Add me to mailing list | Change email  Search
Advertising | All Lists | Archives | Classified Ads | This Day In American History

Leasing News is a web site that posts information, news, and
entertainment for the commercial bank, finance and leasing industry

kitmenkin@leasingnews.org
   




Friday, January 23, 2015


Today's Equipment Leasing Headlines

New Bulletin Board Complaint
 Integrity Financial Groups, Alpine, Utah
   Classified Ads---Credit
January 1, 2015 Leasing Association Membership Report
   by Christopher Menkin
 ELFA Staff Recognition: Kudos to Bill Choi!
New Hires---Promotions in the Leasing Industry
   Leasing Industry Ads---Help Wanted
Texas Court Holds Balboa Capital May Not
Obtain Judgment for Lease Balance & Be
Awarded Possession of Equipment at the Same Time
   By Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
Leasing News Advisor
  Ed Castagna
Failed Banks, Class of 2015
  SNL Financial Report
Mobile App Usage Growth by Category---Chart
Moody’s: US solar reaches scale to tap ABS markets
 Moody's Predicts Credit Negative for Railcar ABS
  Labrador Retriever
   North Utah Valley Animal Shelter  Adopt-a-Dog
Blackhat/Two Days-One Night
 A Walk Among Tombstones/Stray Dogs/The Palm Beach Story
  Film/DVD Reviews by Leasing News' Fernando Croce
News Briefs---
OnDeck Launches Marketplace for Institutional Investors
 GATX, Leading Railcar Leasing Co., $58.5MM 4thQ
  RBC Buys Bank to the Hollywood Stars for $5.4 Billion
   JPMorgan Chase Keeps Dimon’s Pay Unchanged;
    Goldman’s Blankfein Gets a Raise
Google negotiating deals with T-Mobile, Sprint to become wireless carrier
 Wynn Releases New Everett Casino Design Plans
  The Struggle to Simplify Accounting
   Leasing Firm Parlays Big Data Into Sales
    Anesthesiology Sector Awakens to Consolidation-CIT Study

Broker/Funder/Industry Lists | Features (writer's columns)
Top Ten Stories Chosen by Readers | Top Stories last six months

www.leasingcomplaints.com (Be Careful of Doing Business)
www.evergreenleasingnews.org
Leasing News Icon for Android Mobile Device

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

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



Please send Leasing News to a colleague and ask them to join
our mailing list. You may also visit each news edition at www.leasingnews.org or view our previous editions at: www.leasingnews.org/archives.htm


[headlines]

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


New Bulletin Board Complaint
Integrity Financial Groups, Alpine, Utah

Marty Hughes, President, Surf City Saw dba SCS Inc., Huntington Beach, California signed a term loan proposal with Integrity Financial Groups, Alpine, Utah  for $50,000 to obtain a CNC Lathe, calling for 25% down and 36 months at $1,660.72 per month. (1) When the actual approvals came in, they were higher than the proposal, and he asked repeatedly that he wanted the deposit of $3800 returned. The agreement states there is a $500 non-refundable deposit, which he agreed not to argue about, if the remainder of the deposit was returned.

Marty Hughes, Surf City Saw, is at the point he wants to take Integrity Financial Group and Dallin Hawkins, who signed the proposal, to small claims court. The addresses of previous offices and residences have told those looking to serve him that he is not located there. The address on the IFG proposal of 612 N Main, Alpine, Utah, is a house:


(Google)
and he is not located at 612 N. Main, according to those who tried to serve him.

Dallin Hawkins did respond by email on January 13, 2015:

"First of all, I hope you had a great new years and a happy holidays.

"Chris and I worked on the transaction for Marty Hughes at SCS. During our due diligence process, we received a decline on the original terms that were outlined in the attached proposal. We discussed the different options we had with the client and what the new terms would be. He verbally agreed to move forward with obtaining additional approvals from different sources. We proceeded forward, as requested by the client, and obtained 2 approvals as outlined in the attached emails. We went above and beyond to gain two approvals so that our client had two options for financing. When presented with both approval letters to sign and move forward, the client agreed to move forward verbally, but failed to follow through as promised with the execution of either approval letter. The client sent a few emails days after stating that he got funding elsewhere. This was after the client assured Chris he was not shopping the deal and was not going anywhere, which is also reflected in the attached emails.

"Our agreement it states:

“In the event that the Borrower elects to finance the transaction with funds provided by anyone or any institution, other than those designated by Lender (upon approval), or the Loan Facility fails to close for any other reason, the Lender would retain the Underwriting Deposit as liquidated damages.”

As you know, being in the industry, these deals are always damaging to lender relationships as well as cost a lot of money and time. I valued your input and reference your article written in March 2014, Your legal editor Tom McCurnin of Barton, Klugman & Oetting states:

[There are a few scenarios in which we [Integrity Financial Groups] would keep a deposit:

"1. If the client has been approved on a transaction and they decide not to go through with the funding]

“The devil is in the details there. Did the customer actually agree to a specific form of financing and the broker delivered an approval for that exact form of financing? If so, then the answer is yes. However often the approval deal is quite different from what was applied for and what was in the brokerage contact? I cannot comment with any certainty without knowing the details of the application, contract and the funding offered. Any broker should keep rudimentary time records to prove its damages.”

“The bottom line for me is that if the lessee commits a technical breach of the brokerage contract, the broker can obtain damages, but keeping the whole of the deposit where the amount is extraordinarily high would be a penalty and would be frowned upon by the Courts. That is why a broker should keep rudimentary time records to prove its damages”

"http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2014/3_26.htm#when

"We feel that we have followed through with our agreement and in good faith of finding the client multiple options for financing.  The customer, unfortunately, has not shown any good faith on their part in completing the transaction. The client knowingly ordered us to move forward while undermining us by seeking finance elsewhere.

"In closing, we have told the client that we would still be willing to complete the transaction, if recoverable. If he has completed financing elsewhere, we would gladly apply a portion of his deposit on another reasonable deal in the future.

"I appreciate your follow up on this matter.

Best Regards,

Dallin Hawkins
Director of Sales & Operations
Integrity Financial Groups
"Where Integrity Comes First!"

Leasing News contacted Tom McCurnin for a clarification, which was then forwarded to Dallin Hawkins: 


Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

“My opinion on brokers keeping deposits is quite simple. First, whatever the broker intends to keep needs to be spelled out in the contract and the reasons for keeping it. In this instance, it is apparently $500 which would be a reasonable amount, assuming the broker actually made credit pulls and shopped the deal around. Second, if the broker can establish that he or she actually did work on the matter, the contractual amount can be retained. Absent some proof of those facts, it would seem to me that the broker should return all the deposit.” 

There was no response and at this point, Marty Hughes is attempting to take the matter to California Small Claims court.

(1) Integrity Financial Group Proposal
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/IFGProposal_2015.pdf

 

Receivables Management LLC
John Kenny

• End of Lease Negotiations & Enforcement
• Fraud Investigations
• Credit Investigations
• Asset Searches 
• Skip-tracing 
• Third-party Commercial Collections

john@jkrmdirect.com | ph 315-866-1167
www.jkrmdirect.com

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


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Classified Ads---Credit

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

Will relocate for the right opportunity and can work remotely. I have (25+) years in making credit decisions, as well as helping sales team and third party originators close more transactions via understanding their applicant's financial abilities. I can create alternative or additional opportunities (and income) by knowing which type of loan is best for the borrower
aaacorrespondent@gmail.com

Orlando, Florida
As a Commercial Credit Analyst/Underwriter, I have evaluated transactions from sole proprietorships to listed companies, across a broad spectrum of industries, embracing a multitude of asset types. Sound understanding of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow dynamics which impact credit decisions. Strong appreciation for credit/asset risk. 
rpsteiner21@aol.com
 
407 430-3917


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

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

 

 

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


January 1, 2015 Leasing Association Membership Report
by Christopher Menkin

576:  Equipment Leasing and Finance Association
469:  National Association of Equipment and Leasing Brokers 
280:  Commercial Finance Association 
249:  Association of Government Leasing and Finance 
243:  Canadian Finance & Leasing Association
213:  Certified Leasing Professional Foundation 
205:  National Equipment Finance Association

The last 15 years have brought changes to the $903 billion equipment finance sector with a higher volume of business as well as more companies and associations adding "finance" or "capital" to their name, as well as many retiring or leaving the industry. The New York Times reports “Millennials Set to Outnumber Baby Boomers: The total of millennials - those born from 1981 to 1997 - will reach 75.3 million, overtaking baby boomers (1946 to 1964) as the United States' largest living generation. “

This change is beginning to appear in the industry’s new growth as evidenced by both the Certified Leasing and Finance Professional Foundation (CLFP) membership increase and the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) growth and influence.

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2003
2002
2001
2000
ELFA
576
574
583
565
582
604
700
741
768
817
780
732
862
873
850
NAELB
469
557
557
617
696
847
1021
1089
950
731
648
480
433
415
475
AGLFA
249
315
285
274
250
238
265
277
255
255
255
203
263
343
250
NEFA
205
207
193
191
210
274
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
EAEL
*
*
*
*
*
*
183
181
196
198
180
191
216
227
240
UAEL
*
*
*
*
*
*
289
314
314
314
297
248
378
379
589

 


William G. Sutton, CAE
ELFA President and CEO

 “As of early January, membership is on par with last year," ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, reported. “Over the past year, we were pleased to see incredibly strong member retention and a continuing increase in the bank segment, due to an increase in community bank members.

“We are currently in membership renewal season, so we'll have a better sense of our 2015 membership numbers as the year progresses.”

Company Type
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
Accountant
7
8
9
7
6
7
Bank
118
110
97
81
77
92
Broker/Packager
8
8
8
9
11
13
Captive
63
60
64
60
65
56
Collection Agency
2
3
5
6
11
6
Consultant
29
27
27
21
28
34
Equipment Management
28
40
48
55
51
48
Executive Recruiter
4
3
2
2
3
3
Multi-Line Commercial Finance
47
52
54
62
69
72
Investment Bank
4
5
7
7
8
6
Insurance Company
7
5
6
4
5
7
Independent Finance Company
142
140
140
129
126
142
Law Firm
87
87
91
93
95
90
Publisher
3
2
2
2
1
1
Software Provider
25
24
23
24
26
27
576
574
583
565
682
604
2 Unversity/Government

ELFA Membership Numbers

The two categories down include Multi-Line Commercial Finance Companies, defined by ELFA as a company with a lease portfolio for its own account that may provide a broad range of financial products and services. These are companies such as AIG Commercial Asset Finance, DLL, GreatAmerica Financial Services, and Element Financial Corporation.

Equipment Management Companies are organizations involved primarily in services related to equipment remarketing, recovery, valuation, and appraisal.  Reportedly, this segment of the membership is always the most volatile as they are typically smaller organizations—some of them start-ups—looking to provide services to equipment finance companies.  Oftentimes, they compete with well-established service providers who have served the industry for years.  As a result, some of them exit the industry.

What should also be considered are the company membership
numbers, the attendance at conferences and meetings, education, government influence, information, and ELFA major’s influence in the business community.

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
Associate
23
22
22
31
38
42
Broker
355
421
440
499
579
710
Additional Broker
0
1
4
5
1
1
Funding Source
91
102
91
82
78
93
Additional Funder
0
0
0
0
0
1
469
557
557
617
696
847

NAELB Chart


Rosanne Wilson, CLFP, BPB,
NAELB Membership Chairman
1st Independent Leasing

"As Chair of the Membership Committee, I am pleased that we added 12 members in the month of December," Rosanne Wilson, CLFP, BPB, told Leasing News. "From the applications that have come in thus far in the New Year, I am encouraged.  There are many positive predictors so far for 2015 in our industry.  With the launch of the NAELB leasing school last month, and the first successful class of graduates, I believe 2015 will be a year of real growth."

Brian Cove, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Finance Association, told Leasing News that the CFA currently has 280 corporate members, with more than 5000 employees. What makes this organization more unique is that employees of each corporate member enjoy the benefits of CFA membership.

2015: 280
2014: 280
2013: 275
2012: 265

The members here are more involved in accounts receivable financing, asset financing, business loans, dealer financing, factoring, working capital, and other type asset loans than capital leases or operating leasing.

The merger with the National Funding Association brought many new professionals into “chapter meetings.”

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
Basic
64
113
106
100
99
9
Industry Leader
148
155
118
126
100
9
Individual/Government
12
20
20
18
22
24
Limited
20
22
35
26
25
22
Emeritus
5
5
5
4
4
4
249
315
284
274
250
238

 

David Powell, President & Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Finance & Leasing Association, reports “The Association canadienne de financement et de location had 160 finance company members and 83 supplier members (that is, firms that supply goods or services to the industry)."

There were a number of retirees in the Certified Lease and Finance
Professional Foundation, yet the membership increased to 213, many of them relatively new to the industry compared to the majority of the CLFP members. The Foundation is definitely in a growth mode.

2015: 213
2014: 199
2013: 173
2012: 168
2011: 174
2010: 159
2009: 182
2008: 179
2007: 204


Reid Raykovich, CLFP
Executive Director

Much of the success should go to Executive Director Reid Raykovich, CLFP, who also happened to win the Annual Cindy Spurdle Award of Excellence, named after the previous executive director.

Companies with three or more CLFPs

First American Equipment Finance (27)
Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC (22)
Allegiant Partners, Inc. (10)
Orion First Financial LLC (8)
ECS Financial Services, Inc. (7)
Arvest Equipment Finance (6)
Ascentium Capital, LLC (5)
Great American Insurance (5)
Banc of California, N.A. (4)
Bank of the West (4)
Innovative Lease Services, Inc. (4)
Maxim Commercial Capital, LLC (4)
FSG Leasing Inc. (3)
LeaseTeam Inc. (3)
Pacifica Capital (3)

The State with the most CLFP’s is California with 60 CLFP’s. Washington has 40.

2015
2014
2012
2011
2010
Broker/Lessors
118
119
*
119
158
Funding Sources
41
41
*
36
51
Service Providers
46
47
*
55
62
205
207
191
210
274

NEFA Chart


Randy Haug
Executive Vice President / Vice Chairman
Co-Founder
Lease Team

"I do know that the NEFA as presented at the Fall Funding expo in San Antonio business meeting last fall was in the best financial shape ever since we became the NEFA. It's very strong financially.  Sort of as the industry has recovered so has the NEFA.

"I will tell you there was a nice crowd and a sold out funding floor in the fall in SA, and I also attended the Fall Expo in New Jersey late in 2014 and it was great that so many old familiar faces from my EAEL days were back in attendance. Good mix of old and new these days with lots of new Working Capital Funders on the scene at both events. The mood at both events was about growth and I think the association is trying to offer more education and breakout sessions regarding how to do that for attendees.

"I got a glimpse of some of the sessions at the 2015 Spring Education event and it looks really good and of value to the broker lessor and even service Provider's like me that will be attending in Long Beach in March. They have a great chairperson for that conference in Raquel O'Leary from Allegiant Partners.  She is very good.

"I'm actually very excited about the Equipment Finance Industry in the US and Canada in particular."

The Equipment Financing and Leasing Foundation does not have members. It does have a board of directors as well as contributors but is not a “membership organization.” It is under the wing of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. It is supported by donations.

http://www.leasefoundation.org/About/

--Honorable Mention---

Arizona Equipment Leasing Association at one time had an estimated 25 members. No official count is available at this time. The group is active. They get together for social and business meetings during the year, even invite speakers.



[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

ELFA Staff Recognition: Kudos to Bill Choi!

At the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association all-team 2015 kick-off meeting on Jan. 20, ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, recognized Bill Choi, CAE (pictured at right), Vice President of Research and Industry Services, for his 10 years of service to the association. Choi manages industry information, economic analysis and benchmarking metrics for the association. 

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


New Hires---Promotions in the Leasing Industry

Charlie Bunch was hired as Region Finance Manager at Stryker Flex Financial, Orlando, Florida.   Previously, he was Region Finance Manager, Olympus Financial Services (July 2012–December 2014); Region Finance Manager, Philips Medical Capital (March 2010–July 2012); National Account Manager, Macquarie Group (July 2008–March 2010); VP, Healthcare Capital Services (2006–2008); Region Finance Manager, Siemens Medical Solutions (February 2000–August 2006); Region Manager, AT & T Capital Corp. (1994–2000); National Account Manager, Pitney Bowes (January 1986–January 1994). Education: University of Kentucky, BA, Finance (1980–1984). Deans List. Activities and Societies: Sigma Nu Fraternity
www.linkedin.com/pub/charlie-bunch/12/603/561 


Conrad "Connie" J. Eimers was promoted to President & Chief Operating Officer, Vision Financial Group, Inc., doing business as VFG Leasing & Finance, VFG Healthcare, and VFG Energy Leasing and Finance, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The announcement was made at the company’s 24th Anniversary celebration.  He joined the firm September, 2008. Company founder, Fred Summers, Chairman & CEO, said, “When Connie interviewed with us he stated that his goal was to join an entrepreneurial firm with growth potential. Connie has been instrumental in building our sales team & managing the operations of our company. We are very excited about the next 5 years!” Previously, Mr. Eimers was  National Sales Manager, TCF Equipment Finance (2005–2008); Senior Vice President & General Manager, ORIX Vendor Finance (2004–2005); Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Bank of America Vendor Finance (1996–2004); Business Development, GE Capital Vendor Services (1994–1996). Education: DePaul University, MBA, Finance, 1990. University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, College of Business, BS, Finance.
www.linkedin.com/pub/conrad-eimers/8/a4a/a04


Mark Farlin was hired as Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Sales and Marketing, First National Capital Corporation (FNCC), Orange County, California. Previously, he was Senior Vice President-Business Development Officer, HFG Healthcare Finance Group (May 2014–December 2014); Director-Sales & Corporate Accounts, Olympus (August 2008–May 2014); Vice President- CitiCapital Healthcare & Energy Division, Citigroup (June 2004–August 2008); Vice President-Senior Account & Business Development Manager, GE Healthcare Financial Services (March 2003–June 2004); Vice President- Financial Services Account Manager, GE Healthcare Financial Services (October 2001–March 2003); Western Region Sales Support Manager, GE Healthcare Financial Services (July 2000–October 2001). Education: California State University-Fullerton, MBA, Management and International Business (2000–2001); University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, BS, Marketing and Minor in Communications (1992–1997). Activities and Societies: USC Football Letterman. Manhattan High School (1988–1992).
www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-farlin/7/b28/55b 


Steven M. Nelson promoted to Senior Vice President, Director of Operations in TD Equipment Finance in Cherry Hill, N.J. "He is responsible for managing the operations supporting TD Equipment Finance, including contract administration, business process, systems and customer service." He joined the bank August, 2012 and was promoted to Director of Operations, August, 2014. Previously, he was at Hewlett-Packard Financial Services, which he joined February, 2001 as Portfolio Accounting Manager; February, 2004, promoted to Director of Operations, Western Region; promoted, July, 2010, Director of Operations, America's Sales Operations. Prior, he was Senior Auditor KPMG US (1996–1998). Education: Drexel University - College of Business and Administration, Bachelor of Science (BS), Accounting
(1984–1991).
www.linkedin.com/pub/steven-nelson/53/282/32a


Patricia M. Voorhees has joined The Alta Group as a director, working out of Connecticut. 'We are pleased that Patricia has joined our team to help expand captive and vendor finance services to clients and support our busy M&A practice,' noted John Deane of Alta, the leading global consultancy dedicated exclusively to the business of equipment leasing and asset finance." Her work experience includes President, Verus Services Group, “a consultancy serving the commercial finance and commercial real estate markets. The firm’s client engagements include providing consulting services to Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Consortium for Trustworthy Organizations.” (April 2013–Present); Board Director, TBICO (The Bridge to Independence and Career opportunities) (November 2003–Present). "She worked for GE Capital from 1996 to 2011, where she served in several key roles. She was vice president for business development, responsible for establishing more than a dozen new vendor and captive finance programs during her tenure. She then became managing director of business development for M&As, managing more than 14 acquisition originations in that capacity. Later she was the company’s general manager of Office Imaging Finance, leading a small-ticket leasing business with $5.5 billion in assets and 450 employees. She also was GE Capital’s strategic pricing leader during the U.S. financial crisis.” Strategic Pricing Leader, GE Capital Americas (October, 2008 – December, 2011); General Manager Office, Imaging Finance, GE Capital Solutions (February 2007– October 2008): Managing Director Mergers and Acquisitions, GE Capital Solutions (January 2002–February 2007); Manager Business Development, GE Vendor Financial Services (January 1999–January 2002); Marketing Manager I/T Financing, GE Vendor Financial Services (January 1996–January 1999); Client Representative, Sales Rep, Systems Engineer, IBM (August 1986–December 1996). Education: Fordham University, Master of Arts (MA), Ethics and Society (2010–2013). Fordham University, Master of Arts (MA), Peace and Social Justice (2009–2013). Western Connecticut State University, B.A. Economics.
www.linkedin.com/pub/patricia-voorhees/7/308/301


Tina Wei was hired as Director of Sales at American Capital Group Inc., Irvine, California. Previously, she was Senior Account Executive, Envision Capital Group LLC (June 2013–December 2014); Senior Account Manager, LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. (September 2012–June 2013); Business Development, BMC Software (January 2011–November 2011); Front Office Supervisor, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC (2001–2011); Assistant Director of Admissions, Art Institute (2009–2010); Account Manager, Balboa Capital (2005–2008).
www.linkedin.com/pub/tina-wei/2a/785/938 


Sandra Woods was hired as VP, Business Development Officer, Asset Based Lending, at Triumph Healthcare Finance, Irvine, California. Previously she was AVP - Sales Operations Analyst 2, Citi (July 2013–January 2015); Consultant-Portfolio Manager, Healthcare Specialist, East West Bank (November 2011–July 2013); Sales Rep., Bank of America (February 2010–February 2011); Credit Analyst 2, Citi (January 2006–July 2009). Languages: Spanish.
www.linkedin.com/in/sandrawoods2


Mike Zwick has entered into an affiliation with LFC Capital, Inc., Chicago, Illinois as Group Executive, working out of the Greater New York City Area. "He will focus on lease transactions related to healthcare and other industries, as well as out-of-favor assets, working with banks and other financial institutions.” “Mike Zwick has been a close friend and colleague for over 25 years,” said Martin Zimmerman, president of LFC Capital, Inc. ”He enjoys a national reputation in identifying and structuring lease asset purchases, including portfolios, and his strengths complement those of LFC Capital …During his career, he has completed more than $600 million of lease and portfolio financings, ranging in size from $2 million to over $200 million." Previously, Mr. Zwick was EVP, North Mill Equipment Finance (Formerly Equilease Financial Services) (January 1997–December 2014); Executive Vice President, RTS Helicopter Services, Inc. (January 1980–March 1983). Organizations: Friars Club; Finance Committee, Executive Committee, Parents and Teachers Association; Ethical Culture, Fieldston School; Member, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. Education: New York University
Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.), Finance (Deans List).
www.linkedin.com/pub/mike-zwick/11/1b4/9a2

 


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Title/Reg Manager
Chicago, Illinois


Experience dealing with multiple states for
all types of vehicle classes required.

Come grow with us

Contact: Michael Testa 312-881-3133 mtesta@secondcityleasing.com

www.secondcityleasing.com
Financing for Commercial Truck & Trailer, Exotic, High Line, Vintage & Classic Automobiles, Taxi, Livery & Paratransit


 

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

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


Texas Court Holds Balboa Capital May Not Obtain Judgment for Lease Balance & Be Awarded Possession of Equipment at the Same Time

Texas Court Misunderstood Nature of A True Lease and Article 2A

By Tom McCurnin and Frank Peretore

Balboa Capital v WCS Lending  2014 WL 4956459 (N.D.Tex.) 

We hate it when Judges misunderstand the nature of a true lease and then try to apply equitable solutions to a perfectly ordinary concept—in a true lease, the lessor gets to have rent and keep the equipment after the lease term is over. 

In today’s case, the lessee signed a lease which was, without a doubt, a true lease, and then defaulted. The court thought it was unfair to allow the lessor money damages and possession of the equipment, because that would have been a double recovery. No, your honor, that’s exactly what is supposed to happen in in a true lease. The facts follow.

Balboa Capital leased equipment under a 36 month true lease lease at $2,034.25 per month to lessee WCS Lending in 2013. There was no question that the deal was a true lease as the FMV box on the lease terms was checked.  Soon thereafter, the lessee defaulted, and the lessor filed suit. The lessee didn’t answer the complaint and a default was entered against the lessee. 

The lessor moved for default judgment requesting monetary damages of $81,613.26 and requested the return of the leased equipment. This is where the court’s confusion started.

The court thought that giving the Lessor money damages and possession of the equipment would be a double recovery under Article 2A.

Article 2A has three remedies provisions at Sections 527,528 and 529. Only Section 529 can, in limited circumstances, none of which were present here, prohibit the lessor from obtaining both the lease balance and possession of the equipment in a true lease situation. 

The court cited another UCC provision, § 1-305 which interestingly enough states that the remedies in the Code should be liberally construed to put the aggrieved party in as good a position as the party would be in, had the other party not breached.  For a lease intended as security (a loan), that might preclude getting a lessor’s lease balance and possession. But for a true lease, where the equipment is to be surrendered at the end of the lease term, the lessor would always be entitled to possession and the lease balance. So why the District Court cited this provision remains a mystery. We can only speculate that the Court applied Article 2A in a vacuum without any analysis as to the fact that in a true lease context, the Lessor was indeed entitled to possession and rent. 

What are the lessons here for the equipment lessor?

First, consultation with local counsel as to the standard remedies in the form lease might be appropriate before entering into such an equipment lease.  This may not be feasible for smaller leases like this one. 

Second, perhaps the lessor might have considered a pre-judgment replevin and sold the equipment before seeking a monetary damage award, so as to avoid the “double recovery” issue altogether. But that said, in a true lease, the lessor is entitled to possession and damages—it is not a double recovery. 

Third, if the lessor is seeking to enforce a lease for monetary damages and possession of the equipment, lessor’s counsel should be aware of decisions like these and prepared to educate the court on the nature of a true lease.  The lessor is entitled to possession and damages and it is not a double recovery. 

The bottom line is that with true leases Article 2A allows the equipment lessor to have its cake and eat it too, getting all accrued rentals, plus the present value of future rentals, and possession of the leased equipment so long as the facts and law are properly presented and analyzed. 


Balboa Case Default
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/BalboaDefault_2015.pdf

Marlin Argument re: FMV - PDF

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting
in Los Angeles, California.

Frank Peretore is the principal at Peretore & Peretore, P.C. in Sparta, New Jersey

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

 

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


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Leasing News Advisor
Ed Castagna

 
    

Ed joined the Leasing News Advisory Board on February 4, 2004. His contributions have been centered not only on his knowledge of leasing companies or their “assets,” but his design, understanding, and informational coordination on the World Wide Web.

Edward Castagna, CEO
InPlace Auction
68 South Service Road, Suite 100
Melville, New York 11747
Tel.  (516) 229-1968
Cell (516) 297-7775
Fax.  (516) 882-7924
ecastagna@inplaceauction.com
www.inplaceauction.com

Over 25 years ago, used equipment dealers and mechanics taught him what to look for and which questions to ask when evaluating machinery and equipment for resale. Since then, he's honed his appraisal skills through hands on experience and continuing education. InPlace Auction's appraisals contain insightful and common sense values delivered professionally. He has been an expert witness with a 100% rate of success in courtroom defense of challenged value. He has been retained as the face-to-face contact with defaulting business owners by a variety of Fortune 100 creditors, relying on his tact, expertise, and determination to resolve uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situations.

Ed has been trusted and charged with the difficult task of liquidating distressed companies to the bare walls. He's helped turn off the lights of thousands of companies in industries as varied as television, manufacturing, transportation, medical, municipal, financial, textile, automotive and commercial real estate just to name a few. "It's my responsibility to treat everyone with respect, regardless of their circumstances. That's how I've been able to successfully and peacefully defuse even the most precarious of situations. I know exactly how to resolve most situations, but also know when it's time to walk away and return promptly with a court order and appropriate authorities."

An early adopter of web based technology in 1988, he was the first in the industry to create a high volume internet enhanced recovery, remarketing and reporting web based service. He is now applying this experience in conjunction with the latest technology to the auction business and currently holds live and on line auctions. His latest auctions sold Intellectual Property, Real Estate, Machinery, & Building materials

He earned a B.A. in Psychology from Syracuse University, and is a graduate of the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering. He has been educated in appraisal procedure and ethics by The American Society Of Appraisers. Ed served on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) Board of Directors from 2006-2009 representing its service provider members; is on the service providers business council of the ELFA; is a member of the fair Business Practices Committee.

He is one of the founding members, and serves as the current President, of the Tender Loving Care Foundation (www.tenderlc.com); is an advisory board member to South Bronx Education Foundation (www.sbef.org) and most recently was tapped to join the board of directors of the Stewart Fund. He is also a Steward of St. Brigid's R.C. Church (www.saintbrigid.net) and he says his favorite place to be is anywhere with his wife Jeanine and their two boys.

[Leasing News Advisory Board]

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


 Failed Banks, Class of 2015
SNL Financial Report

By Daniel M. Burkard and Zuhaib Gull

First National Bank of Crestview, which was shuttered by the OCC and placed into receivership Jan. 16, became the first FDIC-insured institution to fail in the U.S. in 2015.

The FDIC, which was named receiver by the OCC, signed a purchase-and-assumption agreement with New Orleans-based First NBC Bank Holding Co. unit First NBC Bank to purchase certain assets and assume certain liabilities of First National Bank of Crestview.

Crestview, Fla.-based First National Bank of Crestview ($79.7 million)

Established in 1956, First National Bank of Crestview operated three branches at the time of its failure. The bank was heavily invested in construction and development and commercial real estate, holding about 70% of its loan portfolio in these categories as of Sept. 30, 2014. At the end of the third quarter of 2014, 5.32% of First National Bank of Crestview's nonresidential construction loans were 30 or more days past due or nonaccruing, making up 27.83% of the bank's total past due and nonaccruing loans.

Tallahassee, Fla.-based First Commerce Credit Union on Aug. 4, 2014, announced plans to acquire First National Bank of Crestview. On Dec. 2, 2014, the Credit Union Times reported that the deal fell through.

Leasing News:
2015 First Bank Failure, a Zombie Bank in Florida
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jan2015/1_20.htm#bank_beat


 

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------



[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

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

Moody’s: US solar reaches scale to tap ABS markets

New York ----   The US rooftop solar industry has achieved the scale and maturity to tap the securitization markets as a distinct asset class, says Moody’s Investors Service. The declining cost of solar technology, along with regulatory and policy support for solar power, has made securitization viable and attracted institutional investors.

Solar asset-backed securities (ABS) are backed by pools of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with long-term contractual payments. Solar developer companies, which typically have used tax equity, leases, bank revolvers and equity to fund their installations, are increasingly interested in tapping securitization to fund growth.

“Solar developer companies have started to enter the ABS market to secure financing, especially as federal investment tax credits for the solar industry are set to decline in January 2017,” says Moody’s Vice President and Senior Analyst Benjamin Shih in the report “Solar Securitization Is Emerging as an ABS Asset Class.”

In addition, institutional investment has increased as investors have become more knowledgeable about the asset class. SolarCity, the only current sponsor in the solar ABS sector, has brought three transactions to market thus far.

However, several key risks exist for solar as an asset class new to the securitization market. “Since solar developer companies are relatively new, it will be challenging to assess how these risks could affect asset performance,” says Shih.

Operational and servicing risks arise from the short operating history of solar developer companies that sponsor the securitizations, along with uncertainty over their long-term viability. These companies typically have non-investment-grade ratings or are not rated.

Default risks could arise from credit events such as obligor bankruptcy, or non-credit related events such as when solar customers sell their properties.

Political and regulatory risks stem from uncertainty over the federal investment tax credit and net energy metering programs. There is also the risk that over the long term solar technology could become obsolete or not meet performance expectations.

Current solar ABS transactions contain structural features to mitigate these risks, such as a high level of credit enhancement and reserve accounts.

Moody's subscribers can access this report at http://www.moodys.com/viewresearchdoc.aspx?docid=PBS_SF393653

 

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

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

Moody's Predicts Credit Negative for Railcar ABS

Railcar ABS trusts will bear the cash outlays to pay for retrofitting tank cars that transport crude oil and other hazardous materials as a result of the new safety standards. Lease terms typically permit the trusts, as railcar lessors, to recoup such costs by charging Lessees higher lease payments. However, the significant drop in crude oil prices over the last six months will slow the growth of production of shale oil in North America, especially from the Bakken oil field of North Dakota, possibly reducing the US oil industry’s ability and willingness to absorb any increased costs to transport crude by rail. Lessors might choose to spread their cost recoupment for the retrofits over a longer time period than Lease terms allow, in order to reduce the negative impact of higher Lease rates on railcar lessees.

At the same time, there are limited crude transportation alternatives that make economic sense for the oil industry, which should result in demand for tank cars remaining relatively high even in light of the lower oil prices and the added costs related to the new safety standards.

The US government’s proposed tank car safety requirements, combined with the recent sharp decline in oil prices, are credit negative for railcar asset-backed securitizations (ABS).

Other risks for railcar ABS stemming from the proposed tank car safety requirements could include a lack of shop capacity to meet the tank car retrofit deadlines, which could leave some cars idle and have a negative effect on lease revenues in the securitizations, as well as having to come up with cash to pay for retrofit costs when needed. Deal structures have various reserve mechanisms to accrue for the costs of retrofits in advance. Most of the deals we rate will be able to use some combination of existing cash or future excess cash to pay for the tank car modifications.

Moody's Credit Negative Report (6 pages):
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/MoodysNegativeReport_2015.pdf

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


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


Labrador Retriever
North Utah Valley Animal Shelter  Adopt-a-Dog


Diesel (S-4A)
Male
Labrador Retriever
1-3 Years Old
Medium
$132 adoption fee
All dog adoptions include Rabies Vaccine, 1st set of DHPPC Vaccines, Spay/Neuter voucher (for unaltered dogs), and Dog License.

North Utah Valley Animal Shelter
193 N 2000 W
Lindon, UT 84042

Phone: (801) 785-3442
Fax: (801) 785-0514
Email: nuvas@nuvas.org

Hours
We are open to the public:
Monday – Friday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Closed Wednesdays from 12:00 pm-2:00 pm for Staff Meeting
Closed Weekends & Holidays
*All adoptions stop 30 minutes prior to closing.

Map
http://northutahvalleyanimalshelter.org/map

 

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

 

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Fernando's View
By Fernando F. Croce

A double-bill of action ("Blackhat") and emotion ("Two Days, One Night") comes to theaters, while DVD releases include a Liam Neeson thriller ("Gone Girl"), a piercing Taiwanese drama ("Love Is Strange"), and a classic screwball comedy ("The Palm Beach Story").

In Theaters:


Blackhat (Universal Pictures): A specialist in bringing bold, stylistic imagination to action movies, Michael Mann ("Miami Vice") enters the cyber age in this terrific global thriller. When a mysterious hacker uses his computer skills to trigger destruction in China, the authorities reach out to the FBI for help. Enter Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth), a convict released on furlough so that he can join his old friend (Leehom Wang) and track down the mastermind behind these terrorist acts. With government agents following his every move and shootouts lurking behind every corner, he still hopes for a taste of freedom, as well as the possibility of romance with his partner's sister (Wei Tang). Combining startling confrontations with flashes of surprising delicacy, Mann's surprising mingling of slickness and poignancy packs a mighty punch.


Two Days, One Night (Sundance Selects): Marion Cotillard earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her sensitive performance in this emotional drama from acclaimed Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. She plays Sandra, a young wife and mother trying to hang on to her job after a long struggle with depression. Unfortunately, her coworkers have voted for a pay increase in exchange for her dismissal. With the help of her husband (Fabrizio Rongione), she has only two days left to meet her colleagues and convince them to change their votes so she can stay at the company. What follows is a thorny, often wrenching but always humanistic journey that depicts the tough competition required from capitalism while building toward heart-rending moments of transcendence. Not to be missed. With subtitles.

Netflix Tip: Mixing potent imagery with an inquisitive thrust, Italian director Francesco Rosi (1922-2015) was a major figure in political cinema. Check out this great filmmaker's best efforts, which include "Salvatore Giuliano" (1962), "Hands Over the City" (1963), "The Mattei Affair" (1972), "Carmen" (1984), and "The Truce" (1997).

On DVD:

A Walk Among Tombstones (Universal): Ever since he starred in "Taken," Liam Neeson has had an unexpected but sturdy transformation into an action hero, becoming in the years since something like this generation's Charles Bronson. His muscular rise continues with this crackerjack thriller, in which Neeson plays Matthew Scudder, a former cop turned private detective. His latest case pushes him into dangerous zones, however, when he's contacted by a drug dealer who lost his wife to kidnappers. Though at first he refuses to get involved, Scudder soon finds himself knee-deep in the underworld as he becomes determined to not let an innocent woman suffer the same fate. Directed by veteran screenwriter Scott Frank with a flair for gritty characterizations and New York locations, this is an utterly satisfying pulp drama for Neeson's fans.


Stray Dogs (Cinema Guild): Known for his stylized, languid studies of isolation in Taiwan, director Tsai Ming-liang always creates beguiling cinematic worlds that viewers won't soon shake off. So is the case with his new film, a leisurely stroll through the darkest corners of Taipei that's among the year's most challenging releases. Lee Kang-sheng, Tsai's usual leading man, stars as a nameless family man doing his best to watch over his two small children, from working long hours holding a sign in rainy streets to finding makeshift homes in alleys and supermarkets. There's a glimmer of hope when he crosses paths with a lonely grocery clerk (Chen Shiang-chyi), but can they overcome their alienation? Filmed in the director's trademark long takes, the movie may be difficult viewing yet the mastery style, combined with Tsai's concern for the characters, make it a ride worth taking. With subtitles.


The Palm Beach Story (Criterion): Writer-director Preston Sturges had a prodigious run in the early 1940s, churning out a string of remarkable comedies over the course of a few years. One of his funniest efforts, this 1942 screwball classic is finally getting the Criterion release and delighting audiences all over again. Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea star as Gerry and Tom Jeffers, a married couple with money trouble due to his unsuccessful inventions. A sudden turn of events splits up the pair, and Gerry rushes over to Palm Beach for a divorce, where she runs into a smitten millionaire (Rudy Vallee) and his boy-crazy sister (Mary Astor). Orchestrating comic clashes like a master conductor, Sturges creates a hilarious tale where cynicism and romance jostle continuously and delightfully.

 

[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


News Briefs----

OnDeck Launches Marketplace for Institutional Investors
http://bankinnovation.net/2015/01/ondeck-launches-marketplace-for-institutional-investors/ 

GATX, Leading Railcar Leasing Co., $58.5MM 4thQ
http://www.heraldonline.com/2015/01/22/6725374/gatx-corporation-reports-2014.html

RBC Buys Bank to the Hollywood Stars for $5.4 Billion
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-22/royal-bank-of-canada-to-buy-city-national-for-about-5-4-billion.html

JPMorgan Chase Keeps Dimon’s Pay Unchanged;
   Goldman’s Blankfein Gets a Raise
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/jpmorgan-chase-keeps-jamie-dimons-compensation-unchanged/?ref=business

Google negotiating deals with T-Mobile,
    Sprint to become wireless carrier
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2015/01/22/Google-negotiating-deals-with-T-Mobile-Sprint-to-become-wireless-carrier/7911421934138/?spt=sec&or=bn

Wynn Releases New Everett Casino Design Plans
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2015/01/22/wynn-releases-new-everett-casino-design-plans/Z6mZj6cOZh3Mpx4hJod71N/story.html

The Struggle to Simplify Accounting
http://ww2.cfo.com/gaap-ifrs/2015/01/struggle-simplify-accounting/

Leasing Firm Parlays Big Data Into Sales
http://ww2.cfo.com/big-data-technology/2015/01/leasing-firm-parlays-big-data-sales/

Anesthesiology Sector Awakens to Consolidation-CIT Study
http://news.cit.com/blog/affordable-care-act/anesthesiology-sector-awakens-consolidation

Title/Reg Manager
Chicago, Illinois


Experience dealing with multiple states for
all types of vehicle classes required.

Come grow with us

Contact: Michael Testa 312-881-3133 mtesta@secondcityleasing.com

www.secondcityleasing.com
Financing for Commercial Truck & Trailer, Exotic, High Line, Vintage & Classic Automobiles, Taxi, Livery & Paratransit

 


[headlines]

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



--You May Have Missed It

Top 100 Banks, Credit Unions, Using Social Media
http://thefinancialbrand.com/power-100/



[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer



Red Meat Consumption Linked to Arthritis
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=782


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Football Poem

Deflate-Gate Poem
  by SBZ Reporter Carl Stevens

Can we, as fans, really stand tall

When our team is playing with deflated balls?

We should be having a celebration,

Not a pigskin emasculation.

Instead of historical world beaters

Our Pats are being referred to as cheaters!

I'm somewhat saddened by this sorry scene,

'Cuz I really think they're a really great team.

They make my Sundays as the weather gets cold,

But this cheating chat is getting old.

They work so hard, they sweat and roar,

And leave defeated teams on the Foxboro floor.

They're so well-coached, so fundamentally sound,

Why underinflate a ball by a few pounds?

With the cloud of SpyGate over their heads,

Why would they spit on victory's bed?

This certain team, and this certain coach,

Have to be above reproach.

Do other teams and players do the same thing?

You bet, but they don't have as many rings,

And they're not all hated across the nation.

That's why this is a source of frustration.

I hope in the Super Bowl they'll answer the call,

And defeat Seattle with fully inflated balls.

 



[headlines]

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


Sports Briefs----

Patriots’ tactics deflate the game’s integrity
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/3417872-181/grant-cohn-patriots-tactics-deflate 

John Madden: Tom Brady may be to blame for deflated footballs
http://nypost.com/2015/01/22/john-madden-tom-brady-may-be-to-blame-for-deflated-footballs/

Highest Paid Coaches in College Sports
http://www.ajc.com/gallery/sports/college/highest-paid-coaches-college-sports/gCQc2/

Roger Federer loses in 3rd round of Australian Open
http://www.cbssports.com/general/eye-on-sports/24985329/roger-federer-loses-in-third-round-of-australian-open


[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


California Nuts Briefs---

eBay to shed 2,400 jobs, may split into three companies
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27367143/ebay-shed-2-400-jobs

Macy’s to use former Campbell’s Soup plant for distribution center
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article7966800.html

Neighbors speak out against Guy Fieri’s proposed winery at county hearing
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3406459-181/neighbors-speak-out-against-guy

Scenes from opening night at Thomas Keller’s temporary restaurant at Silverado: Ad Lib
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2015/01/22/scenes-from-opening-night-at-thomas-kellers-temporary-restaurant-at-silverado-ad-lib/



[headlines]
--------------------------------------------------------------


“Gimme that Wine”

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

California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance Receives Governor's Top Environmental Award
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/california-sustainable-winegrowing-alliance-receives-governors-top-environmental-award-300023959.html

The sobering duties of a wine editor: Jon Bonne talks about the strain
  of finding the SF Chronicle's 'Top 100 Wines' each year
http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_27327720/sobering-duties-wine-editor-jon-bonne-talks-about

Bank predicts good year for fine wine business
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/bank-predicts-good-year-for-fine-wine-business/article_3b687cb0-8479-5b23-be6d-66678d2242f9.html

Millennials, Gen Xers drive premiumization in wine industry
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=27586

New Zealand to hold first international conference celebrating Sauvignon Blanc in 2016
http://www.harpers.co.uk/news/new-zealand-to-hold-first-international-conference-celebrating-sauvignon-blanc-in-2016/512392.article



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

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

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

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


[headlines]
----------------------------------------------------------------

This Day in American History

 1600---Originally it was the Muslim countries who were taking
salves as their religion would not allow a person to be sold into
slavery who was a Muslim. Opening up the United States was
a boom to the industry, as it was slavery and not gold or any major agriculture item that was being brought back to Europe. By the late seventeenth century, the African slave trade was a relatively large-scale business enterprise, largely in the hands of the Dutch until the 1660s. It was continued by the English, with New Englanders especially active after the Royal Africa Trade Company lost its monopoly in 1696. In the trade, a ship sailed from New England with rum and other goods for the Slave Coast. The slaves were then carried, under the most miserable conditions, to the West Indies or to the colonial South, where they were exchanged for sugar, molasses, and tobacco for the North. During this period, Virginia planters relied more on white indentured servants from Europe than on slaves from Africa. There were 6000 indentured servants in Virginia in 1681, compared with 2000 slaves. Some indentured servants came voluntarily, signing papers for five or more years, at the end of which time they would receive some clothing and perhaps a parcel of land. They often then became tenant farmers. Criminals, vagrants, and debtors were sent involuntarily to the New World, usually for a term of service of seven years. And others, children and adults, were victims of kidnapping. They were sold to shipmasters who in turn sold them into servitude in America. Many debtor servants caused trouble in the colonies. As a result, the end of the seventeenth century saw a steady growth in the slave trade.
    1730 - Joseph Hewes’ birthday at Princeton, NJ. Hewes moved to North Carolina at the age of 30 and won over the people of the colony.  Hewes was elected to the North Carolina legislature in 1763, only three years after he moved to the colony, and he was re-elected numerous times. By 1773, the majority of North Carolina was in favor of independence and they elected him to become a representative to the Continental Congress in 1774, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died Nov 10, 1779, at Philadelphia, PA.
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/hewes.htm
http://www.colonialhall.com/hewes/hewes.asp
    1737 - Birthday of John Hancock, American patriot and statesman, first signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the richest men in the country at the time. He had a lot to lose if the revolution were to fail. Born at Braintree, MA, he died at Quincy, MA, Oct. 8, 1793. Because of his conspicuous signature on the Declaration, Hancock's name has become part of the American language, referring to any handwritten signature, as in “Put your John Hancock on that.”
http://www.johnhancock.org/
http://www.colonialhall.com/hancock/hancock.asp
    1775 – The Georgia Colony adopts a revised version of the Continental Association which mandates a non-importation policy and a trade embargo against Britain to force a repeal of the Coercive Acts of 1774.
    1780 - The coldest day of the coldest month of record in the northeastern U.S. A British Army thermometer in New York City registered a reading of 16 degrees below zero. During that infamous hard winter, the harbor was frozen solid for five weeks, and the port was cut off from sea supply.
    1789 - Georgetown College was founded by Father John Carroll, 54, as the first Catholic college in the United States. The school is in Washington, DC. Its name today is Georgetown University.
http://www.georgetown.edu/
    1793 – The first aid society, Humane Society of Philadelphia, organized
    1812 – A 7.8 earthquake rattled New Madrid, Missouri
    1845 – US Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The law was signed by Pres. John Tyler.
    1849 - Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive an medical degree in the US. The native of Bristol, England was awarded her degree by the Geneva Medical Institution of Geneva, NY, now known as Hobart College.
    1849 – A Patent was granted for an envelope-making machine
    1855 - The first bridge over the Mississippi River opened in what is now Minneapolis, a crossing made today by the Hennepin Avenue bridge.
    1855 – John Moses Browning was born in Ogden, UT.  His father, who was among the thousands of Mormon pioneers in the mass exodus from Nauvoo, IL, established a gunsmith shop in Ogden in 1852.  Browning was a Firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world.  Browning's most successful designs include the M1911 pistol, the Browning Hi Power pistol, the Browning .50 caliber machine gun, the Browning automatic rifle, and the Browning Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun.  He died in 1926.
    1863 - Confederate General John Bell Hood is officially removed as commander of the Army of Tennessee. He had requested the removal a few weeks before. The action closed a sad chapter in the history of the Army of Tennessee. A close personal friend of President Jefferson Davis and a Kentucky native, Hood attended West Point and graduated in 1853. He served in the frontier army until the outbreak of the Civil War. Hood resigned his commission and became a colonel commanding the 4th Texas Infantry. Hood's unit was sent to the Army of Northern Virginia, where it fought during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. Hood, now a brigadier general, built a reputation as an aggressive field commander. He distinguished himself during the Seven Days' battle in June, and was given command of a division. His counterattack at Antietam in September may have saved Robert E. Lee's army from total destruction. After being severely wounded at Gettysburg in July 1863, Hood was transferred to the Army of Tennessee. He was soon wounded again, losing a leg at Chickamauga in September. Hood was promoted to corps commander for the Atlanta campaign of 1864, and was elevated to commander of the army upon the removal of Joseph Johnston in July. Over the next five months, Hood presided over the near destruction of that great Confederate army. He unsuccessfully attacked General William T. Sherman's army three times near Atlanta, relinquished the city after a month-long siege. He then took his army back to Tennessee in the fall to draw Sherman away from the deep South. Sherman dispatched part of his army to Tennessee, and Hood lost two disastrous battles at Franklin and Nashville in November and December 1864.
There were about 65,000 soldiers in the Army of Tennessee when Hood assumed command in July. On January 1, a generous assessment would count 18,000 men in the army. The Confederate Army of Tennessee was no longer a viable fighting force.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/hoodbio.htm
http://ngeorgia.com/people/hood.html
    1870 - US Soldiers deliberately massacred the wrong camp of Indians.  Declaring he did not care whether or not it was the rebellious band of Indians he had been searching for, Colonel Eugene Baker ordered his men to attack a sleeping camp of peaceful Blackfeet along the Marias River in northern Montana. The previous fall, Malcolm Clarke, an influential Montana rancher, had accused a Blackfeet warrior named Owl Child of stealing some of his horses; he punished the proud brave with a brutal whipping. In retribution, Owl Child and several allies murdered Clarke and his son at their home near Helena, and then fled north to join a band of rebellious Blackfeet under the leadership of Mountain Chief. Outraged and frightened, Montanans demanded that Owl Child and his followers be punished, and the government responded by ordering the forces garrisoned under Major Eugene Baker at Fort Ellis (near modern-day Bozeman, Montana) to strike back. Strengthening his cavalry units with two infantry groups from Fort Shaw near Great Falls, Baker led his troops out into sub-zero winter weather and headed north in search of Mountain Chief's band. Soldiers later reported that Baker drank a great deal throughout the march. On January 22, Baker discovered an Indian village along the Marias River, and, postponing his attack until the following morning, spent the evening drinking heavily. At daybreak on the morning of January 23, 1870, Baker ordered his men to surround the camp in preparation for attack. As the darkness faded, Baker's scout, Joe Kipp, recognized that the painted designs on the buffalo-skin lodges were those of a peaceful band of Blackfeet led by Heavy Runner. Mountain Chief and Owl Child, Kipp quickly realized, must have gotten wind of the approaching soldiers and moved their winter camp elsewhere. Kipp rushed to tell Baker that they had the wrong Indians, but Baker reportedly replied, "That makes no difference, one band or another of them; they are all Piegans [Blackfeet] and we will attack them." Baker then ordered a sergeant to shoot Kipp if he tried to warn the sleeping camp of Blackfeet and gave the command to attack. Baker's soldiers began blindly firing into the village, catching the peaceful Indians utterly unaware and defenseless. By the time the brutal attack was over, Baker and his men had, by the best estimate, murdered 37 men, 90 women, and 50 children. Knocking down lodges with frightened survivors inside, the soldiers set them on fire, burnt some of the Blackfeet alive, and then burned the band's meager supplies of food for the winter. Baker initially captured about 140 women and children as prisoners to take back to Fort Ellis, but when he discovered many were ill with smallpox, he abandoned them to face the deadly winter without food or shelter. When word of the Baker Massacre (now known as the Marias Massacre) reached the east, many Americans were outraged. One angry congressman denounced Baker, saying "civilization shudders at horrors like this." Baker's superiors, however, supported his actions, as did the people of Montana, with one journalist calling Baker's critics "namby-pamby, sniffling old maid sentimentalists." Neither Baker nor his men faced a court martial or any other disciplinary actions. However, the public outrage over the massacre did derail the growing movement to transfer control of Indian affairs from the Department of Interior to the War Department. President Ulysses S. Grant decreed that henceforth all Indian agents would be civilians rather than soldiers.
    1889 - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams established Provident Hospital in Chicago
    1898 – Actor Randolph Scott was born in Orange County, VA.  His career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres; however, his most enduring image is that of the tall-in-the-saddle Western hero. Out of his more than 100 film appearances over 60 were in Westerns; thus, "of all the major stars whose name was associated with the Western, Scott most closely identified with it."  Scott died in 1987 in Beverly Hills.
    1907 - Charles Curtis, of Kansas, began his term serving in the United States Senate, making him the first American Indian to become a United States Senator. In March of 1929, he resigned to become President Herbert Hoover's Vice President.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C001008
http://www.africanpubs.com/nativepubs/Apps/bios/0143CurtisCharles.asp
    1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line that built Titanic, became the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that killed six people. The Republic sank the next day.
    1910 – Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt's birthday in Belgium.  Reinhardt is often regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time; he was the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the guitar genre.  He died in France in 1953.
http://www.hotclub.co.uk/
http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/artists/artists_page.jsp?artist=26
    1913 - Joe Hill's song "Mr. Block" published in the "Industrial Worker".
anarchist
http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~matt/choir/hill.html
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/joe-hill.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/mrblock.html
    1919 - Birthday of Ernie Kovacs, early television pioneer and great comedian, in Trenton, NJ. With his wife Edie Adams, he had both a morning and then one of the first late night television shows, smoking a large cigar that his wife later made even more famous. I remember as a teenager the superimposing of Ernie being very small, looking down his wife's well-endowed evening gown. This was very new and shocking on TV.  He had a pet gorilla who was more a clown with
antics. He died in a bizarre car accident in Beverly Hills in 1962, with his wife in a separate car in the lead, his slipped on the wet pavement and slammed at 25 miles an hour into a telephone pole, where the leadsman had left the bottom rung to climb.  It went through the driver's door, killing him instantly.
http://users.rcn.com/man
http://broadcastpioneers.tripod.com/kyw/kovacs.html aben/kovacs.html
http://www.erniekovacs.com/
    1930 - Birthday of Black American poet and playwright Derek Walcott, born in St. Lucia, in the Caribbean. Walcott won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992. Walcott's family descended from slaves in the West Indies, and the legacy of slavery is a common theme in his work. Both his parents were schoolteachers and encouraged a love of reading in their three children. When Walcott's father died, his mother raised the family on her own. Walcott knew early on he wanted to be a writer. His first book of poems was published when he was only 18. He continued writing and began teaching as well. Deeply interested in theater as well as poetry, he received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1957, which allowed him to study with a prominent director in New York for two years. In New York, Walcott founded the Trinidad Theater Workshop. A prolific poet, Walcott published “In a Green Night: Poems 1948-1960” in 1962, “Selected Poems” in 1964, “The Castaway” in 1965, and “The Gulf” in 1969. His lush style explores multicultural tensions and questions of identity. Meanwhile, he continued his work in the theater, with plays like “Ti-Jean and His Brothers” (produced in 1958), “Dream on Monkey Mountain” (produced 1967), and “Pantomime” (produced 1978). He wrote more than 30 plays while continuing to publish poetry collections regularly. His book-length poem “Omeros”, published in 1990, evokes Homer's Odyssey in the environment of the Caribbean. Walcott was the first Caribbean writer to win the Nobel Prize.
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1992/
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/walcott.htm
http://www.sinnewe.info/
    1930 - George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Westmoreland County, Virginia was established.  Originally settled by John Washington, Washington’s great-grandfather, George Washington was born here on February 22, 1732. He lived here until age three, returning later as a teenager.  The Wakefield National Memorial Association was formed in 1923 to restore the property. In 1930, the grounds were authorized as a U.S. National Monument and, in 1931, the Wakefield Association received a grant from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to acquire and transfer a total of 394 acres of land to the Federal government. 
    1933 - The 20th Amendment was ratified, fixing the date of the presidential inauguration at the current Jan 20 instead of the previous Mar 4. It also specified that were the president-elect to die before taking office, the vice president-elect would succeed to the presidency. In addition, it set Jan 3 as the official opening date of Congress each year.
    1933 – Actress, singer, dancer Chita Rivera was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, DC.  She is the first Hispanic woman and the first Latino-American to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award (December 2002). She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
    1936 – Green Bay packers guard and kicker Jerry Kramer was born in Jordan, MT.  During the Lombardi era, Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston led the famed Breen Bay Sweep that ripped huge yardage year after year, becoming the staple of the Packers’ offense in those years.  Kramer also threw the block in the famous Ice Bowl, the 1967 NFL Championship game against the Dallas Cowboys that allowed QB Bart Starr to sneak over the winning TD in the Pack’s 17-14 win.  Although he is a member of the NFL’s 50th Anniversary Team, he is the only member not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
    1941 - Charles A. Lindbergh, a national hero since his 1927 nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Lend-Lease policy and suggests that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Hitler. In March 1932, Lindbergh made headlines again, but this time because of the kidnapping of his two-year-old son. The baby was later found dead, and the man convicted of the crime, Bruno Hauptmann, was executed. Many historians believe the real murderer was Lindbergh's sister, who had a history of mental disorder and violence, plus she was living in the house. To flee unwanted publicity, Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow, daughter of U.S. ambassador Dwight Morrow, moved to Europe. During the mid-1930s, Lindbergh became familiar with German advances in aviation and warned his U.S. counterparts of Germany's growing air superiority. But Lindbergh also became enamored of much of the German national "revitalization" he encountered, and allowed himself to be decorated by Hitler's government, which drew tremendous criticism back home. Upon Lindbergh's return to the States, he agitated for neutrality with Germany, and testified before Congress in opposition to the Lend-Lease policy, which offered cash and military aid to countries friendly to the United States in their war effort against the Axis powers. His public denunciation of "the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt Administration" as instigators of American intervention in the war, as well as comments that smacked of anti-Semitism, lost him the support of other isolationists. When, in 1941, President Roosevelt denounced Lindbergh publicly, the aviator resigned from the Air Corps Reserve. He eventually contributed to the war effort, though, flying 50 combat missions over the Pacific. His participation in the war, along with his promotion to brigadier general of the Air Force Reserve in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a popular Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Spirit of St. Louis”, and a movie based on his exploits all worked to redeem him in the public's eyes.
    1941 - Artie Shaw records “Moonglow/Dancing in the Dark” (Victor 27405/27335). In the band were Johnny Guarnieri, Jack Jenney, Billy Butterfield and Ray Conniff on trombone.
    1941 - Ground breaking for NACA (now NASA) Lewis Research Center
    1943 - The New Tribes Mission was incorporated in Los Angeles by founder Paul W. Fleming. NTM works today primarily in missionary aviation, Bible translation, church planting and the production and distribution of Christian literature.
http://www.ntm.org/
    1943 - Duke Ellington Band plays first Carnegie Hall concert, introduces “Black, Brown, and Beige.”
    1943 - Pioneering rhythm-and-blues artist Louis Jordan topped the Billboard r-and-b chart with "What's the Use of Getting Sober." It was the first of his 18 Number-One singles. Artists such as Chuck Berry and Ray Charles credited Jordan as a major influence.
    1943 - FOSS, JOSEPH JACOB, Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Marine Fighting Squadron 121, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Place and date: Over Guadalcanal, 9 October to 19 November 1942, 15 and 23 January 1943. Entered service at: South Dakota. Born: 17 April 1915, Sioux Falls, S. Dakota. Citation: For outstanding heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as executive officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 121, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, at Guadalcanal. Engaging in almost daily combat with the enemy from 9 October to 19 November 1942, Capt. Foss personally shot down 23 Japanese planes and damaged others so severely that their destruction was extremely probable. In addition, during this period, he successfully led a large number of escort missions, skillfully covering reconnaissance, bombing, and photographic planes as well as surface craft. On 15 January 1943, he added 3 more enemy planes to his already brilliant successes for a record of aerial combat achievement unsurpassed in this war. Boldly searching out an approaching enemy force on 25 January, Capt. Foss led his 8 F-4F Marine planes and 4 Army P-38′s into action and, undaunted by tremendously superior numbers, intercepted and struck with such force that 4 Japanese fighters were shot down and the bombers were turned back without releasing a single bomb. His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership, and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal. In 1959, he was appointed as the first Commissioner of the new American Football League.
    1943 – Mount Austen on Guadalcanal was taken from the Japanese.
    1944 – There are now about 50,000 Allied troops concentrated in the Anzio beachhead. General Lucas commands. German resistance is light but the Allied forces advance slowly. Meanwhile, German Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring believes it is possible to maintain the Gustav Line defenses at the same time as containing the Anzio landings. The commander of the German 10th Army, von Vietinghoff favors a withdrawal from the southern defensive line. The German High Command allots German reserves from France, northern Italy and the Balkans as well as the German 14th Army headquarters to organize defenses around Anzio. Within a week a total of 8 German divisions are concentrated in the area.
    1944 - The Detroit Red Wings set an NHL record for consecutive goals scored when they defeated the New York Rangers, 15-0.
    1945 - ORESKO, NICHOLAS, Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 302d Infantry, 94th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Tettington, Germany, 23 January 1945. Entered service at: Bayonne, N.J. Birth: Bayonne, N.J. G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: M/Sgt. Oresko was a platoon leader with Company C, in an attack against strong enemy positions. Deadly automatic fire from the flanks pinned down his unit. Realizing that a machine gun in a nearby bunker must be eliminated, he swiftly worked ahead alone, braving bullets which struck about him, until close enough to throw a grenade into the German position. He rushed the bunker and, with pointblank rifle fire, killed all the hostile occupants who survived the grenade blast. Another machine gun opened up on him, knocking him down and seriously wounding him in the hip. Refusing to withdraw from the battle, he placed himself at the head of his platoon to continue the assault. As withering machine gun and rifle fire swept the area, he struck out alone in advance of his men to a second bunker. With a grenade, he crippled the dug-in machine gun defending this position and then wiped out the troops manning it with his rifle, completing his second self-imposed, 1-man attack. Although weak from loss of blood, he refused to be evacuated until assured the mission was successfully accomplished. Through quick thinking, indomitable courage, and unswerving devotion to the attack in the face of bitter resistance and while wounded, M /Sgt. Oresko killed 12 Germans, prevented a delay in the assault, and made it possible for Company C to obtain its objective with minimum casualties.
    1948 - John Huston's "Treasure of Sierra Madre" starring Humphrey Bogart opens
http://www.filmsite.org/trea.html
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheTreasureoftheSierraMadre-1021979/
http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product.asp?master_movie_id=14163
    1951 – Top Hits
“Tennessee Waltz” - Patti Page
“The Thing” - Phil Harris
“A Bushel and a Peck” - Perry Como & Betty Hutton
“The Shot Gun Boogie” - Tennessee Ernie Ford
    1951 – Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger was born in Dennison, TX.  He was hailed as a national hero when he successfully executed an emergency water landing of US Air Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan, after the aircraft was disabled by striking a flock of geese during its initial climb out of LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009. All of the 155 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft survived.
    1953 – In the NFL, the National and American Conferences became the Eastern and Western Conferences while the Dallas Texans became the Baltimore Colts.
    1955 - The U.S. Presbyterian Church votes to accept women as ministers.
    1956 - After being turned down by several other labels, Cincinnati's King label agrees to release James Brown and the Famous Flames' "Please, Please, Please."
    1957 - American inventor Walter F. Morrison sold the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renamed it the "Frisbee".
    1959 – Top Hits
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” - The Platters
“My Happiness” - Connie Francis
“Donna” - Ritchie Valens
“Billy Bayou” - Jim Reeves
    1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste broke a depth record by descending to 35,797 feet, nearly 7 miles, in the Pacific Ocean.
    1961 – The Supreme Court ruled that cities and states have the right to censor films
    1962 - Jackie Robinson became the first black ballplayer to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson broke baseball's color line in 1947 and played for the Brooklyn Dodgers through 1956.  Also elected was the Indians’ flame-throwing right-hander, Bob Feller.
    1963 - A 20-year-old college dropout from Port Arthur, TX named Janis Joplin begins hitchhiking to San Francisco in order to become a singer, along with her friend Chet Helms.
    1964 - The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. Poll taxes and other taxes were eliminated as a prerequisite for voting in all federal elections. Payment of the tax stood as a potent prerequisite and sometimes outright barrier, to voting in national elections. And, for the Southern Democrats who designed and helped pass the tax in a number of Southern states during the 1880s and 1890s, this was precisely the point: the poll tax was a blunt tool for barring poverty-stricken African-Americans and whites from participating in the electoral process. As such, the tax was also a means for stemming the rise of the Populist Party, which had used a racially mixed coalition of poor and lower class voters to gain a place on the national stage. Attempts to roll back the poll tax were generally blocked in the Senate. However, in 1949, Senator Spessard L. Holland of Florida took up the cause of killing the tax forever via a constitutional amendment. When the Senate finally passed the Twenty-Fourth Amendment in 1962, the poll tax remained in effect in five Southern states: Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama. After 1964, it was constitutionally legal in none.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan23.html
    1964 – Actress Mariska Hargitay was born in Santa Monica, the daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield.  She has been the long-time lead in the “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” TV series as Detective Olivia Benson that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
    1965 - “The King Family” premiered on television, the
ABC musical variety show featuring the singing and playing of the King sisters and other descendants of William King Driggs, who organized the family musical group in the 1930s. Including spouses, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, some three dozen members of the King family have appeared on camera at one time.
    1965 - Petula Clark becomes the first British female to hit the top of the American charts, with her smash "Downtown."
    1967 - Top Hits
“I'm a Believer” - The Monkees
“Tell It Like It Is” - Aaron Neville
“Georgy Girl” - The Seekers
“There Goes My Everything” - Jack Greene
    1968 - North Korea seized the USS Pueblo in the Sea of Japan, claiming the ship was on a spy mission. The crew was held for 11 months. The vessel was confiscated. The Pueblo incident began when the Navy intelligence ship was seized off the coast of North Korea by North Korean patrol boats. It was claimed that the Pueblo had been caught within North Korean waters. Its crew of 83 was subjected to harsh treatment until their release. Accompanying the crew when they were released--on Dec 22, 1968--was the body of Seaman Duane D. Hodges, the only crewman killed. The Pueblo incident was a blow to the Johnson administration's credibility, as the president seemed powerless to free the captured crew and ship. Combined with the public's perception--in the wake of the Tet Offensive--that the Vietnam War was being lost, the Pueblo incident resulted in a serious faltering of Johnson's popularity with the American people. The crewmen's reports about their horrific treatment at the hands of the North Koreans during their 11 months in captivity further incensed American citizens, many of whom believed that Johnson should have taken more aggressive action to free the captive Americans. They were primarily after actual cipher machine and this was the main plan in the capture of the Pueblo. With it, they could read all secret communication by the US military.
    1970 - During the trial of the "Chicago Seven" accused of starting a riot during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, witness Judy Collins is denied the right to sing a relevant song during her testimony.
    1971 - In Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States was reported when the thermometer fell to minus 80 degrees.
    1971 – UCLA lost to Notre Dame in basketball, then reeled off 88 games in a row, only to be defeated by Notre Dame again.
    1973 - President Nixon announces that Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, the chief North Vietnamese negotiator, have initiated a peace agreement in Paris "to end the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia", preliminary signed on January 22 and official agreement signed on January 27. Kissinger and Tho had been conducting secret negotiations since 1969. After the South Vietnamese had blunted the massive North Vietnamese invasion launched in the spring of 1972, Kissinger and the North Vietnamese had finally made some progress on reaching a negotiated end to the war. However, a recalcitrant South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu had inserted several demands into to the negotiations that caused the North Vietnamese negotiators to walk out of the talks with Kissinger on December 13. President Nixon issued an ultimatum to Hanoi to send its representatives back to the conference table within 72 hours "or else." The North Vietnamese rejected Nixon's demand and the president ordered Operation Linebacker II, a full-scale air campaign against the Hanoi area. This operation was the most concentrated air offensive of the war. During the 11 days of the attack, 700 B-52 sorties and more than 1,000 fighter-bomber sorties dropped roughly 20,000 tons of bombs, mostly over the densely populated area between Hanoi and Haiphong. On December 28, after 11 days of intensive bombing, the North Vietnamese agreed to return to the talks. When the negotiators met again in early January, they quickly worked out a settlement.
    1973 - Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Knock Three Times" hits #1
    1973 - Neil Young interrupted a concert in New York to announce that the US had accepted a ceasefire in Vietnam. The audience was reported to have hugged and kissed for 10 minutes.
    1974 - The movie "The Exorcist", based on William Peter Blatty's novel, opened with Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" playing over the movie's credits. The song was awarded a gold record.
    1974 – TV actress Tiffani Amber Theissen was born in Long Beach, CA.
    1975 – Top Hits
“Mandy” - Barry Manilow
“Please Mr. Postman” - Carpenters
“Laughter in the Rain” - Neil Sedaka
“Kentucky Gambler” - Merle Haggard
    1975 - "Barney Miller" premiered on television, about a New York precinct captain starred Hal Linden as Captain Barney Miller. The 12th Precinct gang included Barbara Barrie as Miller's wife, Abe Vigoda as Detective Phil Fish, Max Gail as Sergeant Stan Wojciehowicz, Gregory Sierra as Sergeant Chano Amenguale, Jack Soo as Sergeant Nick Yemana, Ron Glass as Detective Ron Harris and a host of others. It was one of my favorite television shows
http://timvp.com/bmiller.html
    1977 - When Carole King's landmark album, "Tapestry", hit its 302nd week on the album charts, it became the longest-running album to hit the charts in history. It would eventually be eclipsed, no pun intended, by Pink Floyd's “Dark Side of the Moon”.
    1982 - CBS broadcasts “The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception”, charging General William Westmoreland oversaw the intentional underestimation of enemy forces to improve the perception of how things were going. Westmoreland filed a libel suit, which he subsequently lost.
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/U/htmlU/uncountedene/uncountedene.htm
http://www.sfsu.edu/~avitv/avcatalog/88419.htm
    1983 - "The A-Team", began its run on television, full of action and drama, starring, Mr. T.  Wearing a ton of gold jewelry, he played the not so mild-mannered Sergeant Bosco B.A. Baracus, under the command of George Peppard as John Hannibal Smith
http://www.timstvshowcase.com
http://www.ateamresource.net/review.asp?menuid=47
http://www.dollsandtoysaustralia.com/ateam.html
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/6677/
    1983 – Top Hits
“Down Under” - Men at Work
“The Girl is Mine” - Michael Jackson /Paul McCartney
“Dirty Laundry” - Don Henley
“(Lost His Love) On Our Last Date” - Emmylou Harris
    1983 - Miami linebacker A.J. Duhe has three interceptions, including one he returns for a 35-yard touchdown, as the Dolphins defeat the Jets 14-0 in the AFC Championship Game.
    1986 - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its very first class of musicians: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, and the Everly Brothers.
    1988 - For the first time ever, a bowler named Bob Benoit rolled a 300 game on television to win a professional tournament. He won the Quaker State Open in Grand Prairie,, TX, and earned a $100,000 bonus.
    1991 - Policeman's Videotaped Murder Leads to Killers' Convictions in Texas. Darrell Lunsford, a county constable in Garrison, Texas, is killed after pulling over a traffic violator. His murder was remarkable because it was captured on a camera set up in Lunsford's patrol vehicle. The videotape evidence led to the conviction of the three men who beat, kicked, and stabbed the officer to death along the East Texas highway. Lunsford pulled over a vehicle with Maine license plates and turned on the video camera installed on his front dashboard. He appeared to have asked the three men in the car to open the trunk. However, when the men got out of the car they tackled Lunsford and stabbed him in the neck. The men took his gun, badge, and wallet and drove off in their car. Later that night, Reynaldo Villarreal was picked up by officers as he was walking a few miles from the murder site. His brother, Baldemar, and another man, Jesse Zambrano, were also arrested a short time later. At the trial of the three men, the jury watched the videotape and all three were convicted. The videotaped murder of Lunsford has ushered in a new era. Video cameras have become ubiquitous in police cars, and can be a potent law-enforcement tool.
    1991 – Top Hits
“Love Will Never Do (Without You)” - Janet Jackson
“The First Time” - Surface
“Sensitivity” - Ralph Tresvant
“Unanswered Prayers” - Garth Brooks
    1991 – “Seinfeld” debuted on NBC-TV.
    1993 - New York Newsday reported Oregon Senator Bob Packwood sexually harassed 23 women
    1994 – Cowboys’ QB Bernie Kosar became the second quarterback to throw TD passes in AFC and NFC Championship games
    1997 - Madeleine Korbel Albright, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was sworn in as Secretary of State, the first woman to hold this position. She served as Ambassador to the United Nations during the first administration of President Clinton. While she was raised a Catholic, during her term she learned she was the child of Jewish parents killed by the Nazi's and hidden and raised as a Catholic.
    1998 - Pope John Paul II condemned U.S. embargo against Cuba
    2002 - "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returned to the US in FBI custody.
    2002 - Reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Pakistan and subsequently murdered
    2003 - Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10 spacecraft.
    2011 - Google awarded its outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt $100 million 
    2013 - Without offering an explanation, Tina Turner revealed that she was giving up her US citizenship to become a citizen of Switzerland. Her reasons were probably was not tax related, as Switzerland itself is a high tax environment for its citizens.

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

SuDoku

The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. What could be simpler?

http://leasingnews.org/Soduku/soduko-main.htm

[headlines]

 

 

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

Daily Puzzle

How to play:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

Refresh for current date:
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

[headlines]

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

http://www.gasbuddy.com/
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Map_Gas_Prices.aspx
http://www.gasbuddy.com/GB_Mobile_Instructions.aspx

[headlines]

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

Weather

See USA map, click to specific area, no commercials

http://www.weather.gov/

[headlines]

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

Traffic Live---

Real Time Traffic Information

You can save up to 20 different routes and check them out with one click,
or type in a new route to learn the traffic live

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

[headlines]

Features


Adopt a Pet
Bank Beat
Career Crossroads-Emily Fitzpatrick/RII
Cartoons
Charlie Chan sayings
Computer Tips
Employment Web Sites
Fernando's Review
From the Desk of Michael Witt, Esq.
Leasing 102
Leasing Cases by Tom McCurnin
Online Newspapers
Placards
Sales Make it Happen
Spark People—Live Healthier and Longer
The Secret of Our Success
To Tell the Truth
View from the Top
Why I Became a CLP


Ten Top Stories each week opened the most by readers
(click here)

“Complaints” Bulletin Board (click here)

Connect with Leasing News


Top Stories

(chronological order)

- CIT Bank/OneWest Bank Merger More Protests
- Downside of Medallion Financial Only Just Beginning
- 37 Months for $433,000 Leasing/Loan Fraud Scheme
- CLP Membership Reaches Highest Since Inception
- Fortress Buys MicroFinancial for $147 Million
- As Economic Headwinds Subside, Businesses
   Increasingly Reach Out for Financing
- New Standard Mileage Rates Now Available
- Ben Carlile Joins Leasing News Advisory Board
- SBA Reaches Record High in Loans to Small Business
- BBB Leasing Company Ratings
    December 10, 2014
- Complaints Bulletin Board BBB Ratings
- Baytree National Bank sells Equipment Leasing
   and Financing Business to North Community Bank
- Direct Capital Chris Broom Buys $8 Million Home
    Appears Keeping Former Tyco President Mansion in NH
- Matrix Business Capital, Long Beach, California
    Bulletin Board Complaint
- Blue Bridge Financial, Buffalo, New York
    Bulletin Board Complaint--Doesn't Pay Broker   
- Balboa Capital Sued in Federal Court for
        Bait and Switch Sales Tactics
- Direct Capital Chris Broom Buys $8 Million Home
    Appears Keeping Former Tyco President Mansion in NH
- Beware Congress May Pass Changes if FASB Does Not
- Largest Bank Failure in 2014
   Fourth Indian-American Bank to Fail in Chicago
- Details, Details...How Important are they?
   Very, When the Lessor Sneaks in a Blanket Lien
- First American Equipment Finance Now Employs Most CLPs
- Compensation Plan
- What the Marlin 3rd Quarter Press Release Did Not Include
- Who Will be the New Head of Direct Capital?
- Dave & Mike Murray,
  the Original Founders of Direct Capital
- What is Leasing?
    Legal Definitions by Leasing News Legal Editor Tom McCurnin
- Vote “Yes” on CIT Bank and OneWest Bank Merger
- What Lessors Now Need to Know About Hacking
- Why Leasing News “Job Wanted” Ads Are Sparse
- Ascentium Capital Opens New England Office
- Equipment Tax Deductions
- September 2014 Broker Survey Results
- Reaction to Wheeler 2014 Broker Survey
- Victim or Might Be a Victim of Identity Theft?
- Comcast home invasion lawsuit exposes risks
   for home automation, security service providers
- Quick Bridge Funding Ranked No. 1 Fastest Growing
  Private Midsize Company in Orange County, California
- Richest Man in Leasing: Steven Udvar-Hazay
- Derek Jeter's Final Game at Yankee Stadium
   by Ralph Mango, Leasing News Associate Editor
- Invest in Your Country
  U.S. Savings Bonds
- How to be a “Leasing Expert Witness”
    and Make Extra Income
- 2014 Survey Reports Expert Witness Hourly Fees
    Record  All-Time Highs
- Steve Crane, CLP, Joins BSB Leasing
- Alexa Report--Leasing Industry Web Site Visits
- Where to Sell Your Old Handsets or iPad
- Tiny Breathalyzer Plugs into Your Phone
- Bank Savings Are Growing
    Showing Anxiety of Businesses/Consumers
- Rosanne, Richard, and the Veterans Administration
- Dean Rubin Found, Ultimate Financing
      a Division of Navitas Lease Corp.
- U.S. Savings Bonds
- Balboa Capital Settles $36,454 Attorney Fee Complaint
   After Getting Suit Dismissed Against Regents Capital

- Your Photograph on LinkedIn.com
Use a Password Generator
- Banks Turn Toward Leasing for More Profit
- 15 Biggest Employers in the World
- Déjà vu on Proposed Lease Accounting Changes
- What $11.62 Trillion Worth of Household Debt Looks Like
- Broker’s Responsibility to Obtain
    California Lender’s License
- Dakota Financial saves $14,400 in document storage costs
   after deploying Office 365
- Programs to Protect Smartphones/Tablets/Laptops
- Who is Financing the Other Four?
    by Christopher Menkin
- Top Five Leasing Company Web Sites—
    in North America 
- Leasing News Icon for Android Mobile Device
- The Salary You Must Earn to Buy a Home in 27 Metros
- Lease Fleece Judge Verdict on Citibank Kingpin
- New CLP Designation---“Associate”
- Look for More Changes in Conducting Leasing
- 5 Ways to Give Your Brain a Break Right Now
- LEAF Financial Income Fund III Complaints
   10K Gives Numbers
- “A Great Time to be in the Equipment Leasing Industry”
- Why Leasing News is Different
- Loan/Lease Regulations
- Take Your Banker to Lunch
- Look Out!!! --Two Evergreen/PRR Clause Lessors Merge
   Onset Financial/Mazuma Capital
- Lease Police Tips on Judging Vendors
- Netiquette: Rules of Behavior For Email and the Internet
- Alert: Rudy Trebels Back Soliciting Broker Business
- HL Leasing/John Otto--Update
- NorVergence- Year end, 2013
- The Future of Digital: 2013
- Twelve Lawyers Against Evergreen Clause Abuse
- Wants to Go After Lessors and Their Attorneys
   Re: Evergreen Clause Abuses
- Sample of Usury Laws in United States
- Balboa Capital Class Action Case Settled--$5 million?
- Old Cowboy On His Horse
- Leasing Brokers: When May You Collect a Commission?
- Is Long Term Leasing Dead?
- 5 Ways Women Are Better Bosses Than Men
- Balboa Capital, Irvine, California
   $20,543.22 Bulletin Board Complaint
   Alleged “Bait and Switch”
- Female Lease Finance Association Presidents
- Broker’s Responsibility to Obtain
    California Lender’s License
- The Day that Albert Einstein Feared May Have Finally Arrived
- Equipment Finance Agreements Explained/Barry S. Marks
- Royal Links "True Lease" Court Ruling
- "The Memory Shock" –New Book by Barry Reitman
- Mazuma and Republic Bank Get Snared on PRR Provision
   by Tom McCurnin, Esq.
- Jeff Taylor's Leasing Predictions, Spring, 2006
- Radiance Capital, Tacoma, Washington
   Bulletin Board Complaint 
   Purchase Option on EFA, Won’t Return $5,000 S.D.
- New Case against Mazuma Capital and Republic Bank
  ---Automatic Evergreen Payment---PPR
- Republic Bank out of leasing?
- Charles Schwartz and Allied Health
- Copier Wars---It's more than the lease payment
    by Christopher Menkin
- Leasing Gypsies
- Verifying Tax Returns
- Special Report: Part I
   Could Church Kiosks, Royal Link Carts, NorVergence results been avoided?

   The use of “Equipment Finance Agreements”
- Special Report: Part II
    Bank of the West

   Equipment Lease Agreement (EFA)
- California License Web Addresses
- Settlement Costs vs. Litigation Costs