Adopt-a-Pet by Leasing Co. State/City
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Adopt_Pet.htm

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/



Mr. Terry Winders available as a consultant regarding assisting attorneys in resolving disputes or explaining procedures or reviewing documents as utilized in the finance and leasing industry.

He is the author of several books, including DVD's, as well as weekly columnist to Leasing News. He also performs audits of leasing companies as an expert on documentation, and has acted as an expert witness on leasing for litigation in legal and tax disputes, including before the IRS. He also has taught the senior bank examiners, how to review a bank leasing department, for the Federal Reserve in Washington D.C. and has trained the examiners for the FDIC on how to prepare a lease portfolio for sale.

502.649.0488/Leaseconsulting@msn.com


News Briefs----

 

Companies Opt to Lease and Finance Equipment to Preserve Capital
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/30/companies-opt-to-lease-and-finance-equipment-to-preserve-capital/

Caterpillar strike drags into its fourth month
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-caterpillar-strike-drags-into-its-fourth-month-20120731,0,877832.story

Facebook shares hit new low, 43% below IPO price
http://www.usatoday.com/money/story/2012-07-31/Facebook-stock-hits-new-low/56620852/1

Martha sees red
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/martha_sees_red_rgbI6jwnSvBSRqIpKuwpaO

Jerry Garcia celebrated with birthday screening of 'The Grateful Dead Movie'
http://www.marinij.com/sausalito/ci_21201531/jerry-garcia-celebrated-birthday-screening-grateful-dead-movie




[headlines]

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You May Have Missed---


Senate looks at state sales taxes for online purchases
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/story/2012-07-31/online-sales-taxes/56623682/1




[headlines]

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SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer


SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

Food Showdown: Can Quesadillas Be Healthy?
http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=food_showdown_can_quesadillas_be_healthy



[headlines]

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Sports Briefs----

History, differently, for Phelps
http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/swimming/story/_/id/8219082/2012-olympics-imperfectnight-leads-perfect-phelps-moment

Michael Phelps becomes most-decorated Olympian
http://www.wbaltv.com/olympics/Michael-Phelps-becomes-most-decorated-Olympian/-/15412612/15883460/-/13ywx4f/-/index.html

U.S. women's gymnastics team wins gold in a rout
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mark-purdy/ci_21202232/mark-purdy-u-s-womens-gymnastics-ream-uses

Kobe Bryant’s wife got mad at him for shirtless picture at Team USA party
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/report-kobe-bryant-wife-got-mad-him-shirtless-164704328--oly.html


 

[headlines]
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Baseball Poem

 

A Baseball Game (Free verse)

The ump showed up early.
Sharply dressed
His pants, meticulously creased.
His gold watch glinting in the 4 o'clock
End of March southern California sun.
He held a sour look
It was his first line of defense.

The manager of the Astros
Was what you might call
An easy going type.
A long-time bachelor, and a slob to boot.
He always had a quick sly grin
Popped his gum unceasingly.
His face like an old first-baseman's glove;
Tanned brown with wear,
The stitching undone,
Staggeringly wrinkled from so much daily use.

He strolled over to home,
Tugging at the bottom of his extra-large shirt
Which barely covered the expanse of his girth,
Slapped the ump on the back
and announced that the teams
were a little behind getting the field ready
and could we start the game at a quarter past?

The ump looked at his watch without saying a word
Held up his right hand for a moment,
Then brought it down like an ax,
"Play Ball!" he shouted
2 inches from the Astros manager's leathery face.

 

[headlines]
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California Nuts Briefs---

UC Davis confirms officer at center of pepper spraying controversy no longer on the force
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/31/4679466/uc-davis-confirms-officer-at-center.html



[headlines]
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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8


Dick Vermeil calls plays in wine business
http://www.sfgate.com/travel/tastingroom/article/Dick-Vermeil-calls-plays-in-wine-business-3741426.php

Classics in New York
http://www.sfgate.com/travel/tastingroom/article/Dick-Vermeil-calls-plays-in-wine-business-3741426.php

Canada Inches Toward Wine Direct Shipping
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/47114

Sibling of ‘Sideways’ Winery Files for Chapter 11
http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2012/07/30/sibling-of-sideways-winery-files-for-chapter-11/

 

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas/\

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

[headlines]
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This Day in History

      1498 - Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sets foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela. Thinking it an island, he christened it Isla Santa and claimed it for Spain. He entered the Gulf of Paria in Venezuela and planted the Spanish flag in South America on August 1, 1498. He explored the Orinoco River of Venezuela and, given its scope, soon realized he had stumbled upon another continent. Columbus, a deeply religious man, decided after careful thought that Venezuela was the outer regions of the Garden of Eden. Returning to Hispaniola, he found that conditions on the island had deteriorated under the rule of his brothers, Diego and Bartholomew. Columbus' efforts to restore order were marked by brutality, and his rule came to be deeply resented by both the colonists and the native Taino chiefs. In 1500, Spanish chief justice Francisco de Bobadilla arrived at Hispaniola, sent by Isabella and Ferdinand to investigate complaints, and Columbus and his brothers were sent back to Spain in chains. He was immediately released upon his return, and Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to finance a fourth voyage, in which he was to search for the earthly paradise and the realms of gold said to lie nearby. He was also to continue looking for a passage to India. In May 1502, Columbus left Cýdiz on his fourth and final voyage to the New World. After returning to Hispaniola, against his patrons' wishes, he explored the coast of Central America looking for a strait and for gold. Attempting to return to Hispaniola, his ships, in poor condition, had to be beached on Jamaica. Columbus and his men were marooned, but two of his captains succeed in canoeing the 450 miles to Hispaniola. Columbus was a castaway on Jamaica for a year before a rescue ship arrived. In November 1504, Columbus returned to Spain. Queen Isabella, his chief patron, died less than three weeks later. Although Columbus enjoyed substantial revenue from Hispaniola gold during the last years of his life, he repeatedly attempted (unsuccessfully) to gain an audience with King Ferdinand, whom he felt owed him further redress. Columbus died in Valladolid on May 20, 1506, without realizing the great scope of his achievement: He had discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.
    1619-First black Americans (20) land at Jamestown, Virginia.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h289.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p263.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1i2991.html
http://www.historian.org/local/jamstwnva.htm
    1764-Birthday of Anne Willing Bingham conducted social salons for leaders of the newly born United States such as Jefferson, Washington, etc., and had a lot to say to them. AWB is one of the largely unrecognized cadre of early American women who along with Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and others attempted to gain human rights for women from the framers of the U.S. Constitution. 
She reported was used as the model for “ liberty” on US coins. 
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgold/draped_busts/debate.html
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgold/draped_busts/pics.html
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl69.htm
    1776- the first Jew to die in the American Revolution, Francis Salvador, was killed in a skirmish with the British loyalists. He was also the first Jew selected to office in colonial America. He was voted a member of the South Carolina Provincial Congress in January, 1775. He was known as the Southern Paul Revere for having warned of the approach of the British fleet at Charleston, SC. On August 1, 1776, while he was leading the militia under the command of Major Andrew Wilinson, his group was ambushed by Native Americans and loyalists near Esseneka (Seneca). Salvador was shot through the body and the left leg and was scalped by a group of Cherokees who sided with the British.
http://www.fau.edu/library/brody3.htm
    1779-Birthday of Francis Scott Key ( and if you don’t know who he was, turn in your citizenship papers). American attorney, social worker, poet and author of the US national anthem. Key was on shipboard off Baltimore during the British bombardment of Fort McHenery on the nights of September 13-14, 1814. Thrilled to see the American flag still flying over the fort at daybreak, Key wrote the poem “ The Star-Spangled Banner.” Born at Frederick County, MD., he died at Baltimore, MD, January 11, 1842.
http://www.marylandtheseventhstate.com/article1014.html
    1790- The first census revealed that there were 3,939,326 citizens in the 16 states and the Ohio Territory. Virginia, with 747,610, was the most populous state; Rhode Island, with 68,825, the least. New York City had a population of 33,131, Philadelphia had a population of 28,522, and Boston had a population of 18,320. The US has taken a census every 10 years since 1790. 
    1791- Virginia planter Robert Carter Ill confounded his family and friends by filing a deed of emancipation for his 500 slaves. One of the wealthiest men in the state, Carter owned 60,000 acres over IS plantations. The deed included the following words: “I have for some time past been convinced that to retain them in Slavery is contrary to the true principles of Religion and Justice and therefore it is my duty to manumit them.” The document established a schedule by which 15 slaves would be freed each Jan 1, over a 21-year period, plus slave children would be freed at age 18 for females and 21 for males. It is believed this was the largest act of emancipation in US history and predated the Emancipation Proclamation by 70 years.
    1794- Whiskey Rebellion begins.
http://www.whiskeyrebellion.org/rebell.HTM
    1812- A rare tornado hits Westchester County, NY.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nylnphs/HH/2.htm
    1818-Birthday of Maria Mitchell. An interest in her father’s hobby and an ability for mathematics resulted in Maria Mitchell’s becoming the first female professional astronomer. In 1847, while assisting her father in a survey of the sky for the US Coast Guard, Mitchell discovered a new comet and determined its orbit. She received many honors because of this, including being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences---its first woman. Mitchell joined the staff at Vassar Female College in 1865---the first US female profession of astronomy—and in 1873 was a cofounder of the Association for the advancement of Women. Born at Nantucket, MA. Mitchell died June 28, 1889, at Lynn, MA.
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_mit
http://209.68.19.123/
http://ne.essortment.com/biographyofmar_rhff.htm
    1838-Abolition of slavery in Jamaica. Spanish settlers introduced the slave trade into Jamaica in 1509 and sugar cane in 1640. Slavery continued until this day when it was abolished by the British.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Lslavery33.htm
    1861-for trivia fans, John Tyler of Virginia, president of the United States from 1841 to 1845, became a delegate to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the permanent Confederate Congress on November 7, 1861, but died on January 18, 1862, before taking his seat. he is the only former president to serve as an official of an “enemy government.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jt10.html
http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=10
    1873- The first cable car ran at 5am on Clay Street Hill , San Francisco, CA, while the City slept. It was ready to run its trails, and pictures were allowed to be taken on August 2. Revenue service did not take place until September 1. The ride cost five cents. This was the first cable car put into service anywhere in the world. It was invented by Andrew Smith Hallidie, who obtained a patent on January 17, 1871, on an “endless-wire rope way.” Today only three lines of the original lines operate.
http://www.americahurrah.com/Postcards/SFCC1.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/bio/hallidie.html
http://www.americahurrah.com/Postcards/SFCC1.html
    1876- Colorado admitted to the Union as the 38th state.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug01.html
http://www.sfcablecar.com/hist1.html
    1903 –Birthday of Calamity Jane, who’s real name was Martha Jane Cannary Burk, born Princeton, Missouri. Between legend and the usual misrepresentations, the true life of this frontier woman is shrouded. She usually dressed as a man, yet historians claim she was a prostitute. She claimed to have scouted for the army, including for Gen. George Custer while others say that was impossible. She was part of a geological expedition to the Black Hills and stayed after gold was discovered. History says she also was a "companion" of Wild Bill Hickok who died 27 years and one days before she did, and is buried next to him, not his wife. She lived her last years in poverty. How she earned her living appears to be a mystery as many historians claim that she was not a stage driver, a scout, nor anything else like that. She was in El Paso for a time where she married a Clinton Burke who soon deserted her. She was believed to have been a mail carrier in Deadwood, but her exact ways of earning a living are just not known. In reality, most of what we think we know of Calamity Jane is the product of dime novels of the era that portrayed her as beautiful and daring as well as Hollywood movies.
http://www139.pair.com/read/Marthy_Cannary_Burk/Life_and_Adventures_of_Calamity_Jane
/Life_And_Adventures_Of_Calamity_Jane_p1.html

    1916-Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Established. Area of Hawaii Island, including active volcanoes Kilauea and Manua Loa, were established as Hawaii National Park in 1916. 
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/destinations/Hawaii_Volcanoes_National_Park/
    1933- California introduces sales tax due to the devastating depression.
http://www.salestaxcpa.com/id50.htm
    1939-Glenn Miller Band records “ In the Mood,” ( Bluebird 104150 Non-royalty contract gives him only $175.
    1941---Willy’s introduces the “jeep.” General Dwight D. Eisenhower said that America could not have won World War II without it.
http://jeepin.com/history.shtml
    1941-Birthday of Ronald H. Brown, born Washington, DC., grew up in Harlem and studied at Middlebury College in Vermont. After graduating from St. John’s University law school, Brown served as chief council for the Senate Judiciary Committee. He went on to become the first African-American partner at the law firm of Patton Boggs & Blow, the first African-American leader of the Democratic National Committee and later served as the US Secretary of Commerce during the Clinton administration. Brown died in a plane crash at Dubrovnik, Croatia, Apr 3,1996, while on government business. Some say the death was not an accident.
http://www.rhbf.org/aboutron.asp
    1941- Yankee Lefty Gomez breaks the major league mark for walks in a shutout by issuing 11 walks in a 9-0 victory over the Browns.
    1942- Birthday of Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist and driving force behind the Grateful Dead, was born in San Francisco. The Dead were the only psychedelic band of the 1960's to survive into the '90s. They had been better known for their 4 - 5 hour concerts than for their recordings, until 1987's "In the Dark." It was the Grateful Dead's biggest seller, and a single from it, "Touch of Grey," became their first top-ten hit. Garcia died of a heart attack on August 9th, 1995, at a residential treatment center in Forest Knolls, California. He had reportedly gone there to battle his heroin addiction.
http://www.jerrygarcia.com
    1942-The American Federation of Musicians went on strike. Union president James C. Petrillo told musicians that phonograph records were 'a threat to members' jobs.' As a result, musicians refused to perform in recording sessions over the next several months, although live, musical radio broadcasts did continue.
    1943--BAKER, ADDISON E. (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Air Corps, 93d Heavy Bombardment Group. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 1 August 1943. Entered service at: Akron, Ohio. Born: 1 January 1907, Chicago, Ill. G.O. No.: 20, 11 March 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on 1 August 1943. On this date he led his command, the 93d Heavy Bombardment Group, on a daring low-level attack against enemy oil refineries and installations at Ploesti, Rumania. Approaching the target, his aircraft was hit by a large caliber antiaircraft shell, seriously damaged and set on fire. Ignoring the fact he was flying over terrain suitable for safe landing, he refused to jeopardize the mission by breaking up the lead formation and continued unswervingly to lead his group to the target upon which he dropped his bombs with devastating effect. Only then did he leave formation, but his valiant attempts to gain sufficient altitude for the crew to escape by parachute were unavailing and his aircraft crashed in flames after his successful efforts to avoid other planes in formation. By extraordinary flying skill, gallant leadership and intrepidity, Lt. Col. Baker rendered outstanding, distinguished, and valorous service to our Nation
    1943-HUGHES, LLOYD H. (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 564th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, 9th Air Force. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 1 August 1943. Entered service at: San Antonio, Tex. Born: 12 July 1921, Alexandria, La. G.O. No.: 17, 26 February 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry in action and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On August 1943, 2d Lt. Hughes served in the capacity of pilot of a heavy bombardment aircraft participating in a long and hazardous minimum-altitude attack against the Axis oil refineries of Ploesti, Rumania, launched from the northern shores of Africa. Flying in the last formation to attack the target, he arrived in the target area after previous flights had thoroughly alerted the enemy defenses. Approaching the target through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire and dense balloon barrages at dangerously low altitude, his plane received several direct hits from both large and small caliber antiaircraft guns which seriously damaged his aircraft, causing sheets of escaping gasoline to stream from the bomb bay and from the left wing. This damage was inflicted at a time prior to reaching the target when 2d Lt. Hughes could have made a forced landing in any of the grain fields readily available at that time. The target area was blazing with burning oil tanks and damaged refinery installations from which flames leaped high above the bombing level of the formation. With full knowledge of the consequences of entering this blazing inferno when his airplane was profusely leaking gasoline in two separate locations, 2d Lt. Hughes, motivated only by his high conception of duty which called for the destruction of his assigned target at any cost, did not elect to make a forced landing or turn back from the attack. Instead, rather than jeopardize the formation and the success of the attack, he unhesitatingly entered the blazing area and dropped his bomb load with great precision. After successfully bombing the objective, his aircraft emerged from the conflagration with the left wing aflame. Only then did he attempt a forced landing, but because of the advanced stage of the fire enveloping his aircraft the plane crashed and was consumed. By 2d Lt. Hughes' heroic decision to complete his mission regardless of the consequences in utter disregard of his own life, and by his gallant and valorous execution of this decision, he has rendered a service to our country in the defeat of our enemies which will everlastingly be outstanding in the annals of our Nation's history.
    1943--JERSTAD, JOHN L. (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps, 9th Air Force. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 1 August 1943. Entered service at: Racine, Wis. Born: 12 February 1918, Racine, Wis. G.O. No.: 72, 28 October 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. On 1 August 1943, he served as pilot of the lead aircraft in his group in a daring low-level attack against enemy oil refineries and installations at Ploesti, Rumania. Although he had completed more than his share of missions and was no longer connected with this group, so high was his conception of duty that he volunteered to lead the formation in the correct belief that his participation would contribute materially to success in this attack. Maj. Jerstad led the formation into attack with full realization of the extreme hazards involved and despite withering fire from heavy and light antiaircraft guns. Three miles from the target his airplane was hit, badly damaged, and set on fire. Ignoring the fact that he was flying over a field suitable for a forced landing, he kept on the course. After the bombs of his aircraft were released on the target, the fire in his ship became so intense as to make further progress impossible and he crashed into the target area. By his voluntary acceptance of a mission he knew was extremely hazardous, and his assumption of an intrepid course of action at the risk of life over and above the call of duty, Maj. Jerstad set an example of heroism which will be an inspiration to the U.S. Armed Forces.
    1943--JOHNSON, LEON W. (Air Mission) Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Colonel, U.S. Army Air Corps, 44th Bomber Group, 9th Air Force. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 1 August 1943. Entered service at: Moline, Kans. Born: 13 September 1904, Columbia, Mo. G.O. No.: 54, 7 September 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry in action and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 1 August 1943. Col. Johnson, as commanding officer of a heavy bombardment group, let the formation of the aircraft of his organization constituting the fourth element of the mass low-level bombing attack of the 9th U.S. Air Force against the vitally important enemy target of the Ploesti oil refineries. While proceeding to the target on this 2,400-mile flight, his element became separated from the leading elements of the mass formation in maintaining the formation of the unit while avoiding dangerous cumulous cloud conditions encountered over mountainous territory. Though temporarily lost, he reestablished contact with the third element and continued on the mission with this reduced force to the prearranged point of attack, where it was discovered that the target assigned to Col. Johnson's group had been attacked and damaged by a preceding element. Though having lost the element of surprise upon which the safety and success of such a daring form of mission in heavy bombardment aircraft so strongly depended, Col. Johnson elected to carry out his planned low-level attack despite the thoroughly alerted defenses, the destructive antiaircraft fire, enemy fighter airplanes, the imminent danger of exploding delayed action bombs from the previous element, of oil fires and explosions, and of intense smoke obscuring the target. By his gallant courage, brilliant leadership, and superior flying skill, Col. Johnson so led his formation as to destroy totally the important refining plants and installations which were the object of his mission. Col. Johnson's personal contribution to the success of this historic raid, and the conspicuous gallantry in action, and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty demonstrated by him on this occasion constitute such deeds of valor and distinguished service as have during our Nation's history formed the finest traditions of our Armed Forces.
    1943--KANE, JOHN R. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Colonel, U.S. Army Air Corps, 9th Air Force. Place and date: Ploetsi Raid, Rumania, 1 August 1943. Entered service at: Shreveport, La. Birth: McGregor, Tex. G.O. No.: 54, 9 August 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry in action and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 1 August 1943. On this date he led the third element of heavy bombardment aircraft in a mass low-level bombing attack against the vitally important enemy target of the Ploesti oil refineries. En route to the target, which necessitated a round-trip flight of over 2,400 miles, Col. Kane's element became separated from the leading portion of the massed formation in avoiding dense and dangerous cumulous cloud conditions over mountainous terrain. Rather than turn back from such a vital mission he elected to proceed to his target. Upon arrival at the target area it was discovered that another group had apparently missed its target and had previously attacked ??and damaged the target assigned to Col. Kane's element. Despite the thoroughly warned defenses, the intensive antiaircraft fire, enemy fighter airplanes, extreme hazards on a low-level attack of exploding delayed action bombs from the previous element, of oil fires and explosions and dense smoke over the target area, Col. Kane elected to lead his formation into the attack. By his gallant courage, brilliant leadership, and superior flying skill, he and the formation under his command successfully attacked this vast refinery so essential to our enemies' war effort. Through his conspicuous gallantry in this most hazardous action against the enemy, and by his intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Col. Kane personally contributed vitally to the success of this daring mission and thereby rendered most distinguished service in the furtherance of the defeat of our enemies.
    1944-Warsaw Uprising. Having received radio reports from Moscow promising aid from the red Army, the Polish Home army rose up against the Nazi oppressors. At 5pm, thousands of windows were thrown open and Polish patriots, 40,000 strong, began shooting at German soldiers in the streets. The Germans responded by throwing eight divisions into the battle. Despite appeals from the London-based Polish government-in exile, no assistance was forthcoming from the Allies, and after two months of horrific fighting the rebellion was quashed. 
    1944- Anne Frank makes the last entry into her diary. To escape deportation to concentration camps, the Jewish family of Otto Frank hid for two years in the warehouse of his food products business at Amsterdam. Gentile friends smuggled in food and other supplies during their confinement. Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank, who kept a journal during the time of their hiding, penned her last entry in the diary Aug 1,1944: ‘[I] keep on trying to find away of becoming what I would like to be, and what I could be, if . . . there weren’t any other people living in the world.” Three days later (Aug 4,1944) Grune Polizel raided the ‘Secret Annex” where the Frank family was hidden. Anne and her sister were sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where Anne died at age 15, two months before the liberation of Holland. Young Anne’s diary, later found in the family’s hiding place, has been translated into 30 languages and has become a symbol of the indomitable strength of the human spirit.
    1944---Top Hits
Amor - Bing Crosby
I’ll Be Seeing You - Bing Crosby
Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
Is You is or is You Ain’t (Ma’ Baby) - Louis Jordan
    1951-Neal Hefti Band records his “Coral Reef.” Great trumpet player, greater arranger for Basie, Sinatra, and many others.
http://www.spaceagepop.com/hefti.htm
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Hefti,+Neal
    1952---Top Hits
I’m Yours - Don Cornell
Delicado - Percy Faith
Auf Wiedersehn, Sweetheart - Vera Lynn
Are You Teasing Me - Carl Smith
    1953-Birthday of guitarist Robert Cray, Columbus, GA
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/index.html
    1954-An August 1st concert promoted by Alan Freed features Fats Domino, Muddy Waters, The Clovers, The Orioles and others at the Moondog Jubilee of Stars Under the Stars at Eberts Field in Brooklyn, New York.
    1956-RCA released two of Elvis Presley's hit singles: "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Love Me Tender".
    1957- Dodger first baseman Gil Hodges hits his 13th career grand slam and the last grand slam in Brooklyn Dodger history. The bases-loaded shot establishes a new National League record.
    1959-After nine weeks as the best selling song in America, Johnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans" is pushed out of the number one spot by Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy".
    1959 -- Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy" hits #1
    1960- Chubby Checker's recording of "The Twist" was released by Cameo-Parkway Records. Checker wasn't the originator of the song that spawned the '60s greatest dance craze. That honor belonged to Hank Ballard, who wrote and recorded the tune as the "B" side of his 1958 hit "Teardrops on My Letter." But it was Chubby Checker who rode "The Twist" to stardom. His recording went to number one on the Billboard pop chart twice - in 1960 and again in 1962. 
http://www.send4fun.com/twist.htm
http://www.chubbychecker.com/
    1960- 18 year-old singer Aretha Franklin made her first secular recordings for producer John Hammond at Columbia Records. She had recorded some gospel songs at her father's church in Detroit four years earlier.
http://www.aretha-franklin.com/bio.htm
http://www.artistdirect.com/showcase//urban/arethafranklin.html
    1960---Top Hits
I’m Sorry - Brenda Lee
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
It’s Now or Never - Elvis Presley
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin
    1963-Arthur Ashe, first Black male to win Wimbledon, becomes first Black person named to the US Davis Cup team. 
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/features/1997/arthurashe/biography.html
    1964-The title track from The Beatles' movie "A Hard Day's Night" topped the record charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The film was originally titled "Beatlemania" until producers heard an offhanded comment by Ringo Starr as he flopped into a canvas chair and said "It's been a hard day's night, that was."
    1964 - The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" hits #1
    1966 - Charles Whitman takes a stockpile of guns and ammunition to the observatory platform atop a 300-foot tower at the University of Texas and proceeds to shoot 46 people, killing 16.Whitman, who had killed both his wife and mother the night before, was eventually shot to death after courageous Austin police officers, including Ramiro Martinez, charged up the stairs of the tower to subdue the attacker.Packing food and other supplies, he proceeded to the observation platform, killing the receptionist and two tourists before unpacking his rifle and telescope and hunting the people below. An expert marksman, Whitman was able to hit people as far away as 500 yards. For 90 minutes, he continued firing while officers searched for a chance to get a shot at him. By the end of his rampage, 16 people were dead and another 30 were injured. The University of Texas tower remained closed for over 30 years before reopening in 1999.
    1968---Top Hits
Grazing in the Grass - Hugh Masekela
Stoned Soul Picnic - The 5th Dimension
Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan
Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny
    1969 - The U.S. command in Saigon announces that 27 American aircraft were lost in the previous week, bringing the total losses of aircraft in the conflict to date to 5,690.
    1970-Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" enters the Billboard Hot 100 where it will climb to #4. Many fans are confused about the song's meaning until it is explained that the tune was being written at 25 or 6 to four in the morning.
    1972- Chicago's Chicago V LP is certified gold
    1973 - The first big oldies revival kicks off in earnest as George Lucas' new film, American Graffiti, premieres in Los Angeles. Portraying a night in the life of several California teenagers in 1961, it made stars out of Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and more, and also inspired the ABC-TV smash Happy Days.
    1971-The two Concerts for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison, were held at Madison Square Garden in New York. Among the other performers were Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Leon Russell and Ringo Starr. A three-record set, which won a Grammy Award, and a documentary film were made of the event. The concerts, album and film raised nearly $11 million US for the impoverished people of the newly-independent nation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan. But much of the money was impounded by the US Internal Revenue Service during a nine-year audit of the Beatles' Apple Corps Limited. $2 million was sent to UNICEF before the audit began, but it wasn't until 1981 that a check for the remainder was issued.
    1976---Top Hits
Kiss and Say Goodbye - Manhattans
Love is Alive - Gary Wright
Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck
Teddy Bear - Red Sovine
    1977-Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants hit the 18th and last grand slam of his career. His total still stands as the National League record. Lou Gehrig holds the major league record with 23.
http://www.eteamz.com/hallfame/files/AA06.txt
    1977- Giant Willie McCovey establishes a National League record by hitting his 18th career grand slam.
    1977- "Elvis - What Happened," an expose by two of Presley's former bodyguards, was published. It sat in bookstores almost unnoticed until Presley's death two weeks later. Then it sold more than three-million copies. It is not available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, nor other on line used book stores at this time. Try the library in your neighborhood, and order by telephone or internet for a copy via the library system ( you must have a library card and internet pin number---it is free ).
    1979- Following her graduation from rabbinical college in Philadelphia, Linda Joy Holtzman was appointed spiritual leader of the Conservative Beth Israel congregation in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, making her the first female rabbi to head a Jewish congregation in America.
    1981-The all music-video channel, MTV, debuted. VHq, another music channel owned by MTV Networks that is aimed at older pop music fans, premiered in 1985.
    1982- Greg Louganis, US becomes first diver to score 700 (752.67) in 11 dives.
    1982- Hank Aaron, the holder of the career home run record (755) and RBI record (2,297); Frank Robinson, the first player to win the MVP in both leagues and the first black manager in the majors; Travis Jackson, an outstanding offensive and defensive shortstop for the Giants during 1920's, and former commissioner Happy Chandler, who provided leadership in breaking baseball's color line are inducted in the Hall of Fame
    1984---Top Hits
When Doves Cry - Prince
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.
State of Shock - Jacksons
Angel in Disguise - Earl Thomas Conley
    1986 - A powerful thunderstorm produced 100 mph winds and large hail in eastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri causing 71 million dollars damage, and injuring nineteen persons. It was one of the worst thunderstorms of record for Kansas. Crops were mowed to the ground in places and roofs blown off buildings along its path, 150 miles long and 30 miles wide, from near Abilene to southeast of Pittsburg.
    1987 - Record heat gripped parts of the Midwest. A dozen cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Lincoln, NE, with a reading of 105 degrees, Moline, IL, with an afternoon high of 103 degrees, and Burlington, IA, with a reading of 102 degrees.
    1989 - Hurricane Chantal made landfall along the Upper Texas coast about sunrise. Chantal deluged parts of Galveston Island and southeastern Texas with 8 to 12 inches of rain. Unofficial totals ranged up to twenty inches. Winds gusted to 82 mph at Galveston, and reached 76 mph in the Houston area. Tides were 5 to 7 feet high. The hurricane claimed two lives, and caused 100 million dollars damage.
    1989-- Gwendolyn King, became the first American of black African descent to head the Social Security Commission.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/king.html
    1998 -Using the old Negro League teams represented in their respective cities, the Cardinal-Brave game Saturday featured throwback uniforms of the 1928 St. Louis Stars and the 1940 Atlanta Black Crackers.
    1990-The creation of what would become the world Wide Web was suggested this month in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Caliiau at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics at Switzerland. By October, they had designed a prototype Web browser. They also introduced HTML ( Hypertex Markup Language ) and the URL ( Universal Resource Locator). Mosaic, the first graphical Web browser, was designed by Marc Andesseen and released in 1993
( he was one of the founders of Netscape )---until that time there was “Archie” and Gopher. ) by early 1993, there were 50 Web servers worldwide.
    1990-IBM sold off its typewriter and keyboard businesses on this day in 1990. The move signaled IBM's increasing focus on the personal computer market. IBM also discontinued production of several of its PS/2 systems due to poor sales.
    1990- Ashton Tate released a new version of its software package, dBase IV. Ashton Tate had dominated the database market in the 1980s but began to slide in the 1990s. At the height of the company's success in the mid-1980s, founder George Tate died of a heart attack at his desk.
    1993-African-American Ronald H Brown, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, appointed head of the Department of Commerce by President-elect Bill Clinton.
    1994-, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirmed that they had been married by a judge in the Dominican Republic on May 26th. Publicists for the bride and groom had been denying the marriage took place since word of it leaked out on July 10th. 
    1995 - Selling 331,000 copies, Selena's ``Dreaming of You,'' her first English album, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. The slain Tejano singer becomes the first Latin artist ever to debut at No. 1.
    1996 - Olympic wrap-up: Michael Johnson left his fellow runners in the dust to win gold in the 200 meters in a record 19.32 seconds. He was the first male Olympian to complete the 200/400-meter Olympic double. And French sprinter Marie-Jose Perec became only the second woman in history to win a gold medal in both the 200-meter and the 400-meter runs at the same Olympics. Perec joined American Valerie Brisco-Hooks, who won both the 200 and 400 races in 1984 in Los Angeles. The U.S. women’s soccer team claimed the gold medal and capped the first women’s soccer competition at the Olympics, beating China 2-1. And last, but certainly not least, Dan O’Brien won the gold in the decathlon, four years after failing to make the U.S. Olympic team. 
    2001 -For the 33rd time in the team's history, the Tigers turn a triple play as Mariner Mark McLemore lines out to second baseman Damion Easley, who throws to shortstop Deivi Cruz to double up Tom Lampkin. Cruz then relays the ball to first baseman Shane Halter catching Ichiro Suzuki off first to complete Detroit's first triple killing since July 3, 1992, when the victim was also Seattle.

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