While the U.S. government provides assistance to big banks to prevent their failure, community bank failures are on the rise: 58 since the start of the recession. The management consulting firm Oliver Wyman predicts 1,000 bank failures and hundreds of mergers over the next five years if community banks do not receive much-needed capital injections. Experts note that community banks do not have large exposures to derivatives, mortgage securities, capital markets, and residential mortgages, but residential construction loans make up a large portion of their portfolios. Although write downs of construction loans have been slowing, small and regional banks in Georgia, Florida, Southern California, and other distressed housing markets have been the hardest hit.
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Economists Foresee Protracted Recovery

In a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, 52 economists said, on average, that the recession will end in August, but growth will be slow to return. GDP is expected to contract 1.4 percent in the current quarter, with slow growth to return in the third quarter, and the economy expanding more than 2 percent in the first half of 2010. The economists also expect unemployment to reach 9.7 percent by the end of 2009, with 2 million jobs lost over the next 12 months while economic growth returns. About half of the economists said that it will be three or four years before the output gap is closed, though more than 25 percent said it will be five to six years. About half of the economists surveyed believe that stimulus has helped establish a base for sustainable recovery, though another 27 percent said that it boosted the economy, but may not be sustainable.

Libor Has Biggest Drop in Eight Weeks as Credit Thaws

The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, fell to 0.85 percent on May 14, a drop of almost three basis points and its largest since March 19. The TED spread dropped to its lowest rate since Aug. 9, 2007. With capital injections from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government, borrowing costs have fallen significantly. This fall in the Libor came at the same time that customer deposits rose, and stocks fell on fears that the economy's recovery would be delayed, with the MSCI World Index falling 3.2 percent this week. Several economic authorities have suggested that the global economy may face as many as 10 years of stagnation.
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U.S. Machine Tool Consumption Up 22.3 percent Vs. February

A report released May 11 found that U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $162.94 million in March 2009, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) and The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total was reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Consumption program, reflecting an increase of 22.3 percent from February but a decline of 71.9 percent from March 2008, when the total was $579.73 million. The year-to-date total for 2009 was $397.56 million, a decline of 68.8 percent compared to 2008. "We are pleased that the monthly totals have continued to increase since the historic lows that we saw in January," said AMTDA President Peter Borden. "This bounce may have been due to year-end inventory sales by some of the large importers, so the next quarter will tell us if we have, indeed, ‘bottomed out' as we hope. The forecasts for the remainder of 2009 warn that sales will be at least 50 percent below 2008 levels, which we are now approaching; so anything above that will be a plus."
(Link to Source/Publication)

Canon to Invest 1 Billion Rupees in India

Canon India Pvt. Ltd. announced that it will invest 1 billion rupees in its rental business, which includes the leasing of office equipment such as printers. Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice president of Canon India, said that the rental business will contribute 600 million rupees to Canon India's turnover, and Canon India is aiming for 10 billion rupees in revenue next year. The rental business plans to counter slower demand, as clients will not have to invest upfront to purchase equipment.

Abstract News © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC.

What's the Legal Standard in Electronic Recycling? Web Seminar: Best Practices in Electronic Recycling May 21, 2009, 1pm-2:30pm EDT This session will cover laws mandating logistics, processing, re-use and recycling best practices that should be your legal standard. Gain an overview of state laws as well as federal requirements, including government following the trail of discarded equipment sent overseas back to the stateside source. Environmental laws and data security regulations affect the risks your organization is exposed to and the measures you need to take during the asset recovery process. Who Should Attend? Legal counsel responsible for compliance. Equipment management professionals, including senior managers and their staff, and service providers to the industry. Panelists include: Dennis Brown, ELFA Vice President/State Government Relations Heather Bowman, Holland & Knight William Long, TechTurn Michael Higgs, EPC, a CSI Leasing Company To register, go to: http://webinars.elfaonline.org/session.php?id=2485 Last Day for Hotel Reservations: ELFA Credit & Collections Management Conference ELFA Credit & Collections Management Conference June 7-9, 2009 Marriott Crystal Gateway Crystal City, Virginia (Washington, D.C. area) The Credit and Collections Management Conference and Exhibition is one of the most anticipated events on the ELFA 2009 Calendar. In the current economy, this event has greater significance for those in the credit and collections field. Offering up-to-the minute updates and analysis on the industry, as well as expert advice from business executives in the form of timely breakout sessions, this year's conference is designed to help your business THRIVE during these difficult times. But you have to hurry! While registration for the event is still open, ELFA's special hotel rate for the conference ends today, Friday, May 15! To take advantage of this discounted rate, call the Marriott Crystal Gateway at (703) 920-3230 or (800) 228-9290. Don't miss out on one of the most anticipated conferences of the year; register at: http://www.elfaonline.org/pub/events/2009/CCM/ Special discount for Exhibitors! For information on how your company can exhibit or sponsor at this conference, contact Royann Holland at (202) 238-3423 or rholland@elfaonline.org Aircraft Equipment Finance Market Outlook Study With more than 5,000 aircraft leased worldwide, roughly one-third of the global freight and passenger fleet is under lease. This is up from 25% in 2001, and analysts predict that the proportion under lease will reach 50% by 2010. The aircraft leasing industry usually runs counter-cyclical, because airlines seek more financing during downturns. The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation commissioned a series of reports on the equipment finance outlook within the transportation segment. Global Insight was selected to conduct the research. The 2009-2013 Transportation Outlook: Aircraft Equipment Finance Market study is the third in the series and provides an outlook on aircraft (commercial and corporate) supply and demand, offers a review of the current situation and an analysis of future trends, and provides insight into those aspects of the leasing and financing industry affecting and affected by this market. Published by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation this study is available through the Foundation library at http://www.store.leasefoundation.org/ Free to Foundation donors. Get Quality In-house Training for Your Employees Thinking of training your employees on-site in your organization? ELFA can help. If you have more than 10 or more employees who need training in leasing and finance, ELFA can arrange for the Principles of Leasing Workshop to be held directly in your offices. Your employees will receive the same high quality training that is given in the off-site workshop and you will have to pay for no travel expenses. Times are hard! Save money and train your employees in-house. Call Janet Fianko at (202) 238-3420 or email her at jfianko@elfaonline.org to find out more. ELFA SPRINGS In to Web Seminars Enjoy the most convenient and cost-effective way to get information when YOU need it! Check out these upcoming web seminars Electronic Recycling: Best Practices Thursday, May 21st at 1pm EDT http://webinars.elfaonline.org/session.php?id=2485 The Secured Creditor Advantage: What the UCC Can Do For You Wednesday, June 17th, 1pm EDT http://webinars.elfaonline.org/session.php?id=2575 Changes in Lease Accounting - FASB/IASB Update Tuesday, June 23rd, 12:30pm EDT Registration opening soon! For more information please contact: Alexa Domeck, e-Learning Manager, adomeck@elfaonline.org