MLFI-25 Data Show Year-Over-Year Originations Increased in April

WASHINGTON — The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s /1 (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity for the $600 billion equipment finance sector, showed overall new business volume for April increased 16 percent when compared to the same period 2007.

The MLFI-25 reflects levels of equipment financed and complements other relevant economic indices, including the monthly durable goods report produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which reflects new orders for manufactured durable goods and the Institute for Supply Management Index, which reports economic activity in the manufacturing sector. Along with the MLFI-25 these reports provide a complete picture that describes the use of productive assets in the U.S. economy: equipment produced, acquired and financed.

Read Full News

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

Equipment leasing will preserve your working capital.

Are you starting a small business or have you been in business less than 2 years? As you may know, finding equipment leasing for a small business start up can be difficult.

Not anymore.

Our equipment leasing program for startup / new businesses is designed with you in mind! We don’t require any time in business so you can be a day 1 start up and we can still get your business equipment leasing!

Read Full Article 

Resources for 

• Unsecured Loans
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

BATON ROUGE — A federally backed state program will soon offer a second round of grants and loans totaling $80 million to small businesses recovering from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Louisiana Department of Economic Development and the Louisiana Recovery Authority announced Tuesday that the state will accept applications from June 9 to July 18 for the second phase of the Louisiana Business Recovery Grant and Loan Program, which combines grants and zero-interest loans to qualifying companies with up to 100 employees.

The program is separate from the financing services offered by the Small Business Administration.

"What was being done with the Small Business Administration was helpful but was not sufficient," economic development secretary Stephen Moret said.

Businesses in parishes hit by the storms may use the money for inventory, equipment, working capital or refinancing of storm-related debt. In the first phase, applicants had to show a loss of revenue due to the storm, but the new phase also allows companies to show a loss of assets to qualify.

Other changes have been made to the program based on experience in the first round. For example, the awards will be made in lump sums rather than stretched out.

Each award will be 20 percent grant and 80 percent loan, which after two years begins charging interest at 4 percent. The awards are capped at $100,000.

The first phase distributed $100 million.

Read Full News

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the Federal Government,

SBA Programs

Even if you have been turned down by your local bank, a SBA lender may be able to help you. Many SBA lenders will give special consideration to minority and/or women owned businesses. You will still need to meet the credit criteria. These are loans not grants.

Read Full Article

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

Borrowing money has never been easy for many small businesses, especially when they’re in the startup stage. It’s gotten even tougher in the aftermath of the mortgage and credit crisis, with lenders more worried about taking on the risks associated with business loans.

Glen Boehmer has owned a printing company for more than 20 years, and taken out a number of mortgages and lines of credit over the years. His company, Sentinel Printing Co., in Hempstead, N.Y., has a good track record but he said of his latest trip to the bank, "it’s been a challenge this time."

Read Full News 

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

Every once in a while, each one of us is confronted with a financial need and in order to meet this need, obtaining a personal loan is a must. Sometimes, you need the money to buy a car, improve your home, go on a trip, or start your own business. Whatever your reason is for taking out a personal loan, here are the basic things that you should know about it:

Secured loans and Unsecured loans

Loans can be classified as either a secured or unsecured loan. Secured loans usually come with a lower rate of interest but you would be required to submit collateral such as your home in order to be approved. On the other hand, an unsecured loan may come with higher interest rates but you won’t have to submit a security for your loan.

Most people prefer to get a secured loan because they are more affordable for their budget and tend to have higher credit limits. Nevertheless, some people dislike the idea of putting their home on the line so they choose to apply for an unsecured personal loan. Your choice would really depend on your needs and your capacity to make payments.

Read Full Article 

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

T AMPA - Launching a small business is never easy, but a combination of a weak economy, a depressed housing market and a drop in home equity may be preventing many small businesses from even opening.

In Hillsborough County, the number of newly opened businesses paying county business taxes - previously known as occupational license fees - is down by nearly 18 percent from a year ago and down 25 percent when compared with two years ago, according to Hillsborough County business tax receipts.

The fallout is that even promising young businesses may be struggling to get off the ground. Recently, Tim and Leisha Rider of Seffner sought startup capital from two banks for their new defense contracting business, Vykin Corp. They were optimistic because they had a contract worth nearly eight figures to provide IT services to a major military contractor in Iraq.

They were shocked when two banks offered them a total of $30,000, which is less than a third of the $100,000 they were seeking. They eventually got funding from a specialty finance company called AmeriFactors.

Read Full News 

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

Ordering a copy of your credit report is just the first step in protecting your credit. Analyzing the information contained in your credit report and taking action are the more important steps for you to take. Are you up to that challenge of using your credit report in improving your credit standing and increasing your credit score? If yes, then use this credit report guide that will help you face up to the challenge.

Be a responsible payer. Obviously, the best way to boost your credit is to be a responsible borrower. This means, you should not only strive to pay your debts but to always submit your payments on time. This may seem like a really easy step but putting it into practice can prove to be harder than you think. If you’re really serious about improving your credit score, paying your debts on time should always be your priority.

Don’t get too many credit cards. Owning several credit cards will not do much in improving your credit score. In fact, too many credit cards can even cost your credit score to drop if you keep incurring unpaid balances on these cards. Having just one or two credit cards should be enough to help you build credit. It will also help you put your credit card usage under control.

Pay off your credit card balance in full. If you are in the habit of paying only the minimum due, you’re putting yourself at risk of mounting debts and lowering your credit score at the same time. Carrying over your balances from month to month costs you additional interest payments which you can altogether avoid if you completely pay off your balance by the end of the month. Think about how much you can save and what a big improvement it can make on your credit score.

Read Full Article 

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

Troubled bank says it will be closing two British personal loan businesses.

LONDON (AP) — Citigroup Inc. will close two of its British personal loan operations and could cut more than 650 jobs, the embattled banking giant said Monday.

Citi UK said that as of Wednesday, it will stop offering loans through its Future Mortgages and CitiFinancial arms, which deal mainly in subprime mortgage and unsecured personal loans, respectively.

"This business realignment reflects Citi’s recently announced global focus of allocating capital to the best opportunities for growth," the company said in a statement.

Read Full News 

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans 

When it comes to choosing loans, choices are many and in fact choosing can be a bit confusing. One of the things you should know before choosing a loan is that loans are categorized according to types. Different types of loans are designed to match the specific financial needs of borrowers. Each loan type presents different options for you. Let’s consider the basic points you should know about loans available in the market.

Secured Loans and Unsecured Loans

Secured loans are ideal for bigger financial projects. These loans can use property, business equipment, cars, mortgages etc as collateral. In case of default, the lender has the right to foreclose the property or take possession of the collateral submitted. For this reason, secured loans are also granted for those with less-than-perfect credit scores. The collateral they submit serves as protection for the lender in case the borrower fails to complete the repayment on his loan.

Read Full Article 

Resources for 

• Equipment Leasing
• Working Capital
• SBA Loans