HICKS: Uncertainty always leads to oil-price fluctuations
Being a commodity, changes to oil prices are frequent and instantaneous. Changes to supply or demand of petroleum in the Middle East affect the price at the pump in the Midwest within hours.
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Experts: Economy too weak to fuel venture-capital investment
Activity won’t gain much steam until more entrepreneurs become optimistic, and optimism won’t materialize until the economy gets warmer, said John Barnard, managing director of Pearl Street Venture Funds.
UPDATE: CNO shares soar after quarterly profit rises
The Carmel-based life and health insurer, in an after-markets announcement, said it earned $168.2 million in the final three months of last year, a big jump from the $18.2 million profit it posted in the same quarter the prior year.
Fair bankruptcy trustee hears from prospective Lampoon suitors
Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee is getting inquiries from parties interested in buying National Lampoon Inc., the Los Angeles-based comedy business led by embattled Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham.
Court OKs reorganization plan for Hoosier Park owner
Hoosier Park Racing & Casino owner Centaur LLC last week won court approval of its plan to cut debt by about $636 million and exit bankruptcy.
House GOP budget spares bank insurance fund
Indiana bankers are relieved House Republicans decided to spare a bank insurance fund from being raided to plug holes elsewhere in the state’s finances, but they’re not done lobbying against the idea.
Castleton Plaza seeks bankruptcy reorganization
Shopping center on East 82nd Street lists nearly $10.4 million in liabilities and about $7.6 million in assets. The Chapter 11 filing follows a request to foreclose on the property from the center’s lender.
California investor losing grip on holdings
Blue Real Estate defaulted on a $17.5 million loan for six buildings in Park 100, according to a mortgage foreclosure suit Bank of America filed this month in Marion County.
SKARBECK: Get set for a landslide of social media IPOs
Social media seems to be the talk (or, um, tweet) of the town these days. While hundreds of millions of people are using these tech media to interact with one another, the question investors are trying to answer is, what are these businesses worth?
HICKS: Productivity gains make for jobless recovery
It is an old story, but a nevertheless disheartening one. It is also a tale rich in its implications for young workers.
E-mails detail Fair Finance partner’s money woes
E-mails filed in bankruptcy court this week show that Fair Finance Co. co-owner Jim Cochran spent money with such abandon that by 2008 he was living off credit cards and imploring CEO Tim Durham to more than double his salary to $1 million.
Old National-Monroe merger costing 59 jobs
Almost 60 employees of Old National Bank and Monroe Bank are losing their jobs as the financial institutions combine their operations.
UPDATE: Borders files bankruptcy, to close 2 area stores
Borders will close its downtown-Indianapolis and Carmel stores as part of its plan to shutter about 30 percent of its stores nationally.
Hamilton County woman to be sentenced in stock scheme
Prior to Wednesday’s sentencing, the Secretary of State’s securities division said it reached an agreement to liquidate the assets of Dorothy Geisler, including her home on Geist Reservoir.
Fair trustee: Durham committed fraud of ‘shocking proportions’
Fair Finance Co.’s bankruptcy trustee alleges Tim Durham perpetrated a fraud of "shocking proportions,” draining huge sums from the Akron, Ohio, firm for years to mask that his business empire had collapsed.
Fair Finance trustee sues Indy attorney for $375,000
The loan from Fair Finance Co. to Stephen and Linda Plopper matured in 2006, but the couple has failed to satisfy the debt despite recent demands for payment, the suit alleges.
New York Stock Exchange parent to be acquired
The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange says it has agreed to combine with the operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, Deutsche Boerse.
Lawmakers eye bonds for debt relief
State lawmakers are exploring the idea of paying back more than $2 billion in federal debt for unemployment insurance by issuing tax-exempt bonds.
HAUKE: Now may not be best time for emerging markets
Emerging market stocks have underperformed U.S.-based stocks for almost 18 months now, and the signs don’t look that good going forward.
HICKS: Trimming government fat tough, but necessary
Recognizing inefficiency in government is far more difficult than rhetoric suggests. The private sector has the blessing of the profits to guide decisions.