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WellPoint unit settles class-action suit in California
Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc.’s subsidiary in California-facing a state fine for retroactively canceling health insurance policies-agreed Friday to a class-action settlement with 6,000 policyholders, according to USA Today. Blue Cross of California pledged not to retroactively cancel coverage unless policyholders “intentionally misrepresented” information on their applications-a sharp change in its practices. In March, the California Department […]
Condo craze on Winthrop Avenue
A local developer is hoping to build another dense condo project in Broad Ripple along Winthrop Avenue. The proposal by locally based Page Development would bring 27 condos to 1.5 acres between Winthrop and the Monon Trail, just south of…
What’s ailing Indiana’s banks?: State-based bank stocks are trailing national peers as industry deals with tough period
Indiana bank stocks have taken a beating on Wall Street over the past year, lagging behind larger peers as the entire industry rides out an unfavorable environment. Shares of Indiana’s 16 publicly traded banks dropped an average of 3 percent from May 4, 2006, to May 4, 2007, according to research by Carmel-based banking consulting firm Renninger & Associates LLC. Meanwhile, the nationwide SNL Financial bank index was up 4.4 percent. During the same period, the Dow Jones industrial average…
Indianapolis’ offer on the table:
INDIANAPOLIS HAS: Seating for up to 73,000 and a retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium, set to open in 2008. The press box seats 200, but event space could be converted for additional media use. PRACTICE FACILITIES NFL WANTS: Comparable practice facilities for both Super Bowl teams, including a covered field with the same turf as the stadium, locker rooms for players and coaches, meeting rooms, and laundry service. INDIANAPOLIS HAS: The Colts’ 56th Street football complex. Bid organizers have…
Award-winning financial planner not ready for retirement: Cooke, sons gain notice for helping well-heeled clients
As veteran financial planner John Cooke rehashes the highlights of his venerable career, it’s evident that nothing can top the experience of working with his two sons. Close behind, though, are the accolades he’s picked up along the way, including several mentions in various publications as one of the nation’s top advisers. The latest recognition comes from Barron’s magazine, in which Cooke is the only money manager in Indianapolis to make its list of the nation’s top 100 brokers. His…
CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: A word to the generally assembled
Like everyone else who’s interested in these sorts of things, I have my opinions about the recently completed 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Considering how long it took lawmakers to get on track, they accomplished some reasonably important business when it got down to the wire. Aside from the all-important balanced budget, tops on my list is the 44-cent increase in the cigarette tax. It should’ve been higher, but this will do for a start. For all you…
NOTIONS: Hoosier college presidents teach a liberal arts lesson
Last Monday morning, my work took me to West Lafayette. When I learned that Purdue University would name a new president that afternoon, I decided to stick around for the festivities. Hundreds of people gathered in the Loeb Playhouse for the one-agenda-item trustees’ meeting. The vote was unanimous. The introductory speech outlined an “out-of-this-world” resume. And out from behind the curtain emerged 59-year-old France Córdova: astrophysicist, university administrator, creative writer-someone Purdue board chair J. Timothy McGinley called “truly a Renaissance…
BEHIND THE NEWS: Hoosier stocks take flight, propelled by higher profits
Many Hoosier stocks are on a tear, posting year-to-date gains rivaling the numbers we saw in the frothy late 1990s, before the Internet bubble burst. But market analysts say the comparison stops there. The companies posting gains are old-line manufacturers like Cummins Inc., not dot-com startups built on hype. And the appreciation is built upon a solid foundation-rapid increases in profit. Indeed, New York-based Citigroup noted that corporate profits are up 115 percent since the last recession ended in the…
Banking industry slowly embracing biometric security: Local tech firm rolls out keystroke authentication systems to financial institutions
The banking industry is turning to the next generation of online security to thwart cyberthieves, and an Indianapolis information technology consulting firm is trying to stay at the forefront of the movement. Locally based Catalyst Technology Group has received a contract from BioPassword Inc., a security-software company based in Issaquah, Wash., to install keystroke authentication systems at financial institutions throughout the United States. Keystroke authentication is among the latest offerings from the field of biometrics-the measurement and analysis of unique…
Racinos may push gambling’s limits
During their first half-decade in operation, the state's casino slots machines grew their total sales to $22 billion,
according to Indiana Gaming Commission records. But in the last five years, slot sales grew just 18 percent, reaching $25.9
billion in 2006. That's what business textbooks call a maturing market.
Monroe photo ruling could sting CMG
Marilyn Monroe, one of celebrity licensing firm CMG Worldwide’s highest-grossing clients, has raked in more than $30 million
in licensing fees in the last dozen years–with roughly 25 percent of that landing in CMG coffers. But that spigot could slow
to a drip if a higher court upholds a ruling early this month by a New York federal judge.
Back from key conference, leaders focus on follow-up: Life science delegation faced big task: standing out among 20,000 attendees
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. spent the last six months preparing for the May 6-9 Biotechnology Industry Organization convention, the life sciences industry’s biggest annual event. Now that it’s finished, the hard part begins. “You build the relationship and you get the contacts,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Nathan Feltman. “But then you’ve got to aggressively follow up to get them here in Indiana.” More than 20,000 of the life sciences sector’s movers and shakers converged in Boston for the…
VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Court decision could change future of brokerage firms
On March 30, a U.S. Court of Appeals issued a decision that represents a tremendous victory for registered investment advisers, individual investors and a defeat for big brokerage firms such as Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, and Goldman Sachs. The Financial Plan- Association filed the lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that the SEC in 1999 had exceeded its authority in creating an exemption from investment adviser registration under the Investment Advisers Act for stockbrokers who charge asset-based fees…
Rescue for MSA site fell short
A high-profile local firm that quietly negotiated last fall to salvage the stalled redevelopment of the Market Square Arena
site abandoned its plans when the city decided instead to solicit new proposals early this year.
Breaking bread, breaking down barriers: International Center pairs local hosts, visiting delegates to promote cultural understanding
International Center pairs local hosts, visiting delegates to promote cultural understanding When a group of Iraqi editors and writers visited Indianapolis last summer as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, they learned about American journalism and Hoosier hospitality. Florence May, a member of the International Center of Indianapolis’ board and president of Simply Hospitality-an Indianapolis-based special-event planning company-hosted the group for dinner in her home. May grew up in a military family and has lived throughout…
EYE ON THE PIE: Can Big 10 show us more than sports?
There is an issue of greater importance than gay marriage, abortion or the tragedies of Iraq and Afghanistan. State regulation of interior designers is a matter of such public concern that the Indiana Senate supported it by a vote of 44-5 and the House, 62-34. Then, when we finally had the public protected from the inappropriate placement of sofas, the governor goes and vetoes the bill. Mitch, the spoilsport. Well, there is always next year. The governor could not stop…
Web rates get banks’ attention: Some try to compete by boosting savings yields
In an effort to lure new customers, more traditional banks are beginning to emulate their Internet adversaries and offer online savings accounts boasting much higher annual yields. Customers are increasingly turning to Internet banks because they offer highyield savings accounts that don’t require massive balances. First Internet Bank of Indiana, founded in 1998 by local tech entrepreneur David Becker as the first state-chartered Internetonly bank, has seen its assets grow to more than $530 million in less than a decade…
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Employers hope to save by promoting healthy living
“Mandates are a form of love,” a state legislator once said, explaining a vote that added requirements to privately funded health insurance programs statewide. And our governments evidently love all of us-businesses, individuals, and even other governments-very much. Our legislatures tell us the lowest wage we can pay our workers, the questions we can and cannot ask during job interviews, and how many gallons of water we use to flush our toilets. To the admittedly narrow-minded thinking of an economist,…
Super Bowl hinges on whether owners like Irsay or Jones
Bringing a Super Bowl to Indianapolis might have little to do with weather, hotel rooms or posh practice facilities. The biggest
factor is likely to be Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, and how other National Football League owners feel about him and
the contributions he has made to their tight-knit club.