Campaigning for action in the most dire terms, President Barack Obama said today in a townhall meeting in northern Indiana that if Congress does not quickly pass an economic stimulus package, the nation will slip into a crisis so deep that “we may be unable to reverse” it. “We can’t afford to wait. We can’t […]
Rising consumer demand for locally grown, organic produce is fueling a surge in the number of small Indiana farms, boosting their numbers nearly 80 percent over five years, a new farm census report shows. The number of Indiana farms under 10 acres soared from 5,436 in 2002 to 9,720 in 2007 – a 79 percent […]
Two drug companies, Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co., spent hundreds of millions of dollars last year to raise awareness of a murky illness, helping boost sales of pills recently approved as treatments and drowning out unresolved questions – including whether it’s a real disease at all. Key components of the industry-funded buzz over […]
Military recruiters in eastern Indiana say their recruitment figures are on the rise, partly because recently laid-off workers are signing up with Uncle Sam. Some laid-off workers have visited the U.S. Army’s recruitment office in Richmond to inquire about military careers, said Sgt. Greg Lynch, an Army recruiter. “Yes, our numbers are up, and I […]
Rising consumer demand for locally grown, organic produce is fueling a surge in the number of small Indiana farms, boosting their numbers nearly 80 percent over five years, a new farm census report shows. The number of Indiana farms under 10 acres soared from 5,436 in 2002 to 9,720 in 2007 – a 79 percent […]
Ball State University plans to drill 3,750 wells, each 400-feet deep, to tap the earth’s nearly constant temperature for campus heating and cooling. The $66 million geothermal conversion project will eliminate the university’s coal-fired boilers, which currently produce 85,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year, said Tom Kinghorn, Ball State treasurer and vice president of […]
A judge sided with Indiana regulators today and placed the financial assets of the estranged wife of indicted, parachuting money manager Marcus Schrenker into receivership, where bilked clients might recover some of their losses. The judge in suburban Hamilton County ordered the assets of Michelle Schrenker frozen and controlled by a court-appointed receiver. He issued […]
After weeks of debate, Congress is giving consumers four more months to prepare for the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting. The House voted 264-158 yesterday to postpone the shutdown of analog TV signals to June 12, to address growing concerns that too many Americans won’t be ready by the Feb. 17 deadline […]
A bill that would impose a statewide ban on smoking in enclosed public places in Indiana ignited sometimes emotional debate before an Indiana House committee yesterday. The lengthy hearing before the House Public Policy Committee pitted health advocates, business leaders and people who said their lives have been torn by secondhand smoke against opponents of […]
Federal health regulators are looking into evidence that an Eli Lilly and Co. drug used to treat blood poisoning worsens the risk of bleeding and can lead to death in certain patients. The Food and Drug Administration said today a recently published study showed that the Indianapolis-based company’s drug Xigris increased the risk of dangerous […]
Unemployment rates rose in 98 percent of U.S. metropolitan areas late last year, with manufacturing layoffs driving the largest annual increases in Indiana’s Elkhart-Goshen region and Dalton, Ga. The Labor Department said today that jobless rates climbed in 363 of the largest 369 metropolitan areas in December from a year earlier. Elkhart-Goshen’s unemployment rate soared […]
General Motors Corp. will offer buyouts to all of its hourly employees as the troubled automaker continues to slash costs. GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said the buyouts will mainly target GM’s 22,000 retirement-eligible hourly employees, though any union employee can take the offer. News of the buyouts first broke on Monday, when a union official […]
General Motors’ U.S. vehicle sales plunged 49 percent in January while Ford’s sales dropped 40 percent, starting 2009 at an abysmal pace for the auto industry as lower sales to fleet buyers like rental car companies weighed down U.S. automakers’ results. Japanese rival Toyota’s sales dropped 32 percent for the month, and Honda’s sales fell […]
By DAN STRUMPF AP Auto Writer NEW YORK General Motors Corp. will offer buyouts to all of its hourly employees, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday, as the troubled automaker continues to slash costs. GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said the buyouts will mainly target GM’s 22,000 retirement-eligible hourly employees, though any union employee can take the offer. […]
Indy Racing League officials say five engine manufacturers are still in competition to provide new engines for the IRL. The companies still in discussions with the Indianapolis-based league are Honda, Audi, Fiat, Porsche and Volkswagen. Honda has been the sole supplier of Indy V8 engines since 2006. New specifications are not expected to be finalized […]
A plan from the mayor of Franklin to rejuvenate the downtown area includes raising by 3 or 4 feet several blocks that were heavily damaged by flooding last year. Mayor Fred Paris acknowledges that the plan is nowhere near final, but says by elevating the southwest part of downtown, the city would create a scenic […]
Ford Motor Co. said today it lost $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter as auto sales slumped, but it has no plans to seek federal aid unless economic conditions worsen. The second-largest U.S. automaker said it burned through $5.5 billion in the quarter, less than the $7.7 billion it used in the third quarter. The […]
Starbucks Corp. plans to slash 6,700 more jobs during a new round of store closures and other cuts, the company said yesterday as it reported that its profit dropped by more than two-thirds in its fiscal first quarter. The gourmet coffee chain plans to close 300 underperforming stores around the world – including 200 in […]
Rahal Letterman Racing has pulled out of the 2009 IndyCar Series because it cannot find a sponsor to support its program. RLR becomes the latest racing team to be affected by the reeling economy. The team won the Indianapolis 500 with Buddy Rice in 2004 and brought Danica Patrick to the IndyCar Series. “At this […]
Orthopedic implant maker Zimmer Holdings Inc. today said its fourth-quarter profit dropped 37 percent due to slowing sales and the cost of buying Abbott Spine. Warsaw-based Zimmer said its profit decreased to $167.5 million, or 75 cents per share, from $263.8 million, or $1.12 per share, in the prior-year period. Revenue fell 4 percent to […]
