Lilly, ImClone shares steady amid merger talk

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	Thursday, October 2, 2008
	Lilly, ImClone shares steady amid merger talk Stock in Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. and ImClone Systems Inc. fell slightly today - a day after reports surfaced that Lilly has made a $6.1 billion offer for the New York-based cancer drug developer. Lilly shares fell 40 cents to $43.30, and ImClone stock slipped 11 cents to $65.24. The declines came on a morning when major stock indexes, including the Standard & Poor's 500, lost more than 2 percent of their values.   Kite Realty raises $50M in stock offering Retail developer Kite Realty Group Trust said today that it has raised about $50 million by selling 4.7 million shares of stock, a move the company says positions it to pursue growth opportunities. Kite launched the offering even though its shares are trading for about half their level of a year ago. "We view this thing as a very good situation for the company," CEO John Kite said. "It's about being ready to take advantage of opportunities."
	Expert: Retailers should brace for bleak holiday Purdue University retail expert Richard Feinberg said retailers might face their worst Christmas season in 15 years. He said sales might be flat compared to a year earlier, and under the best-case scenario they'll rise just 2 percent. His glum prediction was prompted by the sluggish economy, which has pushed Indiana's unemployment rate to 6.4 percent - above the national rate of 6.1 percent.   Indiana an auto state? Now chemicals are king After 12 years of leading Indiana's bread-and-butter manufacturing industry, carmaking has taken a second-row seat. Chemicals have grown to become the biggest segment within manufacturing, according to a new study by the Indiana Business Research Center. Study author Timothy Slaper thinks the trend will last for a while. "Our economy continues to restructure," Slaper said.   Republic's Wilkinson jumps to convention group Warren Wilkinson, who has headed marketing and corporate communications at Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings since 2001, has been named senior vice president of marketing and communications at the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. Wilkinson replaces Mary Huggard, who was promoted to the new position of vice president of partnership and development. He will resign a seat he holds on the board of the not-for-profit when he starts the new job Oct. 31. $159M Pac-Van acquisition closes General Finance Corp. said yesterday that it has closed its $159 million purchase of Pac-Van Inc., the Indianapolis company that leases mobile offices and storage units. Pasadena, Calif.-based General Finance announced in July that it would acquire Pac-Van parent Mobile Office Acquisition Corp. to enter the North American market for portable units. Pac-Van senior managers are expected to stay with the company.   New poll shows tight race for president, governor A new statewide poll has found tight races for both president and governor in Indiana. The South Bend Tribune/WSBT-TV poll released yesterday found 46 percent of likely voters favored Republican John McCain for president while 45 percent said they supported Democrat Barack Obama. The same poll found 47 percent supported Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels for governor while 46 percent said they support Democrat Jill Long Thompson.
	Stocks fall on unemployment, factory reports Stocks tumbled and credit markets remained tight today after plunging factory orders and a seven-year high in jobless claims stoked fear that the government's financial rescue plan might not be enough to ward off a recession. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 300 points, its fourth straight triple-digit move.   St. Louis Fed chief speaking at IU James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is scheduled to speak tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Indiana University. Bullard, who received a doctorate in economics from IU, will speak on "Systemic Risk and the Macroeconomy: An Attempt at Perspective." The speech can be seen live at www.broadcast.iu.edu. Carnage on stage Thoughts on Art vs. Art and "Sweeney Todd." Lou Harry's A&E Pacers reaching out during economic crunch Team launches efforts to make attending games affordable. The Score
	From IBJ staff - Compiled by Norm Heikens Palin, Biden to debate tonight Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin square off tonight in the only vice presidential debate of this year's campaign. The stakes are high for both sides. The latest Associated Press national poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain 48 percent to 41 percent. Here in Indiana, the poll shows McCain maintaining a one-percentage-point lead, 46-45. The race in Indiana is so close that the GOP is running television ads in the state for the first time in more than a decade. Fox 59 will air the debate at 9 p.m. and follow with highlights at 10:30. Councilwoman charged with battery, resisting arrest City-County Council member Doris Minton-McNeill is scheduled to face a judge next week on one count of battery and three counts of resisting arrest. Police say the Democrat shoved an officer in June, then pleaded with them not to arrest her because of her position. She had called police to report an intruder in her home. If convicted, Minton-McNeill could lose her position representing the 15th District, which covers areas north and west of downtown. FBI: Indy man tried to extort $200K from AIG The FBI has arrested an Indianapolis man who the agency says tried to extort $208,000 from insurance giant American International Group. Kevin Michael Stewart, 27, allegedly stole a computer server from an AIG subsidiary that contained personal and health information for more than 900,000 people, and then threatened to release the information on the Internet in July. Stewart is being hold at the Marion County Jail. Analysts fault FDA for prasugrel delay Eli Lilly and Co.'s frustrating efforts to get a ruling from federal regulators on its experimental blood thinner prasugrel may be a test case of life under a more cautious-and understaffed-U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That's the opinion taken by many pharmaceutical analysts after the FDA missed its self-imposed deadline of last Friday to make a ruling on prasugrel. The FDA already had delayed its decision by three months after it agreed to give prasugrel a "priority" review lasting six months. Neither the FDA nor Lilly gave a new date on which the FDA will rule. "This has become a bit of an unsettling trend at the FDA," Miller Tabak & Co. analyst Les Funtleyder wrote in a note to investors.
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