Thereâ??s no time like an election to make politicians nervous about taking a stand on a controversial issue,
and this afternoonâ??s House vote on the $700 billion bailout plan is no exception.
Many Republicans and some Democrats, leery about facing voters…
The ongoing crime wave in Indianapolis has resulted in a surge in gun sales, WXIN-TV Channel 59 reports.
With each big crime comes another spurt in purchases.
Indianapolis police say applications for first-time permits in July were up 15 percent…
Goodness knows, I’m not an economist. One look at my checking account would confirm that. So as my wife and I gather in front of the evening news and try to digest the ups and downs of the stock market along with our dinner, we, like most Americans, can only hope and trust (?) that our wiser (?) government and financial leaders will find a way out of the morass. We’re luckier than many. Our children are raised and college…
After just two tumultuous weeks of financial crisis, the blame casting already has begun in earnest. A little deeper analysis might be warranted before jumping to conclusions. I am going to indulge in the combination of my two careers-one military and one scholarly-to focus on one issue. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks focused limited Al Qaeda resources on the U.S. economy and the command-and-control systems of our military. The latter attack failed miserably (due both to the robustness of our…
This month, I am making my 50th trip to China. My first trip was in 1995 to identify a possible Chinese partner for a manufacturing joint venture in Nantong. When the potential partner honored me by serving a coiled snake as one of the main dishes, I thought, “What am I doing here?” But that’s what change is all about-delving into the unfamiliar. Four years later, we had found a trusted partner, signed a joint venture agreement, located the proper…
Where is the stock market headed next? It may help to look where it has been. My clients may have grown tired of hearing how the bull market of the 1990s mirrored the Roaring Twenties-maybe because they knew what came after the Roaring Twenties? You remember the history books and your parents talking about the Great Depression. The more articles you read concerning the recent market turmoil, the more this phrase appears: “Worst (fill in blank) since the Great Depression.”…
Itâ??s a rare person who enjoys the asset bubbles and boom-and-bust cycles that afflict the U.S. economy, most
recently the subprime mortgage crisis and implosions on Wall Street.
But Purdue University economist David Hummels contends that the United States deals with…
Moving coordinating company Relocation Strategies Inc. is used to dealing with companies in transition. Now the firm is undergoing one of its own-albeit of a different sort. Relocation Strategies founder David Bayse is relinquishing ownership to partner Melissa Lamb Brown in a purchase agreement set to be completed within the next four years. She already owns a majority of the business and will acquire the rest in stages. In the meantime, Bayse, 57, will continue to guide Brown, 39, who…
The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the widespread stock sell-off it engendered is a bit scary. It shows those of us on Main Street that more than a year after the subprime mess became daily news, significant and sophisticated financiers still grapple with the effect on their firms. They are now far less significant and sophisticated than they once believed. I’m still uncertain as to how this will end. The U.S. and world economies will emerge stronger, more vibrant and…
Stock markets are falling, jobs are disappearing, and the outlook for the economy seems grim. Banks, real estate developers,
retailers and manufacturers are taking the worst hits, but all types of businesses in central Indiana are hurting. From health
care to technology, education to philanthropy, every industry is trying to take the setbacks in stride.
Help me, John. I’m falling off the wagon. I like you. I read your autobiography, “Faith of My Fathers.” You are a maverick, like they say, and a patriot. My old boss, Mitch Daniels, made you his early choice. I agree with most of your pronouncements on taxes and the economy, and applaud your willingness to face up to the energy crisis and our dependence on foreign oil. I tentatively decided to cast my vote for you in November. But…
Green construction projects in Indiana are becoming more the norm than the exception. More office buildings, schools and universities and even residences are being designed and constructed to improve environmental efficiency. And now, new and renovated state buildings will be a whole lot greener, too. Gov. Mitch Daniels signed an executive order this summer establishing the Energy Efficient State Building Initiative, mandating that all new state buildings be designed, constructed and operated for maximum energy efficiency. This is significant for…
One might think a technology promising greener electric generation would please most environmentalists. Duke Energy Corp.’s 630-megawatt coal-gasification plant, scheduled to go online in Edwardsport in 2012, is expected to emit less sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates than the smaller, 1940s-era plant it replaces-while generating 10 times as much electricity. However, more than a dozen Indiana and national advocacy groups are decrying the $2.3 billion plant being footed mostly by ratepayers, claiming it will raise emissions of greenhouse gas…
I enjoy the propaganda of government agencies pleading the causes of special interests. This is the opening sentence of our state profile prepared by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy: “Small businesses are the heart of Indiana’s economy.” Frequently, we hear that farming is the beating heart of our economy. Others claim the thumping sound we hear is that of manufacturing. Teachers tell us the economy is only as steady as its educational footing. Steel has a claim…
Whoa. Those figures, based on national averages from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., don’t paint a pretty picture. People without bank accounts tend to keep cash at home or in their pockets, which increases the likelihood of crime. They create a market in which predatory lenders can thrive. They fail to reach their full potential, and so do the cities where they live. We have a problem. Now what can we do about it? We could take a cue from…
Duke Realty Corp. has stayed largely out of the headlines this year, which in an economy like this is a pretty good sign. Another Indianapolis developer, Lauth Property Group, has shed more than half its 450-person work force, and Premier Properties Inc.- perhaps the city’s most daring developer-lurched into bankruptcy court. Meanwhile, Duke, which specializes in suburban office and industrial development, keeps on chugging. To be sure, the company isn’t immune to broader economic slowdown. In April, it laid off…
Executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are optimistic about their chances of getting inexpensive federal
loans to help tide them through the credit crunch and sales downturn.
The discussions, which have come to light in recent weeks, have the execs…
Just about every young, college-educated Midwesterner has given up hope and moved to the South or West, right?
A story that appeared in IBJ over the weekend suggests otherwise.
The Indianapolis area leads nearly all other large Midwestern cities…
Years ago, I wrote an article about Sheila Suess Kennedy, an Indianapolis author who’d written a book called “What’s a Nice Republican Girl Like Me Doing in the ACLU?” I didn’t know Sheila. I didn’t know much about the American Civil Liberties Union, either. So I stopped by her office (she directed the organization’s Indiana chapter back then) for an education. Sheila, now a faculty member at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI, explained to…
Attorney pay at top-tier firms is like compensation for executives of public companies. Amid hand-wringing, the numbers keep going up and up. The reasons are understandable. Law firm managers feel pressure to raise compensation to attract and retain the best attorneys-and to keep up with what other firms are doling out. The people running those competing firms feel the same pressures, accelerating the upward spiral. Hence, top attorneys in Indianapolis in the most complex practice areas now have hourly rates…
