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Headlines---
Classified
Ads---Sr. Credit Officer/Sr. Management
Where
is Michael Sheehan? Not Answering His Phone
Jay
Fudemberg departs Pure Markets
Grand
Old Doug Pierce Passes Away
US
Bancorp Lease Financing Down 8.4%
Fred
St. Laurent Joins Z Resource Group
Orion
First Financial/Alliance Funding Group
Mellon
cut 1,600 employees in 2003
Edmunds.com
Automakers Incentive Swells 30%
Classified
Ads---
Senior Credit Officer/Senior Management
Senior Credit Officer
experienced in middle- market leasing; structured, vendor and 3rd party
to the fortune 1000. Proactive team builder, originations capable with
strong work ethic. Email: kyletrust@hotmail.com
Senior Management:
Baltimore, MD
25 year veteran of
commercial and equipment leasing seeking a senior management position
with leasing or asset based financing company in the southeast (Florida
preferred)
Email: kellogg_md@yahoo.com
Senior Management:
Chicago, Illinois
Twenty plus years.
Senior sales and marketing management most recently Building "businesses"
from scratch. Leveraging leadership, administrative, operations, financial,
auditing background. WANTED: challenging new opportunity.Email: edok@sbcglobal.net
Senior Management:
Denver, CO. Fortune 500 GM/SVP wants to team up with aggressive lender
looking for Western expansion mid-market equip. finance/leasing. 20+
years experience within Rocky Mountain/ Southwest and Ca markets.
Email: legal@csotn.com
Senior Managment:
Irvine, CA.
Credit executive,
portfolio manager and syndication facilitator. Extensive business building
experience in small and mid-ticket operations. Highly innovative. Fortune
100 audit and technology skills. Bottom-line manager.Email: lenhubbard@bigfoot.com
Senior Management:
Long Island, NY
Degree Banking/Finance.
13 years leasing exp. Now prez young leasing company where promises
were not met. Interested in joining established firm with future. Email:bob33483@yahoo.com
Senior Management:
Portfolio Management Consultant; 25+years experience in Collections,
Customer Satisfaction, Asset Management, Recoveries, Continuous Process
Improvement, Back end Revenue Generation, Cost per Collection Analysis.
$5+Billion Portfolio expertise. Email: efgefg@rogers.com
Senior Management:
San Francisco, CA., 25 years experience w/global leasing company, sales,marketing,business
dev., P&L responsibility, asset mgmt, brokering and re- marketing.
Interested in joining an est. firm with a future. Email:rcsteyer@yahoo.com
Senior Management:
Somerville, NJ.
28 year veteran in
Construction Equipment/ Transportation.
Full P&L responsibility,
profit driven, team builder, sales manager, strong portfolio management
skills. Will consider relocation.email: leasingman_95@hotmail.com
Senior Management:
Tampa FL.20+ years of small to middle ticket finance, operations and
sales management experience. Outstanding record of revenue enhancement,
operational improvement and team development. Email: rlindcpa@earthlink.net
full listing of 87 job wanted ads at: http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm#sec10
post a free “job wanted” ad by going to:
http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm#sec10
We help people find work. No fee, no charge, not costs.
Many testimonials. Why?
We have over 7,500 readers
in the leasing industry. You
get the truth here, not
the “spin” or “outright lies.” No talk the talk, we walk
the walk.
__________________________________________________________________
Where
is Michael Sheehan? Not Answering His Phone
Since last week have
been trying to get a confirmation or denial that Michael Sheehan, General
Manager, Commercial Equipment Group, American Express Business Finance,
was let
go.
Have many telephone
calls, e-mails, and if there is a complaint that we print “gossip,”
it’s because companies
don’t return telephone calls or e-mails from leads we get,
which are generally
valid. For almost a week now no response. Sheenan
did not
answer his telephone.
Perhaps he is no longer there. editor
_______________________________________________________________________
Cartoon---On
His Way Up?
http://two.leasingnews.org/cartoons/VENUS-Amex.jpg
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jay
Fudemberg departs Pure Markets
by Kit Menkin
http://two.leasingnews.org/photos/Fudemberg_Jay.jpg
Leasing News has
confirmed that Jay Fudemberg has departed after five years of building the company to became the largest
http://www.leasingnews.org/elease/elease.htm
The web site states:
Pure Markets is the
leading provider of enterprise solutions for equipment finance.
"Our powerful
web-based tools, online marketplaces and expert services enable corporate
borrowers and funding sources to finance equipment with lower costs,
streamlined process and superior results.
" Over 300 corporate borrowers and 250 funding sources.
" Deep executive management team comprised of seasoned industry
professionals from leading finance and technology organizations, including
GE Capital, Bank of America, Credit Suisse First Boston, Sun Microsystems,
Oracle and IBM.
" Well capitalized by blue-chip investor group, including Crosspoint
Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Sun Microsystems, Mitsui & Co.,
Ltd. and J. & W. Seligman."
"Led by founder
and CEO Jay Fudemberg, Pure Markets has assembled a team of expert professionals
from leading financial institutions such as GE Capital, Bank of America,
and Wells Fargo, as well as from top technology companies like IBM,
Sun Microsystems and Oracle.
"Jay Fudemberg
is the founder and CEO of Pure Markets. Previously, Jay directed the
origination, financing and development of large infrastructure projects
throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Enron International
until 1996. Jay was also a management consultant with Bain & Co.,
where he helped create and implement strategies for increasing the growth,
competitiveness and profitability of financial service, technology and
manufacturing companies. Prior to Bain, Jay spent five years as a software
engineer and manager at System Applications Engineering, Inc. Jay holds
an M.B.A. from Stanford University, as well as multiple academic honors.
He is a frequent speaker on the evolution of electronic commerce and
its role in transforming today's economic institutions."
According to the
transcript from CEOcast, July
24, 2000,
“ I was a senior
executive at Enron Corp., running Europe and the Middle
East, where I was
responsible for a lot of project
development. I was
heavily engaged in project
financing, equipment
financing, and structured
financing, and found
these efforts to be more
inefficient, time-consuming
and expensive than
need be. As the Internet
started to bubble up, it
became very clear
to me that there was a much
better way of conducting
secured financing, and
I left Enron to found
the company.”
A top inside source
for PureMarkets said that everyone was "up-beat" about the
decision...Fudemberg was "high profile, " had "implemented
the general plan" and more importantly, "he raised $50 million
for this company," but it was "time for him to leave."
In an interview for
up-dating the web leasing Leasing News site, Fudemberg stated
the company sales
were doing very well, despite other aggregate leasing companies
having to raise new
capital, and reportedly behind in their lease arrangements
with companies such
as Comdisco and Pentech Financial.
It also was reported that
CapitalStream after
they had raised $21 Million for “strategic acquisitions” and
failed to win the
bid for Decision Systems, were after an “aggregate funding”
operation. They evidently are in a new direction, concentrating
on the
“banking sector.” http://www.capitalstream.com/AmericanBanker.pdf
Capital Stream recently
acquired CapitalThinking Inc., a
vendor of process automation and risk management software products
for the commercial lending and commercial mortgage industry.
Where Fudemberg will
wind up, do not know, but Leasing News offers
him a free classified
ad by going to: http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/PostingForm.asp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orix-—Down
Dates
“On February 13th,
forty people will be let go in Orix's New York Office and twenty-five
in Kennesaw with layoffs continuing every two weeks from then on through
the end of the fiscal year (3/31).
“The layoffs will
hit IT and Accounting the hardest but they will be across the board
(SFG, EFG, RPG, Operations, HR).
“Also, apparently
there is an internal memo among the Dallas Executives that has a timeline
for vacating Kennesaw entirely.”
(name with held )
Previous Orix articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Orix.htm
Grand
Old Doug Pierce Passes Away
.
http://two.leasingnews.org/imanges_uael_wael/Pierce_Durham.jpg
1985--Doug Pierce(left), Pierce Capital, San Luis
Obispo, Ca visits
Western Association of Equipment Lessor Funding Source
Forum participant Terry Durham, General Electric Credit Corporation
Early January, Leasing
News reported Doug Pierce, Pierce Capital Corp, San Luis Obispo, was
fighting brain cancer. He has
had experimental surgery in Cleveland, Ohio.
January 7, 2003
“Doug Pierce, Pierce
Capital Corp, San Luis Obispo, is fighting brain cancer. He has had
experimental surgery in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Doug is expected
to be home later this month, approximately 1/20, to celebrate his 71
birthday. He is doing OK and his spirit is good, but could
always use a lift.
“It would be great
if all Doug's friends in the industry would drop him a card for a fast
recovery and/or a birthday wish to his home at:
219 Albert Drive
San Luis Obispo,
= CA 93405
Thanks for anything
you can do.”
Ron Lear
learlease@aol.com
“Dear Friends &
Family,
“Early this morning
Douglas Pierce passed away in his sleep.
Today is his 71st birthday.
He spent his last week surrounded by his entire family.
His three children were with him, as well as his wife Betty. In addition, his two sisters and his brother
from out of state were here last weekend.
For months there has been a steady procession of friends and
relatives coming by to give support and show their caring.
“As most of you know,
for almost 2 years Doug has fought brain cancer with immense courage
and with an incredibly positive attitude and love to all around him. We all wanted so much for him to win the battle
and achieve those retirement years he so richly deserved. However, he has had a beautiful life full of
family, love, learning & teaching, travels and adventures and wonderful
memories. He never gave up trying
to the end, yet he never once complained as he went through such a hard,
hard fight. We know that as
he went through this long battle he was determined to show us all (ever
the teacher :-) how to go through such a difficult battle with
optimism, courage and showing love and caring for others. So many friends who have seen him go through
this have remarked on what an incredibly positive attitude he maintained,
no matter what his discomfort. We're
all so sorry to see him go, but also glad that he is finally beyond
his suffering.
“A memorial service
is planned for Wednesday, January 21st, 2pm, at the Reis Chapel in San
Luis Obispo. Our phone number
is 805-544-7004 if you wish to attend and need directions or information. Thank you for your caring and understanding
as Doug and our family have gone through this.
We look forward to seeing you all soon.
“Warmest Regards,
“Betty, Julie and
Duane Pierce and Cindy and Doug Fleenor”
from the “San Luis Obispo Tribune:”
Douglas R. Pierce, 71, of San Luis Obispo passed away Friday, Jan.
16, 2004, after his long, brave battle with cancer.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004,
at Reis Family Mortuary of San Luis Obispo.
Doug is loved by all who have known him; the students he loved to teach
and mentor, the many friends he came to know through his later work
in lease financing, and his wonderful friends in Wines and Steins.
Born Jan. 16, 1933 in Cape Gireadeau, Mo., he loved to learn. Doug earned
his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Florida,
and a post-doctoral Smithsonian fellowship which he served at UC Berkeley.
He taught throughout the USA, at Cornell, University of Minnesota, California
Polytechnic State University SLO, and many more. He founded a successful
equipment leasing firm in San Luis Obispo. He loved challenges and worked
with Michigan State University on projects in Brazil, upgrading the
University of Brazil's administration processes while residing there
with his family for two years.
Doug loved helping people. He loved being there for family and never
missed a chance to attend their accomplishments, from school performances,
to track meets to graduations and celebrations. He was well known for
his photography, capturing the moments he so loved to share.
Doug is survived by his loving wife of 49 years Betty; daughter and
son-in-law, Cynthia and Doug Fleenor; daughter Julia Pierce; son Duane
Pierce; three grandchildren, Janell, Diana and Matthew Fleenor; two
sisters, Sue Grigg and Nancy Ackerman; and a brother, Willitt Pierce.
Donations may be made In Memory of Douglas R. Pierce, Brain Tumor Research
Fund, UCSF Foundation, Box 0248, UCSF, San Francisco, CA 94143-0248.
Published in the San Luis Obispo Tribune on 1/17/2004
_________________________________________________________________
### Press Release
#######################################
U.S.
Bancorp Reports 19.2 Percent Increase in Net Income for Fourth Quarter
2003
(Lease Financing Down 8.4%):
Percent Percent
Change
Change
4Q 3Q 4Q
4Q03 vs 4Q03 vs
2003 2003 2002 3Q03 4Q02
Commercial $35,080
$36,958 $36,880 (5.1) (4.9)
Lease financing 4,959
5,022 5,413 (1.3) (8.4)
Total
commercial 40,039
41,980 42,293 (4.6) (5.3)
Commercial
mortgages 20,230
20,089 20,056 0.7 0.9
Construction
and development 7,060
7,308 6,587 (3.4) 7.2
Total commercial
real estate 27,290 27,397 26,643 (0.4) 2.4
Residential
mortgages 13,374
12,234 8,966 9.3 49.2
Credit card 5,713
5,606 5,662 1.9 0.9
Retail leasing 5,895
5,806 5,626 1.5 4.8
Home equity and
second mortgages 13,084
13,093 13,651 (0.1) (4.2)
Other retail 13,905
13,866 12,564 0.3 10.7
Total retail 38,597
38,371 37,503 0.6 2.9
Total loans $119,300
$119,982 $115,405 (0.6) 3.4
Full Full
Year Year Percent
2003 2002
Change
Commercial
$36,238 $38,244 (5.2)
Lease financing 5,088
5,573 (8.7)
Total commercial 41,326 43,817
(5.7)
MINNEAPOLIS, -- U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB - News) reported net income of $977.0 million for the
fourth quarter of 2003, compared with $819.7 million for the fourth
quarter of 2002. Net income of $.50 per diluted share in the fourth
quarter of 2003 was higher than the same period of 2002 by $.07 (16.3
percent). Return on average assets and return on average equity were
2.05 percent and 19.4 percent, respectively, for the fourth quarter
of 2003, compared with returns of 1.83 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively,
for the fourth quarter of 2002. Net income in the fourth quarter of
2003 included after-tax merger and restructuring- related items of ($5.0)
million, which had an immaterial impact on earnings per share, compared
with ($69.9) million, or ($.03) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter
of 2002.
U.S. Bancorp Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer Jerry A. Grundhofer said, "2003
concluded a 5- year period dominated by transformational acquisitions
and their resulting integration activities. Due to the dedication and
support of our exceptional employees, we now have a company that is
uniquely positioned to achieve consistent earnings growth as a result
of our balanced business mix, advantaged scale, reduced risk profile,
low-cost leadership position and emphasis on customer service.
"Specific to
2003, we achieved our earnings objectives, despite the soft economy,
increasing net income by 17.8 percent while producing industry-leading
returns on assets and equity of 1.99 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.
In addition, we completed the spin-off of Piper Jaffray to our shareholders,
a company with a market value of approximately $880 million, increased
our cash dividend twice during the year resulting in a increase of 23.1
percent from the rate paid in the fourth quarter of 2002 and announced
our intention to return 80 percent of earnings to shareholders through
dividends or share repurchases.
"Looking forward
to 2004, we see business conditions improving, as evidenced by the significant
improvements we saw in the fourth quarter of 2003 in credit quality,
as well as improving trends in our fiduciary and payments businesses.
In this improving environment, we intend to achieve our stated long-term
earnings per share growth goal of 10 percent, while continuing to make
the investments that are necessary to ensure top line growth.
"In closing,
I would like to thank all of our employees for their hard work and commitment
in making 2003 a year of significant progress. Their focus on service
quality, expanding existing customer relationships and acquiring new
customer relationships was apparent in 2003 and will be critical to
achieving our objectives in the future."
The Company's results
for the fourth quarter of 2003 improved over the same period of 2002,
primarily due to growth in net interest income and fee based products
and services, as well as controlled operating expense and lower credit
costs. Net income from continuing operations was $970.3 million, or
$.50 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2003, compared with
$858.6 million, or $.45 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of
2002, representing an 11.1 percent annual growth rate.
Total net revenue
on a taxable-equivalent basis for the fourth quarter of 2003 was $37.7
million (1.2 percent) lower than the fourth quarter of 2002, which primarily
reflected the net reduction in securities gains (losses) of $106.3 million,
in addition to an unfavorable variance in commercial products revenue
and lower year-over-year gains from the sale of assets. Otherwise, favorable
revenue growth occurred in net interest income, payment systems revenue,
cash management fees, trust and investment management fees, and mortgage
banking revenue. Acquisitions, including the 57 branches of Bay View
Bank in California and the corporate trust business of State Street
Bank and Trust Company ("State Street Corporate Trust"), contributed
approximately $33.0 million of additional net revenue year-over-year.
Total noninterest
expense in the fourth quarter of 2003 was lower than the fourth quarter
of 2002 by $144.2 million (9.7 percent), primarily reflecting a $99.7
million reduction in merger and restructuring-related charges, a $54.1
million favorable change in the recognition of mortgage servicing rights
("MSR") impairment and cost savings from completed merger
and restructuring- related activities. These positive variances were
partially offset by expense increases due to acquisitions, which accounted
for approximately $16.0 million of expense growth year-over-year.
Provision for credit
losses for the fourth quarter of 2003 was $286.0 million, a decrease
of $63.0 million (18.1 percent) from the fourth quarter of 2002. Net
charge-offs in the fourth quarter of 2003 were $285.1 million, compared
with the third quarter of 2003 net charge-offs of $309.9 million and
the fourth quarter of 2002 net charge- offs of $378.5 million. The decline
in losses from a year ago was primarily the result of an improving credit
risk profile and collection efforts. Total nonperforming assets declined
to $1,148.1 million at December 31, 2003, from $1,318.3 million at September
30, 2003 (12.9 percent), and $1,373.5 million at December 31, 2002 (16.4
percent). The ratio of the allowance for credit losses to nonperforming
loans was 232 percent at December 31, 2003, compared with 202 percent
at September 30, 2003, and 196 percent at December 31, 2002.
On December 31, 2003,
the Company announced that it had completed the spin-off of Piper Jaffray
Companies (NYSE: PJC - News). The Company distributed one share of Piper
Jaffray Companies common stock for every 100 shares of U.S. Bancorp
common stock held by shareholders of record as of 5:00 p.m., EST, on
December 22, 2003, by means of a special dividend. In connection with
the spin-off, accounting rules require that the financial statements
be restated for all prior periods. As such, historical financial results
related to Piper Jaffray have been segregated and accounted for in the
Company's financial statements as discontinued operations. Net income
in the fourth quarter of 2003 included after-tax income from the discontinued
operations of Piper Jaffray Companies of $6.7 million, which had an
immaterial impact on diluted earnings per share. This compared with
an after-tax loss of ($38.9) million, or ($.02) per diluted share, in
the fourth quarter of 2002. For the full year 2003, net income included
after-tax income from discontinued operations of $22.5 million, or $.01
per diluted share, compared with an after-tax loss of ($22.7) million,
or ($.01) per diluted share, for the full year 2002.
(Full
Press Release with all numbers available at: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040120/cgtu011_1.html
### Press Release
###################################
Site Inspection
Site Inspection: Placentia, CA
On site verifications,
document signing or collections. Quick, accurate and professional. Reports
with photographs e-mailed direct. Agents throughout US. Contact for
coverage and rates. E- mail:pwright@yk2bizsolutions.com
Site Inspection:
Tampa/St. Pete, FL.
Contact Dick Mitchell
@ Randolph Lynn Associates for prompt professional pre- funding equipment
inspections, collateral "visits", and related lessee/vendor
contacts. (Florida locations) 727-302-9144 E-mail: dmrla@gte.net
Site Inspection:
US & Canada
Quiktrak performs
equipment inspections within 24 hours of your job placement anywhere
in the US. Order, check status & receive reports & photos online.
E- mail:sdresser@quiktrak.com
### Press Release
############################
Fred
St. Laurent Joins Z Resource Group
Boston, MA ¾ Z Resource Group (ZRG – Private) As part of the firm’s active strategy to expand
its presence in the Financial Services market, Fred St Laurent has joined
the firm as a Managing Director and will manage the firms new office
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fred St Laurent is
a seasoned marketing professional with a real understanding of the Financial
Services Industry. Having been a member of Equipment Leasing Association,
United Association of Equipment Leasing and National Association of
Equipment Leasing Brokers and an active member of the Leasing News Advisory
Board, he has been a participant in many forums on behalf of industry
related issues, and has published articles and spoken publicly about
his views concerning topics related to the future of the Industry.
He began his recruiting
career being trained in the trenches as a Project Coordinator with Management
Recruiters International, learning from thousands of financial professionals
before being promoted to a Senior National Recruiter. He has been mentored
under some of the best Financial Professionals and Recruiters in the
industry. His relationships are structured as partnerships with the
goal of building highly productive teams. He has a depth of sales management
experience, having developed marketing plans, hired and trained sales
teams, and has a firm grasp on what elements are required to create
an environment of success for both clients and candidates.
Managing Partner
Larry Hartmann stated, “We are committed to expanding our presence Nationally
in 2004 and Atlanta is a key location to establishing our presence in
the South. The addition of Fred St Laurent provides us with an experienced
Financial Services professional. It also provides Z with an excellent
platform for growth in the Atlanta area”.
Mr. St Laurent commented,
“I am thrilled to join Z Resource Group at this time in my career. My experience and contact base within the Financial
Services space will weigh in nicely with Z’s platform. They are ‘cutting
edge’ in the way that they approach recruitment; they bring ‘new thinking’
and methods that create a true consulting relationship with the client”.
Z Resource Group
is a fast growing, nationwide specialty Executive Search/Consulting
firm headquartered in the Boston, MA area. The company is entering its
sixth year of providing talent acquisition and consulting services focused
in the Financial Services and Health Care markets.
Z Resource Group has offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Tennessee, California and now Atlanta.
Mr. St Laurent can
be reached at
Fred St Laurent
Managing Director
Z Resource Group
Atlanta Office
Direct Line 678-947-9910
Digital Secure Fax
678-623-8283
Email fstlaurent@zrgroup.com
#### Press Release
########################
Orion
First Financial, LLC and Alliance Funding Group, Inc. Announce a New
Joint Venture to Fund Leases
Gig Harbor, WA --
Orion First Financial, LLC and Alliance Funding Group, Inc. have formed
a new joint venture, Alliance Financial, LLC.
The joint venture has established a revolving line of credit
with PFF Bank and Trust (Rancho Cucamonga, California) to warehouse
leases originated by Alliance Funding Group, Inc. The new venture bundles
the warehoused leases into portfolios and the lease receivables are
sold to Union Safe Deposit Bank (Stockton, California) under a permanent
funding facility. Orion First Financial, LLC will provide lease servicing
and administrative services to Alliance Financial, LLC and Union Safe
Deposit Bank.
Brij Patel of Alliance
Funding Group, Inc. said, "Orion offers us the experience in the
support and servicing of portfolios giving us the opportunity to focus
on our core competency of lease originations.
Over the past five years we have originated over $150 million
in leases and now we have a partner to provide treasury, risk management,
and reporting functions which enhances our position in the small &
middle market equipment leasing arena."
David T. Schaefer
of Orion First Financial stated, "We welcome the addition of Alliance
Funding Group to our joint venture program.
This marks another step towards our goal to provide servicing
and treasury functions to an exclusive group of lease originators."
The Orion First program
is unique in that it provides a level of control and flexibility needed
in today's leasing marketplace. As funders have made dramatic changes
in underwriting standards, or exited the market altogether, originators
are looking for funding alternatives that are more predictable and stable.
The Orion First program allows participants to expand funding resources,
improve transaction flow and build lasting value.
Orion First Financial,
LLC located in Gig Harbor WA, provides primary and back up lease servicing,
complete portfolio management, and advisory/consultative services to
the commercial equipment leasing industry. Orion has differentiated
itself from other lease servicing companies by not only offering the
standard billing, accounting and tracking services, but by providing
complete portfolio performance management and treasury functions.
Alliance Funding
Group, Inc. is an Anaheim, California based equipment leasing company.
Alliance is a full service equipment lessor that provides a broad range
of cost effective and flexible lease programs for its customers through
out the United States & Canada. For more information on Alliance
Funding Group, Inc. visit www.alliancefunds.com or call (800) 978-8817.
CONTACT:
David T. Schaefer,
CLP
Orion First Financial,
LLC
PO Box 2149
Gig Harbor, WA 98335-4149
Phone: 888.705.8778
ext. 210
http://www.orionfirst.com
### Press Release
################################
Mellon
Reports Fourth Quarter EPS Of $.43
( cut 1,600 employees in
2003 )
- Fourth Quarter Performance Reflects Record Level of Investment
Management
Fees, Higher Operating Margins and ROE of 20.4% -
PITTSBURGH / -- Mellon Financial Corporation
(NYSE: MEL) announced
that income from continuing operations in the
fourth quarter of
2003 totaled $185 million, or 43 cents per share. This
compares with income
from continuing operations of $163 million, or 38 cents
per share, in the
fourth quarter of 2002 and $153 million, or 36 cents per
share, in the third
quarter of 2003. Income from
continuing operations
increased 13 percent
during the fourth quarter of 2003 compared with the
fourth quarter of
2002. The third quarter of 2003
results included charges of
$50 million pre-tax,
primarily in the Human Resources & Investor Solutions
sector, which reduced
third quarter earnings by 7 cents per share.
Income from continuing operations, before the cumulative effect
of a
change in accounting
principle, for the full-year 2003 totaled $677 million,
or $1.57 per share,
compared with income from continuing operations of $663
million, or $1.51
per share in 2002. Net income
for full-year 2003 totaled
$701 million, or
$1.63 per share, compared with $682 million, or $1.55 per
share for the full-year
2002. See page 4 for summary
financial data for the
comparable periods.
"Through a combination of an exceptionally strong performance
by
Institutional Asset
Management, remaining on track to meet our profitability
targets in Human
Resources & Investor Solutions and the everyday execution of
our strategy by all
our employees, Mellon was able to deliver positive
operating leverage
in our core business sectors and generate top tier returns
on shareholders'
equity of 20.4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2003," said
Martin G. McGuinn,
chairman and chief executive officer of Mellon Financial
Corporation. "We are beginning 2004 with a better foundation
for growth than
2003. Demonstrating greater momentum and our commitment
to positive operating
leverage, our earnings
from continuing operations are 13 percent higher than
the fourth quarter
of 2002. We are also cautiously optimistic based upon
an
improving economic
outlook and stronger equity markets, both of which are key
drivers for our fee-based
businesses. During 2004 Mellon
will continue to be
focused on generating
organic growth as well as aggressive expense management
to deliver increasing
returns to our shareholders."
Fourth Quarter Highlights (comparisons are with the third quarter
of 2003,
and percentage changes
are unannualized, unless noted otherwise).
-- Total fee revenue increased 9 percent to a record level of
$981
million for the Corporation and represented 89 percent of
fee and net
interest revenue. The
increase was primarily driven by higher
investment management fees ($65 million) and institutional
trust and
custody fees ($18 million).
-- Assets under management increased to a record level of $657
billion at
Dec. 31, 2003 from $625 billion at Sept. 30, 2003. Assets under
administration or custody also increased to a record level
of $2.845
trillion at Dec. 31, 2003 from $2.611 trillion at Sept. 30,
2003.
-- Investment management fee revenue in the fourth quarter of
2003 was
$413 million, a record level and an increase of 19 percent.
The
increase in investment
management fees reflects the impact of a record
level of performance fees of $56 million as well as improved
equity
markets, new business generation and the favorable impact
of foreign
exchange rates.
-- Institutional trust
and custody fee revenue in the fourth quarter of
2003 was $132 million, a record level and an increase of 16
percent.
The increase reflects the benefit of new business highlighted
by the
investment management outsourcing contract of a London-based
client
and improved market conditions.
-- Total operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2003 were
$843
million, an increase of $11 million. Excluding charges recorded
primarily in the HR&IS sector in the third quarter, the
increase in
fourth quarter expenses reflects higher incentives ($30 million)
associated primarily with the record level of performance
fees, higher
severance ($7 million), the impact of foreign exchange rates
as well
as expenses related to new business and product development.
-- During the fourth quarter of 2003, the headcount of the Corporation
declined by 400 to 20,900.
For the full-year of 2003, the Corporation
reduced headcount by
1,600 or 7 percent compared to the beginning of
the year.
-- The Corporation continued to reduce its credit risk profile.
Total
loans and commitments declined by $740 million during the
fourth
quarter of 2003. The
level of non-performing assets declined by $11
million to $52 million. There
was no net provision for credit losses
during either the fourth or third quarters of 2003. Net interest
revenue in the fourth quarter of 2003 totaled $120 million,
a decrease
of $12 million. The
decrease related to the sales and prepayment of
higher coupon mortgage-backed securities and the continued
reduction
in large corporate loans.
-- The tangible common equity ratio was 5.94 percent at Dec.
31, 2003
compared to 6.18 percent at Sept. 30, 2003. The decrease was
due to a
higher period end balance sheet level due to period end inflows
of
deposits and the repurchase of 4 million common shares in
the fourth
quarter.
The Corporation also declared a quarterly common stock dividend
of 16
cents per share. This cash dividend is payable on Friday, Feb.
13, 2004, to
shareholders of record
at the close of business on Friday, Jan. 30, 2004.
In the fourth quarter of 2003, the Corporation adopted discontinued
operations accounting
for the fixed income trading business of Mellon Investor
Services, which was
sold in December 2003. This
business was formerly
included in the Corporation's
HR&IS sector. All information
in this earnings
release is reported
on a continuing operations basis, before the cumulative
effect of a change
in accounting principle recorded in the first quarter of
2003, unless otherwise
noted. Net income amounts include
the results of
discontinued operations,
discussed further on page 24.
Mellon Financial Corporation is a global financial services company.
Headquartered in
Pittsburgh, Mellon is one of the world's leading providers of
financial services
for institutions, corporations and high net worth
individuals, providing
institutional asset management, mutual funds, private
wealth management,
asset servicing, human resources and investor solutions,
and treasury services.
Mellon has approximately $3.5 trillion in assets under
management, administration
or custody, including $657 billion under
management. Its asset management companies include The
Dreyfus Corporation
and U.K.-based Newton
Investment Management Limited. News
and other
information about
Mellon are available at http://www.mellon.com .
####
Press Release #####################################
Edmunds.com
Reports Automakers' True Cost of Incentives: Average Incentive Swells
Nearly 30% From 2002 to 2003, Expected to Level Off in 2004
SANTA MONICA, Calif., -- Edmunds.com ( http://www.edmunds.com ),
the premier online resource for automotive information, reported today
that the average incentive per vehicle sold in the United States was
$2,455 in December 2003, up $251 or 11.4% from December 2002, and up
2.9% from November 2003. For calendar year 2003, the average incentive
was $2,442 per vehicle sold, which was 28.9% higher than the 2002 average
of $1,894.
Edmunds.com's monthly
True Cost of Incentives(SM) (TCI(SM)) report takes into account all
of the manufacturers' various United States incentives programs, including
subvented interest rates and lease programs as well as cash rebates
to consumers and dealers. To
ensure the greatest possible accuracy, Edmunds.com bases its calculations
on sales volume, including the mix of vehicle makes and models for each
month, as well as on the proportion of vehicles for which each type
of incentive was used.
Incentives spending
for domestic models decreased slightly, falling 0.5% to $3,339 in December
compared to $3,355 per unit in November.
Chrysler increased incentives spending by 1.5% to $3,415 per
vehicle and experienced a market share gain of 0.3%.
Ford's total incentives spending per unit dropped by 3.3% to
$2,868 in December while the company's domestic brands gained 0.2% market
share. Despite reducing its incentives by 0.6% to
$3,589, General Motors gained a sizable 2.4% market share.
Trucks and SUVs reached
all time highs in market share in December despite lowered incentives
over the last three months of the year.
"The increased
market share can be credited to an increased variety of trucks and SUVs
manufactured by both domestic and import automakers," stated Dr.
Jane Liu, Executive Director of Data Analysis for Edmunds.com. "In the current market, enhanced product variety and quality
motivate buyers more than incentives do, and create far more positive
brand equity in the process."
The numbers clearly
show incentives do not always translate into market share gains. The brands with the greatest incentives expenditures
in 2003 included Mitsubishi, GM and Chrysler while the biggest losses
in market share were suffered by those companies. Conversely, the biggest market share gainers
overall in 2003 were Honda, Toyota and Nissan, which were among the
companies that spent the least on incentives.
"Going forward,
we should no longer expect to see the rapid acceleration of incentives
consumers enjoyed this year," said Dr. Liu.
"Incentives will flatten out as automakers introduce a record
number of new models and major vehicle redesigns that will have more
intrinsic appeal to buyers just as the overall economic outlook becomes
more optimistic."
About Edmunds.com
True Cost of Incentives(SM) (TCI(SM))
Edmunds.com's TCI(SM)
is a comprehensive monthly report that measures automobile manufacturers'
cost of incentives on vehicles sold in the United States. These costs are reported on a per vehicle basis for the industry
as a whole, for each manufacturer, for each make sold by each manufacturer
and for each model of each make. TCI
covers all aspects of manufacturers' various incentives programs (except
volume and similar bonus programs), including dealer cash, manufacturer
rebates and consumer savings from subvented APR and lease programs (including
subvented lease residual values used in manufacturer leasing programs). Data for the industry, the manufacturers and
the makes are derived using weighted averages and are based on actual
monthly sales and financing activity.
About Edmunds.com,
Inc.
Edmunds.com ( http://www.edmunds.com
) is the premier online resource for automotive information.
Its comprehensive set of data, tools and services, including
Edmunds.com True Market Value(R) pricing, is generated by Edmunds Data
Services and is licensed to third parties. For example, the company supplies over 800,000
pages of content for AOL's auto channel and NYTimes.com's auto section
and delivers monthly data reports to Wall Street analysts. Edmunds.com was named "best car research"
site by Forbes ASAP, is viewed by consumers as the "most useful
Web site" according to the J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com
Studies(SM) for both 2001 and 2002, and was ranked first in the Survey
of Car-Shopping Web Sites as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica,
California and maintains a satellite office in Troy, Michigan.
SOURCE Edmunds.com
### Press Release
######################################
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Seeking
Sales Representative preferably in Midwest area, will consider
out of area. Minimum 3+ years vendor experience. No requirement
for market type. Please contact Susan M. Adamatis, Vice President
- 800/669-7527 ext 1255 or About the company: www.netlease.com |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News Briefs---
G.M. Posts a Decline
in Profit for Quarter
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/21/business/21motors.html?pagewanted=all
Wells Fargo and Bank
One Report Increases in Profit
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/21/business/21bank.html?pagewanted=all
Citigroup Profit
Nearly Doubles
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040120/financial_citigroup_earns_13.html
Salvation Army gets
$1.5 billion from Kroc
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040120-9999-1n21kroc.html
Soaring energy prices
could hurt economy
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040120-1354-allbusiness.html
GE sent funds to
five directors' foundations
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/01/20/ge_sent_funds_to_five_directors_foundations/
Bella, a golden retriever
escaped her San Jose yard and was later
found and placed in a stray-dog kennel and adopted by another family.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/7751611.htm
New York nixes Brooklyn's
'oy vey' sign
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/weird_news/7747451.htm
_______________________________________________________
Sports Briefs---
Bush Likes Brady
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashtb.htm
This time around,
Patriots will be the favored sons
Bellichick: Super
Coach
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/sports/article.adp?id=20040117163009990006
On Winning Teams,
Assistants Are Left With No Choice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33362-2004Jan20.html
Raiders close in on deal with Cowboys' Payton
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7022317
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/01/21/PAYTON.TMP
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/football/nfl/oakland_raiders/7755316.htm
Johnson's Fade May
Lead Bucs To Brunell Or Gannon
http://bucs.tbo.com/bucs/MGAXU0KFNPD.html
________________________________________________________
"Gimme that
Wine"
Wet, chilly weather
and high land prices can't keep a good Marin vintner down
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/01/15/WIGVF497U01.DTL
New York Governor
Proposes An Expansion of Wine Shipping
http://winebusiness.com/news/SiteArticle.cfm?AId=82350&issueId=82313
Uncork a Languedoc,
Sip a Surprise
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/21/dining/21WINE.html
Bonny Doon’s Randall
Grahm: Gangster of wine tops himself
This
Day in American History
1648-
Margaret Brent made her claim as America's first feminist by demanding
a voice and vote for herself in the Maryland colonial assembly. Brent
came to America in 1638 and was the first woman to own property in Maryland.
At the time of her demands she was serving as secretary to Governor
Leonard Calvert. She was ejected from the meetings, but when Calvert
died she became his executor and acting governor, presiding over the
General Assembly. History records this
event as the beginning of the woman suffrage movement in America. In
1640, she became the first woman barrister in America, officially the
colonial attorney for Cecilius Calvert, Lord Proprietor of Maryland.
http://earlyamerica.com/review/1998/brent.html
1738- Ethan Allan, Revolutionary War soldier
and leader of the Vermont "Green Mountain Boys." born
at Lichfield, CT, he died at Burlington, VT, Feb 12, 1789. History
finds him quite an opportunist who high school history books have painted
quite a different picture of his actual deeds. He actually missed most
of the revolutionary war because he was in
British prison. He led several movements, including a military
effort, to join both New York and Vermont with Canada.
http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/thefort/History/EthanAllen.htm
( see:
Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History
by Richard
Shenkman )
1801 -- "Federal Bonfire Number Two":
a mysterious fire sweeps the offices of the Department of Treasury,
destroying books and papers, after Republicans demanded proof that the
expenditures of Timothy Pickering, the recently replaced Federalist
Secretary of War, could be properly accounted for. He was censured by
Congress.
He was re-elected to Congress for two more terms, then retired.
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=p000324
http://www.qmfound.com/COL_Timothy_Pickering.htm
1812 - The famous Y-bridge in Zanesville,
Ohio, was given approval for construction.
http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-3/bridges/pages/bdg07_003.html
http://www.coz.org/
1824-Birthday of Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson, Confederate general and one of the most famous
soldiers of the American Civil War, best known as "Stonewall"
Jackson. Born at Clarksburg, VA (now WV).
At the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861,
Union forces under Gen. Irvin McDowell were defeated by the Confederates.
McDowell delayed the attack for two days, allowing Confederate
Gen. Beauregard to call on reinforcements from the Shenandoah Valley.
Their arrival late in the day gave the Confederates a numerical advantage.
it was in this battle that Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson
was nicked named ‘Stonewall” for his firm stand at a crucial moment. May 2, 1963, General Stonewall Jackson, leading
a large part of General lee’s army, delivered a devastating blow on
General Hooker’s right flank. The Battle of Chancellorsville, 50 miles
southwest of Washington, DC had started the day before. It was Lee goal to capture Washington, and
the chance encounter in Gettysburg stopped him. In this battle, General Robert E. Lee won his greatest victory over
huge Union forces under General Joseph Hooker, considered a military
idiot, who allowed his men to party and bring prostitutes along ( thus
the name Hookers ). In the North,
17,275 were killed or wounded; in the South, 12,821. Reconnoitering
with his staff at day’s end on May 2, Jackson and his group were mistaken
for Union Soldiers and fired upon by their own forces.
Jackson’s shattered left arm had to be amputated. While he was
hospitalized pneumonia set in; his death came on May 10th
in Chancellorsvile, VA.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan21.html
1844- John Browning, world
famous gun maker and inventor who was taught gunsmithing by his Mormon
pioneer father, Jonathan Browning, was born at Ogden, UT. Starting the
J.M. & M.S. Browning Arms Company with his brother, he designed
guns for Winchester, Remington, Stevens and Colt arms companies, as
well as American and European armies. Browning had more gun patents
than any other gunsmith in the world. He is best known worldwide for
inventing the machine gun in 1890 and the automatic pistol in 1896.
He died suddenly Nov 26, 1926- at age 71, while at Belgium on business.
The company he founded, known now as Browning Arms Company, is located
at Morgan, UT.
1853- Dr. Russell L. Hawes
of Worcester, MA, received a patent for an envelope folding machine
that proved practical commercially.
It was not self-gumming, but nevertheless it enable three girls
to produce the finished product at the rate of about 25,000 envelopes
in 10 hours, thus allowing “junk mail” to be economically sent.
1867 -- Patrol Special Officer, Armand
Barbier, arrests His Majesty Norton I, Emperor of the United States
and Protector of Mexico, for involuntary treatment of a mental disorder
and thereby creates a major civic uproar.
San Francisco
Police Chief Patrick Crowley apologizes to His Majesty & orders
him released. Several scathing newspaper editorials follow the arrest.
All police
officers begin to salute His Majesty when he passed them on the street.
http://www.notfrisco.com/nortoniana/index.html
http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/nort.html
1863-Battle of Sabine Pass
, Texas Sabine Pass lay at the mouth of the Sabine River along the gulf
coast of Texas. The Confederates constructed a major fort there in 1861.
In September 1862, a Union force captured the fort and, shortly after,
the port of Galveston to the southwest. The Yankees now controlled much
of the Texas coast. In November, General John Bankhead Magruder arrived
to change Southern fortunes in the area. Magruder was an early Confederate
hero in Virginia, and now he was assigned the difficult task of expelling
the Federals from Sabine Pass and Galveston. Magruder's efforts paid
quick dividends. He recaptured Galveston and then turned his attention
to Sabine Pass. The decks of two ships, the Bell and the Uncle
Ben, were stacked with cotton bales. Sharpshooters were placed behind
the bales and the ships steamed towards two Union ships, the Morning
Light and the Velocity. Some of the sharpshooters became
seasick and had to be removed, but the expedition continued. The Confederates
chased the Yankee ships into open water, and the sharpshooters injured
many Union gunners. After a one-hour battle, both Union ships surrendered.
Magruder's victory reopened the Texas coast for Confederate shipping.
The Union
tried to recapture Sabine Pass later in the year, but the effort was
thwarted when less than 50 Confederates inside the fort at Sabine Pass
held off a much larger Union force.
1880- the first sewage –disposal system
separate from the city water system was built in Memphis, TN, under
the direction of George Edwin Waring.
The pipes were sewage only and kept constantly cleansed with
water and were well ventilated. Other
cities copied this new “sewer system.”
1884- Roger Baldwin,
founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the "country's
unofficial agitator for, and defender of, its civil liberties."
Born at Wellesley, MA, he died Aug 26, 1981, at Ridgewood, NJ.
1943-Birthday of bass player Steve Gilmore, Trenton, NJ
http://www.philwoods.com/gilmore.htm
http://www.playjazz.com/BA033.html
1915- First Kiwanis Club chartered at Detroit,
MI.
1917-Birthday of pianist Billy Maxted, born
Racine, WI. Great pianist, he wrote many arrangements for Ray Eberle;
Red Nichols; Will Bradley, and even Benny Goodman. At the end of the
big band era, Billy has his own band briefly.
http://www.jazzmanrecords.com/bilmaxbigswi.html
1920 --
Palmer "Red" Raids now target labor activists and radicals
for US government repression. Attorney
General A.Mitchell Palmer orders the roundup of all suspected for prosecution
& deportation where possible. The man in charge is J. Edgar Hoover.
Thousands of people are arrested in a nationwide sweep, most arrests
are illegal, without warrants or justification. Thousands are eventually
deported.
http://www.msu.edu/course/mc/112/1920s/Palmer/newsandpalmer.html
1920 -- Author Ernest Hemingway returns to
America after his World War I experiences.
http://www.hemingwayhome.com/HTML/main_menu.html
http://www.ernest.hemingway.com/
1936-Birthday of Malka Cohen, of the 1960's
Canadian folk duo of Malka and Joso, was born in Israel. She met her
singing partner, Joso Spralja, in the early '60s at a Toronto coffeehouse,
Yorkville 71. The couple toured Canada, and in 1966 appeared at Carnegie
Hall in New York. The following year, Malka and Joso appeared before
Princess Margaret in England. But 1967 also marked the end of their
partnership. Malka Cohen began a second career as an independent radio
interviewer.
http://www.malkamarom.com/music.html
http://www.toronto.com/profile/146821
1936-Birthday of New
Orleans blues singer and guitarist Snooks Eaglin.
http://www.mnblues.com/profile/snookseaglin2000.html
http://www.bluesaccess.com/No_38/snooks.html
http://user.mc.net/~snooks/snooks/bigman.html
1938- “Wolfman Jack” born Robert Smith at
Brooklyn, NY. He became famous as a disc jockey for radio stations at
Mexico in the 1960s. Wolfman Jack was influential as a border radio
voice because the Mexican station broadcast at 250,000 watts, five times
the legal limit for American stations at the time, and therefore he
was heard over a vast part of the US. During his night shift he played
blues, hillbilly and other black and white music that wasn't getting
a lot of exposure. He later appeared on American radio, movies and television
as an icon of 1960s radio. Wolfman Jack died July 1, 1995, at Belvedere,
NC.
1940- golfer Jack Nicklaus born Columbus,
Ohio
1941--Singer Richie Haven Birthday http://www.richiehavens.com/
http://www.mathie.demon.co.uk/rh/biograph.html
1942- Duke Ellington records C Jam Blues,
Perdidio.
1943-Birthday of bass player Steve Gilmore, Trenton, NJ
http://www.philwoods.com/gilmore.htm
http://www.playjazz.com/BA033.html
1946 - On ABC radio, "The Fat Man"
debuted, starring J. Scott Smart as the portly detective, who weighed
270 pounds in real life. This was one of my favorite radio shows that I remember listening to, perhaps
in the late 1940’s. “There he goes. Into that drug store. He’s stepping
on the scales. Weight? 237 pounds. Fortune? Danger. Whoooo is it? The FAT MANNNNNNNNNNN.”
Later I learned perhaps my favorite author Dashiell Hammet was
involved in writing for the radio show.
http://www.old-time.com/sights/fatman.html
1949—Top Hits
Buttons and Bows - Dinah Shore
A Little Bird Told Me - Evelyn Knight
On a Slow Boat to China - The Kay Kyser Orchestra (vocal: Harry Babbitt
& Gloria Wood)
I Love You So Much It Hurts - Jimmy Wakely
1949- First Miles Davis Birth of the “Cool”
session, Capital 1762
1950-Birthday of singer Billy Ocean, musician,
songwriter, born Leslie Charles, Trinidad, West Indies.
1951 - Mildred (Babe Didrikson) Zaharias
set a new women’s golf record when she won the Tampa Women’s Open with
a medal play score at a record 288 for 72 holes. In the 1932 Olympics,
Babe won two gold and one silver medal for the javelin throw, the 80-meter
hurdles and the high jump, respectively. She also skilled at basketball,
baseball, billiards and golf. As well as being a member of the International
Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, LPGA Hall of Fame (Babe was a founding
member of the LPGA), National Track and Field Hall of Fame, Olympic
Hall of Fame and the World Golf Hall of Fame.
http://www.famoustexans.com/babedidrikson.htm
1953- the first gas-turbine car made was
the XP-21 Firebird, built by General Motors.
The 370-horespower Whirlfire turbojet was installed in the rear
of the car. It had a plastic
body and accommodated only the driver. Its speed was 150 miles per hour,
but it was believed capable of 235 miles per hour.
Since it consumed fuel faster than conventional cards, it was
not commercially produced.
1954 - The first atomic-powered submarine,
the "Nautilus," was launched in Groton, Connecticut, after
First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, christened it with a bottle of champagne.
1954
- In New York City, the gas turbine automobile was introduced with a
370 horsepower, ‘whirlfire’ turbopower jet powering it.
1957---Top Hits
Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
The Banana Boat Song - The Tarriers
Young Love - Tab Hunter
Singing the Blues - Marty Robbins
1957- country singer Patsy Cline won an
Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scout" show, singing "Walking
After Midnight." Her single of the contest-winning song was on
both the country and pop charts for a number of weeks. During the next
few years, Patsy Cline became one of the top female country singers.
She was killed in a plane crash in 1963.
1959 - The Kingston Trio, with members Bob
Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard; was awarded a gold record for their
single, "Tom Dooley", about a man named Tom Dooley who was
going to be hanged - "poor boy, you’re bound to, die." The
Kingston Trio recorded many other hits, including: "Greenback Dollar",
"M.T.A.", "Reverend Mr. Black", "Tijuana Jail",
and the war protest song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?".
1961- the first cabinet member who was the
brother of the president was Robert F. Kennedy, who took office as attorney
general in the cabinet of President John F. Kennedy in Washington, DC.
1962- Snow falls in San Francisco
1964 - After 3 years, Carl Rowen took over
for Edward R. Murrow as head of the United States Information Agency
(USIA), managing force of the worldwide Voice of America. Rowen had
something else in common with Murrow, they both came from news backgrounds,
Rowen from NBC, and Murrow from CBS.
1965---Top Hits
Come See About Me - The Supremes
Love Potion Number Nine - The Searchers
Downtown - Petula Clark
Once a Day - Connie Smith
1966 -- promoter Bill Graham began his
notorious three-day "Trips Festival" at the Longshoreman's
Hall in San Francisco. Music and LSD were available in large quantities..
The Festival at 400 North Point St. featured the Grateful
Dead, Big Brother & the Holding Company, The Loading
Zone, Chinese New Years' Lion Dancers & Drum & Bugle Corps,
Stroboscopic Trampoline, & Ken Kesey & His Merry Pranksters.
"Pray
for the (grateful) dead & fight like hell for the living!"
— (with apologies to) Mother Jones
http://www.accessplace.com/gdtc/biograh.htm
http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=112
http://www.summeroflove.com/text/haight.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/chronicle/article.cgi?PK5621.DTL:/chronicle/archive/1996/05/19
http://www.halcyon.com/colinp/hipshops.htm
http://www.bbhc.com/BigBrother.htm
1967 -US female Figure Skating championship
won by Peggy Fleming
1968 Battle for Khe Sanh begins
One of
the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins at Khe
Sanh, 14 miles below the DMZ and six miles from the Laotian border.
Seized
and activated by the U.S. Marines a year earlier, the base, which had
been an old French outpost, was used as a staging area for forward patrols
and was a potential launch point for contemplated future operations
to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. The battle began on this date
with a brisk firefight involving the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines and
a North Vietnamese battalion entrenched between two hills northwest
of the base. The next day North Vietnamese forces overran the village
of Khe Sanh and North Vietnamese long-range artillery opened fire on
the base itself, hitting its main ammunition dump and detonating 1,500
tons of explosives.
An incessant
barrage kept Khe Sanh's Marine defenders, which included three battalions
from the 26th Marines, elements of the 9th Marine Regiment, and the
South Vietnamese 37th Ranger Battalion, pinned down in their trenches
and bunkers. Because the base had to be resupplied by air, the American
high command was reluctant to put in any more troops and drafted a battle
plan calling for massive artillery and air strikes. During the 66-day
siege, U.S. planes, dropping 5,000 bombs daily, exploded the equivalent
of five Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs in the area. The relief of Khe
Sanh, called Operation Pegasus, began in early April as the 1st Cavalry
(Airmobile) and a South Vietnamese battalion approached the base from
the east and south, while the Marines pushed westward to re-open Route
9.
The siege
was finally lifted on April 6 when the cavalrymen linked up with the
9th Marines south of the Khe Sanh airstrip. In a final clash a week
later, the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines drove enemy forces from Hill
881 North. Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. Military Assistance
Command Vietnam, contended that Khe Sanh played a vital blocking role
at the western end of the DMZ, and asserted that if the base had fallen,
North Vietnamese forces could have outflanked Marine defenses along
the buffer zone. Various statements in the North Vietnamese Communist
Party newspaper suggested that Hanoi saw the battle as an opportunity
to re-enact its famous victory at Dien Bien Phu, when the communists
had defeated the French in a climactic decisive battle that effectively
ended the war between France and the Viet Minh.
There
has been much controversy over the battle at Khe Sanh, as both sides
claimed victory. The North Vietnamese, although they failed to take
the base, claimed that they had tied down a lot of U.S. combat assets
that could have been used elsewhere in South Vietnam. This is true,
but the North Vietnamese failed to achieve the decisive victory at Khe
Sanh that they had won against the French. For their part, the Americans
claimed victory because they had held the base against the North Vietnamese
onslaught. It was a costly battle for both sides. The official casualty
count for the Battle of Khe Sanh was 205 Marines killed in action and
over 1,600 wounded (this figure did not include the American and South
Vietnamese soldiers killed in other battles in the region). The U.S.
military headquarters in Saigon estimated that the North Vietnamese
lost between 10,000 and 15,000 men in the fighting at Khe Sanh.
1969 -- The Navajo Community College, the
first tribally established & operated community college in the U.S.,
opens at Many Farms, Arizona. Now called Dine
College.
http://acept.la.asu.edu/collaborators/dine.html
http://shiprock.dinecollege.edu/
1970 - ABC-TV aired "The Johnny Cash
Show" in prime time, after its run as a summer replacement ended.
The regular season series was a shot in the arm for country music. Cash
wore black, his signature, in the all-color show.
1970- Boeing, Seattle, WA introduced the
Jumbo Jet, Boeing 747. It could
carry up to 490 passengers, plus could be handled by terminal facilities
of the time. the wide-bodied, two-decked aircraft was taller than a
six-story building and could carry up to 490 passengers, more than could
easily be handled by the terminal facilities of the time. The first
747s went into transatlantic service for Pan American Airlines.
1973---Top Hits
You’re So Vain - Carly Simon
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Soul Song - Joe Stampley
1974 -- Four-day postal strike begins at Jersey City, N.J.
1975- officials at the National Hockey League
All-Star game made history by allowing female reporters in the players’
locker rooms, a first for American professional sports. The coaches
of the two squads arranged for reporters to interview players before
they took their showers.
1977 --
President Jimmy Carter issues unconditional pardon to most Vietnam
draft resisters on his first full day in office. Affects between 100,000
to 500,000 people.
1978 - The soundtrack to the film "Saturday
Night Fever" reached #1 on the album chart (BeeGees)
1981---Top Hits
(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
Love on the Rocks - Neil Diamond
The Tide is High - Blondie
I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
1982 -- Blues guitar giant
B.B. King donates his entire record collection (including about 7,000
rare blues records he played when he was a disc jockey) to the University
of Mississippi's Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
http://www.island.net/~blues/bb.html
http://www.worldblues.com/bbking/
1984 - Van Halen's single, Jump, entered the
Billboard pop charts on this date, and later was in the Number 1 spot
for 5 weeks, remaining on the charts for a total of 15 weeks. It eventually
was certified gold.s for a 6 month stay.
1985 -19ºF (-28ºC), Caesar's Head, South
Carolina (state record)
1985 -34ºF (-37ºC), Mt Mitchell,
North Carolina (state record)
1985- Don DeLillo wins the American Book
Award for his breakthrough novel, White Noise.Although DeLillo
had been publishing novels since 1971, his books had received little
attention. White Noise, a semi-satire about a professor of Hitler
Studies exposed to an "airborne toxic event," established
DeLillo as a leading post-modern novelist, concerned with the dread,
paranoia, and malaise lying beneath American popular culture. He published
Libra, a fictional portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald, in 1988 and
Mao II, about a reclusive writer dragged into international politics
and terrorism, in 1991.In 1997, he published what some considered his
masterwork, the 827-page Underworld, a sprawling exploration
of America during the Cold War that touches on baseball, Vietnam, serial
killings, nuclear weapons, visual art, and more.DeLillo was born in
New York to Italian immigrants in 1936. He grew up in working-class
New York and attended Fordham University. He worked as a copywriter
for an advertising agency before he became a novelist in his mid-30s.
He lived for many years with his wife, a banker, in Toronto before returning
to New York, where they now live.
1985 - Actor Patrick Duffy announced he was
leaving the CBS show, "Dallas", at the end of the television
season. His request that the character of Bobby Ewing not be recast
by another actor was thankfully heeded as Bobby showed up in the new
season, after a miraculous rise from the dead. His first appearance
after his resurrection was in the shower, when he had clearly been killed
in a tremendous car crash the previous season. And Duffy continued in
the role of Bobby Ewing through the final episode in 1991.
1986 - Former major-league baseball player,
Randy Bass, signed a contract making him the highest-paid baseball player
in Japanese history. Bass signed for three years at $3.25 million to
play for the Hanshin Tigers.
1986- more than 100 students from Purdue
University ran naked through the streets of West Lafayette, IN, in the
schools quite unofficial Nude Olympics. the runners were undeterred
by a temperature just a few degrees above freezing.
1989---Top Hits
Two Hearts - Phil Collins
Don’t Rush Me - Taylor Dayne
Armageddon It - Def Leppard
She’s Crazy for Leavin’ - Rodney Crowell
1990- Tennis player John McEnroe’s temper
tantrum at the Australian Open got him disqualified form the tournament
McEnroe, leading his match against Mikael Performs, became the first
player ever tossed from this tournament.
1994 --
Lorena Bobbitt found temporarily insane for chopping off spouse's
penis. http://recollectionbooks.com/bleed/images/humor/bok5.jpg
1996-- US male Figure Skating championship
won by Rudy Galindo
Superbowl
Champions This Date
1979
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
XIII |
1979 |
Orange Bowl |
Dallas |
Tom |
Pittsburgh |
Chuck |
Pittsburgh |
35-31 |
TERRY BRADSHAW |
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