Experian launches retail reference data tool

Three(3)years experience in lease accounting. Managing three Partnerships' Funds, preparing external reports for SEC.,10Q &10K. Consolidation of subsidiaries financial position w/parent company. email:hope2live@aol.com

Asset Management: Patchogue, NY

12+ yr. Experience in Auto/Equipment Leasing. Managed Liquidation of Repo & E.O.L. Portfolios. Managed Litigation Portfolio as well. Exp. in Bankruptcy. Looking for suitable position in Tri-State area. Email:THood8663@Yahoo.com

Contract Administrator: Los Angeles, CA

6 years small ticket leasing - Credit Analysis up to $75,000, Documentation & Funding. Highly organized team player trained sales/operations in credit, pricing, docs. Email:miri7ca@yahoo.com

Contract Administrator: Chicago/Naperville

18+ years experience in leasing US/Europe, as both lessee and lessor. Am versatile and adaptable to lessee, lessor, or lender career opportunity. Chicago relocation desired. Email:kris_k11@yahoo.com

Contract Administrator: Schaumburg, IL

10 yrs. small/mid-ticket leasing. Proficient in documentation, funding and legal. Worked with brokers, portfolio purchases, vendor programs, municipal transactions. prefer to stay in Suburban Illinois. Email:sophie1900@msn.com

Controller: Seattle, WA

CPA w/ 15 years management exp. as CFO/ Controller/5 yrs w/ PriceWaterhouse Coopers. Extensive exp.providing accounting/ tax guidance for the equipment lease industry. Willing to relocate. Email:bltushin@hotmail.com

Full list is available at: http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equipment Leasing Association Task Force Findings

(from ELT, the magazine of Equipment Leasing & Finance)

Industry Profile (highlights):

*Leasing is institutional---25 companies doing 75 percent of the total business.

*There’s been a rapid decline in number of independent companies.

*Bank and captive lessors dominate the marketplace, with only a few independent or quasi-independent companies making an impact.

*There’s been significant bank consolidation and changing position of equipment leasing organizations within banks.

*There is a bi-polarization of leasing companies into haves and have-nots.

A study of the ELA membership finds 30-40 of the largest regular members could include all companies that drive the market and manage the risks...To understand

this, the committee broke it down into four groups:

* Mega companies with major market positions (35). Their presence matters in the marketplace because of size.

*Active regular members of all sizes who participation in ELA activities and support of its efforts matter to the success of the industry (175)

*Passive regular members who do not participate or contribute significantly to the success of the association and industry (300)

Associate (service provider) members that primarily market to regular member companies (230)

What do the member’s value---

*Advocacy—a strong collective, pro-active representative and voice

*Networking---both for doing business and sharing information

*Industry Knowledge, including statistical data and reports, practices, and issues, tends, compliance, and make-up of the marketplace.

*Competency, including the basic threshold non-proprietary learning for large numbers, and limited advanced education for key member company functions such as credit, sales, accounting, equipment management and compliance.

Thus the new changes in dues with a rise basically of the minimum from $1200 to $2400. As many leasing companies, salesmen, and brokers have found micro leases of $1500 are not “economical” for the “overhead” involved. Many banks consider $500,000 a bare minimum for their operation.

“There are 177 members in the category that currently pays $1,200 in dues - about 35% of the regular members. They pay 11% of the total dues.”

Michael Fleming

MFLEMING@ELAMAIL.COM

Many active members are “in-between” and due to the major changes, to not lose their involvement, a $600 “transition member” fee ( no voting ability), but involvement and resources remain.

“We project that at any one time there will be, at least, 100 individuals who are not currently employed by an ELA member company and are looking for employment., “ says Michael Henderson, Director, Membership & Marketing

“ ELA is very excited about the Transitional Membership because it's a chance to help many individuals who have helped ELA in the past. ELA still expects Regular Members to be the preponderance of its membership.

“The minimum per member dues (which has not been adjusted in a decade) has been determined to be $2,200. It is calculated based on factors including the size of a company (i.e. the risk outstanding that a company ahs in the industry), how many employees a company has (i.e. how many of a company's employees are using ELA's benefits and services), and the basic cost of administration of a member (regardless of size).

“ELA dues are used primarily for programs related to advocacy issues, industry research, ELT magazines and the like. It is not used for conferences, workshops, and training. Those programs are supported by registration fees.”

Michael Henderson

Director, Membership & Marketing

Equipment Leasing Association

4301 N. Fairfax Drive, Ste. 550

Arlington, VA 22203

703.527.8655; 703.527.2649 (Fax)

mhenderson@elaonline.com; http://www.elaonline.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tankersley Gets Award along with Land Line Magazine

Commercial Money Center/The Funding Tree

Land Line Magazine was among the international automotive media elite recognized at the International Automotive Media Conference (IAMC) awards12 in New York City. Owner and Operator Independent Drivers Association's ( OOIDA).the official business publication was awarded three bronze medallions in the categories of travel writing, investigative reporting and single art.

The Bronze Medallion of Excellence in the category of travel was awarded for "Side-trips, Layovers and Roadside Attractions" by Feature Editor Rene Tankersley. The award in the investigative reporting category was for "Easy Money?" also by Tankersley. This was for her reporting on Commercial

Money Center and the Funding Tree.

The Bronze Medallion of Excellence in the category of single art color was awarded for a cartoon created by Santiago Cornejo to accompany "California Proposes Secret Weapon to Halt Trucks," an article written by staff writer Keith Goble.

One of the purposes of the IAMC is to recognize and encourage excellence in all forms of automotive media. The competition attracts entries from the nation's major newspapers, trucking publications and top international performers such as Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine, Cars & Parts, Car and Driver, Land Rover Journal and more.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you , readers, for sending to a colleague. Our mailing volume is increasing

due to your referral.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Experian launches retail reference data tool

Information solutions vendor Experian has launched TruvueIQ, a data intelligence tool that allows financial firms to analyze the quality of customer information. TruvueIQ provides a snapshot of data that can be used for calculating cost savings, business risk and marketing initiatives.

The system differs from reports that are based on a customer's name and address, instead evaluates data by matching algorithms and reference data which allows companies to track customers over time, even if their information, such as place of residence has changed. The system also calculates the number of customers that are over-looked or receive duplicate mailings. Experian says it is typically finding inaccuracies of up to 20 percent in customer databases from incorrectly de-duplicated or mismatched data.

http://www.experian.com/smallbusiness/index.html

http://www.experian.com/business_services/index.html

http://www.experian.com/consumer/index.html ( free credit report )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

McCain casts doubt on Amtrak support

by Christopher Menkin

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who is due to take over transportation matters in the Senate, there are no reassurances for the long-term financial survival of Amtrak, Reuters reports.

McCain, the incoming chairman of the Commerce Committee, said he would not back substantial long-term subsidies for the nation's only city-to-city passenger rail network.

"Subsidization forever of Amtrak is nothing that this senator will ever support," the Arizona Republican said on the Senate floor. He also criticized a legislative proposal for massive rail aid now stalled on Capitol Hill.

McCain will replace Sen. Ernest Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat, as head of the Commerce Committee. Hollings is a champion of Amtrak and fierce opponent of Bush administration proposals to privatize the service.

I took the Amtrak Express from New York to Boston, first class. Free

meal, great menu, drinks, gifts, and hot towels ( as on first class

air). Great service. The train was booked. Many businessmen worked

on their computers, or read, or talked with the group they were

traveling about their business trip in New York.

The trip was a little over three hours, no wait or security to get

on the train, and it was faster and more pleasant that going by

air.

Write your congressman or senator, and if you supported McClain, as

I did when he ran for president, maybe you are on his list of supporters---and he

will listen to you.

Swift CFO: Bad economy will harm smaller trucking firms

The chief financial officer of Phoenix-based Swift Transportation Co. told a financial conference this week that the current tough economy could stop some smaller trucking firms from growing - and send others into bankruptcy, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Bill Riley of Swift made the presentation at the Salomon Smith Barney Transportation Conference in Key Biscayne, FL, according to a release from the company. He said rising insurance premiums were causing many trucking carriers to raise their deductibles and lower the upper end of their umbrella coverage, which could result in insolvency if a serious accident occurs.

He also reportedly told investors the trucking industry is essentially shut out from equipment financing, bank lending and capital markets.

"We believe business failures are going to continue," Riley said, helping the surviving carriers strengthen their positions. For well-capitalized carriers such as Swift, he said, that economic environment "creates an opportunity that we have never seen before."

While that may be true for Swift and the larger carriers they compete with, it is not necessarily true for smaller truck operators, Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner and Operator Independent Drivers Association, said. Small truck operators typically have to provide superior service to survive.

And that is most valuable to smaller shippers, Spencer continued. Those shippers need and recognize the higher service level - a level that Spencer says larger truckload carriers will never be able to provide.

But Spencer said Riley's comments missed the most important issue.

"The bigger issue is the inability of even the largest carriers to accurately price the many services that they and their drivers provide," he said, "and that's not good. There's little economic health in the entire industry."

"Costs for truckers have been rising significantly over the past two decades, yet hauling rates are mostly flat," he said. "When increased costs for items like fuel and insurance, which are cyclical in nature, trigger bankruptcies, you know none of the carriers have profit margins adequate to make them much more than a dicey investment."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Granieri Associates: Top Gun Leasing Seminar Schedule

Seminar Dates and Cities

East

ä Frid, Feb 14, 2003 - Boston, MA

ä Frid, Feb 21, 2003 - Ft. Wash, PA

ä Frid, Mar 11, 2003 - Wash, DC/Balt, MD

South

ä Mon, Dec 2, 2002 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

ä Mon, Feb 3, 2003 - Atlanta, GA

ä Mon, April 7, 2003 - Birmingham, AL

Midwest

ä Mon, Jan 6, 2003 - Cinn, OH

ä Mon, Jan 20, 2003 - Des Moines, IA

ä Mon, Mar 3, 2003 - Kansas City, MO

West

ä Mon, Dec 9, 2002 - Anaheim, CA

ä Mon, Jan 13, 2003 - San Francisco, CA

ä Mon, Mar 10, 2003 - Phoenix, AZ

Topic: Lease Marketing Strategies

· Time: 9:00 - 4:30 pm

¸ Cost: $225.00 per person or $200.00 per person for two or more

For more information

Ph 732-828-8891

Fax 732-828-8887

E-Mail: / Granite63@aol.com

Web site: www.granieriassociates.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TotalFunding: 7-Eleven Launches Financial Services Kiosk Vcom in Orlando; Plans for National Expansion, including loan and leasing application in the near future

After a successful pilot program in Austin, TX and Ft. Meyers, FL, 7-Eleven, Inc. has announced it will soon begin installing financial service

kiosks in 50 Orlando area stores as it gears up to expand the project nationally.

The kiosks, known as Vcoms, provide American Express ATM

services. The self-service machines will also give customers the ability to purchase Western Union money orders and money transfers, pay bills through Western Union's Quick Collect payment service and cash checks through Certegy Check Services. Customers will also be able to use cash to pay bills.

The machine accepts up to 30 bills at a time. The company says it plans to install approximately 400 kiosks in various markets in the United States before the end of 2002.

Applying for loans and leases will be an added feature, it is reported.

_______________________________________________________________

Fed Chief Says Changes Buoyed Economy

By John M. Berry

Washington Post Staff Writer

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday that the United States managed to weather the extraordinary shocks of the huge stock market decline and last year's terrorist attacks unexpectedly well because of innovations in financial markets that spread investment risks far more widely than in the past.

"Despite the draining impact of a loss of $8 trillion of stock market wealth, a sharp contraction in capital investment and, of course, the tragic events of September 11, 2001, our economy is still growing," Greenspan said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. "Importantly, despite significant losses, no major U.S. financial institution has been driven to default."

Greenspan said financial market innovations such as creation of a secondary market for home mortgages and credit card receivables, the widespread use of derivatives that allow the breaking down of various types of risks that can be sold to parties able to bear them, and other complex financial products have "significantly lowered the costs of, and expanded the opportunities for, hedging risks" that were not available in the past.

Some other parts of the world have fared worse than the United States during this period because of "an awful lot of structural rigidity out there which is impeding recovery," the Fed chairman said in response to a question after the speech. "There is no doubt that certainly in Europe and Japan there is fairly extensive structural inhibitions to growth. They differ by country and they differ by economy."

Greenspan did not give any specific examples of such rigidities, but many economists have said that very tight regulation of labor markets in many European countries and the unwillingness of the Japanese government to deal with the massive number of bad loans on the books of the country's banks have serious hurt those nations' ability to grow economically.

"The only way to address those type of structural problems is to do it directly through increased competition. Do what we do. I mean, we have had 25 years of extraordinary deregulation in this country, started by both Republicans and Democrats, followed by all administrations. And I don't think we're acutely aware of how important that it has been to the flexibility and our resiliency in this period when we are being pounded by every known economic shock," he said.

The Fed chairman said countries have to make a choice in their regulatory decisions "to strike a balance between the perceived benefits of wholly unfettered markets and the perceived societal costs of overly fierce competition."

"In most countries an uneasy balance remains between unleashing the forces of competition and reining them in when they are perceived to threaten the social order," he said.

Greenspan noted that there is "a trade-off between economic growth with its associated potential instability and a more civil and less stressful way of life with a lower standard of living."

"Those of us who support market capitalism in its more competitive forms might argue that unfettered markets create a degree of wealth that fosters a more civilized existence. I have always found that insight compelling. But the resistance by many to such arguments suggests a more deep-seated aversion to the distress that often accompanies the process of creative destruction" as firms fail and workers become at least temporarily unemployed, he said.

But Greenspan made it clear that he favors some regulation of the economy. For example, central banks such as the Fed have to step in as a "lender of last resort" to provide what he termed "catastrophic financial insurance coverage" when a cascading sequence of defaults threatens an entire financial system

########### ########################################

Builder Confidence Rises Two Notches in November

WASHINGTON, -- The lowest mortgage rates in nearly four decades continue to boost builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI, a monthly gauge of builder sentiment, rose two points from October's revised reading to 65 this month, its highest level in two years.

"With long-term mortgage rates slipping below 6 percent, builders are certainly finding buyers who can qualify to purchase homes in most price ranges right now," said Gary Garczynski, NAHB president and a home builder/developer from Woodbridge, Va. "Great house-price performance is also definitely a factor," he said, noting that solid home appreciation rates are accentuating the investment potential of homeownership.

"In markets where demand is outstripping the supply of homes for sale, and where soaring land prices are pushing up builders' costs, there's just no reason to worry about a so-called 'bubble,'" said Garczynski. He noted, however, that the latest NAHB survey did indicate that builders in some areas are reigning in their expectations for sales in the highest price ranges because of large stock-market losses by prospective buyers.

The HMI is derived from a monthly survey of builders that NAHB has been conducting for nearly 20 years. Home builders are asked to rate current sales of single-family homes and sales expectations for the next six months as "good," "fair" or "poor." They are also asked to rate traffic of prospective buyers as either "high to very high," "average" or "low to very low." Scores for responses to each component are used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index, where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

All three of the HMI's component indexes rose this November. The index gauging current single-family home sales rose two points to 71, its strongest reading since November of 2000. The index gauging expected sales in the next six months also rose two points, to 70, while the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose one point to 48.

"The Federal Reserve's most recent move to lower short-term interest rates appears to be helping to support consumer sentiment, which showed some recovery in early November," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "We expect a healthy level of home sales and production to continue through this year and into next, though some softening is likely from the exceptionally strong volume we've seen in recent months."

############ ########################################

Canopy Group Launches Canopy Capital New Venture Provides Financing Solutions for Canopy Companies

LINDON, Utah----The Canopy Group Inc., an operating company that funds and grows emerging leading-edge technologies, today announced the launch of Canopy Capital Inc. Canopy Capital will offer creative and flexible financing options to Canopy's portfolio of companies and customers.

The Canopy Group strategy creates synergy across its portfolio. In line with this, Canopy Capital will now deliver two new business opportunities to portfolio companies. First, sales teams across the portfolio will be able to offer extended funding options to their customers. Second, Canopy Capital will also provide business credit origination and support to portfolio companies for internal purchasing through private-label leasing and extended payment support.

"Our goal at Canopy is to provide our portfolio companies with the latest in financing options when acquiring equipment and services, and Canopy Capital is the ideal company for making this happen," said Ralph Yarro, president of Canopy Group. "By providing our portfolio companies and their customers with flexible payment options and support, Canopy will be able to continue to support in managing their technology needs and product lifecycles."

Commented Mark Cusick, vice president of corporate development for Canopy Group: "Canopy Capital is another way we can support our portfolio companies and help them maintain that competitive edge."

In-house support for financing is merely the latest innovation for Canopy Group in its ongoing dedication to meeting the needs of its portfolio companies.

About Canopy Group Inc.

Canopy Group has been categorized as a technology accelerator and a dynamic operating company. Funding and influencing emerging technologies and then providing shareable management resources across its portfolio of companies is what Canopy Group does best.

Originally founded in 1995, Canopy Group continues to operate by founder Ray Noorda's vision of "co-opetition," where synergies across the portfolio are optimized at the same time that each company develops independent market success. Headquartered in Lindon, Canopy may be reached by telephone at 801/229-2223. Web address is www.canopy.com.

About Canopy Capital Inc.

Utah-based Canopy Capital Inc. is a whole owned subsidiary of Canopy Group Inc. Canopy Capital delivers business credit solutions for technology acquisitions.

Canopy Group is a registered trademark of Canopy Group Inc. All other company, brand or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. Sites of Reference: www.canopy.com

CONTACT:

Canopy Group Inc., Lindon

Mark Cusick, 801/229-2223

mark@canopy.com

####### ###################################################

Financial Results of Bombardier Inc. for the Third Quarter Ended Oct. 31, 2002

MONTREAL--Bombardier (TSX:BBD.A.) (TSX:BBD.B.):

-- Consolidated revenues rise 13% to $5.6 billion for the

third quarter

-- Net income totals $209.4 million

-- Measures taken to increase financial flexibility and

reduce costs

-- New orders for Bombardier Transportation totaling $7.6

billion since beginning of fiscal year

-- Unveiling of new JetTrain technology

-- Higher deliveries of regional aircraft

-- Overall order backlog of $44.4 billion

Bombardier Inc. today reported consolidated revenues of $5.6 billion for the three months ended Oct. 31, 2002, an increase of 13% over revenues of $5.0 billion for the third quarter last year. For the nine months ended Oct. 31, 2002, consolidated revenues totalled $16.8 billion, a 21% increase over revenues of $13.9 billion for the same period last year.

Income before income taxes for the three-month period was $313.4 million, compared to income before special items and income taxes of $362.9 million for the same period last year. Net income for the three-month period totalled $209.4 million, compared to a net loss of $367.6 million after the effect of special items the preceding year. Earnings per share amounted to $0.15, compared to a loss of $0.27 for the previous year.

Income before income taxes for the nine months decreased to $792.9 million, compared to an income of $1.1 billion before special items and income taxes for the previous year. Net income for the nine-month period amounted to $530.0 million, compared to $161.3 million after the effect of special items for the nine months ended Oct. 31, 2001. Earnings per share for the nine-month period amounted to $0.37, compared to $0.11 for the previous year.

Bombardier's order backlog as at Oct. 31, 2002 totalled $44.4 billion, compared to $44.1 billion as at Jan. 31, 2002 and $45.9 billion as at Oct. 31, 2001.

Financial performance

"Bombardier's overall performance, in terms of revenue growth and profitability, was achieved in a challenging economic environment. These results reflect a higher level of activity in the transportation sector, as well as growth in the recreational products sector. They also reflect a higher number of deliveries of regional aircraft in the aerospace sector, which have increased by 11% over the same quarter of last year. Focus was also put on free cash flow, which significantly improved during the three-month and nine-month periods of the current fiscal year compared to the previous year," said Robert E. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier.

"The number of regional aircraft deliveries has helped offset the impact on earnings of the persistent weakness of the business aircraft market," he added.

Bombardier maintains its financial targets for the current fiscal year. Historically, the fourth quarter brings the most significant contribution to Bombardier's results for the full fiscal year. It must be emphasized, however, that the business aircraft market remains difficult and that major U.S. airlines are still facing uncertainty.

"Measures announced at the end of September are being implemented. These include decisions to reduce the assets under management by $5.0 billion at Bombardier Capital and to reduce the cost structure and employment levels at Bombardier Aerospace," concluded Mr. Brown.

Bombardier Capital

-- Q3 revenues of $234.6 million

-- Income before income taxes reaches $37.9 million

-- Receivable factoring portfolios and business aircraft

financing portfolios to be sold or gradually wound down

For the three months ended Oct. 31, 2002, Bombardier Capital had revenues of $234.6 million, compared to $233.0 million the previous year. Bombardier Capital's income before income taxes was $37.9 million, compared to an income before special items and income taxes of $12.9 million for the same quarter last year.

On Sept. 27, Bombardier announced its decision to reduce Bombardier Capital's assets under management by approximately $5.0 billion, mainly through the sale and gradual wind-down of the receivable factoring portfolios for Bombardier's manufacturing sectors, as well as the business aircraft financing portfolios. Bombardier Capital will concentrate on inventory finance, railcar leasing and interim financing for Bombardier Aerospace regional aircraft.

Assets under management as at Oct. 31, 2002 totalled $11.4 billion, compared to $11.9 billion as at Jan. 31, 2002 and $11.7 billion as at Oct. 31, 2001.

Bombardier Aerospace

-- Q3 revenues of $2.4 billion

-- Income before income taxes reaches $111.2 million

-- 37 new firm orders for regional aircraft since the

beginning of the year

-- Q3 aircraft deliveries reach 67 units for a total of 206

units year-to-date

-- Order backlog of $21.3 billion

-- Inaugural flight of new Bombardier Learjet 40

-- Certification of Bombardier CRJ900 in Canada and the U.S.

-- Measures taken to reduce cost structure and employment

levels

For the three months ended Oct. 31, 2002, Bombardier Aerospace had revenues of $2.4 billion, compared to $2.6 billion the previous year. Aerospace income before income taxes for the third quarter was $111.2 million, compared to an income before special items and income taxes of $239.8 million for the same quarter last year. The reduction in revenues mainly relates to the decline in business aircraft deliveries, partially offset by higher deliveries of regional jets and sales of used business aircraft. Aircraft deliveries totaled 67 units, compared to 69 in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. This number includes deliveries of 17 business aircraft and 50 regional aircraft.

Since the beginning of the year, Bombardier has received net firm orders for 37 regional aircraft, including orders for two Bombardier CRJ700(a) aircraft and four Bombardier Q400(a) aircraft during the third quarter.

During the third quarter, the prototype and first production Bombardier Learjet 40(a), launched at the Farnborough Airshow last July, successfully completed its inaugural flight. In November 2002, the Bombardier CRJ900(a) received type approval from the United States Federal Aviation Administration. It had received similar approval from Transport Canada in September 2002.

In order to align its cost structure with the business aircraft market, staffing levels are being reduced by approximately 6% throughout Bombardier Aerospace's workforce. This reduction applies to all levels of employees and to all Bombardier Aerospace production sites in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Bombardier Aerospace's firm order backlog totaled $21.3 billion as at Oct. 31, 2002, compared to $23.7 billion as at Jan. 31, 2002 and to $24.9 billion as at Oct. 31, 2001.

Bombardier Transportation

-- Q3 revenues up 32% to $2.3 billion

-- Income before income taxes up 63% to $106.7 million

-- New contract wins totaling $7.6 billion since beginning

of year

-- Order backlog of $23.1 billion

-- Unveiling of Bombardier JetTrain locomotive

For the three months ended Oct. 31, 2002, Bombardier Transportation had revenues of $2.3 billion, compared to $1.7 billion the previous year. For the period, income before income taxes was $106.7 million, compared to an income before income taxes of $65.3 million for the same quarter the previous year.

The increase in revenues arises mainly from a higher level of activities and from the increase in the value of the euro compared to the Canadian dollar.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year, Bombardier Transportation has been awarded contracts for a total value of $7.6 billion, including $2.0 billion of new orders during the third quarter from 16 countries. In the third quarter, contracts included an order to supply 180 electrical multiple unit commuter cars, valued at $500 million, to Metro-North Commuter Railroad in New York. Also during the quarter, Bombardier Transportation signed a contract for the supply of 405 subway cars, valued at $508 million, to Mexico City's transit authority. The contract will be finalized once financial close is completed.

On October 15 in Washington, Bombardier unveiled the Bombardier JetTrain(a) locomotive, the first 150-mile-per-hour (240-km-per-hour) non-electric high-speed rail locomotive designed for the North American market.

Bombardier Transportation's $23.1 billion order backlog as at Oct. 31, 2002 compares to a backlog of $20.4 billion as at Jan. 31, 2002 and $21.0 billion as at Oct. 31, 2001.

CONTACT:

Bombardier Inc.

Dominique Dionne, 514/861-9481

www.bombardier.com

######### ##################################################

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nearly 1 Million IT Jobs Moving Offshore

By Sharon Gaudin Internet.com

Nearly 1 million IT-related jobs will move offshore over the course of the next 15 years, according to a new report released by Forrester Research, Inc.

And that will leave some U.S. IT workers -- largely base- to mid-level programmers -- out in the cold if they don't upgrade their skills and move up the ladder away from the work that will be shipped out of the country.

''The people who make this transition will be people who can manage these offshore projects,'' says John McCarthy, group director of research for Forrester. ''Programmers and your base IT worker will have opportunities if they evolve -- just like the American manufacturer had to evolve. IT workers will have to become more business-centric and not just stay in their little technology cocoons.''

McCarthy says there will be a wave of jobs moving offshore over the next 16 months. He then predicts a two-year slow down while corporate executives digest the economies of the move, and then there will be an acceleration in jobs moving to other countries from 2005 through 2015.

''Gradually, you're going to see an increase in the pace of this,'' says McCarthy, who did the interview from India, one of the main countries absorbing U.S. IT work. ''It's already been happening. GE has been offshoring for almost 10 years now. The size of the deals, the number of deals, that's what is increasing.''

And IT jobs are only part of it.

McCarthy estimates that about 3.3 million American jobs and $136 billion in wages will move to countries like India, Russia, China and the Philippines. The IT industry, however, will be leading the initial exodus.

Just as with the textile, shoe and automotive manufacturing industries, IT work can be had more cheaply outside of the U.S. Cheaper labor and more relaxed labor rules means a huge cost savings. But McCarthy says that's not the only reason that U.S. CIOs are turning to foreign workers.

''They're getting better quality work done,'' he says. ''India is a culture more focused on quality and process than America is. They tend to be much more disciplined. They've done the most to turn IT development away from a mystical black art to a real business process... 'Just wing it' is not part of the culture there.''

But Humberto Andrade, director of professional services at Hampton, N.H.-based Technology Business Research, Inc., would take issue with that.

Andrade puts a premium on U.S. IT skills and work, saying that while the bulk of IT jobs may move offshore, U.S. workers will still have the high-end, value-add jobs. ''Companies will outsource the infrastructure, the low-end, the time-consuming parts,'' he explains. ''But you're always going to have offices here and you'll have a large section of work done here.''

Gordon Haff, an analyst at Nashua, N.H.-based Illuminata, agrees that critical IT work will remain in the U.S. but those without high-end skills will suffer.

''There's some types of work that basically lend themselves to being farmed out,'' says Haff. ''Maintenance programming and basic programming that is straightforward are easily sent overseas. But if something is strategic to your company, you want to maintain very close control over it. And when you're pushing the technology envelope, you need to have much closer communications with the people doing the development.''

Andrade also disagrees with Forrester that there will be a two-year lull in the exodus of jobs. He notes that many companies have being doing this -- possibly in small batches -- for four, five or six years. They've had time to calculate the benefits and expenses and now, battling a down economy, they're ready to move ahead with offshoring a chunk of their work.

''The Internet and broadband are helping everyone develop large projects outside the country,'' adds Andrade. ''There's a pool of well-educated people overseas, specifically in India. And with the economy slowing down, everyone has been reevaluating their processes and they're ready to keep moving [in this direction].''

Editor's note: Gaudin writes for Datamation, a Jupitermedia site.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lean times for headhunters

By Diane E. Lewis, Boston Globe Staff

With the economic slowdown thinning the ranks of top and midlevel managers, it was only a matter of time before the headhunters who recruit them would feel the pain. That time is now, with analysts projecting that the recruiting industry will take in $1 billion less in revenue this year than last.

Hundreds of small search firms have shut down while large and midsized executive recruiters have streamlined operations and laid off staff over the past year. As a result, Kennedy Information, the New Hampshire publisher of The Directory of Executive Recruiters, will list 500 fewer retained and contingency search firms in its 2003 national directory. This year, the directory will contain descriptions and contact information for 5,545 firms.

''This is a rags-to-riches-back-to-rags story,'' said Joseph Daniel McCool, editor of Executive Recruiter News. ''The years 1998, 1999, and 2000 were the golden age of executive search, the best times in the history of the business - even better than the `80s. Now, it's a struggle.''

Even the nation's recruiting giants are feeling the pinch. In June, Korn/Ferry said it had undertaken preferred equity securities financing with a private equity firm in San Francisco. The move diluted shareholders' stock by 12 percent, but it allowed Korn/Ferry to raise about $60 million - money it used to stave off an insolvency that could have hurt consultants' bonuses in July, noted Adam Waldo, a senior vice president at Lehman Brothers and a business and professional services analyst. ''In our view, Korn/Ferry will likely have to undertake further restructuring to restore profitability in the near term, or it could face a further need for outside capital in calendar 2003 if the current downturn continues,'' Waldo said.

Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. has had more than one round of layoffs. Last month, it announced plans to reduce its consulting staff by 50 worldwide, according to Kelly A. Flynn, an analyst at UBS Warburg. At the end of the most recent quarter, the company had 375 consultants, down from 540 in early 2001. Since 2001, it has cut about 30 percent of its staff, said Flynn.

TMP Worldwide Inc., parent of the Internet job site Monster.com, plans to spin off its less profitable, traditional executive and middle management recruiting businesses. ''Between 2000 and 2001, search revenues for the executive search group at TMP were down more than 35 percent, and we are forecasting in 2002 that they will be down about 38 percent,'' Flynn said. ''Two years of that kind of decline gives you an idea of how tough the environment is.''

Meanwhile, the bankruptcy of Texas-based Ray & Berndtson, one of the largest search firms in the world, sent shock waves through an industry that seemed impervious a few years ago. In 2000, the firm's revenue soared to $40.3 million. By July 2002, revenues had plunged to about 9 million.

Despite the gloom, some executive search firms have held their ground. One example: Boston's Isaacson, Miller. Founded in 1982 by John Isaacson, the midsized retained search firm has 60 employees and does about 50 to 175 retained executive searches per year. It expects revenue to be about $7.6 million this year, down approximately 6 percent from last year, but the company says it has been profitable in 2002. The firm, which cut staff through attrition last year, is now hiring.

''We were at break-even in January, and we expect to end the year with a solid profit, though somewhat less than last year,'' Isaacson said.

Isaacson, Miller has avoided more drastic cuts because its primary focus is on the nonprofit world, including public and private colleges and universities, foundations, hospitals, and health care institutions and, on the profit side, research and development - sectors of the economy that are more resistant to economic cycles.

Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, the YWCA of USA, Temple and Tufts universities and Common Cause, the advocacy group, are among current clients.

Even so, Isaacson, Miller has had its share of rocky times.

''After Sept. 11, our clients stopped in their tracks,'' said Isaacson. ''Had that not occurred we would have grown 15 percent by January or February 2002. But the work started coming back. So, our current billing rates are about where they were in 2001.''

Isaacson, who 30 years ago attended Oxford University with fellow Rhodes scholars William Jefferson Clinton and Robert Reich, was chosen to recruit members for the Yawkey Trust's expanded board of directors and his firm tapped Marian Heard for the presidency and chief executive post at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.

One large firm that appears to be holding up in tough times: Egon Zehnder International. ''They are privately held; they have a unique practice; and their success is very much tied to what looks like a resilient European market,'' said McCool.

On the front lines, however, many firms are struggling. ''We have seen many companies in New York just close their doors,'' said Morris Green, chairman of Hayward Simone Associates, a Wall Street contingency firm whose primary focus was placing IT talent at financial service firms. Today, the company is focusing its attention on attorneys, IT security executives, and contract executives. In a push to reduce costs, it laid off 20 recruiters, about 75 percent of its staff, and now relies on a dozen independent recruiters who work from home.

''Right now,'' Green said, ''Our contracting consulting placements are keeping us alive. Over the past eight months, we've gone to a different business model: Instead of hiring recruiters, I bring on virtual recruiters who work from home. They get paid only when they make a placement. Then, they get a percentage. There's no salary to pay and no benefits. I have no overhead, and they have quality of life: They can work from home.''

Diane E. Lewis can be reached at dlewis@globe.com.

Circulation of the nation's 20 biggest newspapers

By Associated Press, 11/19/2002 18:34

Average weekday circulation of the nation's 20 biggest newspapers for the six months ended Sept. 30 as reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The percentage changes are from the comparable year-ago period, and include a revision announced Tuesday to The Boston Globe's figures.

1. USA Today, 2,230,899, down 0.5 percent

2. The Wall Street Journal, 1,800,607, up 1.1 percent

3. The New York Times, 1,113,000, up 0.3 percent

4. Los Angeles Times, 965,633, down 0.8 percent (a)

5. The Washington Post, 746,724, down 1.8 percent

6. New York Daily News, 715,070, down 2.5 percent

7. Chicago Tribune, 613,429, down 1.3 percent

8. New York Post, 590,061, up 10.5 percent

9. Newsday of New York's Long Island, 578,809, up 0.3 percent

10. Houston Chronicle, 552,052, up 0.04 percent (a)

11. The Dallas Morning News, 521,956, up 2.4 percent

12. San Francisco Chronicle, 512,129, up 0.02 percent

13. Chicago Sun-Times, 479,584, up 0.5 percent

14. The Boston Globe, 467,745, down 0.7 percent

15. The Arizona Republic, 448,782, down 0.6 percent (a)

16. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., 408,557, up 0.3 percent

17. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 381,833 (b)

18. Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 379,139, up 0.6 percent (a)

19. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 373,892, up 2.4 percent

20. Detroit Free Press, 368,839, down 0.7 percent

(a) Includes Saturday circulation

(b) paper had change in frequency, no comparable figures were provided

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations

On the Net:

http://www.accessabc.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Niners won't bring in free agent to replace Cortez

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - The San Francisco 49ers will stick with just two kickers, at least for this week.

The Niners won't bring in any free agents to compete with embattled kicker Jose Cortez, general manager Terry Donahue said Tuesday.

Cortez has missed two potential game-winning field goals in the last three weeks, including a 41- yarder in overtime last Sunday during San Francisco's 20-17 loss at San Diego. His departure or demotion seemed a near-certainty after that costly miss, but Cortez still has a shot at keeping his job.

Donahue said coach Steve Mariucci, who has been uniformly supportive of Cortez, will decide between the incumbent and rookie kicker Jeff Chandler, who has been inactive for all of the 49ers' games this season. San Francisco (7-3) hosts Philadelphia on Monday night.

``I think we have two players within the organization that can get us to where we need to get to,'' Donahue said. ``Steve and I met, and he hasn't reached a conclusive decision yet as to what we're going to do.''

Chandler, the 49ers' fourth-round draft pick last spring, got a $330,000 signing bonus and a three-year contract. But during training camp, Cortez successfully held the job he won last spring after joining the 49ers from the XFL.

Chandler hasn't kicked since the exhibition season, but thinks he would be ready to step in for Cortez if Mariucci asks him to.

``I like the pressure,'' Chandler said. ``I like getting out there and knowing everybody is watching me ... but I want to do what's best for the team. If that means Jose is kicking next week, then that's fine.''

On Monday, quarterback Jeff Garcia criticized Donahue's strategy of keeping two kickers on the active roster all season. While Donahue always wanted to have a backup plan for the inconsistent Cortez, Garcia feels the plan hurts both kickers' confidence.

``Jeff's an adult, and he's entitled to his opinions ... but we kept both kickers because we feel like both kickers are true NFL players,'' Donahue said.

``We have good resources to draw upon in the latter part of the season. We're going into a championship run here. These games are close. These performances are crucial.''

Donahue also has no immediate plans to replace punter Jason Baker, who has spent most of the season dead last in the NFC in punting average. The Niners have brought in several punters for tryouts, but they haven't replaced their second-year punter.

(Odds are Mariucci will not have his 49er contract renewed after it expires this year. editor )