Moody’s Investors Service has slapped Conseco Inc. with a downgrade of its senior debt to “negative” from “stable.” The change was sparked by “sub-par earnings” in the past year, according to Bloomberg. Moody’s also is concerned about a string of one-time charges the company has sustained. The Carmel insurer lost $65 million in the second […]
Chase Education Finance announced today that it will hire as many as 150 of the 265 workers laid off in Indianapolis yesterday by student loan company Nelnet. Chase Education Finance is adding the workers in an attempt to boost its capacity to originate student loans, the bank said. The Chase unit has 250 workers based […]
FoxConn Electronics Inc., an electronics assembly and storage company based in Taiwan, will create 1,400 jobs at its computer assembly site in Plainfield, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said today. In late 2005, Foxconn signed a lease with Duke Realty Corp. for 259,260 square feet of a 481,874-square-foot industrial facility in Plainfield. The new location allowed […]
M-Plan Inc., central Indiana’s largest health maintenance organization, will phase out its HMO coverage for employers and is referring its clients to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Anthem’s parent company, Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., made the announcement this morning. It said M-Plan covers 125,000 customers through its commercial HMO. A press release said that M-Plan […]
M-Plan Inc., central Indiana’s largest health maintenance organization, will phase out its HMO coverage for employers and is referring its clients to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Anthem’s parent company, Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., made the announcement this morning. It said M-Plan covers 125,000 customers through its commercial HMO. A press release said that M-Plan […]
Eli Lilly and Co. spent nearly $2 million in the first half of 2007 to lobby the federal government, the Associated Press reported today. The Indianapolis-based drug maker lobbied on issues related to patent reform, intellectual property, counterfeiting, prescription drug user fees, health care reform and Medicare, according to the form posted online Aug. 13 […]
American Commercial Lines Inc., the Jeffersonville barge builder, has agreed to buy the assets of Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group Ltd. for an undisclosed price. The naval architecture and marine engineering firm employs 60 in Seattle and at its second location in New Orleans. The deal is expected to close by the end of the […]
A long-planned distribution park at Interstate 70 and State Road 39 in Hendricks County can go forward now that Lauth Property Group has closed on the purchase of 555 acres it has assembled at the northeast corner of the intersection. Lauth announced the closing today. As IBJ reported a year ago, Westpoint Business Park will […]
Blue River Bancshares Inc. said yesterday that it will delist its stock from NASDAQ to save money. “We believe the costs associated with being a filing company outweigh the benefits,” CEO Russell Breeden III said in a statement. Costs to comply with the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act also played into the decision, Breeden said. Yet another […]
Bloomington-based Author Solutions Inc. is purchasing a big rival-a move that reflects consolidation in the self-publishing industry as firms like Amazon.com take a bigger share of the business. Author Solutions, which operates as AuthorHouse, agreed to buy Nebraska-based iUniverse. Terms were not disclosed. Since its founding in 1997, Authorhouse has produced more than 45,000 books. […]
A new index compiled by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development predicts registered nurse will be the job most in demand in the state from 2004 to 2014. Registered nurses were followed by post-secondary teachers, computer software engineers and truck drivers. Jobs on the list had to be in the top 200 in both total […]
Manufacturers within a half-hour’s drive of Greensburg might have to boost pay for their workers by 5 percent to 10 percent to compete with the Honda Manufacturing Indiana assembly plant now under construction, said the president of a prominent company that supplies temporary workers to manufacturers and warehouses. Gary Hentschel of Personnel Management said the […]
Comparable-store sales for Finish Line Inc. fell 4.7 percent in the second fiscal quarter, the Indianapolis-based shoe and apparel retailer said yesterday. Finish Line also said sales rose 1.3 percent, to $343 million, from a year earlier. Profit will be made public when Finish Line releases its earnings report Sept. 27. The company said it […]
Brown County’s economic development commission has started an incubator for arts-related startups in the county seat of Nashville. The Arts Industry New Business Incubator will have room for six arts-oriented companies, according to the Brown County Democrat. Possibilities include businesses involved in publishing, licensing, auctions, graphic arts and entertainment. Other targeted businesses are involved in […]
Biomet’s $11.4 billion acquisition by a group of private-equity firms has been accepted by shareholders, the Warsaw prosthetics company said today. More than 91 percent of shares voted were in favor of the deal with The Blackstone Group, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG. Closing is expected this month.
Economic activity in the Chicago region expanded modestly in July and August, the Federal Reserve Bank said today in its Beige Book report. The report, which is issued eight times a year based on interviews and other means of gathering information on economic trends, said manufacturing expanded at a slower pace, household lending declined and […]
Indianapolis-based Centaur Inc. said today that the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission has approved its building and operating a $428 million harness racing facility near Pittsburgh. The project still must be approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Valley View Downs would have 150 live racing days on a 1-mile oval track and 363 days of […]
So many real estate deals are crumbling that prices for commercial real estate could fall 15 percent in the coming year, which would create the biggest decline since 2001, according to Bloomberg. Property owners are being forced to put off sales or accept lower prices as the cost of borrowing rises. “People aren’t willing to […]
Former U.S. Attorney Susan W. Brooks will be senior vice president of work-force and economic development in addition to her new duties as general counsel at Ivy Tech Community College, Ivy Tech said today. Brooks, a deputy mayor under former Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith prior to being named U.S. attorney, takes over economic development duties […]
The president of the Yorktown town council said yesterday that many sources tell him Indianapolis-based Clarian Health Partners plans to develop a 100-acre site at the southwest corner of Nebo Road and State Road 332, west of Muncie. Steve Lowry’s confirmation is the first to be made officially, according to The Star-Press of Muncie. The […]
