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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: An open letter to the commercial lending community

Dear lenders: Perhaps you have seen the recent headlines that declared suburban Indianapolis among the best places in the country to live and raise a family. Perhaps you’ve also taken note that there are a lot of things happening in our communities. Big projects abound in the Indi anapolis area, including Lucas Oil Stadium and the Midfield Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. People are so excited about the new stadium they lined up for hours trying to get a tour…

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Strip centers feeling sting of housing market slump: Developers cutting back on new retail projects

Those ubiquitous retail strip centers are beginning to wither under a housing slump that has cast a dark cloud over much of the U.S economy. Heavily dependent on new-home construction, strip-center developments have been hurt by tough residential real estate conditions that have spread into the commercial arena and dampened retail activity. Nationally, the volume of strip-center investment transactions is down 77 percent from a year ago, according to a June commercial report from the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors….

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Murky motive adds intrigue to Old National loan saga

In the buttoneddown world of banking, it doesn’t get much stranger than this: An Indianapolis loan officer with a strong reputation is suddenly dismissed after his employer charges he falsified lending documents. The bank says the fraud exposes it to potential losses approaching $20 million. And here’s the kicker: The employer hasn’t accused the banker of committing the wrongdoing for personal gain. There are no allegations, for instance, of setting up fictitious borrowers to scoop up bank cash on his…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Will people pay more for better care?

It was dark and I was feeling anxious about getting this column out on time. Then there was a tap at the sliding door to the deck. It was an apparition, a ghost, a figure all in white out of a 19th-century novel. But the tap was real. I opened the door and recognized her. “Nellie,” I said, “what are you doing out here at this hour?” Yes, it was Nellie, the Nervous Nurse, who lives close by. “My frog…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: An open letter to the commercial lending community

Dear lenders: Perhaps you have seen the recent headlines that declared suburban Indianapolis among the best places in the country to live and raise a family. Perhaps you’ve also taken note that there are a lot of things happening in our communities. Big projects abound in the Indi anapolis area, including Lucas Oil Stadium and the Midfield Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport. People are so excited about the new stadium they lined up for hours trying to get a tour…

Read More

Strip centers feeling sting of housing market slump: Developers cutting back on new retail projects

Those ubiquitous retail strip centers are beginning to wither under a housing slump that has cast a dark cloud over much of the U.S economy. Heavily dependent on new-home construction, strip-center developments have been hurt by tough residential real estate conditions that have spread into the commercial arena and dampened retail activity. Nationally, the volume of strip-center investment transactions is down 77 percent from a year ago, according to a June commercial report from the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors….

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why the resurgence of railroads will help drive state

I have two friends who are train fanatics of the worst kind. These guys aren’t just dazzled by the sight of a large train; they furtively seek them out. One friend has made it his life’s ambition to ride every rail line in Great Britain. The other scours eBay for rail schedules from the 19th century. Both of these wonderful men have exceptionally tolerant wives. I am a bit concerned my 4-year-old is turning into one of these creatures. He…

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Back to school in hard times

Colleges and universities tend to see enrollment boom when the economy goes south, and this down cycle appears
to be little different.

Indiana University, Ivy Tech Community College and the University of Indianapolis all have announced in recent
weeks that enrollments…

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Do you demand a 401(k)?

Corporations are boosting 401(k) plans even as they abandon traditional pension plans.

Workers are getting automatic enrollment, more investment options and greater contributions from employers.

Employees want 401(k)s, and theyâ??re good for business, companies say. In fact, companies without 401(k)s…

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Creating opportunities in tough times: Tightening economy requires ‘patchworking’ sources of income

Women aren’t leaving the work force to stay home with their kids-they’re being forced out in equal numbers with men. That’s the word from “Equality in Job Loss: Women are Increasingly Vulnerable to Layoffs During Recessions,” a congressional report released July 21. Often women who face job losses decide to forego the job hunt and opt instead for selfemployment, the report said. Might this job downturn trigger a boom in entrepreneurship for women? Not if they don’t already have the…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why Indiana’s AAA bond rating should please all of us

Sometimes, obscure economic issues matter a great deal to our economic well-being. One example is the news that Indiana’s bond rankings have risen to the highest level, the highly coveted AAA ranking from Standard and Poor’s. Why that happened, what it means and why it is important should matter to Hoosiers. To begin with, all states, like virtually all households, borrow money to ease cash flow issues. States also borrow money to make infrastructure investments. The government essentially takes out…

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Commentary: Energy woes need quick, lasting fix

Last month, the front page of The Wall Street Journal featured 25-yearold Saeed Khouri, who paid at auction the equivalent of $14 million of our increasingly worthless American dollars for a license plate bearing “1.” His cousin, Talal Khouri, threw in $9 million in pocket change for tag “5” to tool around Abu Dhabi in his Rolls Royce. Get this, the Khouris declined to be interviewed because they didn’t want to be the center of attention. I am not particularly…

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Indiana’s entrepreneurial hotspots

If youâ??re an entrepreneur, or dream of one day becoming one, which place in the state offers the best
opportunity?

Are you a fan of fast-growing exurbs like Fishers? If youâ??re into medical startups, is the best spot on
the downtown…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: News from the front lines: More tough times ahead

The past 12 months have been hard to take, with all the gloom-anddoom headlines about the weak housing market, subprime credit crisis and softening economy. We’re all ready for some good news. Unfortunately, I can’t provide it here. That’s because executives on the front lines of Indiana business-those most tuned in to the twists and turns of the state’s economy-aren’t ready to call a turnaround yet. In second-quarter conference calls with analysts, the executives are trumpeting their firms’ ability to…

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Racquet Club Pro Shop continues record growth: Team sales pushing specialty retailer’s expansion

In the midst of a down economy and tepid interest in tennis, the only problem the Indianapolis Racquet Club Pro Shop has is where to expand next. Pushed by double-digit-percentage sales growth in nine of the last 12 years, the IRC Pro Shop has expanded from a 750-square-foot shoebox to become an industry giant in the specialty tennis category. Most tennis club pro shops are breakeven operations, but IRC officials said they have seen profit grow each of the last…

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Commentary: Please copy this column

(In deference to ’60s radical Abbie Hoffman and his 1971 cult paperback “Steal This Book,” I hereby relinquish our copyright to this column and give you permission to copy it. I’ll tell you what to do with it later.) Silly me, I thought Mitch Daniels had really shaken things up and done a great job in his first four years as governor. To hear his Democratic opponents in the upcoming election tell it, you’d think he had provided uninspired leadership…

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Hotels feeling travel slump: City occupany rates fall, but downtown operators performing well this year thanks to convention biz

Staggeringly high gasoline prices and a sputtering economy are preventing scores of would-be travelers from packing up their thirsty sport-utility vehicles and heading to their favorite vacation destinations. Nationwide, hotel occupancy rates slipped to 68 percent through June of this year, down from 71 percent the same time last year, according to the most recent data from Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research. For the most part, local hotel operators are feeling the same pain. Through the first six months of the…

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Hummer buyers are back

Gas prices have been up for quite a while now, so are buyers of the H2 Hummer, the king of sport-utility
vehicles, pulling back?

Not as much as one might think, says Corey Lockhart, Hummer general manager at Lockhart Hummer in…

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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…

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