July 10, 2009
IBJ StaffEmmis Communications Corp. reported a quarterly profit today after buying back a big chunk of its own debt on the cheap, but
the outlook for the company remains grim. The radio broadcaster and magazine publisher saw revenue plunge 27 percent.
More
July 10, 2009
Scott OlsonIvy Tech Community College President Tom Snyder is one of 13 candidates being considered for the position of chancellor of
the State University System of Florida.
More
July 9, 2009
IBJ StaffHome-sale agreements in the nine-county Indianapolis area dipped 1.4 percent in June compared to the same month a year
ago, according to a report released today by F.C. Tucker Co.
More
July 9, 2009
IBJ Staff and Associated PressHoping to spur alternative vehicles, lawmakers want to double the size of tax breaks on cars that run on natural gas. That
could be good news for Indiana, where Honda Motor Corp. produces the natural-gas-powered Civic GX in Greensburg.
More
July 9, 2009
Scott OlsonCincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank yesterday named Nancy Huber president and CEO of its central Indiana operations in Indianapolis.
More
July 9, 2009
IBJ StaffA Noblesville man was sentenced to one year of home detention yesterday after pleading guilty to mortgage fraud in federal
court. Marvin G. Hampton also was ordered to pay $262,424.76 in restitution to three lending institutions.
More
July 8, 2009
J.K. WallTwo Indianapolis benefits consulting firms have finalized their merger, the companies announced this morning. Terms of the
deal between Benefit Associates Inc. and Benefit Consultants Inc., in the works since March, were not disclosed.
More
July 8, 2009
IBJ StaffSteak n Shake Co. yesterday reported big increases in customer traffic and same-store sales for its fiscal third quarter,
which ended July 1. Customer traffic rose 13.4 percent and same-store sales jumped 5 percent in the quarter compared to the
same period a year ago, it said in a brief Securities and Exchange filing.
More
July 8, 2009
Scott OlsonHHGregg Inc. said this morning that the bankruptcy of competitor Circuit City should enable the company to open more stores
within the next few years than previously expected.
More
July 7, 2009
Cory SchoutenA local developer is planning a retail strip center along Madison Avenue just south of downtown in a neighborhood that's been
begging for investment for years. The plans by Keystone Construction Corp. call for a 25,000-square-foot retail
center at 1400 Madison Ave., across from Sisters' Place Restaurant.
More
July 7, 2009
Kathleen McLaughlinIndiana and Indianapolis arts agencies will receive more than a half-million dollars in federal stimulus money to help save
jobs at local organizations, the National Endowment for the Arts announced today. A second round of American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act funding includes $250,000 for the Arts Council of Indianapolis.
More
July 6, 2009
Anthony SchoettleRadio executive Tom Severino, who managed four local stations for Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp., died yesterday
after a five-month battle with cancer. Severino, 57, was vice president and general manager of WIBC-FM 93.1, WLHK-FM 97.1,
WFNI-AM 1070 and WYXB-FM 105.7.
More
July 6, 2009
Anthony SchoettleA management shake-up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has some in the motorsports industry thinking major changes could
be on the horizon at the fabled race venuemaybe as soon as next year.
More
July 6, 2009
Anthony SchoettleOrganizers of the 2009 U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick are sinking one birdie putt after another in their efforts to meet
their budget and draw strong crowds to central Indiana later this month. In this economy, sports marketers are calling ticket
and sponsorship sales for the tournament remarkable.
More
July 6, 2009
J.K. WallFranklin College filed a lawsuit today alleging trademark infringement against Ohio-based Franklin
University, which will open a campus in Castleton this fall. The liberal arts college south of Indianapolis
said the newcomer's marketing blitz has been too close to Franklin College’s own branding.
More
July 6, 2009
J.K. WallEli Lilly and Co.'s top rising-star drug has been approved by U.S. regulators for a new use, an event that could boost sales
of
the medication. Alimta, a lung cancer drug, was approved as a maintenance therapy for non-small cell lung cancer
for certain patients, Lilly announced today.
More
July 6, 2009
Chris O'MalleyResigned to inevitable government curbs on their carbon dioxide emissions, about
all Indiana utilities could do was say which poison they'd prefer to swallow. They're closer to
getting their favorite poison, with the U.S. House passage June 26 of a bill that would create a market
for trading carbon dioxide permits.
More
July 6, 2009
Cory SchoutenMost of the companies that agreed to help underwrite the 2012 Super Bowl are standing by their commitments even as the recession
wreaks havoc on their businesses. Of $25 million pledged by more than 80 companies before last year's bid process, only about
$1 million is at risk, said host committee head Mark Miles.
More
July 6, 2009
Chris O'MalleyCarmel-based mobile marketer Tetherball has deployed a program using
a radio frequency identification device that can measure in detail to what extent customers redeem loyalty and rewards offers.
More
July 6, 2009
Anthony SchoettleA locally born initiative to make a movie about the first Indianapolis 500 has cleared a major obstacle to getting its project
to big screens nationwide by May 2011in time for the race's centennial.
More
July 6, 2009
Peter SchnitzlerIndiana's struggling gambling industry didn't get the relief it sought during the special session of the Indiana General Assembly.
But embedded within the budget bill approved June 30 is a provision creating a gambling summer study committee. Its recommendations,
due by Dec. 1, may make or break several of Indiana's casinos.
More
July 6, 2009
Scott OlsonThe Indiana Minority Supplier Development Council has made life sciences companies its latest targetpart of an even
larger effort to attract minorities to the burgeoning life sciences industry under
way on a national scale.
More
June 29, 2009
Peter SchnitzlerCummins Inc. is battling its insurers in court, saying they're refusing to pay
most of the company's $381 million in claims stemming from the flood that immersed its southern Indiana
facilities a year ago.
More
June 29, 2009
Kathleen McLaughlinCoaches Tavern, MacNiven's Restaurant and Bar, and The Jazz Kitchen are among Indianapolis bars that recently limited or banned
smoking. Those establishments join a short list of bars that already buck the trend in Indianapolis. Smoking in public places,
including restaurants, has been banned in Marion County since 2006, but it's still OK to puff away in places that don't admit
minors.
More
June 29, 2009
Chris O'MalleyBy purchasing two struggling airlines for which it flies, Republic Airways Holdings is taking aboard substantial risks that
threaten its profitable niche, analysts say. Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines are not only leaking money, but fly at
an altitude where major carriers routinely dogfight
in a fare war Republic hasn't had to fight as a contract carrier.
More
Three Magi
Cats out of the bag. The object of the game is to get acquired. That means the company has no idea how to grow beyond a certain point. Email is a 1990s technology. I have laughed at this company since day one. Such a small bit player. If it was anywhere but here, it wouldn't be newsworthy.
Esther, Indy has passed Chicago in the local government corruption arena. Don't downgrade us. We're No. 1 in the Midwest.
Does the buyer get to keep the recent Accu-Chek J.D. Power award? Be careful, those Swiss cannot be trusted. Last June they pimped Mayor Ballard and former Governor Daniels at a media op, announcing plans to invest "$300 million at its Indianapolis headquarters, creating up to 100 new jobs by 2017," only to turn around and close the Roche Nutley, NJ facility and eliminate 1000 jobs there later the same week. It seems that healthcare can be innovated only as long as money is to be made. Right now Roche seems to have big eyes for China: there are many Chinese in China and potential billions in Swiss francs! Since Roche is having difficulty with US insurance companies swallowing the bill for overpriced cancer drugs (with debatable efficacy) why not sell insurance to the Chinese and market the drugs to them there? There is a name for these sort of business practices however proper decorum precludes it use in this forum.
Same kind of Luddites who oppose I-69. Guessing their 501(c)(4) application probably sailed right through the IRS.