Reuters (2/23, Vijayakumar) reported that the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) announced on Friday that “US companies’ borrowing to spend on capital investment rose about 10 percent in January from a year earlier,” adding that “companies signed up for $6.9 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month.” ELFA Chief Executive Ralph Petta is quoted saying, “Despite a spike in delinquencies, which bears a watchful eye for signs of deterioration in credit markets in the coming months, the new year gets off to a strong start for the equipment finance industry.” Petta added, “Business owners continue to expand their operations and acquire productive assets, even as interest rates edge up ever so slightly and the Fed is poised to cool an overheated economy.”
