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Right time for REITs?: Some predict beaten-down sector is ready for another winning streak

For seven years, real estate investment trusts delivered returns that clobbered the overall stock market. Then, last year, the winning streak came to an end. Between January 2007 and January 2008, REITs as a whole lost 24 percent of their value. An index of the companies took a bigger hit than most every other sector. Among local REITs, Duke Realty Corp. was the hardest hit, with its stock price falling 44 percent, from about $41 to $23, during the one-year…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Study exposes unfortunate work-force realities

For more than a half-century, we have built complex statistical models to attempt to explain why regions enjoy different levels of prosperity. Virtually every conceivable variable-from ethno-linguistic similarity indexes to existing natural resources to government structures-have been tried, with the models proving enormously successful. One critical insight in this extensive body of research is that human capital-the quality of a labor force-yields the strongest explanation for differences in prosperity. When we apply these models to the United States, the importance…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Primaries and prudence demand attention

Today-not tomorrow or next week, but now-is the moment to get involved in improving your life and the lives of your family and neighbors. Don’t delay. All you need do is both of two simple things. First, find out who is running in the primary election on May 6 for the Indiana House of Representatives and Senate from your district. Yes, the national news media have told us that our Indiana primary may be meaningless. They are referring to the…

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Business journalists and recession

Forbes Publisher Rich Karlgaard thinks business journalists are stirring up recession talk.

In a column this week with a takeout headlined â??Business press incompetence and fear,â?? Karlgaard advises against
believing everything one reads.

Hereâ??s what he writes:

â??Want to know the truth about…

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Contrasting United Way, Wheeler

Businesses and their employees opened pockets last year to enable United Way of Central Indiana to hit a
record $39 million in contributions.

The not-for-profit attributed the good news to hustle by campaign co-chairmen who offered money from their…

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Do you feel poorer?

Inflation is speeding up and wage growth is slowing down, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said this
morning.

Blame rising oil prices for the inflation and the slowing economy for the sluggish wage growth, says the
Economic Policy Institute, a…

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Affordable housing…again

Indianapolis is now the most affordable large market in which to buy a house 10 quarters running.

Thatâ??s according to an index the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo put out this afternoon.
In the past quarter, 46.6 percent…

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Fear grips donors to charity

Wheeler Mission Ministries broke the unsettling news yesterday that it is laying off 13 staff and shifting
its ministries for youth and families to another charity in order to minimize an anticipated operating deficit.

Why? Donors are worried about…

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Is film tax break a bad idea?

Gov. Mitch Daniels had sharp words for legislators after they finished overriding his veto of tax breaks
for the film industry.

â??Itâ??s truly an irresponsible decision, and I canâ??t imagine what they were thinking,â?? he fired off in a statement
yesterday.

Are…

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Kentucky as gambling competitor

The developing story in Kentucky about its new governorâ??s attempt to legalize casinos isnâ??t getting a lot
of play in Indianapolis, but the fallout could be huge if he succeeds.

Steve Beshear wants a dozen casinos to try to stop gamblers…

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Commentary: A story we all should heed

Last month, Brightpoint Inc. Chairman and CEO Bob Laikin was honored with Indiana University’s Distinguished Entrepreneurs-In-Residence Award. If the selection committee was looking for an executive with pluck, it chose well. The IU Kelley School of Business hosts the Distinguished Entrepreneurs-In-Residence program to inspire students and help them learn about the challenges of starting or expanding an emerging business. Laikin’s tumultuous and exciting journey left the students as dizzy as a day-long ride on the Kings Island Beast. Laikin founded…

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Uphill battle ahead: State poses tough test for new enviro leader

By the time Jesse Kharbanda earned a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford, the University of Chicago student already knew he wanted to advocate environmental policies in the developing world, someday. Eight years later, some might say Kharbanda has landed in the developing world, all right-Indiana, insofar as it’s considered the backwater of environmental stewardship. One might recall the state’s 49thplace ranking in a 2007 review of “greenest” states by Forbes magazine. Only West Virginia-a national leader in illiteracy-scored worse….

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Commentary: Indiana needs social entrepreneurship

In the Middle Ages, the French coined a new word that today we would identify as “undertake.” Around 1828, this old French word, “entreprendre” was absorbed into the English language and after some use and m o d i fi c a t i o n s became a word we recognize and vener ate in our society today … entrepreneur. As a nation founded and populated by men and women who risked life and fortune to reach our shores,…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: The right time for climate change may finally be here

While the world’s political climate is heating up, its economic climate is cooling down. Meanwhile, the real climate is finally getting the attention it really deserves, as the “tipping point” has been reached. Green is everywhere these days. New York Times For homes that no longer grow in value. If the personal consumption rates in China rose to the levels of the United States, annual oil consumption in the world would go up more than 100 percent! Oil consumption in…

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Seeking your take on the markets

You IBJ readers are a wealthy lot. Our latest survey, taken in September of last year, shows that you had
a $170,700 median household income and the median value of your investments came to $679,700.

Three of four had corporate stocks…

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Retiring baby boomers create openings for new grads

Students donning caps and gowns this May will find jobs aplenty, college career officers and others say. Some industries–like
health care, accounting, engineering, computer science and sales–are more flush with jobs than others. But students receiving
liberal arts degrees also are in high demand because of their well-rounded education.

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Technology park could boost area’s biomedical efforts: First phase of Purdue project, featuring accelerator building for up to 25 startups, should be finished this year

The park is expected to be a major amenity for the area’s growing biomedical economic development efforts. Purdue Research Foundation paid $2.5 million in June to purchase a half-interest in 78 acres at AmeriPlex industrial park. The university ultimately anticipates filling it with as many as 75 businesses and 1,500 jobs. AmeriPlex owner Holladay Properties, a South Bend developer of industrial parks, owns the other half of the site. Dubbed Purdue Accelerator Park at AmeriPlex-Indianapolis, the project is intended to…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: From economic perspective, immigration bill misguided

Few issues garner as much vitriol as the debate over illegal immigration. The dimensions of the debate are wide-ranging, but as with most aspects of public policy, they are heavily influenced by economic issues. Indiana has embarked on an immigration debate, so a bit of economics might be helpful. First, according to the most reliable recent data, Indiana is underrepresented by illegal immigrants compared with neighboring states. I have seen estimates of immigrants in Indiana of between 45,000 to more…

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Adding to the life science corridor

For years, dreamers have envisioned a life sciences crescent stretching from West Lafayette down Interstate
65 to Indianapolis, then along State Road 37 to Bloomington.

The thinking was, this corridor would take advantage of Indiana and Purdue universities and IUPUI as…

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Are these incentives a good deal?

Gov. Mitch Daniels dished out $6.3 million in incentives as part of Defender Directâ??s expansion announcement
yesterday. But was the carrot a good deal for us taxpayers?

Defender Direct, which sells home security and satellite dish systems, plans to add 1,100…

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