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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Until Indiana diversifies, economy will struggle

Sure, General Motors Corp. is in trouble, and quite a few Indiana communities are directly in harm’s way. The headlines say it all. Plant closings-above and beyond those already planned-are on the way. GM bonds are rated as junk. Its market share is at an historic low. And it’s discounting just about everything on the lot. For a company that has been the No. 1 automaker in the world for four generations, its recent stumbles have to be humbling. Pressed…

Ace sees growth potential in central Indiana: Some skeptical of plans to open 30 hardware stores

Suburban Chicago-based Ace Hardware Corp. wants to expand upon a strategy of placing stores in residential areas by opening up to 30 new locations in the Indianapolis area. The ambitious plan to grow its presence in and around the city from the 14 existing stores is part of Ace Hardware’s larger strategy to target eight metropolitan regions thought to be ripe for expansion. Big-box retailers such as Lowe’s Home Improvement, Home Depot and Menards dominate much of the home-improvement turf….

Repellent debate causes buzz at Reilly Industries: CDC recommendation could hurt company’s revenue

A recent recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the potential to slow a significant revenue stream for Indianapolis-based Reilly Industries Inc., but company officials insist they’re not worried. This spring, CDC for the first time recommended two alternatives to DEET in the fight against mosquito bites and the diseases they carry. Picaridin and the oil of lemon eucalyptus were recommended as alternatives to DEET, which is manufactured by a Reilly subsidiary and is the active ingredient…

Precedent plans spec office: Building signals improvement in north-suburban market

The Precedent Cos. is preparing to build a 100,000-square-foot office building in its namesake office park near 96th Street and Keystone Avenue, several local real estate experts said, further evidence of the north-suburban market’s recovery. The building would mark the first new speculative office construction in the park since the mid-1990s, just before Indianapolis-based Precedent sold the park’s 19 buildings with 1.1 million square feet of office space to Philadelphia-based Berwind Property Group Inc. in 1998. That sale didn’t include…

VIEWPOINT: Creativity is key to competitive advantage

Central Indiana is flat as a result of the Laurentide ice sheet that surged toward Indianapolis 17,000 years ago. Today, the whole world is flat as a result of the technological and social seismic shifts that effectively leveled the economic world, and “accidentally made Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda next-door neighbors,” says Thomas L. Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. Richard Florida, researcher on regional economic development, challenges Friedman’s metaphor. Florida says, “The world is even more concentrated,…

Debate over health care development takes legal twist: Three county-imposed construction moratoriums face federal lawsuits

Hospitals and developers recently filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court against three counties that enacted moratoriums to slow health care construction in their territory. The Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. sued Morgan County in April, and some Kentucky-based companies filed complaints against Clark and Floyd counties June 13. County officials say they need to make sure their county-owned hospitals remain viable in the face of more development. They also argue that providers want to enter their turf and…

Ready to unify?: Danica’s impact puts IRL in driver’s seat

To nudge the idea along, executives of the Japanese automaker are becoming personally involved, marking the first time an IRL sponsor and major manufacturer has pushed this hard for unification talks. “It’s no small deal when a partner like Honda gets involved,” said Bob Basche, chairman of Millsport, a Stamford, Conn.-based sports and event marketing agency. “Not only do they supply engines [to the IRL], but Honda pumps in millions of dollars annually in sponsorship and advertising for the series.”…

Jester Promotions LLC: Keeping promotions on the cutting edge Advertising specialty firm also always on the lookout for inexpensive merchandise

Advertising specialty firm also always on the lookout for inexpensive merchandise Back in days of old, jesters were the eyes and ears of the power brokers. “They knew everything the king knew,” said Rick Atkins, co-founder of Jester Promotions LLC, a specialty advertising company. That’s the know-how Atkins said he brings to the table: up-to-the-minute knowledge about the latest trends in promotional activities and where his clients can get the best price for their items. He toyed with naming the…

Franchise program gives veterans a break: Marine Reserve colonel taps VetFran initiative to open lighting business

After resorting to a home-equity loan to finance the roughly $100,000 he needed to open an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise, Karl Lundberg still fell short of cash. But, fortunately for Lundberg, a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, the North Carolina-based company honors the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, known as VetFran. The program, reintroduced almost three years ago by the International Franchise Association and supported by the Office of Veterans Affairs, gives financial breaks to veterans wanting to purchase…

INVESTING: Markets seem to hold bears at bay as bulls run ahead

As this rally hums right along, let’s check under the hood to make sure there aren’t any gremlins lurking that will eat all our profits. We can look at this as a diagnostic check for you engineering types. The sell-off that began in early January for the NASDAQ and in March for the rest of the market bottomed out in mid- to late April, with a mild retest that finished on May 8. This correction brought the major indexes down…

TAWN PARENT Commentary: This is no time for Hoosier hysteria

Some big decisions this spring have not made me particularly proud to be a Hoosier or a resident of Indianapolis. Sure, we got funding for a new stadium and a convention center expansion. That will bring more visitors to our community, and it says we care about sports and tourism. And glory hallelujah! We finally got daylight-saving time, the economic benefits of which are unproven. That says we care about being like everyone else, whether it makes any sense or…

Phone-system expert answers entrepreneurial call: Via savvy marketing, she turned her knowledge of telecommunications into a thriving consulting business

When Barb Grothe said goodbye to her paycheck and job security 19 years ago, she was just a little scared and wondered, “Now what do I do?” She had office space for her new telecommunications consulting company, Telecom Resources, and 15 years of experience, but no clients. So she went about making herself known: she wrote articles for magazines, newspapers and journals (including IBJ) and scheduled speaking engagements. Almost each venture produced new clients, and Grothe was on her way….

Community banks struggle with regulatory demands: Sarbanes-Oxley, Banking Security Act prove costly

Who can blame small community banks for feeling boxed in? “The world has changed,” said Jerry Engle, president and CEO of Greenwoodbased First Bank. “I guess we’ll have to get used to it.” Far and away, it’s the increasing cost of regulatory compliance that keeps community bankers tossing and turning at night. In recent months, the Independent Community Bankers of America, a small-bank advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., has stepped up its ongoing campaign against additional regulation by asking…

BULLS & BEARS: What’s seen as wisdom is financial pornography

In 1995, Jane Bryant Quinn wrote an article in Newsweek titled “The Big Tease” and used the term “financial pornography” to describe magazine headlines we have all seen. Headlines like: “Ten Mutual Funds to Buy Now” “Surefire Oil Stocks” “Five Stocks to Own for Your LIFE” “How to Profit from $100 Oil” One of the definitions of pornography in Webster’s is “the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.” Replace the…

City to land more aircraft mechanics: Lease calls for Republic to add 186 jobs

Republic Airways Holdings plans to add nearly 200 aircraft maintenance jobs at Indianapolis International Airport, based on employment projections in a lease the carrier recently signed for a new hangar. The Indianapolis-based regional carrier that employs 114 mechanics here “agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve average employment of 300 full-time Indiana resident employees at the facility … at an average salary of $18 per hour during the first year,” states a lease signed April 15 with the Indianapolis…

Shrinkage a growing problem: Manufacturers seek ways to stem product losses

The U.S. manufacturing industry has begun rebounding from its economic swoon, but some industry experts think more manufacturers must become more efficient and eliminate waste if they are to compete in the current global climate. While the Manufacturers Alliance, an Arlington, Va.-based business and public policy research group, projected manufacturing growth of 3.4 percent this year and 3 percent in 2006, big challenges remain. One growing problem is the so-called shrinkage factor, defined in manufacturing as the percentage by which…

SPORTS: ‘Our’ future extends beyond Marion County line

NOBLESVILLE-That Gov. Mitch Daniels, aboard his RV-1, was caught in the daily late-afternoon I-69, State Road 37 traffic snarl and was a half-hour late for his Hamilton County town meeting here last week represented a theme of his presentation. We are no longer a city, but a region. With that in mind, Our Man Mitch has been venturing to the counties contiguous to Marion, pitching the pending 1-percent food and beverage tax that will supply a small-emphasis on small, an…

Trouble brewing at Market Square: Confidence wanes as partners bail

Deciding who will build and pay for a new sports stadium and expanded convention center has drawn plenty of scrutiny in recent months, diverting attention from the redevelopment struggle in our midst: the so-far illfated attempt to erect housing and retail space at the former Market Square Arena site. Though the stadium drama is yet to play out on the west side of downtown, it’s time for some answers regarding this high-stakes east-side project. The project team picked by the…

Employers, workers dip toes in vanpool concept: Commuter service pushes cost savings, tax breaks to lure first riders

Six months after launching a carpooling and bus-riding effort, Central Indiana Commuter Services is still trying to convince the city’s car-cozy commuters to get aboard its vanpooling program. The first CICS van has yet to roll people to and from work, even as 553 people have begun to carpool and 1,251 others wait to be matched with other carpoolers. Instead, the vans have been motoring to office parks as part of a road show to win over employers and workers….

INVESTING: With oil prices sky high, Hoosier ethanol knows no limit

Oil prices are acting stubborn by staying above $50 a barrel. Our economy is adjusting to these high gas prices, but every consumer in America would like to see some kind of solution. In August, Congress is expected to vote on an energy bill that has some quences for us. The mainstream media will spend most of the time talking about the drilling rights in Alaska, but there is a shorter-term and higher-impact portion of the bill that can offer…