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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Is too much news leaving you woozy these days?

When it comes to news, there are two kinds of consumers: the “E.F. Hutton people” and the “cocktail party people.” E.F. Huttoners have it easy. Cocktail partiers are only now getting some help making their lives more manageable. Years ago, E.F. Hutton ran a series of commercials that would always take place in a crowded spot, like a restaurant or plaza. One actor would be talking about his investment advice and preface it with, “Well, my broker is E.F. Hutton,…

EYE ON THE PIE: Major Moves elicits childish behavior

There are issues in Indiana other than the toll-road lease and building Interstate 69. Yet some people in the Legislature refuse to relinquish their roles as reactionaries. Example: Out of their minds with xenophobia (the fear of foreigners) the House insisted that toll booths display American flags. Why not require that all BP (British Petroleum) gas stations fly the American flag? How about giving a loyalty test to Mittal Steel, which owns a big chunk of assets in northwestern Indiana?…

BULLS & BEARS: Rantings lift TV ratings, but not portfolio values

If you own individual stocks, you know they periodically drop or pop in price for no apparent reason. A big company’s total value can easily swing several billion dollars with seemingly innocuous news or comments from an influential analyst. One of the guys who can influence investor behavior is James Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money.” It is one of CNBC’s highest-rated shows and is entertaining, if you like stock market TV shows. If you hate those kinds of shows,…

Wishard bounces back, projects $23M surplus: Improved billing, debt collection dry up red ink

Wishard Health Services made it back into the black in 2005, three years after posting a staggering loss of $77 million. The not-for-profit, public hospital system expects to record a $23 million surplus on $362 million in revenue when budget totals are final in a few months. Its leaders expect to wind up with another surplus in 2006. Such performance is a noteworthy achievement in the public health universe, said Lynne Fagnani, senior vice president for the Washington, D.C.-based National…

SPORTS: It’s about more than hoops if Chicago gets tourneys

Our month of Much Madness has begun. Forty-one games in 33 days downtown. The Big Ten women’s and men’s tournaments (20 games). The IHSAA girls’ and boys’state finals (eight games). The National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Game on Final Four weekend. The NCAA Men’s Final Four (three games). And, interspersed throughout, nine Indiana Pacers home games. So what’s your pleasure? High school, college, pro? No matter the level, it is coming to Indianapolis in abundance. Quality and quantity, packaged…

Making the grade: Pay-for-performance system nearing reality for local physicians

Central Indiana stands on the leading edge of a national push by health care insurance systems to link doctors’ pay with their performance. The Indiana Health Information Exchange-a not-for-profit collaboration among some of the state’s largest health care providers-is developing a program that uses data collected from insurers and care providers to produce quality reports. Those reports then will be sent to doctors and used by the insurers to develop incentive programs for reimbursement. The goal: Start a system by…

Bulls of the Fairways:

David Simon and Alan Cohen are outstanding golfers, among the best of all Indianapolis businessmen. The CEOs of Simon Property Group Inc. and Finish Line Inc. share something else in common: Their companies are top performers, with their stock prices more than dou-Professor sees link between golf scores, biz success bling in a little more than three years. Coincidence? Not according to Dan Dalton, golf aficionado and former dean of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. “Business is like match…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Partisanship: The nemesis of progress

Like Mayor Bart Peterson’s Indianapolis Works legislation last year, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Major Moves bill has become the political football of this legislative season. The rhetoric and posturing associated with the highway funding bill has been as partisan and irrational as it comes. It’s as if the Democrats who oppose Major Moves are trying to compensate for their party’s inability to produce a solution to our state’s highways needs during the previous 16 years of Democratic leadership under governors Bayh,…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Bank plays the ‘local’ card, but will it succumb to sale?

An in-your-face ad campaign that First Indiana Corp. rolled out last month highlights the Indianapolisbased bank’s local roots and leaves the distinct impression it won’t be accepting a buyout offer anytime soon. Rhetoric or reality? Time will tell. “If you run an Indiana business, you need an Indiana bank,” reads one of the ads. It continues: “Remember when your local bank was actually local?” First Indiana executives and directors are savoring the sale of Union Federal Bank, which leaves First…

NOTIONS: As fumes meet fare, my restaurant boycott begins

Recently, I testified before the Greenwood Common Council. I spoke in favor of that community’s proposed ban on workplace smoking. The stuff killed my wife, Pam, a 49-year-old nonsmoker, so I encourage practitioners of good government to spare others the same fate. When all the witnesses had filled the allotted 30 minutes, Greenwood’s council members spoke up-most in favor. But an opponent, Councilman Ron Deer, said smokers ought to have choices. No, he said, people should not be able to…

Emerging India: Indians explore prospects in Indiana: Delegation of 15 execs finds opportunities during tour of Indianapolis, Purdue tech park

Indians explore prospects in Indiana Delegation of 15 execs finds opportunities during tour of Indianapolis, Purdue tech park J.V.V. Satyanarayana spent the last three years launching his Chennai, India-based software firm. But after only 24 hours in Indianapolis, he was ready to expand his operation. Satyanarayana was part of a delegation of 15 Indian executives who visited Indiana last week. His business, SVL Infotech, manages the IT end of medical billing. It has 100 employees and handles claims worth $100…

Insurers: Session a ‘dog’: Industry’s favored bills bark up the wrong tree

The state’s insurance industry could use coverage for the lumps it has taken this legislative session. The three main issues of interest for the Insurance Institute of Indiana, the sector’s lobbying arm, all flamed out early. The disappointing performance prompted Marty Wood, the organization’s director of public affairs, to proclaim it a near failure. “I would give this session for insurers a ‘D’ as in dog. Dog is probably pretty accurate, too,” Wood said. “Had we had this kind of…

Ayres stores may be razed: Smaller shops likely replacements at Castleton, Greenwood

Simon Property Group Inc. wants to take the wrecking ball to the soon-to-be-vacant L.S. Ayres stores at Castleton Square and Greenwood Park malls, clearing the way for development of a collection of smaller stores and restaurants, sources familiar with the plans say. “There have been numerous site plans circulated showing redevelopment with the existing structures removed,” said Bill French, a local retail broker with St. Louis-based Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. Mark Perlstein, a partner with The Linder Co., an Indianapolis-based…

INVESTING: Slide in Google shares a sign of weakening stock market

“Google will close down for the year, but it may begin its fall from higher levels.” I wrote that on Jan. 10, with Google at $465 a share. “If you bought Google last year for $250 a share and still own it, this may be the time to cut and run.” I wrote that on Jan. 31, when Google was selling for $430 a share. On the morning of Feb. 28, the stock was up a little, to $397. Then…

ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: Enough of this Godly grandstanding

I will freely admit that, while I am not the most religious person in the world, I don’t think God would mind if I offered Him another c o m m a n d m e n t : “Thou shall not grandstand and use my name in the process!” I think that advice would well suit some members of Indiana’s congressional delegation, or at least two of them: Reps. Dan Burton and Mike Sodrel. The two, along with State…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The fight to hire top talent: Do we have what it takes?

Most cities have mayors, police chiefs and tax collectors. But suppose for a moment they each had an additional staff position as well-the recruiter. Like a basketball coach or a talent scout, these recruiters would scour the country, looking for talented people who would fit into the community and add to the economic base. And when they found one, they would make their pitch, touting their town’s assets and strengths, and urging the recruit to relocate. The prospects, on the…

IT firm bought again: New York company acquires Core Business Technology but will move HQ to Indy

Now, Core Business Technology Solutions has gone down the aisle again, tying the knot last month with White Plains, N.Y.-based Convergence Technologies Inc.-a deal that makes Indianapolis headquarters for a company with 270 employees and $105 million in revenue. But, with apologies to Wynette, nobody at this wedding sang, “Stand by your LAN.” The good ol’ local area network is now just a slice of the increasingly diverse information-technology products and services Core offers small and midsize companies these days….

Ticked off over tickets: NCAA plans to battle hospitality brokers during Final Four

The launch of The Tournament Club at this year’s men’s basketball Final Four in Indianapolis is the first shot across the bow of brokers, travel agents, hotel room resellers and others who’ve stepped in to meet the demand for hospitality packages the NCAA previously ignored. In December, the NCAA hired rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing and media agency, to launch the association’s own hospitality package, including lower-level tickets, access to an exclusive hospitality area at the game venue, premium hotel…

Hotel firm investing $30 million by stadium: Dora Brothers specializes in properties on the fringes

The downtown hotel operated by Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp. is unlikely to be confused with the towering convention hotels that sit, literally, on the other side of the tracks. While behemoths like the Westin, Marriott and Hyatt boast bustling restaurants, gleaming lobbies, meeting facilities and an attached walkway to the Indiana Convention Center, Dora’s modest Best Western Hotel offers little beyond clean, comfortable rooms, continental breakfast and a short walk to the heart of Indianapolis. Fishers-based Dora Brothers, however, is…

Walker, Aprimo kick-start 2006 office leasing: Meridian corridor in Carmel remains hot spot

A little more than two months into the new year, deals destined to be among the largest office leases of 2006 are coming together on the far-north side. Two big tenants are headed for speculative office buildings under construction by Duke Realty Corp. and Lauth Property Group Inc. Software maker Aprimo Inc. will nearly triple its office space at Duke’s Parkwood Crossing when it moves into 42,400 square feet at Nine Parkwood at 96th Street and College Avenue. Aprimo, housed…