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Mortgage industry under more scrutiny: Tougher rules don’t include yield-spread premiums

A housing crunch resulting from a flood of foreclosures has cast the spotlight on the deceptive practices that cause borrowers-particularly those with weak credit-to unknowingly pay more than necessary for a mortgage. The Federal Reserve earlier this month unanimously approved new lending rules in an attempt to tighten standards and prevent another such crisis. The changes will apply to all mortgage lenders and take effect Oct. 1, 2009. In the subprime category, a lender will have to assess a borrower’s…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: State’s new mortgage law is regulation gone awry

Indiana is known as a state possessed of thoughtful and minimalist regulatory constraint of business. That’s why a littleknown law enacted in 2007, which further regulates mortgage brokers, should come as a shock to many Hoosiers. As of July 1, when the law became effective, roughly 600 Indiana mortgage brokers (perhaps 1/10th of 1 percent of all small businesses in the state) were out of compliance. When a one-month extension granted by Secretary of State Todd Rokita expires next month,…

Pearson Partners recovers from HHGregg loss: Agency gains new clients, projects 20-percent growth

Ron Pearson said business at his Indianapolis-based advertising agency over the last year has been “stellar.” Exaggeration or not, any growth at Pearson Partners is a 180-degree reversal from the dire situation the firm faced just a year ago. In April 2007, Pearson’s firm-then called Pearson McMahon Fletcher England-lost its biggest client, HHGregg. Last summer, Pearson cut nearly half its work force, paring the agency down to about 20 employees in the wake of losing the $20-million-plus account. Pearson’s capitalized…

SPORTS: NASCAR: Good for the city, not so fun to watch

Depending upon when IBJ lands in your hands, the 15th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will be either coming to or going from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So let’s talk racin’. Let me begin by saying how pleased I am that Tony George took that giant leap in 1994 and welcomed NASCAR to the hallowed openwheel grounds of IMS. By most accounts, the Brickyard 400 instantly became the second-most-coveted prize on the NASCAR circuit and it has remained in that…

Commentary: Every office should have a defibrillator

Tim Russert died last month at age 58. He was Washington bureau chief for NBC and the moderator of “Meet the Press.” His physician, Michael Newman, described the cause of death as coronary thrombosis-sudden cardiac arrest. Russert’s untimely death was possibly preventable. We can learn something here that may save lives at our businesses. Russert had been diagnosed with asymptomatic coronary artery disease that he controlled with medication and exercise. According to Newman, his stress test in April was normal….

Going mobile: Local executive carves niche as national expert on fast-growing banking-industry technology trend

Move over home computer, the more nimble mobile phone and competing handheld devices have taken the helm as the hippest ways to conduct banking business online. What’s more, an Indianapolis banking executive is at the forefront of the mobile-banking information movement and is promoting the benefits on a blog he created that is attracting scores of new viewers each month from around the world. Brandon McGee, 34, may keep bankers’ hours at the downtown office of the Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington…

Airport parking strategy might cut garage rates while still boosting revenue

Busy touting restaurants, artwork and other luxuries of the $1.1 billion midfield terminal, the Indianapolis Airport Authority
is still grappling with a few details arguably more important to passengers. Among them: How much will it cost to park? The
answer might be among the more surprising aspects of midfield. Officials are considering slashing rates
for the 5,900-space successor to Indianapolis International’s existing 1,776-space garage.

INVESTING: High pay for failed CEOs adds insult to injury

Labor Department figures show that average annual family incomes in the United States, adjusted for inflation, have grown just 0.8 percent since the end of 2001. On the other hand, executive pay and severance pay for fired CEOs has skyrocketed. At the very least, the average family shareholder deserves a thank you. Surely if you are a shareholder of AIG, you expect a kind word from ex-CEO Martin Sullivan who left in June with a $47 million severance package-despite AIG’s…

A&E: Booker blitzes downtown

It is likely that “Chakaia Booker: Mass Transit,” the 10-piece exhibition running through April 1, will invite a greater negative reaction than the two previous public art shows that dotted downtown. Unlike Tom Otterness-with his rounded smileys masking money-is-evil messages-and Julian Opie-many of whose “Signs” could have served as, well, signs-Booker creates work that is abstract, defiant and unpolished. The pieces-constructed from tires-aren’t pretty, they aren’t funny, they aren’t slick and they don’t seem aimed to please. As such, they…

EYE ON THE PIE: Don’t blame financial woes on others

A brief rain shower moves across the Front Range onto Colorado Springs. The clouds change their patterns rapidly above Pikes Peak and I sip my coffee at a Starbucks that is unlikely to close. Here, not far from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a brief drive from the U.S Olympic Training Center, the volume of cash passing hourly is heavy enough to ensure that the cappuccino soy latte and the mint mocha frappuccino will continue to be drawn for months,…

NOTIONS: Bless the blogosphere, all praise social networking

A few months ago, after considerable cajoling, my friend Erik convinced me to join yet another online social network. This one’s called Smaller Indiana. It bills itself as “making people and ideas findable.” So now, in addition to being “LinkedIn” with a few hundred of my friends and colleagues past and present, and in addition to being what BusinessWeek calls a “fogey on Facebook,” I’m also a Smoosier-the moniker for Smaller Indiana members. No sooner had I become a Smoosier…

Pitch-Perfect Price: Digonex Technologies’ software helps retailers profit from demand

Is every song downloaded from iTunes really worth 99 cents? Indianapolis-based Digonex Technologies doesn’t think so, and it has developed a computer program using some complicated algorithms to prove it. The company’s software compiles sales data and re-prices items for online sales, allowing merchants to maximize profits by adjusting prices up or down based on demand. Consumers don’t notice a difference. “What we’re doing is a big idea,” said Digonex CEO Jan Eglen, 65. “Most of the [pricing systems] you…

Bear market near an end, local stock broker says:

Several indicators suggest the bear market in stocks is over and greener pastures lie ahead, an Indianapolis broker says. Kevin Schmidt, executive vice president of the private client group at City Securities Corp., said most of the bad news has emerged from the housing, airline and finance debacles, which suggests investor sentiment will begin to turn positive. “Psychologically, we are in a funk,” Schmidt said. “It’s not as bad as everybody thinks. The overreaction to the negative has happened.” Schmidt…

Government officials dangle incentives, attracting firms across county lines

Marion County economic development officials are proud of their latest headquarters attraction. Bowen Engineering Corp.
will inject 103 high-paying jobs into the Indianapolis economy immediately. And over time, the company expects
to add another 138. Their average salaries will top $70,000. The deal didn’t require Mayor Greg Ballard
to travel to Japan, or even to another state. Bowen Engineering is moving all of 8.4 miles, from its former
home in Fishers to the 8800 block of North Meridian Street.

EDITORIAL: Bulldozing history shouldn’t be easy: Ivy Tech should keep its promise

Bulldozing history shouldn’t be easy Ivy Tech should keep its promise Ivy Tech Community College says it is continuing to seek feedback from the public about how best to redevelop the old St. Vincent Hospital property just north of downtown, but it already has an architect’s drawing of what could replace the neoclassical structure built in 1912. Does that mean Ivy Tech’s leaders have their minds made up about the property’s future? We hope not. The city turned over the…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Former Carmel exec goes from fast lane to jail cell

Just a few years ago, Carmel businessman Edward Okun was living the high life. By last year, his personal holdings had grown to include four mansions, a helicopter, three airplanes, 20 automobiles, and a 130-foot yacht. Today, Okun is in a Virginia jail, is represented by a public defender, and faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars. And, angry investors say, rightfully so. They charge-and government investigators agree-that Okun financed his lavish lifestyle by misappropriating…

WellPoint expected to look for growth overseas

WellPoint Inc., the most dominant health insurer in the United States, registers as barely a pipsqueak in the rest of the
world. But it’s only a matter of time, say industry experts, before WellPoint plunges into foreign markets to grow sales of
its health benefits and services.

Bank-run scenes create concerns: IndyMac situation unlikely in Indiana, but customers should check out stability of their banks, experts warn

It was a scary scene, reminiscent of the Great Depression: Customers lined up outside California’s IndyMac Bank branches to withdraw deposits after a bank run led to the bank’s failure. The images have driven some central Indiana customers-businesses and individuals-to take a more critical look at the strength of their banks and the safety of their deposits. Even as financial stocks rallied in mid-July, the risk remains for more bank failures. Dismal earnings reports and massive write-downs continued in recent…

I-465 widening may require buyout of several buildings

Several landmark commercial properties fronting Interstate 465 on the northeast side could be in the path of bulldozers
when the state begins adding lanes as early as 2012. Memos prepared by a consulting firm to the Indiana
Department of Transportation go as far as estimating acquisition prices for buildings, including that of
country station WFMS-FM 95.5 and other Cumulus Media stations at 6810 N. Shadeland Ave.

VIEWPOINT: Let’s bring government into this century

In the early 1970s, employees at Xerox Corp. developed a breakthrough version of the desktop personal computer called the Xerox Alto. The innovation was quickly shelved by the company-everyone knew there was no market for a personal computer! It was later licensed to Steve Jobs along with a few other “orphan technologies” for $1 million in stock in his young company, Apple. The rest, as they say, is history. Xerox is still a solid company, valued at $17 billion. Of…