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Investors rewarded locally based Finish Line Inc. today for wiggling out of its $1.5-billion acquisition of Genesco Inc., but punished shares of the Tennessee mall retailer. Finish Line traded at $3.75 late this morning, up 92 cents, or 33 percent, on the day. Genesco traded at $24.09, down $5.86, or 20 percent. The plunge shaved […]
Jill Long Thompson said this morning that if she is elected governor, she will focus economic development policy on broad issues, including expanding tax incentives, reforming health care and education policy. Thompson, a former congresswoman and agriculture undersecretary who faces Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger for the Democratic nomination, said incumbent Gov. Mitch Daniels has focused […]
Duke Energy Corp. is questioning a recent study from University of California-Santa Barbara economists that found Indiana’s switch to daylight-saving time cost the power company’s customers an extra $8.6 million in 2007. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company, which operates in the southern and central parts of Indiana, issued a statement late Friday urging Hoosiers to draw […]
For me, the weekend meant visiting the new Children’s Theatre Institute on North Keystone, screening more films in advance of the Indianapolis International Film Festival (early predication: “Operation Filmmaker” will be a fest favorite), and trying my hand at paper…
Finish Line Inc. and Genesco Inc. are close to a settlement that would cancel the Indianapolis company’s $1.5 billion acquisition of the Tennessee retailer. The two firms this morning asked a New York City federal judge for a one-day delay to a trial that was set to start this morning over whether Swiss financial giant […]
Indianapolis-based Village Pantry Inc. has acquired nine convenience stores in central Ohio from Petro Acquisitions Inc. Village Pantry said the AmeriStop Market stores would be rebranded as Village Pantry. They were owned and operated by Petro, which is headquartered in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester. In October, Village Pantry bought 33 convenience stores in […]
Competition to host the 2012 Super Bowl suddenly has become a lot tougher. Last week, officials for the city of New Orleans and New Orleans Saints said they are set to bid for the big game, thrusting the hurricane-battered city…
College and university foundations have been raking in the dollars in the past few years due to big investment
returns. Millions of dollars have flowed in.
As IBJ reporter Tracy Donhardt wrote in this weekendâ??s paper, critics say more of…
Indianapolis-based Peerless Pump Co. has acquired Flometrico Ltd., its main distributor in Canada, for an undisclosed price. Flometrico, which was sold by an owner who is retiring, is headquartered in suburban Toronto. Peerless said March 1 that the deal adds a base it will use to grow in Canada, and that key Flometrico employees have […]
Deadlines for a weekly publication are tricky. Sometimes when news breaks, you get lucky. Sometimes, you don’t. In this case, forgive me if I’m a little late to the parade and-following the elephants with broom and shovel-to the sorry mess involving the men’s basketball program at my alma mater, Indiana University. So, to sum up, this is what bothers me most: Everything. And who’s to blame? Everyone. It’s the culture. It’s the media. It’s gross mismanagement. It’s poor hiring. It’s…
When dentists Harold Smith and Ted Brauer built their new office, they constructed more than a third more space than they needed for patients. With the rest, Smith and Brauer started a health and wellness center that local not-for-profits can use free of charge. So in addition to the whir of drill motors, their Castleton office frequently resonates with sounds of cooking classes, “gymborees” for kids, health screenings and health-related seminars. “Excellence in dentistry is who we are. But we…
Somebody help me! I want to go back to the ’80s! This technology stuff is killing me. A rotary phone and a busy signal, that’s the ticket. Ma Bell: She’s my gal. Simplicity. Doesn’t that sound good? I used to think the advances in electron ic technology were a good thing. The early developments were excellent and, like most people, I rushed out to buy them. The iPod, now, that was a great advance. A complete Beethoven collection in a…
Several years ago, I had a conversation with a friend about “The Tipping Point,” a now-famous book by economist Malcolm Gladwell. During this conversation, my friend casually mentioned that he thought it would be beneficial (though I think he may have actually said, “Wouldn’t it be cool…”) to get together with other people in the community to discuss the ideas put forth in this book and a variety of other “businessrelated” titles. I admit, I agreed that it would, indeed,…
The state’s economic development leaders have been touting 2007 as a banner year that brought commitments for more than 22,000
new jobs, including positions in manufacturing, logistics and life sciences. But almost 20 percent of the announced jobs would
be in call centers–jobs that typically pay near or below the state’s $35,000 average annual wage.
It finally happened. The big event has come and gone, leaving a trail of clues for us. Now, it’s up to us to take those clues and turn them into cash. It’s not the recent lunar eclipse I am referring to, although I watched it and it was cool. I am talking about oil finally closing at more than $100 a barrel. One trade at the end of 2007 took oil above $100, but it didn’t close there. Oil fell…
For the second time in as many months, a one-word, Pulitzer-Prize-winning play is being presented to Indy audiences. For the second time in as many months, audiences are eating it up. Both the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s “Doubt” and Theatre on the Square’s “Proof” (running through March 15) are good examples of what has become a necessity in contemporary theater-the smart-but-not-intimidating, relatively easy-to-produce, small-cast, audiencefriendly, short-enough-not-to-challengethe-bladder, more-laughs-than-you’dexpect-given-the-subject-matter drama. “Proof”-which theater junkies may remember from the Phoenix’s outstanding production a few seasons…
Remember the main reason behind the property-tax-reform drive when we started the session? If the anti-propertytax rallies across the state last summer and fall made lawmakers uneasy, the Indianapolis mayoral election result was a slap across the face. They were awakened to the reality that, but for a vote on tax reform, that, too, could be them. The political imperative was overwhelming, as lawmakers feared the worst come primary time. Even if they were to survive an intra-party election, they…
In the relatively unromantic world of economic policy, telecommunications research is notable for its blandness and practicality. Yet few things matter as deeply as good public policy toward the deployment of telecommunications. Here, Indiana has a remarkable story to tell. In the waning days of the 2006 legislative session, Indiana lawmakers passed a telecom reform act that quickly became the national standard for reforming access to broadband communications. It bears repeating: Indiana’s video franchising reform has become the national standard….
Alan Gilman and James Williamson have served on The Steak n Shake Co.’s board a combined 39 years. It’s a good bet they won’t be around much longer. Analysts say the Texas-based hedge fund that wants to replace Gilman and Williamson on the board with two of its own representatives likely will succeed. Major shareholders are mum on how they plan to vote in the proxy battle, which will come to a head at Steak n Shake’s annual meeting March…
Endowments at Indiana colleges and universities are soaring, due in part to impressive investment returns in recent years.
The swelling coffers here and across the nation are stoking the debate over whether universities should be using more of their
wealth to hold down tuition increases.
