Targanta stock slips in first day of trading

DJIA 14,143.7 +65 / S&P 500 1,570.9 +8.4 / NASDAQ 2,825.8 +14.2 Tonight: Partial clearing and chilly. Low 38. Friday: Partly sunny, cool. High 63.
	Thursday, October 11, 2007
	Targanta stock slips in first day of trading Shares of Targanta Therapeutics Inc. fell 7.5 percent yesterday in the company's first day as a public company. The stock closed at $9.25 a share after opening at $10, the price sought in the $57 million initial public offering. Targanta is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker TARG. The Cambridge, Mass., firm, which was briefly headquartered in Indianapolis, is commercializing an antibiotic developed by Eli Lilly and Co. for treating skin infections.   Former Pearson ad exec launches media firm Cynthia England, a former partner at the Indianapolis advertising firm Pearson McMahon Fletcher England, has started a company that plans, buys and manages advertising for client companies. The new Indianapolis company, Regarding Media and Marketing LLC, was launched with Nanci Albrecht, a former senior vice president of Cincinnati-based JA&G Advertising. JA&G has an Indianapolis office.
	Indianapolis-area house sales dive in September Pending sales of houses-those with contracts signed by not closed-plummeted 16.8 percent in September from a year earlier, according to Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors figures released today by brokerage F.C. Tucker Co. The nine-county Indianapolis area generated 1,998 pended sales, compared to the 2,402 in September 2006.   Recession unlikely, Purdue economists say The sagging housing market is a concern, but won't become a large enough problem to drag the economy into recession, Purdue University economists said yesterday during an annual outlook luncheon sponsored by the Lafayette-West Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. They said the nation continues to churn out more goods and services, hiring remains strong and wages continue to climb-all signs that the economy remains reasonably strong, according to the Journal & Courier of Lafayette.   Kokomo toilet maker to close plant Kokomo Sanitary Pottery Corp., which has manufactured toilets in the city north of Indianapolis since 1932, is closing the plant because competitors can do the job at lower cost. The decision will throw nearly 150 workers out of jobs early next year, according to the Kokomo Tribune.   Officials criticize funding for stadiums Cities and states are offering billions in financial incentives to build stadiums to keep professional sports teams while neglecting bridges, roads and schools, advocates charged yesterday. Congress should end the "economic war" among the states, said Arthur J. Rolnick, senior vice president and director of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.   From IBJ staff and Associated Press-Compiled by Norm Heikens Police officer killed during traffic stop A Shelbyville police officer was killed overnight while helping a Shelby County deputy involved in a traffic stop on Interstate 74. The officer was hit by a set of rear tires that came off the back of a semi-trailer truck. The truck has been impounded and officers plan to question the driver. Investigators are not releasing the name of the officer until family is notified. Fox 59 News will have the latest at 10 p.m. Ex-Guard recruiter expected to plead guilty Former National Guard recruiter Eric Vetesy is expected to enter guilty pleas today in connection to several assaults of girls at Hamilton County high schools between 2002 and 2004. The 38-year-old Westfield man was indicted in 2005.
	Bayh, Burton seek answers in Westfield soldier's death U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh and U.S. Rep. Dan Burton have requested an immediate investigation into the death of Army National Guard Sgt. Gerald Cassidy. Cassidy, who was injured in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq, was sent to Fort Knox, then died last month. Cassidy's mother says her son had not seen by a doctor in several days and that he was denied pain medication. Two Washington Township schools may close Harcourt Elementary, near St. Vincent Hospital, and the Wyandotte Early Childhood Center in Washington Township could close at the end of the school year as the district struggles to maintain its facilities. Officials announced Oct. 9 that the move could save more than $600,000 a year. The board is expected to put the closings to a final vote Dec. 12.
	Hoosiers like universal coverage, survey shows Who knew? Conservative-minded Hoosiers also have considerable thoughts on universal, government-funded health care coverage-and most of those thoughts favor it. A statewide listening tour conducted in June by the Indiana University Healthcare Reform Study Group discovered that 15 percent of comments mentioned universal coverage. "Nearly all of these were favorable," said a summary of the group's findings. Universal coverage drew the fourth-highest volume of comments out of a total of 1,100, which the study group divided into 36 categories.      Visit IBJ's Web site, www.ibj.com Indianapolis Business Journal has launched a redesigned Web site with news updated throughout the business day. At www.ibj.com you will find the latest business news from the Indianapolis area and around the state, video of IBJ events, CEO interviews from the Inside IBJ radio program, and our weekly podcast.
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