Articles

Columbus looking over shoulder at Indy, report says

Indianapolis is growing faster than Columbus, Ohio, and that concerns officials in the Ohio city, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Metro Indianapolis’ population increased 9.2 percent between 2000 and 2006 compared to 7 percent for the Columbus area; also, Indianapolis’ job numbers swelled 5.5 percent vs. Columbus’ 1.8 percent. Though Columbus has 59,500 more residents—1.73 […]

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Indy joins largest markets in rare Peabody feat

When IBJ newsgathering partner WISH-TV Channel 8 and cross-town rival WTHR-TV Channel 13 each won a Peabody award last week, it was a rare event for any television market, let alone Indianapolis, the 25th-largest television market. Only New York, Boston and Chicago also have seen two local stations win the prestigious award in the same […]

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200 take Lilly buyout in Lafayette.

Eli Lilly and Co.’s optional severance package has been accepted by 200 of the 1,000 workers at its Tippecanoe Laboratories in Lafayette, according to The Journal & Courier of Lafayette. The Indianapolis drugmaker said in January it would offer the buyouts to 250 at the Lafayette site because it had too much capacity in biomolecules. […]

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Housing glut easing in Indianapolis area, expert says.

The peak of excess new houses for sale in the Indianapolis area passed about two months ago and is on track to be whittled to a normal level before September, predicts a Nashville, Tenn., company that researches housing stock in 30 Midwestern and Southern cities. Edsel Charles, who owns Market Graphics in Nashville, Tenn., said […]

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Transportation, warehouse jobs shine brightly in Indy.

One of the fastest-growing sectors in the Indianapolis area is fueled by the region’s burgeoning warehouses and trucking companies. The industries have added 4,500 jobs in the past four years to bring the February total to 50,900, according to figures compiled by Ball State University. That’s a nearly 10-percent increase compared to the 5.4-percent gain […]

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Forbes downgrades Indy for business, careers

Indianapolis slipped to 27th from 10th in Forbes’ latest annual ranking of the best places for business and careers. The magazine rated 200 cities on growth in jobs and incomes, living costs, crime, work force education and other criteria. Raleigh, N.C., placed first. Indy Partnership, which markets the Indianapolis area to prospective businesses, issued a […]

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Simon to operate some Mills malls separately

Seventeen of the 37 malls that Simon Property Group and a partner reaped by acquiring shopping mall owner The Mills Corp. will be operated as a "separate retail real estate platform," Simon said today. The 17 properties merge traditional mall, outlet center, big box and entertainment uses, and will be managed and leased from an office […]

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New Albany direct mail company to expand

L&D Mail Masters Inc., a New Albany direct mail and logistics firm, plans to add 46 jobs to its roster of 98 and build a 71,000-square-foot warehouse. The project in the city near Louisville will cost $4.2 million. L&D received $415,000 in state and local incentives, Indiana Economic Development Corp. said.

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Billionaire Kerkorian offers to buy Chrysler

Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire whose Tracinda Corp. last year withdrew an attempt to gain control of General Motors Corp., has offered $4.5 billion to buy Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG. Chrysler would be operated as a stand-alone company, Tracinda said in a letter to the German automaker, according to Bloomberg. However, a new contract would need […]

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Chemtura layoffs could threaten West Lafayette site

The Great Lakes Chemical Corp. office and research-and-development facility in West Lafayette might be hit by layoffs planned by its Middlebury, Mass., parent, Chemtura Corp. Chemtura said yesterday that it plans to lay off 620, or 10 percent, of its global work force as part of a restructuring aimed at gaining closer access to customers. […]

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General Motors suffering setbacks in trendy cities

Cities that set buying trends for the rest of the country increasingly are turning to foreign cars despite General Motors Corp.’s attempts to win back buyers. Sales of Chevrolets, Buicks and other GM brands are slipping in places like New York, Los Angeles and Miami as the Detroit automaker pours resources into reinforcing an image […]

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WISH, WTHR receive Peabody awards

WISH-TV Channel 8, IBJ ’s newsgathering partner, has won a Peabody award for an investigative series showing how a $30 helmet pad could save soldiers’ lives in a blast. WTHR-TV Channel 13 received a Peabody for exposing problems with the state’s tornado warning system, and a second for showing how area pharmacies discarded patient subscription […]

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Acquisition broadens Roche reach in diagnostics

Roche Group has spent $600 million to buy full ownership of BioVeris Corp. of Gaithersburg, Md., gaining control of BioVeris’ diagnostic technology. The Swiss company’s U.S. subsidiary, Indianapolis-based Roche Diagnostics, had licensed the electrochemiluminescence technology in machines it sold to hospitals and commercial laboratories—but was limited to diagnosing human diseases. The acquisition, which is expected […]

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Mad Money show rolls into Bloomington tonight

Jim Cramer and his popular CNBC show “Mad Money” will be filmed live at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business tonight at 6 p.m. Appearing with Cramer will be IU graduate Mark Cuban, who co-founded HDNet and owns the Dallas Mavericks.

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Resorts East Chicago bought for $675 million

Ameristar Casinos Inc. said today it has agreed to buy Resorts East Chicago, the casino and hotel complex in the northwest Indiana city, from Resorts International Holdings LLC for $675 million to take advantage of growth potential in the area. The property’s slot machines, table games and poker tables generated $325.6 million in revenue last […]

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Conseco socked with $750,000 fine

A $750,000 penalty has been levied against Conseco Inc. by the Iowa Insurance Division, but the reason for the fine is being kept confidential, according to The Des Moines Register. The Carmel insurer’s Conseco Life Insurance Co. unit and regulators settled issues related to how the unit priced some of its life insurance policies. Conseco […]

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Symmetry Medical buys instrument company

A Whitman, Mass., company that makes precision instruments for arthroscopic, laparoscopic, sinus and other minimally invasive surgeries has been bought by Warsaw-based Symmetry Medical Inc. for $7 million in cash. Symmetry said today it acquired TNCO Inc. to broaden its product line of implants and related instruments, and cases for the orthopedic device industry.

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Mad Money show rolls into IU tonight.

Jim Cramer and his popular CNBC show Mad Money will be filmed live at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business tonight at 6:00 p.m. Appearing with Cramer will be IU graduate Mark Cuban, who co-founded HDNet and owns the Dallas Mavericks.

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Comcast to take over local Insight cable operations.

Cable companies Comcast Corp. and Insight Communications Co. Inc. have agreed that Comcast will take over virtually all of the territory in Indiana now managed by Insight, the companies said this week. The transition, which will take place at an unspecified date late this year, includes Insight customers from Anderson to Bloomington to Lafayette. Insight […]

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Indiana gained jobs in February, economist contends

Dismal February job numbers widely reported across the state several days ago distort what actually happened, according to Morton Marcus, director emeritus of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University. Rather than having 7,400 fewer jobs than in January—the worst performance behind only Ohio—employment actually increased. The rub comes in how government statisticians adjusted […]

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