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BULLS & BEARS: Nation’s hefty trade deficit puts value of dollar at risk

Whenever anyone starts talking about foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar, you can usually see eyes-including mine-glazing over. Nevertheless, now may be a particularly useful time for investors to gain awareness on this topic. Currently, a number of wise investment thinkers share a growing concern that the U.S. trade deficit, currently running at an unprecedented 7 percent of GDP (the country’s output of goods and services), will eventually trigger a dollar decline. At Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting a couple of…

BOOK REVIEWS: “Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces with Customers”

Customers got their first inkling 25 years ago when ATM machines were introduced. Another hint came along 10 years later when voice mail arrived. The trickle of computerized customer-service inter actions became a flood as we started using devices like parking-garage ticket machines, airline ticket kiosks, telephone voice trees and self-service checkouts for groceries and library books. Internet transactions such as online shopping, banking and purchasing movie tickets also entered the scene. Interacting with these “smart technologies,” which seemed odd…

My Favorite Cigar Bar: Bar offers stogies with its scotch Liquor license helped cigar store attract customers who may linger

“Cheers” in Brownsburg? Regulars at My Favorite Cigar Bar say it’s just like that fictional Boston watering hole “where everybody knows your name”-or like it would have been if Cheers had sold cigars as well as drinks. Hendricks County’s version of the popular pub occupies an old-fashioned brick storefront at 36 E. Main St. The brainchild of Brownsburg couple Bruce and Lisa Freestone, it is-as the name suggests-both a bar and cigar shop. “We’re the only such cigar store in…

STAYING POWER: Bryant in sixth decade as racing sponsor at Brickyard

What started as a few-thousand-dollar investment to put a company logo on Eddie Johnson’s 1958 Indianapolis 500 car is now a year-round marketing commitment for Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems, valued in the annual mid-six-figure range, to sponsor an Indy Racing League team for the entire season. For 48 years, Bryant’s logo has adorned the sidepod of an open-wheel race car at the Brickyard, as the company has increasingly used the race-and later the entire IRL series-in its marketing and…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Life cycle costing process looks beyond initial price

The clients of most large contractors are typically as varied as the buildings they have us construct. Some buyers of construction are satisfied if they can simply get a building erected as quickly as possible at the lowest possible costs and are willing to make compromises in quality and workmanship. More sophisticated buyers are increasingly turning to a process called life cycle costing, or LLC. This process takes into consideration not only the initial price, but also the cost of…

Pedcor Development plans $14 million design center: Carmel retail facility aimed at builders, homeowners

You can add a massive retail home design and decor retail center to Pedcor Development Co.’s lengthy project list in Carmel’s downtown district. Pedcor, which is responsible for much of the development going on in downtown Carmel these days, is expected to break ground this summer on a $14 million Indiana Design Center, an 85,000-square-foot, two-story, one-stop shopping spot for homeowners and builders. An assortment of 20 to 25 retailers that sell everything from bathroom faucets to antiques is expected…

EYE ON THE PIE: Beware cost increases you can’t see

There I was at the grocery store engaged in economic research. I found a plasticwrapped pack of 24 half-liter bottles of “spring water” from a famous soft drink company was $4.99, or $1.57 per gallon. The store brand for “spring water,” packaged in the same fashion, was $3.88, or $1.22 per gallon. A 24-pack of regular or diet 12-ounce soft drinks from the same famous company was selling for $6.49, or $2.97 per gallon. That’s just about the price of…

Emerging Riley specialty to look for more doctors: Hospital emergency department sees rapid growth

Riley Hospital for Children is looking for a few good doctors to man its bulkedup Emergency Department, the latest sign of the swelling national demand for pediatric ER services. Indianapolis-based Emergency Medical Group Inc. will take over management of Riley’s Emergency Department July 1 and bring in a new medical director, Dr. Bob Collins. He, in turn, might hire as many as seven doctors trained in pediatric emergency medicine over the next few years, some of whom may replace physicians…

Conseco hoping to settle: Class action accuses insurer of misleading its customers about life insurance costs

Conseco Inc. appears close to resolving a class-action lawsuit that encompasses 75,000 polices and accuses the company of duping customers about the cost of insurance. The Carmel-based company said in a regulatory filing that it has entered settlement talks “in an attempt to avoid the risks and costs of protracted litigation” and has set aside an undisclosed amount of money toward resolving the matter. At issue are so-called Lifetime and Lifestyle universal life insurance policies purchased by customers nationwide in…

Tower erector rises from ruin: Once bankrupt, water tank firm grows into industry giant, acquires competitor

From the ashes of bankruptcy in 1986, an Avon-based firm has ascended to the top of an industry that might seem old-fashioned: building and maintaining water towers. But the owners of Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors Inc. say new demand for their product, driven by factors as diverse as aesthetics and alternative fuels, promises to boost the firm’s $80 million in annual sales as Phoenix grows from within and through acquisitions. Phoenix this month acquired Sebree, Ky.-based Pittsburgh Tank and Tower…

Mira banquet honors excellence in Hoosier high tech: TechPoint awards often precede market success

TechPoint’s Mira Awards, which were to be handed out May 19, celebrate excellence in Hoosier innovation. The annual awards banquet also serves as a pretty good bellwether of who’s poised for a big payday. For example, TechPoint honored Indianapolis-based medical device-maker Suros Surgical Systems Inc. with a Mira award three years before Massachusettsbased Hologic Inc. acquired Suros for $240 million in April. In 2003, TechPoint also recognized Carmel-based banking software-maker Baker-Hill. California-based Experian bought Baker-Hill last August for an undisclosed…

Stringtown-the next downtown success story?: Trio of real estate investors are betting on the burg

Drive around the roughly 50 blocks of Stringtown, a small, working-class neighborhood on the city’s near-west side, and you’ll come across some cute, rehabbed, two-bedroom houses for rent. But there are also signs of neglect-boarded-up houses with siding falling off, cars up on blocks, and broken windows. In the neighborhood just west of White River and the Indianapolis Zoo, a few real estate investors are wagering that the tight-knit district is ready to blossom. The burg stretches from the river…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Late urban planner’s ideas still hold lesson for today

Jane Jacobs passed away in late April. This working mother with no formal education in urban planning wrote the book that revolutionized the way we thought -and still think-about cities. “The Death and Life of American Cities,” first published by Vintage Books in 1961, became the equivalent of the “Art of War” by Sun Tzu in the fight against “urban renewal” in the 1960s. Ms. Jacobs’ enemies in the 1960s probably thought she was tougher on them than Sun Tzu…

Area construction employment surging: Workers stay busy as industry experiences 15 consecutive months of job growth

Building tradesmen in central Indiana don’t need a mind-numbing jobs report to tell them construction workers are in high demand. They need not look any further than their apprentice programs and union halls to gauge the industry’s health. The way the barometer works is simple: Full apprentice classes mean contractors are hiring and empty union halls mean they’re working. “When the benches are empty, that’s a good thing,” said Mike Kerr, a principal at locally based contractor F.A. Wilhelm Construction…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Good transportation paves the way for strong economy

“Like it or not,” noted author Richard Florida opined as he looked out over a crowd that recently gathered in Indianapolis to discuss economic development issues in central Indiana, “you are all part of the greater Chicago region.” That might come as news to you who pay taxes, follow sports, or subscribe to a newspaper. But the point is well made. In the larger scheme of things-the so-called Shanghai perspective one would take in looking at our economy from the…

SPORTS: Justin Gatlin is a fast fix for USA Track and Field

Shortly thereafter, he was on his way to Indy to promote the upcoming AT&T USA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships. The event takes place June 21-25 at the Michael Carroll Stadium at IUPUI, and it’s the result of Indybased USA Track & Field’s initiative to bring more of its events to its hometown. Talk about good timing. Track and field’s national profile needs a between-Olympic-years boost and track and field locally-the kind that used to electrify this city back…

VIEWPOINT: Illiteracy is a hot economic issue

“Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?” So goes the refrain from the musical “1776,” when George Washington communicates his frustration with how badly the Revolutionary War is going while the Continental Congress continues to debate the pros and cons of declaring independence from the British crown. Does anybody in Indiana see what I see? I see an economy, slowly recovering, but not booming like the rest of the country. I see state tax collections…

WEB REVIEW: Is e-mail marketing the answer for you?

If you’re running a business, there’s a good chance you’ve been frustrated with marketing. You’ve spent time and money on ads here and there, but the results were unpredictable-or worse-questionable. You’re in the phone book because you feel you have to be, but the cost goes up year after year. Word of mouth works, but it’s too slow. Direct mail works, but it’s too expensive. Radio and TV are difficult to do well and nearly impossible to track for results….

Reinbold to sell Chinese autos in Indianapolis: Affordable luxury line likely to hit the streets in 2008

Local car dealer Dennis Reinbold, well-known for selling high-end German and Japanese automobiles, will add Chinese vehicles to his lineup, possibly by the end of next year. Reinbold will be among the first dealers in the United States to sell cars made in Wuhu, China, by the state-owned Chery Automobile Co., one of that country’s fastest-growing automakers. Reinbold, who is also an Indy Racing League team owner, paid $2 million to sell the Chinese cars, which will be distributed by…

INVESTING: How to use trend lines to help divine market direction

There is a simple and often-underestimated tool used by technical analysts that even the most timestrapped investor can profit from. The trend line is an old utility technicians have believed in for centuries. Everyone has heard the term, “The trend is your friend.” In order to visualize the trend, all you have to do is get a chart of any stock or index, and start drawing lines connecting highs or lows of prices. Hold the page back a little, and…