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Checking credit status set to get easier: New law lets consumers obtain 3 free reports each year, implements changes to help fight identification theft

Aging medical bills that fell off the radar screen, unused bank accounts that were never closed and continue to rack up monthly fees, or an erroneous charge placed on the report by mistake all can wreak havoc on consumers’ plans. Beginning in March, however, a law signed by President Bush in December 2003 will make it easier for Indiana residents to keep closer tabs on those credit reports and head off troubles at the pass. The Fair and Accurate Credit…

Trucking firm to roll out own software product: Hoosier Tradewinds targets driver shortage

Carmel trucking line Hoosier Tradewinds Inc. plans to deliver an unusual product-its own software company. Tradewinds Technologies will offer an intranet portal product trucking firms can use to track everything from delivery status to driver revenue. The company will break ground by the end of next month on an 8,000-squarefoot facility at U.S. 31 and 236th Street. It also will house new corporate offices for Hoosier Tradewinds. The TIRES portal, short for Tradewinds Information Resource, will be marketed partly as…

GERALD BEPKO Commentary: State should help insurance industry grow

GERALD BEPKO Commentary State should help insurance industry grow Everyone seems to agree that state governments must facilitate job growth and wealth creation. As pioneers in publicprivate partnerships, Indiana’s leaders have envisioned a future for Indiana that includes many partnership economi c – d eve l o p m e n t strategies. One reflection of this vision is the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership-led focus on key sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, logistics and life sciences. The priority associated with…

Hospital grades hit Web: State says data is helpful, but should be used carefully by health care consumers

Everything from the number of services performed to the number of complaints received is covered by the new hospital consumer reports section on the department’s Web site. Health Department officials say they’ve wanted to post this information for some time to give patients a way to make more informed choices about where to seek treatment. However, the people who post the numbers and others in health care caution that the data offers only a slice of insight. Starting late last…

INVESTING: Keeping an eye out for the next great chief executive

A client’s question recently struck me as a great thing to think about in the new year. The client wondered who would be the next Warren Buffett or Sandy Weill. The stock market exists to provide capital for industry, and in turn industry has to provide an acceptable rate of return on that capital. On a historical basis, we can easily measure the rate of return for any public company and anyone running a public company. Hence the question of…

Lilly maintains focus on its pharmaceuticals: Drugmaker has no plans to replicate J&J’s diversity

Johnson & Johnson loves to profit from a balanced product line, and it has competitor Eli Lilly and Co. to thank-in a roundabout way-for its latest bit of leverage. New Jersey-based J&J plans to expand its medical device business by buying Guidant Corp., which Lilly created and then spun off in the early 1990s. J&J leaders think the proposed, $25.4 billion deal will create better balance among a line of businesses that has been led by pharmaceuticals, which made up…

She makes live TV readable for the hearing impaired: Former court reporter transferred her skills to broadcast captioning, which she does from her home studio

If you’ve ever hit the mute button on your TV, you’ve probably seen the closed-captioning text at the bottom of the screen that’s provided primarily for the hearing impaired. For live TV shows, someone’s fingers have to fly on a stenotype machine to produce those captions. The National Court Reporters Association estimates there are only about 500 people in the country who can do that, and Susie Wollenweber is one of them. Working from her Indianapolis basement, Wollenweber provides broadcast…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Consumer confidence is tricky economic indicator

We’ve see it on television almost every day, it seems. Within seconds of a dramatic event-winning a race, scoring a touchdown, or finding a lost child-the central figure is asked by an eager reporter, “How do you feel?” As an economist, I am generally squirming in my chair at this point. Not because economists have no feelings-we actually do even if we tend to express them using graphs and equations. Rather, it is because we believe the best way to…

Dems hope for some strategic input: Indiana Economic Development Council completes state plan, but it could get lost in switch

For months, Jackie Nytes has been developing a strategy for statewide economic development. It comes off the presses this week. But the inauguration of Mitch Daniels leaves her wondering whether anyone will ever read it-let alone act on its recommendations. Nytes, a Democratic member of the City-County Council, serves as president of the Indiana Economic Development Council Inc. Daniels, the Republican governor-elect, is folding all state economic development efforts into the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The corporation, a public-private partnership,…

Regulators probe Galyan’s trades: Investigation reason for leave of absence for McDonald stockbroker Dave Knall

Securities regulators are investigating allegations of insider trading in Galyan’s Trading Co. stock before the company’s sale to Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. last summer, IBJ has learned. Sources said those under scrutiny include star Indianapolis stockbroker Dave Knall and his son James, who worked with his father at a McDonald Investments office on 96th Street in Indianapolis. Dave Knall, 60, one of the nation’s top-producing stockbrokers, has been on a voluntarily leave of absence from McDonald since Dec. 3. The…

Tax-law changes push investment: Congress raises contribution limits to savings plans, allowing workers to stash away more for retirement

While any serious debate over whether to privatize Social Security could turn messy, the message from federal lawmakers regarding your personal retirement plans is crystal clear. The advice coming from Washington, financial planners say, is to stash away as much as you can, because it may get tougher to make it on a monthly government allowance with an uncertain future. Evident again in this year’s changes to the tax law, which has become friendlier since a 2001 makeover, are across-theboard…

BULLS & BEARS: Looking long-term is key to tasting market’s fruits

If you follow the stock market and are like most people, you can’t help but be sucked in to the short-term mentality vortex. The financial channels and newspapers all focus on short-term, smallpicture events. You can’t fault them, though, since it’s their job. The big mistake many folks make is using too much of the short-term, smallpicture information to make long-term, big-picture decisions. Your mom warned you against making “snap decisions” or “rushing to judgment.” Today, largely due to the…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Avoid Florida-like snags on stadium

NAPLES, Fla.-As I entered the state of Florida yesterday, I remembered that just about a year ago I was at a meeting in South Miami where Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was holding court on economic development efforts. His pride and joy was a deal to bring the Scripps Research Institute to Palm Beach County on the state’s east coast. I wrote a column about it in our Feb. 9, 2004, issue. Bush and his team had lured the highly regarded…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Talking over the Internet may be your answer

Some technologies are born inefficient, some achieve inefficiency, and some have inefficiency thrust upon them. Your computer, for example, is horribly inefficient, in an engineering sense. It sits and does nothing most of the day. It wasn’t born inefficient. It can be hooked to other computers to maximize its downtime, if you like. But your telephone is another matter. It’s intrinsically inefficient, and not just because it isn’t in use most of the time. It’s also because when you’re on…

Republic Airways vulnerable to USAirways’ demise: But regional airline likely to grab biz from other carriers

The possible liquidation of US Airways, a fate perhaps sealed by an employee sickout last month that infuriated passengers, threatens to cause a financial fever at Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings. Twice-bankrupt US Airways is Republic’s largest customer, amounting to 43 percent of its operating revenue on Sept. 30. Regional carrier Republic flies Embraer jets for US Airways and three other carriers out of Indianapolis and other cities in the eastern United States. Industry observers say US Airways’ baggage handlers may…

SPORTS: Behind the scenes with the city’s sports machine

For more than 30 years, I arrived at sporting events focusing primarily on the outcome, searching for a good angle, collecting a few quotes, and hoping to beat deadline. The only times I ever really noticed the staging of an event was to complain about it. I had a bad seat at the press table … or the final box score was too slow in arriving … or there weren’t enough telephones … or, the sorriest gripe of all, the…

Services of local plastics recycler sought after: Butler-MacDonald builds foundation for growth

The company that recycles high-resin plastic like the kind found in computers was attractive to other cities, but the two decades it spent developing a skilled work force and market here made cutting its roots difficult. Instead of moving across state lines, Butler-MacDonald last month moved across Park 100. Though the 80,000-square-foot facility is only 1,000 square feet larger than its former home, the new configuration allowed for nearly $1 million worth of upgrades in machinery and infrastructure. “We were…

Wal-Mart nears deal on city’s northwest side: Neighbors hope retail behemoth will revive corridor

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is said to be getting closer to selecting a site in the Lafayette Square area for a SuperCenter, a move retail experts say would be a boost for the struggling commercial corridor. The world’s largest retailer has scouted the area around 38th Street and Lafayette Road for at least a year, but a decision on a site could happen in the next few months, according to several real estate sources. Unlike the situation surrounding a proposed SuperCenter…

Major sewer system renovations await federal approval: With waste pouring into White River almost every time it rains, Indianapolis is in dire need of sewage overhaul

The city’s long-term plan to prevent the flow of raw sewage into White River and its tributaries should receive federal approval soon, nearly five years after Mayor Bart Peterson introduced a proposal to fix the antiquated system. City officials expect to receive permission from the Environmental Protection Agency in April to proceed with a plan to construct tunnels, underground storage tanks and new sewers to capture raw sewage that would otherwise overflow into waterways during heavy rains. Peterson presented his…

Replicating race cars of the past: Westfield firm plans to sell Ford GT40 reproductions

An upstart Westfield company’s reproduction of the 1966 Ford GT40 Mk1 race car turns heads wherever it goes. Whether it’s on the highway or in a showroom, people can’t help but gaze at the sleek, retro roadster built to emulate the original that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans races nearly 40 years ago. It dethroned Italian automaker Ferrari at the 1966 event, finishing first, second and third, and went on to win the race four consecutive times. Executives…