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BULLS & BEARS: This year has been good, but 2007 might be better

If you are reading this before Christmas Day, you most likely have only about 24 hours of shopping time left to find that last stocking stuffer. What are you doing reading this now? Get out there and finish shopping! Or, if you are reading this after Christmas Day, I hope Santa was good to you. Unless something dramatic happens to the stock market in the last two weeks of the year, your portfolio should be shouting “hoho-ho” with gains for…

Indians stock buyback raises more questions: Analysts say highest offer yet isn’t high enough

The Indianapolis Indians saw attendance, profit and dividend payments shrink in 2006. But a recent stock buyback program launched by the baseball franchise to boost the value of its shares is the biggest in the team’s long history. Whether the offer price is big enough is an open question. Market observers don’t think so. With 799 shares outstanding when the buyback was announced Nov. 16, the offer price of $15,329 per share put a $12.2 million price tag on the…

VIEWPOINT: Sustained momentum crucial for session

The 2007 Indiana General Assembly session will begin in January. As a result of last month’s election, the House of Representatives is now controlled by Democrats, and the Senate is in the hands of Republicans. Regardless of which political party controls which branch of the Legislature, Hoosiers expect collaboration and progress. Indiana has built tremendous momentum in economic development, but more work lies ahead. The momentum must continue into 2007 and beyond. Despite our progress, Indiana must continue to be…

NOTIONS: Resolutions and predictions: Why bother?

Bruce Hetrick is on vacation this week. In his absence, this column, which appeared on Dec. 30, 2002, is being reprinted. The gym will be rife with resolvers these next few weeks. They’ll arrive, eagerbeaver, wearing sweats, headphones and heart monitors purchased as Christmas gifts by relatives hoping to encourage good habits, longer lives and less flab to hold onto in the night. On all this pricey merchandise, you’ll see Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Roots. That way, the resolvers can…

Verizon amphitheater might be redeveloped

The potential redevelopment of Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville could open the door for a new concert venue in
Indianapolis, but industry veterans don’t expect it would look anything like the popular Hamilton County amphitheater.

Star diffuses flap with news union

The Indianapolis Star has averted, for now, a labor dispute over management’s request that unionized news employees write
advertising copy–a practice considered taboo in the newspaper industry.

HUMAN RESOURCES: Think your business is too small for HR? Think again

After squeezing 36 hours out of every 24-hour day, you have reached a milestone in your business: You realize you need help. How you find, hire and treat employees-from that first one to those that follow-can accelerate your success or throw obstacles in your way. The moment you begin the search for your first employee, you enter the intricate world of “human resources.” If you’re like many busy entrepreneurs, you have given little thought to how to do that. You…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Founders’ voting clout riles Finish Line investor

You can understand the thinking. An entrepreneur takes his company public, gaining access to the capital markets. But he wants to keep control of the business. So he gives his own shares greater voting power. In short, he has the best of both worlds. That’s all great-except, critics say, it’s just not fair. Earlier this year, professional investors assailed Emmis Communications Corp. CEO Jeff Smulyan for his turbocharged shares. Those shares give him the clout to swat down any takeover…

U of I dean under fire from within department

Two years after Michael Shapiro was hired as dean of the business school at the University of Indianapolis, three current
and three former U of I professors have filed a grievance against Shapiro, alleging that he has created a hostile work environment.

Small biz unsure about ’07: Legislative agenda is clear, but advocates still worried

Big changes at the Statehouse, including a shift to Democratic control in the House of Representatives and a leadership switch in the Senate, mean there are more unknowns and more unpredictability. Meanwhile, top issues such as health insurance, tax reforms and regulatory changes provide a minefield of concerns for small-business owners. New health insurance mandates could add to already skyrocketing premiums. New local taxing authority could increase the burden on small businesses. Changes to the state’s regulatory structure could dramatically…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Laws, regulations rippling through corporate America

They say that one way to avoid getting angry at the car traffic around you is to imagine that the drivers are people you know. Likewise, it is said that substituting the words “other people” for the word “government” in the discussion of government’s obligations and responsibilities toward its citizens can take some of the thunder out of the latter’s demands. That’s no great insight, of course. We want to impress, please and be liked by people. But organizations, bureaucracies…

MARKETING Kay Millar: Marketing should focus on benefits to customers

MARKETING Kay Millar Marketing should focus on benefits to customers The terms in the marketing communications field have become so interchangeable-not to mention misused and i l l – d e fi n e d – w e could spend a university semester sorting out the words and their usage. At least twice a week, we’re presented with questions about the difference between a brand and a positioning statement, or imaging vs. branding, or slogan vs. tagline, or marketing vs….

Firearm advocates take aim at employers’ restrictions

Legislators in the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly are gearing up for a gunfight with high-caliber business
implications. On one side are employees who prefer to pack heat during their commute. On the other are executives who see
guns as a liability nightmare–even if they’re locked in cars parked outside.

Landing the young gains importance: How is a city to please 25- to 34-year-olds?

College-educated young adults should consider themselves lucky-everybody wants them. Cities nationwide are bending over backward trying to figure out what hip amenities will attract “the young and the restless.” Arts organizations are looking for ways to get them to performances. Even newspapers are getting into the act, launching specialty publications aimed directly at them. Why so much love? Time’s ticking. Baby boomers are getting older, and someone has to take their place as employees, taxpayers, arts patrons and news readers….

New Nordstrom an obstacle for fragile downtown mall

When Nordstrom in 1992 signed its lease to open in Circle Centre, mall developers extracted an unusual commitment. The Seattle company agreed not to open another Indianapolis-area store for at least five years. So when Nordstrom last month announced it will launch a second location here, in The Fashion Mall at Keystone, it caught the attention of Herman Renfro, a former Simon Property Group Inc. development executive who oversaw Circle Centre.

NOTIONS: 2006 years later and still no room at the inn

I’ve sat through my share of seminars, sermons and speeches. I’ve heard all the shoulds, coulds, oughtas, haftas and gottas offered up by well-meaning teachers, preachers and other pontificators. And while I’ve tried to heed more of their wisdom than I’ve blown off, much of the blah-blah has gone in one hearing aid and out the other. You can chalk that up to dry delivery, other matters on my mind, lack of relevance or information overload. Whatever the case, the…

BULLS & BEARS: Alternative investments don’t live up to the hype

Alternative investing is all the rage, as I noted in my last column. As an individual investor, you might feel that the dealings of hedge funds, private equity and venture capital don’t apply to your portfolio. Yet, when there is such a sea change taking place in the investment landscape, it is important to try to understand why it is happening and whether it makes sense, because the ripple effects can reach you. Hedge fund is an all-encompassing term that…

Randy’s Toy Shop breathes life into ailing play things

Randy Ibey, owner of Randy’s Toy Shop in Noblesville, is legendary among antique toy collectors and dealers worldwide. Ibey
can fix more kinds of toys than an elf in Santa's workshop–from a German tin soldier created in the 1850s to a remote-control
Pluto made a century later.

Stadium walkway carries $10M tab

An enclosed connector is set to be built, partly underground, that will link Lucas Oil Stadium to the soon-to-be expanded
Indiana Convention Center. It will span about a quarter of a mile and cost more than $10 million.

FUNNY BUSINESS: Holiday favorites-and not-so-favorites-liven up work

On the first day of Christmas, the workplace brought to me: One allegedly funny memo written in the style of Clement Clarke Moore: “‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through Accounts Receivable, not a creature was stirring, isn’t that unbelievable?” It goes on like this for 27 stanzas, representing at least four hours of someone’s workweek. On the second day of Christmas, the workplace brought to me: Two half-gallon cartons of eggnog for the kitchenette refrigerator, where they will…