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INVESTING: Weaker dollar could be a major step back for America

Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned recently, and President Bush picked Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson to replace him. When Snow took the job, there was rampant talk that he favored a weak dollar policy, and the same buzz is now surrounding Paulson. I am not sure the talk is warranted, but I know a weak dollar policy is insane. John Snow’s official line on the dollar has been to let the market work it out. He accused China of intentionally…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Let’s tax phone, Internet, TV usage

Felicity Futenmouth and I went to graduate school together. Her career in economics focused on consumer services provided by such first-class firms as MegaMedia, MegaMarkets and MegaMercenaries. We became reacquainted lately at our class’s 35th reunion. Over a nightcap of hot chocolate and biscuits, she enticed me with a coy question: “How do you feel about local taxes?” “I am all for them,” I responded. “If you don’t have local taxes, you don’t have a strong claim on the responsibility…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: RFID security not as secure as you think it is

I work in a building that makes me use a cardkey to get into the building’s back stairway. I can’t even use a physical key. I must use the card I was issued. I fumble for the thing every morning. One morning, to my astonishment, I noticed that if I pushed hard enough on the door as I opened it, it would hit the end of its travel and thereafter stand open by itself. The first person through in the…

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VIEWPOINT: To be a logistics leader, state needs a plan

Indiana is poised to become the country’s logistics center. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion on that topic. Now is the time for business, government and education to come together and make it happen. SupplyNet 2006-the recent statewide conference that brought together not only transportation, distribution and logistics industries, but also representatives from manufacturing, retail, information technology, government and academia-detailed the broader picture of supplychain management. As a cutting-edge business strategy, supply-chain management integrates internal and external logistics…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IUPUI grads help tsunami victims

Many parents today fret over their kids’ obsession with computers, video games and the Internet. “All he does is sit at that stupid computer.” If I heard that once, I’ve heard it a million times. But sometimes, when young people’s passion for the digital frontier intersects with compassion for their fellow man, great things can happen. Such is the case with Chris Podell and Zachary Shields, two recent graduates of the new media and arts program at the IUPUI School…

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Artery severed, but life goes on TOM HARTON Commentary:

Jane Jacobs, the noted urbanist, fought a battle in the late 1960s that prevented a freeway from wiping out the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan. Tom Battista, a local entrepreneur, is fighting-and some would say winning-the battle that becomes necessary when a freeway does wipe out a neighborhood. When Jacobs died last month she was famous for two things: her book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” written in 1961, which eloquently stated the need for diversity, density and…

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BOOK REVIEWS: “Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces with Customers”

Customers got their first inkling 25 years ago when ATM machines were introduced. Another hint came along 10 years later when voice mail arrived. The trickle of computerized customer-service inter actions became a flood as we started using devices like parking-garage ticket machines, airline ticket kiosks, telephone voice trees and self-service checkouts for groceries and library books. Internet transactions such as online shopping, banking and purchasing movie tickets also entered the scene. Interacting with these “smart technologies,” which seemed odd…

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Suit puts One Call on hold: Firm placed in receivership as lender seeks $21 million

One Call Communications has been placed in receivership, a day after a lender for its 2002 management buyout filed a lawsuit alleging the Carmel long-distance and operator-services company owes it more than $21 million. The May 11 lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis by Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank appears to be the knockout blow for a telecommunications firm accused by several states of violating consumer protection laws in billing and collection practices. Also looming is a proposed $1.1 million fine…

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ATA reorg a bonanza for lawyers, financial firms: Court still must decide whether to approve $21 million in fees and expenses sought in case so far

Lawyers and other professionals have asked for more than $21 million in fees and expenses for their work on ATA Holdings Corp.’s reorganization, in what appears to be the most expensive case ever in U.S. District Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. But fees and expenses might rise to $33 million after a handful of remaining professional firms file their claims by the end of this month, said James Carr, a veteran Baker & Daniels attorney who quarterbacked…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Improving state’s economy requires a team approach

More than 50 years ago, the famous economist Joseph Schumpeter told a simple story that perfectly captured the essence of market capitalism. It’s a turn-of-the-century tale of a railroad being built in a part of the country where none had existed. The new investment rapidly upsets the order of everything-once ideally situated towns are left high and dry, while others move up in stature as they exploit newfound advantages. It’s messy and it’s painful, but the result is for the…

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Money manager launches own firm: Former SBK-Brooks exec opens Liger Securities

If David B. Girton isn’t already regarded as an innovator in the local investment brokerage community, he should be now. The 45-year-old Indianapolis native is in the process of launching Liger Securities Corp., the only locally owned black investment firm in the city. But 10 years ago, he accomplished a similar first, when he opened the local office of Cleveland-based SBK-Brooks Investment Corp., then the only black-operated brokerage here. Make no mistake, though, Girton’s credentials far outweigh his designation as…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Writers require clarity or risk calamity

Last night, I had a dream. I was standing on the ledge of a tall building. People down below were shouting, “Jump!” They were angry because they thought I misrepresented the various and diverse meal-delivery programs in Indiana in my column last week. One woman was yelling, “You’re trying to take away my job!” “No,” I tried to explain. I was just saying that such programs should be coordinated better and that no oversight agency exists to monitor not-for-profit agencies….

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Daniels seeks to copy key-clusters strategy: Industry initiatives would mimic BioCrossroads plan

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, BioCrossroads has been vindicated. Gov. Mitch Daniels hopes to see a series of similar industry initiatives sprout around key clusters in Indiana’s economy. He envisions parallel initiatives for manufacturing, transportation and logistics and a series of other crucial business sectors. “We’d love some company,” said BioCrossroads CEO David Johnson. As outlined in Daniels’ “Accelerating Growth” economic development plan released last month, the initiatives would be based on proven Indiana strengths and identifiable…

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Selling change at Lilly: Company overhauls strategy its thousands of sales reps use to tout drugs to doctors

Eli Lilly and Co. is rolling out a new approach to selling drugs, one that aims to build deeper relationships with doctors while cutting the number of sales reps knocking on their office door. The reorganization project, dubbed “sales force of the future,” is just what the doctor ordered, according to Lilly executives. They say physicians want fewer sales calls and a deeper knowledge base from those who still stop by. “Doctors want that primarily because they’re treating patients and…

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Smaller banks seeking relief: Legislation takes on costly regulatory costs

German American Bancorp in Jasper has spent more than $1 million the past two years complying with the stringent accounting provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The cost alone is reason enough for the community bank’s president and CEO, Mark Schroeder, to support a measure exempting smaller public companies such as his from Section 404 of the act. He even traveled to Washington, D.C., May 3 to testify in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee. “Ultimately, this…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Now we have a plan-let’s use it

For years, Indiana politicians-at least the smart ones-have talked about the importance of economic growth and development, and behind the scenes business leaders have replied, “Duh. How about coming up with some kind of plan?” This was always a hot button for Dave Goodrich, retired real estate executive and former head of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. In his days at CICP, Goodrich would bend the ear of anyone willing to listen about the need for a plan. Well, how does…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Sometimes competition is a bad thing

You are getting older, living alone. You want to continue living where you are. You don’t want to move in with your children and you think they might not want you. You don’t want to move to some assisted-living place and give up so much of what you have known for so long. You are disabled or otherwise unable to cook for yourself. Where do you turn? Your first thought is Meals on Wheels. You (or a member of your…

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Daniels’ economic development plan calls for pricey tools: Three incentive funds would cost more than $100M

Indiana’s days of economic development on the cheap may soon be finished. Three major new business-incentive funds are on the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s wish list, each bearing a significant price tag. The General Assembly will decide next year whether to provide the more than $100 million IEDC requests to form them. Plans for the three funds are tucked into Gov. Mitch Daniels’ comprehensive new state economic development plan, “Accelerating Growth,” released April 25. It aims to bring Hoosiers’ lagging…

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INVESTING: Rising rhetoric over oil prices is cause for worry

We all want more energy. Every time we go to the grocery store, we get bombarded with rows of new energy drinks. Health professionals are telling us things we can do to increase our energy. And we don’t just want more of it for our bodies. Our SUVs need more. Our homes need more. And China needs more. The delicate problem we’ve helped develop has in large part been created by rising demand for energy in places like China and…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Should we invest in ethanol or education?

During times of high gasoline prices, the investment made by the Daniels administration in six ethanol plants would seem prudent. The touted benefits of ethanol plants are that they create jobs in rural communities, support Indiana corn growers, improve air quality, and lower dependence on foreign oil. As an Indianapolis resident with little exposure to our farm economy, my first question was, “How do you make ethanol?” Ethanol is made by fermenting and distilling simple sugars like those found in…

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