Articles

Navistar halts engine production on eastside

Navistar International Corp. has suspended production of diesel engines at its plant on Indianapolis’ eastside and at another plant in Alabama. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by Ford Motor Co. claiming Illinois-based Navistar isn’t adequately sharing warranty costs for the engines, which are used in its lucrative Super Duty F-Series pickup trucks. Seven-hundred workers at […]

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Q-Comm closes Norlight Telecommunications acquisition

Evansville-based communications company Q-Comm Corp. has closed its acquisitions of Norlight Telecommunications from Journal Communications of Brookfield, Wis., for $185 million. Both companies handle high-speed telecommunications. Norlight’s territory was adjacent to Q-Comm’s. Journal Communications publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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Biomet goes outside for new CEO

Jeffrey Binder, most recently senior vice president of Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories Inc., has been named CEO of Biomet Inc., the Warsaw orthopedics firm announced this morning. Binder, 43, led Abbott’s global laboratory diagnostics business. He replaces Daniel Hann, who had been interim CEO since company co-founder Dane Miller resigned nearly a year ago. Biomet is […]

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Lilly’s Cymbalta approved for expanded use

Eli Lilly and Co.’s antidepressant drug Cymbalta has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat generalized anxiety disorder. About 6.5 million Americans suffer for the disorder. The drug is currently marketed to treat depression and to manage diabetes-related pain. In 2006, Cymbalta sales were $1.3 billion, up from $679 million the year […]

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BREAKING: WellPoint CEO Glasscock resigns

Larry Glasscock, who built WellPoint Inc. into the nation’s largest health insurer, will retire as CEO and president on June 1, the Indianapolis company announced this morning. Glasscock, 58, will remain as chairman. He will be replaced as president and CEO by WellPoint executive Angela F. Braly, 45. Since 2005, she has served as an […]

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Arvin merger a ‘disaster,’ ‘mistake,’ experts say

Both Arvin Industries Inc. and its headquarters city of Columbus have suffered from the company’s 2000 merger with fellow auto parts supplier Meritor Automotive Inc., of Troy, Mich. Instead of keeping a sharp focus on its niche in exhaust and suspension parts, Arvin under the so-called merger of equals lost not only its way, but […]

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Ivy Tech ranks first in charitable giving

For the first time in its history, Ivy Tech Community College has ranked tops in the nation in private donations to community colleges, according to the Council for Aid to Education, a New York not-for-profit that conducts policy research on higher education. Ivy Tech received $15.3 million last year from foundations, corporations and individuals. The […]

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‘Hundreds’ of jobs to be announced Tuesday

A company with operations in Indianapolis plans to announce Tuesday that it will create “hundreds” of additional jobs, according to Mitch Frazier, spokesman for Indiana Economic Development Corp. Frazier declined to identify the company, but said Indiana has won a tussle with several other Midwestern states for the project. Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indianapolis Mayor […]

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Conseco reserve costs to wipe out fourth-quarter profit

Conseco Inc. expects to spend $53 million after taxes to shore up capital reserves for its long- term care and core insurance businesses, the company announced today. The Carmel-based insurer said the expense likely will wipe out its fourth-quarter profit, which Conseco now will announce on March 6, a week later than originally planned. During […]

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BREAKING: Citizens Gas warns 300 of possible layoff

About 300 workers at Citizens Gas & Coke Utility’s coke-making division have been told that they risk be laid off because the plant might be sold, Citizens announced this morning. Citizens, which has been trying to sell the plant at 2950 Prospect St. because it no longer fits its business strategy, said it is “concluding […]

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Hurco stock, once a dog, posts new records

Shares of Hurco Companies Inc. are setting records and soaring well above their nearly worthless status of three years ago. The stock has shot up 28 percent, to $45, since the Indianapolis machine tool maker late last week reported a surge in sales and earnings for its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31. The $5.4 […]

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Lilly rolls out digital insulin injector pen

Eli Lilly and Co. today launched its first insulin injector pen with a digital memory in the hope of regaining market share lost in recent years to generic and inhalable insulin. HumaPen Memoir resembles a writing pen and is designed for patients who take several daily shots of insulin at mealtimes. The Indianapolis drugmaker said […]

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Beverly Hills manager to take over Indianapolis Conrad

Greg Tinsley has been named manager of the Conrad hotel in downtown Indianapolis, replacing Jan Chovanec, who resigned in January to be closer to his family. Tinsley most recently managed the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Prior to the Beverly Hilton, Tinsley held posts with Sheraton Hotels in several cities.

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Business customers cool toward Vectren, survey shows

Businesses that use natural gas rated Vectren Corp. lower than companies across the country generally feel about their gas suppliers, according to this year’s J.D. Power and Associates report on business satisfaction with gas companies. The Evansville company, which serves the Indianapolis area outside Marion County, received a 708 rating on a 1,000 point scale. […]

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Lenny’s Sub Shops to open 28 Indianapolis locations

Memphis-based Lenny’s Sub Shops announced today that it will open 28 sandwich shops in the Indianapolis area, beginning this spring in Avon and Carmel. Franchisee SamStorm Subs will locate 15 in Marion County, three in Hendricks County, and five each in Hamilton and Tippecanoe counties. Founded in 1998, the company has 700 locations in 18 […]

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Housing downturn isn’t over for suppliers, experts warn

Appliance makers and other suppliers to the housing industry might feel the ripple effect of the housing downturn through the end of this year, according to a Bloomberg report. Sales of new and existing houses fell nearly 10 percent last year, though many observers believe the worst is over for the sales decline. The industry, […]

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Judge issues injunction against Symons company

Marion Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Carroll yesterday issued a preliminary injunction ordering an Indianapolis company controlled by high-profile businessman Alan G. Symons to return computer files and other information allegedly taken from a Fishers competitor.   The competitor, Product Action International LLC, claimed in a lawsuit filed in May that Symons’ company-Fast Tek Group […]

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Guide to snip some health, life insurance benefits

Guide Corp. has told retirees and former salaried workers that they will not receive medical and life insurance through the company after March 16. The salaried workers are eligible for a one-time cash payout of $35,000 to $45,000, according to The Herald-Bulletin of Anderson. In January, the Pendleton-based maker of auto lighting closed a taillight […]

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FDA orders more disclosure of attention-deficit drugs

Eli Lilly and Co. and other companies that make drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been ordered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop handouts to give to patients warning of side affects. Some patients with heart problems have died suddenly or sustained strokes and heart attacks after taking the drugs, the […]

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Analysts generally upbeat on Brightpoint acquisition

Two analysts who follow Plainfield-based Brightpoint Inc. have issued upgraded recommendations since the Plainfield-based cell phone distributor announced yesterday that it would buy Dangaard Telecom of Denmark in a $308 million stock swap. Ittai Kidron of CIBC World Markets said the stock will outperform its sector, and Christin Armacost of Lazard Capital Markets issued a […]

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