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The state is threatening to revoke more than 600 mortgage broker licenses – covering about 70 percent of all existing brokerages – because they haven’t passed a new state-mandated test. Letters are being sent to the brokers warning they’ll be cut off as of Aug. 5 unless they pass the test, Secretary of State Todd […]
A resilient service economy kept the Indianapolis-area office vacancy rate stable in the second quarter, according to Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. The vacancy rate inched up to 17.2 percent from 17 percent in the first quarter. A year earlier, the rate stood at 16.8 percent. The area absorbed a net 403,000 square feet of office […]
The idea of an annual Big Ten vs. Pac-10 college football showdown in a series of games—sources within each conference said—is long overdue.
But until now the idea has never been put on the…
Stock in Interactive Intelligence Inc. plummeted 35 percent this morning after the Indianapolis software developer warned second quarter results would be hurt by fewer orders from existing customers. The shares fell $3.66, to $6.80, in early trading. Interactive stock hit a recent peak of $28.52 per share in November, but has trended lower since then. […]
Bloomington has a reputation as one of the toughest places in the state to do business.
Its regulations are thickets, its bureaucrats nit-pickers, its public officials aloof. At least thatâ??s how
many businesspeople view the city.
The latest controversy pits…
Finish Line Inc. always has been a volatile stock. Jump in at the right time and make a bundle. Pick the wrong time and take a bath. To be sure, investors who had the foresight to invest during Finish Line’s darkest days early this year-when it seemed inevitable that the company would have to close on the $1.5 billion acquisition of Tennessee-based Genesco Inc.-fall in the former category. Since hitting an all-time low of $1.48 a share Jan. 10, the…
Ah, the idealism of youth. There’s something truly refreshing (and yes, at times, frustrating) about the effervescent optimism on display by young people. They look at the world, see a problem (perceived or real) and set out to change things. Of course, most of their efforts end up on the pile of broken dreams, but every once in a while, one breaks through. They achieve success, they realize their dreams, and they do it while actually making the world a…
Appliance retailer HHGregg is facing allegations that it improperly installed dryer vents in potentially thousands of consumers’ homes, despite warnings that such vents could cause fires or other safety hazards. A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court claims the Indianapolis-based retailer installed plastic or foil “slinky” vents, even though many dryer manufacturers specifically call for heavy metal ducts to be used. The suit asks that HHGregg replace the improper vents and pay an unspecified amount in fees and damages. “Our…
Brita Horvath celebrated her first year on the job late last month as Baker & Daniels LLP’s diversity and pro bono coordinator. Even in a part-time capacity, paying someone to tackle diversity issues within the workplace would have been unthinkable 30 years ago, recalls Greg Utken, a firm partner who co-chairs its diversity committee. “When I got out [of law school] in 1974, the firm I was with had no women and no people of color; it was white male,”…
In late May, Darrell Bowman launched Lounge Hats LLC, an Indianapolis-based company that makes fabric covers that fit over
beach or pool-side chaise lounges to make one thing clear: This seat is taken. Bowman withdrew $20,000 from personal savings
and added another $50,000 from an investor, his friend Mike Oswalt, to start the company. He runs Lounge Hats out of his garage,
hiring a Chinese company to sew the hats and contracting with a local printer to finish them off.
On June 15, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 4,800 businesses around the state, filed a federal
lawsuit against the upstart Indiana Christian Chamber of Commerce. The complaint alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition,
counterfeiting and forgery.
Do you speak Chinese? I don’t, but I had a great conversation with two non-English-speaking Chinese artists and educators last week. I was moderating a roundtable discussion at the governor’s residence for Joyce Sommers and the Indianapolis Arts Center. The roundtable kicked off a two-month summer exhibit at the center called “Two Worlds, One Language through Art.” (You can read more about the exhibit on page 37.) It was my first time as a moderator in a situation requiring the…
Nearly three-quarters of orthopedics patients in Shelby County have gone to an Indianapolis hospital to receive care. Now, Major Hospital in Shelbyville wants to keep more of those patients at home. By next June, the hospital will build a $7 million orthopedics center that will house two orthopedic surgeons. They will begin building their practices in Shelbyville next month. The play for orthopedics patients throws Major into a pitched battle among Indianapolis-area hospitals. Surging numbers of patients need new hips…
Andrea Walker is a chemist with management aspirations. But instead of signing up for a traditional MBA program, the team manager at Indianapolis-based AIT Laboratories will enroll this year in a slimmed-down business program that focuses on the life sciences. The program, called the Kelley Executive Certificate in the Business of Life Sciences, is a new creation of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. The program will conduct most of its classes online over a one-year period. The courses will…
“As for the longer term, if these investment banks are experiencing this kind of pain in what is really not that turbulent of times, just wait a year. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the seeds of the next bear market have been planted. It could take a while for the seeds to get going, but when they do, watch out!” I wrote the paragraph above on Aug. 13, 2007. The investment banks have been hammered since, and, as…
As motorists rush to buy antacid pills with each $4.25-a-gallon fill-up, the same car dealers who got pudgy five years ago selling SUVs with $6,000 profit margins are scrambling to profit from Aveos or anything else with decent mileage.
Nine former Noble Roman’s franchisees and a current operator have filed a lawsuit charging that the Indianapolis chain lied
to them about the costs and risks of opening one of its pizza and sub restaurants. The franchisees say the 1,000-restaurant
chain aggressively marketed its stand-alone, dual-brand Noble Roman’s and Tuscano’s Italian Style Subs restaurants without
testing the concept–a scheme they contend was designed to inflate the company’s stock price so owners could unload shares
at a profit.
Adam Herbert, who may go down as the sorriest presidential hire in the history of the Big Ten, is nowhere to be seen, those velvety crimson jumpsuits disappearing about the same time Sampson was shown the door. Certain members among the IU trustees-who so violated the trust part of their duties, first in hiring Herbert and then in bringing in Sampson-are not about to step up and take responsibility for their actions. I guess it will all come out some…
Identifying corporate villainy is a delightful pastime that virtually all of us have reveled in at some point or another. There are only two problems with this form of entertainment. A description of the first comes simply stated to us from the Gospel of John as “he who is without sin cast the first stone.” The second problem is a general lack of intellectual rigor in the debate. The heavily funded attacks on corporate America come primarily from organizations with…
Daniel H. Pink, in his intriguing new book, “A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age,” said, “The new era we are entering will be characterized by ‘right brain’ processes as opposed to the ‘left brain’ functioning of the more technical information age we’re exiting. These days, left-brain functioning is being done more efficiently and effectively by computers.” “Right-directed thinking,” as Pink calls it, is uniquely human and is about design and interpersonal relationship. My…
