Indy’s best leaders

Conseco has seen a string of leaders since the company began to stumble and co-founder Steve Hilbert stepped
down nearly nine years ago. The insurer still doesnâ??t have its footing, saying today its auditors arenâ??t

convinced it can

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C.P. Morgan aftermath

Tract house builder C.P. Morgan officially bites the dust today. Which raises plenty of questions:

–Has anyone else been more influential in the type of housing stock built in the Indianapolis area in the
past decade than Chuck Morgan?…

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Indy as IT outsource center

Information technology companies would do well to outsource business processes to Indianapolis, a new KPMG
report says.

The accounting and consulting firm included only one other U.S. city, Boise, Idaho, on an international list
of 31 places where companies are likely…

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Return to horse slaughterhouses?

Paul Dieterlen is the unusual veterinarian who doesnâ??t have a pet. But Dieterlen, who retired recently from
overseeing the meat-inspection division within the State Board of Animal Health, says that if he had one,
it would be a horse.

So it…

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Tax commuters for marketing?

How do you feel about taxing commuters to supplement promotion of the cityâ??s convention industry? The idea
was floated in an article by IBJ reporter Anthony Schoettle about the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors
Association asking for more money…

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‘Livability’ for Indianapolis

A year into his tenure as mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard over the weekend articulated what may be the
closest thing weâ??ll hear for his vision for the city.

Ballardâ??s State of the City address touted making Indianapolis the…

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Gold at $1,000 an ounce

The gold hawkers are right, at least for now. Gold has been a better investment than stocks, bonds and
other conventional places to park moneyâ??hitting $1,000 an ounce today.

That signals investors are nervous about prospects for the economy…

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Can Saturn be saved?

As just about everyone expected, General Motors and Chrysler are back asking for more bailouts. Instead of
$17.4 billion, they now want $39 billion.

As part of its turnaround plan, GM plans to jettison Saturn, the brand launched in…

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Ideal places for public companies

Just as an Indiana company goes through the nationâ??s first initial public offering in months, its executives
ratchet up their plans to move the headquarters out of state.

Mead Johnson, the Evansville baby formula maker, staged a successful IPO…

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Wobbly on township government

State legislators seem to be looking for excuses to dodge the recommendation in the Kernan-Shepard report
to eliminate township-level government.

This wasnâ??t unexpected. Township officials often are close friends and political allies of legislators, so
the legislators donâ??t want…

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Tap the rainy day fund?

The weakening economy is producing worse and worse tax revenue forecasts for Indiana. As a result, Democrats
are calling for Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, to open the stateâ??s $1.3 billion rainy day fund.

Tough times like these are what…

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Tax cheats, or just ignorance?

A third nominee to join the Obama administration has gone down in flames after revelations about problems
with income taxes.

A Senate panel last night called off confirmation hearings for U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis, who was nominated to
lead the Labor…

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Obama and executive salary caps

All things considered, there shouldnâ??t be a fuss about President Obamaâ??s plan to cap salaries of executives
in companies that receive federal bailouts.

Thatâ??s the take of Dan Dalton, an Indiana University specialist on corporate governance.

Dalton points out that…

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Integrity of organic foods

The organic food industry is in an uproar over concerns that organic fertilizer may have been spiked with
synthetic versions.

Last month, FBI and federal agriculture officials searched a California organic fertilizer factory, but wouldnâ??t
disclose their motive. The…

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Foreign-born entrepreneurs

Midwestern cities donâ??t attract a lot of immigrants, and Indianapolis is no exception.

The weather is uncomfortable and the region has a reputation for close-mindedness â?? not the kind of place
where newcomers want to sink roots.

A recent blog…

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The future for diesel cars

A number of car companies have introduced, or plan to introduce, clean-diesel engines to cater to buyers
wanting better fuel efficiency.

Diesels from Volkswagen and other manufacturers boost mileage by about a third, but much of that advantage
in the past…

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