Leasing Icon Peter King Passes Away

Sunrise International/King Capital Founder Peter John King
(February 11, 1928 - March 14, 2011)

"Peter was one of the most successful leasing entrepreneurs that I have had the pleasure of working with. He built King Capital and Sunrise International Leasing into major equipment leasing businesses by being innovative. Peter was also a person of many interests. In recent years, he has devoted much of his time and wealth to the charitable activities of the foundation he established. He will be missed by the many people whose lives he touched."

Bruce Kropschot, Senior Managing Director and Merger & Acquisition Advisory Practice Leader
The Alta Group, LLC

Obituary

“Age 83 of North Oaks, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on March 14, 2011, after a courageous battle with cancer. Preceded in death by his mother, Rebecca Savopoulos Kalafatas and father, John M. Kalafatas; brothers, Metrophanis and Nicholas; and sister, Bessie Papas. Survived by his loving companion, Ann Fankhanel, his sons, Bill (Beth) and Russell; his grandsons, Kyle, Ryan and Michael King, William and Daniel Graham, and Kellin and Alex Sandeno. He is also survived by sisters, Demetra Bowers and Ann Larouche; sister-in-law, Helen Kalafatas; many nieces and nephews; and a large group of loving, devoted friends.

“Peter was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 11, 1928, the fifth of six children. He graduated from Boston College where he played football, was the founding editor of its first business school newspaper and a founding member of the New Boston Committee. Peter had two careers - first in finance and manufacturing management, holding positions of increasing responsibility including director and senior officer of three New York Stock Exchange and two NASDAQ listed corporations.

“After 25 years, he began his second career by forming an equipment leasing company, King Capital Corporation. King Capital, through its leasing subsidiary Sunrise International Leasing Corporation, became the 50th largest leasing company in the United States and was cited twice as one of the fastest growing companies in Minnesota.

After 30 years, King Capital phased out of leasing and Peter vowed to donate all of his proceeds to charity, founding the Peter J. King Family Foundation. The Foundation has provided major funding to “bricks and mortar” projects for the Salvation Army, United Hospital, United Family Medicine Clinic and Residency Program and Union Gospel Mission. The Foundation has also provided funding for education and health care facilities in Tanzania, Africa, to which he traveled frequently. Peter also took an active role in his community as a director of the North Oaks Home Owners Association. His recreational interests ranged from boating, scuba diving, tennis and golf, to being a worldwide traveler, avid gardener, accomplished woodworker and opera enthusiast.

“Funeral service 11AM Monday, March 21 at INCARNATION LUTHERAN CHURCH, 4880 Hodgson Road, Shoreview. Visitation 4 – 8PM Sunday, March 20 at HOLCOMB-HENRY-BOOM-PURCELL FUNERAL HOME, 515 Highway 96 West at Mackubin, Shoreview and beginning at 10AM at the church before Monday’s service. Memorials preferred to the Salvation Army and United Hospital Foundation.”

- Milwaukee Star Tribune

Classified Ads---Collections/Controller

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

Seattle, WA 16 years experience small-ticket market; collections management, bankruptcy, litigation; strong vendor network; CLP Certification 2000- Pinnacle Capital since 2003, previously Irwin Business Finance, Financial Pacific westongerry@gmail.com Resume

Chicago, IL experienced in lease accounting, operations, management, and Sarbanes-Oxley. Seeking position with equipment lessor. Would consider contract assignments or relocating. Email: leasecontroller@comcast.net

Southeastern, MI Controller & Management experience w/ equip lessors &broker. MBA, CPA w/ extensive accounting, management, securitization experience with public and private companies. Willing to relocate. Email: Leasebusiness@aol.com

Acton, MA Strong experience in lease accounting, operations, & systems.   Implemented lease plus, Great Plains, networks. Excellent financial reporting and analysis skills. Looking for new opportunity. LinkedIn alexanderzlenz@gmail.com| Resume

Southern CA 20 years exp. as hands-on leasing CFO, managing accounting, treasury, FP&A, including securitizations, Great Plains/FRx, budgets, risk management.  MBA.  Also available as interim Controller/CFO, consultant. Email: leasecfo@gmail.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

John Kenny Receivables Management www.jrkrmdirect.com • End of Lease Negotiations & Enforcement • Fraud Investigation • Credit Investigations • Asset Searches • Skip-tracing • Third-party Commercial Collections The Solution to Your Credit & Accounts Receivable Needs John Kenny 315-866-1167 |  John@jkrmdirect.com

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for investigations
and background information provided by John Kenny)

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Evergreen Leasing Continue Marlin's Sole Net Profit
by Christopher Menkin

CEO Dan Dyer with George Pelose, EVP, COO, Gen.Counsel, Secretary

The Marlin Business Services (NASDAQ:MRLN), Mount Laurel, New Jersey press release showed in the Condensed Consolidate Balance Sheets that total assets had shrunk from $565.8 million to $468 million although profits were up to $5.6 million and equity grew form $151.9 million to $160 million.

	Net Income (loss)
2006	$18,318
2007	$18,000
2008	($5,230)
2009	$1,036
2010	$5,668

Daniel P. Dyer, Marlin's CEO said," Looking ahead to 2011, we are well positioned to serve the growing credit needs of small and mid-sized businesses led by a financially strong, well-capitalized balance sheet and the overall strength of our funding platform led by Marlin Business Bank."

This is not a full report of the 114 page SEC year-end filing as it does not cover the refilling of taxes (to Marlin's favor), bank regulation (most likely to Marlin's favor), officer and executive salaries, plus stock options (you guessed it) or charge offs or other matters (all seemingly favorable), but is more a repeat of what Leasing News has been reporting for several years that Evergreen leases (120 notification requirement by the lessee or leases goes into automatic renewal, especially on copies) is the real gist of the report.

Marlin Business Services, Mount Laurel, New Jersey Year-end 2010 SEC filing shows:

Residual Performance
“Our leases offer our end user customers the option to own the purchased equipment at lease expiration. As of December 31, 2010, approximately 69% of our leases were one dollar purchase option leases, 28% were fair market value leases and 3% were fixed purchase option leases, the latter of which typically contain a purchase price equal to 10% of the original equipment cost. As of December 31, 2010, there were $37.3 million of residual assets retained on our Consolidated Balance Sheet, of which $30.6 million, or 82.0%, were related to copiers. As of December 31, 2009, there were $43.9 million of residual assets retained on our Consolidated Balance Sheet, of which $35.1 million, or 79.9%, were related to copiers. No other group of equipment represented more than 10% of equipment residuals as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

“Improvements in technology and other market changes, particularly in copiers, could adversely impact our ability to realize the recorded residual values of this equipment.”
   page 51

“Our leases generally include renewal provisions and many leases continue beyond their initial contractual term. Based on the Company's experience, the amount of ultimate realization of the residual value tends to relate more to the customer's election at the end of the lease term to enter into a renewal period, purchase the leased equipment or return the leased equipment than it does to the equipment type. We consider renewal income a component of residual performance. Renewal income, net of depreciation, totaled approximately $7.7 million, $7.2 million and $7.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.”
   page 52

In previous filings, it was noted these Evergreen renewals were mostly in copier leases, which continue to high in the equiment leased by

Marlin:

(click to view larger)

  page 8

(click to view larger)

  page 9

“• the average original lease transaction was approximately $11,300, with an average remaining balance of approximately $5,400;
• the average original lease term was approximately 50 months;
• our active leases were spread among approximately 60,000 different end user customers, with the largest single end user customer accounting for only 0.14% of the aggregate minimum lease payments receivable;
• over 81.6% of the aggregate minimum lease payments receivable were with end user customers who had been in business for more than five years...”
   page 8

“Personnel costs represent our most significant overhead expense and we actively manage our staffing levels to the requirements of our lease portfolio. As a result of the challenging economic environment, we proactively lowered expenses in the first quarter of 2009, including reducing our workforce by 17% and closing our two smallest satellite sales offices (Chicago and Salt Lake City). A total of 49 employees company-wide were terminated in connection with the staff reductions in the first quarter of 2009. We incurred pretax severance costs in the three months ended March 31, 2009 of approximately $0.5 million related to the staff reductions.

“During the second quarter of 2009, we announced a further workforce reduction of 24%, or 55 employees company-wide, including the closure of our Denver satellite office. We incurred pretax severance costs in the three months ended June 30, 2009 of approximately $0.7 million related to these staff reductions.

“During the year ended December 31, 2010, our strong asset quality and our access to funding enabled us to increase the number of our sales account executives by 49, from 38 sales account executives at December 31, 2009 to 87 at December 31, 2010. This action was part of our plan to rebuild our sales organization to increase originations and to match our current funding capacity.”
   page 42

stock

“On November 2, 2007, the Company's Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase plan. Under this program, the Company is authorized to repurchase up to $15 million in value of its outstanding shares of common stock...The repurchases are funded using the Company's working capital.

“The Company purchased 21,822 shares of its common stock for $0.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. The Company purchased 88,894 shares of its common stock for $0.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2009. At December 31, 2010, the Company had $10.4 million remaining in its stock repurchase plan authorized by the Board of Directors.

“In addition to the repurchases described above, pursuant to the Company's 2003 Equity Compensation Plan (as amended, the "2003 Plan"), participants may have shares withheld to cover income taxes. There were 59,103 and 13,720 shares repurchased to cover income taxes during the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, at average per-share costs of $9.12 and $3.89, respectively.”
   page 93

“We believe our leased facilities are adequate for our current needs and sufficient to support our current operations and anticipated future requirements.”
   page 25

“At December 31, 2010, we operated from five leased facilities including our executive office facility, a Philadelphia office facility, two branch offices and the headquarters of MBB. Our Mount Laurel, New Jersey executive offices are housed in a leased facility of approximately 50,000 square feet under a lease that expires in May 2013. We also lease 3,524 square feet of office space in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where we perform our lease recording and acceptance functions. Our Philadelphia lease expires in July 2013. In addition, we have a regional office in Johns Creek, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta). Our Georgia office is 5,822 square feet and the lease expires in July 2013. The headquarters of MBB in Salt Lake City is 5,764 square feet and the lease expires in October 2014. We also lease 300 square feet for a sales office in Sherwood, Oregon. This lease commenced September 2010 and is on a month-to-month basis.”
   Page 25

Full SEC Year-end Marlin Business Services SEC (114 pages):
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Marlin2010Year-End.pdf

Previous Marlin and Evergreen Clause Profits:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Marlin_Leasing_2008.htm

 

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

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Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

Leasing 102
by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP

Warning About New Accounting Proposal:
"...this change looks dark to me."

If the new lease accounting rules remain intact, without some major changes, it will have a devastating effect on small and medium size business and the leasing industry as a whole. I am sure you have heard the phrase “It looked like the company was making money, but it filed for bankruptcy.

It seems that the accounting profession is lost in some never-never land where theoretical overcomes the practical. I know that straight lining expenses sounds acceptable in a perfect world, but that is not useful to a business that has irregular revenue with heavy up front expenses, unusual expenses, or irregular expenses. One of the major advantages of operating leases is that the rent expense could be expensed as it was paid. Lessor’s structured the lease payments so they came when the revenue did so the effect of the profit margin was correctly determined and they had the cash to meet the expense. The off balance sheet requirement of operating leases is what created this mess; however, it was not the leading factor for choosing the operating lease classification. It was the ability to expense the rents, as they were paid, even thought they were irregular.

The new rules will place all leases on the balance sheet---but at the same time take away the right to expense the lease payments, as paid, and reduce it to a straight line depreciation expense over the term of the lease, without regard to the irregularity of the corresponding revenue. Income will, in many cases, be overstated and expenses understated. It will become very difficult to determine if the margin stated in the income statement will keep it in business. Cash will be critical and additional lines of credit will be necessary to provide a cash account to override the false sense of security that the income statement will present due to the false statement of expenses. What started out to be transparency has now become a curtain to the actual transaction.

Leasing has for years supported business by helping to overcome the shortcomings of Accrual Accounting by helping to place the expense in the correct accounting period. It is an interesting fact that many small business fail to use accrual accounting and prefer cash accounting or a hybrid method that gets to the real performance of their business. However they suffer when it comes time to present a reviewed, especially an audited financial picture to their bankers or suppliers. They find themselves in league with the accountants who are placing a lot of pressure on them to use accrual accounting. As a company grows the pressure grows with it and many companies, after finally agreeing, try to find other information rather than accounting reports to manage the firm.

The new accounting rules will force the leasing industry back into the pre 1986 days when tax leasing and residuals helped set us apart from conventional conditional sales contracts or loans. Cash flow and the present value of the lease payments will come back into vogue. However the old ways of selling leases are not well understood by the present crop of leasing salespersons, so a lot of training and redirection will be necessary.

That is not to say that there will not be a fair amount of bargain purchase option leases sold, however, it will become a rate war and margins will narrow due to the limited product mix of theses lessor’s. I believe the emergence of the Captive lessor’s this past ten years will change the face of our business because as they and the banks have driven out most of the independent lessor’s. There is little competition remaining that understands residual risk. There will be less independent lessors. The move back to tax leasing and reliance on residuals will surly give the captives a leg up on the market.

If you can find a Lessor or salesperson that was in the business before 1986,I would suggest you grab on to them and pick their brain on how they were successful in that time frame. I would suggest you prepare yourself for some major shifts in the market and some new/old ways of approaching your market!

I used to think change was good every so often, but this change looks dark to me.

Mr. Terry Winders, CLP, has been a teacher, consultant, expert witness for the leasing industry for thirty-five years and can be reached at leaseconsulting@msn.com or 502-649-0448

He invites your questions and queries.

Previous #102 Columns:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Leasing_102/Index.htm

(This ad is a “trade” for the writing of this column. Opinions
contained in the column are those of Mr. Terry Winders, CLP)

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March 30 Wednesday Lunch New Brunswick, NJ

Linda Kester, author of “366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing” is the guest speaker.
The subject "Using content marketing, social media, and lead nurturing."

Registration:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/BrunswickRegistration2011.pdf

Further Information:
Steve Geller, CLP
sgeller@leasingsolutionsllc.com
(845)362-6101

"366 Marketing Tips for Equipment Leasing” by Linda Kester Kindle edition at Amazon for $9.95 or $29.95 paperback

NEFA Spring Conference
an excellent report by Bob Robichaud, CLP

The 2011 National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA), Spring Conference was held at the Hotel Valley Ho, in warm, sunny, picturesque, Scottsdale, AZ, from March 17th-19th, located just walking distance from Old Town Scottsdale, the cultural art district and a spring gathering spot for fans of Major League Baseball. This quirky hotel first opened in 1956 but was originally a “private” getaway for Hollywood celebrities. It was completely restored in 2005 but it still has that old “retro” 1950’s look and feel and I kept expecting to see Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, martinis and cigarettes in hand, out by the pool, among all the ladies!

The conference theme this year was “Innovate, Inspire, Grow and Prosper” and this conference delivered all that and much more! More then one hundred and ten (110) Lessors/Brokers, Service Providers and Funding sources, came from all around the country and Canada, to warm up in the “Valley of the Sun”, to meet and discuss mutual industry issues, visit the exhibit booths, establish new relationships, renew old ones, pick up a few meaningful tips and ideas to help increase their management and selling skills to improve the potential for increased success, and of course relax and have a little fun!

Festivities began on Thursday evening at the Ambassadors Reception, where eighteen (18) first time attendees and eight (8) new members had an opportunity to meet and greet the current NEFA Board of Directors. A Welcome Reception was held immediately after up on the rooftop of the hotel where the show really began. As the sun set in the west we were presented with amazing Arizona vistas in every direction and later by a billion stars that lit up the desert night. The Welcome Reception was a time for everyone to shake hands and share stories with old and new friends, relax, eat a little food and enjoy a beverage of their choice.

On Friday morning NEFA President, Chris Enbom, CLP, kicked off the meetings and again welcomed everyone to the conference. He stated that conference numbers are up slightly, that we’ve survived the past three years. He said business is certainly starting to improve and he was very optimistic about the future. He introduced and congratulated Shari Lipski, CLP for her great work in putting the conference together and also introduced the new NEFA Executive Director, Gerry Egan, who was recently hired to lead the association, assist in planning future conferences and speakers and drive future membership.

Gerry Egan is very bullish on the finance industry and the NEFA Association and reiterated that funding is indeed returning to the market and that more regional funding sources are open to the right quality of business. Gerry reminded us that we need to get the word out about the benefits of the NEFA Association, and challenged everyone there to help NEFA grow by committing to reach out and encourage one new industry peer to take a closer look at what the association can offer them as they grow. He said: “each one-teach one” and “each one-reach one”! Gerry has an uncanny (some might say weird) ability to take everyday occurrences and turn them into humorous life lessons. He shared a few of his many “Rules of the Road” for dealing with our business and life in general, that he discovered while he and Jaimie traveled around the country in their trailer, and instructed us to remember to always ”Empty the Black Tank”, which I won’t go into here. I’m convinced he’s somehow related to Jerry Seinfeld

The opening conference speaker, David Wiener, told everyone that “prior planning prevents poor performance”. David stated that people buy differences, that differences are not always better, but better is always different and presented a number of ideas to consider, questions to ask and showed charts showing the past and the present state of the industry. The message is we need to become more efficient and do more with less and continue to improve how we present business to attract lenders willing to take risks in this economy. There is definitely increasing demand for equipment leasing/financing as the economy slowly recovers, however; the way it will be presented must be improved.

All the sessions continued with the conference theme to “Innovate, Inspire, Grow & Prosper” and were loaded with current, usable information, included information on current technology. The sessions were well prepared with knowledgeable competent speakers and often presented in a very humorous way, including an exceptionally funny skit regarding the negotiation of a portfolio purchase and the underlying document.

This conference presented everyone with plenty of usable tips on how to recharge your batteries, confirmed that we all earn our living connected to a remarkable and necessary industry and that although we’ve just come through the worst recession in many, many years, we are “Survivors”! We are well positioned to make the most of the coming opportunities as business continues to improve, but in order to do that we need to continue to be better prepared, efficient and more knowledgeable then our competition.

Congratulations to new NEFA Executive Director, Gerry Egan, his entire staff, including Jamie Egan, Kim King and Wendy Scott, and also to Spring Conference Chairperson, Shari Lipski, CLP, NEFA President Chris Enbom, CLP, and all the dedicated NEFA members who agreed to be speakers, and everyone else. You did an amazing job to put on what I felt was not only an exceptional conference, but the best conference I’ve attended in many years….if not ever! It was truly worth the time and cost. The conference was upbeat from the moment it kicked off. All the sessions were well attended and the speakers and message were well presented. As an added flavor we got to listen and ask questions to the editors of three leading leasing media sources, the Leasing News, Newsline and the Monitor and that alone was well worth the price of admission.

The recurring response from most of the attendees I spoke with is that the association is in competent hands business is returning, applications are up and funding is available for the right deals that fit and are well presented.

The Fall conference will be held September15-17, 2011 in Minneapolis, MN and you are all invited to attend…..and as Gerry Egan said, “Bring a friend!”

Bob Robichaud, CLP
Vice President, Equipment Finance Department
Commerce National Bank
3818 E. Coronado Street, Suite 100
Anaheim, CA 92807
brobichaud@commercenatbank.com
(Tel.) 714-678-5302
(Cell) 714-290-8112

State of the Leasing Industry
by Christopher Menkin, editor/publisher

(In preparing for the National Equipment Finance Association “Meet the News Media,“as noted in Bob’s excellent report above, I made notes to questions in advance that I thought I would be asked. While this was perhaps embellished “live” in reaction to the audience, here is the basic answer from my notes:)

Depending primarily on your age, you may not be seeing or experiencing the major changes in the industry---- the "Digital Age."

Conferences and meetings such as this may be obsolete. It is too early to tell, but the economic profit to the association and to increasing membership are factors. Without the better attendance, as well as more members contributing, have leasing associations outlived their original intention? Networking has changed.

Have the leasing associations changed with it? It is easy to blame the economy, but I think there is a lot more to it.

It’s all part of the State of the Industry. Communication.

Mimeograph, Answering services, pagers----even faxing are out of date.

We are a long way from "fax to fund." Remember that?

Software brought individuals to be equal with large offices--- the ability type contracts--- and now with digital equipment process funding, and now exchange documents, fundings, over the internet with laptops, digital telephones.

Most people under 30 don't have a "land line." Young people text everywhere, even at the dinning room table or out to lunch. Offices now are connected by VOIP with extensions by pushing a button or call “free” or cell phones, or Skype.

Linkedin, Plaxo, Facebook, even Twitter have entered the market place as well as downloads, video, webair.

More importantly what has changed is where people work. This is the state of the industry…I have learned from those who place classified ads and help wanted, or who change emails, as I do all that personally. It is not automated or done by anyone else. More and more do not work out of a home office. They are connected via the internet and VOIP telephone by extension, even Cloud has come into being, started by Sun over 20 years ago. I used to lease the equipment for Sun.

Cloud is necessary today and I am not just saying this is salesmen not working out of a home office. I mean means credit people, collections, customer service, accounting---From all over the United States, mostly from people's homes---Even large leasing companies have their account managers and department heads not on one place anymore.

I called to speak with a CEO and his secretary said she didn’t think he was in, but would check, and added, she was working from her “home office.”

The face to face communication is not as necessary as it was twenty years ago. 1990. Those in business since the 1980's have seen the most dramatic change. If you have been around since I have in 1971 you can see it. 1994 attended conferences and asked how many had emails. In Los Angeles with 75 at a Regional Conference, four raised their hands. Two were from the same company. You used AOL or if you wanted a company or your own email, $10 a month. UAEL was the first with a web site and to set up "free emails," all donated by Summit National.

The recent trend is toward direct salesmen rather than indirect. Vendors!!! The old CIT and Westinghouse approach with captive contract programs.

Perhaps more important, and this started before the attempt to change FASB rules, as Archie Julian of Exchange Bank story reprinted in Leasing News on Monday.

But perhaps times are changing---financial consultant, commercial equipment finance specialist or Lease Broker.

NEFA doesn't mention leasing. Many leasing companies are into working capital loans, credit card advance, and equipment finance agreements---not leasing. Is then leasing on the way out? Is the term becoming obsolete as digital telephones have replaced pagers (remember them, when you got a telephone call, your pager would tell you to call your answering service.)

I don’t think that relationship selling is out, but it is no longer “face-to-face.” It is no longer telephone. We will see Amazon and Netflix with their own TV networks and individuals at home with their own direct networks, not having to go through YouTube or Facebook. The internet has not made it less that people don’t talk. The internet has made it more personable, more information, overwhelming disclosures, more informatiion, with even more available with the click of a mouse. There is much more to come, and much sooner than your realize.

To sum this up: You will have to bring a lot more value to doing business with your customers than you ever have to before.

Top Stories March 14--March 18

Here are the top ten stories opened by readers:

(1) Lease Police Attention---
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_14.htm#attention

(2) This Picture is Worth a Trillion $$$$
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_14.htm#picture

(3) Kauai, Hawaii Tsunami Morning
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_14.htm#hawaii

(4) Leasing Companies Out of Business
plus No Longer taking Broker/Discounting Business
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_18.htm#out_buss

(5) Bank Beat---Black Bank Wisconsin Failure Obvious
Oklahoma Bank Failure, Why? Allied Health $78 MM & its bank
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_14.htm#bank_beat

(6) Leasing Pioneer Milton Rudin Passes Away
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_16.htm#rudin

(7) Bank of the West Leasing/Finance Managed Services Moves
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_18.htm#bow

(8) Allied Trustee sues Schwartz BK
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_16.htm#allied_trustee

(Tie) (9) Reaction to Leasing News New Masthead and Features
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_18.htm#reaction

(Tie) (9) Warren Capital's Large Ad
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_16.htm#warren

(10) Reliant National Finance Closed
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2011/3_18.htm#reliant

Top 10 Most Vacant Cities in America

1. Orlando, Florida
Home vacancy rate: 4.3%
Apartment vacancy rate: 23.6%

2. Las Vegas, Nevada
Home vacancy rate: 5.5%
Apartment vacancy rate: 13.4

3. Memphis, Tennessee
Home vacancy rate: 4.7%
Apartment vacancy rate: 16.1%

4. Riverside-San Bernardino, California
Home vacancy rate: 6.4%
Apartment vacancy rate: 10.4%

5. Dayton, Ohio:
Home vacancy rate: 3.3%
Apartment vacancy rate: 26.4%

6. Phoenix, Arizona
Home vacancy rate: 3.4%
Apartment vacancy rate: 15.5%

7. Houston, Texas
Home vacancy rate: 2.6%
Apartment vacancy rate: 14.5%

8. Jacksonville, Florida
Home vacancy rate: 3.1%
Apartment vacancy rate: 10.4%

9. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida
Home vacancy rate: 3.7%
Apartment vacancy rate: 9.4%

10. Detroit, Michigan
Home vacancy rate: 2.9%
Apartment vacancy rate: $15.6%

Top 10 Most Vacant Cities in America
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/124531/20110318/top-10-most-vacant-cities-in-america_1.htm

Dash the Pirate and Kimberly

Readers ask how son is doing. He is on duty in Norfolk, Virginia, and has signed up for another tour of duty. He has (or had, don't know) a lot of vacation time built up so he and his girl Kimberly (also US Navy) rode their Harley's to Florida to attend a Pirate's Convention ( or get-together.) In the Revolutionary War the US had few naval ships so Congress authorized owners of ships (privateers) to raid ships from England supplying the British, and they not only got to keep what they captured, but received a bounty, home port protection, and merit from the fledgling United States.

Revolutionary Privateers
http://www.usnews.com/news/national/articles/2008/06/27/the-unlikely-role-of-patriot-pirates

Mount Laurel, New Jersey -- Adopt-a-Dog

Fay

Labrador Retriever Mix
Medium
Young
Female
Spayed/Neutered
Up-to-date with routine shots
House trained
Primary colors: White or Cream, Yellow, Tan, Blond or Fawn
Coat length: Short

"To know her is to love her! Faye wants nothing more than to spend time with you. She would make a good running, biking or walking partner. If your looking for your own personal trainer, Faye is for you. Faye is a young 7 month old pup. She has a beautiful cream and white color fur that doesn't shed much. She is a sweet girl looking for her forever home."

Animal Sanctuary Society Inc.
Mount Laurel, NJ
856-642-0004
animalsanctuarys@aol.com
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ312.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/

Comprehensive personal property tax outsourcing services We accept file exports and integrate personal property tax information with all lease management or accounting software. No other firm offers the combination of individual attention, software capabilities expertise, "full disclosure" and web port accessibility to information more than we do. Click here to learn what our clients say about our service Gary DiLillo, President 216-658-5618 or gary@avptc.com

News Briefs----

Japan estimated 18,000 deaths, $235 billion to rebuild

Huntington could owe $73 Million CyberNet case

Poll: Most living American Dream

Buffett reap$ $10 billion on Goldman investment

AT&T grabs T-Mobile for $39B

 

You May have Missed---

Millionaires upbeat on economy
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2011/mar/20/millionaires-upbeat-economy-want-more-cash/

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Sports Briefs----

Costly turnover dooms Texas
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/george_schroeder
/03/21/ncaa.tournament.arizona.texas/

The Huddle
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/index

California Nuts Briefs---

Can California Tax internet purchases?
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/20/3489330/dan-walters-can-california-tax.html

 

“Gimme that Wine”

Optimistic Outlook for Central Coast Vintners
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=85353&htitle
=Optimistic%20Outlook%20for%20Central%20Coast%20Vintners

Mondavi research center opens
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110316/WIRE/103161008

Kluge Estate and Winery to Sell at Absolute Real Estate Auction
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Kluge-Estate-and-Winery-to-Sell-at-Absolute-Real-Estate-Auction-1412956.htm

Wine consumption shows signs of increasing around the world
http://my.news.yahoo.com/wine-consumption-shows-signs-increasing-around-world-20110317-035254-514.html

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

    1595- Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan born near Jamestown, VA; leader of the Indian union of Algonquin nations, helped to foster good will between the colonists of the Jamestown settlement and her people. Pocahontas converted to Christianity, was baptized with the name Rebecca and married John Rolfe Apr 5, 1614. In 1616, she accompanied Rolfe on a trip to his native England, where she was regarded as an overseas "ambassador." Pocahontas's stay in England drew so much attention to the Virginia Company's Jamestown settlement that lotteries were held to help support the colony. Shortly before she was scheduled to return to Jamestown, Pocahontas died at Gravesend, Kent, England, of either smallpox or pneumonia. According to the March edition of Atlantic Magazine, the Indians had no immune system to ward off European diseases, including smallpox and pneumonia.
    1713-birthday of Francis Lewis, signer of the Declaration of Independence, born at Wales. Died Dec 31, 1802, at Long Island, NY His house was destroyed by the British and his wife kidnapped, dying shortly thereafter, and he died in poverty, losing all his home and business to the British.
http://www.francislewis.com/
    1851 - Yosemite Valley was discovered (by non-natives) in California. The 58 men of the Mariposa Battalion under Major James D. Savage were the first whites to enter Yosemite Valley. Their first view of the valley was from the plateau later named Mount Beatitude. They expelled Chief Tenaya and his band of Ahwahneechee Indians. Dr. Bunnell, a physician in the battalion, named the valley Yosemite to honor the local Indians. He did not realize that the word “yohemeti” meant “some of them are killers” and was an insult against the valley people.
    1864-- Nevada and Colorado territories admitted into the Union.
    1865-- Battle of Bentonville ends, last Confederate effort to stop Sherman.
    1869-birthday of Florenz Ziegfield, legendary showman.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar21.html
    1882-- birthday of Bascom Lunsford, folk song writer and folklorist who authored the folk song "Mountain Dew," Lunsford started the first folk music festival in 1928 at Asheville, NC. This event, which led to the formation of the National Clogging and Hoedown Council, is held to this day. He was known as the "father of clogging dance" and the "king of folk music." He recorded some 320 folk songs, tunes and stories for the Library of Congress. Born at Mars Hill, NC, Lunsford died Sept 4, 1973, at South Turkey Creek, NC.
    1910- American vintner Julio Gallo was born at Oakland, CA. He is best known for his role in the Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery, of Modesto, CA, which at one time claimed about 26 percent of the US wine industry. He died May 2, 1993, near Tracy, CA.
    1916-Frank James Marshall of New York City met 105 local players at the National Press Club, Washington DC. He played them all simultaneously, winning a total of 82 games, lost 8, and drew 15.
    1917- Loretta Walsh, age 18, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was sworn in as chief yeoman on this day. She is the first woman to become a petty officer in the U.S. Navy
    1918-pianist Sir Charles Thompson born Springfield, Ohio.
http://www.delmark.com/delmark.450.htm
    1918-March 21-April 4: Second Battle of Somme, over 500,000 men lost their lives. General Erich Ludendorff launched the Michael offensive, the biggest German offensive of 1918, on Mar 21 with a five-hour artillery barrage. The Central Powers objective was to drive a wedge between the British and French forces and drive the British to the sea. Although they did not accomplish this objective, in the south they captured Montdidier and advanced to a depth of 40 miles. They managed to create a bulge in the front south of Somme and end what had effectively been a stalemate. The Allies lost nearly 230,000 men and the Germans almost as many in the Battle of Somme.
    1928 -- President Calvin Coolidge gives the Congressional Medal of Honor to Charles Lindbergh for his first trans-Atlantic flight. 
    1932 - A tornado swarm occurred in the Deep South. Between late afternoon and early the next morning severe thunderstorms spawned 31 tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. The tornadoes killed 334 persons and injured 1784 others. Northern Alabama was hardest hit. Tornadoes in Alabama killed 286 persons and caused five million dollars damage.
    1934-Babe Didriksen, perhaps the greatest women athlete of all time, pitched one inning of baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Babe hit the first batter she faced and walked the next. The third hit into a triple play.
    1938-Eddie Duchin, with Pat Normal vocal, records “ Ol’ Man Mose”
    1939 - A song, written by Irving Berlin in 1918 as a tribute by a successful immigrant to his adopted country, was recorded by Kate Smith for Victor Records on this day. Ms. Smith had introduced the song on Armistice Day, November 11, 1938, at the New York World’s Fair. It was a fitting tribute to its composer, who gave all royalties from the very popular and emotional, "God Bless America" to the Boy Scouts. The song became Kate Smith’s second signature after "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain"; and the second national anthem of the United States of America
    1946-trombonist Dicky Wells Big Seven records “ Drag Nasty”.
http://blackhistory.eb.com/micro/727/45.html
    1946-One year before Jackie Robinson began playing major league baseball, Kenny Washington broke the NFL’s color line. Washington sighed a contract to play for the Los Angeles Rams.
http://www.africana.com/Utilities/Content.html?&../cgi-bin/banner.pl?banner=
Lifestyle%20&../Articles/tt_216.htm
    1952---Top Hits
Cry - Johnnie Ray
Wheel of Fortune - Kay Starr
Anytime - Eddie Fisher
(When You Feel like You’re in Love) Don’t Just Stand There - Carl Smith
    1952-The Cleveland Arena is the site of what will become recognized as the world's first major Rock 'n' Roll concert. With over 10,000 people inside and another 20,000 waiting outside, Alan Freed is set to broadcast the event 'live' over WJW radio. Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers were playing their first song when city officials decided to shut the proceedings down, citing fire code violations. Doors and windows were smashed, a few fights broke out, but no one asked for their $1.75 admission back.
    1953-- Patti Page's "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?" hits #1
    1955 - No. 1 Billboard hit: ``The Ballad of Davy Crockett,'' Bill Hayes.
    1956 - The 28th Academy Awards were celebrated at the RKO Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, California. Hosting the festivities were comedian/actor/singer/producer Jerry Lewis in Hollywood, plus actress Claudette Colbert and writer/producer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz in New York City. "Marty", produced by Harold Hecht, was a big winner: Best Picture; Best Director (Delbert Mann); Best Actor (Ernest Borgnine); and Best Writing/Screenplay (Paddy Chayefsky). Best Actress was Anna Magnani for "The Rose Tattoo"; Best Supporting Actor was Jack Lemmon for "Mister Roberts"; Best Supporting Actress was Jo Van Fleet for "East of Eden"; and Best Music/Song to Sammy Fain (music), Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" from "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing". 1955 was a great year for other great movies, too: "Picnic"; "Bad Day at Black Rock"; "The Man with the Golden Arm"; "Rebel Without a Cause"; "Pete Kelly’s Blues"; "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell"; "The Seven Little Foys"; "Blackboard Jungle"; "To Catch a Thief"; "The Bridges at Toko-Ri"
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0148661.html
    1956--- After performing in Norfolk, VA (with Gene Vincent opening), and en route to New York to appear on The Perry Como Show, Carl Perkins is badly injured in a Dover, DE car crash that also kills his manager and his brother Jay. The crash derails Perkins career, almost for good, as he is forced to spend months in the hospital nursing a fractured neck, broken collarbone, and a severe concussion, while Elvis Presley has an ever bigger hit with Carl's hit "Blue Suede Shoes."
    1960---Top Hits
The Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
Wild One - Bobby Rydell
Puppy Love - Paul Anka
He’ll Have to Go - Jim Reeves
    1961-- The Beatles, still featuring Pete Best on drums, play their first evening gig at Liverpool's Cavern Club, opening for an act called The Bluegenes (later the Swinging Blue Jeans of "Hippy Hippy Shake" fame).
    1963-Alcatraz the world's most secure prison, closes. Only one man ever escaped the island in San Francisco Bay in 30 years -- only to be arrested when reaching the mainland.
    1963--- Barbra Streisand marries her first husband, actor Elliott Gould, whom she'd met while both were performing in the Broadway hit I Can Get It for You Wholesale
     1964--- The Beatles' "She Loves You" hits #1
     1964 - Singer Judy Collins made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City and established herself “in the front rank of American balladeers.” She would first hit the Top 40 in 1968 with "Both Sides Now", a Joni Mitchell song. Her versions of "Amazing Grace" and "Send In the Clowns" also became classics. 
    1965- more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., began a four-day march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama to demand federal protection of voting rights. There were violent attempts by local police, using fire hoses and dogs, to suppress the march. A march two weeks before on Mar 7. 1965, was called "Bloody Sunday" because of the use of night sticks, chains and electric cattle prods against the marchers by the police. As a young news editor for KFRC radio in San Francisco, I interviewed live marchers, plus recorded interviews with sheriff spokesmen, who were surprised that a San Francisco radio station would be interested in the event and their comments were quite candid. I had interviewed Dr. King, Jr., several times, but he was at the lead of the demonstration and could not come to the telephone booth on the parade route. The marchers were also not allowed bathroom privileges, food and water were also a problem, and there was no television coverage in those days, plus film camera were held off by the local police. This was the beginning of true equality for Black people in all parts of the United States.
    1968---Top Hits
(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat
Simon Says - 1910 Fruitgum Co.
A World of Our Own - Sonny James
    1970 - The Beatles established a new record. "Let It Be" entered the "Billboard" chart at number six. This was the highest debuting position ever for a record. "Let It Be" reached number two a week later and made it to the top spot on April 11, overshadowing Simon & Garfunkel’s "Bridge over Troubled Water".
    1970-ABC" by the Jackson Five is released. The song is the group's second hit and also their second hit to go to #1!
    1973-Frank Mahovlich of the Montreal Canadiens scored the 500th goal of his career in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Mahovlich finished his career with 533 goals and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.
    1975 - No. 1 Billboard hit: ``My Eyes Adored You,'' by Frankie Valli. The song helps revive the careers of both Valli and his former group, the Four Seasons. The group has its fifth No. 1 single - ``December 1963 (Oh What a Night)'' - exactly one year after ``My Eyes Adored You.''
    1976---Top Hits
December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) - The Four Seasons
Dream Weaver - Gary Wright
Lonely Night (Angel Face) - Captain & Tennille
Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet) - Tom T. Hall
    1980--President Jimmy Carter announces that, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan started in December 1979, the US will boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. It is the only time that the US has boycotted the Olympics. It does not stop the Russians in Afghanistan and it hurts the Olympics.
    1981-Although they had been making records for ten years, REO Speedwagon enjoyed their first taste of success when "Keep On Loving You" became the top tune in the US. The band would go on to place twelve more songs in the Top 40.
    1981-New wave pop rockers, Blondie, enter the soul LPs chart with "Autoamerican," which peaks at #7 in 25 weeks on the chart. It has climed to #7 on the pop chart. One song off the album, "Rapture" is one of the first big crossover raps hits. It's goes to Number One for two weeks and another tune "The Tide is High" makes to the head of the class as well.
    1984 - No. 1 Billboard hit: ``Jump,'' by Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen writes the music for ``Jump'' two years before band member David Lee Roth agrees to write the lyrics and record it.
    1984---Top Hits
Jump - Van Halen
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
Elizabeth - The Statler Brothers
    1986--- Debi Thomas becomes the first black woman to win the gold medal in a world skating competition.
    1988 - Bitterly cold weather prevailed across the northeastern U.S. Portland ME reported their coldest spring day of record with a morning low of 5 above, and an afternoon high of just 21 degrees. Marquette MI reported a record low of 15 degrees below zero.
    1989-Madonna's "Like A Prayer" LP is released.
    1990 - The first full day of spring was a cold one for the eastern U.S. Freezing temperatures damaged 62 percent of the peach crop in upstate South Carolina, and 72 percent of the peach crop in the ridge area of South Carolina. Elkins WV, which a week earlier reported a record high of 82 degrees, was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 16 degrees.
    1994 - Actress/Comedienne Whoopi Goldberg hosted the 66th Annual Academy Awards show at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The film that was created so the world would never forget the Holocaust -- the inhumanity of mankind to other humans -- received the highest honors this evening. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awarded "Schindler’s List", nominated in no less than 12 categories, with seven Oscars: beginning with Best Writing/Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Stephen Zaillian); Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Allan Starski, Ewa Braun); Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski); Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn); Best Music/Original Score (John Williams); Best Director (Steven Spielberg); and culminating with Best Picture (Producers Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen and Branko Lustig). "Schindler’s List" was not the only film to receive multiple golden statuettes. "Philadelphia" (nominated five times) scored two awards, Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Music/Song, "Streets of Philadelphia" to Bruce Springsteen. "The Piano" (nominated in eight categories) won both Best Actress (Holly Hunter)and Best Supporting Actress (Anna Paquin), and Best Writing/Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Jane Campion); "Jurassic Park" received the Best Sound award (Gary Summers, Gary Rydstrom, Shawn Murphy, Ron Judkins), the Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing award (Gary Rydstrom, Richard Hymns), and the Best Effects, Visual Effects award (Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, Michael Lantieri). Tommy Lee Jones picked up the Best Supporting Actor award for "The Fugitive", a film nominated in seven categories.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0149895.html
    1992- intense snow squalls associated with a stalled cold front and a "norlun" instability trough buried Kennebunkport, Maine under 14 inches of snow in only 4 hours. Goose Rocks Beach reported an amazing two feet in the same time period. Portland, Maine recorded 4 inches of snow in just one hour with a total of 11.4 inches. Nearly 6 inches of snow fell in one hour in the Beverly, Massachusetts area, resulting in a 27 car pile up on route 128 and the closing down of the route for 1.5 hours.
    1995—Top Hits
Take A Bow- Madonna 
Candy Rain- Soul For Real 
Creep- TLC 
Red Light Special- TLC
    1999 - the 71st Annual Academy Awards ceremony was hosted comedienne Whoopi Goldberg, who modeled the beautiful, and sometimes bizarre, costumes from the movies nominated in the Best Costume Design category. (And the Oscar went to Sandy Powell for "Shakespeare in Love".) Gwyneth Paltrow, emotionally accepted the Best Actress Oscar for her role in "Shakespeare in Love". The film with 13 nominations and seven wins including the upset win of Best Picture of the 1998 year; Best Supporting Actress (Dame Judi Dench); Best Writing/Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard); Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Martin Childs, Jill Quertier); and Best Music/Original Musical or Comedy Score (Stephen Warbeck). This was the first time in nine years that the film that won Best Picture did not win for Best Director. Steven Spielberg was the winning director for "Saving Private Ryan" (which also won four more of the golden statuettes). Best Supporting Actor Oscar was awarded to James Coburn ("Affliction"), his first Academy Award nomination in over 70 films. It was the longest running Academy Award ceremony to date, including Sophia Loren , who said, “and the Oscar goes to Roberto!” (Best Actor: La Vita è bella - Roberto Benigni). In plain English, "Life is Beautiful". Roberto Benigni was the first actor in a foreign language film to receive an Oscar. Coincidentally, Ms. Loren had been the first actress to be so honored. Benigni had received an Oscar earlier in the evening for Best Foreign Film ("Life is Beautiful") when he pirouetted on top of seat backs, hopping and dancing to the stage.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774113.html
    2000---Top Hits
Say My Name- Destiny s Child
Maria Maria- Santana Featuring The Product G 
Amazed- Lonestar 
Breathe- Faith Hill

NCAA Basketball Champions This Date

    1959 California
    1964 UCLA
    1970 UCLA