Mazuma Capital: What will 2011 hold for Equipment Finance?

Mazuma Capital: What will 2011 hold for Equipment Finance?: "Looking towards 2011 we are asking a lot of questions. What will the equipment leasing industry do, how will it adapt? Will Money Come Back..."

Technology Leasing

Making investment decisions on technology can be a time consuming and painful experience. If the process of building consensus on a business case and analyzing all the vendors and products available in the marketplace takes too long, the business runs the risk that by the time a decision is made and the technology is implemented, market or regulatory changes will have occurred and the solution will be inadequate.

Based on the dramatic events of the last few years (not to mention pending changes in the way that leases will be accounted for beginning in the near future) leasing companies should start by looking at the flexibility of their systems and their ability to support change. The most flexible organizations, with capabilities to foster product and process innovation are able to better ensure success in the face of dynamic market and regulatory conditions. If nothing else, having weathered the latest storm, the survivors in the leasing industry should become more adept at responding to changing realities and improving their ability to evolve with the needs of the marketplace.

Proposed lease accounting practice changes

I recently read an article that discussed many concerns regarding the regulatory changes looming over the lease accounting project. Many companies have been writing comment letters to the FASB and IASB boards regarding the proposed changes, and how these changes will affect day to day business.
Big changes are on the horizon, but the need to change lease accounting methodologies, raises another question—should companies delay new technology investments?  Many companies are unsure about how to proceed with new purchases.  Should they continue to rely on existing systems that adequately work for their companies today? Is it too risky to invest in new technology during this period of uncertainty?
What is the right answer?  It seems that companies must weigh the cost of no action. Companies must factor the cost in continuing to support and maintain disparate back office systems while they wait for this initiative to be firmly resolved. If companies delay the decision to make investments to update and/or integrate these systems, companies will face increased IT costs and critical data may not be consolidated and shared throughout their company.  Waiting could therefore hinder crucial decision-making, causing them to confront a different kind of risk altogether.
New changes and methodologies will continue, as companies continue to grow and adjust around them.  If we all sit and wait for outcomes we will miss out on a lot of business opportunities.  Great companies seem to know how to gracefully embrace either outcome of proposed changes…a chameleon of sorts…ready to adapt and carry on.

Strategic Partner Programs

In the current economy more and more middle market clients are being turned down when looking for equipment lease financing. New credit regulations present challenges that many banks are unable to overcome.  Mazuma Capital is the solution for these challenges that you currently face.
Mazuma Capital invites you to take part in our exclusive Strategic Partner Program.
By forging a strategic partnership we will integrate our services as an extension of your current offerings. Mazuma will carry the risk that you currently cannot, greatly benefiting you and your clients.
For loan applications requesting loan amounts or other terms that are outside your traditional parameters, Mazuma Capital offers innovative flexible solutions that meet the budgetary needs and goals of your clients, making you a turnkey service provider.
Allow our team of experts to work with you to create a comprehensive approach to extend additional financing solutions to your clients. Together we can deliver leasing solutions that fit your client’s needs.

Email partners@mazumacapital.com
See more at  Strategic Partner Programs

Mazuma Capital Partners: ELFF: Equipment Finance Confidence Continues to Ri...

Mazuma Capital Partners: ELFF: Equipment Finance Confidence Continues to Ri...: "Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 65.5, an improvement from the October 2010 index of 58.8, according to the Equipment ..."

Mazuma Has Gone Social

Mazuma Has Gone Social

Mazuma Capital: Quantitiative Easing- Struggling to Make Sense of ...

Mazuma Capital: Quantitiative Easing- Struggling to Make Sense of ...: "What exactly is the point of quantitative easing? Two weeks after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to buy $600 billion of government bonds, ..."

Quantitative Easing? How do we make sense of it??

What exactly is the point of quantitative easing? Two weeks after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to buy $600 billion of government bonds, the debate still rages. The U.K. has already purchased 30% of the existing stock of national debt, and the Monetary Policy Committee is clearly willing to countenance buying much more.
The question is what all this government bond-buying is supposed to achieve? The Chinese believe the U.S. is using QE to attempt an underhand devaluation of the dollar, a view apparently shared by former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan. Others believe the purpose of QE could and should be to provide liquidity to the banking system, both via the accumulation of cash deposits and the increased supply of funds to buy bank bonds. Given so many competing views, it's no wonder people are confused. Some economists have concluded the attitude of central banks to QE is to shoot first and declare whatever they hit is the target.
But that is hardly a recipe to instill confidence, perhaps the most important channel through which QE is likely to work. In fact, confusion over motives could even act to damage confidence if the markets start to question a central bank's commitment to fighting inflation and willingness to unwind QE. It is hard to feel confident about how QE will end if you don't know why it was begun.

Mazuma Capital Partners: U.S. Sets 50 Bank Probes

Mazuma Capital Partners: U.S. Sets 50 Bank Probes: "FDIC Steps Up Investigations at Failed Lenders; 'These Numbers Will Increase'The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is conducting about 50 crim..."

U.S. Sets 50 Bank Probes

FDIC Steps Up Investigations at Failed Lenders; 'These Numbers Will Increase'

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is conducting about 50 criminal investigations of former executives, directors and employees at U.S. banks that have failed since the start of the financial crisis.
The agency responsible for dealing with bank failures is stepping up its effort to punish alleged recklessness, fraud and other criminal behavior, as U.S. officials did in the wake of the savings-and-loan crisis a generation ago. More than 300 banks and savings institutions have failed since the start of 2008, but just a few have led to criminal charges being filed against bank officials.
In an interview, Fred W. Gibson, deputy inspector general at the FDIC, which works with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate crime at financial institutions, said the probes involve failed banks of all sizes in cities across the U.S. The FDIC is also ramping up civil claims to recover money from former bankers at busted lenders. He declined to identify any of the people or banks under investigation.

The questions of the day is how in the world will these civil claims ever see money from bankers at busted lenders? 

"We anticipate results from our investigations, although we cannot predict when a particular case will reach a stage at which disclosure of specifics would be appropriate," Mr. Gibson said.
Pressure is high on regulators to identify and prosecute bankers for any wrongdoing that contributed to the largest number of failures in nearly 20 years. The September 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual Inc. was the biggest ever, with seven times the value of the assets that Continental Illinois Corp. had when it failed in 1984. The current epidemic of bank failures, including 146 so far this year, has deepened the nation's lending drought and left the industry's survivors with more muscle to squeeze customers.
The S&L crisis of the 1980s and 1990s killed more than 1,800 institutions. From 1990 to 1995, federal officials prosecuted about 1,850 bank insiders. More than 1,000 officers, directors and other officials went to prison, and federal agencies collected $4.5 billion in professional-liability claims.

In the current mess, no high-profile banker has been criminally charged in connection with a financial institution's demise, as Charles Keating was for fraud after American Continental Corp. failed in 1989. He served four years in prison and became synonymous with the S&L crisis.

FDIC officials also are ramping up efforts to use civil litigation to recover money from former bank officials. Hundreds of "demand" letters have been sent to former executives, directors and other employees, as well as their professional-liability insurers, putting them on notice of potential claims, the FDIC says.
The agency's board has authorized the filing of lawsuits seeking to recover more than $2 billion from more than 80 officers and directors of failed banks. The total is up from about 50 approved suits as of last month, seeking more than $1 billion.
"These numbers will continue to increase as time goes on," Richard Osterman, acting general counsel at the FDIC, said in an interview. Authorization of a civil suit by the FDIC doesn't necessarily mean a case will be filed in court. Some former bank officers and directors could avoid being sued by negotiating settlements with the agency.
So far, the FDIC has filed just two civil lawsuits related to recent failures. The agency is seeking $300 million in damages from four former executives of IndyMac Bancorp, the Pasadena, Calif., lender that sank in 2008. Eleven former directors and officers of Heritage Community Bank are being pursued for $20 million in damages related to the Glenwood, Ill., bank's collapse last year.
In a statement through their lawyers, the Heritage directors and officers said the FDIC's suit is "regrettable and wrong," adding that the agency is blaming them "for not anticipating the same market forces that also caught central bankers, national banks, economists, major Wall Street firms and the regulators themselves by surprise."
The former IndyMac executives have denied wrongdoing. Kirby Behre of law firm Paul Hastings, who is acting for two of the former IndyMac directors, said: "Not only weren't they negligent, they were very diligent, and forces beyond their control were responsible for any losses."
Michael W. Fitzgerald, of Corbin, Fitzgerald & Athey LLP, which is representing the other two former IndyMac executives, said the "charges by the FDIC are completely false and we will vigorously defend them."
The few criminal prosecutions of failed banks so far include Integrity Bank, which opened in Alpharetta, Ga., in 2000 and was seized by regulators in 2008. In July, two former executives pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges.
Prosecutors alleged that the executives helped the bank's biggest customer use a construction loan to buy a private island in the Bahamas.
Mr. Gibson, the FDIC's deputy inspector general, said the roughly 50 criminal investigations under way typically relate to loan officers at the vice president or senior vice president level. Some of the probes involve higher-ranking officials, including former directors of failed institutions, he added.
Suspected criminal activity is handled by the FDIC's office of investigations, usually working with the FBI. Recommendations for prosecutions are referred to the Justice Department. It often takes at least 18 months for legal action to be brought after a bank fails, meaning the surge in scrutiny is likely to continue for years. FDIC officials expect the failure wave to peak this year.
Some lawyers predict it will be hard to win convictions in many cases. "To prove criminal fraud and get a conviction, you really need the equivalent of stealing money from the vault,'' said Thomas Vartanian, a partner at law firm Dechert LLP. As a result, many civil and criminal defendants are "eventually likely to settle for money,'' he said.
Federal officials also will have to overcome the likely defense that bank failures were caused by an unforeseeable real-estate bust. Samuel Buffone, a partner at law firm BuckleySandler LLP, said the most striking part of the FDIC's civil suit against former Heritage officers and directors is "the call for 20/20 hindsight.'' Mr. Buffone isn't involved in the case.
Mr. Osterman, the FDIC's acting general counsel, noted that the "same argument'' was used by defendants during the S&L crisis. "The courts didn't agree that time, and we don't expect they will this time,'' he said. "People are allowed to exercise business judgments. As long as they comply with their legal duties, they don't have anything to worry about.''

Unforeseeable real-estate bust?  Really?  This all seems ludicrous (no, not the hip hop singer) can we really blame the real-estate bust for Americans over extending themselves?  Bad loans from banks trying to capitalize on no-limit credits, then constant bailouts and excuses.... Seems everyone is at fault here.

Solar Panel Makers Face Supply-Glut `Armageddon'

Solar panel makers from Arizona to Shanghai face a price crunch in 2011 because they’re adding manufacturing capacity just as global demand is poised to fall. Tthe supply of photovoltaic panels may climb to almost triple the level of demand next year, flooding the market and potentially crashing the price, said Gordon Johnson, New York-based solar power analyst.
“It could be Armageddon,” he said in an interview. “Demand is about to fall at a time when you’re going to have a significant increase in supply. In a commoditized industry, that is a formula for disaster.”
Manufacturers have sold a record number of panels this year as developers rushed to connect them to the grid and lock in subsidized power prices before the rates are cut by governments in Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. In Germany’s case, the world’s largest panel market, demand will fall in 2011 after the state cuts rates producers earn by 13 percent, Johnson said.
That will glut the market next year for photovoltaic panels, which turn sunlight into electricity, and drive the price manufacturers can charge down to as low as $1.10 per watt from about $1.80 this year, Johnson said.
Revenue may be undercut for panel-makers from Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar Inc. to JA Solar Holdings Co., the Shanghai-based company that got a $4.4 billion credit facility for expansion this year from a Chinese state-owned bank. JA Solar alone added 0.5 gigawatt of factory capacity in the second half, or 5 percent of global demand forecast for next year.

Read Entire Article at Bloomberg Business

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Obama White House Hands Out 111 Obamacare Waivers- Hides It on Website

Proposed Fundamental Changes to Tax Code

According to the WSJ, tax-reform plans proposed by President Obama's deficit-cutting commission would radically change corporate tax policy and, business groups say, could improve U.S. competitiveness in global trade. The proposed changes could also create winners and losers among U.S. companies.
Business groups and economists have long sought fundamental changes to the tax code, which hasn't been overhauled since 1986.

Although we may be in need of a tax overhaul, how do we decide on the right one?  Small businesses drive this countries economy, creating new jobs and opportunities.  Taxes have become so complex and convoluted, it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel. So how can we in theory create beneficial tax laws that still support business and entrepreneurs? Are these proposals a major step forward, or just additional red tape to the never ending tax code?

Here are the proposed plans-

Option 1, called The Zero Plan, would impose a rate of 26% to 28%, down from the current 35%. In return, it would eliminate all or most "tax expenditures," or provisions such as capital gains or tax credits that lower a company's tax bills.

Option 3, called the Tax Reform Trigger, merely says that if Congress hasn't cut the deficit by 2013, then companies would be subject to a 15% reduction in all general business-tax credits.
Option 2 is more detailed, and is based on a proposal by Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R., N.H.). In return for a 26% tax rate and a permanent extension of the temporary research-and-development tax credit, it would eliminate certain popular deductions, including one for domestic manufacturing. It also would cut various oil-and-gas tax breaks, and modify depreciation, a tax treatment that often provides companies with tax-minimizing deductions soon after property or equipment is acquired.

Perhaps most important, Option 2, and variants of Option 1, would shift the U.S. to a "territorial" tax on corporate income, a change business groups have endorsed. The current system taxes foreign corporate earnings at the U.S. rate only when they are repatriated, which might encourage U.S. multinationals to keep profits offshore.

We believe in the power of business and how it fuels the economy.  This should be interesting given the job growth in our country is due to small business.  We will definitely keep our ears to the ground on this.

Mazuma Capital

Mazuma Capital: Follow Mazuma Capital On YouTube

Mazuma Capital: Follow Mazuma Capital On YouTube: "Keep up with the latest equipment lease financing news, trends and market activity. Useful information on New Section 179 Allowances, New T..."

September Machine Tool Consumption Up 157% Over ’09

September’s machine tool consumption totaled $339.76 million, up 156.8% compared with the total of $155.69 million for the same month in 2009. That puts the year-to-date total at $2,090.27 million, up 74.1% compared with the same YTD figures in 2009.
This comes from the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Consumption Report is compiled by the American Tool Distributors’ Association and The Association for Manufacturing Technology.
“September 2010 was a watershed in the recovery from the recession of 2008-2009,” said Peter Borden, AMTDA President. “The 1,992 units sold (in September) is the highest number since September of 2008 and demonstrates the resilience and staying power of the U.S. manufacturing base. More remarkably, this was done while many factories are running below the capacity levels that require capital goods purchases, despite the tight credit, and in spite of questions about government debt and potential tax increases. The catalysts of the successful IMTS, the weaker dollar, and the passage of bonus depreciation paid surprising and long awaited dividends.”
By region, Northeast consumption stood at $64.44 million, 66.3% higher than August’s $38.76 million and 77.4% higher that the September 2009 total. A year-to-date total of $362.73 million was 53.4% more than the same figure for 2009.
The Southern Region’s manufacturing technology consumption totaled $66.85 million, up 119.9% when compared with the $30.4 million total for August and up 389.4% when compared with September a year ago, the report noted.
For the Midwest, consumption was 49% more than August’s $81.75 million and up 157.6% when compared with last September. The $629.19 million 2010 YTD total was 84.4% above the 2009 total at the same time.
The Central Region saw manufacturing technology consumption climb to $114.99 million, 77.0% more than the August total, and 238.3% higher than the total for September 2009. With a YTD total of $561.03 million, 2010 was up 94.0% compared to the same period in 2009.
The Western Region also saw an increase in consumption, with a total of $31.68 million in September (up 27.5%), compared to August’s $24.84 million. At $228.66 million, 2010 YTD was 36% higher than the comparable figure a year ago.

ELFF Study: Changes to Lease Accounting

Proposed changes to lease accounting rules will significantly impact the balance sheets and operations of companies that use lease financing (lessees) and providers of lease financing (lessors), according to a new study from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation.
The study, “Changes to Lease Accounting: Rules, Reactions and Realities,” is designed to help users understand the proposed changes, recognize the market impact of the changes, and identify the challenges and opportunities they represent.
The lease accounting proposal was released by the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board in August, and a final rule is expected in 2011. Although the proposal is intended to standardize the lease accounting process, it is expected to add significant complexity and processes to both lessor and lessee accounting.
The Foundation’s study examines how the changes are expected to:
• Affect customers’ propensity to lease
• Alter the attractiveness of lease financing
• Modify customers’ approach to lease transactions
• Change how lessors develop and market financial products
• Impact lessor and lessee business processes and related portfolio management systems
• Influence lessor business models and ownership structures
• Affect equipment leasing and finance providers’ decisions to remain in the market or encourage new entrants to replace them
“While the full impact of the lease accounting changes on the equipment leasing and finance industry is still unknown, both lessees and lessors are advised to take action now,” said Edward Dahlka, chairman of the Foundation and President of Assurance Asset Finance. “First, submit a comment letter to the FASB and IASB that provides your company’s views on the changes. Second, use the Foundation’s new study to develop a plan of action so you’ll be ready for the impending changes.”
To read the executive summary of “Changes to Lease Accounting: Rules, Reactions and Realities” the full report can be purchased here http://www.leasefoundation.org/IndRsrcs/MO/FASB.htm.
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides vision for the equipment leasing and finance industry through future-focused information and research. Primarily funded through donations, the Foundation is the only organization dedicated to future-oriented, in-depth, independent research for the leasing industry. Visit the Foundation online at http://www.leasefoundation.org/.

CEOs Most Optimistic on U.S. Profits in Bull Signal for S&P 500

CEOs Most Optimistic on U.S. Profits in Bull Signal for S&P 500

Mazuma Capital Partners: Why Financing Your Green Energy Projects Makes $en...

Mazuma Capital Partners: Why Financing Your Green Energy Projects Makes $en...: "Cost of Green Power Makes Projects Tougher Sell

Why Financing Your Green Energy Projects Makes $ense!!

Cost of Green Power Makes Projects Tougher Sell

Matt McInnis for The New York Times

The United States has relied on a combination of state renewable energy mandates and federal tax credits to encourage greater reliance on energy from renewable sources. Legislation that would have set a price on carbon-dioxide emissions and included a standard for increasing the share of clean energy in the nation’s electricity portfolio failed in Congress this year.

“Our investors tell us they’re nervous about all the uncertainty,” said John Cusack, the president of Gifford Park Associates, a sustainability management and investment consulting firm in Eastchester, N.Y. “They don’t know what’s going to happen.”
To be sure, a lot of renewable power development is still going forward. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that wind farms capable of producing 6,300 megawatts of wind power are under construction, and that a busy second half of 2010 would leave installations about 50 percent behind last year. Solar power is becoming less expensive, and its use is expanding rapidly. But it still accounts for less than 1 percent of the nation’s electricity needs, providing enough to serve about 350,000 homes.
Renewable energy supporters argue that higher fossil fuel prices will eventually make renewable energy more competitive — and at times over the last two decades, when the price for natural gas has spiked, wind power in particular has been a relative bargain. Advocates also argue that while the costs might be higher now, as the technology matures and supply chains and manufacturing bases take root, clean sources of power will become more attractive.
Fold in the higher costs of extracting and burning fossil fuels on human health, the climate and the environment, many advocates argue, and renewable technologies like wind power are already cheaper.
“One of the problems in the United States is that we haven’t been willing to confront the tough questions,” said Paul Gipe, who sits on the steering committee of the Alliance for Renewable Energy, a group advocating energy policy reform.
“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Do we really want renewables?’ ” he said. “And if the answer to that is yes, then we’re going to have to pay for them.”

IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON YEAR END TAX ADVANTAGES!

You do not want to let the current Tax Breaks pass you by, allow Mazuma Capital to show you how to take advantage of these Tax Breaks in 2010.
Code Section 179 Expensing-
A qualifying taxpayer can choose to treat certain property as an expense and deduct it in the year the property is put into service, rather than depreciating it over several years.  The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 increases the maximum deduction an eligible taxpayer may elect to claim to $500,000.  The qualifying property cap has also been raised to $2 million and will phase out, dollar-for-dollar, until the qualifying property cost exceeds $2.5 million.
Bonus Depreciation you don’t want to miss!
The Act also extends, through December 31, 2010.  This means you may take a 50% first year bonus depreciation deduction for qualifying property purchased and placed into service in 2010.  The real bonus- the depreciation deduction can be used in addition to the Section 179 deduction.
Now, more than ever, the financing of your equipment should be top of mind.  Contact Mazuma today and see how equipment financing can be a powerful tool for your business.
Mazuma Capital specializes in providing customized equipment lease financing solutions to businesses. Mazuma Capital is committed to delivering superior service and competitive products at the lowest possible cost. We work with companies of all sizes across all industries to craft custom leasing solutions. From short economic useful life equipment such as telephony and computer systems to vital revenue generating equipment such as heavy machinery and medical equipment.
For More Information Contact us
info@mazumacapial.com
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partners@mazumacapital.com

Mazuma Capital Partners: Market Watch- Stocks Rise Following Job Reports

Mazuma Capital Partners: Market Watch- Stocks Rise Following Job Reports: "NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose modestly after a shaky start, supported by data showing the U.S. economy added jobs in October for..."

Mazuma Capital Partners: Taboo? Buying Treasury Bonds

Mazuma Capital Partners: Taboo? Buying Treasury Bonds: "Fed's Decision to Buy Treasury Bonds Taboo? 11/4/2010 7:00:00 PMThe Fed's decision to buy as much as $900 billion of Treasury bonds over the..."