Simon Property Group Inc. has been readying its balance sheet and sizing up buyout targets in hopes of capitalizing on a worldwide markdown on shopping-center owners.

A baby born of Indiana telecom reform is having some teething pains. AT&T's U-verse, Ma Bell's high-tech answer to cable television's troika of video/voice/Internet service, has generated several consumer complaints to state regulators since it was rolled out here in earnest last year. The complaints range from long installation times to frozen television pictures that require rebooting the system or calling a technician.

Mike's Express Carwash makes money the old-fashioned way. The second-generation family affair, now celebrating its 60th year, has invested its reserves in steady expansion, becoming a model for the $23.4 billion industry in the process. And its owners still sweat the small stuff.

Stock markets are falling, jobs are disappearing, and the outlook for the economy seems grim. Banks, real estate developers, retailers and manufacturers are taking the worst hits, but all types of businesses in central Indiana are hurting. From health care to technology, education to philanthropy, every industry is trying to take the setbacks in stride.

A local real estate developer has emerged as a top contender to buy the 28-story M&I Plaza--potentially at half the $50 million price the building fetched a decade ago. Paul Kite Co. confirmed it is in talks with Maryland-based CapitalSource Inc., which took over the struggling office tower in June after foreclosing on a $5 million mezzanine loan.

WellPoint Inc. touts as the company's biggest strength its dominant market share in its health insurance markets. But now the officers of the company are working to branch out beyond health insurance. They're training their sales force on how to better sell dental, vision and even life and disability insurance--which WellPoint refers to as its specialty group of products.

A local candy maker has found the sweet spot in an industry where startup efforts often go sour. Founded in 2006, Carmel-based Candy Dynamics is making a name for itself with its unusual "double-action" sour recipe, eye-catching packaging and unforgettable names like Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy, Nuclear Sludge and Hi-Voltage Bubble Gum.

A group of local business and civic leaders is working on a plan to transform the city's most visible symbol into a public-gathering space without equal in the United States. Monument Circle already hosts dozens of activities each year--including major concerts like last year's NFL Kickoff--and it will host several events connected to the 2012 Super Bowl. But many stakeholders believe the Circle has yet to live up to its true potential.

Mayor Greg Ballard worries his predecessor, Bart Peterson, may have overreached with his ambitious tax-increment-financing district for the last phase of Fall Creek Place. That phase of the renewed urban neighborhood isn't producing enough revenue to support its $6.2 million in outstanding bonds. And Ballard is not sure all of Marion County's 37 other TIF district are necessary, either.

Insurance giant Safeco Corp. is expected to either vacate or scale back its downtown operation next year--a move that could deal a major blow to the office market. At stake are about 700 downtown jobs, some or all of which could be eliminated or shifted to the suburbs. A final decision about the fate of Safeco's five-building downtown office complex likely will come after Boston-based Liberty Mutual completes its $6.2 billion acquisition of Seattle-based Safeco.

A fast-growing Carmel startup is using a blend of innovative software and human guides to answer questions over the phone. The company could have located on either coast, but instead chose Carmel's Clay Terrace. And the company, Interactions Corp., has raised more than twice as much money as ChaCha Search Inc., a higher-profile startup in a similar business that's also housed in Clay Terrace.

Indianapolis International Airport officials hope to double advertising revenue, pushing it past $1 million, when the midfield terminal opens in November. That income, officials said, is important because it helps ease pressure on cash-strapped airlines, allowing them to focus on offering more flights. The airport relies on non-airline revenue, such as food sales and advertising, for about 60 percent of its revenue.

 Regional economic development experts say cities must woo talented people while they're young--in their 20s or early 30s--because, after that age, people tend to hunker down. The Indianapolis area apparently appeals to at least two key groups of young people--particularly those already married, according to a new study by researchers at IUPUI.

These days, many Indianapolis arts organizations barely know where their next dollar will come from. But an innovative fund-raising model that's found success in other cities might provide that sorely needed cash. In Cincinnati, a venerable not-for-profit called the United Arts Fund, founded in 1927, stages an annual workplace campaign, then doles out the bountiful proceeds to local arts organizations.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels is building his campaign for re-election in part on another attempt to cash in a jackpot on the Hoosier Lottery. This time, he's hedging his bet. In case leasing the Hoosier Lottery outright to a private operator is politically impossible, Daniels is exploring a major bond issue backed by its future revenue.

Fans walking into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the First MotoGP race there Sept. 14 likely won't recognize the place. Sponsor ads will hang on the inside walls of the track. There will be a host of companies in the hospitality area--including Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati and Repsol--that have never set foot inside the Speedway's grounds.  The motorcycle-specific nature of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP will permeate every facet of the event and affects all elements of the host city's planning.

Cities and counties are looking for alternatives to asphalt as the price soars for the oil-based material and threatens to bring paving projects and contractors skidding to a halt. The city of Indianapolis may have just found one viable alternative that goes down like asphalt: roller-compacted concrete, or "rollcrete."

Five airlines at Indianapolis International Airport--all of them paying higher fees and rents to help pay for the $1.1 billion midfield terminal--complain they may be stuck footing the bill for part of the $214 million FedEx cargo-hub expansion.

Buyers in Seattle, Milwaukee and even Bloomington have snapped up new cottage homes in developments that turn the McMansion trend on its dormer-decorated head. But will Indianapolis buyers have a similar appetite for the tiny energy-efficient homes clustered around community greens? A local developer is betting they will.

Doug Logan, new CEO of locally based USA Track & Field, knows the organization's challenges reach beyond the disappointments of dropped batons at last month's Beijing Olympics. He wants to review the sport from top to bottom, and plans to announce in the next few weeks formation of a task force that will look at everything from team training camps and the time of the Olympic trials, to forming a series of events in the United States culminating in a series championship.

Organizers of the inaugural World Class Driving Festival at the West Baden Springs Hotel Sept. 3-7 hope to put Indiana on the map when it comes to exotic cars and potentially lucrative business opportunities surrounding the accompanying lifestyle.

Since its origins as the Widows and Orphans Asylum in 1851, the Children's Bureau has been working to fix broken families in Indianapolis. Now the local not-for-profit has expanded its reach into 37 Indiana counties--growing its budget 22 percent in the process. But the agency remains focused on Marion County, where it's building a $9.2 million service center at 16th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets.