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BULLS & BEARS: Understanding the effect of increasing interest rates

Interest rates are a major variable in the evaluation of any investment, whether it’s stocks, bonds, real estate … you name it. As interest rates change, they alter the value of all financial assets. Simple mathematics shows that, as interest rates rise, the present value of a dollar to be received tomorrow is worth less to an investor today. Thus, when interest rates rise, the prices of all investments move down in value. And conversely, when interest rates fall, investment…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: New tax law provides significant deductions for industry Contractors, architects, engineers stand to benefit For example Replacement legislation Another example

A new tax break known as the “Production Deduction” was signed into law by President Bush late last year and is effective for years beginning after Dec. 31, 2004. Construction contractors and engineers and architects involved in construction projects can benefit from this important new tax deduction. Upon announcement, the legislation raised many issues, and the IRS recently issued guidance to clarify them. For 2005 and 2006, the deduction is equal to the lesser of 3 percent of the taxpayer’s…

Purdue ousts biz guru: Director fired amid shakeup of high-profile tech incubator

The billboards read “Go Businessmakers,” but the yellow flag is up. Purdue University is reorganizing its primary program to assist high-tech startups and has fired the director. Part of Purdue’s nationally recognized effort to transform raw university research into viable businesses, the Gateways Program had been managed since October 1998 by Sam Florance, a former investment banker and management consultant. Purdue closed Gateways and eliminated Florance’s position on March 14, IBJ has learned. On March 18, Joseph B. Hornett, senior…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: The importance of being different

Well, there’s a conversation-starter you don’t hear every day, I thought. It was inane even for the preschool crowd, which is known for the inanity of their questions. “Um, I think it’s a Kenmore,” I replied. “Oh,” he said. “Ours is an Oreck XL Classic commercial-grade vacuum with a bristled-edge cleaning system, long-lasting drive belts, an easy-load bag dock, metaxalloy motor fan, pile-lifting roller brush and non-marring bumper,” or something to that effect. That’s when I realized Henry was no…

BEHIND THE NEWS: In scandals’ wake, firms endure financial wringer Process mapping Too high a cost

Last year was excruciating for executives at many of Indiana’s public companies, but not for the usual reasons, like a slumping economy or sliding stock market. Instead, it was because they had to devote thousands of employee hours and millions of dollars to comply with a controversial new rule, Section 404 of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-accountability law. The rule requires companies to assess the internal accounting controls they have in place to ensure their financial reporting is accurate and reliable-and…

Indiana State Bar Association embraces construction: Organization starts Construction and Surety Law section to help lawyers who work in building-related fields

A new section of the Indiana State Bar Association is a little out of the ordinary. The Construction and Surety Law section, which went into operation last fall, focuses on a specific industry instead of a specialized area of the legal practice, such as liability or contract law. This approach is pretty uncommon for state bar associations, Indiana State Bar Association officials said. “This section represents the cutting edge for bar membership,” said Section Vice Chairman David J. Theising, a…

No backing down: Irsay leads crusade to strengthen NFL revenue sharing

Irsay became a central figure in the NFL franchises’ small-market vs. large-market battle at the annual owners’ meetings in Hawaii March 21-23. He told reporters he isn’t sure how long his-or any-team can be competitive in a city the size of Indianapolis if large-market teams have their way with the league’s revenue-sharing formula. The Indiana General Assembly is in the midst of a fierce debate over funding for a $600 million retractable-roof stadium for the Colts, but that could be…

Tyler Mason Salon/Spa: Salon pampers its customers Owner has extremely high standards for her staff

“It’s all about the client,” Tammie Baker tells her staff at the Tyler Mason Salon/Spa. That’s probably one reason her business has been listed among the top 200 salons in the country by industry magazine Modern Salon. Assembling the right staff to fit her vision was the biggest challenge Baker faced when she started her business in 1992. But once she hired someone-after a lengthy interview process requiring several visits-she made sure that employee continued his or her education and…

Supreme Court drug case could restrict development: Lilly, other firms want research exemption confirmed

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments April 20 in a case that Eli Lilly and Co. and other pharmaceutical corporations say could restrict the development of new drugs. The dispute stems from a June 2003 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. The panel affirmed a district court’s finding that Merck KGaA in Germany infringed upon four of New Jersey-based Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp.’s licensed patents. At issue is whether pharmaceutical companies…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers struggle amid chaos, but order will come

If you’re having a tough time following the twists and turns of the political soap opera that is the 2005 Indiana General Assembly, you are not alone. Legislators find themselves so perpetually distracted by all sorts of peripheral issues and actions that Eli Lilly and Co. might want to consider a new market for its adult ADD medication. What do we mean by this legislative attention deficit disorder? Think back to December, when the first order of business seemed to…

INVESTING: Tumbling indexes should not be cause for panic-yet

The market’s been taking a bit of a beating lately. On March 4, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at 3-1/2-year highs. Apparently that was enough to bring out sellers, because the major averages suffered pullbacks of 2 percent to 3 percent the next week. Each time the market falls, I get the feeling there are more than a few people ready and willing to call the start of the next bear market….

Charter One Bank plans Indiana growth: Acquisition allows new owner to leverage 60 branches

Two and a half years ago, Charter One Bank had nary a single Indiana branch. Since then, it’s quietly built 60. Charter One is preparing an all-out assault on the Indiana bank market. Under the leadership of its new Indiana president and CEO, Norman S. Hatch, the bank plans to add 10 branches in 2005 and increase its Indiana head count from 400 to 500 employees. Hatch, who took charge Jan. 2, had been vice president of middle-market banking for…

‘Placemaking’ finds champion: CICF to invest millions into quality-of-life enhancement

Central Indiana Community Foundation is making a multiyear, multimillion-dollar commitment to help find ways to make Hoosiers’ habitat a home. The Inspiring Places initiative, which is to be unveiled to foundation stakeholders March 22-23, aims to improve the region’s quality of life by rallying around the idea that vibrant public spaces create vibrant communities. But more than warm feelings are at stake, said CICF President and CEO Brian Payne. “More and more, a city’s economic development success revolves around its…

GIZMOS: Videoconferencing is envisioning change

I’m used to technology, but sometimes it creeps me out. A while back, I was in a small conference room that had one of the newest small videoconferencing units crouched atop a massive monitor. I picked up the remote from the table to move it out of my way, and abruptly the unit came to life, swiveling about to stare at me. The monitor, until then comfortingly black, now had my picture on it. It was a flashback moment to…

Help from Hollywood: ‘ER’ actor helping Broad Ripple buddies launch gastropub

Brugge Brasserie has the stuff glossy tabloid photos are made of-a hot new restaurant concept, a Hollywood actor-cum-restaurateur and a trendy locale. Brugge isn’t in Los Angeles, New York or London, however. It’s in Broad Ripple. The celebrity owner is Indianapolis’ own Abraham Benrubi, one of a group of childhood friends who are bringing what is possibly the Midwest’s first gastropub to the junction of Westfield Boulevard and the Monon Trail. Benrubi and Broad Ripple High School classmates Ted and…

Legislature revisits multistate insurance compact: Proposed bill awaiting House consideration could cut red tape and improve speed of products to market

The Indiana General Assembly is taking another stab at a bill that could make life easier for some insurance sectors by pushing products to market at a faster clip. A proposal that would allow Indiana to join a multistate compact for life insurance, disability, annuity and long-termcare products passed the Senate earlier this legislative session and awaits consideration in the House of Representatives. The bill died there last year. However, new state Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt thinks it has a…

IP center at IUPUI gets off to quick start: Facility lands first grant, hopes to sell naming rights

Legal scholar Kenneth Crews is a man of many hats who toils at 12-hour workdays as the upstart Center for Intellectual Property and Innovation on the campus of IUPUI begins to gain momentum. The center, whose mission is to produce attorneys fluent in the burgeoning IP practice area, was launched in May under the auspices of the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis. The goal is to raise at least $1.5 million to jump-start a program that would grant…

EYE ON THE PIE: Citizens must fight tyranny to preserve freedom

A few reflections on the Department of Homeland Security and its Transportation Security Administration: The TSA declares it “has developed standardized security screening procedures for all airports. Therefore, you can expect that you will encounter essentially the same procedures at each airport you visit.” I doubt this claim. Note that my remarks are reserved, tolerant and most respectful concerning an agency that can arbitrarily deny me almost anything, including my freedom, in the name of national security. Consider my recent…

BULLS & BEARS: Making sense of market’s oil turmoil will take time

The price of crude oil hit $55 a barrel last week. The oil “experts” are all over the news predicting doomsday scenarios of economic ruin. Their concerns are that no new oil fields are being discovered, many of the oil-producing countries are run by kooks, fat Americans are buying bigger and bigger SUVs, and China’s thirst for oil is just getting whetted. All of these are valid and logical concerns. And Lord help us all if the Chinese take a…

SPORTS: Diagnosing basketball’s ills in a Hoosier laboratory

The local daily recently had a story that revealed there are no statewide high school basketball legends in the making anymore. Players whose reputations were wellknown from Michigan City to Tell City long before their senior year in high school have gone the way of, well, single-class basketball. On top of that, as March Madness unfolds around us-with the NCAA men’s first and second rounds being played at the RCA Dome and the Women’s Final Four rolling into town April…