Many of you who read this column know I do a number of things to make a living. I host the morning radio show at WXNT-AM 1430, practice law, write this column, teach at the University of Indianapolis and Ivy Tech Community College, act, perform stand- and most recently started doing commentary at WRTV Channel 6. I make a pretty good living and, with the exception of my son, who inherited his adopted father’s bad spending habits, I don’t do…
Almost overnight, the nation’s lending climate has tightened dramatically, and the timing couldn’t be worse for two Indianapolis companies. A pair of private equity firms are trying to line up billions of dollars in debt financing to complete their $5.6 billion purchase of locally based Allison Transmission from General Motors Corp. Meanwhile, locally based Finish Line Inc. plans to rely on debt to pay nearly the entire cost of its $1.5 billion acquisition of Tennessee-based Genesco Inc. Those deals still…
The region’s largest consumer advocacy group is trying to counter efforts by Indiana car dealers who want to water down higher fuel economy standards passed by the U.S. Senate. Citizens Action Coalition has been rallying its base to pressure the Indiana delegation to stand behind aggressive fuel economy targets that would require a carmaker’s fleet to average 35 miles per gallon by 2018. With gas supplies pinched and prices relatively high,”this is a very current and important issue,” said Dave…
From selling shark tooth necklaces to his neighbors during summer vacations in Florida to running an online auction site that benefits charities, he’s no stranger to the hard work that comes with starting a business. “I’m interested in new things and looking into new things,” said Gough, who is among a burgeoning group of young entrepreneurs not content to work for others. They’d rather strike out on their own. In fact, nearly 71 percent of the 1,474 youth who participated…
LESSONS LEARNED PAUL KNAPP CEO, Young & Laramore ‘Shoot for the Stars ‘ Paul Knapp isn’t one to declare victory. Nor is he eager to toot his own horn. But even he has to admit that something’s working at Young & Laramore. The Indianapolis advertising agency Knapp leads has a stable of national accounts, is opening a satellite office in Canada, and has projected capitalized billings in 2007 will hit $80 million. So what’s the secret of its success? Y&L’s…
“Things that can’t go on forever don’t.” If those famous words of the otherwise obscure Nixon-era economic adviser Herbert Stein apply to anything, it is health care spending. Most of us recognize that health care is expensive, breaking the budgets of many households, pressuring businesses and even challenging the spending capacity of giant federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid. What is less clear is why this is so, and what can, or should, be done about it. We spent more…
Al Smith of Chase Bank doesn’t know Patricia Wells, but he is glad he was able to help the Indianapolis mother of five, if only indirectly. Wells closed on the purchase of a house on East Washington Street three months ago, thanks in no small part to two programs of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, a two-decade-old not-for-profit that has helped hundreds of families realize the American Dream of homeownership. “I’m a single mother with five kids and I didn’t…
Five leaders of Indiana’s life sciences industry offered their perspectives at the Indiana Convention Center June 26 as part of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series. The panelists: Mike Arpey, managing director of global investment bank Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division and manager of the $73 million Indiana Future Fund for BioCrossroads, the state’s life sciences economicdevelopment initiative. Ron Ellis, co-founder, president and CEO of Lafayettebased Endocyte Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of cancer through receptor-targeted…
The nightstand clock reads 5:17. Too early to wake up. But hey, I’ve been tossing and turning for hours, so why lie here any longer, pretending? The cause for this night’s insomnia is money. Money for two kids starting college. Money to replace the Money to paint the house. Money for employees’ salaries. Money for employees’ parking. Money for employees’ retirement. Money for employees’ health insurance. Money for their families’ health insurance. Money to get the yellow highway paint off…
Indiana needs a trip to the doctor-and a stern lecture when we get there. We’re among the nation’s unhealthiest states. More than one of every four Hoosiers is obese, and we rank among the 10 worst states for smoking and high cholesterol. The outcomes should come put more stress on the system and drive up prices and premiums for everyone. Gov. Daniels has signed a progressive bill that provides affordable health insurance with a medical savings account plan to Hoosiers…
Anchor Lou Dobbs of CNN is a pest to some folks and a hero for others. His recurring economic message laments a view of U.S. workers losing out as companies send jobs overseas. Dobbs’ critics, of course, cite his convenient omission of the many interna tional companies that invest in U.S. communities through new manufacturing plants, research facilities and other initiatives. Love the debate or detest it, but consider this: Hasn’t Dobbs helped stir a discussion about how the new…
Regenstrief Institute continues to fine-tune a medical-records system that many think could someday become a national model The Regenstrief Institute is a racing team. Only instead of drivers and grease monkeys, the Indianapolis-based medical research group has doctors and computer geeks. And instead of a race car, Regenstrief runs a massive computer database with 35 years of medical records from Indianapolis-area patients. But Regenstrief’s mission is still all about speed. The not-for-profit is driving to discover better ways to care…
Al Qaeda is threatening Iran-saying that if the country does not stop supporting Shiites in Iraq within two months, it will suffer terrorist attacks. In addition, Al Qaeda has called for a jihad against Shiite Muslims across the world. With the blessing of the U.S. government, the Shiites are in charge of Iraq now. Iraqi Shiites are receiving arms and support from Iran, a nation the United States has long called evil. We dislike Iran and are at war with…
The rise in property taxes and a doubling of the Marion County income tax have residents steaming. Yet as IBJ columnist Ron Gifford noted in his column last week, you can argue about which taxes legislators should increase-whether on property, income or sales-but the fact is that governments need more revenue, and, therefore, a variety of taxes are rising. Paying tax is not the most pleasant of human endeavors. However, in a capitalistic society, taxes are necessary and, when applied…
I thought it was a joke. You know, like, “How is a sneeze like a drum solo?” And the answer would be something like, “You know it’s going to happen, but you’re powerless to stop it.” So here it is, straight: How is business technology like the invention of electricity? But it’s not a joke. It’s an article in Slate magazine online (www.slate.com/id/2167909/). That article opens with a bit of surprising history. Electricity was widely available starting in the late…
My wife, Cheri, and I live in one of those newfangled, don’tstray-from-the-mainstream neighborhoods. It’s governed by wellmeaning “covenants and restrictions.” It has “architectural control guidelines.” These documents were formulated by a “development control committee” to “enhance the value and appearance of the community.” (We’re especially concerned with the “value” part, until our property-tax bills arrive, at which point we protest the assessed value.) Included among the controls in our neighborhood is a color palette. I imagine some designer back in…
The seed of the next bear market might have just been planted, and what better place than right here in the Crossroads of America. A seed is a tiny and innocent thing. But one tiny seed from a destructive weed can ruin an entire garden. A little background for those who don’t live in Indianapolis (or for those who do but don’t follow local politics): For years, there has been a gaping hole in the promised retirement benefits for retired…
Goodnews serves up economic and business reports about Indiana. Recently, I read his draft press release: “Indiana’s personal income rose to $211.1 billion in the first quarter of 2007. That is an increase of $8.2 billion, more than 4 percent in the past year.” “Is that it?” I asked. “Those are the latest facts from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,” he said. “Anything else would be putting a spin on the basic truth.” “Goodie,” I said, using his nickname,…
It wasn’t long ago that writing an economic analysis column meant-surprise-that you analyzed the ups and downs of the economy. And if you came of age in the 1960s and ’70s, there were plenty of ups and downs to keep track of. Volatility in just about everything was higher then, with strikes, inflation and more frequent recessions the order of the day. And even though that environment has changed remarkably since the mid-’80s, the habit of peering at the data…
Almost five years ago, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, was passed in haste, largely in response to the large-scale securities frauds and market dislocations surrounding Worldcom, Enron and other large accounting scandals involving public firms. It imposed new federalized standards for internal controls, corporate governance, accounting independence and review, whistle-blowing and legal review. It represented the most important change to the federal securities laws since the passage of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of…
