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Tax credits aid blighted areas: Help open to firms targeting Center Township projects

Federal tax credits supporting roughly $6 million in economic development projects are still available for small-business owners considering expanding or locating in Center Township. The funds are administered through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, which was established by Congress in 2000 to help revitalize blighted areas. In Indiana, the locally based Urban Enterprise Association Inc. helped secure tax credits that can fund $50 million worth of projects, including $12.5 million in Marion County. The tax credits already are supporting…

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Wells Fargo sees city as ripe for expansion: Commercial banking, capital management key to Indianapolis plan

Wells Fargo & Co. took a couple of quiet but important steps earlier this year as part of a plan to build a major presence in the Indianapolis banking and financial services market. The San Franciscobased corporation in March opened a local Commercial Banking Division headed by longtime banking executive Lex Curry and a capital management office headed by well-known stock manager Tom Pence. The moves, by the nation’s fifth-largest bank in terms of assets, are part of a corporate…

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An old-school approach: Woodley Farra Manion takes its large-cap strategy into the institutional market

Circa 1999, high-tech growth stocks were going up, up, up. Professional investment advisers hardly seemed necessary. And a strategy focused on unadventurous large-cap value sounded downright old school. “There were clients at the cocktail parties,” remembered Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. cofounder and principal George Farra. “They heard about their friends who had [quickly] doubled their money, and it all looked pretty easy.” But today, most investors still feel the sting of their recession-induced losses. Ironically, the dot-com bust…

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Women find niche leading credit unions: Unique nature of those financial institutions may explain why females thrive there

Karla Salisbury started her career at a savings and loan that was later purchased by an out-of-state bank. After a few years, she foresaw that she might have to relocate to advance in the company, “and that was not part of my plan,” Salisbury said. So she did some research to see where her best opportunities might be. One thing she investigated was how many women there were in upper management in banks vs. credit unions. She found the top…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Here’s the secret to painless wireless hookups

Last time, in the June 27 issue, we explored the basics of data WiFi, which is often just called “wireless.” This time, we’ll look at how you hook up your laptop or notebook to a wireless provider. Wireless works pretty much like a cell phone does, except that you’re exchanging data packets, not voice. Therefore, you need the computer equivalent of a cell phone. Most new notebook computers come with built-in wireless hardware that you’ll never physically see, because it’s…

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Community banks struggle with regulatory demands: Sarbanes-Oxley, Banking Security Act prove costly

Who can blame small community banks for feeling boxed in? “The world has changed,” said Jerry Engle, president and CEO of Greenwoodbased First Bank. “I guess we’ll have to get used to it.” Far and away, it’s the increasing cost of regulatory compliance that keeps community bankers tossing and turning at night. In recent months, the Independent Community Bankers of America, a small-bank advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., has stepped up its ongoing campaign against additional regulation by asking…

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Busy session for insurance forces: Compact passage highlights plethora of industry-related legislation considered by the General Assembly

State lawmakers also killed a bill that offers “mandate lite” health coverage and kept the topic of vicious dogs at bay during the 2005 legislative session. Insurance lobbyists and regulators say they just wrapped up one of the busiest sessions in recent memory. Topics ran a wide gamut and crowded committee calendars. Last year, five industry-supported bills made it through the General Assembly, according to Dan Tollefson, corporate counsel for the state Department of Insurance. This year, 15 did, and…

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After 5 years, USTA ready to serve up 96th Street HQ: Raymond James, First Merchants sign on as tenants

The locally based Midwest division of the U.S. Tennis Association is preparing to break ground on a 25,000-square-foot headquarters and hall of fame building on East 96th Street after five years of planning and courting tenants. The two-story office building was first conceived in 2000, but has been held up more than four years by a search for other tenants during a soft office market. The organization recently scored two tenants, Florida-based Raymond James & Associates Inc. and Muncie-based First…

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TOM HARTON Commentary: The twins that hold us back

Stubbornness and stupidity are twins. I’ve remembered that notion from Sophocles ever since a high school friend said it to a teacher as they argued about the way she’d scored his test. He lost that fight, but went on to become a successful lawyer. I don’t know what happened to the teacher, but I’m reminded of the phrase as I observe the decisions made by our elected representatives. Two examples come to mind, one recent and the other long ago….

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New CEO’s ‘crash diet’ tones up ailing bank: After cutting its expenses, Old National plans to grow in central Indiana markets

Now it’s time for Old National to block and tackle. “Bob Jones has set forth a plan that makes good, sound fundamental sense. Now it becomes about execution,” said Joe Stieven, equity analyst with St. Louis-based Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. “Execution in banking is actually no different than in football. Your line has to do a lot of the work, and a lot of that work appears mundane and boring.” Formerly the CEO of Cleveland-based KeyCorp’s McDonald Investments Inc.,…

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Mortgage dip forces Irwin to make cuts: Lender closes 120 branches, trims workers as profits drop, housing market cools off

The once-red-hot U.S. mortgage market has significantly cooled. So have the fortunes of Fishers-based Irwin Mortgage Corp. Last year, Irwin Mortgage’s profit dropped $57.8 million, or 74 percent. Then, on April 4, the company revealed it expects to take a “small” loss in this year’s first quarter. As a result, Irwin Mortgage has reduced its number of branch offices around the country from 169 to 49. The company is also cutting its local headquarters staff by 100, to 488 employees….

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Banker fits bill at art museum: Ex-Bank One CEO O’Connor leads facility through final stages of $74M expansion

Just over a year after retiring from the top position at central Indiana’s largest bank, former Bank One of Indiana CEO Lawrence A. O’Connor Jr. found himself giving up his newfound freedom to run another big business-the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Making the jump from financial services to arts and culture might seem unlikely, but O’Connor, who’s been serving as IMA’s interim executive director since November, finds himself at home running Indianapolis’ largest arts-related not-for-profit. “This is a wonderful place,”…

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BULLS & BEARS: Derivatives’ linking nature worries analysts, investors

Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman, Warren Buffett, has described derivatives as “time bombs” and “financial weapons of mass destruction.” Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s vice chairman, labeled the accounting used in derivative transactions as “sewage.” What is it about these mysterious financial instruments that evoke such ominous warnings from highly sophisticated investment minds? First, derivatives cover a wide range of financial instruments. The word describes their function, since the future value of a derivative contract is derived from the movement of one or more…

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Charter One Bank plans Indiana growth: Acquisition allows new owner to leverage 60 branches

Two and a half years ago, Charter One Bank had nary a single Indiana branch. Since then, it’s quietly built 60. Charter One is preparing an all-out assault on the Indiana bank market. Under the leadership of its new Indiana president and CEO, Norman S. Hatch, the bank plans to add 10 branches in 2005 and increase its Indiana head count from 400 to 500 employees. Hatch, who took charge Jan. 2, had been vice president of middle-market banking for…

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Legislature revisits multistate insurance compact: Proposed bill awaiting House consideration could cut red tape and improve speed of products to market

The Indiana General Assembly is taking another stab at a bill that could make life easier for some insurance sectors by pushing products to market at a faster clip. A proposal that would allow Indiana to join a multistate compact for life insurance, disability, annuity and long-termcare products passed the Senate earlier this legislative session and awaits consideration in the House of Representatives. The bill died there last year. However, new state Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt thinks it has a…

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BULLS & BEARS: Making sense of market’s oil turmoil will take time

The price of crude oil hit $55 a barrel last week. The oil “experts” are all over the news predicting doomsday scenarios of economic ruin. Their concerns are that no new oil fields are being discovered, many of the oil-producing countries are run by kooks, fat Americans are buying bigger and bigger SUVs, and China’s thirst for oil is just getting whetted. All of these are valid and logical concerns. And Lord help us all if the Chinese take a…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: How to enjoy wi-fi ‘hot spots’ on the road

I recently stayed at a charming hotel in California that dates back more than a century. At least, it was charming to me. It’s been retrofitted many times over the years as it’s struggled to stay no more than 30 years behind the times. It has two elevators, only one of which is completely automatic. The other still has its manual operations lever, and is apparently used only for freight. Most of the room doors still have the old key…

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FAMILY BUSINESS: Consider having lawyer audit your business Small doses of advice from all of the professionals you consult with can prevent serious problems in the future

Many family business owners view their lawyer as a necessary evil. It’s almost as though we carry some deadly disease; call your lawyer only when the life of your business depends on it! But just as physicians have learned to control smallpox with small doses of vac cine, administered over time, the owners of a family business can also use regular doses of lawyers and other advisers to minimize the risks of the many problems that can put your business…

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Radio Slayer?: The 3.6-ounce iPod could become a 500-pound gorilla

The 3.6-ounce iPod could become a 500-pound gorilla Radio’s death knell has tolled before. In the 1950s, television was supposed to kill radio. And in the last 30 years, there have been a cavalcade of challengers from cassette tapes and Walkmans to compact discs and portable disc players. Even though a record $20 billion was spent nationally in radio advertising in 2004, a new predator on the landscape has the potential to take a serious bite out of the industry’s lifeblood….

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Banks find niche with small loans: Three new arrivals affecting local lending community

The city’s small-business lending market is a bit more crowded now that three out-ofstate competitors have entered the fray. McLean, Va.-based Capital One Federal Savings Bank, Oakland, Calif.-based Innovative Bank and Providence, R.I.-based Charter One Bank are wasting no time letting fellow lenders know they’re serious about serving the small-business community. Capital One, Innovative and Charter One ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, in the number of U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) loans they dispensed during December. The leader for…

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