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BEHIND THE NEWS: For trio of high-profile firms, turnarounds remain elusive

It’s like a recurring nightmare. Quarter after quarter, three of Indianapolis’ most prominent companies report weak results, and their stocks slide lower and lower. How can Emmis Communications Corp., The Finish Line Inc. and The Steak n Shake Co. reverse their downward swoon? It’s a question of great urgency, given that the stocks of all three have slid deep into the cellar. Emmis now fetches $2.79 a share, 96 percent below its 1999 high. Finish Line goes for $1.66, 93…

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Has housing hit bottom?

F.C. Tucker Co. put out a release today saying the Indianapolis-area housing market stabilized last year.

Somehow, a 9.9-percent decline in sales and 2.1-percent drop in selling price doesnâ??t sound so stable.

Tucker President Jim Litten points out that the region still…

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Bud Wolf Chevrolet a goner

The Wolf family has thrown in the towel on its Chevrolet dealership at 5350 N. Keystone Ave.

One of the owners, Andy Wolf, says the closing was forced because property tax increases shocked customers
into pulling back from spending. Another reason…

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Home team vs. the Internet

Itâ??s been a tough couple of years in Bloomington for Roberts Distributors, the well-known Indianapolis supply
house for cameras and other photography equipment. So tough that the Bloomington store is closing.

Bruce Pallman, the second generation running Roberts, said the location…

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Does loss damage Colts brand?

Yesterdayâ??s frustrating loss by the Indianapolis Colts to San Diego was hard to take for fans whoâ??d pulled
for the team through an otherwise remarkable season.

Now Tony Dungy might finally follow through on years of ruminations about putting a bookend…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Indiana being stamped with wrong image

Blessed be our friends at the U.S. Postal Service. They do a great job of collecting and distributing the mail. They face strong competition from private carriers and from the Internet, but they continue to serve the public well. Then, too, USPS always looks for new ways to honor America and Americans through the issuance of new stamps. If a particular series catches on, they can make a pretty penny by selling stamps that are never used. That’s why USPS…

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Few stocks avoid effect of housing, banking woes: Wall Street pessimism spreading across industries

Nineteen central Indiana companies have seen their stock prices fall more than one-quarter from the 52-week highs-a plunge that largely reflects pessimism over the strength of the economy. The pullback has hammered some of the top-performing Hoosier companies in recent years, including shopping mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. (off $46 a share, or 38 percent) and school operator ITT Educational Services Inc. (off $52, or 39 percent). Former highfliers often take the biggest tumble when investor sentiment turns bearish….

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Mortgages are getting cheap

Mortgage rates are falling. This week, rates on 30-year mortgages slipped below 6 percent for the first time
in more than two years.

Are the cheaper rates putting you in a mood to refinance or step up to that house youâ??ve…

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Will oil really hit $200?

Bloomberg carried a story today saying some of the hottest oil investments are options on the New York Mercantile
Exchange to buy oil for $200 a barrel. Presumably at least some investors think oil prices are going to
double.

Weâ??ve already…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Those fearing China’s economic prowess miss the point

Fear of China is a staple of protectionist rhetoric. Concern about China’s emergent power comes from the formerly thoughtful broadcasters from CNN, the presidential primary trail, the Pentagon and, of course, the blogosphere. What really is China’s economic role, and what do we have to fear? China’s billion souls, strategic location, emergent market economy and long history of tyranny make it an interesting, and now quite dynamic, area of study. China’s economy looks to be a powerful engine of growth,…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Change economy to raise incomes

My holiday gift was the latest quarterly data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Santa put them in my e-mail box and I played with them when not attending to ritual family matters. Yes, personalincome numbers for all the states right up to the third quarter of 2007. Oh, joy; oh, ecstasy-feeding my lascivious quantitative desires. And what did I find? Over the past year, the third quarter of 2006 to the same quarter of 2007, Indiana has ranked…

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Commentary: Good luck to Mayor Ballard

Mayor Greg Ballard has less than a week under his belt of taking on a city that is both on a roll and full of challenges. It’s an exciting time to be mayor. An unknown commodity, Ballard has some big shoes to fill with little experience in government to help him out. (Note to self: That’s not necessarily a bad thing.) Indianapolis has been blessed with strong leadership for the last 40 years, beginning in 1968 with Republican Richard Lugar,…

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VIEWPOINT: The trouble with public schools: Too public

The problem with public education is that it has become too “public.” Back in the days when boards of education possessed all power over construction of school facilities, a few boards around the state were far too eager to build elaborate educational and athletic palaces when functionally and technically efficient classrooms were all that were really needed. The outrage from a handful of property taxpayers finally reached the Statehouse. (The outcry over a proposed football facility in the Carmel-Clay School…

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INVESTING: Weak sectors could have broader effect on economy

We all know that the hip bone is connected to, well, you know how it goes. But a lot of people seem to be missing the point that the same principles controlling that biology are an active force in the markets and economy. All the brilliant economists out there are telling us what we already plainly know-finance and consumer-related sectors are weak. There isn’t enough talk about the next connection, though, or how a cancer spreads from one body part…

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THE TRAVELING LIFE: Genghis Khan slept-and was admired-here

Before we landed at the Genghis Khan Airport, checked into the Genghis Khan Hotel, and drank Genghis Khan beer, everything we had heard about the most famous Mongol of all time was negative. But that changed when we visited Mongolia in September. You might wonder what nice things could be said about a guy who conquered more territory in 25 years than the Romans did in 400? Well, the people we encountered perceived him as a combination of George Washington,…

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INVESTING: Look to battered sectors for bargain investments

This was a puzzling year for investors. It began with ample lowcost money available to borrowers and record-low volatility across markets. It will end with a credit crunch hobbling financial firms and a market punctuated by volatile spurts. And yet despite this significant shift in market character, the major averages will end the year with modest positive gains. The year began with a sort of benign complacency for investors, as stocks had been on a smooth upward trajectory since the…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Indiana’s economy: The fundamentals are in place

Predicting the size and scope of economic activity for the nation, state and region is one of the more important roles played by university economists. But 2008 is the kind of year that really tests economic forecasting. The Bureau of Business Research just released its forecasts for Indiana and two regional labor markets. In total, we examined eight different data series and have stressed the performance of net employment and wages. Our forecast is fairly optimistic. We predict job growth…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why state’s job growth is better than neighbors’

For the past week or so, I have been flooded by phone calls from colleagues in Illinois and Michigan, chortling over a new marketing campaign launched by Hoosiers. The privately financed billboards and radio spots ask businesses and residents whether they are tired of high taxes and unresponsive government. If so, they are invited to “Come on IN” to Indiana. It’s high-order fun this holiday season. Indiana sits as a small island of growth in the Midwest, and it is…

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Economy surged over summer but is losing momentum as year ends:

WASHINGTON – The economy sprinted ahead at its fastest pace in four years during the summer, although it is expected to limp through the final three months of this year as the housing and credit debacles weigh on individuals and businesses alike. The Commerce Department reported Dec. 20 that gross domestic product grew at a 4.9 percent pace in the July-to-September quarter, unchanged from an estimate made a month ago. The performance was especially impressive given that the housing market…

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