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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why the arguments against free trade don’t hold water

Americans are in a tough spot when it comes to negotiating free trade agreements. With the exception of a small Scandinavian country and a couple of European principalities, everyone we trade with has lower wages, weaker environmental standards, and less personal liberty. So it is easy to argue that we shouldn’t trade with a country until it becomes like us. This is the siren song of economic catastrophe. Here’s why. First, countries don’t trade with each other; people do. The…

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Wheeler Mission backers to kick off fund drive: Push to address building needs, ease financial strain

In February, Indianapolis’ Wheeler Mission Ministries cut non-residential programming to stave off a budget shortfall as donations flat-lined and more homeless people came through its doors. Now the mission is facing more tough times, projecting as much as a $500,000 shortfall for the fiscal year that begins June 1. To help close the gap, supporters are kicking off Operation Restoration, a fund drive they hope will raise $11 million to help the mission expand, pay building debts, and build a…

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EYE ON THE PIE: We need more leaders like this guy

A friend and I were having lunch. We were talking about an old issue: the lack of leadership in the state. Both of us agreed that Mitch Daniels has been doing a good job in following through on what he promised, whether or not folks liked it. But we were hard-pressed to find other examples of civic or political leadership. I suspect our problem may have been one of age. We’re guys who have been around for the past four…

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Commentary: We manage traffic Rube Goldberg-style

Rube Goldberg was an engineer by training who rose to prominence not for his engineering skills but for his political cartoons, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. Goldberg was also famous for his cartoons that depicted whimsical machines with complex mechanisms to perform simple tasks. Goldberg’s fantastic contraptions served as an inspiration for the annual Rube Goldberg competitions held at colleges, universities and high schools across the country. In years past, students have been required to develop…

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INVESTING: Political shift could turn ethanol boom into bust

If the price of corn keeps going higher, the best investment any of us could make would be to turn our lawns into cornfields. Before we do that, though, we would need to buy farm equipment and fertilizer to get the field ready. After we grow the stuff, we would have to transport it to a processing plant and turn it into ethanol. Then, we would need to ship the ethanol to the refinery where it would get mixed in…

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Clean Wave hopes to invest $100M in alternative energy, sustainable technologies

A former Silicon Valley sales executive and a Cincinnati investment manager have formed a venture fund here that’s trying
to raise $100 million to invest in the new darlings of the investment world: clean technology firms. Clean Wave Ventures founders
Scott Prince and Rick Kieser are banking on soaring energy costs attracting investors to the risky but potentially lucrative
realm of alternative energy and transportation and related fields.

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Branson bailing out of ethanol?

British entrepreneur Richard Branson has unloaded a company thatâ??s building two ethanol plants in the U.S.,
including one near Fort Wayne.

In an interview with Fortune magazine during the peak of ethanol optimism in early 2006, Branson said industry…

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Ex-food chief: Crops for fuel is OK

In his five years as executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Jim Morris saw global
hunger from an uncomfortably close vantage point.

So, one might expect him to criticize the idea of turning corn and soybeans into alternative…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: VC investment will help Indiana through any recession

In 2002, Indiana ranked an anemic 37th among all states in the amount of total venture capital investment. That year, California had 41 times the investment of Indiana on the basis of per dollar of gross state product. Indeed, few local entrepreneurs or finance professionals could identify more than a couple of Indiana-based VC funds. Few national venture funds even visited Indiana companies as they flew over the Hoosier state on their way between the coasts. As I learned while…

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Turnaround specialists in demand: Economy creating opportunities for Periculum Capital, other firms

Even storm clouds have silver linings, if you know where to look. Likewise, even a slowing economy has market opportunities, for those who can adjust. Economists haven’t agreed yet about whether the U.S. economy has slipped into recession. But Indianapolisbased investment banking firm Periculum Capital Co. LLC isn’t waiting for the official call. Known since 1998 for its expertise in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, Periculum is beefing up its expertise in business restructuring. “Most people who build businesses…

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Have Colts already outgrown new stadium?: Team has long waiting lists for suites, season tickets

Escalating demand for corporate entertainment space during Indianapolis Colts home games has team owner Jim Irsay wondering whether Lucas Oil Stadium should have been built with more luxury suites. “Quite frankly, I wish we built 30 or 40 more suites,” Irsay told IBJ during a recent interview. There’s good reason to think the Colts have outgrown the stadium-even though it’s still four months from completion. The Colts long ago sold all 142 suites for the venue, and have a waiting…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Locally based oil refiner sees boom times vanish

Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP, the low-profile Indianapolis-based oil refiner, has been confronting challenges lately that would fray the nerves of even the most seasoned executive. First, the business is grappling with a huge spike in crude oil prices-the main input for its three Louisiana refineries, which churn out vehicle and jet fuel, along with solvents, waxes and other specialty petroleum products. Then there’s the delay-plagued expansion of its Shreveport refinery, which began in late 2006. The project was supposed…

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Commentary: Do we need a disaster to wake us up?

About 20,000 historic properties were damaged in the storm, and Gay, executive director of Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, has led the charge to save them. “We never felt like throwing up our hands,” Gay said. “We don’t do that.” The Preservation Resource Center contacted owners of the nearly 4,000 historic properties that were condemned after the hurricane. About 600 of them have been spared to date. The PRC also has been helping review the planned demolition of buildings…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Making green make sense in a competitive market

Day after day, the news seems filled with stories of disruptive credit markets, an economy teetering on recession, and increasing energy costs. As business professionals grapple with such issues daily, why would commercial real estate professionals consider the time and effort to “go green”? Historically, green initiatives suffered in part from stereotypical “tree-hugger” false perceptions. Such perceptions may lead people to believe that green investments simply aren’t worth it. The truth? The real focus has always been the efficient use…

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Former Duke retail executive ready for first solo project: Schembre preparing to break ground on $15M Lawrence Commons

A former Duke Realty Corp. executive who hung up her own shingle last year is close to breaking ground on her first project. Cindy Schembre, 49, launched Via Retail Development LLC in January 2007 and is negotiating with tenants and closing on the purchase of 11 acres at 56th Street and Mitthoeffer Road. The $15 million project, known as Lawrence Commons, is an 80,000-square-foot neighborhood center that is slated to break ground in June. The development includes a 45,000-square-foot anchor…

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Soaring cost of gas makes ethanol blend more competitive

Prices of an alternative fuel that’s had patriotic and environmental appeal–but not an economic one for motorists–have been
flirting this month with gasoline on an energy-equivalent cost basis. The sudden but often fleeting price appeal of fuel “E85,”
a blend of ethanol with a dash of gasoline, is due largely to gas prices soaring to nearly $4 a gallon.

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: There is no better time to think about going global

A weak dollar. Lost jobs. Liquidity challenges. These and other perceived barriers tend to unfortunately mute short-term considerations for Indiana businesses thinking about international expansion. The reality? Globalization of U.S. businesses is alive and well, and proceeding at a breakneck pace. In fact, America and the world remain embroiled in likely the greatest commercial transformation since the Industrial Revolution with the full integration of U.S. markets in an open era of innovation and productivity. How does this play out in…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Creating a safety culture can benefit the bottom line

When then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani hired David Gunn to direct the New York City subway system, he knew Gunn would be unorthodox in his approach to fighting crime. While many encouraged Gunn to use traditional lawenforcement tactics, he saw fit to clean up the subway’s crime problem by literally cleaning up the trains. Day after day for six years, the graffiti artists painted their “art” on the sides of the trains, and day after day Gunn had the graffiti cleaned off…

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SPORTS: Free throws, future Final Fours remain important

Thoughts about this, that and the other after a much-delayed return (yes, my bride and I were among the thousands caught in the American Airlines travel fiasco) from San Antonio for the Final Four. I’ve related this story before-possibly in this space-so if I’m repeating myself, I apologize. I’m taking the chance that, if I don’t remember, you don’t either. In my driveway, I have one of those adjustable-height basketball goals. Years ago, several of the local neighborhood kids would…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Why is home ownership a big deal?

Housing remains one of our most domestic industries. The labor used to build the houses themselves is still local. Products we put into our homes (furnaces, plumbing, appliances, etc.) are still primarily made in the United States from domestic parts. All that is changing. More and more work is being done off-site and more of the components installed have foreign origins. Now, without our thinking about it, the financing of our homes has become an article of international trade. Once…

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