Leasing News

Sales professional, looking for sales/leasing position to work from home office. Tenacious, aggressive, personable. Strong on the phone. Outstanding PC, cold-calling, and closing skills. Email:bsmith@mybillsmith.com

Sales: Phoenix, AZ

Sales professional with 10 years of leasing experience, seeking a direct leasing company. Currently in the IT leasing market with vendor relationships, Small/middle market arena. Email:cycling4fun2002@yahoo.com

Sales: San Francisco Bay Area, CA

10+ yrs in middle market leasing. Seek direct lessor only. Transaction size from $500M to $10.0MM. Client base: printing, food, retail, hvy manufacturing. Email:edm173@sbcglobal.net

Sales: Mission Viejo, CA

Account Sales Executive with 10 years of leasing experience looking for company to bring existing customer base.

Email:makelly21@hotmail.com

Sales: Dallas, TX

Director, Business Development for international financial institutions. Global vendor programs with minimum sustainable volume of $24M annually. CFO and Treasury contacts with major technology and energy corporations.Email:tkorpolinski@ev1.net

Full list at:

http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

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The Week's Economic Events

January 20

MONDAY

Holiday-Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday

Banks, Federal, State, County, City Offices closed

January 21

TUESDAY

Housing Construction: December

January 22

WEDNESDAY

Federal Budget:December

January 23

THURSDAY

Leading Indicators: December

Weekly Jobless Claims

January 24

FRIDAY

None

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GE Earnings Fall 21 Pct. in 4th Quarter

By Stephen Singer

AP Business Writer

HARTFORD, Conn. –– General Electric Co. said its fourth-quarter earnings fell 21 percent despite a rise in revenue, as results were hurt by a previously announced charge of $1.4 billion at a reinsurance unit.

The industrial, media and financial services conglomerate earned $3.1 billion, or 31 cents per share, in the last three months of 2002 compared with $3.9 billion, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier.

The results were in line with the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

Revenues in the quarter increased to $35.4 billion from about $34 billion in 2001.

But GE's earnings were affected by the charge at its Employers Reinsurance Corp. and restructuring charges at the NBC television network and in some industrial segments. Those charges were somewhat offset by a $514 million gain on NBC's deal for the cable network Bravo.

"GE delivered solid results in a very challenging economy, with excellent performances by several businesses and one major disappointment," GE chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt said.

The poor showing at ERC was blamed on bad underwriting in previous years. "We have a strong team in place at ERC improving its operations and driving a return to profitability in 2003," Immelt said. GE is also considering selling the unit.

Shares in GE fell 15 cents Friday to close at $24.88 each on the New York Stock Exchange.

Analyst Stephen A. O'Neil at J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons in Louisville, Ky., said investors were not surprised by the poor performance of ERC. The company had announced previously that it would increase reserves in ERC and "do what's necessary to ensure a triple-A rating."

GE said industrial sales were up 8 percent in 2002, while the power systems, specialty materials, industrial systems and NBC saw double-digit revenue growth. Financial services revenues were flat, the company said.

For the year, GE said it earned $14.1 billion, or $1.41 per share, up from $13.7 billion, or $1.37 a share, a year earlier. Revenue totaled $131.7 billion, up from $125.9 billion in 2001.

Immelt told analysts Friday that the picture for 2003 is bright, even at ERC, and predicted earnings per share for 2003 in the range of $1.55 to $1.70. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expect GE will earn $1.62 a share this year.

Immelt said new products and service agreements will offset some of the slack from declining industrial demand in 2003.

He told analysts that while shipments of gas turbines will decline and uncertainty about oil prices and a possible war with Iraq cloud the future, businesses such as jet engines, medical systems, transportation and the NBC television network are likely to see strong growth.

As airlines struggle financially the number of new jet engines needed has dropped, but contracts for service on existing engines is helping keep that business in the black, Immelt said.

This week saw the first labor strife at GE since 1969, when some 18,000 union workers at 48 locations mounted a two-day strike over the company's decision to increase some employee co- payments for health care.

The company said the increases, which took effect Jan. 1, will cost employees about $200 a year; the union put the figure at $300 to $400.

GE also announced this week that it is replacing its longtime slogan, "We bring good things to life," with the motto: "Imagination at work."

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Fitch Ratings Places AmeriCredit On Rating Watch Negative

(Largest independent middle-market auto financing/leasing company in US)

Fitch Ratings-Chicago- Fitch Ratings has placed AmeriCredit Corp.'s (AmeriCredit) 'BB' senior unsecured rating on Rating Watch Negative. Approximately $375 million of senior unsecured debt is affected by this rating action.

Based on recently updated performance data, AmeriCredit is experiencing higher than anticipated net charge offs due to lower than expected recovery rates on repossessed vehicles. In addition, Fitch has observed that AmeriCredit's two most recent securitizations, 2002-C, and 2002-D, insured by FSA, have experienced much higher losses relative to previous securitization pools. This is partially due to the fact that, unlike most previous AmeriCredit securitization transactions, these pools were not 'prefunded', and are experiencing losses earlier on in the life of the trusts. Nonetheless, Fitch is concerned that if loss trajectories continue, these transactions may hit their net loss triggers very early in the life of the pool and trap cash rather than release it back to AmeriCredit. The cash impact of hitting a trigger is much greater if it is hit early in the life of the pool rather than later. While Fitch had anticipated that vintage pools originated in 2000 would hit their loss triggers, Fitch expected more recent loan originations to perform noticeably better. Although Fitch recognizes that the fourth calendar quarter is usually the weakest period for used car prices, Fitch believes that weakness in this market will persist over the intermediate term and continue to pressure the company's net chargeoffs rates.

Fitch had previously affirmed AmeriCredit's ratings following a successful secondary equity offering in September 2002, which raised over $500 million of new capital for the company. At that time, Fitch understood that AmeriCredit would use this cash to fully fund the required initial cash deposit in the securitization trust so that it would receive distributions from the trust sooner than it would otherwise. However, if more recent transactions hit loss triggers, the spread account requirement would increase, and excess cash would be trapped in the trust and not be released back to AmeriCredit. During AmeriCredit's second fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, AmeriCredit had already used a net $190 million of cash raised through the equity offering to fund initial cash deposits.

Fitch recognizes that as AmeriCredit has slowed its receivable growth, the company may look to trim some of its current warehouse credit facilities. The company has approximately $1 billion out of its $5 billion of warehouse facilities maturing during the 2003 calendar year. Although AmeriCredit is currently in compliance with various covenants within its credit agreements, the cushion, particularly with respect to net chargeoffs, has diminished.

Fitch's review will focus on AmeriCredit's ability to control credit quality in an environment where structural changes in the used car market have negatively impacted the company. As part of this review, Fitch will consider AmeriCredit's liquidity plans should additional trusts trap cash. In addition, Fitch will evaluate AmeriCredit's rationalization of its warehouse lending facilities and any impact that may have on the company's future liquidity. Fitch expects to resolve the Rating Watch by early-February.

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1stBusinessDay.com Debuts

Arthur Rosenfield, principal of BizWiz, the first capital investment portal,

now brings a daily electronic “newspaper” to the internet.

http://www.bizwiz.com/1stbusinessday/

This is a new major finance new service..

1stBusinessDay

1stBusinessDay.com

________________

- Exclusive Access to News, Opportunities, and People. -

http://1stBusinessDay.com

1stBusinessDay offers a 'PORTAL' for each of the 186 Business and Industry Sector served by BizWiz.

Each portal provides EXCLUSIVE content and EARLY identification of business opportunities.

BizWiz compiles all of the content that members and participants submit to us across our various service. Each item is "TAGGED" based on 186 industries and 500 cities worldwide. Content from key areas of our service; such as RFP-Direct, Corporate NewsNet, Trade Announcements, International Buyer/Seller Connection, and Capitalist-Direct is then packaged in 1stBusinessDay or City.BizWiz based on its relevancy to the industry or the geographic location.

The service is based on the our unique ability to collect and organize content, needs, solutions, special offers, and news from our 300,000 member companies and participants for 300,000 member companies participating in 150 specialized BizWiz services. Every business day, BizWiz Members submit what is important to them. Then, match content and needs and make retrieval and /or distribution of this information easy and convenient for other members and users.

Capital

Jobs

Auction

Barter

Trade Announcements

Special Offers

Contract Awards

International Connections

Featured Companies

Resource Directory

Calendar Watch

NetWorking

Experts

Participating Companies

Also note that we have a system of FEATURED COLUMNISTS that now appear in our main menu for BizWiz and 1stBusinessDay. This menu will become standard navigation for all BizWiz sites and our FEATURED COLUMNISTS with current articles will be displayed in relevant context of our pages.

GOOGLE has now ranked BizWiz 7th for RESOURCES for Business.

Main BizWiz service:

http://www.bizwiz.com

Arthur Rosenfield

Founder & CEO

Rainbow Pages, Inc.

Arthur.Rosenfield@bizwiz.com

BizWiz

CAPITALIST-DIRECT

1stBusinessDay

212-692-0704

http://www.bizwiz.com

http://www.capitalist-direct.com

http://www.executive-direct.com

http://1stBusinessDay.com

NOTES:

Other new things at BizWiz that you might like to know:

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

Arthur Lipper has written a new book.

"The Larry & Barry Guide to Entrepreneurial Wisdom"

It is recommended reading; and, available now at Books.BizWiz.com

If you have a book to sell or recommend that we sell through our new Books.BizWiz.com service, let me know.

We are also interested in getting started with our Training.BizWiz.com service. If you have training materials, CD's, video's to sell, let me know.

http://Books.BizWiz.com

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Fitch's 2003 ABS Credit Outlook Presentation Now Available

NEW YORK----Fitch Ratings' Credit Outlook presentation is now available on the company's web site following a web cast hosted by Fitch's Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) Group on January 15, 2003. During the web cast, managing and senior directors from Fitch presented 2003 forecasts and gave an overview of 2002 performance for the following asset types:

-- Aircraft

-- Equipment Leasing

-- Auto Loans and Leases

-- Student Loans

-- Credit Cards

To view the presentation, please visit Fitch's web site at 'www.fitchratings.com.' Under the 'About Fitch' section, click on 'Company Events and Online Media.'

A link to the web cast replay is also available on Fitch's web site until March 15. An audio replay of the teleconference is available until midnight on Jan. 22. The audio replay numbers are 800/642-1687 (domestic) and 706/645-9291 (international). The access code for the replay is 7407749.

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

Streamline Sales Tax Agenda

The following revised agenda for the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) meeting in Tampa now shows a digital property session at 11 AM on Thursday. I don't know at this point if that might impact the business representatives meeting we were scheduling for 10:30 AM as we already had one other conflict with the conclusion of the telecommunications session

Streamlined Sales Tax Project

Revised Agenda

January 23 - 24, 2003

Hyatt Regency Tampa (Downtown)

Two Tampa City Center

Thursday, January 23, 2003

8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Telecommunications Industry Overview

(Open to Government and Private Sector)

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon Digital Property Overview

(Open to Government and Private Sector)

12:00 Noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch for all

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Digital Property Overview

(Open to Government and Private Sector)

Friday, January 24, 2003

8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Work Group Meetings*

* Registration and Returns

* Sourcing - Drop Shipments & Florists

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Lunch for all

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Work Group Meetings*

* Holiday Definitions and Guidelines

* Bundling

* 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Work Group Meetings*

* Holiday Definitions and Guidelines

* Certifications, Audit and Exemptions

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Project Meeting**

(Open to Government and Private Sector)

* Welcome

* Introductions

* Approve Minutes

* Business Discussion

* Public Comments**

Announcements

9:30 AM to 11 AM is the new time set for a business representatives meeting in the Esplanade 3 room of the Hyatt Regency Tampa (Downtown) at Two Tampa City Center on Thursday morning, January 23.

Dennis Brown

DBROWN@ELAMAIL.COM

Equipment Leasing Association

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Greater Bay Bancorp to Address Fed Notice

(Parent of Matsco Companies, Emeryville, CA)

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Greater Bay Bancorp plans to address a

notice from the Federal Reserve System requiring changes in how the

company manages its enterprise wide risk management program.

Greater Bay Bancorp said it doesn't expect any

changes resulting from the notice to have an effect on operating

Regarding liquidity management, Greater Bay Bancorp intends to adjust

stress testing and measuring of its liquidity position, it responded in a press

release. Also, the company expects to more closely monitor individual bank deposit and loan

Regarding interest rate risk sensitivity, the company plans to perform

further stress tests, adjust testing of its core deposit life

assumptions and review established risk limits.

Regarding credit risk management, the company intends to adjust

commercial real estate concentration limits, improve documentation

supporting allowance for loans and lease losses. The company also

expects to strengthen loan policy.

Additionally, the company plans to better identify and monitor legal

risks.

The company is required to comply with the Federal Reserve Board's

requests within 180 days from the date of receipt, or for any additional

time allowed. Greater Bancorp cannot engage in new financial holding

activities or acquire non-bank units without Federal Reserve Board

approval during this time.

Greater Bay Bancorp has scheduled a conference call for Jan. 22,

following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings

Company Web site: http://www.gbbk.com

please send to a colleague as we are trying to build our readership.

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Job-Rich Silicon Valley Has Turned Fallow, Survey Finds

By LAWRENCE M. FISHER

New York Times

AN FRANCISCO, — Silicon Valley lost 127,000 jobs, or about 9 percent of its employment, from the first quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of 2002, according to a report to be published today by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit group formed to promote the area.

Job losses in the period equaled more than half the total job gains for the valley from 1998 to 2000. Losses were particularly acute among those industries the survey defined as "driving" clusters — software, semiconductors and computer and communications hardware — which lost 22 percent of their jobs from the second quarter of 2001 to the second quarter of 2002.

At the same time, average pay in Silicon Valley declined 6 percent, to$62,500 a year, after accounting for inflation. This was the second year of decline from the peak of $79,800 in 2000. The Silicon Valley average remains above the 1998 level, and is still sharply higher than the nation's average pay of $38,400.

"The bottom line is, clearly we've been through a boom-bust cycle, and you can see that in all the trend data," said Doug Henton, president of Collaborative Economics, a research company in Mountain View, Calif., which conducted the study. "There has been one number driving the Valley, and that was business investment in information technology, and until businesses start buying I. T. again, you won't see that turn around."

But beyond this business cycle, Silicon Valley faces long-term issues that are more profound, Mr. Henton said. Through the 1990's, the Valley saw a major shift from hardware to software production.

"That's a natural shift, but it has a couple of interesting impacts," Mr. Henton said. "The average-size software company is 20 people; the average hardware company is 200. So you're talking about a lot of little companies. What will be the future of these software companies as they compete globally?"

Silicon Valley has endured major slumps before, and in each case has embraced a new innovation that stimulated a fresh growth cycle. As military spending slowed in the early 1970's, the semiconductor industry took off; as Japanese competition threatened chip makers in the 1980's, the industry shifted to microprocessors and personal computers; as the PC became a commodity in the 1990's, the Internet provided new growth.

Mr. Henton said it was not clear what the next source of economic growth would be, although he suspects it will be the biomedical industry, by combining software with biotechnology and advanced instruments to improve health care. Silicon Valley already has the highest concentration of biomedical companies in the United States, with 37,000 people employed.

But the next big innovation could as easily be something entirely different, and it could as easily come from Finland or Singapore as from Sunnyvale.

"The region faces a really different global competitive environment than it has historically," said AnnaLee Saxenian, a professor of regional planning at the University of California at Berkeley. "In the 80's, there was tremendous concern about Japanese competition driving down memory chip prices. Now there's competition and new centers of innovation emerging in many different places. Silicon Valley doesn't really monopolize high-tech innovation in the way it did earlier."

One striking finding of the study was the rapid shift in Silicon Valley's demographics and its increasing ethnic diversity.

In 1970, 83 percent of the valley's residents were white. Today, 45 percent are white and non-Hispanic; 26 percent are Asian or Pacific Islanders; 21 percent are Hispanic; and 3 percent are black. Among residents under 18 years old, whites account for just one-third, roughly equal to the total of Hispanics and Asians.

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Here She Comes ... ``Miss American Dog''; FOX Television Special Conducting National Search For Canine Contestants

LOS ANGELES--

Philadelphia, January 21, and New York City, January 23

Fifty female dogs will vie for the ultimate beauty pageant title when FOX airs the 90-minute special, "Miss American Dog," this spring. In the tradition of Miss America, contestants representing each state will come together for an evening of high-energy competition and the crowning of one lucky winner.

Judged for beauty, talent, poise and eveningwear, contestants will be adorned in the traditional sash of their home states when they are introduced to a national audience and five celebrity judges. In addition to the title of "Miss American Dog," each of the "four-legged" contestants will also compete for the title of Miss Congeniality and Most Photogenic.

The competition is open to female dogs of mixed and pure breeds. Winners will receive cash prizes and gifts.

WHAT: "Miss American Dog" contestant search

WHEN AND WHERE:

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19

Boston, MA

Executive Conference Center at Bayside Expo Center

Clarendon Room

200 Mount Vernon Street

Noon to 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21

Philadelphia, PA

Sofitel Philadelphia

Cannes and Dijon Rooms

120 South 17th Street

Noon to 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23

New York, NY

CECO International

440 W. 15th Street

Second Floor

Noon to 7 p.m.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25

Washington, D.C.

MONDAY, JANUARY 27

Chicago, IL

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29

Indianapolis, IN

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31

Atlanta, GA

For specific locations and times in your city please call the

pageant hotline or log on to the web site:

Phone - 888/751-8088

Web site - www.lmnotv.com/dog

CONTACT: LMNO Productions, Encino, Calif.

Larry Goldman, 818/380-8045

FOX

Marivel Valdes, 310/369-1425

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Super Bowl Prediction

January 16---

(It will be the Bucs vrs. the Raiders. The new Grudin team vrs. the old Grudin team, and I’ll go with Grudin, even though I am an Oakland Raider fan-- after the 49ers---half the Raiders are ex-49er players anyway,. editor)

January 20---

Tennessee Titans really showed a lot of class, determination, and had a chance

at one time to turn the game around. Re: Superbowl: The Raiders may

have more experienced players, better Offense, but they don’t have Jon

Grudin. However, I think this game is to tight to call. At one time, I

thought the Raiders would go all the way, but now I am not sure,

penalties, composure, tendency to fold, even if Condelezza Rice thinks otherwise, as she said 8am PDT on Sunday’s

“Meet the Press.”

MR. RUSSERT: All right, Titans-Raiders?

DR. RICE: Titans-Raiders, Raiders, of course.

MR. RUSSERT: Eagles-Buccaneers?

DR. RICE: A little tougher. It can be cold up in Philadelphia, but I like the Buccaneers, so I like the Raiders and the Buccaneers, since it can’t be Buffalo and it can’t be Cleveland.

MR. RUSSERT: And the Super Bowl, Raiders-Buccaneers?

DR. RICE: Raiders.

MR. RUSSERT: Jon Gruden, the former Raiders coach for the Buccaneers, loses to his old team.

DR. RICE: His former team.

MR. RUSSERT: We will hold this tape.

DR. RICE: All right.

One thing for sure, it will be the highest watched Super Bowl Sunday for quite some time.

Kit Menkin