Large American Coal Producer seeks out Mazuma Capital in Funding Fuel-Efficient Equipment to Enhance Production

DRAPER, UTAH April 2012–Mazuma Capital, leading national direct lender, today announced it has funded $7.5M so far against an overall $9.4M commitment for a large American coal producer.

The coal producer sought an experienced funding source with in-depth knowledge of the mining industry. There were many challenges present in the transaction from the type, use, and locations of equipment to the challenges present with an evolving global coal market.  There were also several factors that presented additional hurdles with the credit due to recent growth and acquisitions.  Because of these challenges the financing required innovative structuring components along with solving the coal producer’s funding objectives.

The company was concerned that the cash flow of the leases needed to allow for growth initiatives and to provide the ability to expense payments over time as new environmental campaigns were launched. Moreover, Mazuma Capital was able to secure the approvals and work with the company to achieve these funding objectives.

“This coal producer has a very large footprint in the mining industry and they continue to draw upon Mazuma Capital’s unique market positions and access to funds to propel their business forward. Through our exclusive access to capital, and aggressive structures we’ve been able to provide significant value year after year for this company”, said Kelly Holladay, Account Executive at Mazuma Capital.

About Mazuma: Mazuma Capital is committed to our client’s success. Our unique capabilities and innovative product offerings provide solutions accelerating financial growth. Servicing both rising companies and established businesses, Mazuma continues to secure its position as the middle-market industry leader. We build long-term relationships by delivering on our commitments. Mazuma co-authored the Utah Best Practices Alliance. Mazuma Capital subscribes to the ELFA Code of Fair Business Practices and NAELB code of ethics.

Media Contact:

Julie Fuchs

801-816-0800 Ext. X291

jfuchs@mazumacapital.com

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Fed Up Corporations Turn to Private Jets

Between exhausting lines at security and countless flight delays and cancellations, the concept of a “quick flight” no longer exists. In reaction, many corporations are taking matters into their own hands by investing in corporate jets to fly executives and employees on business trips. For many companies, it is the time savings that turns them onto private jetting.  Daniel Jennings, CEO of the Private Jet Company, said that since October 2010, his inquiries from companies looking to purchase private jets have doubled.

“Once you are a company that starts having operations regionally and nationally, it gets difficult to do visits in a timely manner without going privately,” Jennings says. “You can do four-to-five locations in a day, instead of over four or five days. And, they can do work on the aircraft.”

Paul Cardarelli, director of sales and marketing for JetNet LLC, says that while there has been an uptick in sales for 2010, the market still remains somewhat bloated with jets for sale. In 2010, JetNet found that a total of 1,989 jets were sold, 1,454 of which were previously owned; compare that to 2009, when 1,885 jets were sold, with 1,210 being pre owned. Since the start of 2011, JetNet reports 284 jets have been sold, 234 of which were pre-owned, Cardarelli said.

“Airplanes have never been cheaper, and people want to cash in,” he says. “Business aviation in itself has never been more attractive, because the whole airline experience has frankly never been worse.”

He continued to say many companies are investing in their own jets to avoid the hassle of having their executives battle crowded airports. “Why unnecessarily submit yourself to waiting in line for two hours at the TSA? If you have the wherewithal for business aviation, it’s a very attractive option.”

This year looks strong for business aviation, according to Jennings, who cites more companies starting to turn a profit and some even looking to expand. Supply of private jets is starting to go down while demand is on the rise.

“They see the economy turning in their own business, and they don’t want to miss an opportunity to acquire [jets] at low discount prices,” he says.

Cardarelli estimates the typical business aircraft operator is flying about 300 hours a year, and when the economy was stronger,  that number was closer to 400 hours annually. This year will continue to be a year of recovery, he said, because GDP is up and that directly impacts business aviation.

All in all, it is time and convenience that leads these companies to opt for private jets, Jennings says. This trend will continue to pick up over the course of the next year.

“It literally conducts business anywhere, anytime, with no security or headaches,” he said. “It literally buys them time. We call it a time machine.”

Filtered Finance Feb. Newsletter

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs011/1103755398157/archive/1104451321630.html

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Combined carloads and intermodal traffic up for more than a year

Freight carloads increased 8% in January compared with the same month last year, and intermodal traffic increased 7.4% from the year-ago level. "This growth marks the 13th straight month that combined carloads and intermodal traffic have increased year over year, showing the continued gradual upward trend in rail traffic," the Association of American Railroads said ProgressiveRailroading.com (2/9) For additional information Visit http://mazumacapital.com

U.S. manufacturers see emerging market boost

(Reuters) - Strong demand from big emerging markets, particularly China and India, is boosting U.S. manufacturers' prospects for 2011, a pair of top executives said on Tuesday.

But not everyone in the sector regards the recovery from the worst recession the world has seen in living memory as a sure thing.
"We feel very good about the economy," said Greg Hayes, chief financial officer at United Technologies Corp (UTX.N). "There's good news, but we're not out of the woods yet ... It's going to be a gradual, slow, uneven recovery."
Read Entire Article - http://reuters.com/

Credit Markets: The Default Deluge

This year will see a record volume of default in corporate debt, in line with expectations, as the U.S. continues to be the epicenter of economic and credit-market weakness

From Standard & Poor's RatingsDirect

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/sep2009/pi20090921_877700.htm

Following the end of the summer, the final stretch of 2009 offers a good opportunity to take stock of the events that roiled the economy this year and assess the tone of the financial markets for the rest of the year.
Buoyed by an encouraging stream of positive economic data, sentiment in the financial markets has been relatively upbeat. Much of the recovery has stemmed from the monetary and fiscal stimulus the government pumped into the financial system in copious amounts to revitalize critical pipelines of money and credit.
However, this year will see a record volume of default in corporate debt, in line with expectations. In the first eight months of 2009 a total of 216 corporate issuers defaulted (both nonfinancials and financials), affecting rated debt worth $523 billion. If this pace continues, the global default tally will reach 324 in 2009, the highest annual total in 28 years—since the inception of our data series on defaults. The volume of debt affected by these defaults also soared to a record high.
Other key takeaways from the year thus far:
• The U.S. is the epicenter of economic and credit-market weakness. At the beginning of the year our 12-month forward baseline prediction for the U.S. speculative-grade default rate was 13.9% by yearend, with an upper bound of 18.5% and a lower bound of 10.0%. The default rate hit 10.4% in the 12 months ended in August 2009, giving us reason to believe it is headed toward our predicted range by the end of the year. Corporate default incidence (by count) within the population or rated companies has been highest in the U.S., which blazed ahead with 158 defaults in 2009 (through Sept. 16). Of the remainder, the EU recorded 15, the other developed markets (mainly Canada) 12, and the emerging markets 31.
• Consumer discretionary sectors lead the global default count, though industrials and housing-related sectors also are reporting numerous casualties. Companies in leisure/media are in the lead globally (mainly because of the U.S.), with 53 defaults in 2009 (through Aug. 31). Next in line is the aerospace/auto/capital goods/metals category (35 defaults), followed by forest products and building materials (26 defaults), and consumer/service (24 defaults). When factoring in only speculative-grade ratings, homebuilders and forest products led with a global default rate of 18% for the trailing 12 months ended in August.
• Defaults continue to emerge from the lowest rungs of the ratings ladder. This is true not only in a single year but also on a cumulative basis. More than four-fifths (86%, or 187 entities) of this year's defaults year-to-date emerged from the speculative-grade domain, with an initial rating of BB+ or lower.
• Companies with an original rating of B face maximum default risk exposure. Among this year's defaulters, entities with an initial rating in the B rating category (which includes B+, B, and B-) accounted for the largest number of defaults, at 122. Next in line were entities with an initial rating in the BB rating category, with 54. Companies with a first rating of CCC+ or lower accounted for 11 of this year's total default count.
• An avalanche of low-rated rating originations during the credit boom indicates that considerable default risk still resides in the pipeline. For example, a total of 1,340 new speculative-grade ratings were originated globally from 2006 through the first half of 2009, of which only 100 have defaulted. This indicates a survival rate of 92.5%, which is expected to erode over time as more casualties occur and more issuers age. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact timing for such casualties because forbearance measures can delay the day of reckoning, particularly as financing conditions ease.
• The flow of distressed-debt exchanges has accelerated substantially and likely will reach an all-time high in 2009. Plummeting liquidity and deteriorating fundamentals set in motion a flurry of corporate distressed exchanges. In part, the increase reflected a pragmatic reaction to the shortage of financing options in the throes of the financial crisis. Of this year's 216 defaults, 81 were defined as distressed exchanges, by far the single leading default trigger across both developed and emerging markets. With $71.0 billion in rated debt, Ford Motor (F) was the largest issuer (by par volume) so far in 2009 to implement a distressed exchange. CIT Group (CIT), with $42.1 billion, came in second.
• By contrast, formal bankruptcy filings have been lower. The liquidity crunch created several bottlenecks for exit financing options and hastened the use of alternative pragmatic strategies, including prepackaged bankruptcies, distressed exchanges, and standstill agreements. Only 54 formal bankruptcies have been recorded globally this year, of which 48 were in the U.S., affecting rated debt worth $150.5 billion. With $53 billion in rated debt, General Motors was by far this year's biggest bankruptcy, followed by Charter Communications, with $22.5 billion.
•Troubled leveraged buyouts (LBOs) from prior years remain a fertile source of defaults this year. The actual volume of LBOs has dropped precipitously, totaling only $21.9 billion in the U.S. in the first half of 2009, compared with a peak of $433.7 billion in full-year 2007, according to Standard & Poor's Leveraged Commentary & Data. Moreover, in contrast with 2006, new deals in the U.S. are increasingly being funded with higher equity contributions and smaller shares of senior debt. Nevertheless, prior-year deals continue to emerge as casualties. In Europe, for example, 42 of 48 defaults recorded in the first half of 2009 were LBO-related.

Aviation Industry Says Leasing Remains #1 Source of Finance

Leasing remains the most important form of finance in the aircraft sector. According to research commissioned by CIT, 54% of respondents revealed that more than 50% of their fleets are leased, and they expect this to remain fairly consistent over the next five years.

Support funding from manufacturers (51%) ties with bank loans as the second most important form of aircraft finance followed by export credit loans (39%), secured bonds (28%), government loans (25%) and tax leases (24%). Leasing makes an appearance at some 11% in terms of funding importance.