The return was a triumph after claiming a world-record helicopter flight of less than 13 days.

They flew fast - New York-to-London via Iceland, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands - in a record 41 hours, among other quick legs, confirmed A.W. Greenfield, head of records for the National Aeronautic Association.

But this was also a triumph of logistics, with fuel stops every four hours, in 18 countries, over 23,000 miles.

"We spent the last year preparing hundreds of details in different languages and currencies and arrangements that needed to be made," Kasprowicz said. "We had a great team.

"And you have to fly reliable machinery. This is a beautiful machine to look at - it's Italian design - and we did this without modifications."

The pilots had high praise for Philadelphia-based maintenance experts, who tracked the flight and even made a long-distance diagnosis of a faulty oil bypass valve that had to be changed.

"I got to rest up a little bit," said Kasprowicz, a former communications-company owner and Virginia state official. "We've been through a rigorous 14 days. But we really love to fly."

Deal values slip again

GF Data Resources L.L.C., co-owned by Philadelphia investment bankers Andrew Greenberg, of Fairmount Capital, and Graeme Frazier, of Private Capital Research L.L.C., surveyed 91 private-equity firms and found the number of deals valued at $10 million to $250 million dropped from 65 in the first half of 2007, to 48 in the second half, to 37 in the first half of this year.

Valuations continued to drop, but not so badly as last fall.

On average, companies sold at 5.7 times earnings (before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization), down from 6.3 times earnings a year earlier. Debt-to-earnings slipped to 3.5 times earnings from 5.0 times earnings.

GF will post deal data later this week at www.gfdataresources.com

Consumers weakening?

Scott Valentin, an analyst for Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc., warned clients today that the nation's biggest consumer lenders expect more people to stop paying their bills.

At American Express Co., late payments by cardholders rose to the highest level since 2001 last month; card losses will rise with unemployment rates into 2010, Valentin predicts.

Under the circumstances, American Express itself is having to pay more to borrow money, he added. Capital One Financial Corp. also reported more delinquencies from card and auto loans for July.

Busy planners

On the early agenda for today's Philadelphia City Planning Commission meeting:

Brian O'Neill's state-subsidized Philadelphia Regional Produce Terminal, 3062 S. 61st St., and his proposed deal with the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority for truck parking on 15 acres.

David Grasso's proposal for a hotel/apartment stores complex at 1600 Vine St.

More on plans for the Schmidt's Brewery site, 1101 N. Second St., by Bart Blatstein's Tower Investments.

The latest Stamper Square (NewMarket) redevelopment plan.

Oil woes hit bank

Sovereign Bancorp Inc. faces "a $73 million syndicated loan exposure to a bankrupt borrower, SemGroup L.P.," a Tulsa, Okla., oil-pipeline service and trucking company, according to Richard Weiss, bank analyst for Janney Montgomery Scott L.L.C. of Philadelphia, in a note today to clients.

Weiss said Sovereign chief financial officer Kirk Walters disclosed the exposure at a recent KBW Inc. investor conference. Weiss isn't worried - he says Sovereign has reserves and prepared investors for credit losses.

How'd Sovereign get stuck in the oil patch? "We have a very experienced group of commercial bankers working in the energy sector," said spokesman Ed Shultz. "The balance of the outstanding loans in the sector is a very small part of our portfolio."