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INVESTING: The rise of derivatives: an innovation to cheer, not fear

After I read about a new futures contract at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that allows traders to place hedges on snowfall amounts in various areas, my first reaction was, that’s cool. I am a geek about my business, and I love the way the industry is constantly innovating. The weather contract is called a derivative, and I can remember not too long ago a lot of people were worried about derivatives. A derivative is a contract whose price is dependent…

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You can take it to the bank: Financial experts say state’s economy is rising, merger mania isn’t over and regulatory laws could take a toll

On Feb. 24, IBJ Publisher Chris Katterjohn, Managing Editor Greg Andrews and banking reporter Matt Kish sat down with four leaders from Indianapolis’ banking and finance sector: Judith Ripley, director of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions; Kit Stolen, CEO of Union Federal Bank of Indianapolis; Steve Beck, president and CEO of the Indiana Venture Center; and Keith Slifer, senior vice president of LaSalle Bank. Among the topics of conversation: How’s the state’s economy doing? Are more bank mergers on…

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Federal deposit insurance reform beefs up coverage: Retirement savings accounts stand to benefit most

Federal deposit insurance reforms signed into law by President Bush last month boost coverage of some retirement accounts and will raise coverage for other bank accounts beginning in 2010. The legislation, debated by lawmakers for the past six years, is significant because it offers the first increase in deposit insurance coverage in more than 25 years, and just the seventh rise since 1935. Federal deposit insurance currently covers as much as $100,000 per depositor. Starting no later than November, depositors…

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Wishard bounces back, projects $23M surplus: Improved billing, debt collection dry up red ink

Wishard Health Services made it back into the black in 2005, three years after posting a staggering loss of $77 million. The not-for-profit, public hospital system expects to record a $23 million surplus on $362 million in revenue when budget totals are final in a few months. Its leaders expect to wind up with another surplus in 2006. Such performance is a noteworthy achievement in the public health universe, said Lynne Fagnani, senior vice president for the Washington, D.C.-based National…

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NOTIONS: As fumes meet fare, my restaurant boycott begins

Recently, I testified before the Greenwood Common Council. I spoke in favor of that community’s proposed ban on workplace smoking. The stuff killed my wife, Pam, a 49-year-old nonsmoker, so I encourage practitioners of good government to spare others the same fate. When all the witnesses had filled the allotted 30 minutes, Greenwood’s council members spoke up-most in favor. But an opponent, Councilman Ron Deer, said smokers ought to have choices. No, he said, people should not be able to…

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Ayres stores may be razed: Smaller shops likely replacements at Castleton, Greenwood

Simon Property Group Inc. wants to take the wrecking ball to the soon-to-be-vacant L.S. Ayres stores at Castleton Square and Greenwood Park malls, clearing the way for development of a collection of smaller stores and restaurants, sources familiar with the plans say. “There have been numerous site plans circulated showing redevelopment with the existing structures removed,” said Bill French, a local retail broker with St. Louis-based Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. Mark Perlstein, a partner with The Linder Co., an Indianapolis-based…

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ABDUL-HAKIM SHABAZZ Commentary: Enough of this Godly grandstanding

I will freely admit that, while I am not the most religious person in the world, I don’t think God would mind if I offered Him another c o m m a n d m e n t : “Thou shall not grandstand and use my name in the process!” I think that advice would well suit some members of Indiana’s congressional delegation, or at least two of them: Reps. Dan Burton and Mike Sodrel. The two, along with State…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Senate doesn’t hesitate to check House, governor

Why do we have a bicameral legislature, with four-year terms for senators and two-year terms for House members? Because, as George Washington reputedly told Thomas Jefferson, the framers created the Senate to “cool” House legislation, just as a saucer was used to cool hot tea. We’ve just seen evidence of this, and also of another important phenomenon, one that reminds us of just how separate our branches of government truly are. We recently mentioned how the “adults” in the Senate…

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College hatches business to measure airwaves: Big wireless firms flocking to one-of-a-kind database

Ball State University has created what could be a moneymaking venture to help the nation’s wireless providers find dead spots in their signal footprints even before they put up the first towers. The university’s Office of Wireless Research and Mapping said it has at least $720,000 in tentative contracts from businesses and government agencies. “My hope is, in two or three months, we have a fully operational center that is going to be recognized nationally,” said Bizhan Nasseh, a Ball…

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Open source gaining traction: Government departments, more businesses seek alternatives to Microsoft, others

The Indiana Department of Education’s effort to outfit high schools with computers is a costly endeavor for a state strapped for cash. But installing what is known as open-source software is softening the blow. As the name implies, open-source programming is available for users to study, modify and share freely-a sharp contrast to the proprietary software sold by behemoths such as Microsoft Corp. and Oracle. Expensive licensing fees associated with the proprietary software sent the Education Department looking for alternatives….

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Tax laws provide flexibility-choose wisely:

When starting a business, entrepreneurs must make a multitude of decisions and research countless topics, from the demographics of the target market to the color scheme of the company logo. One of the most fundamental decisions demands careful analysis: choosing the legal form the company will take. Small-business owners have a great deal of flexibility in choosing a structure, but the decision could affect the tax burden imposed by the federal government. Consider three basic structures: proprietorship, partnership and corporation….

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Clarian sizing up south side: Agreement with Morgan Hospital could lead to development projects in St. Francis’ back yard

The largest hospital network in Indianapolis will start stretching its reach once again next month, this time south of town, where it could challenge the dominance of St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. Clarian Health Partners is embarking on a five-year development agreement with Martinsville’s Morgan Hospital & Medical Center that could place more building projects on Clarian’s already crowded construction agenda. The two systems plan to focus their relationship on improving patient care and research, but representatives of both…

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Ethanol’s secret: Highly touted alternative fuel needs tax subsidies to survive

State and local leaders have been crowing about how ethanol plants will bring more jobs to Indiana and put more dollars in the pockets of corn farmers. If that prospect isn’t enough to make votecoveting politicians and corn farmers giddy, General Motors Corp. started singing ethanol’s praises this month in TV ads. Joyous motorists frolic under blue skies-all thanks to ethanol’s promise of cleaner air and energy independence from oil. But there’s another economic reality for motorists who use E85,…

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VIEWPOINT: Why don’t Republicans like Indy Works?

As you remember from the legend, Rip Van Winkle wandered off one day into the Catskill Mountains and ended up sleeping under a tree for 20 years. When he wandered back into his village, unaware that he’d slept so long, Van Winkle found things back home had changed in dramatic ways. You might have forgotten this detail from the story: Rip reappeared in his New England town on Election Day, shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War. When he…

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Lilly shares primed for rebound?: Stock analysts say 2006 may yield a rise in price out of the $50 range

Higher new-product sales, an influx of Medicare money, and improved market conditions might be just what the doctor ordered to bump Eli Lilly and Co. stock out of the funk it settled into last spring. However, as the Indianapolis company strives to meet 2006 earnings projections, analysts still see plenty to fret about, including declining sales of the company’s top-selling drug, the antipsychotic Zyprexa. Lilly shares dipped below $60 last May and spent the rest of 2005 oscillating beneath that…

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BULLS & BEARS: Indiana’s in biofuel game; now it should strive to win

Over the past few months, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar has been vocal in touting the benefits of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. It would be wise for the state’s government and business leaders to heed his message. The renewable fuel industry is gathering momentum and has a high probability of growing into a substantial industry. The energy bill President Bush signed into law last summer mandates the use of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol each year by 2012,…

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Lessons from attorneys on the front lines in India: Be ready to grease palms, face cultural differences:

BANGALORE, India-Petty bureaucrats are more than a nuisance in India. Some like to line their pockets. And if minor officials don’t get what they want, they might shutter a U.S. company’s operations. Given enough time and money, disputes can be settled in India’s infamously slow courts. But V. Umakanth, a Bangalore partner with the Indian law firm Amarchand Mangaldas, counsels clients to simply make the small grease payments some administrators expect. “There is still corruption. Foreign businesses need to deal…

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Emerging India: Opportunity or threat?: Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition

Opportunity or threat? Indiana businesses brace for growing global competition Next month, President Bush will make his first official visit to India. To most of the American media, it’ll be just one more round of global terrorism discussions with a distant foreign nation, perhaps worthy of a brief. The Indian press knows better. Six weeks ahead of Bush’s trip, banner headlines about it ran in every newspaper. Al Hubbard knows better, too. Friends with Bush since their days at Harvard…

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Entrepreneurship the Indian way: A day with a Bangalore software-maker reveals business parallels

BANGALORE, India-HealthAsyst CEO Umesh Bajaj remembers when the only computers allowed in India were self-assembled. As recently as 20 years ago, the Indian government’s protectionist measures prohibited foreign companies from directly selling PCs. Instead, Indians imported microchips and built the computers themselves. In his first job as an electronics engineer for an Indian conglomerate, Bajaj crisscrossed the country marketing versions of mainframes and desktops made in India. Today Bajaj, a 55-year-old born in New Delhi, owns his own Bangalore-based health…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Obesity must be conquered

By now, everybody knows obesity is a huge health problem in our country. The Centers for Disease Control reports that obesity is linked to 112,000 deaths per year and leads to an extra $75 billion in direct medical costs annually. We Hoosiers can hold up a mirror. Depending on which study you look at, Indiana ranks either fourth or fifth as the most obese state in the nation. Our local daily newspaper just published a series of articles on how…

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