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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why subprime ‘crisis’ is not as severe as it seems

Over the next few years, quite a few doctoral dissertations are going to be written about the subprime loan market, and its effects on the overall U.S. economy. And whatever the effects turn out to be, it is certain that this financial mess has all the twists and turns of a spy novel. Here is part of the plot: Over the past decade and half, home prices skyrocketed. The causes included rapid growth in the U.S. economy, aging baby-boomer purchases…

EDITORIAL: State negligent on smoking ban: Lawmakers sidestep serious issue

State negligent on smoking ban Lawmakers sidestep serious issue We’d like to think the demise of Rep. Charlie Brown’s bill that would have banned workplace smoking statewide was just another casualty of the property tax reform wave. More likely, the bill died because our legislators don’t have the will to tackle the sad state of Hoosier health. Brown’s bill died in a House committee Jan. 23 after a brief hearing in which testimony on the bill’s behalf was cut off…

Financial troubles mount for local developer: Memo: Unpaid contractors are demanding payment

Premier Properties USA Inc. is scrambling to keep up with bills for basic services including snow removal, security and interior design-more signs of financial troubles for the developer of Metropolis in Plainfield and the proposed Venu project in Indianapolis. The local firm is facing liens of more than $3.5 million for unpaid work on its Plainfield retail properties, and an internal e-mail obtained by IBJ suggests Premier’s problems don’t stop there. The e-mail, from Premier executive Mike Diamantides, says pressure…

Indianapolis entrepreneur finds way to combine exercise and work

Jerry Carr studied turf at Purdue University-how to grow some of Mother Nature’s best and how to design the artificial kind. After graduation, his jobs mostly kept him outside and active. But when he moved into a desk-bound sales job in 2006, he noticed more than the inevitable weight gain. “I couldn’t wait to exercise at the end of each day,” said Carr, 47. Feeling restless and unfocused, he brought a treadmill into his office. But he found that switching…

NOTIONS: Let’s recognize that age has little to do with ability

The U.S. presidential campaign ran headlong into Martin Luther King Day last week. On the Democratic side, where the leading candidates are a white woman, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and a black man, Sen. Barack Obama, the juxtaposition triggered pointed conversation-between the candidates and among their advocates and the electorate-about race and gender. Lost in the point/counterpoint on the candidates’ DNA were some less-noted but equally unfriendly jabs on the subject of age. Speaking at an MLK Day ceremony in…

Commentary: When money just isn’t enough

The other day, I was annoyed when I received a letter concerning my uncle’s untimely death. The letter began: “As you know, our firm represents Illene Maurer as a result of the tragic death of her husband, Mickey Maurer, on Feb. 1, 2006. … Mr. Maurer’s death was as a result of an automobile collision that occurred at 106th Street and Meridian Street. “One of the elements of damage that Illene Maurer is entitled to recover is the loss of…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Pending IPOs bode well for tech startups of tomorrow

Initial public offerings often are bonanzas for company management and other insiders. In the case of Aprimo Inc. and ExactTarget Inc. -two Indianapolis software firms on deck to go public-a throng of local business and technology leaders who provided early financial backing would see a rich payoff as well. Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show the companies snared as investors a who’s who of Indianapolis business, from former venture capitalist Bob Compton to financial adviser David Knall and…

Public offerings rise in ’07: Three Indiana companies hit turbulence after IPOs

The market for initial public offerings in Indiana was on the upswing last year, as the number of companies to go public tripled, from one in 2006 to three in 2007. Locally based HHGregg Inc., Kokomobased Haynes International Inc. and LaPorte-based LaPorte Bancorp. Inc. became publicly traded. The fact that three more companies in Indiana became public doesn’t represent a trend. But four others that have filed IPO registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission bolster the belief that…

Firm that sells sunglasses for large heads lands Wal-Mart deal

In March 2006, USA Today picked up a local newspaper’s profile of Indianapolis-based Fatheadz Inc., the company Rico Elmore
and two partners founded in 2005 to sell eyeglass frames for larger heads. That eventually led to the company’s big break:
A Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive read the article and ordered buyers to track down Fatheadz to make a deal.

A&E: Do you take this musical?

Let us now give two cheers to the good-enough musical. The good-enough musical usually has some fun songs, some laughs and maybe a sweet moment or two. The good-enough musical demands very little of its audience. The good-enough musical may do OK on Broadway despite harsh words from the critics, but it has a longer life in regional theaters, and community productions. The good-enough musical depends on a good-enough production to work. When it’s got one-and your expectations aren’t too…

Lawmaker wants car owners to be aware of data recorders

The “event data recorder,” a so-called black box car makers have installed in their cars over the last decade and a half as
part of air-bag systems, can be a double-edged sword for motorists. Yet they likely don’t even know it’s spying from under
their seat or dashboard.

IPL retirees band together to fight former employer: Utility argues it had right to spin off health-life plan

Removing a post-retirement health plan for retirees would amount to breaking a “solemn promise,” a former top executive of Indianapolis Power and Light once told state regulators. A dozen years later, those words are coming back to haunt the utility in a case before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission that seeks to force IPL to pay up to $115 million to back-fund a retirement plan it spun off in 2001. The complaint, filed in November, also demands that IPL resume…

Fans give dancing a whirl: Many studios report seeing a boost in enrollment, younger students

As millions of television viewers have been swept up in the twirl of the ABC reality series hit “Dancing with the Stars,” local studios are cashing in on the craze as everyday folks try to learn to dance like fall winner Helio Castroneves. Dance studio owners said they’ve seen a surge in business since the television program debuted in 2005, and the tempo has picked up with each new season. Simply Ballroom owner Romaric Cansino said he surveys all new…

Woods Industries in Carmel to close

Carmel-based Woods Industries Inc., which manufactures and imports electrical products, is being closed, according to a notice posted by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The closing will result in displacing 68 workers by April 25, the notice said. Woods was acquired in November by Coleman Cable Inc. of suburban Chicago. Coleman manufactures electrical and […]

Lucas Oil is looking good

More than 1,000 workers a day in two shifts are scrambling to finish Lucas Oil Stadium, installing everything from seats and concession stand equipment to portions of…

LOS

Here are some photos of the new Lucas Oil Stadium shot during a tour on Jan. 24. I was a guest of the Concord Business Association.

Lucas Oil Stadium

Endocyte lands $15M credit line

West Lafayette-based drug developer Endocyte Inc. today announced it has secured a $15-million credit line through Alexandria, Va.-based Oxford Finance Corp. and Chicago-based GE Healthcare Financial Services. Endocyte CFO Mike Sherman said the credit line gives his company financial flexibility as it tries to advance a series of patented cancer treatments. Unlike a venture capital […]

Almond on Vonnegut

I’m a bit shamed to admit it, but when I picked up Steve Almond’s recent collection of essays “(Not that You Asked)” I cringed a little when I saw that the first substantial one focused on the author’s literary hero,…

String of layoffs pepper state, 400 out of work

Three layoffs were announced yesterday in as many locations in Indiana. Superior Essex Inc. said it will close its wire manufacturing plant in Vincennes as part of a restructuring and shift the work to plants in Tennessee and Mexico, the Vincennes Sun-Commercial reported. By the end of the year, 250 workers will lose their jobs. The […]

Steak n Shake thrown for loss

Indianapolis-based Steak n Shake Co. Inc. reported a $1.2 million loss in its first fiscal quarter after having shown a $4.2 million profit a year earlier. The loss of 4 cents per share was greater than the 2-cent loss expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Revenue in the period ended Dec. 19 slipped 7.4 […]