Nearly 2,500 years ago Greek poet Sophocles quipped that he would “rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.” It seems that some people disagree with Sophocles — they fail without honor while trying to cheat the system. To the... read more
Jan 2015
Lessors and lenders engaged in equipment leasing and finance should remember that a usury savings clause is not a “get out of jail free card.” Historically, equipment lessors have been less concerned with usury issues than their straight-loan brethren. The... read more
Jan 2015
Although the official unemployment rate is 5.6%, it is a misleading number. The labor participation rate (the percentage of working aged people who are working or looking for work) is at 62.8%, meaning over 92 million working-aged people are not... read more
Jan 2015
In making the case for global equipment leasing during a session at the recent ELFA convention, consultants from The Alta Group, and executives from Societe Generale Equipment Finance and Genpact made the business case for expanding equipment leasing beyond American... read more
Dec 2014
In the not-too-distant past, it was common practice for grocery chains to use available capital to build new stores or remodel old ones, with the thinking that the best use of the money was where the expenditure directly touched the... read more
Dec 2014
Editor’s note: Bill Stephenson, chairman and CEO of DLL, released the following article, published in its entirety. The business we are in is about helping our customers thrive in tough, competitive marketplaces. This means having to understand their immediate business... read more
Nov 2014
Much work remains on the lease accounting project, and I do not anticipate a final standard until early 2015. The proposal, which has been through two exposure periods, was highly criticized by a variety of constituents in the latest public... read more
Nov 2014
IT spending is surging in our industry, but with lowered expectations regarding transforming organization cost structures. Business executives now believe that broader business strategies must be key components of major initiative business cases. They have also discovered that the cost... read more
Nov 2014
Does anybody out there care that the proposed accounting rules will cause all sale leasebacks (SLBs) with fixed price purchase options (FPPOs) to be accounted for as debt by lessees? Does anybody care that the proposed rules will also force... read more
Oct 2014
Recently, monitordaily reported GE Capital segment results showed overall net earnings for Q3/14 were $1.492 billion, down 22% from $1.903 a year earlier. All financial segments – Consumer, Real Estate, GECAS and Energy Financial – were off, with the exception... read more
Oct 2014
In mid-September I read an article on American Banker about the “Winners and Losers on CIT’s OneWest Deal.” There were some interesting conclusions drawn by the writer. For example, CIT Group CEO John Thain was listed as a winner because... read more
Oct 2014
Although the transportation trade media has been reporting for months that trucking capacity is nearly maxed out, a recent survey by CK Commercial Vehicle Research (CKCVR) confirms it. Current fleet utilization rates indicate there is little capacity for new freight,... read more
Sep 2014
It is with a sense of renewed enthusiasm that we launch this newest version of monitordaily. This is our fifth iteration of the website that was first introduced to the equipment finance industry back in 1996. One of the hallmarks... read more
Sep 2014
Small business or micro-ticket financing executives are watching margins, monitoring competitors, studying the potential impact of new regulations and minding risk exposures, but the most important view is a global one — the one that Peter Diamandis spoke about at... read more
Sep 2014