HICKS: Four recommendations for your reading list
Though I am no slave to fashion, summertime is a long occasion for the reading of good books.
Banking & Finance
Articles
Shelbyville man sentenced for ripping off employer
John K. Branam was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling $1.6 million over four years from
King’s Title & Abstract Co.in Shelbyville.
Indiana’s biggest private companies majored in the basics in 2009
Health care, plastics, other fundamental consumer needs kept some companies on upswings.
Auction to sell items from former money manager
The court-ordered auction includes a motorboat, jet ski and a $30,000 diamond ring, as well as a motorcycle that Marcus Schrenker
used to flee police.
Deadline approaching for mortgage lenders to pass exam
Lenders must pass the test by July 1, or their licenses will be revoked. So far, just 58 percent of more than 1,000 in the
state
have passed.
Whopping dividend puts obscure oil refiner in spotlight
The financial underpinnings for the current quarterly dividend—45.5 cents per share—seem less than sturdy.
SKARBECK: Municipal bond defaults might be next crisis
for decades, politicians have regularly boosted public pension benefits to score election gains, while neglecting the long-term costs to municipal budgets. Now the bills are coming due.
HICKS: Derivatives don’t deserve their scary reputation
One major part of the legislation will target derivatives. This is an arena where the financial services industry does itself
no good from a public relations sense.
For PNC, there’s much riding on smooth transition
Pittsburgh-based bank starts converting former National City operations in central Indiana to its brand this weekend. But
any snags could create
opportunities for competitors to pounce on customers.
Miller brothers who shared in fortune fighting over $3 million
J. Irwin Miller’s two sons have been battling for years over who should have paid expenses on the wealthy Columbus family’s
homes and businesses, but their fight isn’t about the money—especially after they inherited at least $20 million
apiece.
EnerDel’s potential luring backers despite steep losses
The parent of locally based lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel is putting together hundreds of millions of dollars in financing
to fund a business plan that could bring revenue to nearly $1 billion within five years.
HAUKE: Bad news doesn’t yet apply to stock market
Here are the facts. Summer doesn’t turn into winter without going through fall. The same is true with the transition between
bull and bear markets.
HICKS: State both good, bad in human-capital game
Suppose we lived in a perfectly flat world that is a vast, featureless plain of identical square counties.
City Securities rebounds quickly from recession
Indiana’s oldest and largest investment banking firm expects its revenue to increase 20 percent to 25 percent this year.
Indiana Seed Fund nearing end of $6 million stash
Having invested in 10 companies since 2005 and with its $6 million pot of money running low, the Indiana Seed Fund is nearing
a crossroads.
Grameen Bank might open here, providing small loans that add up
Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning financial institution that developed the concept of life-changing
micro loans for the poor, is contemplating opening its third U.S. branch in Indianapolis.
SKARBECK: Why do Fannie, Freddie deserve a free pass?
One crisis that continues to simmer under the public radar is the endless taxpayer support needed to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Private companies struggle to raise funds once reaching critical mass
Several Indiana companies are in a position, or soon will be, to launch an initial public offering. But don’t expect a wave
of new Indiana public companies. In the recession, with both revenue and profits down, companies may choose to wait until
they have better numbers to report.
Battered banks don’t see light at end of tunnel
Credit problems continue to bedevil banks big and small, many of them caused by soured commercial real estate loans.
Stocks plummet on economic worries
The Dow Jones industrials plunged below 10,000 Tuesday as traders turned away from stocks amid worries about the global economy
and tensions between North and South Korea.