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Builders remain bullish: Area likely to escape home construction slump, experts say

When home mortgage lender Fannie Mae this month predicted home sales might fall as much as 10 percent in 2006, Wall Street shuddered. Shares of home builders dropped, temporarily stalling a rally in the broader stock market-and raising questions whether the pace of new subdivisions in central Indiana might slow. Yet despite the discouraging outlook for the national housing market, builders active in central Indiana remain optimistic, singing a common refrain: not here. As it has for the past two…

Aearo aiming for IPO: Giant in safety equipment wants to raise $230 million, plans overseas expansion

An Indianapolis company that makes earplugs, hard hats and other protection gear used by everyone from soldiers to construction workers has laid the foundation for an initial public stock offering. Aearo Technologies Inc. plans to raise up to $230 million in the offering and list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, according to its registration statement filed late last year with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But the filing leaves blank a number of key details-such as…

NOTIONS: Failing to learn from the past, condemned to repeat it

It was raining in London the morning before New Year’s Eve. As we emerged from the St. Paul’s tube stop to a gust of wintry air, my friend Cheri wrapped her black topcoat a bit tighter, I buttoned my Navy blue, and we pulled on our gloves and scarves, and opened umbrellas to ward off the cold and damp. We walked briskly past the north churchyard of St. Paul’s Cathedral, turned the corner and climbed the front steps. Inside, we…

BULLS & BEARS: Behind the mumbo-jumbo lie risky pension strategies

Let me introduce you to the hottest thing going in institutional investing (pension plans)-it’s called “portable alpha.” One salesman for a large money management firm hails this as a new era in investing: “The new paradigm rejects total return as the measure of a strategy’s worth. It instead holds steadfast to the principle that any strategy’s total return can be divided into a market return and (ideally) a net excess return. “The market return component is quantified as beta and…

IRSAY’S ODYSSEY: Owner learned from life in NFL to build winning team

The Indianapolis Colts' evolution from perennial patsy to Super Bowl favorite is a body of work with a seldom-told—and often misunderstood—history. It's easy to see the hues all-pros Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James painted on this masterpiece season. President Bill Polian and Coach Tony Dungy certainly colored the landscape. And Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore added his creativity. But theirs aren't the only signatures on this canvas.

From FFA to DNA: Businesses view convention as more than a gathering of corn growers

Don’t call it the Future Farmers of America. That went out of style with pastel suits and parachute pants. The organization is now known as the FFA. And it’s no longer just a gathering of crop jockeys. The change in moniker partly illustrates why business leaders are so excited for the first of at least seven annual conventions the organization will stage in the Circle City starting in late October. “FFA is a premier, if not the premier, youth organization…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: Can’t get no (job) satisfaction?

-Dylan Thomas What would it take for you to love your job? For my friend Portia Graves, it’s taking a major career change. After 14 years as an insurance adjuster, she has enrolled in nursing school at age 40. She liked her job at first, but eventually the luster wore off. “I saw this huge increase in what I would call greed. It was really starting to get to me,” she said. And as the industry became more afraid of…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Big backer of Marsh cashes in millions in grocer’s shares

The Cincinnati investor that has helped back Marsh Supermarkets Inc. for more than two decades quietly unloaded a big chunk of its shares just before Christmas. American Financial Group Inc., an insurer controlled by the family of billionaire tycoon Carl Lindner, sold 255,686 Marsh shares for nearly $2.4 million Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows. American Financial officials did not return calls, but market observers say the move suggests the insurer thinks…

NOTIONS: Throwing out the book on ‘remedial’ education

On the first day of school, eighth-grade history teacher George Barnes took aim at tradition. With all the arm strength of the former Butler University football player he is, Barnes heaved a history text across his classroom. The book flew past his students’ stunned faces and crashed against the wall. Barnes asked the shocked teens: “If you were recording for history what you just witnessed, what would you say?” “Some,” said Barnes, “said, ‘That Mr. Barnes, he’s a crazy man….

Kosene condo plan rankles residents: Broad Ripple developments would undermine character of village, neighborhood groups say

Kosene & Kosene Residential LLC wants to follow the success of its sold-out Monon Row condominium project in Broad Ripple with two new projects. But it’s facing strong opposition from nearby residents, who say the high-density projects are out of step with the small-town character of the village. The Indianapolis-based developer is seeking rezoning that would allow it to build 23 condos at 66th and Ferguson streets and 28 condos along the Monon Trail south of Broad Ripple. Buildings would…

EYE ON THE PIE: Making money by neutering history

I drove north last week from the Caesar’s gambling facility in Harrison County. Instead of taking the usual roads, I twisted up the cliffside overlooking the Ohio River via Doolittle Road. Then I went through New Middleton to Corydon before I joined the state highway system. It was a delightful drive that I never would have known about from anything on the state’s tourism Web site. Yes, I can hear the usual lament: “Wait, we’re working on improving our materials….

Church’s business savvy extends financial ministry: New Life helps members become self-sufficient

Ondalere Helm has struggled to stay on solid financial footing since being laid off about four years ago. The 32-year-old mom got behind on her bills and was living in a governmentassisted apartment building with her 7-year-old daughter. “I had been praying for a home for my daughter,” Helm said. “I tried to buy a house, but my credit wasn’t good enough.” Then about two months ago, the pastor at New Life Worship Center-where Helm and her daughter attend religious…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: We want to spur economy, but what’s the best way?

If you want to get an idea just how hot the topic of economic development is in Indiana these days, take a stroll over to the Department of Insurance’s Web page. Instead of finding notices of regulatory proceedings or a lineby-line listing of the insurance code, you’ll get a spirited, enthusiastic rundown of all of the reasons Indiana is a great state in which to locate your insurance company. If you happen to own one, that is. That’s a little…

Growing numbers facing ‘rich’ tax: Alternative minimum tax reaching middle class

The number of Americans subject to the alternative minimum tax is expected to skyrocket this year unless Congress passes a retroactive safeguard. The tax, designed to prevent the rich from skirting taxation, threatens more middle-class families every year because of inflation. But because federal lawmakers failed to extend a “patch” that normally protects the less-than-wealthy from the AMT, it is estimated that 16 million more taxpayers could fall into its grasp this year. The AMT is catching many local taxpayers…

Legislators fight over green rules: Biz lobby: Indiana standards should not exceed EPA’s

Business interests and environmentalists are squaring off in the Indiana General Assembly. It’s unlikely they’ll see eye-to-eye anytime soon on this year’s ripest green issue: whether to hold Indiana to a higher environmental standard than the rest of the nation. In one corner, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce is leading a push for legislation to bind the state to environmental rules “no more stringent than” those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Framing the debate around economic development, the Chamber…

Carrier looks deeper at rent-a-plane roots to grow revenue: ATA aims to reverse declines in commercial charter

ATA Holdings Corp. is again plotting a course toward commercial charter, a segment of the airline industry hurt over the last decade by falling scheduled service fares that have erased charters’ price advantage. But rather than aiming at the leisure end of commercial charter-so battered by fare wars-the Indianapolis carrier will try to tap more lucrative segments such as “incentive” charters. Among the clients: big corporations that send hundreds or thousands of their top salespeople each year to conferences in…

INVESTING: Natural gas provides a powerful potential for profit

I have gas. Not the kind you get from eating too much of the wrong thing. I have natural gas, and I am going to need more of it. So, apparently, will the rest of the world. Natural gas is a gas that sits on top of oil when it is in the ground. If you drill a hole and find oil, you also have found natural gas. In our ultimate wisdom, we have found a way to siphon this…

‘Crammers’ facing big fines: Two firms accused of billing phone customers for directory assistance services not ordered

As in $1,071,000. That’s how much the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor wants the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to ring up in fines against Casper, Wyo.-based Micronet Inc. It also requests that the commission turn over the case to Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter for prosecution under the state’s deceptive practices act. Micronet is accused of billing hundreds of Indiana business, residential and state government lines in late 2004 and early 2005 for directory assistance service callers never requested or…

Big bank heading for sale?: Union Fed, parent firm mum as talk of mergers intensifies

Officials with the companies in Fort Wayne and here aren’t saying one way or the other. “We have nothing to announce,” said Alvin “Kit” Stolen, CEO of Union Federal since 2002. “We officially wouldn’t comment or address those kinds of rumors or speculation.” The privately held companies are among the largest financial firms headquartered in Indiana. Union Federal has more than $3.4 billion in assets and ranks as the city’s third-largest bank. Waterfield ranked 51st nationwide in mortgage originations in…

BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: High school dropouts are hard on city

Indiana has made significant progress in establishing some of the most demanding standards for primary and secondary students. However, Indiana’s and the nation’s educational system can also be characterized by low high school graduation rates; no standard for calculating graduation rates; persistent achievement gaps along racial and economic lines; a decline in “second chance” opportunities for high school dropouts; a general inability to attract and retain highquality teachers, especially in underperforming schools; and a bureaucratization of school structure that undermines…