Leasing News

Balboa Capital Corporation ,VP Finance Shawn Giffin, CLP (left) congratulates President Patrick E. Byrne, CLP. The Western Association of Equipment Leasing member firm was recently ranked #67 overall on the Inc. 500 list.

Firms: Balboa Capital Corp.

Specialization: High-tech

Lease Range: $10K-$2 million

Number of Employees: 35

Irvine-based Balboa Capital Corporation is the 67^th fastest-growing private company in the U.S. according to Inc. Magazine. In its annual “Inc.550 Survey, “ published in the October, 1993 edition, Balboa ranked 67 overall and second in southern California, based on their five year grown patter.

The secret to their success? According to President Patrick E. Byrne, CLP, “ We pride ourselves on creative thinking and promoting from within. Being a member of WAEL has helped us grow with its many opportunities to interact and network. Through WAEL, we’ve developed important partnerships and relationships with funders and suppliers.”

Byrne founded the fledging company six years ago---and joined WAEL a year later. The company, which started in a small office with only three employees, has increased now to three offices with thirty employees. Byrne said he predicts a 50 percent growth next year.

Vice President of Finance Shawn Giffin, CLP, adds, “Our sales force doesn’t have the frame of reference of the ‘easy years’ of the 80s. They simply don’t acknowledge the existence of a recession. They think that this is the way it’s supposed to be and just go out and write lots of business.”

Byrne and Griffin can be reached at (310) 575-9900., 11150 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 670, Los Angeles, CA. 90025.

Fall, 1993, WAEL Newsline

(Please send us pictures or old industry magazines. We will return them, if requested. editor)

Meetings

12/14 Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors

Holiday Party aboard the World Yacht.

Dine, Dance and Sail around Manhattan. For additional info, contact the EAEL office at

914 381 5830.

Plan Your 2003—see Conferences and Meetings

http://www.leasingnews.org/meetings.htm

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Classified Jobs---Finance to Sales plus HELP WANTED

Finance: Orange County, CA

CFO/Controller/IT Director - 15 years experience in leasing and ABL. Experienced in: Accounting, Finance, Systems, Tax, Operations, Securitizations, etc.MBA, ELA member. Many accomplishments. Email:gosween@cox.net

Legal: Chatsworth, CA

Managing attorney for general corporate and financial services law including: leasing, acquisitions, service agreements, commercial loans, securitizations, workouts and litigation. Email:SandiDQ@msn.com

Operations: Wayne, NJ

20+ heavily experienced collection/recovery VP looking to improve someone's bottom line. Proven, verifiable track record. Knowledge of all types of portfolio. Will relocate Email:cmate@nac.net

Operations: Experienced Credit, Collections, lease and Finance operations. Manager w/ expertise in improving bottom line performance, excellent trainer, manager, motivator. Get result/ keep the customer coming back. Email:rgmorrill@comcast.net

Receptionist: San Diego, CA.

An outgoing, people loving person. Can handle several tasks at once. 35 wpm, some receptionist exp. in high school office, &some comp. knowledge. email:dvynangel69@msn.com

Sales: Detroit, MI

Experienced, hardworking, goal oriented sales professional with strong structuring/restructuring skills. Captive/vendor middle market IT concentration. Seeking position with leasing company in Michigan. Email:leaseman222@yahoo.com

view entire list

http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

HELP WANTED

Sales: National: 7 offices Medical & IT/ plus. Seeking professionals w/solid book of business & high ethics. Exceptional support & commissions. Expenses paid. 616-459-6800 Email: gsaulter@chaseindustries.com "UAEL"

Sales:Warminster, Bucks County, PA.

18 yr old, prof. lessor seeks net PVP motivated sls pros. Top funding & backroom capabilities.

email:sbrown@capitalinnovations.com"NAELB"

Send to a friend. If you have a colleague out of work, or want to look for a better job,

please visit the leasingnews.org classified. We get results because we are read.

http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPosting.htm

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Rates edge up in latest week

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) Mortgage rates around the country edged up this week as investors tried to decipher mixed economic reports and other information about where the economy is heading.

The average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages moved up to 6.03 percent for the week ending Nov. 22, after dropping to a new low the week before, Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its nationwide survey.

Last week's rate of 5.94 percent was the lowest since the mortgage giant began tracking 30-year mortgage rates in 1971. It also had marked the seventh time this year that rates on this benchmark mortgage hit a new low.

Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option or refinancing, also rose this week, climbing to 5.44 percent. Last week's rate on 15-year mortgages fell to 5.32 percent, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking these rates in 1991.

''Mortgage rates moved upward a little in response to the current volatility in the financial markets,'' said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. ''Economic reports are mixed and this will keep mortgage rates bouncing up and down somewhat, probably for the rest of this year,'' he added.

Low mortgage rates this year have been feeding a refinancing boom. The extra monthly cash consumers are saving by refinancing their mortgages at lower interest rates is helping to support consumer spending, which has been the main force keeping the economy going this year.

Stoked by low mortgage rates, home sales are expected to post records this year.

For one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, rates increased to 4.14 percent this week, compared with 4.09 percent last week.

This week's mortgage rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Each loan type carried an average fee of 0.6 point this week.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.75 percent, 15-year mortgages were 6.24 percent and one-year ARMS stood at 5.18 percent.

On the Net:

http://www.freddiemac.com

Salvation Army Kettle Drive/Unemployment Still High

by Kit Menkin

Santa Clara -- New claims for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in four months, providing a dose of encouraging news for workers who have been feeling the strain of the uneven economic recovery. The stock market, desperate for any good news, went wild.

Note: those not reporting they are seeking employment, by filing out the form of places applied, or those no longer eligible for unemployment insurance, are not being counted.

Remember when we could say, “ You never saw the rough days we had

in leasing.”

Unemployment still appears not as serious in all areas, unless you are the one

who is not employed.

Certain areas of the country the figures remain at 7.9% to 10% unemployed.. Holiday jobs are reported to be scarce for students. Last year in Santa Clara Valley, bell ringers for the Salvation Army were hard to find, and according to Captain George Roscheleau, , homeless were put into service. This year there is a waiting list of 200 in San Jose alone at minimum wage for the Salvation Army's only annual fundraiser bell ringing kettle drive. You will see them on the street on Friday. Please contribute as this is their

only fund raiser and 98% goes toward helping people, not to administration.

While the housing market appears healthy, there is a very strong inventory of homes for

sale, and real estate agents call the market "soft." Commercial firms call the retail

and commercial rental market " non-existent," and complain they fell like the Maytag

repair man, waiting for the telephone to ring.

Many companies are planning two week vacation period, paid or non-paid in December.

Thanksgiving week will be slow as many companies instead of closing at noon on

Wednesday, will not be open at all.

The busiest day of holiday shopping, but the sixth lowest one day sale, will be

Friday, after Thanksgiving day. Many retail stores started their Christmas sales

in October with prices getting cut every day that merchandise does not move.

Those in the leasing industry report they have never seen business slower.

Brokers who say they had 17 applications a week, say they are lucky

to get two to three with many small vendors completely out of business.

Credit appears to have deteriorated, too.

The 30% depreciation allowance or capital allowance call for delivery this

year, which means if it is on the floor for immediate delivery means to push

the "capital lease," perhaps one of the last of the year business tax write-offs

( of course, you first have to have a net profit to take advantage of this "savings.")

Look for more major leasing companies to be closing their door before Christmas.

No bonuses this year.

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As Long as It isn’t You or Your Wife, It’s Okay

Todd Wallack, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Forget what T.S. Eliot said about April being the cruelest month. When it comes to layoffs, it might be November or December.

Discount stock broker Charles Schwab & Co. told the state it cut roughly 660 jobs in San Francisco this month.

Maxtor, which makes hard drives for computers, plans to eliminate 200 jobs next month in Milpitas.

Reuters Group has started firing 163 workers at its Palo Alto product development center.

With few signs of an economic recovery in sight, Bay Area businesses are continuing to shed operations and eliminate jobs, according to layoff notices filed with the state in the past few weeks.

If history is any guide, the holiday season could be particularly grim this year.

In each of the past three years, employers had more layoffs in the fourth quarter -- particularly in November and December -- than any other time of the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The taboo against laying people off after Thanksgiving has gone away," said John Challenger, chief executive of Chicago outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks layoff announcements.

Challenger cites several other reasons why so many companies are replacing holiday bonuses with pink slips:

-- Some industries, including agriculture and construction, need fewer workers this time of year.

-- Executives are scrambling to meet annual profit targets.

-- Many businesses prefer to slash jobs now so that they can start the new year with a clean slate.

Those who have lost their jobs have mixed feelings about the timing of the pink slips. "I have more time with my family," said Katherine Miller, a project manager laid off from Schwab a month ago. "But I have to be more cautious about spending money around the holiday season, which is a hard thing to do."

Linda Kong, another former Schwab worker who lives in San Francisco, said the layoff date didn't make much difference to her. "It's never a good thing," she said. "I don't think it's a matter of the holidays or not."

Several Schwab employees said the company helped ease the pain by keeping them on the payroll until Dec. 31 even though they cleaned out their desks weeks ago.

But workers say being let go at this time is especially tough because of the increasingly bleak job market. "There are not too many jobs out there," Miller said.

Experts say it's too soon to say exactly just how bad the fourth quarter will be.

In a sign that doesn't bode well for the quarter, Challenger said U.S. companies announced more than 176,000 job cuts in October, the highest total in nine months.

In addition, the state Employment Development Department has received a steady number of layoff notices from Reuters, Schwab, Maxtor and other firms in the past few weeks.

Schwab said its job cuts in San Francisco, first disclosed in the letter to the EDD, were part of plans announced in September to eliminate 1,880 jobs worldwide. A spokeswoman said the cuts, the latest in a series of reductions, affected all departments and job titles.

Meanwhile, Reuters said it plans to cut as much as four-fifths of the staff at its Palo Alto offices next year, leaving only 30 to 40 employees on site.

Company spokeswoman Deanna Masella said the moves are part of a broader layoff of 650 employees, mostly middle managers, announced in June. At the time, Reuters didn't mention the impact on its Palo Alto operations.

Masella said Reuters decided to eliminate most of the product development work done in Palo Alto, scrapping some projects and moving others to other sites. For instance, Reuters plans to transfer work on a software program designed to help large corporations pipe financial data to their employees to its facility in Oak Brook, Ill., near Chicago.

Lucent Technologies, the struggling maker of telecommunications equipment, told state officials that it fired 148 Alameda workers during the past month. Lucent, which announced plans in October to ax 10,000 positions worldwide, has been a major presence in Alameda since buying Ascend Communications in 1999.

Some of the current job cuts were announced far in advance. For instance, Unilever Bestfoods said in January that it planned to shutter its Lipton tea plant in Santa Cruz by Dec. 31, eliminating 135 jobs.

In addition, some job cuts won't occur until next year. Sorrento Lactalis said it plans to close its San Jose cheese plant on Feb. 10, eliminating 215 jobs. The plant, known as the California Cheese Co. until 1986, makes soft Italian cheeses, such as mozzarella and provolone.

Company executives said the plant, wedged between a freeway and a residential neighborhood, is too small and can't be expanded. "There is a premium on efficiency in this industry, and the biggest plants are the most efficient," said Sorrento's Dave Chambers. "We couldn't make this plant bigger. "

Chambers said some workers have accepted transfers to another operation in Idaho, but it is unclear what will happen to the San Jose building.

Overall, the number of major layoffs has actually declined nationwide from a year ago. However, Challenger says the 2002 job losses are substantial when compared with the number of layoffs in the mid- to late 1990s.

EDD Director Michael Bernick also cautions that large layoffs, which the federal government defines as involving more than 50 workers, account for just 15 to 25 percent of the total jobs lost each year in California. The rest come from resignations or smaller staff cuts.

"It's important to put these layoffs in perspective," Bernick said. "It is a limited portion of the total job losses each month."

E-mail Todd Wallack at twallack@sfchronicle.com

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GE Cuts 2002 Profit Forecast

Firm to Take $1.4 Billion Charge to Raise Reinsurance Reserve

By Jackie Spinner

Washington Post Staff Writer

General Electric Co. lowered its 2002 earnings forecast yesterday and said it will take a $1.4 billion after-tax charge to boost reserves in its reinsurance unit.

GE said the charge is related to larger-than-expected claim losses over the past several years at its Employers Reinsurance Corp. unit, which it is trying to sell to investor Warren E. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Buffett is a director of The Washington Post Co.)

"This is not the type of reliable performance we expect at GE," chief executive Jeffrey R. Immelt said during an investment meeting in New York.

Like other large reinsurance companies, GE's reinsurance unit is struggling to recover from financial losses resulting from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, high asbestos-related claims and poor investment returns. Earlier this year Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, said it would inject $1.4 billion into its U.S. reinsurance business to help raise reserves.

"All the big players are underwriting the same business, and they're all experiencing similar situations," said Robert Garofalo, managing senior financial analyst for A.M. Best Co., an insurance ratings firm.

Reinsurers, which provide coverage for insurance companies, absorbed the majority of the estimated $50 billion in losses from last year's terrorist attacks. Because they had not collected premiums for terrorism coverage before the attacks, the companies dipped into their reserves to pay the claims. Reinsurers also are facing large payouts for asbestos claims.

During the stock market boom of the 1990s, the reinsurers would have recovered some of those losses through returns on investments. But that source of capital has been severely limited during the market's downturn.

Garofalo said that has forced companies such as Employers Reinsurance to pay closer attention to their core insurance businesses, which were not profitable for most of the past decade because of fierce pricing competition.

"Given the state of volatility in the capital markets, companies can no longer rely on investments to offset declines in underwriting performance," he said.

Thomas Conway, who runs the risk and capital management practice for Ernst & Young LLP, said insurance companies are experiencing problems now because of poor choices made during good times. (not including the health industry? Look for the mortgage industry to find problems first from all the re-financing in 2002. The sub-prime lenders go first, of course, and then those that supported them or thought real estate would

be their secondary source of re-payment. Editor )

"One of the unfortunate things about the insurance business is that once you do something bad there's not a lot you can do to get out of it," he said. "Now that they're going through a point in the market cycle where prices are hardening, they have to prepare themselves for the next down cycle and set the risk management and market discipline in place."

General Electric had already raised reinsurance reserves by $900 million before taxes this year.

Immelt said GE will work "to fix" its reinsurance business.

"We're going to manage it with intensity," he said.

(Perhaps the new corporate by word is not growth, focus, but “intensity.”)

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Fed Officials Say They Have a “Bad of Tricks”

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS New York Times

WASHINGTON— The Federal Reserve may have lowered interest rates to the once unimaginable level of 1.25 percent, but senior officials insist they can still flood the country with money if they need to.

"The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press — or, today, its electronic equivalent — that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost," Ben S. Bernanke, one of the Federal Reserve's seven governors, said in a speech to economists here today.

In a detailed analysis that tracks fairly closely with more general comments last week by Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman, Mr. Bernanke described a the many ways the central bank could inject vast sums of money into the economy to combat deflation, even if interest rates were to drop to zero.

"We can take comfort that the logic of the printing press example must assert itself, and sufficient injections of money will ultimately always reverse a deflation," he said.

Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Greenspan were both seeking to allay fears about what they still view as an extremely remote possibility: that the United States could drift into a period of deflation, or declining prices, in all sectors of the economy.

The issue is not entirely academic. Fed officials are keenly aware that Japan remains stuck with deflation and stagnation even though rates have been near zero since 1995.

American interest rates have been at 40-year lows for most of this year, but business spending and investment have still been stagnant and prices for manufactured products have been declining.

In an indicator of the anxiety, business groups are stepping up their calls for big new measures to stimulate the economy with more tax cuts. The Business Roundtable, an organization of chief executives from large corporations, called today for a $300 billion package of tax cuts to stimulate the economy.

Somewhat in contrast to the Bush administration, where top officials seem most interested in stimulating business spending, the Roundtable pleaded for tax cuts aimed entirely at the individual: a one-year cut in Social Security payroll taxes; accelerating last year's tax cuts; and eliminating the taxes on corporate dividends for individuals.

The Bush administration is considering a package of tax cuts. Although many officials are drawn to the idea of eliminating the so-called double taxation of dividends — which are taxed as corporate profits and as income to shareholders — several top advisers are skeptical about short-term stimulus measures and one-time tax breaks.

In an effort to bolster the economy, the Federal Reserve cut rates 11 times in 2001, bringing them to their lowest level in four decades, but many parts of the economy remain in the doldrums, prompting criticism from some that the Federal Reserve has little room left to prevent deflation.

Mr. Greenspan, in testimony to the Congressional joint economic committee last week, made a point of refuting that criticism. "Our conclusion is that we are not close to a deflationary cliff," Mr. Greenspan said. But if the Fed did reach the point where the federal funds rate on overnight loans between banks dropped to zero, he said, the bank could still buy Treasuries with longer maturities and push down longer-term rates.

"There is virtually no meaningful limit to what we could inject into the system, were that necessary," Mr. Greenspan said.

Federal Reserve officials have looked closely and with concern at the plight of Japan, where the Bank of Japan has held its overnight rates near zero since 1995 and yet has been unable to stimulate demand or break free of deflation.

In September, the Bank of Japan went so far as to say it would start buying up portfolios of depressed stock held by the biggest and most troubled banks.

In June, the Fed published a working paper on whether Japan's problems raised questions about deflationary threats in the United States or the Fed's ability to respond, given that interest rates were already down to 1.75 percent at that time.

The paper concluded that Japan's problems were fundamentally different and that a crucial issue was the failure of Japanese leaders to recognize the deflationary threat or to take action before it got out of hand.

Mr. Bernanke, who found himself peppered by questions about Japan today, added that many of the problems were beyond the control of the Bank of Japan: the mountain of bad loans being carried by commercial banks; the large number of moribund companies being kept alive by banks; and political gridlock in pushing through economic reforms.

"It is not a technical problem," Mr. Bernanke said. "It is a political problem."

he housing market remains strong, despite a sharp decline last month, thanks in large part to low interest rates that have also spurred homeowners to refinance loans and free up cash to spend.

However, the manufacturing sector continues to suffer from too much capacity, and auto sales appear to be cooling down after 18 strong months.

Six of the 10 indicators that make up the leading index improved in October, including weekly unemployment claims and building permits, the Conference Board said. Negative contributors were the index of consumer expectations and average weekly manufacturing hours.

On the labor front, new applications for unemployment insurance fell by a seasonally adjusted 25,000 to 376,000 for the work week ending Nov. 16, the government reported. That left claims at their lowest level since July 20.

"The worst of the layoffs seems to be behind us," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Banc of America Capital Management.

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Foundation State of the Industry Report Very Popular

ELT Newsletter ( Equipment Leasing Association )

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation released its State of the

Industry Report. Leasing continues to be the most widely used method of

asset-based financing in the U.S., accounting for approximately one-third of

external financing of total capital investment.

Still, leasing volume is a direct relation to business equipment investment. The 2002 estimate

for leases is $204 billion out of $655 billion in total new business

equipment investment. That figure is down from $216 billion in equipment

leases on $700 billion in new business equipment investment for 2001.

The projection for new equipment investment in 2003 is slightly improved

at $668 billion, of which $208 billion will be leased.

"The key factor affecting 2002 leasing performance is the economic

recession of the U.S. economy," said Lisa Levine, Executive Director,

Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation. "However, the overall view of

those interviewed for this report is that this is a good time to build a

leasing business. As one interviewee said, 'August 2003 will be much

different.' "

You can download a copy of the 2002 State of the Industry Report,

http://www.leasefoundation.org/ResearchPubs/index.htm#2002SOI or call for a

hard copy, 703-527-8655 or llevine@elamail.com.

Jim Fleming’s Top Ten Reasons for Staying in Equipment Leasing

The seemingly daily doses of discouraging news on the

economy and our industry inarguably has some of your

readership questioning why they are staying in the

leasing industry.

I thought I would share the recently published "Top

Ten Reasons for Staying in the Equipment Leasing

Industry".

TOP TEN REASONS FOR STAYING IN EQUIPMENT LEASING

10. I love my sales manager, he/she is so

understanding

9. To hear a lessee utter those three magic words:

"What's the Rate?"

8. I love the abuse and frustration

7. For the gratitude when a vendor says: "You've been

so persistent, I'm gonna give you a shot" (Note: Only

until you see the twenty leasing inquiries)

6. I love the consistent income

5. At parties, when introduced as being in the

leasing business, to hear the other guy say "I'm

resealing my driveway. Will you lease me a paver?"

4. For brokers only: Funding source's approval subject

to explaining the inquiry from Capital One.

3. For funding sources only: When processing an

application for Tony Marrone dba John's Auto Repair,

to hear a broker say "I don't know who John is"

2. I love dealing with people and all their

intersesting, idiosyncratic little quirks

AND THE #1 REASON FOR STAYING IN THE LEASING INDUSTRY:

1. Leasing News' "The List"

Jim Fleming

nationalbusinesscredit@yahoo.com>

Please send to a colleague and ask them to subscribe. We are free. No subscription charge. We ask that you “spread the word” and help us grow. The more readers

we have, the more inside information we receive. Our readers give us “on” and

“off the record” news in the leasing industry---the truth---not the “lies”, “half-truths,”

or “spin.”

New Section at www.leasingnews.org RECOMMENDATIONS

http://two.leasingnews.org/recommendations.htm

No paid advertisements or endorsements. These are personal recommendations.

Look for new restaurants, hotels, wineries, and other postings to be added.

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Preferred Broker Solutions Announces their First Release of CapitalStream Advantage.

Posted 11/21/02

Leasing industry's top software solution delivers new improvements and stability on any Windows(r) platform.

Seattle, WA - November 21, 2002--Preferred Broker Solutions, a Seattle based company that has undertaken and mastered the development and support of CapitalStream Advantage, today announced their first major release of the replacement program to System 1 Software version 2.5.

CapitalStream Advantage version 1.3.2x includes many improvements that enable leasing professionals to facilitate lease transactions. Now the leasing industry can operate in any Windows environment and conduct electronic UCC filing, with this latest desktop version from Preferred Broker Solutions.

"We have been working on the program for the past six months, cleaning up the original code and adding some must needed improvements based on our customer's feedback," said Jim Buckles, owner of Preferred Broker Solutions. "The program is now very stable for all Windows platforms including Windows 98, Millennium Edition, NT, 2000 and XP".

In addition to establishing stability within the Advantage program, the 1.3.2x release marks the completion of electronic UCC filing via UCCDirect Services (http://www.uccdirect.com). "This feature has been on CapitalStream's development roadmap for some time and we're pleased to see this feature to completion," said Buckles, "we're looking forward to a great relationship with the good people at UCC Direct Services."

The release of CapitalStream Advantage 1.3.2x addresses the increasing demands of today's leasing professional. With CapitalStream Advantage, System 1 Software 2.5 users can enjoy long-awaited functionality now that Preferred Broker Solutions is responsible for the development and support of the program. "Our mission has been to deliver products and offer support to the extreme best interest of our customers," said Buckles, "We want to keep this program easy to use and only add features that the leasing industry needs, to be more efficient and successful."

Preferred Broker solutions is laying the groundwork for CapitalStream Advantage version 2.0, which is slated for release in early 2003. Features will include email document delivery, broadcast emailing, enhanced contact management, full screen editing, drag and drop document tracking, and further transaction integration with funding sources, and more.

About Jim Buckles and Preferred Broker Solutions

Jim Buckles has been involved in the Broker / Lessor community since his days at System 1 Software / CapitalStream from 1997 - 2001. He was responsible for the implementation and training of all the company's software and solutions.

In 2001, he started Preferred Broker Solutions to focus solely on the System 1 / Advantage customer base and to offer the best possible support for that program and continue its advancement.

Jim is also co-owner of ELBTools http://www.elbtools.com, a division of Blue Denham, LLC, which manufactures a web front end Calculator, Quoting Tool and Electronic Credit Application that integrates with the Advantage program, marketed under the name "alaQuote". This program is sold exclusively through Preferred Broker Solutions.

For more information, contact:

Jim Buckles

Preferred Broker Solutions

jim@pbs4u.com

(866) 352-8665 Phone

(435) 514-3787 Fax

( Courtesy of ELAonline.com )

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Dungeness Crab Glut Hits Calif. Coast

( try the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a fresh Crab Louie---

or a Sonoma Valley “Champagne.” )

By Colleen Valles

Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO –– A booming season for Dungeness crab along the central California coast has forced fishermen to stop fishing for the crustaceans and could soon send prices for consumers plunging. The crab surplus has overwhelmed processors, obliging fishermen to store about 150,000 pounds on boats.

"Most times there's been a glut on the market, the price has plummeted," said Rick Metheny, who has been crabbing for 25 years. Metheny still had about 3,000 pounds of crab left on his boat, which he operates for San Francisco's prominent seafood restaurant, Scoma's.

Along Fisherman's Wharf Thursday, behind the restaurants and crab hawkers, boats lined Pier 45 two deep at some points, waiting to be unloaded. The larger boats are equipped with tanks with fresh seawater pumped into them continuously to keep the crabs alive, for about a week.

Fishermen have been waiting since Sunday for seafood processors to move the abundance so they can finish unloading boats and head back out. They're also hoping the price they fetch for their catches stays up. Buyers are paying $2.25 a pound for the crab.

But for consumers, the glut means a potential drop in prices.

One restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf was selling crab for $6.50 a pound. This time last year, the same restaurant was selling Washington state crab for $8.75 per pound.

But California crab fishermen still hadn't started their harvest by late November in 2001. They were striking for a higher per-pound price for their catches, eventually settling, after three weeks, for $1.88 per pound.

This year's harvest caught many by surprise. The season started last weekend and ends in June, but the best crabs are caught at the beginning, said Half Moon Bay crab fisherman Duncan MacLean.

"There was a pretty good influx and (buyers) got overwhelmed by it all," MacLean said.

Joe Cincotta, general manager of the San Francisco division of processor Pacific Seafood, said his company was among the last ones buying crab Thursday.

"I don't think anyone thought the volume was here," Cincotta said.

The surplus, which a rough estimate put at about 150,000 pounds, has much to do with excellent ocean conditions, said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.

Heavier rainfall the past few years has meant more freshwater in estuaries, which is what baby crabs use as their nurseries. And good upwelling, which happen when currents bring nutrients up from the bottom of the sea, have resulted in more food in the ocean.

That means there are a lot of crabs, and to prevent the glut from continuing, fishermen are considering limits on the amount they bring in each day.

That also could help prolong the season, MacLean said. Crabs are in demand around Thanksgiving in San Francisco, and there's also a big demand for them during Chinese New Year, often in February. But there is frequently a shortage of crab for that market, he said.

San Francisco crab fisherman Larry Collins said he expected to find his traps full again when he heads back out to sea.

"Hopefully," he said, "the consumers are going to start gobbling the crabs faster."

( You betcha', Red Ryder! Nothing sweeter than a fresh San Francisco Dungeness crab.)

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McNabb to be examined again in two weeks

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Donovan McNabb might not have surgery on the broken right ankle that could sideline him for the rest of the regular season.

The Eagles' quarterback returned to Philadelphia on Thursday with a cast on the ankle after meeting with a specialist in Houston. McNabb will wear the cast until he is examined again in about two weeks.

Although he could have surgery then, McNabb most likely will let the bone heal on its own, even though an operation might allow him to return to action earlier.

He was hurt on the third play of Sunday's 38-14 victory over Arizona but stayed in for most of the rest of the game.

Koy Detmer, who hasn't started a game in three years, will guide the NFC East-leading Eagles (7-3) against San Francisco on Monday night.

(Look for me on TV. I’ll be wearing my 49er leather jacket. Kit )