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State bundles media buying: Firms here question whether small Fort Wayne-based agency can handle $10M contract

In a move that has rankled some central Indiana advertising agencies, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ office this month awarded a $10 million-$12 million media buying contract encompassing all state agencies to Fort Wayne-based Asher Agency. Asher in turn promised to save the state $900,000 in the coming year. The contract, a one-year deal with a oneyear renewal option, calls for Asher to place television, radio, print and outdoor advertising for the Hoosier Lottery, Indiana State Fair, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, Office…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Why like-kind exchanges don’t make sense for everyone

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows you to defer federal taxes by swapping real property for like-kind property. For years, tax advisors have been recommending a 1031 strategy whenever real estate developers and owners are ready to harvest their gains. Today, with real estate valuations at record highs and capital gains tax rates at record lows, there is a good chance a 1031 exchange strategy could defer taxes but lose profits. You may be better off to recognize…

VIEWPOINT: Signs of economic recovery all around us

After weathering some difficult times over the last few years, there are encouraging signs that central Indiana has turned the corner on its road to economic recovery. The Indianapolis metro area added 22,000 jobs in the year ending in March-a 2.4-percent increase-and in May, the Indiana unemployment rate dipped below the national average for the first time since December. All signs point to continued modest growth. Patrick Barkey, IBJ contributor and Ball State University economist, says, “We should expect to…

Former Chamber of Commerce CEO launches firm: Christopher LaMothe leaves Oxford Financial Group

For a decade as Indiana Chamber of Commerce CEO, Christopher LaMothe pressed to enhance Indiana’s business climate. Then he spent several years leading Oxford Financial Group Ltd.’s team of advisers for wealthy clients. But the whole time, LaMothe aspired to be a dealmaker. Now, he’s done something about it. This summer, he founded the one-man Ascendanci Ventures LLC and is on the hunt for prospects. “I’m doing what I have dreamed about for the last 10 or 15 years,” LaMothe…

SPORTS: Tiller rescued Purdue but isn’t immune to critics

This year the NCAA mandated that Division I-A football media guides be reduced to a uniform 212 pages. Keep in mind that these fonts of information intended for inkstained wretches had morphed into voluminous pitch-tools for recruits and brag books for boosters. The cutback didn’t prevent Purdue’s sports information office from devoting a copious 11 pages of copy in its 2005 guide to Joltin’ Joe Tiller. Perhaps I (or you, dear reader) should read nothing more into that other than…

Group wants energy czar: Coalition believes utilities slow to climb on efficiency bandwagon

Chris Maher’s crews at Thermo-Scan Inc. have been plenty busy inspecting for drafts and puny insulation in many of the 14,000 new homes built each year in the metro area. Even so, the principal at the Carmel firm can’t help wonder about the vast potential to make the hundreds of thousands of existing homes and businesses more energy efficient-if only homeowners had a little more incentive. Utility companies, he says, have relatively few dollars budgeted to coax customers to install…

Past retail failures in China don’t scare Simon away: Developer’s partnership with Wal-Mart could be key

Executives of Simon Property Group Inc. are confident the shopping mall owner’s foray into China will prove successful, even though they acknowledge others have failed there. In a conference call with analysts late last month, the locally based real estate investment trust announced its plan to be the first American company to develop retailing projects in the communist country. Its first project will be a 500,000-squarefoot mall at Hangzhou, a city of 6 million people about two hours from Shanghai….

Eli Lilly spawns start-up: Maaguzi plans rapid growth selling software to manage clinical research trials

Eli Lilly and Co. has sold clinical-research software it created to a veteran Indianapolis entrepreneur who plans to market it globally, potentially growing his startup company into one of the area’s largest technology firms. Joe Huffine, best known as co-founder of the technology consultancy Onex Inc., said his new firm, Maaguzi LLC, should benefit as the market for research software grows explosively. Maaguzi’s software allows researchers and patients to record data electronically instead of on paper. The software is geared…

State firms pioneers in boosting electric efficiency:

Indiana already has a number of firms working on technology aimed at boosting energy efficiency and capacity. Early this month, Indianapolis-based Trexco LLC said the U.S. Patent Office awarded it two dozen patents for a cooling system it has developed for large electrical transformers, such as those used at utility substations. The “transformer extender” is designed to stretch the capacity and lifespan of the transformers, which typically cost $2 million to $5 million and are the size of a Mack…

Festival prepares to kick off with help from friends: Groups met in the middle to make theater on the Fringe

The plays are hardly household names: “A Midsummer Night of Fairies and Asses.” “Fresh Meat.” “Hooray for Speech Therapy.” Ditto for the performers: Ganas Theatre Productions. Master of Trades. Too Much Free Time Productions. That’s the point of Indianapolis Fringe Theatre Festival, a 10-day, 30-troupe, 150-show whirlwind of plays that people may never see again performed by groups from around the world. The inaugural festival kicks off downtown Aug. 19, the culmination of a twoyear effort that brought together myriad…

Humane Society makes progress, but has room to improve: Lilly Endowment grant to boost shelter’s fund-raising

Revenue continues to rise. Expenses are holding steady. And the shelter hasn’t borrowed as much money as expected. The road ahead may be littered with potential pitfalls, but those leading the charge believe they’re on the right path. “It’s been a good year, learning what we can do and how far we can stretch ourselves …,” Executive Director Martha Boden said. I have a tremendous amount of confidence we’ll get there.” Others agree. Local philanthropic heavyweight Lilly Endowment Inc., for…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Indiana’s 2 economies: Indy and everyone else

I work for a state university. That’s an important reason why I try to keep up to date on what is happening in the state economy. That involves tracking what’s going on with things like job growth, unemployment rates, and earnings across the state. I also try to judge how the state’s economy is performing against other states, particularly those in the Midwest. That’s convenient, but it’s also a little misleading. Because for quite some time there really have been…

Condo wave a ripple locally: Shelved conversions show area not following in national footsteps

Condominiums are hot. Apartments are not. In many cities, that current market truism among would-be renters has led to a wave of conversions of apartment complexes to condos. But not in Indianapolis. To date, only a handful of apartment complexes have successfully made the leap from rental to for-sale, notably Lion’s Gate at 86th and Meridian and Ladywood Estates near Emerson Avenue and 56th Street. Much of the reason has to do with the affordability of single-family housing in the…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Reaping the benefits of the American Jobs Act

Astute real estate professionals should be taking advantage of several tax-saving provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The act was signed by President Bush last October to spur economic development and investment. The primary components of the Amer ican Jobs Creation Act include increased depreciation deductions on leasehold improvements, greater flexibility for real estate investment trusts, modification of expensing rules for equipment and vehicles, and a reduction in the tax rate for domestic manufacturing activities. Leasehold improvements…

BEHIND THE NEWS IPALCO buyer wins key lawsuit but isn’t out of woods:

Score one big victory for former executives of AES Corp. and IPALCO Enterprises Inc., but they still face obstacles on other fronts. Last month, Judge Larry McKinney of U.S. District Court in Indianapolis dismissed the final claims in a shareholder lawsuit stemming from AES’ soured $3 billion purchase of the Indianapolis utility five years ago. McKinney didn’t buy plaintiffs’ charges that through omissions and misleading statements the companies had failed to disclose to IPALCO shareholders the risks of exchanging their…

New names shake up radio market ratings: Hank and Jack see gains; WFMS and WFBQ lose ground

Two radio newcomers known as Hank and Jack are two-stepping and fist-pumping their way up the local radio ratings ladder. Meanwhile, stalwarts WFMS-FM 95.5 and WFBQ-FM 94.7 have found their grips on the top rungs loosening. The first major reshuffling in local radio station ratings in nearly a decade is having wide-ranging effects on advertising demand and rates. The release of New York-based Arbitron Inc.’s spring rating book July 29 touched off a flurry of debate about who won and…

BULLS & BEARS: This would be wrong time to turn bearish on stocks

“The stock market stinks and isn’t going to get any better.” That, in a nutshell, is what a bearish soothsayer espoused recently in Barron’s. He said the tech-stock bust, 9/11, the Iraq War and frequent terrorism would keep a lid on returns for several years. He’s right about the market stinking. Most stock market investors haven’t made a nickel since the new millennium began. Starting at the beginning of this decade through the end of June, $10,000 put into the…

Local firm sues drugmakers over disclosure:

An Indianapolis law firm is the latest in the nation to bring a lawsuit against the makers of non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs. Price Waicukauski Riley & DeBrota LLC filed a suit July 27 in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on behalf of 21 trade unions in Indiana and surrounding states against the maker and marketers of Celebrex: Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia Corp. and G.D. Searle & Co. Celebrex, like Merck and Co.’s Vioxx, is alleged to pose a greater risk of heart…

Industry groups spar over audit proposal: Using parts of Sarbanes-Oxley Act to toughen financial reporting would be costly, unnecessary, NAMIC says

Insurance groups are choosing sides in a brewing battle over whether private insurance companies should be forced to adopt elements of the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Kansas City-based National Association of Insurance Commissioners has proposed adding parts of the 2002 federal legislation to its audit rules. Public companies are already required to follow the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which imposes stricter financial disclosure rules. The NAIC represents insurance regulators from all 50 states and is working jointly on the amendment with the…

GERALD BEPKO Commentary: State’s bulk-sales law should be repealed

Law is an important part of the infrastructure for our economy. It can be just as important as highspeed information networks, transportation systems or capital formation. And like all infrastructure, law has to be modernized to take account of changing conditions. Although much law regarding commerce comes from Congress, the states have an important role through something called the Uniform Commercial Code. The UCC reflects the best contemporary thought and is uniform in that it has been enacted in all…