Top lawmaker: Negotiators have tax deal

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	Thursday, March 13, 2008
	Top lawmaker: Negotiators have tax deal Indiana House and Senate negotiators today reached a compromise on a property tax relief and restructuring plan, a top lawmaker said. House Ways and Means Chairman William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, would not provide details but called the deal "tolerable" between majority House Democrats and ruling Senate Republicans. The compromise legislation was being drafted, but details of the plan still had to be discussed privately with members of his caucus, he said.  Simon denies Pacers for sale A report in a New York newspaper that the Indiana Pacers are for sale is "absolutely not true," said the team's co-owner, Herb Simon, through a spokesman. The New York Post's Peter Vecsey mentioned in a column this week that the Simons were seeking a buyer for the National Basketball Association franchise. For more, go to IBJ's new sports business blog, The Score.
	Finish Line battle hurts Genesco profit Shoe and apparel retailer Genesco Inc. said today its fourth-quarter profit fell 88 percent due to slow sales and hefty expenses related to a failed $1.5 billion buyout bid by Indianapolis-based rival Finish Line Inc. For the quarter ended Feb. 2, profit dropped to $4.1 million from $35.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Finish Line had been trying to get out of the deal, claiming that Genesco was not forthcoming about its financial situation.   It's official: Steak n Shake directors ousted Steak n Shake Co. outside investors Sardar Biglari and Phillip Cooley have prevailed in their heated proxy battle to snatch the board seats of chairman and acting president Alan Gilman and James Williamson. Seven other board members, none of whom were targeted by Biglari and Cooley, handily retained their seats. The company has issued no further information about who will replace Gilman as chairman and president.   Shelbyville firm hurt by American Axle strike About 26 of the 700 workers at Ryobi Die Casting Inc. in Shelbyville have taken voluntary layoffs due to the ripple effect of the two-week American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. strike. The plant machines parts for General Motors Corp. GM has slowed production and shut down plants as inventories of parts supplied by Detroit-based American Axle withered.   Steel Dynamics helps lift steel stocks Shares of steel producers advanced yesterday, a day after Steel Dynamics Inc. raised its first-quarter profit outlook and an analyst boosted his forecast for the company's earnings. The Fort Wayne-based steel producer cited higher-than-anticipated flat-rolled steel pricing and improved scrap processing.   Indiana job numbers flat-line in January Employment was about the same in January as December, according to the latest figures from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The state had 2,994,800 jobs, down 200 from December.   Carlyle Capital collapse continues Troubles for Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd., a unit of Carlyle Group, a Washington D.C.-based private equity group, have worsened after it said it can't meet demands of more than $400 million in margin calls from lenders, according to Bloomberg. Lenders intend to take over Carlyle Capital's remaining assets. Last fall, Carlyle Capital bought Allison Transmission in Indianapolis from General Motors Corp. for $5.6 billion.
	Whirlpool, smokers snuff smoking conflict A lawsuit Whirlpool Corp. filed against a union at its refrigerator plant in Evansville has been dismissed after the parties reached a settlement, according to the Evansville Courier & Press. Terms were not disclosed. Whirlpool sued after an arbitrator forced the Benton Harbor, Mich., company to reimburse insurance surcharges for employees who smoke.   Collective Brands to close distribution center Shoe retailer Collective Brands Inc. said it plans to close its warehouse in the northeast Indiana community of Huntington as the Topeka, Kan., company consolidates its distribution network. The center will close next spring, costing 140 jobs.   From IBJ staff - Compiled by Norm Heikens
	Carson heads to Washington, D.C. Andre Carson is traveling to Washington, D.C., at 2 p.m. today to be sworn in as 7th District congressman. Carson will fill the remainder of the term of his late grandmother Julia Carson, who died in December. Andre Carson also plans to hit the campaign trail again as he seeks the Democratic nomination for the seat in the May primary. Fox 59 will have the latest at 10 p.m. Indiana counties violating EPA standard More than a dozen Indiana counties will be forced to make air-quality improvements under a new Environmental Protection Agency standard. The agency is tightening its standard on ozone levels to reduce smog. EPA officials call the new limits, "the most stringent standards ever." March Madness invades Indianapolis The Big Ten men's basketball tournament was scheduled to tip off at noon today. The first game at Conseco Fieldhouse pits the eighth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes and the ninth-seeded Michigan Wolverines. Today's other games are between Penn State and Illinois, and Minnesota and Northwestern. WellPoint woes spark leadership questions WellPoint Inc.'s slashing of profit forecasts Monday night stunned Wall Street and led at least one observer to question whether WellPoint's spate of recent management turnover played a role. The Indianapolis-based health insurer cut its 2008 earnings expectations by 5 percent to 10 percent because its medical claims costs are running higher than projected. Lehman Brothers analyst Joshua Raskin noted that WellPoint and its predecessors had never missed Lehman's profit estimates. "There has been a high degree of management turnover in the past two years, and, in hindsight, there were some signs of cost pressures," Raskin wrote in a note to investors. He added, "In our opinion, this is one of the most alarming press releases that we have seen in the managed care industry over the past decade."     What is the most effective way you've found to network?
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