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BEHIND THE NEWS: Mergers may shake up Simon’s department-store mix Last supper

Big changes are brewing at the department-store chains that anchor Simon Property Group Inc.’s shopping malls in Indianapolis and across the nation. That may be good news for the company’s strong malls but bad news for its weak ones. The Wall Street Journal says Cincinnatibased Federated Department Stores Inc., parent of Lazarus-Macy’s, has rekindled negotiations to buy St. Louis-based May Department Stores, the underperforming parent of L.S. Ayres. Such a deal would be the latest in a string of shakeups…

Clarian’s capabilities keep Combine here: Medical services lure NFL officials, owners back to Indy

When Mayor Bart Peterson announced in December plans to build a new stadium for the Indianapolis Colts, he mentioned as a side note the $600 million facility would help retain the National Football League Scouting Combine. The mayor’s pronouncement is no side note to Clarian Health Partners, the hospital system that handles all the athlete medical testing for the four-day Combine, which runs this year through March 1. “We were told by Clarian officials this event adds $1 million to…

CLOUD OF CONTROVERSY: Suburbs might follow city’s lead Backers: Tough Indy ban would sway others

The City-County Council’s handling of a proposed smoking ban has implications well beyond Indianapolis, to neighbors poised to adopt their own laws but watching the outcome in the state’s most populous city. If Indianapolis doesn’t enact a smoking ban, or adopts one that’s politically unpalatable to neighboring cities and counties, those communities might adopt a confusing variety of laws, observers on both sides of the debate say. They say a lack of uniformity could even spawn a migration of bar…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Are traditional pension plans an endangered species?

Defined benefit plans, or pension plans as they are more commonly known, were a core component of the benefits provided by blue chip employers until the 1980s. About 40 percent of all American workers were covered by these plans. Under such plans, employees are guar anteed monthly retirement checks for life based upon their compensation, years of service and other factors. Recently, however, the use of pension plans has dropped dramatically. In 2003, only 20 percent of the work force…

Alliance seeks to grow survey: Employers coalition wants companies to get more information about insurers

An employer’s coalition has launched a plan to expand what Indiana companies know about the health care insurance they buy for their workers. Earlier this month, the Indiana Employers Quality Health Alliance mailed invitations to several insurers asking them to participate in their 2005 eValue8 performance assessment. The concept is nothing new. However, this year, alliance President Dr. Ned Lamkin hopes more insurers respond and their ensuing report reaches a wider audience of employers, right before they choose their health…

INVESTING: Big investors make Time Warner, Comcast look good

Two weeks ago, I was talking to one of my analysts and he brought up a couple of stocks he thought could be really interesting over the next 12 months. Remember, I am a technician and not a fundamental analyst, and the analysts I trust are all technical guys. He said these two stocks showed solid bottoming formations on their charts in the fall, which could lead to solid gains in the next year. When he mentioned the names, I…

EYE ON THE PIE: Cities and counties need autonomy

A recent week took me to Anderson, Columbus, Sullivan, Terre Haute, Crawfordsville and Merrillville. Here are a few observations: Terre Haute’s Chamber of Commerce proudly proclaims that Vigo County is collecting income taxes from Sullivan County residents who work in Vigo County. At the same time, the Sullivan County Council cannot decide if it wants to collect those taxes for itself. The Chamber rightly declares that such funds are helping Vigo County’s economic development. The Sullivan County Council doesn’t seem…

FAMILY BUSINESS: Consider having lawyer audit your business Small doses of advice from all of the professionals you consult with can prevent serious problems in the future

Many family business owners view their lawyer as a necessary evil. It’s almost as though we carry some deadly disease; call your lawyer only when the life of your business depends on it! But just as physicians have learned to control smallpox with small doses of vac cine, administered over time, the owners of a family business can also use regular doses of lawyers and other advisers to minimize the risks of the many problems that can put your business…

Hub taps seasoned leader: New maintenance facility manager can fly ’em, fix ’em and land ’em

One could learn a lot about Frederick L. Kocher just by the classified ad he took out in Barnstormers.comto sell his 1966 Mooney M20C airplane. Only an engineer would bother to list brand names and model numbers of its landing light and intercom system. Only a certified airframe/power plant mechanic would document cylinder compression readings of the Lycoming engine. And only a salesman would end the ad with, “EVERYTHING WORKS!” Kocher’s mix of professional qualifications, and 30-plus years in the…

Radio Slayer?: The 3.6-ounce iPod could become a 500-pound gorilla

The 3.6-ounce iPod could become a 500-pound gorilla Radio’s death knell has tolled before. In the 1950s, television was supposed to kill radio. And in the last 30 years, there have been a cavalcade of challengers from cassette tapes and Walkmans to compact discs and portable disc players. Even though a record $20 billion was spent nationally in radio advertising in 2004, a new predator on the landscape has the potential to take a serious bite out of the industry’s lifeblood….

STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Daniels seeks to keep bills going

The first week of March marks the General Assembly’s deadlines for passage of legislation in its chamber of origination. Senate bills must clear the Senate by March 1 and House bills must be approved by the House of Representatives by March 4 to maintain the chance to become law. Those deadlines meant the end of February was hectic. Activity reached a frenzied level as lawmakers worked both publicly and behind the scenes to make sure their favored pieces of legislation…

Johnson County gets major gated community: Development planned next to The Legends golf course

Johnson County is set to get its first major gated housing development, and The Legends of Indiana golf course-coowned by former Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight-should reap a much-needed financial boost. Construction on the $35 million project on 35 acres in Franklin is set to begin this spring. The project, consisting of 144 homes and condominiums, will be constructed between the front nine and the back nine of The Legends’ Jim Fasiodesigned championship course. There will be 38 single-family…

Mortgage industry waking up to fraud: Collaboration increasing to combat illegal schemes Flipped out

When the U.S. Attorney’s Office in late January announced a 101-count indictment in a mortgage fraud scheme, it closed a year-long investigation into a ring that involved 10 people and 43 houses in Indianapolis, Marion and Fairmount. For the individuals involved, the indictments could bring prison time and hefty fines. But for the bank that loaned money on the houses, the scheme signaled the end of the road. The lender, Louisville-based First Bank Inc., struggled during 2003 and 2004 to…

Supporters predict passage of waiver bill: Measure would allow uninsured to sign up for health care policies that exclude some pre-existing conditions

Indiana is one of only a few states in which individuals cannot agree to waive coverage for pre-existing conditions in order to get at least some type of health insurance. That could change this year, however. Dueling bills in front of the Legislature have passed out of the House and Senate and are being considered by the opposite chamber. Rep. Gerald Torr, R-Carmel, authored one of the measures and is confident some form of his legislation will pass. The object…

BULLS & BEARS: Rebalancing a portfolio requires careful thought

To finish the examination of asset allocation practices in the investment industry, consider the strategy called “portfolio rebalancing.” To refresh the understanding of asset allocation, think of an investment portfolio as being depicted by a pie chart. The various slices of the pie represent the percentage of the portfolio (money) an investor has allocated to each asset class. Examples of asset classes include largecompany stocks, small companies, international stocks, real estate investment trusts and fixed-income instruments. An adviser may recommend…

SPORTS:

After spending much of his adult life with a stopwatch, Duke Babb knows something about time. In this case, it’s his. Having just turned 70, he says it is time to get off this “great ride” through football he’s been on the past 50 years. Time to let someone else tend to this behemoth he’s created, which is popularly known as the NFL scouting combine. Time to still have the energy to “kick the dog a little bit.” That’s figurative…

VIEWPOINT: Get ready for big-time public art

As president of Central Indiana Community Foundation, I get challenged by a lot of people who have a lot of questions. “Why can’t we have some of the cool stuff other cities have, like major public art?” a CEO of a public company asked me the other day. This time I was pleased to be able to answer not only that we can, but that we will. The Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, with generous support from the Deborah Joy Simon…

INDOT chief’s changes altered contract decision: Insider alleges Nicol favored Kernan contributor

Former Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol changed official recommendations of INDOT’s design division, according to an INDOT source, a move that sent millions of dollars of work to major contributors to former Gov. Joe Kernan’s campaign. Two days after last fall’s election, INDOT consultant services manager Jeffrey Clanton said he was ordered by then-commissioner Nicol to make a number of changes to a July 29, 2004, selection list. On seven of the 24 different projects on the…

St. Vincent buys land near Lafayette for hospital: Market has long intrigued Indianapolis-based network

St. Vincent Health paid Arnett Health-System $3 million to $4 million for land Arnett owned along Interstate 65 in Tippecanoe County, said Rebecca Carl, Arnett vice president for marketing and communications. The two sides closed the deal in mid-February. Lafayette-based Arnett includes a health care plan and a physician group of 150 doctors, and covers a 14-county area centered on Lafayette. Its leaders want another hospital there even though Lafayette already has two, Home Hospital and St. Elizabeth Medical Center….

Bill keeps mandate debate swirling: Biz community favors stripped-down option

Small-business owner Gail Piltz, who is paying 31 percent more this year than he did a year ago to insure himself and his four employees, has a somewhat radical philosophy regarding health care insurance. His suggestion: Everyone should be responsible for his or her own health care plan, just like they are with their automobile and homeowner’s insurance. That way, he said, people might abuse the system less and make coverage more affordable. Piltz’s proposition has failed to gain traction…