Expiring tax cuts accelerated capex?

U.S. business borrowing for equipment rises in January: ELFA

Feb 25 (Reuters) — U.S. companies borrowed more in January to spend on capital investment, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said.

Companies signed up for $6 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, up 2 percent from a year earlier, but fell 44 percent from December, according to data from the ELFA.

“With fiscal pressures in Washington subsiding … and most major U.S. economic indicators showing positive signs, we are hopeful that these factors will help promote a favorable climate for continued investment in 2014 and beyond,” ELFA Chief Executive William Sutton said.

Washington-based ELFA, a trade association that reports economic activity for the $827 billion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 76.9 percent in January, down from 78.3 percent in December.

ELFA’s leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. It is designed to complement the U.S. Commerce Department’s durable goods orders report, which it typically precedes by a few days.