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INVESTING: Consumer staples aren’t flashy, but they are safe

The stock market did a great job in January of getting investors to focus on the energy sector when they should have been looking at the good, old-fashioned Dow Jones industrial average. In the last two months, energy stocks have become serious dogs, and the Dow has posted a series of five-year highs. They don’t ring a bell, folks. This stuff just kind of creeps up on you. The market prefers subtlety. It rewards hard work, patience and the willingness…

Steel Dynamics seeks part of former Olin site: Metal recycling operation would serve expanding Hendricks County mill

The site of the former Olin Brass factory on the near-west side might soon roar to life again if a plan to erect a metal recycling operation there comes through. A joint venture between Fort Waynebased Steel Dynamics Inc., Chicagobased Metal Management Inc. and local hauler Ray’s Trash is seeking city approval to install a metal shredder and recycling operation on about 40 acres at Holt Road and Airport Expressway. The venture, called Metal Dynamics LLC, would accept scrap metal…

Ad firm’s new HQ shows imagination: Former school gets makeover for Young & Laramore

The Indianapolis-based advertising firm’s former building, at 409 Massachusetts Ave., featured an interior atrium, open work spaces and a large fish sculpture in the window that caught the eye of passersby on the busy commercial corridor. For its new building, a former school tucked into Lockerbie Square a few blocks away, the firm had to decide how to creatively use a choppedup floor plan, complete with a gymnasium in the middle. Young & Laramore enlisted Eric Rowland and Sarah Schwarzkopf…

Schneider Corp. has designs on big growth in Lawrence: Long-time engineering firm gets boost from state as it plans to make $4.4 million investment, add 140 workers

The voluminous building the Schneider Corp. occupies on the former Fort Benjamin Harrison property was built as a barracks for enlisted men and later converted to a dormitory. So it’s fitting that the locally based engineering firm has a vision to create a university-type setting on its nearly fouracre campus where employees can receive training without stepping foot off the property. “We’ve worked on a strategic plan for the last couple of years, and Schneider University is part of that…

States demand One Call answers: Carmel telephone firm ‘out of control’

A Carmel long-distance and operator service company has a lot to answer for these days. After crossing wires with Indiana regulators and with the Federal Communications Commission last year, One Call Communications now is being accused by Iowa and Missouri regulators of putting bogus charges on phone bills and then harassing people to pay. Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon this month filed a lawsuit alleging the privately held company violated state and federal consumer protection laws. Nixon said the company…

BULLS & BEARS: I’m all for optimism, but be skeptical, too

When viewing the historical record of the stock market, it is clear investors who maintained a positive longterm stance have been rewarded with attractive compounded returns, despite some significant zigs and zags in between. Americans are, on balance, an optimistic bunch, especially when it comes to our outlook for the future. A “best is yet to come” policy has served us well, providing the drive to innovate and improve our country’s standard of living. Nevertheless, when it comes to making…

TOM HARTON Commentary: Kids were pawns in an adult game

Judge S. Hugh Dillin is dead, but the negative consequences of his school desegregation orders are still with us. Dillin, who died March 13, didn’t invent white flight, suburban sprawl or broken urban school systems, but if those problems were smoldering in 1970s Indianapolis, Dillin’s decisions poured gasoline on the fire. This column is not a diatribe against Dillin. His decisions were only interpretations of the law, after all, and the highest court in the land affirmed them. Based on…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Mediocre planning efforts don’t invite people to stay

Analysts say the housing market is slowing in Indianapolis and across the nation. Perhaps that’s why three significant, real estate developments have attracted so much local media coverage recently. In one story, the City-County Council approved the development of 28 condos in Broad Ripple, despite strong resistance from the neighborhood association. Meanwhile, local planning councils easily approved two new developments-a subdivision on the far northeast side of town that will feature almost 2,000 homes and a large condominium complex in…

E-commerce can level the playing field:

The same point can be made for small businesses, which can reach wider audiences through electronic commerce-purchasing, selling and exchanging goods and services over the Internet. So how can small-business owners take advantage of the e-commerce phenomenon? First, it’s important to understand that ecommerce isn’t an end unto itself, but a tool to grow your business-as such, it should be used only if it serves your business strategy. Ask yourself a few questions: Can you effectively promote your product or…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Kite’s quest to fix Glendale reverberates on Wall Street

N o r t h – s i d e r s aren’t alone in eagerly awaiting Glendale Mall’s redevelopment plan. Wall Street is watching what happens next, too. Glendale is the largest of the 40 retail properties Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group Trust operates. The North Keystone Avenue shopping mall collects annual rent of $2.5 million, representing more than 4 percent of the company’s total. So what Kite will do with the ailing, 724,000-square-foot property was topic No. 1 last…

Lucas owner says skeptics off base: ‘Small company’ big enough to handle major deal, he says

The Indianapolis Colts had to be convinced that California-based Lucas Oil Products Inc. was the right company to buy its stadium naming-rights package. Football franchise executives were quickly converted, but the deal still has its detractors. A month after the 20-year, $121.5 million agreement was announced, sports sponsorship experts remain skeptical it will pan out. “This is a heavy investment for such a small company,” said William Chipps, senior editor of Chicago-based IEG Sponsorship Report. “I can tell you it…

Turned away, twice: Hot biotech inventor scores coastal cash after local VCs say no

When a proven Indiana life scientist invents a promising medical technology, you’d expect local venture capitalists would snap to attention. So when Lafayette-based Ash Access Technology Inc. announced March 14 it had landed $6 million in venture capital, it was surprising to note the names of the investors in the deal. None were based inside state lines. But Dr. Stephen Ash wasn’t shocked. After all, he’s been through this before. “I don’t know what happened,” Ash said. “I was disappointed….

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Copyrights can help protect your architectural designs

According to the American Institute of Architects, the intellectual property created as a result of a professional’s design capability is the most common proof of worth in terms of talent and experience. In light of its importance, many design professionals might wonder what tion of copies of an architectural work and to create a new architectural work based on the original. In practical terms, these rights give an owner control over such matters as who can construct a building based…

Purdue to award $50,000 for biz plan:

One of the finalists in the various 2005-06 business plan competitions sponsored by Purdue University and Lilly Endowment Inc. will win a special $50,000 award to further develop its enterprise. The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship contacted the finalists in the three Opportunity for Indiana Business Plan Competitions and February’s Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition asking them to write letters describing how they would use the sec ond-phase money. “We’ll award the money to the company or team that…

Hearthview becomes church’s reluctant savior: Developer chooses ‘significant’ financial hit over wrecking ball

Condominium developer Hearthview Residential Inc. came out of a news conference this month looking like something of a hero for converting a former church at 802 N. Meridian St. into condos, but company officials must have been grinning through clenched teeth. Locally based Hearthview initially tried to demolish the 1905 structure, quietly seeking a demolition permit for the entire building. When the permit was discovered at the 11th hour by city and state historic preservation officials, the wheels were set…

EYE ON THE PIE: Waiter shines light on education

I spent most of a recent weekend in the hospital, but no one seems to want to hear that story. It wasn’t much of a story, as it turns out, but the bill, which will fall on you, will be enormous. My part of the bill will be small because I am covered by Medicare and private health insurance. This means you will see my use of the health care system reflected in your future taxes and in your future…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Patent-tying accusations get more difficult to prove

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the boundaries between patent and antitrust law in Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink Inc. This decision has important implications for all companies that use the patent system to protect their intellectual property rights. It raises both the legal and financial stakes for businesses that wish to use the antitrust laws as a weapon to break into a market dominated by a competitor’s patented product. The case involved a claim of…

More students seek degree online: Working, career-hopping adults drawn by flexible degree format

ITT Educational Services Inc. may nearly double by the end of this year the number of degree programs it offers entirely through online instruction as the school seeks to enroll students who can’t make class because of work or family obligations. Six online bachelor degree programs and two online associate degree programs are in various stages of regulatory and accreditation review, according to the Carmel-based technical education provider, which has 38,800 students enrolled at schools in 28 states. President and…

BANKRUPTCIES:

Romo’s Pizza Muncie Inc., dba Romo’s Pizza Peruvian Style, 2109 S. Scatterfield Road, Anderson, 46012. Chapter 7 liquidation. Assets: none; liabilities: $14,299. William W. McGinnis Investments Corp., 3951 S. Meridian St., 46217. Chapter 11 reorganization. Assets: n/a; liabilities: n/a.

Mega-hotel on city agenda: Pan Am Plaza possible site for 800-room development

The city is looking for developers interested in adding 800 hotel rooms downtown, a project that could be accomplished by building a massive, new hotel or augmenting several existing facilities. Insiders say a new hotel is most likely. They picture it on Pan Am Plaza. If that happens, the hotel would become the city’s largest-eclipsing the Indianapolis Marriott by almost 200 rooms. Ideally, the rooms would be available by 2010, when the wraps come off the expanded Indiana Convention Center….