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Downtown firm specializes in unusual loans: Equities First Holdings sees growing demand for stock loans as tight credit markets make borrowing tougher

With a cadre of six flat-screen monitors blanketing one side of his desk, Equities First Holdings LLC’s Al Christy Jr. keeps a close eye on the performance of several stocks he’s holding as collateral. No, he’s not some sort of loan shark. He’s what’s known as a stock lender. The unusual premise is that market investors in need of prompt funding transfer shares to Christy who, in turn, lends his clients up to 80 percent of the stock’s value, although…

Crime-scene cleanup company eases burden of trauma victims

On any given day, employees of Bio-Trauma 911 Inc. could be dealing with everything from the mess left by a decomposing body
to a home that’s been declared a biohazard. What may sound like a scene out of “CSI” is in fact a day at the office for the
seven-person crime-scene cleanup company housed in unassuming offices in a strip center on East 56th Street at Interstate
465.

DeBartolo to buy Metropolis from Dominion Capital

Tampa, Fla.-based DeBartolo Development has reached a preliminary agreement to buy Plainfield’s Metropolis mall out of foreclosure
and hopes to hook Macy’s and Bass Pro Shops to anchor a second phase.

Optimedia grows beyond Simon: Media buying company finds local audience for proprietary measurement tools

Optimedia came to Indianapolis 10 years ago primarily to handle media buying and placement for Simon Property Group Inc., which is a client of its sister company, ad agency Publicis. Simon is still Optimedia’s largest client, but the shopping mall developer that once represented all the firm’s business now accounts for less than half. The firm’s shifting client mix wasn’t forced by a drop in business from Simon. In fact, just the opposite is true, said Jay Schemanske, who heads…

Symphony Bank results keep hitting sour notes: CEO hopes to succeed by taking bank ‘to the people’

Symphony Bank’s palatial branch along East 96th Street-outfitted with a copper roof, towering domed ceiling and heated parking lot-was designed to telegraph wealth and stability. But instead, the $5 million Taj Mahal became the most prominent symbol of the bank’s excesses and one reason the startup has lost money every year since its founding in June 2005. The bank, which has no other branches, has torn through two management teams and piled up annual losses of $2 million or more…

Simon, Morris turn up effort to make Fever profitable

The Indiana Fever could spike this year. Ticket sales, sponsorship and the local buzz about the team are on the rise. But
perhaps most important, the Fever have key advocates in the Pacers Sports & Entertainment front office that the team simply
hasn’t had before.

Tax appeals to open flood of business: Lawyers, consultants getting ready

Tax attorney Sandy Bickle looked forward this summer to taking her first two-week vacation since 1976. But the latest property reassessment and the tax bills to follow are expected to generate a slew of appeals, prompting Bickle to rethink her plans. “I’ll probably take one, but it won’t be two weeks,” lamented Bickle, who serves in an of-counsel capacity at Ice Miller LLP. “I expect to be very busy.” She’s not alone. Tax lawyers, consultants and appraisers all likely will…

Clarian blazes trail with transplants, but some question its zeal

Clarian Health this decade has transformed its transplant program into one of the busiest in the country. Its team of surgeons
takes calls around the clock if a viable organ becomes available. They will hop on a charter plane to check out an organ other
doctors don’t want.

INVESTING: Annual meetings provide insight into companies

This is the time of year when the vast majority of publicly traded companies issue financial reports and make public presentations to their shareholders. From March to May, companies fill mailboxes with annual reports and proxy statements. The proxy statement announces the date, time, location and agenda for the company’s annual meeting. For people who enjoy learning about businesses, reading the annual report and proxy materials and then attending the company’s annual meeting is an excellent way to increase your…

Steak n Shake hopes discounts whet appetites: Yet some fear promotions may hurt the brand

In an effort to reverse declining sales at its restaurants, The Steak n Shake Co. plans to roll out a number of new promotions and discounts this summer. During a conference call with analysts May 14, interim President Jeffrey Blade said the Indianapolis-based chain plans to introduce deals such as 99-cent children’s milkshakes and discounted burgers and sandwiches to lure customers back into its stores. The company also is testing $1 kids’ meals, a discounted milkshake “happy hour” from 2…

A&E: A&E road trip: A batch of Broadway

Heading to New York on business or pleasure? Here are four new shows from the current theater season-three on Broadway and one off-Broadway-worth catching. While “South Pacific” may seem like a staple show out here in the Heartland, the new production at Lincoln Center is its first B r o a d wa y a p p e a r a n c e since it debuted in 1949. And a glorious production it is, offering breathtaking set design, lighting…

EDITORIAL: Pricey fuel isn’t all bad: Pain at pump creates opportunity

Pricey fuel isn’t all bad Pain at pump creates opportunity The high cost of fuel hurts everyone, from commuters to business owners to not-for-profits whose volunteer drivers deliver meals to shut-ins. Our whole economy suffers. But there’s a silver lining to gas for $4 a gallon: opportunity. If the price of fuel isn’t coming down, and that seems to be the prevailing wisdom, the only thing to do is adapt. It’s in adapting that there’s opportunity to be found and…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Candidates’ gas plans are just a lot of exhaust

It is an election year, and gas prices are high. Though this is not a mixture that is conducive to candor, the level of policy schizophrenia is amazing. It isn’t that any one policy is necessarily bad; it is simply that the nonsense spouted by the big three candidates has reached a new level. Sen. John McCain’s call for a summer gasoline tax amnesty would certainly provide a bit of cost savings for American families who use this time to…

VIEWPOINT: What is that buzzing in my ears?

Have we lost the desire for genuine conversation? Or maybe it’s more that our opportunities are being robbed. I ponder that statement whenever I find myself meeting a colleague or friend in a restaurant these days. What lengths proprietors go to to create the right first impression with furniture, lighting and finishes. (I work for a design firm, so I notice these things.) In the best situations, these elements create a sense of welcome. They can make you feel cozy…

Commentary: Earl Harris was a classic mentor

They say you should live such a long life that, when you die, you will have no friends left to attend your funeral. Last month, Earl Harris passed away at the age of 90 and he went one better. At his request, he had no funeral at all. The only mark of his passing was a short obituary in The Indianapolis Star undoubtedly paid for by his family as per Starowner Gannett Co.’s policy. Permit me to add a little…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Are you a rational investor in today’s irrational market?

A volatile market is turning the rational investor irrational. Irrationals show up when markets get volatile or decline. They surface to buy stocks during bubbles, such as the dot-com boom in the late 1990s and early 2000. They react to the news of the day. Let’s start with a bit of education about what a rational investor looks like. Then outline how to adjust behaviors to remain rational-and actually benefit-during market ups and downs. What is a rational investor? Dr….

Land banking: Banks grab top sites for branches, often years before they build

Many of central Indiana’s banks are filling their own safe-deposit boxes, but they’re not stuffing them with jewelry, legal documents or blackmail material. They’re banking parcels of land. The sites often are in fast-growing suburbs or redevelopment areas that hold potential for new brickand-mortar bank branches, sometimes several years down the road. Competition can be fierce for the prime sites, and other financial institutions aren’t the only nemesis for banks: Walgreens and CVS also are fighting over the best ground,…

Test run of commuter rail could be relatively cheap

Planners and politicians spent the better part of a decade and untold millions of dollars studying a mass transit system between
downtown and the suburbs. They have little to show for it except mounds of reports and an estimate of $690 million, but the
boys in bib overalls at the Indiana Transportation Museum think they can get it done for much less.

Metropolis could get Bass Pro

Plainfield’s top retail destination could become a much larger draw if a Florida-based developer gets its way. DeBartolo Development has a preliminary deal to buy Metropolis and hopes to land Bass Pro Shops…