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Economy
Ethanol's secret: Highly touted alternative fuel needs tax subsidies to survive
February 27, 2006
Chris O\'malleyState and local leaders have been crowing about how ethanol plants will bring more jobs to Indiana and put more dollars in
the pockets of corn farmers. If that prospect isn't enough to make votecoveting politicians and corn farmers giddy, General
Motors Corp. started singing ethanol's praises this month in TV ads. Joyous motorists frolic under blue skies-all thanks to
ethanol's promise of cleaner air and energy independence from oil. But there's another economic reality for motorists who
use E85,...
MorePETER SCHNITZLER Commentary: Embrace India while you still can
February 27, 2006
PETER SCHNITZLER Commentary Embrace India while you still can India will fool you, if you don't pay attention. The term "developing
nation" doesn't begin to do it justice. Having traveled internationally a number of times before, I thought I was prepared
for whatever culture shocks awaited more than 8,000 miles away. I anticipated the heaving crowds, the livestock in the crumbling
streets, even the abject poverty. I didn't expect innovation. And especially not entrepreneurship on par with the kind found...
MoreBULLS & BEARS: Indiana's in biofuel game; now it should strive to win
February 27, 2006
Ken SkarbeckOver the past few months, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar has been vocal in touting the benefits of renewable fuels such as ethanol
and biodiesel. It would be wise for the state's government and business leaders to heed his message. The renewable fuel industry
is gathering momentum and has a high probability of growing into a substantial industry. The energy bill President Bush signed
into law last summer mandates the use of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol each year by 2012,...
MoreEmerging India: Opportunity or threat?: Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition
February 27, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerOpportunity or threat? Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition Next month, President Bush will make his first
official visit to India. To most of the American media, it'll be just one more round of global terrorism discussions with
a distant foreign nation, perhaps worthy of a brief. The Indian press knows better. Six weeks ahead of Bush's trip, banner
headlines about it ran in every newspaper. Al Hubbard knows better, too. Friends with Bush since their days at Harvard...
MoreEntrepreneurship the Indian way: A day with a Bangalore software-maker reveals business parallels
February 20, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerBANGALORE, India-HealthAsyst CEO Umesh Bajaj remembers when the only computers allowed in India were self-assembled. As recently
as 20 years ago, the Indian government's protectionist measures prohibited foreign companies from directly selling PCs. Instead,
Indians imported microchips and built the computers themselves. In his first job as an electronics engineer for an Indian
conglomerate, Bajaj crisscrossed the country marketing versions of mainframes and desktops made in India. Today Bajaj, a 55-year-old
born in New Delhi, owns his own Bangalore-based health...
MoreEmerging India: Passage to Bangalore: Hoosiers seek outsourcing and investment opportunities
February 20, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerPassage to Bangalore Hoosiers seek outsourcing and investment opportunities BANGALORE, India-The deal was falling apart. Despite
a week of flirtation and friendly negotiations, the two young Indian entrepreneurs rejected the offer from the group of Hoosier
investors. Frustrated, the investors walked out of the hotel conference room. The chance to speculate on an Indian software
startup called Picsquare.comhad fizzled. But none of the six Indiana business leaders was demoralized. After all, they'd crossed
the globe to pursue business opportunities in...
MoreBULLS & BEARS: Trading too much in stocks a great way to erase profits
February 20, 2006
Dave GilreathA common hindrance to creating wealth from stocks is overtrading. Investors feel compelled to take a profit because, as they
like to say, "If you don't sell, the gain is just 'on paper.'" However, some of the world's best investors commit funds to
a stock and hold it for fairly long periods; not forever, but quite a while. According to the mutual-fund-ratingservice Morningstar,
there is an inverse correlation between turnover and performance in the funds they monitor. Sure, some folks...
MoreWant-ad battle brewing: Newspapers feel threatened by state's deal with Monster
February 13, 2006
Anthony SchoettleA four-year, $2.8 million deal between the DWD and McLean, Va.-based Monster Government Solutions to develop and maintain
an online job search and recruitment system is coming under heavy fire, with newspaper operators saying a system funded by
their own tax dollars will harm their business. DWD officials said the deal is designed to lower unemployment and boost Indiana's
economy. "We think this deal is going to result in a brain gain, keeping people employed and keeping our college graduates...
MoreRoll the cameras: State cranks up efforts to court film industry under new task force
February 13, 2006
Scott OlsonNorth Carolina offers a 15-percent tax credit to filmmakers to help offset production costs. The credit recently helped sway
a national retailer to shoot an in-store commercial there instead of in Indiana. While the $600,000 production hardly compares
to a multimillion-dollar motion picture, losing it was a big deal for local companies that didn't get the work. Holli Hanley
of Grand Illusion Lighting Inc. in Zionsville, which rents lighting equipment to production companies, lamented the loss.
"Everyone in the entire...
MoreBRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Health care is hurting Indiana's economy
February 13, 2006
Nearly 875,000 Hoosiers lack health insurance, including 165,350 children. Lack of health insurance takes a devastating toll
on Hoosiers and the state's economic health, and the effect of the uninsured will only get worse as their numbers grow. As
companies confront rising health care costs, the obvious solution is dropping or scaling back health-insurance benefits. As
a result, the number of uninsured increases, resulting in a premium cost shift to the insured and increased cost for government-provided
health care. Over...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS:
February 6, 2006
Patrick BarkeyYou can tell that economists as a group don't have a marketing bone in their bodies. How else can you explain the incomprehensible
name we've given the measure of economic activity we watch more closely than any other? Gross domestic product. If I were
a comedian, I could probably do a sketch on what images those words conjure up. But I'm an economist, so there's little chance
of that. Instead, like the rest of my brood, I am diving into...
MoreVIEWPOINT: Our schools let talent go to waste
January 30, 2006
Ginny BurneyWe have two kinds of schools: those that encourage each child to be all he/she can be and those that focus on being efficient
institutions for groups of children. The first kind of school finds ways to help each child who struggles, meets each child's
educational needs, and finds ways to provide each child with the context to achieve as much as he/she can at the most appropriate
pace. The second kind of school is focused on making sure as...
MoreBusy year, but no record: A Wellpoint deal leads list for second year in row, but 2005 lacks blockbuster
January 30, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerFor the second year in a row, a giant Wellpoint deal led the pack. As much money was involved in Wellpoint's $6.7 billion
acquisition of WellChoice Inc. as in the rest of the list combined. It was a huge deal by most any company's standard-except
Wellpoint's. The year before, Wellpoint's $22.7 billion merger with Anthem Inc. led all deals and then some. Thanks to that
single mega-deal, 2004's $31 billion list total shattered all previous local merger and acquisition records....
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: Let's revisit the State of the State
January 30, 2006
Morton MarcusQuite appropriately, Gov. Mitch Daniels did not make any claims about "a revitalized Indiana economy" in his recent State
of the State speech. He stuck to the theme that we are on track to turning the economy around rather than proclaiming any
victory. This restraint was well-warranted. Indiana ranked 45th among the 50 states in its rate of employment growth for the
past year (November-to-November figures). The nation added jobs at a 1.5-percent rate. Our 0.3-percent increase beat out only...
MoreLocal money managers beat the Street in '05: But not by much; huge returns a distant memory
January 30, 2006
Matthew KishPut your money in value stocks. No, put it in a mix of value and growth stocks. No, go with value stocks and a peppering of
mutual funds, just to be safe. Gather Indianapolis' most prominent money managers in a room, and the advice would go something
like that. Yet while the city's highest-profile wealth handlers take wildly different approaches to investing, they agree
on one point: The market posted a disappointing performance in 2005. "It was a difficult year...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Americans' spending binge is ultimately unsustainable
January 30, 2006
Patrick BarkeyAmericans don't save much these days. Twenty years ago, our 9-percent rate of savings was troubling and somewhat embarrassing,
compared with the double-digit savings rates of other industrialized economies. But that rate seems sky-high compared with
today. If savings rates remain as low as they've been the last few months, we may have to rename them. Dis-saving rates? It's
an odd-sounding word, if it even is one. But what else do you call a negative savings rate? According to the...
MoreBusy year, but no record: A Wellpoint deal leads list for second year in row, but 2005 lacks blockbuster
January 23, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerFor the second year in a row, a giant Wellpoint deal led the pack. As much money was involved in Wellpoint's $6.7 billion
acquisition of WellChoice Inc. as in the rest of the list combined. It was a huge deal by most any company's standard-except
Wellpoint's. The year before, Wellpoint's $22.7 billion merger with Anthem Inc. led all deals and then some. Thanks to that
single mega-deal, 2004's $31 billion list total shattered all previous local merger and acquisition records....
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: Let's revisit the State of the State
January 23, 2006
Morton MarcusQuite appropriately, Gov. Mitch Daniels did not make any claims about "a revitalized Indiana economy" in his recent State
of the State speech. He stuck to the theme that we are on track to turning the economy around rather than proclaiming any
victory. This restraint was well-warranted. Indiana ranked 45th among the 50 states in its rate of employment growth for the
past year (November-to-November figures). The nation added jobs at a 1.5-percent rate. Our 0.3-percent increase beat out only...
MoreLocal money managers beat the Street in '05: But not by much; huge returns a distant memory
January 23, 2006
Matthew KishPut your money in value stocks. No, put it in a mix of value and growth stocks. No, go with value stocks and a peppering of
mutual funds, just to be safe. Gather Indianapolis' most prominent money managers in a room, and the advice would go something
like that. Yet while the city's highest-profile wealth handlers take wildly different approaches to investing, they agree
on one point: The market posted a disappointing performance in 2005. "It was a difficult year...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Americans' spending binge is ultimately unsustainable
January 23, 2006
Patrick BarkeyAmericans don't save much these days. Twenty years ago, our 9-percent rate of savings was troubling and somewhat embarrassing,
compared with the double-digit savings rates of other industrialized economies. But that rate seems sky-high compared with
today. If savings rates remain as low as they've been the last few months, we may have to rename them. Dis-saving rates? It's
an odd-sounding word, if it even is one. But what else do you call a negative savings rate? According to the...
MoreVIEWPOINT: Our schools let talent go to waste
January 23, 2006
Ginny BurneyWe have two kinds of schools: those that encourage each child to be all he/she can be and those that focus on being efficient
institutions for groups of children. The first kind of school finds ways to help each child who struggles, meets each child's
educational needs, and finds ways to provide each child with the context to achieve as much as he/she can at the most appropriate
pace. The second kind of school is focused on making sure as...
MoreBiz-incentive plan may be beefed up: Legislators seek to strengthen EDGE program by doubling retention tax credit to $10 million
January 16, 2006
Peter SchnitzlerIndiana's showcase business incentive program is about to go through another tweaking. At the request of the Indiana Economic
Development Corp., legislators are considering changing the EDGE tax credit program to give it more teeth to retain existing
jobs. Since 1994, Indiana has used the Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE credit, to spur private-sector
job growth. The program allows budding companies to abate state payroll taxes for new employees. Over the last 12 years, Indiana
has authorized...
MoreECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The new economic reality: It's all about the work force
January 16, 2006
Patrick BarkeySince these words usually find their way out onto the Internet, I thought I'd work in the following phrase to get the hit
counters for the new year off to a good start: Evolution vs. intelligent design. Ah, that should do it. I can hear the sounds
of computer mouse clicks already. And, believe it or not, there's an economic angle to that debate. Not literally, of course.
Economics is pretty important, but I will concede that the creation of...
MoreBanking players on rise: Despite flood of mergers, area competition heats up
January 16, 2006
Matthew KishBig-ticket bank mergers grabbed plenty of headlines in the past two years. Just don't let the splashy news stories fool you.
The number of players in the Indianapolis banking market is expanding, even amid consolidation in the industry nationwide.
Over the past 10 years, the number of banks taking deposits in the metropolitan area has grown from 41 to 56, according to
annual data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Analysts attribute much of the growth to smaller banks and...
MoreFrom FFA to DNA: Businesses view convention as more than a gathering of corn growers
January 16, 2006
Matthew KishDon't call it the Future Farmers of America. That went out of style with pastel suits and parachute pants. The organization
is now known as the FFA. And it's no longer just a gathering of crop jockeys. The change in moniker partly illustrates why
business leaders are so excited for the first of at least seven annual conventions the organization will stage in the Circle
City starting in late October. "FFA is a premier, if not the premier, youth organization...
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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.