Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of auto parts suppliers could be forced out of business within five years as Detroit automakers continue downsizing to bring costs under control, Farmington Hills, Mich., consultant Laurie Harbour-Felas told Bloomberg. “Some of these suppliers will go into bankruptcy and be bought up in pieces; some will just go away,” Harbour-Felas […]
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Rolls-Royce Corp. a contract valued at upward of $296 million to develop jet engines for a variety of military airplanes. General Electric was awarded a similar contract after a competition that fielded several proposals. The Air Force’s Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology program aims to develop engines that […]
Profit at Hurco Cos. Inc. soared 36 percent in its third fiscal quarter due to vibrant sales and service fees, particularly in Europe. The Indianapolis-based maker of machine tools said the $5.2 million profit in the period ended July 31 also was driven by a big increase in orders in Europe and North America. A […]
Massachusetts-based Cape Air has scheduled a meeting Aug. 20 in Indianapolis with airport officials from Evansville and South Bend to discuss starting commuter flights between the two cities and Indianapolis. An official of Evansville Regional Airport told the Evansville Courier & Press that the planes used by Cape Air, nine-passenger Cesna 402s, would be ideal. […]
Maddox Hargett & Caruso in Fishers said it plans to team with three other law firms to sue Bear Stearns on behalf of investors in the Wall Street firm’s failed hedge funds. Bear Stearns has been buffeted in recent weeks as it announced that it has had to rescue two funds that lost money as […]
Noblesville’s Verizon Wireless Music Center is no longer for sale and will host a full lineup of shows in 2008, the facility’s general manager, Steve Finkel, told IBJ this afternoon. Many expected the 2007 season to be the swan song for the popular amphitheater. The venue owner, California-based Live Nation, put the 203-acre property on […]
The Indianapolis transportation engineering company Farrar Garvey & Associates Inc. has been acquired for an undisclosed price by Clark Dietz Inc., an engineering firm that handles civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. Clark Dietz’s eight offices are in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Its largest office is in Champaign, Ill., and its president operates from Chicago. Farrar […]
A Purdue University survey shows that the average price of bare Indiana farmland has shot up 17 percent to 19 percent since June 2006. Poor-quality land averaged $2,991 an acre and high-quality averaged $4,407. Transitional land, shifting out of agriculture, rose 4.5 percent, to $9,520. Most of the increase was driven by higher prices for […]
A clergy group that’s trying to help a union organize an Indianapolis janitorial company planned to stage another protest at noon today in front of Market Tower downtown. To accommodate the protest, the city closed Market Street between Monument Circle and Illinois Street for two hours. The closing prompted building manager Kevin Branch, of Colliers […]
Indianapolis City Market said today that Chase Bank has given it a $700,000 conventional low-interest loan to enable it to finish a renovation that began in January. Including the new loan, the market has spent slightly more than $2 million on the project. “We’re ready to get folks in there and get this thing open,” […]
About 4.2 percent of gross assessed property value in Indiana-roughly $16 billion worth-is not taxed because it is in a tax-increment-financing district or covered by a tax abatement, both of which are intended to encourage economic development. The figures, which amount to $400 million of property taxes, were discussed yesterday by the Commission on State […]
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. boosted its stake in WellPoint Inc. to 4.2 million shares in the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The stake represents less than 1 percent of WellPoint’s common stock. Even so, it’s a fourfold increase from the first quarter, when Berkshire reported that it had amassed 979,000 […]
First Indiana Corp. announced after the market closed yesterday that it will discontinue making consumer loans originated by a national network of mortgage brokers.The bank said it is withdrawing from that business immediately, which will lead to $535,000 in expenses in the third quarter. It had been selling most of the loans to investors.“The general […]
The $25.3 billion offer for Sallie Mae parent SLM Corp. is expected to gain shareholder approval tomorrow, but the buyers themselves might back out. The prospective investors are uncertain whether the deal will go through, Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. analyst Sameer Gokhale told Bloomberg. Early this month, the buyers, led by J.C. Flowers & […]
Shares of HhGregg Inc. shot up more than 7 percent this morning only to tumble back to the $13.50 range where the stock started the day. The swing followed the first earnings report the Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics retailer filed as a public company. Gregg said it turned a $2.9 million profit in its fiscal […]
American Commercial Lines Inc. directors have approved buying as much as $150 million of the company’s stock, the Jeffersonville parent of barge builder Jeffboat said today. The move follows a buyback of $200 million of the stock in July. The company has seen its shares slump to $22 from $39 in February due to weakness […]
HhGregg Inc. turned a $2.9 million profit in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30-also its first quarter to report financial results as a public company. The gain reversed a $1.4 million loss of a year earlier. The Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics chain attributed the improvement to strong growth in comparable stores and rising gross […]
Despite alternately hitting the gas and the brakes, the recreational vehicle industry still could be on track for a solid year, according to the South Bend Tribune. Dealers are selling of a glut of inventory they accumulated after makers last year offered deals to keep their plants humming. As a result, factories are getting fewer […]
The man who spent the last five years retooling the menu and operations of Indianapolis-based Steak n Shake Co. is leaving the struggling hamburger chain. Peter Dunn is out as CEO, the company said today. Chairman Alan Gillman, who joined Steak n Shake in 1992 as CEO, will take the helm again on an interim […]
