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INVESTING: Hold on tight! Stock market carnage is coming

People love suspense. A little uncertainty creates excitement and holds people’s interest. This is true to some degree with investors in the stock market, despite the claim from experts that investors despise uncertainty (as if you can be really sure about something as crazy as the stock market). Success in the stock market is all about probabilities, and having the fortitude to live with a lot of mistakes. In December, I wrote that I did not think 2006 was going…

ACCOUNTING: Don’t be fooled by incomplete offers for your business

“Based on the numbers you have shared with me, I think the business should fetch about $5 million.” This statement was made to one of my clients by a business broker after an hour-long meeting and a brief review of a couple of years of my client’s financial information. I sat quietly in disbelief observing my client’s body language change from anticipation to relief and joy. I could see him doing the math in his head-$5 million was the number…

Insurers go to the dogs, cats: Pet policies rise as owners show growing willingness to spend on their animals

Max the golden retriever has lymphoma. But fortunately for him, the disease is not a death sentence. That’s because a pet insurance policy covered most of the $4,000 in chemotherapy and drug treatments needed to keep the canine alive. While the pet insurance industry remains relatively small, it is gaining popularity. From 1994 to 2003, the number of people purchasing health care coverage for their four-legged friends rose 76 percent, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance in Brea, Calif. Dr. Jim…

Part-time manager experiment working: Pilot program could be expanded beyond Indianapolis

The bell outside Michael Goldberg’s office rang, and the OmniSource Marketing executive exchanged a knowing glance with part-timer Rob MacDonald. One of the company’s 17 sales representatives had just closed a deal. And MacDonald deserved some of the credit, since he has managed OmniSource’s sales force for about a year-working four hours a day twice a week. It’s a concept MacDonald developed as part of his full-time job at Sales Team, an Indianapolis-based consulting firm. The aptly named Part-Time Sales…

Artery severed, but life goes on TOM HARTON Commentary:

Jane Jacobs, the noted urbanist, fought a battle in the late 1960s that prevented a freeway from wiping out the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan. Tom Battista, a local entrepreneur, is fighting-and some would say winning-the battle that becomes necessary when a freeway does wipe out a neighborhood. When Jacobs died last month she was famous for two things: her book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” written in 1961, which eloquently stated the need for diversity, density and…

NOTIONS: ‘Hard to Say I’m Sorry,’ but do it

Bruce Hetrick is off this week. In his absence, this column from April 10, 2000, is being reprinted. A dozen years ago, my employer landed an intriguing client-the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn. The assignment: Create some advertising that would lure lapsed Catholics back to the flock. We did some research and found that many of these lost sheep blamed their wanderings on the church itself. And they weren’t about to return without an apology. So my friend the Jewish copywriter…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Smulyan’s bid exposes firm’s governance flaws

One reason Jeff Smulyan’s bid to take Emmis Communications Corp. private is so fascinating is that the Indianapolis-based radio company remains in the dark ages as far as good corporate governance is concerned. Emmis’ governance practices are better than only 2 percent of the companies in the S&P 400 and 36 percent of media companies, according to an analysis released last fall by Institutional Shareholder Services, a Maryland firm that advises big investors. What’s not to like? Here’s a sampling:…

Ex-wife gets big chunk of tech firm: Divorce settlement doesn’t give Interactive’s Kyle Brown influential voting rights

Kyle E. Brown received 3.9 million shares, or 23.9 percent of outstanding common shares, under a property settlement approved Feb. 14 in Boone Superior Court. At recent trading prices of around $9.60, that stake would be worth about $37.4 million to Kyle Brown. That still leaves Don Brown as the largest shareholder, with 4.8 million shares, or 28.6 percent, of the business communications software company he co- founded in 1994. In recent weeks, Kyle Brown has been reducing her holdings-selling…

Illinois Building in danger?: Preservationists fear for landmark’s future; owner mum on its fate

After sitting vacant for at least three years, the Illinois Building at the southeast corner of Market and Illinois streets is gaining attention as one historic preservation group tries to forestall any plans that might include tearing it down. The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana added the building to its “10 Most Endangered” landmarks list earlier this year. The group said it’s ringing the alarm bells due in part to what Landmarks employees are hearing. “We have heard from a…

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…