Articles

Hardigg picks Mount Comfort for new plant

A South Deerfield, Mass., company that manufactures shipping and transit cases for the military and industry plans to open a plant at Mount Comfort Commercial Park east of Indianapolis, according to Hancock Economic Development Council. Hardigg Industries Inc. will start with 30 workers and build to 75, using the location to serve its Midwest customers. […]

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Indianapolis 4th in hospital patient satisfaction

A rating of inpatient hospital satisfaction placed Indianapolis fourth in the country, behind only Oklahoma City, Okla., Milwaukee and New Orleans. The periodic survey by Press Ganey Associates of South Bend didn’t divulge specifics about Indianapolis. Nationally, satisfaction increased to an index of 84.2, has largely trended sideways for two years.

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Dow industrials break 13,000

The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000 for the first time today. Having closed at 12,953.94 yesterday, the venerable index trended upward and broke the mark at 10:04 a.m., then lingered over 13,000 much of the morning.

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Temp workers to be cut from Toyota plant

About 370 temporary workers supplied by Personnel Management Inc. of Greenwood will be slashed from Toyota Motor Manufacturing’s plant in Princeton. The workers aren’t needed because sales of its Sequoia sport-utility vehicle are slipping, and Princeton workers supplied to help Toyota launch its San Antonio, Texas, pickup truck plant are no longer needed there, according […]

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UPDATE: WellPoint stock slides despite strong profits

Shares of WellPoint Inc. tumbled in pre-market trading even after the Indianapolis health benefits firm reported strong first-quarter growth. The stock fell 4.7 percent before markets opened today and was trading at $78.35 as of 9:15 a.m. One concern was a rise in WellPoint’s benefit expense ratio, or the amount of claims it pays relative […]

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Regulators approve Lilly dog antidepressant

Eli Lilly and Co. said today the Food and Drug Administration has given it the green light to market Lilly’s first product for dogs, an antidepressant called Reconcile. The drug is the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class of antidepressants approved for canine separation anxiety. The Indianapolis drugmaker says as many as 10.7 million dogs […]

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Cold winter boosts Vectren’s results

Evansville-based Vectren Corp. reported first-quarter profit of $70.1 million, up nearly 22 percent from a year earlier. The improvement was partly attributed to increased residential and commercial usage due to colder-than-normal weather. Vectren’s utility companies serve customers in the Indianapolis area outside of Marion County and in other areas of Indiana and Ohio.

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WellPoint profit rises on enrollment growth

Profit for WellPoint Inc. increased 16 percent, to $783.1 million, from the same period a year earlier, the Indianapolis-based health insurer said today. CEO Larry Glasscock attributed the results to “outstanding” commercial enrollment growth of 586,000 additional national account members.   This story will be updated.

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Takeover battle launched for LaSalle Bank, parent.

A group led by Royal Bank of Scotland has made a $98.5 billion offer for ABN Amro, the Dutch parent of LaSalle Bank. The bid is higher than the $90 billion deal offered Monday by London-based Barclays Plc. A condition for the Edinburgh, Scotland, institution—along with bidding partners Santander Central Hispano SA and Fortis—is that […]

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Biomet merger vote scheduled.

Shareholders of Biomet Inc. are scheduled to vote June 8 on the company’s $10.9 billion acquisition by several private equity firms. The special shareholder meeting will be in Chicago. Shareholders holding at least 75 percent of the company’s common stock must vote in favor of the merger for it to be approved. In December, Biomet […]

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Navistar stock jumps as Fiat discusses acquisitions

Fiat SpA’s announcement yesterday that it is considering buying an American truck manufacturer has caused stock in Illinois-based Navistar International Corp. to leap, according to Bloomberg. Shares of Navistar, which operates an engine foundry on the eastside, were up as much as 8.7 percent, to $57.85, in over-the-counter trading this morning. The stock increased 10 percent yesterday […]

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Research center, 200 jobs, slated for Crown Point.

Plasmatronics LLC said today it will locate a manufacturing plant and research center in the northwest Indiana city of Crown Point. The company, headquartered in Center Moriches, N.Y., will use the $2.1 million capital investment make an aftermarket ignition system for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and scientific and industrial uses. The project is expected to create […]

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White River State Park improves Lawn venue

A new VIP section at The Lawn concert venue at White River State Park will add 200 seats to the existing capacity of 5,800, the park development commission announced today. The site, near Victory Field and the White River, also is getting a permanent stage that will allow groups to load shows in and out. […]

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Toyota leads GM in global sales for first time.

Consumers snapped up Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles in the first quarter to catapult the Japanese company past General Motors Corp. on a global basis for the first time. Toyota sold 2.35 million vehicles compared to 2.26 million for GM to become the world’s largest automaker in the period, according to Market Watch. Among the Toyotas […]

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Bonach named Conseco chief financial officer.

Edward J. Bonach has been tapped to replace Conseco Inc. Chief Financial Officer Eugene M. Bullis, who is retiring after seeing the Carmel insurer through its bankruptcy reorganization. Bonach was executive vice president and CFO of National Life Group, headquartered in Montpelier, Vt. Prior to National Life, Bonach spent 23 years at Allianz Life of […]

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Cummins stock roars on Cramer recommendation.

A buy recommendation from CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer caused Cummins Inc. stock to shoot up $7.89 per share today. The 10 percent run-up is the largest increase in one day the Columbus diesel engine maker experienced in almost four years, according to Bloomberg. His recommendation came during a show broadcast April 20. When […]

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Gas could hit $4 per gallon this summer, experts say.

Summer travel could become pricey if Americans don’t lose their appetite for gasoline. Demand is rising at twice the rate of a year ago, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, refinery fires, maintenance and electrical failures have reduced inventories to the lowest point in two decades, based on days of demand in reserve. The upshot is that […]

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Lilly, other corporations step up giving to Democrats

Businesses, including Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., have poured $1.7 million into coffers of chairmen of U.S. House of Representative committees since the start of the year. That’s nearly twice as much as corporations gave when Republicans controlled the House during the same stretch of 2005, according to Bloomberg. Interests including pharmaceutical makers, like Lilly, […]

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