Steak n Shake seeks younger customers
Steak n Shake hopes to create buzz with its new marketing plan targeting youth.
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Former Conseco director liable for some unpaid stock loans
Dennis E. Murray Sr. was declared liable in October by U.S. District Court Judge Larry J. McKinney for at least some of the
millions of dollars he borrowed to buy Conseco stock in the late 1990s.
Emmis struggling to stay in good stead with lenders
Emmis Communications Corp. struggles to contain expenses and minimize debts due to radio advertising shortfalls.
Bringing on the generic drugs
Times are tough enough that more people are beginning to switch to generic drugs to save money. Insurers
like Indianapolis-based WellPoint are playing a role, too, by pushing policy holders toward generics.
People also are splitting pills…
Steak n Shake CEO ordering up cost cuts, but shares still sag
The Steak n Shake Co. has dropped plans to build 20 new restaurants, is cutting overhead expenses by about $20 million,
and closed 14 locations. The Indianapolis-based restaurant chain found $16 million in tax savings dating
back to 2006 and is working on a new, simple menu built around burgers, fries and milkshakes–all part of
a turnaround plan orchestrated by the chain’s new CEO, Sardar Biglari.
Emmis’ market value in free fall as radio industry takes beating
For more than two years, Smulyan, 61, has been unflaggingly optimistic during quarterly conference calls. But since early 2007, Emmis’ stock has fallen 84 percent, shrinking the company’s stock market value from $307 million to $48 million. The troubles have cast uncertainty over one of Indianapolis’ highest-profile businesses.
Simon Property Group exploring overseas markets
Simon Property Group Inc. has been readying its balance sheet and sizing up buyout targets in hopes of capitalizing on
a worldwide markdown on shopping-center owners.
Are WellPoint execs greedy?
Three activist groups dropped off a wallet and handbag crammed with play money at WellPointâ??s front door
this week to protest what the groups say are outrageous salaries pulled down by company executives.
The groups â?? Health Care for America Now,…
Susan Bayh as a political liability
Barack Obama is expected to announce his vice presidential running mate any day now, and Evan Bayhâ??s name
is still thought to be on the short list.
The Indiana senator is viewed as a moderate who would counter Obamaâ??s liberal voting…
Interactive Intelligence looking past stock slump
Interactive Intelligence Inc. is enduring a serious stock slump. Its battered shares are trading around $10, about $20
off their 52-week peak. Yet CEO Don Brown remains so bullish on the software maker that he’s authorized a $10 million stock
buyback.
Brightpoint moving HQ back to Indianapolis from Plainfield
Wireless-device distributor Brightpoint Inc. is moving its headquarters from Plainfield to northwest Indianapolis, near
where it was founded almost 20 years ago. The company, which has about 65 headquarters employees and about
1,000 workers in Indiana, plans to share a new building with software developer Interactive Intelligence
Inc. and engineering firm Woolpert Inc. along Interstate 465 north of West 71st Street.
Hat World shows sign of recovering from lackluster year
The locally based headwear retailer Hat World made a name for itself by snatching up competitors and opening hundreds of
stores around the country. However, after sluggish sales in the fiscal year that ended Feb. 2, the company–a
unit of Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc.–says it plans to open fewer stores than usual this year so
officials can put their focus back on existing operations.
Marsh sues Roche over sublease deal
Two giants of local business are preparing to slug it out in court over a soured sublease deal. Marsh Supermarkets filed
suit in Hamilton County this month to enforce a deal with Swiss pharmaceutical and medical-equipment powerhouse
Roche to sublease the grocer’s entire 148,000-square-foot headquarters in Fishers. The deal, worth more
than $47 million over 18 years, is one of the largest of its kind in central Indiana in years.
Impressions of settling lawsuits
Eli Lilly and Co. settled its racial discrimination lawsuit yesterday for $64,000, ending a claim by an employee
who alleged the company fired her because she was disfigured through exposure to a blood pathogen.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission…
Ailing Steak n Shake rehires ad agency, but will pact stick?
Local advertising powerhouse Young & Laramore signed a new contract with Steak n Shake, one of its flagship clients, just
two weeks ago, but ad industry observers can’t help but wonder if the 18-year-old relationship is about to run its course.
Before the ink on the contract was dry, the struggling hamburger chain had a new board chairman who is likely to shuffle Steak
n Shake’s executive suite and take the company in a new direction.
Do ads make you feel better?
Weâ??re increasingly bombarded with ads for health care products ranging from drugs for osteoporosis and restless
leg syndrome to knee replacements.
Zimmer went over the heads of doctors when it advertised its knee replacements designed specifically for women,
and…
HHGregg tuned into growth
Undeterred by a rocky economy, locally based electronics retailer HHGregg is trailblazing into new markets on a quest to quadruple
in size. The firm’s “price and advice” mantra seems to be catching on. That’s no surprise to Jerry Throgmartin, a 33-year
veteran of Gregg who has served as the company’s chairman and CEO since 2003.
Conseco wins $29M judgment in latest round of legal war
Conseco Inc. has won another round in court against former Merchants National Bank CEO James D. Massey this month, ringing
up a $29 million judgment against him in a court in Illinois. But Massey shows no sign of throwing in the towel in the years-long
litigation over millions he borrowed to buy Conseco stock. Massey was a director of Conseco from 1994 to 2000.
At most Indiana public firms, CEO pay hasn’t fallen with stock
Most public companies say they tie executive compensation to performance, but an IBJ review of pay data from 65 Indiana-based
firms shows otherwise. Last year, more than two-thirds of Indiana-based public companies saw their share prices decline, yet
many continued to award eye-popping compensation to their executives.
WellPoint 401(k) participants sue over decline in stock price
Angela Braly, Wayne DeVeydt and the rest of the top brass at WellPoint Inc. face wrath over the company’s recent stock swoon
from a new group: ex-employees. Four former WellPoint workers have filed lawsuits against the Indianapolis-based health insurance
giant over the losses its 401(k) retirement plan suffered in March when the company slashed its profit forecast for the year.