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A lot of people were hoping for, and found, a year-end rally. I said in late October that the S&P 500 might hit a new rally high, but after that selling would come. Now that we are at that point, I see more upside potential. I am not changing my view that, in the big picture, stocks will be in for a rough ride next year. But the market could go higher than I expected before major selling takes over….
Several weeks ago, the Carmel City Council voted 4-3 to ban workplace smoking. Before casting their ayes and nays, some councilors explained why they would vote a particular way. One councilor said he had smoked for years and finally quit. He said it was a wise decision. He urged other smokers to quit, too. Then he issued another plea to smokers: He said that even if they wouldn’t quit, they should voluntarily stop smoking in places where their secondhand smoke…
As if Marsh Supermarkets Inc. didn’t have enough problems, here’s another whopper: The company has a drastically underfunded employee pension plan-to the tune of $44 million. That figure is disclosed deep within a Securities and Exchange Commission filing the company submitted in June. It shows the pension plan had assets of $39 million, less than half its $83 million in projected obligations. It’s a big shortfall, and one analysts say is sure to draw the attention of potential suitors. An…
Boston Scientific Corp. earned instant front-runner status in the bidding war for Guidant Corp. when it unveiled a $25 billion offer on Dec. 5 that trumped a Johnson & Johnson proposal by more than $3 billion. However, market watchers say, J&J can regain the lead simply by counterpunching with a comparable offer. They say the immense New Jersey-based conglomerate offers more stability and is the better long-term option for Guidant shareholders who want to hold onto the buyer’s stock after…
Bruce Hetrick is on vacation this week. In his absence, this column, which appeared on Dec. 10, 2001, is being reprinted. If I were a betting man (and what entrepreneur isn’t?), I’d bet that you bought something from an out-of-state firm for yourself or your company this year. I’d bet that you logged onto the Internet and purchased new books, computers or pantyhose. I’d bet that you shopped via catalog for your niece or nephew, and shipped that tutu or…
Clarian Health Partners is polishing a deal to buy the former Union Acceptance Corp. headquarters on North Shadeland Avenue, a move that plants a large footprint for the burgeoning hospital network squarely in a competitor’s east-side back yard. Clarian made the winning bid for the 126,000-square-foot building at a Nov. 15 auction, but the sale had not closed as of Nov. 30, said Bob Getts of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, which ran the auction. He referred all questions to Clarian….
The lure of easy gambling money is always an enormous temptation for cash-strapped legislators. But in 2006, the stakes will be higher than ever. Bars and restaurants are organizing an attempt to legalize electronic poker machines, commonly known as Cherry Masters. By one count, as many as 40,000 operate illegally around the state. Under government administration, Cherry Masters could generate $300 million in annual tax revenue for state and local governments, advocates of legalization say. That would fill a lot…
Ron Keedy is more philosophical than bitter as he watches his business model-if not his livelihood-slip away. Keedy, the owner of Key Cinemas, is converting his 6-year-old artfilm house on South Keystone Avenue into an outlet for secondrun, family-friendly movies. Art films are his passion, but Keedy, 60, is being squeezed out of the business by Landmark Theatres, a national chain of art film cinemas opening Dec. 9 at the Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing. No one would…
ATA Holdings Corp. has been so busy in recent months slashing scheduled service and reducing costs in other ways that its comparatively problem-free militarycharter business has received almost no public attention. But new filings in bankruptcy court show that business is expected to generate nearly 52 percent of ATA’s revenue in 2006, providing stability and a steady profit as the airline tries to regain its footing in scheduled service. The company, which sought Chapter 11 protection in October 2004, hopes…
Carmel and its big-city neighbor to the south have a truce in hand to end a 3-1/2-year war over what Carmel will pay to buy Indianapolis-owned water distribution lines serving 6,000 customers in the Hamilton County community. The proposed purchase price: $36.2 million, according to documents recently filed with state regulators. Carmel officials say the deal eventually should improve water pressure and lower fire insurance rates, and make it easier to plan for growth. It also would give affected residents…
Marsh Supermarkets Inc. serves as an anchor tenant for dozens of central Indiana shopping centers. So if the company or a buyer ends up closing stores, centers across the region could be left with gaping holes. Not only can large vacant spaces in shopping centers make them look blighted. They also reduce customer counts at smaller retailers that feed off grocery store traffic, retail experts say. “People go to the grocery store once or twice or three times in a…
An Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra program that incorporates art and music into elementary schools benefits students and teachers, according to an independent study released this month. ISO’s School Partnership Program is in its sixth year. In the program, ISO and the schools collaborate to create lesson plans and curricula incorporating the arts into classrooms and core subject areas. The study, performed by Robert Horowitz, associate director of the Center for Arts Education Research at Teachers College, Columbia University, evaluated progress at…
I am reading the book “Poor Charlie’s Almanack,” edited by Peter Kaufman. It’s mostly a compilation of advice from Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and chairman of Wesco Financial, which is 80-percent owned by Berkshire. Munger, 81, owns Berkshire Hathaway stock worth $1.6 billion. Like Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett, Munger hails from Omaha and as a youngster worked at the Buffett and Son grocery owned by Warren’s grandfather. The two were reacquainted in the early 1960s and became…
Trusty-Cook Inc. looks like an old-school manufacturer, even though its inventions are cutting-edge. The company’s 15,000-squarefoot factory on 59th Street east of Fort Harrison State Park looks more like an inventor’s workshop than a state-of-the-art operation intent on pounding out millions of widgets. Trusty-Cook owners eschew hot trends like Japanese-imported lean manufacturing, and aren’t apt to use catch phrases like “just-in-time delivery.” Despite the company’s throwback demeanor, when it comes to working with urethane, Trusty-Cook is revolutionary. And its latest…
Indiana has been struggling for more than a decade to move its property tax system to a market value standard. Expect the property tax reform debate to take center stage once again in the 2006 Indiana General Assembly. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” said Karl Berron, vice president of the Indiana Association of Realtors. There are some who would like to scrap the property tax system entirely and replace it with some other form of…
I want to introduce you to a friend of mine (Let’s call him “Dave” to protect his identity.) Dave is in his mid-30s. He has a good career, makes a decent living, and volunteers in his community. One day, Dave was at work and his boss came by and noticed there was a picture on his desk. His boss asked who the person was in the picture and Dave replied that it was Sam, his significant other. The boss sort…
Some health care discount programs that can leave patients stranded with large medical bills have put Indiana insurers in the strange position of asking for more government regulation. The Indiana Association of Health Underwriters plans to lobby in the upcoming legislative session for a bill that requires companies offering health care discounts to register with the state. That would allow regulators to investigate complaints and pursue regulatory action if troubles arise with the discounts, said Shawn Gibbons, a board member…
Address: 3912 Pendleton Way Phone: 545-6900 Web site: www.telepoint.comE-mail: [email protected]: 1987 Founder: Bruce Boyd Owner: Bruce Boyd and Larry Shinn Service/product: business telephone systems and computer networks, sales and service Employees: eight Revenue (2004): $1.2 million One-year goal: increase customer base 20 percent Industry outlook: Looks good, with the deployment of voice-over-Internet-protocol technology and voice-data conversions. one-room office in Castleton and three employees. The business plan called for two of them to make 50 cold calls a day, while the…
Marsh Supermarkets Inc.’s decision to seek a buyer might not have been made within the company’s Indianapolis headquarters. It might have come from 115 miles away in Cincinnati. That’s home base for the c o m p a ny ‘s largest outside shareholder, A m e r i c a n Financial Group Inc., an insurer controlled by the family of billionaire tycoon Carl Lindner. A source knowledgeable about the discussions said AFG, a Marsh shareholder for more than two…
Details are scant. But after only a year on the job, one of the city’s best-known IT leaders is moving on. Mezzia Inc. CEO David Wortman has resigned. “It was just time for a change,” Wortman said. “I was with the company for a year, accomplished a lot, and was ready for a change.” Best known as the longtime CEO of locally based manufacturing softwaremaker Made2Manage Systems, Wortman, 54, led his former company through an initial public offering. But he…
