Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed legislation designed to fix Indiana’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund. The bill approved by the General Assembly in April will dramatically increase unemployment taxes on many employers but would not cut benefit payments. Proponents say it also will close loopholes in the system and make other changes to save money. Daniels […]
Steel producer ArcelorMittal plans to indefinitely lay off 978 workers from a northwestern Indiana plant. The world’s largest steel maker said it will stop iron-producing operations at its Indiana Harbor West mill until market conditions improve. Another blast furnace at Burns Harbor will remain in operation. Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal blamed the “extraordinary economic environment” for the […]
Retail sales fell for a second straight month in April, a disappointing performance that raised doubts about whether consumers were regaining their desire to shop. A rebound in consumer demand is a necessary ingredient for ending the recession. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The Commerce Department said today that retail sales fell 0.4 percent […]
Shares of Kite Realty Group Trust dropped in after-hours trading yesterday after the Indianapolis-based real estate investment trust said it expects 2009 funds from operations between 65 cents to 72 cents per share, which is below its prior guidance. On May 7, the company had forecast funds from operations between 83 cents and 93 cents […]
Fort Wayne-based scrap-metal processor OmniSource Corp. has cut 209 jobs, including 135 at its hometown operations. The company employs almost 2,600 people, including nearly 2,000 in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. OmniSource chief operating officer Mark Millett said the cuts announced yesterday followed a “comprehensive review” of the company’s operation. He said some work is now […]
In an average year, southwestern-Illinois farmer Richard Borgsmiller would have his 300-acre corn crop in the ground. This isn’t an average year. Like farmers across the eastern Corn Belt, Borgsmiller has not even started planting thanks to a wet spring. He’s stuck waiting for a rain-free window long enough to dry out his land near […]
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Indiana‘s State Budget Committee has ordered a new revenue forecast it hopes will paint a more accurate picture of state finances before lawmakers meet for a special budget-writing legislative session. Republican Sen. Luke Kenley of Noblesville said a committee will examine recent revenue projections and actual tax collections to […]
A former Indiana Teamsters boss and Anderson-area businessman has pleaded guilty to promoting professional gambling in an agreement that will allow him to avoid any additional time in jail. Seventy-one-year-old John L. Neal of Yorktown will serve 18 months on probation and will be credited with time served in federal custody for the same case. […]
The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond has been raking in record revenue for an Indiana casino, even as business is down at most of the state’s 10 other full casinos. State records show the casino had gambling revenue of $49.2 million in April, down slightly from March but a big jump from its $40.5 million in […]
A former coal industry lobbyist has been named to a top post with Indiana’s environmental agency, an appointment that environmental activists say raises questions about whether he can be objective in his new job. David Joest, a former registered lobbyist for Peabody Coal Co., became the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s assistant commissioner for the […]
A part-time construction job sturdied Orva Fry’s financial foundation after he was laid off from a northern Indiana recreational vehicle factory. It also kept the 41-year-old Amish father of two on steady spiritual ground. Another way to make ends meet that Fry briefly considered – unemployment checks – went against his faith, which shuns all […]
More than 300 people are being laid off from two northern Indiana auto-parts factories because of production cutbacks by U.S. automakers. Guardian Industries Corp. plans about 130 layoffs at its car-window plant in Ligonier, while Advanced Assembly LLC of Columbia City has laid off 200 people from its seat systems factory. Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Guardian […]
Indianapolis police say an assistant bank manager bungled an attempt to cover up his theft by locking his keys inside the vault after setting a fire there. Police arrested 31-year-old Dwayne Roberts on arson and theft charges. Police Sgt. Matthew Mount said Roberts had apparently been stealing money from a Fifth Third Bank branch on […]
General Motors Corp. today posted a $6 billion first quarter loss and said it spent $10.2 billion more cash than it took in during the first three months of the year as revenue plummeted by $20 billion. Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said talk of the company going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection appeared to […]
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 General Motors Corp. today posted a $6 billion first quarter loss and said it spent $10.2 billion more cash than it took in during the first three months of the year as revenue plummeted by $20 billion. Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said talk of the company going into […]
The only Ford dealership in the southwestern Indiana city of Vincennes will close its doors later this month, one of the latest victims of the nation’s struggling auto industry. Mayor Al Baldwin said he’s stunned by the news that Vincennes Ford will close May 23 after more than 71 years of selling cars to Vincennes […]
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 More Indiana schools have fallen into academic watch and probation status, and the state is sending assistance teams to help 31 schools stuck for years on the lowest rung of the state’s five-tier ranking system. State Superintendent Tony Bennett said today that teams of three to five people will […]
The soggiest April in decades has left Indiana farmers far behind in their annual sprint to plant the state’s corn crop, a delay that could cut farmers’ yields if fields don’t dry out within the next two weeks. As of Sunday, only 5 percent of Indiana’s corn crop had been planted. In contrast, an average […]
Indiana University has announced plans to establish schools of public health in Bloomington and Indianapolis. IU President Michael McRobbie said the schools will work on public health problems in the state, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The Bloomington school will focus on rural health issues while the school on the IUPUI campus in […]
Regional airline operator Republic Airways Holdings Inc. said yesterday its first quarter profit fell by 89 percent as costs rose and traffic fell slightly. Indianapolis-based Republic, which flies regional jets for carriers including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and US Airways, said it earned $2.2 million, or 6 cents per share, during the quarter that […]
