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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Are cell phones bad for conducting business? Researchers have discovered something they call ‘inattention blindness’ for drivers using cell phones

After having a cell phone for several years now, I’m asking myself if they’re worth having in the car. Ever since I saw that the ultra-cool Mike Connors had one in his convertible in the TV show “Mannix,” I’ve been besotted with the desire to look similarly cool as I call my secretary back at the office. There’s a sense of power and control with having a phone in the car. There’s also a residual tint of elitist clout, too….

BEHIND THE NEWS: Call puts Smulyan on spot; fellow execs know feeling

Emmis Communications Corp. didn’t have the best news to report when it rolled out fiscal third-quarter financial results Jan. 9. Expect radio revenue next quarter to increase just 1 percent to 2 percent, the company said, even as expenses climb more than 5 percent. Then, on the investor conference call that followed, Wachovia Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker didn’t think CEO Jeff Smulyan was his regular, upbeat self. “Jeff, your tone is less optimistic than it’s usually been,” she said on…

Busy year, but no record: A Wellpoint deal leads list for second year in row, but 2005 lacks blockbuster

For the second year in a row, a giant Wellpoint deal led the pack. As much money was involved in Wellpoint’s $6.7 billion acquisition of WellChoice Inc. as in the rest of the list combined. It was a huge deal by most any company’s standard-except Wellpoint’s. The year before, Wellpoint’s $22.7 billion merger with Anthem Inc. led all deals and then some. Thanks to that single mega-deal, 2004’s $31 billion list total shattered all previous local merger and acquisition records….

Firm retools after CEO exit: Norwood gives up on sale, to close 2 plants

In recent months, Norwood Promotional Products has settled a lawsuit with its distributors, lost its CEO, put itself up for sale, and then taken itself off the block. Last week, the 2,000-employee company announced plant closings in Iowa and Pennsylvania. The swirl of activity is no cause for concern, according to Norwood officials, who say the No. 2 player in the promotional products industry is doing fine and will stay in Indianapolis. The privately held company-known for making customized products…

Clarian finds room for luxury: Hospital one of a handful to feature spa treatment

Women giving birth at Clarian North Medical Center now can enjoy a massage, manicure or pedicure before they return home to the sleep-deprived life of caring for a newborn. These are a few of the services Indianapolis-based Ology will offer when it launches its second hospital spa Jan. 23 at the new Carmel medical center. Ology opened its first more than a year ago inside Avon’s Clarian West Medical Center. Spa Director Andréa Bradley-Stutz expects the latest location to top…

BULLS & BEARS: Foreign stocks aren’t shield against bearish U.S. market

A client of mine recently expressed concern her portfolio didn’t have foreign stock-market exposure. Because of this lack of diversification, she said, her account had just been “muddling along” for the 22 months we had been working together. Her concluding statement: “You haven’t bought me any foreign stocks to protect my portfolio in case the U.S. market suffers a calamity!” You know how a dog’s head quizzically tilts to the side when you talk to it? I think my head…

EYE ON THE PIE: Let’s revisit the State of the State

Quite appropriately, Gov. Mitch Daniels did not make any claims about “a revitalized Indiana economy” in his recent State of the State speech. He stuck to the theme that we are on track to turning the economy around rather than proclaiming any victory. This restraint was well-warranted. Indiana ranked 45th among the 50 states in its rate of employment growth for the past year (November-to-November figures). The nation added jobs at a 1.5-percent rate. Our 0.3-percent increase beat out only…

Home Room Construction: Remodeler’s building plan: Double revenue Company targets homeowners considering do-it-yourself projects

Scott Heinemeyer’s business is all about potential. That’s why Home Room Construction tackles many kinds of projects-everything from simple handyman services to complex room additions. After all, what’s the point in limiting the possibilities? “We are a big company that happens to be small right now,” Heinemeyer said of his four-person firm. All told, Home Room finishes anywhere from 200 to 300 projects a year, he said, and revenue is expected to nearly double to $500,000 in 2006. Heinemeyer started…

Fox affiliate gets serious about news: WXIN-TV considers expanding 10 p.m. newscast to an hour, adding early-evening edition

Say Fox Television and you’re more likely to think of Bart Simpson and “American Idol” than traffic updates, weather bulletins or breaking news. But WXIN-TV Channel 59 General Manager Jerry Martin wants viewers to know the Indianapolis Fox affiliate has a serious side. Martin said big changes are coming, including possibly expanding WXIN’s 10 p.m. news from 30 minutes to an hour. And the national Fox network might add an evening news show, which likely would lead to a local…

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Lawmakers will get serious when the dancing ends

Indianapolis may still be waiting for its first significant snowfall of 2006, but the legislative session zips along at breakneck speed. Jan. 23-27 marks the final week in which committees may consider legislation in their respective chambers of origin. We’ve warned you this session would consider matters of substance despite its short fuse-lawmakers will adjourn no later than March 14. So how do things shape up so far? If someone from another planet were to peer in underneath the Statehouse…

SPORTS: Crazy-with-grief Colts fans, you’re now on the air

Welcome to WIBJ Radio. I’m Beebee, your host of “Sports Geeks.” Our first caller is Fred from Franklin. Fred? Beebs, man, here’s how we handle those low-life, stomp-onour-hearts, marshmallow-soft Indianapolis Colts. We take their new stadium away. I mean, they are not worthy. So until they reach the Super Bowl, I say keep ’em in the Dome. Fred, what do we do with that big hole? Fill it in with water so the bean company can have beachfront property. Let’s…

Local money managers beat the Street in ’05: But not by much; huge returns a distant memory

Put your money in value stocks. No, put it in a mix of value and growth stocks. No, go with value stocks and a peppering of mutual funds, just to be safe. Gather Indianapolis’ most prominent money managers in a room, and the advice would go something like that. Yet while the city’s highest-profile wealth handlers take wildly different approaches to investing, they agree on one point: The market posted a disappointing performance in 2005. “It was a difficult year…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Americans’ spending binge is ultimately unsustainable

Americans don’t save much these days. Twenty years ago, our 9-percent rate of savings was troubling and somewhat embarrassing, compared with the double-digit savings rates of other industrialized economies. But that rate seems sky-high compared with today. If savings rates remain as low as they’ve been the last few months, we may have to rename them. Dis-saving rates? It’s an odd-sounding word, if it even is one. But what else do you call a negative savings rate? According to the…

IPOs take minor dip in 2005: Analysts stay optimistic; 3 Indiana companies set to go public in early ’06

Three Indiana companies took the plunge to go public last year, two less than the number that did so in 2004. The state’s slight dip in initial public offerings mirrors the slump in activity nationally. But Indiana appears to be off to a fast start for 2006. Three other Hoosier companies filed to go public late last year, but had yet to complete their IPOs by year’s end. Overall, the number of companies that went public on the major U.S….

Appliance biz heads north: Clark to open Castleton store, compete with H.H. Gregg Fine Lines for high-end customers

The high-end appliance retailer Clark Appliance Showcase will open a store practically in the back yard of its closest competitor in early March. Does the move signal a turf battle between two local retailers that cater to homeowners willing to pay luxury car prices for a kitchen? Not really. The local market for products such as $10,000 Viking ranges is growing so fast that executives at Clark and H.H. Gregg think there’s room for both on the northeast side. “It’s…

Landing ad revenue: Airport charged up over sponsorship of electrical outlets

Advertisements for mutual funds, watches and kolaches. Now as you wait at the gate for your flight, you’ll even see ads on electrical outlets. The Indianapolis Airport Authority on Jan. 20 was expected to approve a $65,000 marketing partnership with Chase in what is the latest and certainly the most electrifying of all advertising schemes at Indianapolis International Airport. These are desperate times for marketers. Too many ads are getting lost in the shuffle. And barraged consumers have figured out…

African-American museum pushes back opening date: Group starts public fund-raising campaign Feb. 4

Civic leaders announced in 2004 they hoped to raise $50 million to build the Indiana Museum of African American History in White River State Park by 2008. On the eve of the museum’s first public fund-raiser-a black-tie dinner at the downtown Westin Hotel on Feb. 4-officials acknowledge plans have changed for the 120,000-square-foot building. In 2004, a feasibility study, paid for with $800,000 in seed money raised from groups including Lilly Endowment Inc., showed the aggressive fund-raising and construction schedule…

Firms face choice: Spend or be swallowed: Independent third-party benefits administrators watch consolidation wave sweep through state

For small companies, “their systems costs are just eating them alive,” said Donley, president of Donley & Co. Inc. “If they lose a couple large clients, all of a sudden they go from being in the black to being in the red.” Donley and others say the skyrocketing cost of doing business has triggered a wave of consolidation in the Indiana market for benefits administration. Since 2003, larger companies have gobbled or plan to gobble at least seven independently owned…

NOTIONS: Will House protect Hoosier families?

Last fall, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce invited members to an event called “Pancakes and Politics.” The invitation said that Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma would preview the upcoming legislative session. Ever curious, I e- mailed the Chamber and said I’d attend. When I arrived, I was puzzled. There were, indeed, pancakes. Bosma was working the crowd. But instead of signaling a legislative overview, the PowerPoint slide on the screen said we’d be hearing about the accomplishments and goals…

VIEWPOINT: Our schools let talent go to waste

We have two kinds of schools: those that encourage each child to be all he/she can be and those that focus on being efficient institutions for groups of children. The first kind of school finds ways to help each child who struggles, meets each child’s educational needs, and finds ways to provide each child with the context to achieve as much as he/she can at the most appropriate pace. The second kind of school is focused on making sure as…