Conseco Inc. has won another round in court against former Merchants National Bank CEO James D. Massey this month, ringing
up a $29 million judgment against him in a court in Illinois. But Massey shows no sign of throwing in the towel in the years-long
litigation over millions he borrowed to buy Conseco stock. Massey was a director of Conseco from 1994 to 2000.
Most public companies say they tie executive compensation to performance, but an IBJ review of pay data from 65 Indiana-based
firms shows otherwise. Last year, more than two-thirds of Indiana-based public companies saw their share prices decline, yet
many continued to award eye-popping compensation to their executives.
Other than the occasional NASCAR race and, notably, professional wrestling, I choose not to believe in orchestrated outcomes and conspiracy theories when it comes to sports. OK, I’m just kidding about NASCAR. Well, sort of. Anyway, I defended that belief even as I was being besieged by Pacers fans- back when the Pacers were the local team of choice and favor-who were convinced NBA Commissioner David Stern and his minions were preventing our small-market darlings from reaching the NBA Finals…
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance said today it plans pay its policyholders $125 in cash if their personal property was damaged by flooding earlier this month. The gifts are a goodwill gesture, said spokesman Rick Nelson. “Flood insurance is immaterial,” Nelson said. “If the have it, we’re going to give it to them. If they don’t […]
Despite flooding which has ravaged the area, officials at the Iowa Speedway—30 miles east of Des Moines—expect the Indy Racing League race there to be sold out Sunday.
“Track officials are expecting another strong…
“Hi, I’m Harry,” he says, shaking my hand.
And when he sits down at our table, a woman next to him asks, “Who do you write for?”
That’s the standard first question here at the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington. But, in this case,…
At the ripe age of 71, Sen. John McCain is poised to become the Republican nominee for president. Simply put, McCain is a senior. Years ago, we would’ve called him a senior citizen. If elected president, he would be 72 years old when taking office. While there is a minimum age of 35 to be elected president, there is no maximum. This raises the question: How old is too old to be a leader? Would a win for McCain be…
When a Marion County jury two years ago issued an $18 million malpractice judgment against an east-side Indianapolis law firm, the figure was almost too large to believe. Surely this was the kind of zany jury verdict that an appeals court would swiftly overturn. No such luck. The Indiana Court of Appeals last month upheld the verdict against Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe. And now attorneys for the plaintiff, the Indiana Department of Insurance, are tightening the screws. They’re asking…
More than once I’ve been told that to get ahead in business, I need to play golf. Sorry. Not going to happen. Oh, it isn’t because I don’t like golf. Quite the contrary. I love golf. Golf, properly done, can be beautiful: the ballet of the swing; the crack of the driver against the teed ball; the drive rocketing away from the tee box, curving to the right and then drawing itself back onto the fairway; a laser-guided short iron…
Former car dealer and congressional candidate Eric Dickerson has filed for personal bankruptcy after three failed businesses
left him saddled with more than $1 million in debt. Dickerson says he is virtually broke save for a $101,000 inheritance he
is set to receive from the estate of his late mother.
As someone interested in contemporary musicals, I’m thrilled that Buck Creek Players annually offers at least one show unlikely to be staged anywhere else in town. It has given voice, for instance, to such obscurities as “Parade,” “Violet,” and “Side Show.” Next season, it continues the trend with the local premiere of “Grey Gardens.” Could Buck Creek do better at the box office with yet another “Joseph” or “Annie”? Probably. But company Director D. Scott Robinson is more ambitious and…
Chakaia Booker: Mass Transit, a public art display of nine original pieces and one existing sculpture, will be set up in downtown Indianapolis on July 14. Here’s where to go to see them:
1. “Gridlock”
2. “Tailgaiting”
3. “Plus or Minus?”…
Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences will donate $25,000 to Indiana flood relief efforts. The Dow Chemical Co. Foundation will give the money to the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis to help victims of the flooding that has caused dozens of counties to be declared disaster areas. Dow AgroSciences is a subsidiary of Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co. […]
The other morning I woke up feeling like the bottom of a garbage collector’s shoe. It must have been due to my wireless signal. Maybe I’m “allergic” to my WiFi, like some people in Santa Fe, N.M., say they are. Television station KOB had the story May 20. And yep, there are just three letters in the call sign. The station goes back to 1948. Apparently, so do the sensibilities of some of the residents of Santa Fe. A group…
ATA Airlines Inc. largely blames FedEx Corp. for knocking it out of business this spring. Now, the bankrupt airline is preparing
to fight back by suing the Memphis cargo giant, charging it wrongfully canceled a military-charter contract that generated
hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for ATA.
Since he began scooping up shares of The Steak n Shake Co. last year, dissident investor Sardar Biglari has been forthright about his intentions. Perhaps to a fault. The Texan’s investor group in January laid out its strategy in a 10-page letter. First, it would push to elect two of its representatives to the nine-member board at the annual meeting. Then, it would ask shareholders to call a special meeting, where he hoped they would replace the majority of the…
Angela Braly, Wayne DeVeydt and the rest of the top brass at WellPoint Inc. face wrath over the company’s recent stock swoon
from a new group: ex-employees. Four former WellPoint workers have filed lawsuits against the Indianapolis-based health insurance
giant over the losses its 401(k) retirement plan suffered in March when the company slashed its profit forecast for the year.
After the checkered flag dropped on this year’s Indianapolis 500, the green flag fell on negotiations for a new television contract between the Indy Racing League and ABC/ESPN. The current deal doesn’t expire until the end of next season, but the contract calls for the parties to discuss an extension starting this month. Sources close to both sides said ABC/ESPN pays the IRL about $10 million annually, but getting that kind of guaranteed cash beyond 2009 could be difficult. Still,…
A couple of weeks ago, I returned home one evening to find our old cable TV box sitting on the kitchen table. My wife had grown tired of the high price for our bundled cable TV and broadband Internet and called a rival company. When she was quoted the new price, it was out with the old and in with the new at record speed. It turns out that there was a nice, new service available on our street that…
Bill Corley, who announced today that he will retire after 25 years as CEO of Community Health Network, says doctors nearly ran him out of the hospital within months of his arrival in 1984. Doctors mutinied because they tied Corley’s appearance to a new approach by the federal government to limit reimbursements for certain services. […]
