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Landing ad revenue: Airport charged up over sponsorship of electrical outlets

Advertisements for mutual funds, watches and kolaches. Now as you wait at the gate for your flight, you’ll even see ads on electrical outlets. The Indianapolis Airport Authority on Jan. 20 was expected to approve a $65,000 marketing partnership with Chase in what is the latest and certainly the most electrifying of all advertising schemes at Indianapolis International Airport. These are desperate times for marketers. Too many ads are getting lost in the shuffle. And barraged consumers have figured out…

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Firm retools after CEO exit: Norwood gives up on sale, to close 2 plants

In recent months, Norwood Promotional Products has settled a lawsuit with its distributors, lost its CEO, put itself up for sale, and then taken itself off the block. Last week, the 2,000-employee company announced plant closings in Iowa and Pennsylvania. The swirl of activity is no cause for concern, according to Norwood officials, who say the No. 2 player in the promotional products industry is doing fine and will stay in Indianapolis. The privately held company-known for making customized products…

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Firm retools after CEO exit: Norwood gives up on sale, to close 2 plants

In recent months, Norwood Promotional Products has settled a lawsuit with its distributors, lost its CEO, put itself up for sale, and then taken itself off the block. Last week, the 2,000-employee company announced plant closings in Iowa and Pennsylvania. The swirl of activity is no cause for concern, according to Norwood officials, who say the No. 2 player in the promotional products industry is doing fine and will stay in Indianapolis. The privately held company-known for making customized products…

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Landing ad revenue: Airport charged up over sponsorship of electrical outlets

Advertisements for mutual funds, watches and kolaches. Now as you wait at the gate for your flight, you’ll even see ads on electrical outlets. The Indianapolis Airport Authority on Jan. 20 was expected to approve a $65,000 marketing partnership with Chase in what is the latest and certainly the most electrifying of all advertising schemes at Indianapolis International Airport. These are desperate times for marketers. Too many ads are getting lost in the shuffle. And barraged consumers have figured out…

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Banking players on rise: Despite flood of mergers, area competition heats up

Big-ticket bank mergers grabbed plenty of headlines in the past two years. Just don’t let the splashy news stories fool you. The number of players in the Indianapolis banking market is expanding, even amid consolidation in the industry nationwide. Over the past 10 years, the number of banks taking deposits in the metropolitan area has grown from 41 to 56, according to annual data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Analysts attribute much of the growth to smaller banks and…

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Big bank heading for sale?: Union Fed, parent firm mum as talk of mergers intensifies

Officials with the companies in Fort Wayne and here aren’t saying one way or the other. “We have nothing to announce,” said Alvin “Kit” Stolen, CEO of Union Federal since 2002. “We officially wouldn’t comment or address those kinds of rumors or speculation.” The privately held companies are among the largest financial firms headquartered in Indiana. Union Federal has more than $3.4 billion in assets and ranks as the city’s third-largest bank. Waterfield ranked 51st nationwide in mortgage originations in…

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New ATA shares harder to land: Public offering not expected as airline exits bankruptcy

You probably wouldn’t want to buy shares of the first discount airline in recent years to file bankruptcy reorganization-not unless you’re a short-seller or a relative of Norman Vincent Peale. Not in this airline climate. But even they won’t have a chance to buy shares being issued in ATA Holdings Corp. after the Indianapolis airline emerges from Chapter 11 as early as next month. ATA was delisted from Nasdaq shortly after it filed for bankruptcy in October 2004. Old shares…

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Irwin Financial rebounds from loss: Impressive third quarter puts Columbus mortgage lender back on track

The signs were ominous. Profits had turned to losses. Key executives were leaving. Financial statements were being rewritten. In the middle of the turmoil, Columbus, Ind.-based Irwin Financial Corp. pulled an interesting rabbit out of its hat. After posting a second-quarter loss of $3.4 million, Irwin this month surprised Wall Street with an impressive thirdquarter profit of $18.5 million. The $6.5-billion-in-assets financial services company expects similar results this quarter. Company leaders are pointing to a somewhat straightforward fix. “The quarter-over-quarter…

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Omnicity making inroads among the dirt roads: Rural areas served by wireless broadband provider have grown nearly six-fold

An Indianapolis company that provides wireless broadband service from atop grain elevators, water towers or darned near anywhere the warbler roosts is expanding at a rapid clip and plans to launch Internet-based phone service in early 2006. Omnicity Inc. also plans another private offering to raise cash for its ambitious build-out in rural areas that are underserved by high-speed Internet providers. Improving broadband access has economic development implications in Indianapolis’ remote bedroom communities and throughout sparsely populated areas. Now, even…

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Banks embrace checking reprieve: Growing program frees potential customers

Banks and credit unions statewide will soon have a larger pool of customers to tap into when a central Indiana program that helps people barred from opening checking accounts expands. Get Checking, a national program that began at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001, is a way for people who have landed on the ChexSystem register-a list of consumers barred from opening an account-to get off the list. People find themselves in ChexSystem due to bouncing too many checks, failing…

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Somerset enjoying freedom: Firm grew under First Indiana, but independence brings control, president says

Leaders of Somerset CPAs PC are soaking in the single life, one year after they split from First Indiana Corp. Twenty-one Somerset partners bought the assets of the accounting firm from the locally based public company on Oct. 25, 2004, ending a four-year relationship in which bad timing contributed more to the breakup than bad karma. The corporation is the holding company of First Indiana Bank. At a time when the Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates auditor independence, Somerset President Patrick Early,…

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Public markets are sometimes a double-edged sword: Many companies enjoy access to capital, but others complain regulatory compliance costs are just too high

For young and growing companies, initial public offerings are a bit like climbing a mountain: a long, harsh toil to reach a distant summit. But planting a flag at the peak isn’t enough. To make the journey worthwhile, companies must stay there. The payoff can be enormous, in the form of ready access to capital. But operating at such a high altitude requires careful footing. And the effort costs more than some can afford. “It’s a double-edged sword,” said George…

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BULLS & BEARS: Even after public dissing, analysts still too upbeat

Where can a retail investor go to get accurate recommendations and opinions on a stock? Back in the old, old days, an investor would call a stockbroker, also called a “customer’s man,” and get a copy of a research report. Only good clients could get the research reports so there was an air of exclusivity about them. Or if an investor were really diligent, he could go to the public library and leaf through the super-thin pages of the giant…

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Texas group roaring for Indians stock: Lion Fund dangles 40-percent premium for ballclub’s shares

A San Antonio-based hedge fund’s public solicitation of Indianapolis Indians stock is akin to a hostile takeover attempt, industry observers said. It also brings into question the succession plan of the Indians’ 72-year-old chairman, Max Schumacher, who owns 39 percent of the company’s stock. While officials for The Lion Fund LP said they aren’t looking to take majority control of the city’s AAA baseball franchise, they’re willing to pay a substantial premium over the Indians’ last buyback offer of $9,200…

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Parents banking on storage of umbilical cord blood: Founder keeps research alive through Genesis Bank

Blood from the umbilical cord of a baby expected to be born in Indianapolis later this month will be collected after her birth and saved for her 5-year-old sister, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The stem cells extracted from the baby’s umbilical cord blood might someday save the life of her sibling. While doctors at Riley Hospital for Children wait and see if the young cancer patient responds to standard treatment over the next couple of years, the stem…

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Debtors hurry to file bankruptcy: Law that takes effect Oct. 17 makes filing harder, requires more to make restitution

Consumers who have been contemplating bankruptcy are now flocking to file before more stringent regulations take effect Oct. 17. Federal lawmakers passed a bankruptcy reform measure in March to make it harder for people to wipe away unsecured debt while keeping some protected assets. The aim is to curb perceived abuses of the system by shepherding more filers through Chapter 13-instead of Chapter 7-which requires consumers to at least repay some debt. Indiana already has a high bankruptcy rate. The…

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BULLS & BEARS: Conflict of interest arises when valuing companies

When two companies engage in an acquisition, within the proxy documents delivered to shareholders a “fairness opinion” is routinely provided. The fairness opinion is an analysis of the transaction typically conducted by an investment bank. Corporate boards hire these “third-party” advisers to satisfy their fiduciary duty to shareholders and to protect against legal challenges over a decision to do a deal. These opinions may be delivered by investment banking firms who have no other role in the deal. But they…

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Hoosier Salon paints its role in broad strokes: 81-year-old organization hangs on to popularity

In the art world, the Hoosier Salon is a true Indiana original. Founded in 1925 by a group called the Daughters of Indiana, the Hoosier Salon blazed the trail for countless modern-day galleries and arts organizations seeking to spread the gospel of Indiana artists. Today, the organization finds itself in friendly competition with younger organizations for artists and patrons. It remains relevant, its leaders say, by constantly evolving while keeping the ideals that have given it prestige among generations of…

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Indianapolis responds to Katrina devastation:

Local philanthropic response to the epic disaster was almost immediate. Television and radio stations alike urged central Indiana audiences to make donations at dozens of collection sites, and the Salvation Army’s Indiana Division broke out its red kettles to help. The corporate community also responded. Gifts made by IBJ’s deadline include: Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. said it will contribute $1 million to the American Red Cross and match all contributions made by its U.S. employees. Lilly also will give…

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Industry groups spar over audit proposal: Using parts of Sarbanes-Oxley Act to toughen financial reporting would be costly, unnecessary, NAMIC says

Insurance groups are choosing sides in a brewing battle over whether private insurance companies should be forced to adopt elements of the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Kansas City-based National Association of Insurance Commissioners has proposed adding parts of the 2002 federal legislation to its audit rules. Public companies are already required to follow the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which imposes stricter financial disclosure rules. The NAIC represents insurance regulators from all 50 states and is working jointly on the amendment with the…

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