KEY EQUIPMENT FINANCE SIGNS MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH CANADIAN BANK AND

“Robert Stanley, vice president and manager of Metropole Leasing in Pasadena, a subsidiary of Penn Phillips Properties, Inc., a 60-year-old land development company.

“Bob has been involved in the leasing industry for 10 years and has been active in the Western Association of Equipment Leasing for the last three years. Formerly with Chandler Leasing, a division of Pepsi Co.,Inc. Stanley joined Metropole shortly after its formation three years ago and is in charge of sales for this general equipment lessor.

Prior to his involvement in the leasing industry, Stanley, 38, was an engineer at North American Rockwell for 10 years. A native Californian, his hobbies include skiing, sailing and racquetball, when time permits.”

WAEL Newsline, 1979

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Classified---Jobs Wanted—Available for Work Now

Controller: Seattle, WA

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

Credit:New York, NY.

V.P.Credit & Collections w/23 years exp.looking for a situation where I can utilize my varied & extensive knowledge of credit/ collections/risk-management & leasing. Email:rcouzzi@yahoo.com

Credit: Mill Valley, CA

Senior corporate officer with financial services credit background. M and A, fund raising and workout expertise. Email:nywb@aol.com

Credit: Corona, CA.

VP credit Consumer Credit prime/sub prime Auto lending/leasing/mortgages. 20+yrs exp. If you are looking for someone to affect the bottom line I am that person. Will relocate. email:amosca2000@yahoo.com

Credit: Los Angeles, CA

Over 15 years experience in Credit/Operations with Small Ticket and transactions up to $500,000.00. CLP, with excellent relationships with most major lenders. Email:jonbh123@earthlink.net

Credit Manager: Kansas City, MO. Equipment finance and leasing, inventory finance, construction & agricultural equipment.

email: impens@earthlink.net

full list available at:

http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

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U.S. consumer confidence rose last week

By Associated Press

NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) U.S. overall consumer confidence rose last week, the latest ABC News/Money Magazine poll said Wednesday.

The consumer comfort index rose 2 points to minus-19 in the week ended Jan. 5, from minus-21 a week earlier.

According to the survey, 28 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the economy, up from 27 percent the week before.

Also, 37 percent of respondents said it was a good time to buy things, up from 36 percent a week earlier, and 57 percent said their finances were in good standing, up from 55 percent in the prior week.

The consumer comfort index was based on a random survey of 1,000 respondents nationwide ended Jan. 5.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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

Taylor Says “Bush Tax Proposal Good for Equipment Leasing”

In his regular newsletter to 14,000 subscriber, Jeffrey Taylor, CLP, CPA,

and a bunch of other titles, writes

“Bush Tax-Free Dividend Policy May Be Good For Leasing”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“President Bush presented a proposal to create a

consumer tax-free dividend environment and sides have

already been taken. Republicans are supporting Bush

but bankers and manufacturers are in a fury.

Democrats say it benefits the rich.

“No one knows the outcome at this point. The House

and Senate will debate it over the next three months,

and probably vote on it in April.

“This article is a growing part of our subscription-based

research library. We provide it to you with our

compliments so that you can personally see the quality

and ease of our reporting.”

http://executivecaliber.ws/sys-tmpl/bushtaxproposal/

To subscribe to this excellent newsletter, go to:

http://executivecaliber.ws/sys-tmpl/newsletter/

( at the time of our visit, the current newsletter was not in

the archive section. editor)

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

KEY EQUIPMENT FINANCE SIGNS MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH CANADIAN BANK AND

ACQUIRES LEASE PORTFOLIO

Superior, Colo. Key Equipment Finance, a global leader

in equipment financing and an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), today

announced the acquisition of the TD Bank Financial Group¹s (TDBFG) equipment

finance and lease portfolio. The value of the portfolio is in excess of USD

$400 million (CDN $640). Additionally, the two companies have formed an

exclusive multi-year alliance in which Key Equipment Finance will provide

equipment financing for TDBFG corporate and commercial customers.

The portfolio will further diversify Key Equipment Finance¹s asset base by

adding rail, manufacturing, mining and transportation equipment. "We are

excited about the opportunity to bring our broad array of products and

services to TDBFG customers, and about the asset diversity this merger will

bring to the Key Equipment Finance portfolio," said Paul A. Larkins,

president and CEO of Key Equipment Finance. "We are committed to maintaining

the superior level of service TDBFG customers are accustomed to and look

forward to building relationships with them."

About Key Equipment Finance

Key Equipment Finance is an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and provides

business-to-business equipment financing solutions to businesses of many

types and sizes. They focus on four distinct markets:

- businesses of all sizes in the U.S. and Canada (from small business to

large corporate);

- equipment manufacturers, distributors and value-added resellers worldwide;

- federal, provincial, state and local governments as well as other public

sector organizations; and

- lease advisory services for manufacturers¹ captive leasing and finance

companies.

Headquartered outside Boulder, Colorado, Key Equipment Finance oversees an

$8 billion equipment portfolio with annual originations of approximately $3

billion. The company has major management and operations bases in Toronto,

Ontario; Albany, New York; London, England; and Sydney, Australia. The

company, which operates in 25 countries and employs more than 600 people

worldwide, has been in the equipment financing business for nearly 30 years.

Additional information regarding Key Equipment Finance, its products and

services can be obtained online at KEFonline.com.

Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation¹s largest bank-based financial

services companies, with assets of approximately $84 billion. Key companies

provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, retirement,

consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to

individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain

businesses, internationally. The company¹s businesses deliver their products

and services through KeyCenters and offices; a network of approximately

2,400 ATMs; telephone banking centers (1.800.KEY2YOU); and a Web site,

Key.com, that provides account access and financial products 24 hours a day.

About TD Bank Financial Group

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD

Bank Financial Group. In Canada and around the world, TD Bank Financial

Group serves more than 13 million customers in three key businesses:

personal and commercial banking including TD Canada Trust; wealth management

including the global operations of TD Waterhouse; and a leading wholesale

bank, TD Securities, operating in over 20 locations in key financial centers

around the globe. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among the world's

leading on-line financial services firms, with more than 4.5 million on-line

customers. TD Bank Financial Group had CDN$278 billion in assets, as at

October 31, 2002. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the Toronto and New

York Stock Exchanges under the symbol "TD."

###

CONTACT: Cori Keeton, Barnhart/CMI

(303) 626-7248

corik@barnhartcmi.com

Tax Free Internet Bills Hit Both Houses

($45 billion in escaped state taxes )

By Roy Mark

Internetnews.com

Bills to extend the moratorium on Internet taxes were among some of the first to hit the legislative hopper when Congress opened for business. The current moratorium expires in November.

The original three-year moratorium, established by the Internet Tax Freedom Act introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.) and Rep. Chris Cox (R-Calif.) was enacted in 1998. It was extended for another two years in 2001 on legislation sponsored by Wyden and Cox and the two have again filed bills (H.R. 49 and S. 51) to keep the Internet tax free.

The proposed Cox-Wyden bill prohibits three types of taxes that they say "unfairly single out" the Internet, including taxes on Internet access, double taxation (for example, by two or more states) of a product or service bought over the Internet, and discriminatory taxes that treat Internet purchases differently from other types of sales.

"Putting new, unfair Internet taxes on the backs of consumers is not the way to fix state and local budget troubles. It could seriously weaken the growing Internet economy and take jobs away from folks working for small web companies," Wyden said.

The legislation will be considered by the Commerce Committee in the Senate, and by the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives.

As they have in the past, both Cox and Wyden are seeking a permanent ban on Internet taxes but it is more likely Congress will settle on another extension as legislators work with cash-strapped states seeking to impose sales taxes on online purchases.

Currently, sales and use taxes are owed on all online transactions, but states are prohibited from requiring remote sellers to collect and remit those levies. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision said states can only require sellers that have a physical presence or "nexus" in the same state as the consumer to collect so-called use taxes.

The court ruled that the current patchwork of roughly 7,500 taxing jurisdictions across the country is too complex and burdensome for online retailers to charge and collect sales taxes. In order to collect the taxes, the court ruled, states would need to first simplify the existing system.

In November, representatives from 32 states approved model legislation designed to create a system to tax Web sales. Spearheaded by the National Governors Association (NGA), the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) would require participating states to have only one tax rate for personal property or services effective by the end of 2005. Included in those services would be online sales.

The coalition of states voted to require participating state and local governments to have only one statewide tax rate by 2006 for each type of product taxed.

The NGA launched the STTP in 2000 with the long-term goal of presenting Congress and the courts with a system that would allow the states to collect sales taxes on online sales and catalogue purchases.

Under the SSTP model legislation, states will develop uniform product codes and sourcing rules, uniform definitions of what is taxable, and simplify administrative policies. They would then provide software free of charge to retailers that would calculate, collect, and remit the taxes owed on remote sales.

If at least 10 state legislatures approve the provisions of the agreement, court and congressional approval would then have to follow. The effort, if successful, would be the first overhaul of the nation's sales tax policy in 40 years, and the first time states had acted together to significantly restructure the system.

Although the process still faces many state and federal legislative pitfalls and, if successful, is still at least two or three years away, the prize for the states is well worth the wait. A report by the University of Tennessee last year estimated that all 50 states could collectively lose more than $45 billion in Internet sales tax revenue in 2006.

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Reaction: John Kruse has left the building

Attached is a picture of John Kruse and myself, Trevor Thompson

(System1 Tech Support Guru), at a CapitalStream Halloween function in

2000. I did not know we were going to be wearing the "habits", so the

beard wasn't intentional. John and I were making Screwdrivers &

Greyhounds for the staff, with fresh squeezed juice. (John always

insisted on being "fresh".)

Maybe John left CapitalStream to pursue his true calling with

the Sisters of Sustained Inebriation?

Trevor Thompson

Preferred Broker Solutions

Technical Support

http://two.leasingnews.org/imanges_uael_wael/HolyTerrors.jpg

---

I want to thank John Kruse for remembering me in his farewell (from Capital Stream) e-mail. My lovely wife, Marina, also refers to me as Mr. X from time to time. John is one

guy who has always displayed a lot of class, prior to 11:00 PM that is, at which time he has proven to me, on more than one occasion, that he has a little "X" factor of his own. In fact, in several instances that I can recall over the past 8 years, John and I have had a pretty good time going through the alphabet to get to "X". We always pass out

before "Y" or "Z" comes up.

One other thing I can say about John is that he makes a mean golf course

Bloody Mary. Why, I remember one hole I played right after John made me

a Bloody Mary where I actually shot a 7 on a par 5. If he could make me

a drink on every hole I bet I could almost break 100!

I did not know that John had a new baby. Congratulations, John!! I

know that you will be a great father. He will have to eventually move to

Pittsburgh or Oakland, however. I can't imagine that any kid named

Lucca Kruse would ever play for the Seattle Seahawks. Please keep in

touch and let me know where you are and what you are doing. The next

time we see each other maybe leasing or software won't enter into the

conversation and we will have a lot more time to get to "Z".

Bob Rodi, CLP

President

LeaseNOW, Inc.

www.leasenow.com

drlease@leasenow.com

1-800-321-LEAS (5327) x101

-----

Best wishes to John in his new life....and congratulations! You will be

greatly missed!!!!

Sincerely,

Deborah J. Monosson

President

BOSTON FINANCIAL & EQUITY CORPORATION

20 Overland Street

Boston MA 02215

617-267-2900 Tel

617-437-7601

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

CapitalStream: New Survey Indicates Shift Toward Front Office Automation

Commercial and Equipment Finance Providers Focus on Process Improvement and Integration

CapitalStream and Northern Consulting announce the release of the 2003 Commercial and Equipment Finance Survey Report focusing on what banks and finance companies are doing to more efficiently originate loans, leases, lines of credit, asset-based financing and other commercial and equipment finance instruments. The survey was conducted with over 200 commercial lending and banking executives to determine how financial institutions are managing their relationships, improving their processes and enhancing their systems to grow their business.

"The top issues uncovered by the survey indicate that the industry is frustrated by poor systems integration and inefficient front office processes that have made relationship management, credit analysis and transaction origination incredibly difficult," said Kevin Riegelsberger, President and CEO of CapitalStream. "Results from this survey provide a roadmap to help industry executives improve process effectiveness as growth, consolidation and competition drive the need for greater productivity and responsiveness."

The survey reveals quite a disparity between the success of different organizations in implementing best practices and improving process effectiveness. The time it takes to respond to a customer request is a good indicator of the effectiveness of an organization, and the results vary significantly between respondents. For example, the time to issue a mid-ticket quote ranges from instantaneous to 10 days and the time from quote acceptance to document delivery ranges from one hour to 3 months.

"Small and mid-ticket lenders and lessors that deliver quotations immediately and documents in less than an hour tend to win more market share," said Cameron Krueger, Managing Director of Northern Consulting. "In a continuing trend industry leaders are focusing on improving responsiveness and efficiency by implementing Front Office Automation systems. There is a significant push to replace manual processes and stand-alone systems with integrated platforms to allow companies to focus on true competitive advantages, not operational issues."

Survey results indicate that current processes and procedures, along with the systems that manage them, are inadequate to support expected transaction volume. Over 80% of systems have been implemented as stand-alone islands of information so data is frequently being re-entered, often multiple times between different systems. Lack of integration was the primary source of inaccuracies, inefficiencies and delays. As a result, systems integration was reported as the top priority of all IT initiatives over the next 2 years. The survey reviews which systems are being used for credit, pricing, documentation and accounting and how well each has been integrated.

Research was conducted from July to September 2002. Preliminary results were presented in October at the American Bankers Association Annual Conference and the Equipment Leasing Association Annual Conference. The final report was released this week to survey participants and can be requested from the CapitalStream website at http://www.capitalstream.com or from Northern Consulting at http://www.NorthernConsulting.com.

About CapitalStream

CapitalStream, based in Seattle, Washington, develops financial front office automation solutions that enable banks and finance companies to transform paper-based operations into integrated finance supply chains. CapitalStream solutions streamline application processing, deal structuring, credit analysis and document generation to rapidly originate loans, leases, lines, and cards. CapitalStream has helped many small business lending, equipment finance and commercial lending operations to shorten response times, reduce costs, improve risk management, and attract new business. For more information visit http://www.capitalstream.com.

About Northern Consulting

Northern Consulting LLC, based in Chicago, Illinois, has been providing independent systems, operations and financial consulting exclusively to the global equipment and commercial finance industry since 1998. Northern Consulting focuses on systems and operations and has real-world experience with all the leading leasing and lending software packages covering the entire lease/loan life cycle. Northern provides direction on how to effectively deploy technology to maximize ROI for finance companies seeking to increase productivity without increasing overhead. Customers include lessors and lenders from around the world in every market niche and ticket size. For more information, visit <http://www.northernconsulting.com/> http://www.northernconsulting.com.

Contact: Karen Robert Thorsen

CapitalStream

206-548-1703

karent@capitalstream.com

http://www.capitalstream.com/news/press/010803.asp

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

Wednesday---Odds and Ends

ATEL Capital Group and its subsidiaries and affiliates are moving their

offices starting this Friday. I don't know if any type of official

announcement to you, the ELA, etc. is planned, but as of Monday, January 13,

2003 our new location will be:

ATEL Capital Group

600 California Street, 6th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94108

Ph: 415-989-8800

As far as I know everyone's existing direct phone lines and our existing fax

lines, etc. are all remaining the same.

Russell H. Wilder, CLP

Vice President, Chief Credit Officer

ATEL Financial Corporation.

235 Pine Street, 6th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94104

Ph: 415-616-3457 (Direct, with Voicemail)

415-989-8800 (Main Switchboard-Can Page Me)

Fax: 415-989-3796

Email: rwilder@atel.com

---

Hi Kit,

> Could you please sign me up for your news letter....It's great!

Kind Regards,

Kim Boldt

Advantage Leasing Corporation

Toll-Free: 888-205-1016

Fax: 520-531-8838

---

Thanks Kit for all the great information throughout the year.

Hope it will be a prosperous 2003 to you.

Brian Carey

BCarey@ICResources.biz

I wanted you to be aware of the mention of Leasing News and the link I placed to the Leasing News sign-up page. www.keystoneleasing.com/brokers.html .

Barry Reitman

baldguy@keystoneleasing.com

Leasing News: If you are in the leasing industry and have not yet subscribed to the Leasing News, do it now! This is the newspaper of record for many thousands of leasing professionals. The Leasing News, a daily on-line publication presented by Editor/Publisher Christopher "Kit" Menkin, is must reading for anyone who is serious about knowing the stories behind the headlines in the leasing industry. It also provides a classified section of leasing industry employment opportunities, a general roundup of important financial news, and the most eclectic daily trivia section of any on-line publication we have seen. We would not start the day without it. Enter your request for a free subscription by clicking here.

http://www.leasingnews.org/addme-mailing-list.htm

(We are honored to be on the Keystone website. Editor )

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Bear market is beer market for Anheuser- Busch

By Jim Suhr, Associated Pres

ST. LOUIS (AP) Investing may lose its appeal in a bear market, but drinking doesn't.

So while the nation's economy sputters and Wall Street suffers, the producer of ''The King of Beers'' IS enjoying the kind of healthy profits that most companies can only wish they had: 16 straight quarters of earnings-per-share growth.

''In three years of a bear market, what do consumers cry in? They cry in their beer,'' said Juli Niemann, a portfolio manager at RT Jones Capital Equities in St. Louis.

She said the company leads the industry ''for one very good reason: They're so unbelievably focused.''

Anheuser-Busch's stock rose 7 percent during 2002 while the Dow Jones industrial average sank roughly 17 percent and had its worst yearly decline in a quarter century.

According to Niemann, its more than 40 brands including bestsellers Budweiser and Bud Light helped insulate the company from a choppy economy. ''They're one huge market monolith,'' she said.

It also is quick to move into markets for specialty beers, non-alcohol brews and the trendy ''malternatives.''

''They come up with something very hot, drop it and move onto the next thing before it gets stale,'' said Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, a trade publication.

Anheuser-Busch, which turned 150 in 2002, has held on to its solid reputation even after president and CEO August Busch III turned the company over to Patrick Stokes last July. For the first time in 142 years, someone other than a Busch or Anheuser family member was in day-to-day control, although Busch III remains chairman.

Many credit Busch for the beermaker's great success. As the fourth generation of his family to have led the company, he turned Anheuser-Busch into a behemoth now holding roughly half the U.S. market. In his 27 years as CEO, the company's market share doubled.

It is also a big seller around the world, marketing beer in more than 80 countries. Anheuser-Busch licenses Budweiser production in Canada and three other continents and has a 50 percent stake in Mexico's largest brewer.

The company is upbeat about 2003, projecting 12 percent sales growth as beer industry volume is driven more by demographics than the economy. And given growth in the number of beer drinkers ages 21 to 27, Anheuser-Busch expects volume to increase 1 percent to 1.5 percent annually through the decade.

Anheuser-Busch's roots go back to 1860, when soap maker Eberhard Anheuser bought the 8-year-old bankrupt Bavarian Brewery and, with a partner, dubbed it E. Anheuser & Co. Bavarian Brewery.

Anheuser got help from son-in-law Adolphus Busch, who in 1864 signed on as a salesman. Five years later, he bought out Anheuser's partner.

Busch embraced technology, becoming the first U.S. brewer to use pasteurization. The process made beer stable, no longer something that spoiled within days. And exploiting industrialization, Busch mass-produced bottles of beer by the millions.

In 1876, E. Anheuser & Co. created a light-colored lager and named it Budweiser, America's first national beer brand. Busch marketed the beer like no other, using billboards and promotional items.

By the 20th century, the St. Louis company known then as Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association was billing Budweiser as ''The King of Bottled Beers.''

The company has had some trying times. The U.S. entry into World War I generated fierce sentiments in America against anything, even beer, with German roots. And Prohibition put an end to sales of alcoholic beverages for 13 years starting in 1920.

Anheuser-Busch survived Prohibition by making everything from truck bodies to refrigerated cabinets and ice cream, soft drinks and yeast. When Prohibition ended in 1933, Anheuser-Busch was one of 322 brewers to reopen a sliver of the 1,400 breweries nationwide in 1914.

During World War II, Anheuser-Busch's grain, packaging and transportation helped feed the U.S. war machine. Afterward, the company and several rivals traded off as the nation's market leader before Anheuser-Busch, two years after debuting its Busch brand, retook the lead in 1957 and hasn't lost it since.

In 1982, Anheuser-Busch rolled out its Bud Light brand, responding to its rival Miller Lite amid a nationwide surge in health consciousness. A dozen years later, Bud Light became the nation's top-selling light beer.

Helping propel the company was its marketing that many called ingenious and catchy, making household names and commercial stars of a dog named Spuds McKenzie, lifelike frogs croaking ''Bud-Weis-Er,'' and dudes asking, ''Whasssssup?''

''The marketing that's where they've been creative, and that's what wins in the beer business,'' Steinman said. ''It's really their ability to be disciplined, focused and relentless when they find something that works.

On the Net:

Anheuser-Busch, www.anheuser-busch.com

Beer Marketers Insights, www.beerinsights.com

________________________________________________________________________

Casinos blame economy in warning of earnings shortfall

By Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (Dow Jones/AP) MGM Mirage, the world's second largest gambling company, Wednesday said it expects to miss Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter due to weakness in the U.S. economy.

Mandalay Resort Group, another Las Vegas-based casino and hotel company, issued its own earnings warning Tuesday.

Shares of MGM Mirage closed at $28.89 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, $3.73, or 11 percent, on heavy volume. The day's weakest level of $26.35 was a new 52-week low, surpassing the prior low of $27.80 set July 24.

Mandalay shares ended at $27.01 on the Big Board, off $3.78, or 12 percent.

MGM Mirage said it anticipates operating fourth-quarter earnings between 24 cents and 27 cents a share. Analysts' latest estimates put earnings at about 43 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.

In the fourth quarter of 2001, the company earned 18 cents a share, excluding costs related to openings and restructuring expenses.

MGM Mirage said the lackluster U.S. economy continues to affect its ''high-end'' customers. The casino operator also blamed a lower percentage of table game bets retained by the house during the holidays.

For the full 2002, the company expects operating earnings per share to increase 35 percent from the previous year, which comes to about $1.85. Analysts surveyed by First Call had expected earnings of $2.02 a share.

MGM Mirage plans to report financial results for the period ended Dec. 31, 2002 on Jan. 28.

Mandalay said its earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends Jan. 31, will fall short of expectations due to soft results on the Las Vegas Strip and a low win percentage on table games at Mandalay Bay, the company's flagship property.

The company said it expects earnings of about 10 cents a share for the quarter, compared with the Thomson First Call consensus estimate of 22 cents a share.

Mandalay posted a fourth-quarter loss of 10 cents a share before items in the prior fourth quarter.

____________________________________________________________________

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

ePlus Selected to Power Smurfit-Stone's Product Content Management System

HERNDON, Va.--

Major Customer Win for ePlus; Deployment is Planned for Thousands

of Desktops at Smurfit-Stone

ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM: PLUS) announced that Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (NASD NM: SSCC), the industry's leading integrated manufacturer of paperboard- and paper- based packaging and a Fortune 500 company, has awarded ePlus with a major content software license and services contract following extensive industry due diligence and a successful pilot program.

Smurfit-Stone will license ePlus' Content+ to automate the process of aggregating catalog content from its hundreds of suppliers, normalize and manage that data, and deliver it to purchasers for easy access and searching. This task has historically been painful due to the requirement of manually processing product content stored in multiple print and electronic formats. Content+ eliminates these problems with innovations such as its Common Language Generator that automates the translation of plain text descriptions into enriched, parametrically searchable items.

In addition, since Content+ supports J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition), there is no need to install or upgrade software on any desktop - instead, purchasers and vendors can access, search and update catalog content through any Web browser, on any desktop platform, at any location - even on the road.

Smurfit-Stone chose ePlus after extensive evaluation of ten providers, analyzing ten criteria including ability to cleanse, host, and search data. A second evaluation round focused on three providers, analyzing 120 criteria. Following that process, ePlus completed a successful three-month pilot program at over a dozen sites.

How Smurfit-Stone will use Content+

With the license of Content+, Smurfit-Stone will self-manage its product catalog content continuously using ePlus' full-featured catalog platform as a hosted hub. The hub is tightly integrated with Smurfit-Stone's internal eProcurement application through XML. Smurfit-Stone will use Content+ to provide more than 1,600 suppliers including parts, maintenance, repair items and production supplies, with workflow and role based processing and approvals for managing their proprietary data, and give Smurfit-Stone change management functionality for security and control. In addition, Smurfit-Stone will utilize the ePlus Supplier Portal to allow its suppliers catalog self-authoring capabilities, taking advantage of the extensive Content+ classification schema and knowledge bases developed through more than a decade of content experience.

Once fully deployed through its enterprise, Smurfit-Stone will deploy Content+ to its approximately 300 facilities and accessed by over 2,000 users.

"ePlus really understands content and has the technology and services to implement a solution that meets our enterprises business objectives" said Joe Vogler, Corporate Procurement Manager - eProcurement Supplier Integration. "Content management is a critical factor in our marketplace, and ePlus has the best vision, client relations, services, domain expertise, and technology of any of the 10 solutions we formally evaluated over a two year process. Throughout the pilot, ePlus demonstrated their abilities and true desire to support us and we are confident that we have awarded this contract to the most worthy provider."

Content+ processes data that can be published to private exchanges, public marketplaces, third-party eProcurement catalogs, legacy, accounting and ERP systems. The Content+ Supplier Portal enables suppliers to self-manage catalogs through a workflow-enabled, rules- based, open system, and allows the buyer's Catalog Administrators to approve or reject submitted catalogs and content. "Quality content is the foundation for successful eBusiness initiatives. Content+ provides Smurfit-Stone a comprehensive method to properly manage all types of content, whether supplier, customer or maintenance management, on an enterprise basis" said John Haudrich, Director - Procurement Process Improvement.

Furthermore, Content+ provides data cleansing and enrichment of legacy data, giving clients the aggregated data and analytics that are required to perform strategic sourcing.

Content+ provides functionality for buyers, sellers, and marketplaces to manage content. Content+ also enables suppliers to load and enhance content, and the tools include over 250,000 pattern-matching rules, 44,000 pre-defined categories for data classification, and the ePlus Content Framework. Content+ integrates with e-procurement, ERP, and marketplaces, and can be hosted or enterprise-based. The solution enables parametric searching for items, which increases user productivity.

The benefits to Smurfit-Stone include:

-- Clear identification of products, properly classified for

sourcing and reporting needs, helps eliminate supplier overlap

of commodities and focus the SSCC buyers to stay within

contracted product catalogs.

-- Provides clarity for the Sourcing of products to preferred

suppliers creating tremendous savings across the enterprise.

-- Participation for even the smallest suppliers utilizing the

expertise of ePlus' domain experts and technology

-- Scalable solution, which provides best-in-class solution that

doesn't overburden internal resources for the creation and

maintenance of the catalogs.

-- Technology platform is the most robust solution based on the

extensive review of top 10 Content providers reviewed.

-- Enriched, accurate data will facilitate strategic sourcing

initiatives and spend analysis, reducing costs in the future.

Ken Farber, President of ePlus Systems and Content Services, stated "The extensive due diligence conducted by Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation placed us in competition with many well-known companies but in the end, our domain expertise, services and technology provided the best solution, We are naturally very pleased with the outcome and look forward to meeting all of Smurfit-Stone's requirements today and in the future."

About Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (Nasdaq:SSCC) is the industry's leading integrated manufacturer of paperboard- and paper-based packaging. Smurfit-Stone is a leading producer of containerboard, including white top linerboard and recycled medium; corrugated containers; point-of-purchase displays; multiwall and specialty bags; clay-coated recycled boxboard; and is the world's largest paper recycler. In addition, Smurfit-Stone is a leading producer of solid bleached sulfate, folding cartons, flexible packaging, and labels. The company operates approximately 300 facilities worldwide and employs approximately 38,500 people.

About ePlus inc.

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Exports of Australian wine soar, buoyed by increase in sales to United States

The Associated Press

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) -- Exports of Australian wine surged more than 30 percent last year, buoyed by a major increase in sales to the United States, an industry report showed today.

Australian wine exports totaled 2.3 billion Australian dollars ($1.3 billion) in 2002, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation said.

That was an increase of A$531 million ($302 million), or 30 percent, over 2001, the corporation said in its 2002 Wine Export Approval Report.

The surge was largely due to a 64 percent increase in wine sales to the United States, which bought A$741 million ($422 million) worth of the product. The United States now accounts for nearly a third of Australia's total wine export sales and has become the second-largest customer for the nation's wine, the corporation said.

The United Kingdom remained Australia's No. 1 wine consumer, taking 39 percent of the total value of Australian exports. Canada ranked third.

Lawrie Stanford, the corporation's manager of information and analysis, called the results outstanding given a climate of global uncertainty, fluctuating exchange rates for the Australian dollar and a weak U.S. economy.

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(best version of what happened at the 49er-Giants game last Sunday)

One minute of stupidity trumps rest of 49ers' rally

By Skip Bayless

San Jose Mercury News

Not for a New York minute is this meant to diminish what the 49ers pulled off from the 4:27 mark of the third quarter until one minute remained in Sunday's playoff game.

Jeff Garcia turned Joe Montana's old stamping grounds back into a Roman Candlestick with a fireworks display that produced 25 unanswered points and a 39-38 lead. Classic comeback. If only it could have ended right there.

The final minute was a comedy classic, ``Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest.'' The 49ers played the first part, the Giants the second, and the officials stole the show -- along with the Giants' second chance at a last-gasp field goal. It had to be the most bone-headed 60 seconds in NFL playoff history.

It was as if a Mel Brooks movie spilled into a great game, with Mongo playing for both teams, Slim Pickens coaching the Giants and Brooks himself reffing. ``Blazing Huddles.''

Just as Terrell Owens was turning into an all-time goat, the Giants out-dumbed him. Just as Chike Okeafor was going way down in 49ers history, the Giants and the officials out-shamed him.

The lunacy began the moment Garcia hit Tai Streets with what turned out to be the winning TD pass. Owens finally lost his cool and taunted the safety who had trash-talked him all afternoon, Shaun Williams. That was dumb -- 15-yard penalty. But Williams was dumber, retaliating and drawing an offsetting 15-yarder.

Will Allen intercepted the two-point pass and took off running. Owens should have known there was no reason to tackle him: Conversion turnovers can't be returned. Owens cheap-shotted Allen out of bounds. Fifteen yards! The 49ers would be kicking off from their 15. Monumentally dumb.

But Williams was dumber, going after Owens and throwing a punch at Jeremy Newberry. Offsetting 15- yarder. Ejection.

Still, the 49ers turned into the Raiders and allowed a kickoff return to the New York 48. The Giants were soon in position to try a 42-yard field goal with six seconds left. The 49ers called time to give rookie kicker Matt Bryant a momentary eternity to imagine the New York tabloid consequences of a miss.

Yet this allowed Giants coaches to prep holder Matt Allen. Trey Junkin, a 41-year-old signed off his couch for this game, already had blown one field-goal snap. So surely coaches reminded Allen, a rookie punter from Troy State, of every option.

``No options were discussed,'' Allen told New York reporters.

When Allen couldn't handle the off-line snap, he chose his fourth-best option. With a down and timeout left, he could have 1) thrown the ball at the feet of an eligible receiver; 2) run out of the pocket and thrown the ball away; or 3) fallen on the ball and called time, at least saving a 49-yard attempt.

But though he's large for a punter, the 6-4, 248-pound Allen resorted to the botched-snap play practiced by every NFL team. He yelled, ``Fire!'' He rolled right in what looked like a parody of ``The Catch'' play that unfolded on the same end of the field. But was Allen contained by left end Okeafor? No, he was chased by backside end Andre Carter.

For reasons even Okeafor couldn't explain, he took off downfield after tackle Rich Seubert. The officials -- and in turn the 49ers -- had been informed before the game that Seubert, No. 69, would be an eligible receiver in every placekicking formation. Over the P.A. system, officials announce linemen entering the game as eligible receivers on regular plays. But not on kicks.

So without Okeafor all over him, Allen had just enough time to heave one across his body in Seubert's direction. He threw a curve ball, but Hail, Mary, it curved right to Seubert as he turned to look at the 5- yard line.

We'll never know if the 6-5, 295-pound Seubert, a tight end at Western Illinois, would have 1) caught it or 2) tumbled into the end zone before he could have been caught and stopped by safety Ronnie Heard. Okeafor ran over Seubert what seemed like two minutes before the ball arrived.

Yes, Okeafor, who registered no tackles and no assists for the game, made one huge hit that should have been pass interference. As flags flew, he writhed like a man who thought he had blown the season.

But dumb was canceled by dumber and dumbest. Three Giants linemen, who surely had been coached to hold their blocks on this emergency play, drifted downfield. The official play-by-play says Seubert was called for being illegally downfield on a pass. Later, league spin doctors said the culprit was rookie Tam Hopkins.

But amid the fire-drill chaos, the officials forgot Seubert was eligible. He was being flagged when Okeafor should have been. At the very least, offsetting penalties should have been called. The Giants should have had one more shot.

This was nothing like sticking it to Al Davis' Raiders in last year's ``Snow Job'' game. This was befuddled incompetence.

Giants Coach Jim Fassel threw a fit, but for no apparent reason. He should have gone straight to the nearest official and said: ``No. 69 is eligible, he was interfered with and the penalties offset.''

But by then, Fassel wasn't thinking any clearer than Okeafor. Fassel didn't bring any of this up to the media because he didn't figure it out until the plane ride home.

Could Junkin have made the snap? Bryant the kick? I'm sure of only this: That final minute was even more amazing than the 49ers' comeback.

Contact Skip Bayless at skip.bayless@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5430.

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