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Economy
BEHIND THE NEWS: News from the front lines: More tough times ahead
August 4, 2008
Greg AndrewsThe past 12 months have been hard to take, with all the gloom-anddoom headlines about the weak housing market, subprime credit
crisis and softening economy. We're all ready for some good news. Unfortunately, I can't provide it here. That's because executives
on the front lines of Indiana business-those most tuned in to the twists and turns of the state's economy-aren't ready to
call a turnaround yet. In second-quarter conference calls with analysts, the executives are trumpeting their firms' ability
to...
MoreRacquet Club Pro Shop continues record growth: Team sales pushing specialty retailer's expansion
August 4, 2008
Anthony SchoettleIn the midst of a down economy and tepid interest in tennis, the only problem the Indianapolis Racquet Club Pro Shop has is
where to expand next. Pushed by double-digit-percentage sales growth in nine of the last 12 years, the IRC Pro Shop has expanded
from a 750-square-foot shoebox to become an industry giant in the specialty tennis category. Most tennis club pro shops are
breakeven operations, but IRC officials said they have seen profit grow each of the last...
MoreCommentary: Please copy this column
August 4, 2008
Chris Katterjohn(In deference to '60s radical Abbie Hoffman and his 1971 cult paperback "Steal This Book," I hereby relinquish our copyright
to this column and give you permission to copy it. I'll tell you what to do with it later.) Silly me, I thought Mitch Daniels
had really shaken things up and done a great job in his first four years as governor. To hear his Democratic opponents in
the upcoming election tell it, you'd think he had provided uninspired leadership...
MoreHotels feeling travel slump: City occupany rates fall, but downtown operators performing well this year thanks to convention
biz
August 4, 2008
Scott OlsonStaggeringly high gasoline prices and a sputtering economy are preventing scores of would-be travelers from packing up their
thirsty sport-utility vehicles and heading to their favorite vacation destinations. Nationwide, hotel occupancy rates slipped
to 68 percent through June of this year, down from 71 percent the same time last year, according to the most recent data from
Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research. For the most part, local hotel operators are feeling the same pain. Through the first
six months of the...
MorePearson Partners recovers from HHGregg loss: Agency gains new clients, projects 20-percent growth
July 28, 2008
Anthony SchoettleRon Pearson said business at his Indianapolis-based advertising agency over the last year has been "stellar." Exaggeration
or not, any growth at Pearson Partners is a 180-degree reversal from the dire situation the firm faced just a year ago. In
April 2007, Pearson's firm-then called Pearson McMahon Fletcher England-lost its biggest client, HHGregg. Last summer, Pearson
cut nearly half its work force, paring the agency down to about 20 employees in the wake of losing the $20-million-plus account.
Pearson's capitalized...
MoreBank-run scenes create concerns: IndyMac situation unlikely in Indiana, but customers should check out stability of their
banks, experts warn
July 28, 2008
Cory SchoutenIt was a scary scene, reminiscent of the Great Depression: Customers lined up outside California's IndyMac Bank branches to
withdraw deposits after a bank run led to the bank's failure. The images have driven some central Indiana customers-businesses
and individuals-to take a more critical look at the strength of their banks and the safety of their deposits. Even as financial
stocks rallied in mid-July, the risk remains for more bank failures. Dismal earnings reports and massive write-downs continued
in recent...
MoreVIEWPOINT: Let's bring government into this century
July 28, 2008
Ann MurtlowIn the early 1970s, employees at Xerox Corp. developed a breakthrough version of the desktop personal computer called the
Xerox Alto. The innovation was quickly shelved by the company-everyone knew there was no market for a personal computer! It
was later licensed to Steve Jobs along with a few other "orphan technologies" for $1 million in stock in his young company,
Apple. The rest, as they say, is history. Xerox is still a solid company, valued at $17 billion. Of...
MoreIndependent coffee shops feeling perkier than Starbucks
July 28, 2008
Chip CutterAt a time when Starbucks is closing hundreds of stores nationwide, he and other local independent coffeehouse owners say they're doing just fine, largely because they're infusing their stores with personality and offering consumers an experience chain stores can't replicate.
EYE ON THE PIE: Taking the con out of economics
July 21, 2008
Morton MarcusA marketing professor at the Kelley School of Business used to proclaim he could teach all one needed to know about economics
in a week. That was back in the days when faculty would spend a few minutes of the morning hours in the coffee room engaged
in friendly banter as well as serious discussion. The coffee room and my friend are both gone, but to me, a teacher of economics,
the insult remains. Imagine-denigrating my calling, my faith, with...
More10 local Starbucks will be among 600 nationwide closings
July 21, 2008
Cory SchoutenAt least 10 local Starbucks stores are slated to close by early next year as part of a 600-store nationwide purge. The chain
has named only 50 of the stores it plans to close, including two in Indiana, but it has notified the others. Those include
at least six in Indianapolis and stores in Carmel, Greenwood and Beech Grove.
MoreCarmel's play for the arts: Some fear it will come at Indianapolis' expense
July 21, 2008
Chris O\'malleyThe $80 million-plus Carmel Performing Arts Center, a neo-classical-styled concert hall designed to be an acoustical masterpiece,
is still two years from opening. But it's already the source of some dissonance in the Indianapolis arts community to the
tune of Mozart's String Quartet No. 19, in C major. On one hand, Indianapolis-area performing arts groups would sacrifice
to theater god Dionysus for a chance to perform at the 1,600-seat music hall or at its adjacent 500-seat theater. But others
fret...
MoreEvents facing higher costs at Lucas Oil Stadium: Venue managers also bracing for additional expenses
July 14, 2008
Jennifer WhitsonLocal big-draw events are itchy to make their first-ever runs in the $675 million Lucas Oil Stadium, in hopes the roomier
venue will let them draw more attendees who want to kick the tires and enjoy the new stadium smell. But there's a trade-off-a
bigger price tag to cover security guards, ushers and cleanup. And at least one event is weighing higher ticket prices as
a result. "I don't think there's any doubt [Lucas Oil Stadium] will cost more based...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS: What we can learn from our kids' summer activities
July 14, 2008
Mike HicksSummer is at its midpoint, and with it comes the end of youth baseball, scout camp and a seemingly endless string of swim
meets for the Hicks household. Like many of you out there, I welcome a few more quiet evenings at home. But during those long
third-inning stretches and sleepless evenings in a tent, I spent some time calculating how much we value these youth sports
and activities. You might be surprised what this math tells us about ourselves....
MoreBEHIND THE NEWS: Finish Line's stock surge salves investors' wounds
July 7, 2008
Greg AndrewsFinish Line Inc. always has been a volatile stock. Jump in at the right time and make a bundle. Pick the wrong time and take
a bath. To be sure, investors who had the foresight to invest during Finish Line's darkest days early this year-when it seemed
inevitable that the company would have to close on the $1.5 billion acquisition of Tennessee-based Genesco Inc.-fall in the
former category. Since hitting an all-time low of $1.48 a share Jan. 10, the...
MoreMore firms adding diversity coordinators: Law practices, others see benefit to encouraging diverse workplace
July 7, 2008
Scott OlsonBrita Horvath celebrated her first year on the job late last month as Baker & Daniels LLP's diversity and pro bono coordinator.
Even in a part-time capacity, paying someone to tackle diversity issues within the workplace would have been unthinkable 30
years ago, recalls Greg Utken, a firm partner who co-chairs its diversity committee. "When I got out [of law school] in 1974,
the firm I was with had no women and no people of color; it was white male,"...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Social-responsibility movement has a dark side
July 7, 2008
Mike HicksIdentifying corporate villainy is a delightful pastime that virtually all of us have reveled in at some point or another.
There are only two problems with this form of entertainment. A description of the first comes simply stated to us from the
Gospel of John as "he who is without sin cast the first stone." The second problem is a general lack of intellectual rigor
in the debate. The heavily funded attacks on corporate America come primarily from organizations with...
MoreNeed something? They'll trade you: Industry consolidation is remaking bartering terrain
June 30, 2008
Jennifer WhitsonMarketing firm owner Lorraine Ball knows how to promote a business-a valuable commodity among cashstrapped entrepreneurs looking
to bolster their bottom lines. So it's little wonder that she is able to trade her expertise for services she needs, whether
it's help with an online video or time with a personal trainer. Ball is among a growing group of small-business owners embracing
the age-old barter system, methaphorically scratching one another's backs to save on cash and credit. Although Ball prefers
to...
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: It's not just the economy, stupid
June 30, 2008
Morton MarcusNo doubt, the Daniels administration will trumpet the fact that Indiana was the ninth-fastestgrowing state in the first quarter
of this year. That's right; personal income in the Hoosier state grew at an annual rate of 5.1 percent, while the nation advanced
4.6 percent. But, as noted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, which generates these data, Indiana was among the fastergrowing
states because of dramatic increases in the prices of corn and soybeans. North Dakota came in first,...
MoreINVESTING: Why Anheuser-Busch bid resonates in Indianapolis
June 30, 2008
Ken SkarbeckOne of our sister Midwestern cities is locked in a fight for its corporate identity. A n h e u s e r- B u s c h , maker and
distributor of Budweiser brand beers-and the corporate icon of St. Louis-is engaged in a $46.3 billion takeover battle for
its survival as a U.S.-based company. The would-be acquirer is Belgium-based InBev, the second-largest brewer by volume in
the world. London-based SABMiller, who in 2002 bought Miller Brewing in Milwaukee,...
MoreCommentary: Wishing Nat City a speedy recovery
June 30, 2008
Mickey MaurerOn June 19, The New York Times business section led with an article titled, "Regional Banks are Rocked." The accompanying
graphic indicated that National City Bank lost 86 percent of its market value since the beginning of this year. No wonder.
The news has not been good. On June 10, Peter Raskind, chairman and CEO of National City, acknowledged publicly that on Feb.
5, the bank had been placed under a memorandum of understanding by the comptroller of the currency....
MoreThe daily lunch special? Life sciences information: Law firm, Indiana Health Industry Forum bringing industry players together
for monthly presentations
June 23, 2008
Katie MaurerThe phrase "Let's do lunch" has taken on a new meaning over the past five years in the Indiana life sciences community. Since
2003, a who's who of the biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceutical and other fields have gathered at the downtown law
offices of Barnes & Thornburg LLP to meet and eat at the Life Sciences Lunch Series. A collaborative effort of the law firm
and the Indiana Health Industry Forum, the monthly event provides a networking and education platform...
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: Idea may be worth more than a few laughs
June 23, 2008
Morton MarcusAfter many years, my good friend the Rev. Bob arrived in Indiana. He's been busy tending his flock at St. Lucifer's in Kansas.
After some traditional words of greeting and invocation, the Rev. Bob tore right into me. "How come you never write about
positive ideas for helping Indiana get out of its economic doldrums? All you do is elaborate on the well-known truth that
the Hoosier economy is a long-term mess." "What would you suggest?" I asked. "Something no...
MoreLocal tree-care firms respond to rash of storms: Forestry specialists and arborists work 14-hour days to keep up with sky-high
demand in central Indiana
June 23, 2008
Anthony SchoettleIf there's a silver lining to high winds and torrential rain, it can be found in the bank accounts of companies called upon
to clean up the mess. For the dozens of tree cutting, trimming and hauling firms that fill up seven pages in the local Yellow
Pages, the storms of late spring came at just the right time. "We didn't get one call for three weeks prior to the storms
hitting," said Russell Goodman, owner of locally based All...
MoreFlagship rises over post-GM town: Incubator has helped preserve automotive talent base, foster diverse businesses
June 16, 2008
Chris O\'malleyANDERSON - Along Interstate 69, in a new industrial building with side-windows covered in paper to foil prying eyes, Altair
Nanotechnologies is perfecting a ceramic oxide battery with three times the power of a conventional lithium battery. Up the
road, Comfort Motion Technologies has written software to make a car's power seat jiggle ever so subtly, to keep one's back,
butt and thighs comfortable on long drives. And everybody is keeping an eye on Pete Bitar, whose green laser device...
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: Data can work for both candidates
June 16, 2008
Morton MarcusLast night I had a stressful dream. Instead of being the well-integrated personality that I am, in my dream I am twins. One
twin is an adviser on economic matters for Gov. Mitch Daniels and the other serves in the same capacity for challenger Jill
Long Each twin plows through economic data. He spins statistics that make the favored candidate's arguments look good. The
twin for Mitch argues how well Indiana's economy is performing; the twin working for Jill makes...
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Saw the Indy Men's Chorus "Music of Gilbert & Sullivan" at the Indiana Historical Society on Sunday evening.
Temporary workers are not "tools" they are people and companies that keep large amounts of temp staff are cheating.
I miss having them around. I hope one of their stores is in the general Meridian/86th Street area. I will make good use of it.
The Fringe! Plus, the simple fact that there are so many local faves in such close proximity to each other.
I remenber, watching the toll road, being built, through South Bend, when I was 10 years old. I believe, back then that it was estimated, that the toll road, would be paid for in 20 years and then it would be free. I am now 71, what happened? Since the power is in the people, by that, I mean that, we the people are in total control of everything. I, suggest that no one ever use the toll road again, let it go broke. We the people can control the price of everything, from groceries to gas, if we would just do it. If we don't pay the asking price, the sellers will lower the price and if we wait awhile, they will lower the price to what we accept as reasonable. I would like to know why a highway like interstate 94, is so well maintained, a much better highway, than the toll road, but has no tolls. I would also like to know why, a sitting governor, with a term limit, maximum of eight years, can lease, public property, for 75 years. Even though I have transponders in both of my trucks and will not be affected by the increase, I have been and will contine to avoid using the toll road. I make many trips from northern Indiana to Chicago, every year, and I prefer the better highway, I94!