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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Does the economy care who wins in November?

If you ever visit Indiana’s past through the eyes of our state’s excellent historians, you uncover many amazing facts. To me, one of the most remarkable is this: In the 19th century, before the age of the automobile, mass communication and high school basketball, the voter turnout among Hoosiers in national elections approached, and sometimes surpassed, 90 percent. When you think about the sacrifice it took to get to a polling place in those days, that’s an incredible achievement. Of…

Medical device startup aims for animal market: QuadraSpec raises another $3.9M from investors

Fast-growing West Lafayette-based medical-device maker QuadraSpec Inc. announced this month that it raised $3.9 million in venture capital from a syndicate of investors. For a 2-year-old Hoosier startup, that’s a jackpot. But CEO Chad Barden is already searching for more. “You have to start on it right away,” he said. “Now it’s easier to get an audience, but the diligence is no less strenuous.” Since forming in 2004, QuadraSpec has attracted $8.1 million, including multiple grants from the Indiana 21st…

BULLS & BEARS Dave Gilreath: Memo to investors: Shake your short-term mindset

Most investors in the stock market claim to be oriented to the long term. They generally put money into stocks for big-picture goals like retirement or college expenses. But despite what they claim, many individual investors measure their success by the very shortest of time frames. Nearly all check their progress with their monthly statements. Many check portfolio values weekly and some even check daily or hourly market prices. When you don’t like what is happening to your account or…

Hammering away at his own business: After 18 years working for others, contractor strikes out on his own

Built to Last Construction Hammering away at his own business After 18 years working for others, contractor strikes out on his own Bradley Ford is a true, hands-on owner. “I really like working with my hands. I couldn’t stand working behind a desk,” said Ford, 40, who founded Built To Last Construction in 2000. Starting the business was the culmination of a career path he started in 1982 as a 16-year-old student at Perry Meridian High School and the building…

Biofuel plans have suppliers stoked

Indiana’s plan to become the Middle East of biofuels could be a boon well beyond the rural towns that will welcome more than a dozen refineries . Firms that make and supply parts and expertise needed to build the $1.8 billion in ethanol and biodiesel plants–and related infrastructure–are gearing up.

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Wall Street and cowboy ethics

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary Wall Street and cowboy ethics Today, thanks to companies like Enron and WorldCom and to news like recent revelations about stockoption back-dating, the ethics and character of businesspeople, particularly those in corporate America, have come into question. And rightfully so. There’s been enough news of malfeasance and greed in the last decade to choke a horse. One Wall Street veteran of 35 years was so troubled by the trend that he got up in the saddle and…

Small biz struggles in big-biz computer world RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY Tim Altom:

It’s true that the rich get richer, although the rich have often learned to portray the burden on the little guy as inevitable and desirable progress. For evidence, look no further than Microsoft Office. It’s written for the Fortune 500, not for microbusinesses. Office has long been criticized as a bloated monstrosity, full of obscure features that only big corporations with time on their hands ever figure out how to use. Office products have their own programming language you can…

Volatile markets aren’t as whacky as they seem:

Even in a going-nowhere year like 2006, the ups and downs of the financial markets strike a lot of people as too much. Stock prices, in particular, are constantly described as volatile-swinging in arcs far wider than economic conditions could possibly warrant. Look at emerging markets stocks, which jumped 25 percent in the first few months of this year, then gave the whole gain back again in less than six weeks. These stocks from economies on the frontiers of capitalism,…

Some call on tradition of burying St. Joseph statue to help sell homes:

Real estate agents pushing to keep homes moving in a slowing market are increasingly looking for divine intervention. Local religious supply stores say sales are up for 4-inch-tall plastic figurines of St. Joseph. Some Catholics believe that burying the statues in a yard helps sell a house. St. Joseph statues have always sold well, but they’ve moved even faster in recent months, said Beth Kuczkowski, president of the Village Dove Inc., with stores in Broad Ripple, Fishers and on the…

Making the right move: For companies planning a relocation, months of preparation are often in order

CORPORATE RELOCATION Making the right move For companies planning a relocation, months of preparation are often in order Employees of Aprimo Inc. are settling into their new digs at Parkwood Crossing after the fastgrowing marketing-softwaremaker moved its headquarters early last month. While the building may be different, the surroundings are quite familiar. The company remains in the same office complex, albeit across College Avenue from its previous space. But don’t tell Dani Hughes, Aprimo’s human resources representative who coordinated the…

Mentoring initiative aims to grow Hispanic businesses: Applications available soon for three-year program

Leaders of the growing Hispanic community have high ambitions for a new business-mentoring program with a modest price tag. In October, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Business Council will debut its volunteer “Mentor/Protégé” initiative, which will annually match three promising Hispanic companies to local professionals that can spur their growth. Whether the Hispanic firms need help with accounting, legal counsel, supply chains or sales, the Chamber will leverage its network of contacts. And if the threecompanies-per-year pace is…

Student sponsorship deal raises money, criticism

The Indianapolis office of Zurich-based UBS Financial Services Inc. is experimenting with “adopting” the freshman class at Herron High School as the UBS Scholars of 2010. Its foundation made a $100,000 gift to the startup charter school, and local employees made a commitment to tutor, mentor and otherwise support its first 92 students.

St. Vincent pediatric claims rile Riley

Riley Hospital for Children officials are upset over how St. Vincent Children’s Hospital is promoting a care expansion it recently launched with a renowned Cincinnati medical center.

State’s new arts leader plans to take more public role: Indiana Arts Commission’s strategy calls for Executive Director Lewis Ricci to be a vocal advocate for funding

In the fall of 2005, the Indiana Arts Commission started a rigorous study to draft its next five-year strategy. After public hearings around the state, the full 15-member arts commission voted this summer to adopt the new plan. And now commissioners have someone to implement it. The chosen man, Lewis Ricci, is itching to take over the spot and turn the commission into a bully pulpit for the importance of the arts-and the need for public funding. “Advocacy is one…

TOM HARTON Commentary: Crime takes indirect swipe at the arts

In Indianapolis, when the crime rate goes up or kids’ test scores go down, it’s not uncommon for people to point the finger at publicly funded sports facilities. “Our priorities are screwed up,” observers opine. “We spend too much money on these playgrounds for the rich, and not enough on cops, courts and public education.” The sports establishment here has been batting away this criticism for years. It goes with the territory in a city where sports is an important…

Working with the numbers: Using math, local actuaries help companies’ bottom line by analyzing risk to reduce expenses

Expanding opportunities Women make up an increasing number of the 18,000 actuaries who work in the field nationwide, but that wasn’t always the case. Kirk recalls a distinct imbalance of men and women in the actuarial field in the late 1970s. “When I first started, I was quite often the only female in professional meetings,” she said. During annual actuary conferences, “the women would kind of clump together because there were so few of us,” but that has changed. At…

Product gives Thomson better hand: New micro-camcorder boosts prospects for unit French parent wants to deal

Thomson’s latest product is a lot like the French company’s presence in Carmel, these days. Small, and getting ever smaller. With half the number of employees it had in the late-1990s, Thomson’s Americas unit here is about to be downsized yet again from its current 900-some jobs-but not before enjoying a bit of a surprise hit in a palm-size, under-$130 camcorder. The success of the Small Wonder camera-and a slicker new version due out this fall-could help frame the future…

BEHIND THE NEWS GREG ANDREWS gandrews@ibj.com: With Finish Line stumbling, analysts weigh sale, LBO

Finish Line Inc.’s fortunes have dimmed so dramatically in recent months that analysts are raising a range of ideas that once seemed farfetched to boost the slumping stock. Among them: taking the company private through a leveraged buyout, or selling it to a larger retailer. The athletic-shoe industry is abuzz that an LBO for Finish Line’s struggling rival, New York-based Foot Locker Inc., is already afoot. That company last month hired a financial adviser, just weeks after Women’s Wear Daily…

Local gallery’s goal is to make Picasso more ‘affordable’: Prints from Modern Masters can fetch up to $30,000

Chris Mallon carefully removed a protective cover to unveil an original print of the Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup label famously depicted by artist Andy Warhol. The piece, known as a silk-screen print, is available at Mallon’s Editions Limited Gallery of Fine Art in Broad Ripple, unframed, for a mere $23,000. So is Marc Chagall’s “Violinist With A Rooster” lithograph that sells for $14,200. While the prices might seem excessive to some, they’re quite affordable when compared to actual paintings done…