Growth in the Midwest manufacturing sector was stable in January and February, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported today in its Beige Book report. Manufacturers tied to aircraft, cranes, energy extraction and mining flourished, the Fed said. Steelmaking, aided by the low price of the dollar, was close to full production. However, makers of […]
Indiana farmland values skyrocketed to record levels last year, according to the most recent survey of agricultural lenders by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Prices in the northern two-thirds of the state shot up 6 percent in the fourth quarter and 16 percent in 2007. Southern Indiana was not included in the survey because […]
Two women accused of purchasing houses, recruiting buyers and then falsifying documents so lending companies would pay more than the houses were worth have been charged with mortgage fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced today. Beverly Ross and Donella Locke, both of the Indianapolis area, were indicted by a […]
Jill Long Thompson said this morning that if she is elected governor, she will focus economic development policy on broad issues, including expanding tax incentives, reforming health care and education policy. Thompson, a former congresswoman and agriculture undersecretary who faces Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger for the Democratic nomination, said incumbent Gov. Mitch Daniels has focused […]
Indianapolis-based Village Pantry Inc. has acquired nine convenience stores in central Ohio from Petro Acquisitions Inc. Village Pantry said the AmeriStop Market stores would be rebranded as Village Pantry. They were owned and operated by Petro, which is headquartered in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester. In October, Village Pantry bought 33 convenience stores in […]
Indianapolis-based Peerless Pump Co. has acquired Flometrico Ltd., its main distributor in Canada, for an undisclosed price. Flometrico, which was sold by an owner who is retiring, is headquartered in suburban Toronto. Peerless said March 1 that the deal adds a base it will use to grow in Canada, and that key Flometrico employees have […]
Profit at Hurco Cos. Inc. soared 45 percent in its first fiscal quarter on a surge in sales in Europe and Asia. The Indianapolis-based machine tool maker reported $7.8 million in profit in the quarter ended Jan. 31. About 10 percent of the $60.9 million in sales resulted from a weakened dollar. A cheaper dollar […]
Only 18 percent of people polled in a survey by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times said they plan to spend the federal government’s rebate check when it comes. A third plan to save it and about another third said they’ll pay off debt with the money. Congress approved the rebate checks on the expectation […]
Carmel-based Delta Faucet Co. cut 20 workers at its plant in Greensburg, reports the Greensburg Daily News. The number represents about 25 percent of the facility’s salary positions. The continued downturn in the housing market was blamed for the employee reduction. Delta Faucet employees told the newspaper that they were told an undetermined number of […]
The AM General Corp. plant in Mishawaka, which makes the Hummer H2 sport-utility vehicle, hasn’t been affected by the strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., but could be if the strike lingers long enough, according to the South Bend Tribune. The Hummer plant is supplied by an American Axle site in nearby Three […]
Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm, is recommending that two Steak n Shake Inc. stockholders be elected to the Indianapolis company’s board of directors at the annual meeting on March 7. For months, Sardar Biglari, who controls San Antonio -based Lion Fund, has been appealing to Steak n Shake investors through billboards and other […]
MainSource Financial Group Inc., a bank holding company in Greensburg, said today it has acquired Louisville-based 1st Independence Financial Group Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $37 million. MainSource said the transaction brings a long-desired presence in Kentucky. 1st Independence has eight branches in Kentucky and Indiana. The deal has been approved by directors […]
Sharon McShurley, Muncie’s new mayor, is scrutinizing economic development spending after learning the $1.5 million in income taxes the city collects annually will fall short by about $89,000. McShurley, a Republican who stunned Democrat Jim Mansfield in a recount in December, said she is considering reallocating some economic development dollars to matching funds that would […]
Adam Herbert agreed with Athletic Director Rick Greenspan’s recommendation to hire basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, the former IU president said in an interview published today in The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville. In his first interview about Sampson and the recent NCAA allegations about improper recruiting calls, Herbert said he, Greenspan, Sampson and two IU trustees […]
The Anderson Parks Board has agreed to let the city’s redevelopment commission sell land that Hoosier Park horse track sits on to the track’s owner, Indianapolis-based Centaur Inc. Hoosier Park leases the land for nearly $190,000 a year, according to The Herald Bulletin of Anderson. Centaur would buy the land for $750,000 over five years […]
A reorganization by New York-based bank giant Citigroup has resulted in 194 layoffs at the company’s statement-processing offices in South Bend. The workers were told last week that their jobs would disappear by the end of June, according to the South Bend Tribune. The operation, formerly Associates First Capital, was acquired by Citigroup in 2000.
An improved economy might result in construction on the Cabela’s store at Greenwood resuming as early as next year, according to the Daily Journal of Franklin. The project was brought to an abrupt halt by the Sidney, Neb., outdoor retailer in January after the slowing economy began to hurt sales at stores it opened last […]
Kroger Co., the grocery chain headquartered in Cincinnati, said today it is starting a “television network” that will pipe video into employee break rooms and possibly other locations. The video will tout everything from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ InShape Indiana health program to communications with food bank personnel. Production of the videos for the central […]
Indiana University men’s basketball players are threatening to boycott the remainder of the season if coach Kelvin Sampson is forced out, CBS Sports reported this morning. CBS says players made the threat during a heated meeting last night with Athletic Director Rick Greenspan. For more, go to The Score, IBJ’s sports blog.
Officials of Johnson Memorial Hospital in Franklin are refusing to disclose some terms of the contract with its new CEO, Larry Heydon. Neither Heydon nor trustees of the 149-bed hospital, which is owned by Johnson County, will discuss the length of the contract and any severance package Heydon might have been offered, among other details, […]
