Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose sharply for a second straight month in May, and a key indicator of business investment surged by the largest amount in nearly five years. The Commerce Department said today that demand for durable goods rose 1.8 percent last month, far better than the 0.6-percent decline that […]
Budget hotel chain Red Roof Inn Inc. has defaulted on $361.4 million of mortgage debt, a rating agency that tracks mortgage defaults said yesterday.The hotel chain fell 30 days delinquent on four securitized loans for which the collateral was 131 Red Roof properties, said Frank A. Innaurato, managing director of Realpoint LLC, a debt rating […]
First-time homebuyers continued to help buoy sales of previously occupied homes in the Midwest last month but not enough to offset continued concern over the unstable economy, according to two reports released yesterday. Overall sales in the Midwest fell 8.5 percent from a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said, and the median sales […]
Indiana House and Senate fiscal leaders are set to begin serious negotiations on a new state budget. Senate Republicans passed their version of a budget yesterday, setting the stage for House-Senate conference committee negotiations to begin during a public meeting scheduled for this morning. House Ways and Means Chairman William Crawford says he hopes the […]
Republic Airways Holdings said today it will buy struggling Midwest Airlines for $31 million in cash and debt, the second time in two days it has sought to rescue an ailing airline. Yesterday, Republic said it would bid $108.8 million to take Frontier Airlines out of bankruptcy. Republic Chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford said he […]
Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight will travel to Italy next month for meetings with executives of Fiat Group, which now controls Chrysler and its four factories in his city. A city spokesman said Goodnight expects two days of meetings with Fiat executives and hopes to meet with other businesses during the trip July 12-18. Chrysler had […]
The Indiana Senate has approved legislation that would keep state government running if lawmakers don’t enact a new budget by the time the current spending plan expires at the end of the month. The bill approved today would allow the administration of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to continue spending at current levels if the new […]
Republicans who control the Indiana Senate are poised to pass their version of a new state budget bill. The two-year spending plan cleared the amendment stage yesterday and was eligible for passage today. Passage would set up a showdown with the Democrat-led House on trying to strike a deal before Indiana’s current spending plan expires […]
Sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from April to May, the third monthly increase this year, but signs of a housing recovery are fragile at best.The National Association of Realtors said today that home sales rose 2.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million, from a downwardly revised pace […]
Shares of steel manufacturers fell sharply yesterday as the World Bank cut its 2009 global growth forecast, saying the world economy will shrink by 2.9 percent.Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics Inc., Indiana’s fifth largest company, was among those who felt the impact. Its shares fell $1.65, or 10.7 percent, to $13.79 yesterday. Pittsburgh-based United States Steel […]
Republicans who control the Indiana Senate are poised to pass their version of a new state budget bill. The two-year spending plan cleared the amendment stage yesterday and was eligible for passage today. Passage would set up a showdown with the Democrat-led House on trying to strike a deal before Indiana’s current spending plan expires […]
Republic Airways Holdings said yesterday it is offering to buy Frontier Airlines for $109 million and take it out of bankruptcy. Republic said it expects a court-supervised auction to determine if anyone will make a better offer. Indianapolis-based Republic supplied a $40 million debtor-in-possession loan to Frontier and held a $150 million unsecured claim, so […]
President Barack Obama today welcomed the pharmaceutical industry’s agreement to help close a gap in Medicare’s drug coverage, calling the pact a step forward in the push for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Obama said that drug companies have pledged to spend $80 billion over the next decade to help reduce the […]
A central Indiana county auditor has resigned after being arrested last week on felony charges of bribery and theft. Hancock County Auditor Linda Grass resigned today in a letter from her attorney to county commissioners. Attorney James McNew wrote that Grass’ resignation should not be considered an admission of guilt and that she hoped that […]
Specialty retailer Finish Line Inc. said today that it is cutting ties with its underperforming Man Alive operations and will sell the business for about $7 million in cash. The Indianapolis-based company said it will sell certain Man Alive assets and liabilities to Man Alive Acquisition LLC, which is controlled by Jimmy Jazz stores owner […]
Indiana charter school advocates hope lawmakers working on a new state budget don’t limit the growth of the alternative schools. A budget passed by the Democrat-led House would give local school boards the authority to reject charter schools in areas that already have many charters, which are public schools free of certain state regulations. But […]
Ivy Tech Community College has seen a big jump in the number of high school students enrolled in dual-credit courses that allow students to simultaneously earn high school and college credits. Dual enrollment is up almost 44 percent this year. More than 16,000 high school students took dual-credit classes, which are often taught in high […]
High-speed rail supporters are hoping Indiana gets a share of federal stimulus funding intended to expand passenger rail service to the state as part of a Midwestern high-speed rail network. Federal criteria released last week show that high-speed rail plans in California and the Midwest appear to be front-runners in the race for $8 billion […]
Beaverton, Ore.-based athletic footwear and apparel maker Nike Inc. said today it named Eli Lilly and Co. CEO John C. Lechleiter to its board of directors. Lechleiter, 55, was named president and CEO of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly in 2008 and became chairman of the board in 2009. “John’s combination of executive leadership and expertise leading […]
The Democrat-led Indiana House has approved a new state budget that now heads to the Republican-ruled Senate for a major overhaul. Republican leaders in the Senate hope to outline their budget proposal tomorrow, and changes could be made to the House budget that same day. The Senate will likely revamp the spending plan to be […]
