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EYE ON THE PIE: Mirror, mirror, which is fairest tax of all?

With some hesitation, I take you inside the men’s rest room at the Statehouse. There, I found a new member of the General Assembly combing his hair over his otherwise empty scalp and asking, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the fairest tax of all?” The mirror responded, “The sales tax is the fairest of them all.” Startled, both the legislator and I looked around, only to hear another mirror say, “No, the income tax is fairest of them…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: U.S. job growth improves, but Midwest is wallflower

We are a nation of more than 300 million people, over half of whom are in the civilian work force, with almost 146 million having jobs. So why do we get so excited, or disappointed, when the government scorekeepers report each month about job gains of a mere couple of hundred thousand? Of course, when I say “we,” I mean the tiny group of economists, policymakers and financial analysts who keep track of such things. Most businesspeople, let alone folks…

DOING GOOD: PATTY JONES: Different kind of donation

| Jo Ellen

DOING GOOD PATTY JONES Different kind of donation Patty Jones’ free time isn’t all that free. Last year, she took on more than 100 assignments as a member of Indianapolis Ambassadors. And that’s just for starters. She also volunteered for dozens of activities at Greenwood Christian Church, was treasurer of her neighborhood association and served on the board of Joy’s House, a provider of adult day services. “We all have talents and mine help organizations,” said Jones, 45, owner of…

Regulator pitches first fee hike in more than a decade: The state Department of Insurance plans to hire 10

Indiana’s thinly funded Insurance Department is pushing to raise nearly $1 million by hiking fees it charges insurers for the first time since 1994. The department also plans to shrink agent licenses from four years to two, in order to raise money and bolster continuing-education requirements. Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt hopes to win legislative approval this session for the measures, which would add $960,000 to the department’s $5.8 million operating budget and allow it to boost its work force from…

State to privatize mental-health hospital

State officials are advancing plans to privatize a state-run hospital for the mentally ill and now are looking for a not-for-profit
to build and manage a new facility in Indianapolis.

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: A fresh start for this IEDC alum

I’m back. My last regular column appeared in the Indianapolis Business Journal on Jan. 3, 2005. In that column, I announced that I had accepted a twoyear hitch with the Daniels administration as president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and that columns would be suspended during my tenure with the state. The editors at IBJ felt that writing a column would pose a conflict of interest with my new responsibilities, and I agreed. It was a good thing; I…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Congress, IRS taking aim at college tax practices

Congress and the IRS have taken a number of significant steps recently to increase their scrutiny of colleges, universities and related organizations. What’s the next step? The IRS has already tipped its hand and indicated that it intends to design and initiate unrelated business income tax-or UBIT-inquiries directed toward colleges during 2007 and 2008. This upcoming year will likely usher in a new tax climate focused upon enforcement initiatives and public transparency. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 included several…

INVESTING: Congress’ first 100 hours suggest we’re in for long year

Investors could get shafted from the big guys at the top. The most powerful people in America potentially could fleece the average investor, and the only recourse we might have is hope. No, I am not talking about the outrageous but legal (a contract was signed) exit pay package of the former CEO of Home Depot. I am not talking about the options scandal that eventually wrapped up Steve Jobs from Apple, even though he is worth every penny the…

NOTIONS: A prayer for common sense on the issue of prayer

Dear God, please hear my prayer. We need a little divine guidance here (or at least a few thunderbolts of common sense). I pray today not for relief from the usual litany of woes (You hear enough about those). I ask, instead, that You help us past a nagging distraction so we might move on to more pressing concerns. As You know (because You know all), there’s a lot weighing on us in these little Edens called Earth, America and…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Ex-devotee of Brightpoint now on other side of table

Durham, who bet big on Brightpoint when it was near financial ruin, now is part of a group that is among the largest shareholders in Texas-based Cellstar Corp., a rival wireless phone distributor buffeted by nearly $200 million in losses from 2002 through 2005. In December, Cellstar announced plans to liquidate, with Brightpoint Inc. acquiring the bulk of its business-its U.S. and Latin American operations-for $88 million. Analysts say it’s a savvy deal for Brightpoint, which picks up $450 million…

Getting to know you: Companies are using sites like MySpace to learn much more about job candidates

In today’s Internet age, companies are going well beyond reading résumés and contacting references to check out job candidates. More and more would-be employers are turning to the Web to conduct background checks on prospects. MySpace and Facebook are two hugely popular social networking sites where college and high school students often post risqué photographs and provocative content about drinking, recreational drug use, sexual exploits and other personal conduct. But what some job seekers might mistakenly consider relatively private information…

Local sign makers enjoy brisk business thanks to bank mergers

Bank mergers have proven lucrative for local sign companies over the years. A string of mergers in the late 1980s and early
1990s wiped out the city’s three big national banks–American Fletcher, Merchants National and Indiana National. In the years
since, the industry has continued to consolidate, spawning a flurry of additional name changes.

Suburban builder J. Greg Allen to tackle downtown

J. Greg Allen & Associates has made a name for itself building suburban subdivisions, office buildings and retail complexes.
Now, the developer is poised to tackle a pair of projects downtown.

Business elite back alternative high school: Catholic college-prep Cristo Rey puts students to work to earn and learn

Every other month, it seems, someone announces another promising alternative to the city’s public schools and their low achievement levels and high dropout rates. If it isn’t Indianapolis Public Schools announcing another specialty school within a high school, it’s a new charter school anointed by Mayor Bart Peterson-a number now approaching 20. So one could be forgiven for being a bit cynical about these schools, as parents who can afford to continue to leave the city for better schools. But…

Simon gets sweeping rating upgrade from Fitch

Fitch has upgraded several debt ratings for Simon Property Group by one notch. One example is its senior unsecured notes, which were pushed to A- from BBB+.   Fitch attributed its decision to the Indianapolis company’s stable cash flows and large, well-diversified asset portfolio of shopping malls.

Guide accelerates Anderson plant closing-to today

Guide Corp. has told its employees that its Anderson car taillight plant will close today, ahead of a June 2007 target announced in October. The action was caused by General Motors’ shifting production to alternative, lower-cost producers, the Pendleton company said in a statement published on The Herald Bulletin‘s Web site. About 265 hourly workers are affected […]

Ford sues Navistar over engine prices, warranty

Diesel engines made at a Navistar International Corp. plant on Indianapolis’ east side are at the center of a lawsuit Ford Motor Co. has filed against Navistar in Michigan. Ford claims Illinois-based Navistar isn’t adequately sharing warranty costs for the engines, which are used in its lucrative Super Duty F-Series pickup trucks, according to Chicago […]

Indiana a likely contender for Toyota plants

Toyota Motor Corp. probably will look closely at Indiana as it adds assembly plants to meet its rising sales, according to Kim Hill, associate director of the not-for-profit Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. Now ramping up its Tundra pickup truck plant in San Antonio, the Japanese automaker is thought to be considering sites […]

Anti-clotting prospect most important for Lilly, report says

A drug Eli Lilly and Co. is developing to prevent blood clots is the most important in Lilly’s pipeline, according to a report on TheStreet.com this morning. Prasugrel, which aims to prevent heart attacks and strokes, faces important clinical trials this year, and could yield several billion dollars in sales. However, its impact on the […]