In Business

Idea is to find workers green jobs and retrain those who lose auto-related ones

Indiana is among three states sharing a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help workers find green jobs and retrain workers affected by the automobile industry contraction, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Wednesday.

The State Labor Market Information Improvement grant will fund efforts to identify the skills workers need in the restructured auto industry among other initiatives, Solis said.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and agencies from Michigan and Ohio will work in a partnership to also identify opportunities for jobs in energy-efficiency and renewable-energy industries, and research current and projected skill gaps of auto industry workers into green occupations and other high demand sectors. Read the rest of this entry »

The budding economic recovery isn’t getting much help from the home-building industry, which normally creates jobs and drives growth when a recession ends.

Uncertainty over whether a homebuyer tax credit would be extended weighed down construction last month—a sign of how much the fledgling recovery depends on government support.

Home building unexpectedly plunged to its lowest point since April, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The figures show that builders fear there aren’t enough buyers to soak up the glut of unsold homes already on the market—a supply magnified by record-high foreclosures.
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Congress answers Realtors’ prayers

Tierra Boyd right, and her mother, Annette Crump, check out the kitchen amenities while touring a Hammond home with Realtor Kris Hoge. Boyd, 23, is shopping for a home and looking to take advantage of an up to $8,000 tax break. The credit was set to expire at the end of this month, but Congress recently extended the deadline to April 30. (Photograph by Tony V. Martin/The Times.)

Congress’ recent extension and expansion of homebuyer tax credits is already bringing out buyers and may help extend the current modest rally in home sales, according to local real estate agents.

“It has been pretty active out there,” said Tim Reed, a Realtor with Century 21 Pace Estates in Valparaiso. “I was hoping and praying they would get the extension through. It has made a lot of difference to a lot of people.”

On Nov. 5, Congress voted to extend through the end of April the current $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers that was slated to expire at the end of this month. And the legislation added a $6,500 homebuyer credit for existing homeowners looking to buy a new home.
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State legislators return to Statehouse with reform on their minds

Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, left, meets with Rep. Eric Turner, R-Marion, and Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, during organization day Tuesday at the Statehouse in Indianapolis. Indiana lawmakers got a jump-start on the upcoming legislative session by holding committee meetings a month early on issues including property taxes, unemployment insurance and ethics. (Photograph by Darron Cummings/The Associated Press.)

Reform was the word on everybody’s lips Tuesday at the Statehouse.

A brief “organization day” meeting of the General Assembly saw the introduction of proposals to add property tax caps to the Indiana Constitution, impose stricter limits and reporting requirements on lobbying and delay a scheduled hike in the unemployment tax rate.

Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse for rare December committee hearings to start working on these proposals ahead of the 10-week regular session that begins Jan. 5.
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Task Force Tips of Valparaiso has been named a Small Business of the Year Finalist by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Omnitech Systems of Valparaiso was named a semi-finalist for the same award.

A South Bend-based company that provides friction welding technology and services was honored as the state’s Small Business of the Year by the Indiana Chamber. Manufacturing Technology Inc. was chosen from a field of dozens of nominees from around the state. MTI and other top small businesses were recognized at the recent annual awards luncheon held in downtown Indianapolis.

A fourth-generation family-owned business, MTI primarily builds machines that carry out the friction welding process (the solid state joining of two parts using frictional heat and applied force to create a forge-quality weld). MTI also sells the only line of frictional welders worldwide that includes all three major variations: rotational linear and stir.

The Small Business of the Year award is open to all Hoosier companies with 250 employees or fewer.

Indiana is dipping into a wide range of state funds, including several devoted to improving or protecting the environment and natural resources, as part of its latest steps to offset a steep drop in state revenues.

Twenty-three dedicated funds are on an initial list that Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration expects to tap to combat the revenue shortfall—and a quarter of those have missions related to the state’s environment or natural resources.

Those include funds that promote recycling, help remove invasive aquatic plants clogging some of the state’s lakes and support efforts to redevelop old industrial sites.
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A Nordstrom shopper is shown Wednesday in Portland, Ore. Recent earnings reports from stores paint a picture of two classes of American shoppers: The affluent finally are being enticed to spend, buying designer clothes at places like Nordstrom, while those on lower economic rungs are still scrimping by, heading to Walmart for the basics. (Associated Press Photo)

American shoppers are splitting again: The affluent are finally starting to buy, picking up designer clothes at places like Nordstrom, while those on the lower economic rungs are still scrimping by, heading to Walmart for the basics.

Recent earnings reports from major retailers suggest that the wealthy, who pulled back their spending the hardest during the financial meltdown last fall, are once again being enticed to open their wallets and going back to higher-end outlets.

“It’s a good sign, but we don’t see the same across the board,” said Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist with Global Hunter Securities LLC.
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Indiana one of handful of states “emerging” from recession, according to prominent forecasting firm; nearly all NWI casinos post October revenue gains, even as Majestic goes into loan default; officials in Schneider defend trash-to-ethanol plant. The rich are buying again, as the middle class keeps hurting; officials across region see huge increase in poor relief inquiries and lobbyists continue central role in state’s General Assembly. Jobless claims fall; local hunters looking to feed families in tough economy and Hammond native moves to top of Walt Disney Studios.—Pat Colander, Editor and Associate Publisher, BusINess magazine, serving Northwest Indiana & Chicagoland
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Indiana isn’t taking the recession lying down, and its efforts are starting to pay off

Valparaiso resident Jim Reno scores newly poured concrete for traction and drainage Wednesday as he and others work on the Interstate 65 interchange at 109th Avenue in Crown Point. Indiana is one of 11 states “emerging” from the recession, an economic forecasting firm said last week. (Photograph by John Luke/The Times.)

Three hundred-fifty manufacturing jobs in New Albany; 100 construction jobs in Indianapolis; up to 50 automotive jobs in Elkhart. Surprisingly, this isn’t the latest list of jobs lost during the Great Recession. These are new jobs coming to Indiana over the next year. How can Indiana possibly be attracting new businesses during the worst economy in a generation?

Gov. Mitch Daniels said it’s because Indiana is “fighting this recession to win.”

“Everybody understands that somehow keeping taxes and the other costs government imposes down is the most important thing we can do, so jobs come here,” Daniels said. Growing the Indiana economy is “the single best way” to pull Indiana out of recession, he said. And it seems to be working.
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U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky was among the guests sharing in the 10th anniversary celebration of South Shore Clean Cities Inc. Thursday at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond. The SSCC is a coalition of Clean Cities, a voluntary federal program designed to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector by advancing the use of alternative fuels and vehicles in communities throughout the country.

The Democratic congressman said he was glad the SSCC had the fortitude to start a program in Northwest Indiana, one that is at the heart of moving away from a carbon-based economy in an energy crisis that transcends the price of gasoline.

“You had foresight that most people in this country did not have 10 years ago about the looming energy crisis,” Visclosky said. “Every day you have been adamant in trying to do something about it and trying to solve it.”
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Financial trouble afoot at Gary casinos, though they were profitable this quarter

After missing three interest payments on its debt, a Gary casino operator was dealt another blow after lenders in a loan and security agreement declared the company in default of its requirements.

On Oct. 30, The Majestic Star Casino LLC received a default notice from the lenders of a $79.4 million loan to speed up payment obligations, according to a Nov. 5 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We’re looking at all alternatives available,” said Jon Bennett, the company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer. Bennett said he couldn’t comment on what avenues are being pursued.
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Robotic toy hamsters, the latest Barbie dolls and stylish boots are disappearing from store shelves as holiday shoppers start to get serious. But don’t confuse this with the days of Tickle Me Elmo.

Instead of a throwback to great buying binges of the past, the empty shelves are just another sign of bad times.

The shortages come from stores that are terrified of ordering too much and are keeping their inventories thin.
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Environmentally friendly products manufactured in Portage

Environmentally friendly products seem to be springing up everywhere, and Northwest Indiana has not missed out on this business and eco-friendly trend.

According to Charles Weinberg, general manager of Manufacturing Solutions International, a tight network of local entrepreneurs is supplying alternative cleaning products that are both green and efficient. These entrepreneurs are “fueled by heightened consumer awareness of the dangers posed by many traditional cleaning products to both the household environment as well as downstream wastewater,” he says.

And the creation of these green products in Northwest Indiana demonstrates how businesses team up, each bringing their own strengths to the venture.
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October figures surprise industry observer

All but one of the area riverboats posted revenue gains in October, compared to last month and one year ago, according to figures released Monday by the Indiana Gaming Commission. (Photograph by Natalie Battaglia/Times File Photo.)

As the leaves on the trees change to reds and oranges, most Northwest Indiana casinos are seeing more green.

All but one of the area riverboats posted revenue gains in October, compared to last month and one year ago, according to figures released Monday by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Northwest Indiana casinos took in $99.76 million, the most since July, when their combined revenue was $102.99 million.

This is a “good sign,” said Ed Feigenbaum, the publisher of Indianapolis-based Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter.
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Lee Enterprises Inc., publisher of The Times, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and dozens of other newspapers, Thursday said it earned a small profit in the latest quarter, helped by cost cuts and lower prices for paper.

The company based in Davenport, Iowa, earned $1.76 million, or 4 cents per share in the fourth fiscal quarter, which ended Sept. 27. In the same quarter a year ago, it took heavy goodwill impairments, resulting in a loss of $192.24 million, or $4.34 cents per share.

Revenue dropped 20 percent to $195.8 million from $244.9 million a year ago as advertising continued to fall. However, the company said the decline in advertising appears to be slowing down.

Lee shares rose 24 cents, or 6.8 percent, to $3.77 in morning trading.

The company said it is reducing its debt and expects to continue doing so.