Leasing News

"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! "

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

“Outgoing members of the 1986 Board of Directors received plaques for their time and efforts in leading the membership from 1986 President Ted Parker, left; standing with plaques from left to right: Jim Swander, RSN Equipment Leasing, Santa Clara, CA; Hal McAfee, Pacific First Leasing, Novato, CA; Sudhir Amembal, Amembal & Isom Lease Consultants, Salt Lake City, UT; John Torbenson, and John Torbenson, Heritage Equipment Financing Corp.”

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

SALES: Lessor/Broker seeks experienced small - mid ticket reps (IT, Furniture, Telcom, Medical and General), 2 in CA, 2 Nationally and 2 in NE. Must have a book of business. Qualified Vendor leads available, strong commission & support, Draw and benefits. Call 617-641-9628 ext.11 or email

Sales: LCA is a small ticket leasing company seeking results-oriented, qualified sales professionals with outstanding performance in the lease industry. We offer competitive salary, commissions and benefits. Fax: 248-524-0267 email:

Sales: Lessor/Broker-Arizona- need experienced mid-market salesperson, location open, strong medical bkrnd pref. Top comm, draw, benefits.

Sales: Small ticket leasing reps, General equip. & medical, Municipal Vendor leads are provided.

Do you have any information on American Capital Group of Orange, Ca. They have one of my vendors on hold for $450,000 since December 1, 2002. I know they are not a direct funder and the deal is in Ohio. We had the client approved for 8% and blew the deal. Any help would be appreciated.

After my company, JLS Leasing Company, was acquired by Sky Bank, I went in-house to form their leasing program. It was a two-year short-lived experience. We then formed Bankers Network Leasing in 2000 and now serve as a conduit or correspondence with 15 Banks located throughout the US. We

We provide a full range of financial services and products to many leading restaurant chains, Franchisors, Franchisees, Retailers and

Grocery/C-Stores. We are not limited to the number of units, expansions or start-ups as long as the guarantors are "A" credits. We specialize in Equipment Leasing/Financing, Project Build-out Financing, Franchise Financing and Tenant Representation. We work with many of the leading Real Estate Developers and are members of the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) and the NAELB.

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

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

An exclusive group of syndication professionals from the commercial and municipal equipment leasing markets will participate in an upscale, professionally intimate showcase at the elegant Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead hotel in Atlanta, GA on March 10th, where innovative promotion of lease syndication deal flow and relationship enhancement will be introduced.

We've found an alternative to the train wreck culture of traditional conferences and funding source expositions where multitudes of spectators do not necessarily contribute to a productive networking experience. The Lessors Network delivers an intimate, upscale event where a smaller group of syndication professionals from the buy and sell sides are carefully screened and invited based on their networking value to this exclusive theme specific showcase. Invitation Only Policy

This showcase is designed to facilitate unprecedented interaction between all Attendees, Exhibitors and Sponsors via the exchange and distribution of 2003 Syndication Profiles and Syndication Term Sheets.

The Networking Suite welcomes you and your guest to a warm and relaxed enclave of elegance - a place where your privacy is always respected, complimentary refreshments are served. Exhibitor's 2003 Syndication Profiles and Syndication Term Sheets will be available all day from tabletop exhibits in the Networking Suite and will be distributed immediately preceding each Exhibitor's presentation in the General Session.

General Session presentations will help you identify and evaluate prospective syndication resources for your equipment leasing activities. Registered Exhibitor Speakers (syndication professionals) from the buy and sell sides will alternate delivering oral presentations (no PowerPoint) profiling their company's 2003 syndication strategies.

The Networking Reception, a new standard in distinctive elegance and business sophistication, represents a key networking opportunity. While tabletop exhibits provide convenient access to Exhibitor representatives and their promotional material, all Attendees are invited to exchange 2003 Syndication Profiles and Syndication Term Sheets with other Attendees, Exhibitors and Sponsors during the Networking Reception.

It's all about networking, and when you leave this event you'll know everything you need to know about which companies are selling and which companies are buying in 2003.

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

According to the Washington Whispers column of U.S. News & World Report, " administration officials are bracing for the resignation of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, the 71-year-old former Clinton Cabinet member who suffers from painful back ailments."

Paul Bedard writes the column. "Insiders say that House Secretary Mel Martinez...is being touted as Mineta's replacement," Bedard's column says.

Mineta recently underwent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to relieve long-standing back pain related to disk stress and scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.

Mineta, a former San Jose, CA, congressman, recently spent a few weeks at the hospital, holding meetings and telecommuting from his hospital bed.

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

The members of the Teamsters Union have voted to authorize a strike against companies represented by the Motor Freight Carriers Association, the union announced Feb. 3.

In a statement, union representatives said 95 percent of the members who voted favored authorizing a strike. The vote was called after negotiations with the carriers' group broke down in late January.

The MFCA, a national trade association, represents unionized general freight carriers such as ABF Freight System, Roadway Express, Yellow Freight and USF Holland. The Teamsters and the MFCA said the break in talks - which the MFCA described as a "temporary recess" - was caused by differences over wages and benefits.

However, just as the strike vote was wrapping up, the two groups said they would resume negotiating Feb. 5 in Chicago, the union said.

"The strike vote has already had an impact by leading to a quick return to talks later this week," Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said.

"Both sides have had an opportunity to fully review and evaluate their respective wage and benefit proposals," Tim Lynch, President and CEO of the MFCA, said in a statement. "We look forward to returning to the bargaining table and resolving these final remaining issues."

The agreement between the groups, which expires March 31, covers 65,000 members of the Teamsters Union.

Smaller carriers that traditionally adopt similar contracts employ another 20,000 Teamsters, the union said.

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

Nation's Top Industry Leaders and Economy Experts Optimistic on This Year's Outlook at Economic Summit 2003 sponsored by the Beverly Hills Chamber

According to conclusions reached by 18 of the nation's foremost business and economic experts today at the Economic Summit 2003, which was hosted by Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association and attended by 300 of the region's top business leaders, Southern California can look forward to continued growth in the real estate market, while anticipating improvements in the technology and local tourism industries and trade with China -- all positively impacting the state of the region's economy in the coming year.

The Summit showcased three industry economic panels, each comprised of five speakers who addressed the economic realities facing Southern California's economy, the effects of the digital revolution on the entertainment industry, as well as the global economy's impact on the local economy.

"Our region represents more than half the entire Californian economy," said Ali Soltani, President of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association. "This event brings together the top minds in economics available with business leaders who want to be ahead of trends."

Leading figures from the area's top financial industry firms and UCLA's Anderson Forecast delivered overall optimistic predictions about international and maritime trade, the entertainment and real estate industries, and the domestic hotel/tourism outlook for Southern California in the coming year.

"With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined, we're handling 65% of the nation's entire cargo," said Larry Cottrill, Assistant Planning Director/Manager of Master Planning for the Port of Long Beach. "Long-term forecasts predict a 5% to 6% average growth rate in container trade."

"The entertainment industry can look toward a fairly positive year as well," said Walter Zifkin, CEO of the William Morris Agency.

"I would rate the entertainment industry a seven out of ten for 2003," said Zifkin.

"This will be a strong year for music and television, as well as reality TV. Together with recent technological changes, the entertainment business is also experiencing growth from expanding into Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. The forecast is very good."

Another market that is showing strength for the coming year is residential real estate.

"Real estate prices are going through the roof -- the region is realizing record increases in housing prices, especially in L.A. and Orange County thanks in part to record low interest rates," said Christopher Thornberg, Senior Economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast. "It's a good time to buy real estate. Additionally, there is also a substantial spike in rental demands." Commercial prospects are not quite as bright in San Francisco where some real estate businesses are converting commercial properties into residential rentals to capture the spike in that market.

As far as the region's tourism industry is concerned, Bruce Baltin, Senior Vice President of the Los Angeles office of PKF Consulting, noted that San Diego, along with other up-and-coming destination resorts in Carlsbad and Dana Point, saw a phenomenal 20% growth in this past year.

"Benefiting from the downturn in air travel, cities like San Diego are enjoying intra-state tourism from Los Angeles residents. The hotel industry is figuring out that the domestic market is the main target," said Baltin.

In kicking off the Summit's second panel discussing the impact of the digital revolution on Southern California's entertainment industry, Charles "Frank" Stirling, Executive Director of Digital Cinema for Space and Communications Services for Boeing, noted, "The creative community is now finding more flexibility with content using digital cinema. With digital (technology), the entertainment industry can digitally represent characters, change scenes, adding new elements to the entire creative process from capture to post-production to distribution."

The panelists, Scott Dinsdale, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy for the Motion Picture Association and the Motion Picture Association of America; David Elliot, President of Technicolor Entertainment Services; and Kurt Hall, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Regal Entertainment Group, all agreed that digital cinema would become the buzzword in the coming years. In addition, they noted the positive progress that digital cinema had undertaken in the past few years.

"It's not if digital cinema would come, but when," said Hall. "And the audience is starting to recognize that." The panelists also addressed the challenges facing digital cinema, such as piracy before or during a movie's theater release.

"There are two important issues where that's concerned," said Dinsdale. "Firstly, how secure is this movie when it gets to the theater in digital form, and how hard is it for people to duplicate copies of it? Secondly, projected images from a digital movie will be more difficult to capture on camcorders than the traditional 35mm film reels."

Panelists in the third and last group talked about the global economy's effect on regional economies. All speakers agreed on the importance of China's emerging economy on the U.S. economy.

"China is clearly a major producer, more so than Japan," said Dr. John Silva, Chief Economist at Wachovia Securities. "It is definitely a plus for the American consumer to be heading that way."

"It's my number one bet for the next year," said Dr. Silva. "Technology is perhaps the one market that will experience growth, because people realize that technology is always evolving, always changing -- it's here to stay."

All the panelists were fairly optimistic about how the economy would fare in the coming year.

"We are in the midst of a modest recovery that is similar to the 1991 economy," said Thomas McManus, Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at Banc of America Securities LLC. "And because we went into the recession gradually, we will exit gradually. We should see a recovery beginning in mid-2003."

Still, the speakers advised caution and patience on the consumer's part, while weathering out the volatility of the economy.

"Improvement in consumer confidence may actually allow the stock market to do a little better," said John Manley, JR, CFA Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney. "In a recession, investor confidence is mostly needed for the economy to pick up. The numbers will tend to go higher then."

The Economic Summit 2003 was produced by Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce & Civic Association in partnership with The Milken Institute. Presenting sponsor was Zurich Capital Holdings. Session sponsors were City National Bank and Bank of America. Additional sponsors of the Economic Summit included corporate sponsors Beverly Hills BMW, Rolls-Royce of Beverly Hills, and Wachovia Securities; supporting sponsors Beverly Hills Ltd. Mercedes-Benz, HSBC, Southern California Edison, Union Bank of California and William Morris Agency; cooperating sponsors United States Chamber of Commerce and Century City Chamber of Commerce; and media partners Media Networks, Inc., Los Angeles Business Journal and The Hollywood Reporter.

Sponsored By Beverly Hills Chamber Of Commerce And Civic Association, the second largest Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles County, and has served the business community of greater Beverly Hills since 1923.

I just have to get use to pulling up rater than it popping up on my email everyday.

(We are working on an HTML version, but we do not have the advertisers or money to pay for its operations, so we are going to offer it on a subscription basis to cover costs. If enough readers are interested, it will join our original text version and website version. We will continue the original text version

You guys might be interested to find that there are a colossal number of complaints generated by Leasecomm. I have decent credit and do not

want to damage it by closing my account strictly. What I am doing is going back onto the broker who brokered my account to Leasecomm in

the first place since they apparently did so at exactly the time that Leasecomm was failing. They were also apparently aware since there had

I have located an attorney in Mass. who is reviewing my contract. In the mean time it is simply astonishing to me that this industry is so

I run an excavating and stone company. I am also an engineer. Any idiot with $100k can get on a machine and call themselves an excavator,

but thankfully, local jurisdictions, licensing stipulations and bonding requirements serve to weed out those fly-by-night operators simply out

to scam people. And a professional engineering license generally takes on average seven (7) years to obtain while one works essentially as a 'resident' to another engineer.

I wonder Kit if there are similar safety nets in place to regulate the leasing industry. Given their position of power is it time to implement some

These people are so crooked almost everyone is stopping payment and getting away with it.”

(If you elect not to make a payment, at least put it in a “trust account” or

(And if you are trying to get out of a lease, you want “bad” lawyer. You know

Address is 19 North Pearl Street, Suite 2, Covington, OH 45318. Hal was an early member of NAELB (perhaps a Charter Member). His fine son, Doug, is in the business. doug@accordlease.com

Those of you in the industry who know Hal might want to offer prayers to ease his pain and suffering.

Santa Clara, CA, — Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of Internet network equipment, reported today that its sales held steady last quarter amid a continued technology downturn. But, in remarks that suggest an upturn is not imminent, Cisco's chief executive said customers had grown even more cautious about spending.

The chief executive, John T. Chambers, said that corporate executives seem to be holding tighter to their purse strings and that geopolitical uncertainty has had a "dampening effect" on the economy.

Cisco is hearing "even more conservative attitudes from executives than we heard a quarter ago," Mr. Chambers said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts to report fiscal second-quarter earnings. Mr. Chambers said that he was optimistic about the long-term outlook for Cisco, but that he was "a little more cautious than last quarter" about the company's near-term prospects.

As business leaders look for signs indicating when the economy will show some vigor, Cisco's anecdotal evidence suggests continued weakness not just in the technology sector but in numerous businesses where Cisco sells nearly $20 billion a year in networking equipment.

Cisco reported second-quarter earnings that were essentially in line with its projections and with the estimates of Wall Street analysts. Sales were $4.71 billion, down from $4.8 billion in both the first quarter and in the second quarter of last year.

Earnings were 15 cents a share pro forma, a figure that excludes costs related to acquisitions. That compares with 9 cents a share in the period a year earlier.

The company projected that its revenue for the third quarter, which ends April 26, should be flat to down 2 percent to 3 percent.

Industry analysts, as well as Cisco, said one cause for optimism was the company's gross margin, a closely watched measure that calculates sales minus the cost of producing goods. Cisco had second-quarter gross margins of 70.4 percent, a strong figure generally speaking, and among Cisco's better performances. In the previous quarter, the company's gross margin was 69.3 percent.

Larry R. Carter, the chief financial officer, attributed the higher gross margins to cost savings, notably lower component costs and greater manufacturing efficiencies. He said that he expected gross margins to fall next quarter to 68 to 70 percent, in part because it is a slower season for the company.

Barry Jaruzelski, who oversees the global technology practice for Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting company, said Cisco appeared to be holding its own "in spite of this hellacious environment." He added, however, that Cisco faces several challenges before it can return to being a major growth business, let alone the juggernaut that it was during the Internet boom.

"They're executing within a nasty environment and sustaining their financials," Mr. Jaruzelski said. He added, "this is an execution story, not a growth story; they are living within their means."

Several industry analysts said that Cisco needed to continue to break into new markets to supplement its core businesses of selling routers and switches, the basic equipment that corporations use to build computer networks.

David Willis, an analyst with Meta Group, said those markets were mature and did not offer Cisco much chance for growth unless the company took market share from competitors.

Mr. Chambers, who has said that he is focusing Cisco on new businesses, elaborated during the call with analysts. He said the company was spending 40 percent of its research and development on emerging areas, including technology used for wireless communications, computer security and storage, and transmitting voice over data lines.

Mr. Chambers also addressed the issue of dividends, which the company does not pay. He said Cisco did not have a "religious position on dividends" and would continue to monitor the issue in light of President Bush's proposal to cut taxes on dividends. But Mr. Chambers noted that shareholders last November defeated by an overwhelming margin a proposal to disburse dividends.

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

Battered by economic fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks and the tech slowdown, the organizers of the

Comdex computer trade show filed for bankruptcy protection Monday and agreed to be acquired by San Francisco investment firm Thomas Weisel Partners.

Key3Media filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. The company said it would continue to operate a reduced number of events, including Comdex Fall in Las Vegas, Seybold Seminars in San Francisco, NetWorld+Interop in Las Vegas, JavaOne in San Francisco, as well as a variety of smaller shows.

The company's negotiated reorganization plan is supported by Thomas Weisel Capital Partners, the merchant-banking affiliate of Thomas Weisel Partners, which in the past 90 days has acquired about 68 percent of Key3Media's bank debt and 38 percent of its bonds. Fred Rosen, chief executive of Key3Media, said the plan is aimed at cutting the company's debt so it can operate profitably.

``This will rationalize our capital structure, and allow us to keep operating,'' he said in an interview.

In a statement, Lawrence Sorrel, managing partner of Thomas Weisel Capital Partners and director of private equity at Thomas Weisel Partners, said his firm plans to work closely with current management to turn around the business and position it for long-term growth.

Through the recapitalization plan, Key3Media will reduce its total debt from $372 million to $50 million, and cut its interest expense from $38 million a year to $3.4 million a year. In return for 99 percent ownership, Thomas Weisel Capital Partners has agreed to provide $30 million in debtor-in-possession financing. Existing shareholders will receive nothing. Unsecured creditors will hold 1 percent of the new company, with the right to buy an additional 10 percent.

Key3Media plans to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings in 90 days. The company has cut its staff from more than 600 to 349 and has closed its Massachusetts office. The company also has cut secondary shows like Comdex Chicago.

Rosen said Comdex would continue unaffected, and he noted that the November trade show turned out well despite the gloomy tech environment. The show drew about 125,000 attendees, about the same number as a year ago but far less than the 200,000-plus in 2000. But Comdex has been losing exhibitors to the Consumer Electronics Show, which drew 116,000 attendees in January.

Mark Hughes, director of research for Trade Show Week magazine, said numerous investors and show producers looked closely at Key3Media, but he noted that private equity investors were most likely to buy Key3Media because they have a higher tolerance for risk than strategic show producers do right now. The question remains, he said, ``When will the information-technology events industry turn around?''

In 2002, technology trade shows shrank 12 percent in companies participating and 14 percent in attendance compared with 2001, Hughes said. Trade shows in general were also down but not as steeply, he said.

Rosen wasn't yet willing to predict how Key3Media would do with its next Comdex show, in November.

``Everyone compares this business to five years ago and that isn't coming back,'' he said. ``I think we're in for another difficult year and it will get better next year and in 2005. Do you believe tech is going away? I don't think face-to-face marketing is going away. When the sun comes out again and business recovers, this business will come back.''

Rosen, who helped turn Ticketmaster into a billion-dollar business, said current management will continue to run the business. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Key3Media reported a loss of $686.2 million on revenue of $110 million, compared with a loss of $20.2 million on revenue of $175.1 million a year earlier. The loss included a large write-down of goodwill.

Key3Media started as Comdex about 24 years ago. Founder Sheldon Adelson sold the business to Softbank in 1995, which merged it with the Ziff-Davis events business. In 2000, it was spun off to shareholders with more than $400 million in debt.

As economic troubles swell the ranks of needy Americans, many charities are contracting rather than expanding the result of a distinctively daunting year for fund- raisers.

Charity officials say their task in 2002 was complicated by multiple challenges not only the waves of layoffs and stock-market plunges, but also eroded trust in some institutions, anxiety over a possible war and donor fatigue after the generous response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Comprehensive nationwide donation statistics for 2002 won't be available for several months, but interviews with officials of national charities, and an Associated Press survey of 126 charities in 44 states and the District of Columbia made clear the breadth of the problem.

Of the surveyed charities contacted from Jan. 11-20 by AP reporters around the country 66 said donations were down from 2001, 38 said donations were up, and 22 said their financial picture was stable or not yet determined. Some hard-hit charities are laying off employees or leaving vacant posts open; others are considering possible service cutbacks.

Many local chapters of the American Red Cross were among those suffering declines. National vice president Michael Farley said direct-mail donations for most chapters were down more than 20 percent at a time when needs were increasing.

''At the end of the calendar year, you usually see a spike in giving in the holiday season, but this year that spike wasn't as dramatic,'' Farley said.

Red Cross chapters in Denver and the San Francisco area each reported 26 percent drops in donations. Montana's Red Cross chapter formed just two years ago cut its budget nearly 10 percent as donations fell 30 percent below expectations.

''Our major donors can't give as much,'' said Montana manager David Morikawa. ''They tell us they wish they could give more, but with the uncertainty, they feel they cannot.''

''We rely on people's generosity but that's one of the things people can eliminate or reduce when they face increased costs in other areas,'' said the Tampa agency's president, Doug Weber. ''The future is not so certain. We might go to war. People are not sure if they'll have a job.''

Contributions to the Salvation Army in Idaho's Canyon County dropped by $100,000. To keep services intact, full-time positions are becoming part-time, said Capt. John Stennett.

The Red Cross chapter in California's Riverside County expects to be down $400,000 from 2001-2002. ''It's going to mean staff reductions, potential office closures,'' said chief executive Pamela Anderson.

Philadelphia's Red Cross chapter has already laid off 13 employees, with administrative posts being sacrificed to keep the disaster response division intact.

It also was a tough year for several Roman Catholic-affiliated charities including Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services and Associated Catholic Charities of Memphis, Tenn., where the $250,000 intake was about $100,000 below normal.

Catholic Charities in Cleveland, after five years of gains, suffered a 7 percent drop in 2002. Its chief executive, Tom Mullen, blamed the church's sex abuse scandal as well as the troubled economy.

''I certainly believe there are some folks whose trust was eroded with the church,'' Mullen said.

Donor wariness extended beyond Catholic charities, however. David Gillig, executive director of the San Diego Children's Hospital Foundation, said donors in 2002 were more likely to stipulate how their gift should be used and to request a charity's financial reports.

Said Megan Hansen of the Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis: ''There's a decline in the public trust of a lot of institutions, including the nonprofit sectors.''

Allegations of mismanagement plagued the Washington-based United Way of the National Capital Area, which has laid off 28 of its 76 full-time employees. It expects donations to drop by a third this year.

Some charities were able meet their 2002 goals because they set modest targets. For example, Aloha United Way, Hawaii's largest United Way chapter, raised $14.3 million in 2001, set a goal of $13.2 million for 2002 because of worries about the economy and barely met the target. A $240,000 gift from a foundation late in its campaign saved the day.

A $50,000 check dropped into a kettle on Christmas Eve allowed the Salvation Army in Salt Lake City to reach its goal.

There were some clear-cut success stories United Way of Central Alabama raised $31 million, up 4 percent from 2001; CARE USA's Chicago office, which serves 12 states, raised $2 million, compared to $1.9 million in 2001.

And some relatively small charities fared well. Women's Way, which provides rape counseling and other services in greater Philadelphia, boosted donations more than 10 percent. Sistercare Inc. in South Carolina, seeking money for a new shelter for abused women, collected $299,091, up $55,000 from 2001.

In California, United Way of Silicon Valley expects to better is 2001-2002 fund-raising despite grave regional economic problems.

''Even in workplaces with substantially fewer employees, the overall contribution results are the same or greater,'' said Steve Heath, marketing director for the San Jose agency. ''The employees in many cases are actually giving more per capita.''

United Way of the Black Hills, based in Rapid City, S.D., squeezed past its 2002 goal of $1.7 million by just $25,000 on the last day of the year. ''I've been here 10 years this is the hardest year we've had,'' executive director Renee Parker said.

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

A hacker group attacked and struck down servers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory just hours after the Columbia space shuttle was lost, according to a London-based security company.

The attack, allegedly pulled off by a group calling itself the Trippin Smurfs, temporarily staggered nine servers running on the Sun Solaris operating system, according to a report issued by mi2g, a security firm based in England. The attack was fired off as a protest against the U.S.'s position on Iraq.

The attack lasted for about an hour and a half, approximately seven hours after the Columbia exploded just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing. All seven crew members were killed. The hacker group defaced the organization's Web servers with political messages, according to mi2g.

The report also points out that this is the third time the Trippin Smurfs have successfully compromised servers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They attacked two servers on Jan. 18 of this year and another three on Jan. 25. This last incident, mi2g reports, is the first time the group has uploaded politically charged content.

Mi2g also reports that the Trippin Smurfs, which have been active since September of 2001, generally focus their attacks on Unix-style systems.

NASA's Web sites, overall, held up well Saturday in the wake of the Columbia tragedy.

Keynote Systems, Inc., an Internet performance monitor, reports that NASA's Web site, which had just been completely redesigned, suffered only minor availability problems the day of the crash. NASA's Web site slowed by a factor of four between 10 a.m. and noon, a period shortly after the shuttle exploded.

In comparison, an hour after the explosion, Internet performance in the U.S. sagged briefly as people around the world rushed to the Internet for information about the tragedy, according to Keynote Systems. For a few hours after the shuttle was lost, downloads at the Web site for the White House took twice as long, although there were no availability problems.

“I think it is an indicator that UK banks are losing interest in the non-core areas of lending. One of the oft-quoted shining lights of UK finance

is Northern Rock, who only lend money to people to buy property. Abbey National are heading in that direction; consumer finance today, leasing tomorrow and vendor programmes after that (in my opinion).

Structurally Abbey is not (in my opinion) alone in falling out of love with non-core functions such as leasing. Rumours abound that the leasing divisions of other banks are being sold / merged / closed. If the traditional UK sources of money don't want to be in consumer finance / leasing / vendor finance , who does?

LONDON----GE Consumer Finance, the consumer credit services business of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), today announced it has agreed to acquire First National's secured and unsecured lending business from Abbey National plc for a consideration of (pound)848 million. This includes net assets of (pound)630 million and a premium of (pound)218 million. A further post-completion payment of up to (pound)42 million may be made to Abbey National, contingent on the performance of the lending book being acquired.

"The acquisition of First National represents another significant step in the development of our UK consumer finance business," said Charles Alexander, President, GE Capital Europe. "It fits well with our existing businesses and enhances our presence in the UK intermediary-sourced secured and unsecured lending sectors."

The transaction will add (pound)4.8 billion of assets and 2.1 million active customers to GE Consumer Finance's business in the United Kingdom. First National employs approximately 1,400 people and provides finance to customers through intermediaries such as IFAs, brokers, high street retailers, suppliers of home improvements and holiday ownership properties. The acquisition will significantly broaden the product range of first and second mortgages offered by GE Consumer Finance to its customers in the United Kingdom, while enhancing its position in retail financing. It also takes GE Consumer Finance into a number of attractive new segments.

"We are very excited by the opportunities this acquisition brings to our operations in terms of both an enhanced product range and new broker relationships. Our experience to date in the UK has been extremely positive, with strong growth experienced by each of our mortgage, retail finance and auto finance businesses. Our intention is to build on the further opportunities for growth that this acquisition provides. The senior management teams are working closely to ensure continuity for both customers and intermediaries."

The transaction excludes the motor finance and litigation finance businesses of First National and is subject to regulatory approval.

GE Consumer Finance, with nearly US$70 billion in assets, is a leading provider of credit services to consumers, retailers and auto dealers in more than 35 countries around the world. A wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric Company, GE Consumer Finance provides a variety of financial services such as credit cards, personal loans, sales finance, auto loans and leasing, mortgages and credit insurance.

GE is a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide. For more information visit www.ge.com

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

completed the final details of an agreement on a landmark five-year contract. He is enroute to Detroit and will be introduced at a press conference today. ( He lives

less than a mile from our house and shops in the community, very active participant, very popular as a person. Editor )

million annually. He was to have earned a base salary of $2.25 million under his old contract with the 49ers. That salary for 2003 was to have been paid out over a 30-month period. The deal, negotiated over the past four or five days by agent Gary O'Hagan of IMG, equals the one awarded Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier last year.

Sources close to negotiations insisted Monday night that the last remaining item to be completed was not a deal-breaker and that Mariucci has definitely decided to accept the job. That proved to be the case, In fact, sources said, Mariucci spent the past couple days mulling over potential staff members.

"It's too far along now not to happen," said a league source at the time. "Actually, it probably could have been done a few days ago, but (Mariucci) just wanted to sleep on it a while. But it's about as done as done can be without having officially signed the thing."

The Lions issued a statement Monday afternoon which said that a deal was not yet in place but that an agreement could be reached Tuesday.

"While there was significant progress . . . no deal has yet been finalized that would make Steve our next head coach," spokesman Bill Keenist said in the statement. "We are hopeful that an agreement can be reached with Steve by the end of the day (Tuesday)."

In addition to financial implications, with Mariucci set to move to new status as one of the league's highest-paid head coaches, he will have more input into football decisions than during a six-year San Francisco tenure.

Mariucci, 47, will have the title of head coach only, but the contract with the Lions will permit him to review and participate in football-related decisions. His new job represents a homecoming of sorts for Mariucci, who was born and raised in Iron Mountain, Mich., and who played collegiately at Northern Michigan, where he was a three-time All- American quarterback.

The hiring of Mariucci figures to be a popular one with long-suffering Lions fans, whose teams won just five games over the last two seasons, under the stewardship of Marty Mornhinweg. Ironically, Mornhinweg was offensive coordinator for Mariucci in San Francisco before taking the Detroit job.

Detroit has not advanced to the playoffs since 1999, as a wild card entry, and Mariucci will inherit a team that is clearly in a rebuilding mode. There is, at least, a solid cornerstone in quarterback Joey Harrington, former Oregon quarterback, the team's top pick in the 2002 draft.

The addition means the end of a two-year pursuit by Lions president Matt Millen, who originally wanted Mariucci for the job in 2001, but could not extricate him from his 49ers contract then. It also means that Millen won his gamble in dismissing Mornhinweg last Monday.

After initially indicating Mornhinweg would be back with the Lions for the 2003 season, Millen reversed direction, and fired him once Mariucci became available. Millen acknowledged that the only circumstance that changed was the availability if Mariucci and, had he not landed him, the failure would not have sat well with Lions fans.

Mariucci, in fact, was the only candidate ever publicly acknowledged by the Lions or by Millen.

It remains to be seen how, or even if, Detroit will come into compliance with a league guideline that mandates franchises interview minority candidates for head coach and high-ranking front office positions. The club was turned down by some black coaches, who perceived that Mariucci was the only true candidate for the job, and who did not want to be part of a sham process.

Mariucci clashed with San Francisco owner John York, and he was fired three days after a 31-6 loss at Tampa Bay on Jan. 12. His postseason record was 3-4.

The Lions, by contrast, have one playoff victory since winning the NFL title in 1957.

"I think it'll be good. Good for him, because he will be in a situation where he's actually wanted and appreciated," Lions defensive end Robert Porcher said Tuesday. "I think it'll be good from a team standpoint, because now our general manager gets the guy that he's always wanted.

"And I think from the players' standpoint, it'll be excellent, because he brings in that instant credibility with his winning record in San Francisco."

Mariucci repeatedly said he wanted to keep his family in the San Francisco Bay area, and he would be willing to take a minimal raise or even coach the final year of his contract without an extension.

Mariucci's agent, Gary O'Hagan, has said that Mariucci's ties to Michigan played a part in his interest in the Lions after he initially said he would take next year off from coaching.

Mariucci will be about 90 miles away from best friend, Tom Izzo, Michigan State's basketball coach. Mariucci and Izzo grew up together, attended Northern Michigan and talk almost daily.

"It's going to be great, really it is," Izzo said while traveling to see a recruit Tuesday night. "I'm pumped up for him, and I'm pumped up for the Lions and all their fans."

Mariucci had been Detroit's leading candidate since the Lions fired Mornhinweg. Mariucci was the only coach to have an in-person interview, last Wednesday and Thursday.

Millen never publicly named any other candidate but said the Lions would do their best to comply with the NFL's policy of interviewing at least one minority candidate.

O'Hagan, who also represents former Minnesota coach Dennis Green, refused comment on numerous reports that Green refused to interview with the Lions because they appeared to have their sights set only on Mariucci.

A source within the league, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said five minority candidates turned down interview requests from the Lions because it appeared inevitable that Mariucci would be hired.

Attorney Cyrus Mehri, who along with attorney Johnnie Cochran led a campaign for more minority hiring in the NFL, was disappointed with Detroit's hiring process.

"By essentially crowning Mariucci as the next head coach before doing a single interview, the Lions discouraged African-American coaches from putting their hat in the ring in Detroit," Mehri said Tuesday. "Millen, in public and private statements, could not look African-American candidates in the eye and tell them they had a fair shot. I don't blame the coaches who didn't want to be a part of a sham interview.

"We're competing for the soul of the NFL, which has been based on a good old boys' network, not fair competition for jobs. The ball is in the league's court now. If they condone this, they have ripped the heart out of the 'Rooney Plan,' because what Matt Millen has done harkens back to the good old boys' days."

The NFL's new policy, announced in late December, said owners agreed they would "seriously" interview at least one minority candidate for each coaching vacancy. The policy was developed by a committee headed by Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, following a report on minority hiring issued by a group headed by Mehri.

"The Lions' selection process fell short of what our committee recommends for all clubs as agreed in December," Rooney said in a statement Tuesday. "I will discuss this with the committee and the Lions to see what occurred and where to proceed in the future."

Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said the Lions have always supported the owners' initiative, and did their best to comply with it.

aw firms, commonly seen as islands of security and stability to their employees, are proving vulnerable to the turbulence in the economy.

Squeezed between their clients and their own lawyers' wage demands in tough times, some firms are collapsing under the pressure. Big corporate clients are battling to keep costs down, while the firms' costs for lawyers, staff and technology are rising. At the same time, partners are often unwilling to accept declining pay, and they defect.

who leads the merger and consolidation practice at the consulting firm Hildebrandt International. She said her business was busier than ever advising law firms trying to avoid collapse, adding that there had recently been a number of desperate "last-ditch efforts" at mergers intended to stave off law firm implosions. "We're seeing a rash of them right now," she said.

The most spectacular collapse came last week, when partners at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, a prominent San Francisco Bay Area firm, decided to wind down the firm's business. On Monday, Skjerven Morrill, a 67-lawyer firm in San Jose, Calif., specializing in intellectual property law, announced that it would dissolve.

In December, Hill & Barlow, a 107-year-old Boston law firm, said it would dissolve after a group of real estate partners indicated that they planned to defect.

This is not the first time that lucrative work for big companies and investment banks has dried up. But gradual changes in the practice of law have made law firms more vulnerable today than they have been in years, according to lawyers and their consultants. Many firms have become highly specialized and do not have, for example, the bankruptcy business to carry them until the economy picks up again.

Law firms' problems generally become evident early in the year as partners learn how much money they made the previous year and how much they will probably make in the coming year. If both figures are declining, some partners invariably begin to look for greener pastures; several partners jumped ship from Brobeck over the last year after the firm's decline became apparent during 2002.

"They'll jump for money," said Ward Bower, a principal at Altman Weil, a consulting firm that advises law firms. "Twenty years ago, they wouldn't. That injects volatility into the marketplace."

At Hill & Barlow, a group of real estate lawyers announced their intention late last year to join another firm, said Robert A. Bertsche, a former partner. "There have been times when one department has been stronger and another department has been weaker," he said, but partners would remain loyal. "They were different times. And maybe they were different people."

When partners defect, Mr. Bower said, the firm still faces leasing and personnel costs, but with fewer lawyers to bring in revenue, squeezing profits. The weak economy has the same effect, driving down compensation and leading more partners to abandon ship, Mr. Bower said.

Firms that relied heavily on slipping sectors of the economy — technology companies, in Brobeck's case — have found the climate particularly harsh. Brobeck shed nearly a third of its lawyers last year, before deciding last week to cease operating as a single firm.

Conventional wisdom held that law firms could weather economic downturns by relying on business lines like bankruptcy and civil litigation that tend to increase in bad times. But in the late 1990's, not all firms kept their staffs or their clientele balanced, leaving them without bankruptcy lawyers to subsidize the stock-offering gurus whose work is now less in demand.

"The countercyclical practices for the most part are not evenly distributed," Mr. Bower said. Firms with big bankruptcy practices, like Weil, Gotshal & Manges of New York — which is representing Enron, among others — are very busy. But other firms with little bankruptcy expertise are experiencing a tough year, he said.

Law firms generally carry more debt today as well. Brobeck, for example, is reported to have had tens of millions of dollars in debt, and that obligation was a significant factor in the decision to wind down, partners said last week.

n statements, Brobeck's lawyers also attributed the firm's demise to the failure of merger negotiations with a larger firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, which has big offices in New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

Such merger efforts are more often evidence of a firm in trouble than the cause of its difficulties, Ms. Smith, the consultant, said.

A more likely culprit is the steady increase in law firms' costs. The prices of long-term leases have increased, and some firms, like Brobeck, planned on space for many more lawyers than they have. Brobeck shrank to about 500 lawyers last week from 900 lawyers in 2000. In addition, the cost of computers and other technology used by firms has doubled every three years since 1983, Mr. Bower said. And salaries for associates and for support staff soared in the late 1990.

The legal industry also continues to consolidate,creating more and more huge firms with 1,000 or more lawyers. Such firms have offices in more locations, making it easier to serve multinational clients, said Steven M. Polan, whose 45-person New York firm of Kalkines, Arky, Zall & Bernstein recently combined with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a 285-lawyer firm based in Los Angeles.

"We were thinking bigger and thinking about being able to practice on a national platform," Mr. Polan said. "A 45-person law firm was not a size that seemed to be a growing presence in the marketplace."

Larger firms generally mean higher billable rates to their clients because law firm combinations do not yield economies of scale, Mr. Bower said. Overhead costs do not decline after such mergers, he said.

Nevertheless, merger activity among law firms has continued. Although the number of mergers declined in 2002 from 2001, the size of the merging firms increased. Hildebrandt reported 53 law firm mergers in 2002, down from 82 the previous year but up sharply from the mid-1990's; there were just 11 such mergers in 1997.

"By contrast to the corporate world, law firm mergers have been pretty consistently high and at a much higher level than they have been in the past," Ms. Smith, the consultant, said. "It's starting to have a real impact on the shape of the legal market in some cities."