Indianapolis Business Journal

MARCH 31-APRIL 6, 2014

This week in IBJ, Dan Human takes you behind the scenes in the war against cybercrime, visiting the secret, reinforced downtown bunker housing security firm Rook Security Inc. Also in this issue, Kathleen McLaughlin begins charting the long and circuitous journey most central Indiana counties must take before they can host ballot initiative for funding mass transit. And in A&E Etc., Lou Harry reflects on the first five years of the Cabaret at the Columbia Club.

Front PageBack to Top

Dow Agro parent sets stage for sale or spinoff

Dow AgroSciences LLC is likely to become a stand-alone public company in the next three years, according to some Wall Street analysts—if the wunderkind division of Dow Chemical Co. lives up to sky-high expectations.

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Top StoriesBack to Top

Mass transit bill creates fuzzy path forward

Local governments finally have the authority to build a mass-transit system, but they also have work to do and questions to answer before they can ask voters to pay for new rapid-transit lines and expanded bus service.

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Banks see resurgence of home equity loans

Although mortgage-refinancing applications are down, the product reviled and thought extinct after the 2008 housing crash that decimated property values may save the day for lenders: the home equity loan/line of credit.

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WellPoint shares top $100 on bullish 5-year forecast

The health insurer predicted growth in government-funded health insurance programs would push revenue above $100 billion by 2018. That prompted investors to push WellPoint stock above $100 per share—an all-time high for the company.

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PROXY CORNER: Eli Lilly and Co.

Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. discovers, develops, manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products for humans and animals. The company reported 2013 net income of $4.7 billion, or $4.32 per diluted share, on revenue of $23.1 billion.

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FocusBack to Top

At Home Quarterly: Marketplace

Housing Sales   December 1 – February 28 IBJ.COM EXTRA For a detailed table of recent housing sales activity, click here Weekend snowstorms hampered January and February sales, but F.C. Tucker Co. President Jim Litten predicted pent-up demand will play out in coming months as will the home-building recovery, also delayed by weather.•   Most […]

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OpinionBack to Top

EDITORIAL: Keep attentive eye on Cummins

Last week’s announcement that Cummins would build a headquarters for its global distribution division in downtown Indianapolis was deservedly welcomed for its potential to house as many as 400 well-paid workers and add an “architecturally significant” building to a reserved skyline.

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LEARNER: Vehicle-miles tax would roll Hoosiers

Indianapolis is striving to become an electric-vehicles center. Gas tax revenue is declining, though, as people drive less and as more fuel-efficient new cars require filling up less at the pump. That saves people money, reduces pollution and lessens America’s imports of foreign oil.

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Kim: How Amazon bullied its way into retail domination

In a 2013 cover story, Fortune magazine described Amazon as a “brass-knuckled battler for every penny of competitive advantage.” As state treasurers can attest, that portrayal is both well-deserved and important to understanding the rise of Amazon.

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Hicks: Medical firms are largest perpetrators of fraud

Medicaid and Medicare fraud is where the real money lies, costing taxpayers some $100 billion a year, or 10 percent of total costs. This is many times more than the highest estimate of fraud in all other assistance programs combined. Nearly all of this fraud is perpetrated by health care providers.

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Support for Irsay has its limitations

Anyone who has a problem with drug or alcohol addiction has my empathy and support—right up until they endanger my life or the lives of others by choosing to get behind the wheel of a vehicle [March 24 Morris column].

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In BriefBack to Top