With the gospel of global warming raising the call for “green-ness” to a near-hysterical pitch, there’s a growing sense that
creating an earth-friendly image will bring companies a strategic advantage. Yet the contradictions between what companies
do day in and day out and what they do to improve the environment can create a marketing minefield.
Now that this year’s Brickyard 400 is behind us, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is making major capital investments that will lay the groundwork for another new era at the Brickyard. To the tune of several million dollars, crews are now preparing to repave the track and alter the former F-1 course for the introduction of motorcycles in September 2008. These are the latest improvements in a string of many over the last dozen years that have paid off for both…
At a time when many print publishers are wringing their hands at the prospect of losing readers to the Internet, Emmis Communications Corp. is experiencing surprising growth in its magazine division. With the acquisition of Orange Coast last month, Emmis owns seven city-based magazines and one nationally distributed magazine. And the publishing division, with 406 of Emmis’ 1,300 employees, is the company’s fastest-growing. “City magazines like the ones Emmis has are doing quite well,” said Abe Peck, chairman of journalism…
The Indianapolis Colts are back at it, and with their arrival in Terre Haute (which is French for “terribly hot”) comes the first round of predictions. Will they or won’t they back up their Super Bowl championship? Hey, we’ll all find out in the dead of winter, not the heat of summer … how’s that for not being either bold or profound? But words in the first week of August are just so much blah, blah, blah. So, too, as…
The 10 hotels either under construction or in the planning stages downtown would increase the amount of rooms in the city’s center more than 40 percent-a far greater number than the market likely could absorb, experts fear. The projects are largely in response to Lucas Oil Stadium, slated to be completed by August 2008 and an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center that will nearly double its size by 2010. If all 10 hotel projects come to fruition, almost 2,300…
A record 116 patents were filed by Indiana University faculty and staff in the fiscal year ended in June, the IU Research & Technology Corp. said today. The figure was roughly double the number of the past three years. Activity had retreated following a surge early in the decade. Five businesses were created, also an […]
Indiana, as you know, has not escaped the inevitable crush of consolidation in the banking industry. No one should have been surprised by the announcement that First Indiana Corp. was selling itself to an out-of-state bank, Milwaukee-headquartered Marshall & Isley Corp. In spite of the best efforts of M&I, The National Bank of Indianapolis, of which I am chairman of the board, will add business as a result of this transaction. Some of First Indiana’s customers prefer to deal with…
A Texas firm has agreed to buy Pan Am Plaza’s 12-story office building and skating rinks and is planning to replace the rinks
with a more-than-$50-million restaurant and retail development.
The region’s largest consumer advocacy group is trying to counter efforts by Indiana car dealers who want to water down higher fuel economy standards passed by the U.S. Senate. Citizens Action Coalition has been rallying its base to pressure the Indiana delegation to stand behind aggressive fuel economy targets that would require a carmaker’s fleet to average 35 miles per gallon by 2018. With gas supplies pinched and prices relatively high,”this is a very current and important issue,” said Dave…
As I sat last month enjoying my first College World Series week in Omaha, Neb., an evening game between the North Carolina Tarheels and the Rice Owls, it became clear to me that this nationally u n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d event would be perfect for Indianapolis. Or better said; Indianapolis would be perfect for the College World Series. Now, before CWS purists begin to chant “57 years!” “57 years!,”…
Hhgregg Inc. has been around for 52 years. Forget about all that. To Wall Street, the company is an upstart that’s yet to prove itself. Such is the reality for the Indianapolis-based retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, which staged its initial public offering July 19. It raised $48 million by selling shares at $13 apiece. Three institutional investors collected another $74 million by scaling back their holdings. Now, Hhgregg’s considerable accomplishments-including more than $1 billion in annual sales and…
Indianapolis Monthly publisher Emmis Communications Inc. has bought Orange Coast Kommunications Inc., which publishes Orange Coast magazine in Orange County, Calif., for undisclosed terms. Orange Coast has 26 full- and part-time employees and has a circulation of about 60,000, Emmis announced yesterday. Orange County is a wealthy enclave south of Los Angeles. Former owner Ruth […]
Investors whacked WellPoint Inc. stock this morning after the Indianapolis-based health insurer tamped down expectations for customer growth. WellPoint said in its second-quarter earnings report that it lost 108,000 customers in the three months ended June 30 and now expects to add 400,000 fewer customers than it predicted in April. Its shares dropped more than […]
WellPoint Inc. reported today that second-quarter profit rose 11 percent, to $835.2 million, meeting analysts’ expectations of $1.35 per share. The Indianapolis-based health insurance giant also boosted its full-year profit forecast to $5.55 per share. WellPoint pushed revenue past $15 billion for the three months ended June 30, slightly below analysts’ expectations, according to a survey by Thomson […]
Damar Services, which treats people with developmental disabilities, said today it has received $4.3 million in gifts from Lilly Endowment, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and The Indianapolis Foundation. The gifts are expected to result in 250 additional jobs at the not-for-profit, which already employs about 600 at 6324 Kentucky Ave. Damar also plans to […]
Not yet a believer in health savings accounts? Not to worry. The Indiana Department of Insurance is here to convert you. The insurance regulatory arm of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration is staging a symposium Aug. 3 to educate employers on the benefits of health savings accounts. Employers are increasingly pairing the tax-favored accounts, stuffed with a couple thousand dollars for each employee, with high-deductible health insurance as a lower-cost alternative to health plans with co-pays. Most employers also pay for…
Five leaders of Indiana’s life sciences industry offered their perspectives at the Indiana Convention Center June 26 as part of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. The panelists: Mike Arpey, managing director of global investment bank Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division and manager of the $73 million Indiana Future Fund for BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences economicdevelopment initiative. Ron Ellis, co-founder, president and CEO of Lafayettebased Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of cancer through receptor-targeted…
When a Butler University finance class starts investing in the stock market this fall, it won’t be Monopoly money that’s on
the line. In a three-year pilot program that is unique for a school of Butler’s size, a group of senior finance students will
use $1 million from the university’s endowment fund to invest.
Locally based Benicorp Insurance Co. stunned health benefits professionals this month by distributing a simple memo. The small provider of group health insurance and benefits administration services announced a moratorium on new business until the company resolved problems with a new claims-processing system. “It’s highly unusual,” said Sheri Alexander, manager of employee benefits at Gregory & Appel, an Indianapolis insurance brokerage. More than 180 complaints have been filed against Benicorp since Jan. 1, according to records at the Indiana Department…
A startup firm using Indiana University medical research to treat a fatal lung disease is raising money for clinical trials and has recruited a prominent life sciences veteran to lead the effort. Michael Klemsz, an associate professor at the IU School of Medicine, and Dr. David Wilkes, director of the school’s Center for Immunobiology, founded Immune Works LLC in January 2006 along with Ronald Meeusen. Meeusen, a former Dow-AgroSciences researcher and BioCrossroads executive, served as a part-time president and CEO…
