Writing off a $17.7 million balance on loans to an unnamed Florida charter airline has forced Integra Bank to report a $2.6 million loss for the fourth quarter. The Evansville bank reported yesterday that it had classified the loans as non-performing after learning three other banks also thought their loans to the airline were secured […]
The ethanol industry, which is mushrooming in Indiana, could get a massive push from President Bush in his State of the Union speech tonight, according to The New York Times. Bush might call for increasing ethanol to as much as 10 percent of total gasoline consumption by 2012. Such a ramp-up could require producing 15 […]
Louisville struggles to attract high-end white-collar jobs because it’s stuck in a high-density, “almost European” neighborhood of competing cities that includes Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Nashville, says Paul Coomes, a University of Louisville economist. Indianapolis attracts engineers, scientists and other professionals because its downtown is vibrant and, unlike Louisville’s, isn’t dissected by freeways, Coomes said in […]
British plumbing and heating supplier Wolseley Plc said today it will eliminate 2,000 jobs in the U.S. because the soft housing market has weakened profits. Its Stock Building Supplies arm, which is based in Raleigh, N.C., in the U.S., is laying off 1,500 jobs at 22 locations in addition to 2,000 positions it already has […]
Pfizer’s insulin-production plant in Terre Haute was not on a list of plant closings the New York pharmaceutical giant announced today. Pfizer said it would shutter one plant each in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Omaha, Neb., along with research two facilities in Ann Arbor, Mich., and one in Kalamazoo, Mich. The company cited the closings as part […]
Health care startups in Indiana attracted $37.2 million in venture capital last year—up 61 percent from the $23.1 million in 2005, according to BioEnterprise, a Cleveland not-for-profit that offers management counsel and support services. The increase outstripped the 25 percent growth experienced by the Midwest. The Indianapolis area landed six deals worth a total of […]
A Chrysler Group four-speed transmission line at a Kokomo plant may be sold to China’s Chery Automobile Co. if a deal between the two automakers is finalized. Chrysler and Chery previously announced an agreement in principal for Chrysler to distribute Chery-made small cars globally. A story today in AutoWeek says Chery wants to move the […]
Approximately 130 workers at Daimler-Chrysler’s transmission operations in Kokomo were laid off last week after slow sales of gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles prompted the automaker to cut production. About 100 of the jobs were at Kokomo Transmission and 30 at Kokomo Casting, according to the Kokomo Tribune. The company employs about 6,000 in […]
Author Solutions Inc., the Bloomington parent of self-publisher AuthorHouse, has been sold to Bertram Capital of Palo Alto, Calif., for an undisclosed price. Author Solutions, which published one of every 30 U.S. book titles last year, was owned by Carmel-based Gazelle Tech Ventures. AuthorHouse CEO Bryan Smith said he expects Bertram to expand deeper into […]
About 85 percent of the 565 state employees working on the Indiana Toll Road applied for jobs with the Spanish-Australian consortium that’s leasing the road, and nearly all were hired, according to The Elkhart Truth. Those not hired were offered vacant positions with the state, many in the Department of Transportation. The figures were released […]
Decision One Mortgage said it is closing a service office at 10401 N. Meridian St. by March 11, but will retain a sales presence. Most of the 54 total jobs are being centralized in Chicago and Minneapolis. Decision One, a unit of London-based bank HSBC, is headquartered in Fort Hill, S.C.
Noble Roman’s Inc. today said it has signed an agreement with an unnamed franchisee that plans to open 52 pizza-and-sub restaurants in Texas over the next six years. It’s the seventh mass-franchise announcement for Noble Roman’s since the Indianapolis company announced last year that it would open franchise locations that combine Noble Roman’s with Tuscano’s […]
Guide Corp. workers in Anderson say they haven’t received buyout offers and severance they claim they were promised before the plant was abruptly closed a week ago, according to The Herald Bulletin. Workers laid off in December from the tail light facility also called the newspaper to complain they haven’t been paid in weeks despite […]
Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled more than 533,000 pickup and sport utility vehicles made at its Princeton plant to correct steering problems that might have been factors in 11 accidents. The recall applies to certain 2004 to 2006 model year Tundra pickups and 2004 to 2007 Sequoia sport utility vehicles.
Republic Airways Holdings said it plans to hire more than 1,000 pilots by the end of 2008, swelling its pilot ranks to 2,600. The Indianapolis-based holding company said its carriers—Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America—need more pilots to keep pace with Republic’s partnerships with American, Continental, United and Delta airlines. Republic will begin service […]
The slide in oil prices that dragged gas prices in Indianapolis below $2 a gallon won’t last more than two years, according to Jim Rogers, who in 1999 predicted the surge in oil, metal and grain prices. The author of “Hot Commodities” and creator of the Rogers International Commodity Index told Bloomberg that booming growth […]
A new economic development organization has been started to coordinate promotion of Evansville and Vanderburgh County. Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville will wrap in an existing small-business incubator and downtown promotion group, according to the Courier & Press. The new organization will belong to a not-for-profit launched last summer to market Gibson, Posey, Warrick and […]
Government reports on housing, consumer prices and jobs today show the national economy has hit a sweet spot of strong growth and minimal inflation in December. Housing starts climbed 4.5 percent, jobless claims dipped to the lowest in 11 months, and consumer prices excluding volatile food and energy rose 0.2 percent, according to Bloomberg. […]
West Lafayette no longer wants to compete for a transmission assembly plant that might be built by DaimlerChrysler and Getrag Corporate Group of Germany, according to the Kokomo Tribune. The 1,200-employee plant wouldn’t be a good fit, said Cinda Kelley, president of Lafayette-West Lafayette Development Corp. The newspaper didn’t elaborate on reasons for the […]
The Indiana State Fire Marshall has ruled that the Jan. 2 blaze that destroyed much of the Seasons Lodge & Conference Center in Nashville to be arson, according to IBJ newsgathering partner WISH-TV. The 80-room hotel is a keystone in Brown County’s bread-and-butter business of tourism. WISH-TV News 8 will have updates at 5 p.m. […]
