The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 65

F2 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1996 HOUSING Continued from Page 1 Housing starts tffk LAWSUIT Continued from Page 1 IRL team owner. That lawsuit also was settled, it was announced Tuesday. Both CART and the Speedway were reserved in their comments. Ron Richards, a CART spokesman, said 'The main benefit is this is resolved and we can focus on 1997 and beyond. What we can do now is build our series." Anton H.

"Tony" George, president of the Speedway and founder of the IRL, was unavailable for comment. In a statement, he only discussed resolution of the dispute over the IndyCar name. "It will be clear to sponsors, fans and the general public that 'Indy' cars are the cars that participate in the Indianapolis 500," George said. Joyce Julius Cotman, president of Joyce Julius Associates, a Michigan sports-marketing firm, said the larger issues remain unresolved. "Each side has its own advantages and nobody has a clear-cut one." she said.

"CART has names everybody knows and the IRL has the event everybody wants." There is one major Speedway-related lawsuit remaining. Fitti-paldi U.S.A. controlled by CART driver Emerson Fittipaldi, extremely expensive and few teams have the resources to compete in both series. The accord ends a months-long legal battle. CART filed suit In U.S.

District Court in Michigan in April saying It was entitled to use the "IndyCar" name. The lawsuit came after the Speedway said It was ending the 1992 licensing agreement. The Speedway and IRL fired back in May in a 37-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. The Speedway sought to prevent CART from using the IndyCar brand name.

Also, the Speedway charged that Michigan-based CART violated U.S. antitrust law by unfairly monopolizing the market for open-wheel, Indy-style racing. The Speedway lawsuit also named Roger Penske, a major CART team owner and a co-founder of the organization, as a defendant. The two sides began detailed negotiations 60 days ago, and had settled most major issues about 30 days ago. A final settlement had been delayed because former CART owner A.J.

Foyt also had a lawsuit pending against the Michigan-based group. Foyt now is an competitor to establish worth $200 million CART and the IRL will again race on Memorial Day weekend. However, in 1997. the CART event will be held on that Saturday, while the IRL's Indianapolis 500 will be conducted on Sunday. Few details of the settlement were released Tuesday.

However, both sides said the Speedway and its Indy Racing League have use of the brand name "IndyCar." CART had been calling Itself IndyCar for marketing purposes under a 1992 licensing agreement with the Speedway. That has now ended, and CART unveiled a new logo Tuesday using that acronym. People familiar with the settlement said it also contains a section that prohibits both CART and IRL from retaliating against a race-team owner who participates in both race circuits. However, that feature of the accord may be of limited use, at least for now. Starting In 1997.

the IRL puts Into effect rules for race engines and cars vastly different from those imposed by CART. Racing in both circuits would be EARNINGS The following earnings reports are from companies of interest to Indiana readers: Skyline Corp. 2nd quarter ended Nov. 30 1996 1995 Revenue: Income: Persh: $.62 $.54 The Elkhart-based producer of manufactured housing and recreational vehicles gave no explanation for the 4.7 percent decline for the quarter. Quality Dining Inc.

4th quarter ended Oct. 27 1996 $232m 1995 $105m Revenue: Income: $2. 6m Persh: $.23 $.85 Record earnings were generated from record growth for the Mishawaka-based company, but a 125 percent increase in weighted average shares outstanding over the comparable period last year brought a lower price per share for the quarter. Revenues tor the year increased 126 percent. Increases were in part attributed to the purchase by Quality of Bruegger's a bagel chain, and Grady's American Grill.

CLEAN HOUSE AND CLEAN UP! Sell no longer needed items through STAR and NEWS CLASSIFIEDS CALL 633-1212 the strength coming In the South and Midwest, prompting some analysts to warn against reading too much Into it. "The housing market Is slowly cooling. Today's number was a big jump but it came on the heels of last month's big (5.1 percent) decline." said David Berson of the Federal National Mortgage Association. "That goes along with an economy that, while also slow, is doing OK." For the year so far, 1.38 million single- and multi-family homes were started, up 9.6 percent from the first 11 months of 1995. Berson said housing construction for the full year should approach, but not surpass, the level of 1994, which was the best since 1988.

November's construction surge was strongest In the Midwest, where starts Jumped 20.8 percent, the largest increase since March 1994, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000. In the Indianapolis metropolitan area, single family building permits dropped about 12 percent in November, according to estimates from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis. In November 1995, 772 permits were issued for single-family houses. Last month, It was 677. Starts rose 12 percent in the South to a rate of 682,000.

They held steady in the West at a rate of 364,000 and fell 2.2 percent in the Northeast to 131,000. INTEREST Continued from Page 1 on edge by remarks earlier in the month by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan worrying about "irrational exuberance" in the markets, were reassured by Tuesday's Fed decision. Recent statistics leave unclear where the economy will head next, with some reports such as housing showing strength and others showing weakness, making it harder than usual to guess the central bank's next move. "There are people who are betting toward tightness and some who are betting the Fed will next ease," said David Munro, chief economist at High Frequency Economics in New York. "Everybody is guessing." Analysts said Greenspan's concerns about the runup in stock prices had to be viewed against a backdrop of this uncertainty.

"He was just saying that the economic fundamentals are not File Photo SETTLEMENT: IRL founder Anton H. "Tony" George, said in a statement that it will be clear that Indy cars are those that participate in the Indian-polis 500. held the Brazilian television rights to the "500." The Speedway canceled the contract, causing Fittipaldi to sue. Indiana State University are looking at the Trigen-Clnergy equipment as one of the Ideas to replace the aging power system for the college campus. Trigen has machines installed in locations such as the McCor-mick Place convention center In Chicago, and the Trenton, N.J., government center and central business district.

Mornhed and Harkness said the machines typically make either 1 megawatt or 4 megawatts, enough for a high-rise building. They may be -60 feet by 10 feet in size and can be hidden from view, and the cost savings can be dramatic In most parts of the country. They said power can be produced for about 4 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to 10 to 15 cents per kilowatt charged by utilities in many parts of the country. Trigen, formed in the mid-1980s, posted annual revenues of $25 million five years ago. Today, it has grown to $250 million but needs the marketing help of a large regional power company like Cinergy, the two men said.

'V i "vompare Us To Your 200 500 9 1000 9 $50 $25 $30 ft Cinergy and joint venture By Bruce C. Smith STAFF WRITER PLAINFIELD, Ind. Cinergy Corp. is joining hands with a competitor in the electric power industry in a $200 million Joint venture. The new company will offer a technology that could significantly reduce costs for the users of large amounts of energy, like office buildings, hospitals, college campuses, shopping malls and manufacturing plants.

Cinergy and Trlgen Energy Corp. of White Plains, N.Y. will each invest $100 million in the new company, Trigen-Clnergy Solutions LLC. Also, Cinergy, which is the parent of Plainfield-based PSI Energy, will guarantee up to $250 million in debt for the venture. The technology uses trigenera-tion equipment that works like mini-power plants within a building to make electricity, steam and chilled water for coolirjg.

A turbine engine powered by natural gas is at the heart of the system. Seasonally adjusted annual rate, millions of units 1.7 1.6 15 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 DDBD BDBBBDD 0 DJFMAMJJASON '95 1996 Nov. '95 Oct. '96 Nov. '96 Source: U.S.

Dept. of Commerce Associated Press Nationally, single-family starts rose 7.6 percent to a rate of 1.12 million, while multi-family construction increased 15.1 percent to 350,000 units. A drop in 30-year mortgage rates during the fall contributed to the rebound. As of mid-December, they were hovering Just under 8 percent, about a half percentage point lower than mid-July. Housing permits, a sign of future construction activity, rose 3.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million, the biggest gain In a year.

keeping up with the stock market," said William Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business. "We are seeing a pretty flat economy right now." The central bank last changed interest rates on Jan. 31, when it reduced its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, by a quarter-point down to 5.25 percent. It was the third in a series of small rate cuts aimed at spurring an economy that looked as though It could slide Into a recession. When economic growth revived in the spring, the Fed switched from recession worries to fears that tight labor markets could trigger rising wage demands and higher inflation.

The Fed, however, has continued to pass up chances to raise rates although some economists continued to insist after Tuesday's meeting that the best bet is still that the central bank will start raising rates in late spring or early summer of 1997. respond to a record 1.1 million bankruptcies filed in the year ended Sept. 30. Bankers have cited escalating bankruptcies as a key problem in the credit-card industry, which saw the percentage of delinquent credit card loans Jump to 4.5 percent in the July-September period. Consumer groups countered that the problem Is a self-inflicted wound, since banks have flooded mailboxes with credit card solicitations.

Staten's research suggested a significant number of consumers were being granted full relief of their debts under Chapter 7 when they would have qualified for a repayment plan under Chapter 13. The study, which sampled 3,500 personal bankruptcy filings in 12 U.S. cities, showed that on average, 1,015 people who filed Chapter 7 told the court they could repay 33.2 percent of their non-housing debt over 36 months. The study showed 1,031 Chapter 13 filers said they could repay 158.3 percent of the non-housing debt over 36 months. uct is labor-intensive.

One batch canes requires a little more than an hour's work by three or four people. The result Is 60 pieces of candy that sell for $1 .25 each. "Doing it this way is not cost-effective, but people love it," Caroline Salzwimmer said. "You can't be serious and make candy canes. We live in a child's world." For home delivery call 633-9211.

Some bankruptcy filers can pay debts, study says It is a form of on-site energy production that is calculated to be cheaper in many parts of the country than power purchased from traditional utilities with large generating plants and distributions systems. And it could help Cinergy spread its electricity brokerage sales to markets throughout the country when the electric power industry becomes deregulated. Goran Mornhed of Trigen will be chief executive officer of the new company. Cinergy's general manager of corporate development, M. Stephen Harkness, will be chief operating officer.

The two were In Plalnfield recently, discussing more than $60 million of pent-up orders for the systems and fielding calls from companies asking for information. They confirmed that some letters of intent have been signed, but they declined to disclose names of customers. There have been media reports in Terre Haute that officials at Home Equity Loans i rV" SI III 'Scottsdale $40 $55 $80 Schwab 1 10 118 166 Quick Reilly 84 90 128 Fidelity 109 118 165 Olde 60 100 125 Waterhouse 53 70 138 Merrill Lynch 201 265 483y Mm "A 'J MM Associated Press WASHINGTON Bankers told a federal panel Tuesday that many of the record 1 million people filing for bankruptcy this year abused the law because they were able to repay some of their debts. Purdue University professor Michael Staten, director of the school's credit research center, cited new research Indicating that 45 percent of people who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection In his sample said they had the Income to repay some portion of their debts. Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code, which wipes out all debts, is used in 70 percent of personal bankruptcies.

Based on this sample, Staten estimated that all Chapter 7 filers nationwide had the ability to repay $5.8 billion over a three-year period. Staten, whose research was sponsored by Visa and MasterCard, was among other banking industry representatives who testified before the National Bankruptcy Review Commission. The banking industry is scrambling to TRADITION Continued from Page 1 Salzwimmer shakes his head when he sees the business still is making money. The candy canes, however, do not. While the price of the ingredients is fairly negligible, the prod- Business Get a Home Equity Loan for the holidays and well give you $100! Commmioni shown ant for vtrboi orders and air not dtptndent an account sizt or acimry.

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Call for a Fret Copy of "YOUR GUIDE TO COMMISSION SAVINGS" 9247 N. Meridian 116 846-9700 1 -800-6 19-SAVE fNFOUNE ann can ana, A TELEPHONE INFORMATION SERVICE OF THE STAR 4 THE NEWS Using a touch-tone phone, call 624-4636. After the greeting, enter the four digit code for the category you want to hear. Business and Finance 1300 Business Update 1301 Financial Markets Summary 1 302 Stock Market Update 1303 NYSE Update 1304 AMEX Update 1305 NASDAQ Update 1306 1307 Bond Market Update Key Metals Prices 1308 Commodities Update 1309 Money Rates 1310 Foreign Market Update 1313 Dollar Market Update 1314 Dow Jones Averages 1315 Major Business News Reports StockQuote Hotline 9988 Call code 9988 and enter the numeric code for the stock ticker symbol. (Use the codes below.) For example, to get the stock quote for Lilly (LLY), press 53 53 93.

Then press the star key (). You will be quoted the ticker, current price, net change and the hi-low of that stock. E9 There's never been a better time to get a Home Equity Loan from First of America Bank. Right now, you can lock in a low rate and low monthly payments for up to 10 years and not worry about them increasing when interest rates rise again. And we have a holiday gift for you 1 00! You can use your Home Equity Loan for just about anything pay off other bills, home improvements, cars, college tuition or even that big screen TV you've been dreaming about You make no payments for 90 days and all of the interest you pay may be tax-deductible.

$15,000 for $l90lmonth for 120 months So with rates this low, why wait? Just call I -800-487-236 1 or visit any of our over 60 locations today because this offer ends December 31,1 996. The business desk is responsible for all local and national business-related news. Our hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you wish to talk about a story or make a suggestion, please use these numbers.

Business Editor Pamela Klein 633-1019 Toll free (800)669-7827 Fax line 633-1233 A-21 I-43 Q-01 Y-93 B-22 J-51 R-72 Z-03 C-23 K-52 S-73 D-31 L-53 T-81 E-32 M-61 U-82 -02 F-33 N-62 V-83 -11 G-41 0-63 W-91 (Prtmd) H-42 P71 X-92 'Gift will be disbursed by check at closing. "Check with your tax adviser regarding the deductibility of interest. Loans subject to credit approval. Annual Percentage Rate accurate as of 1 11296 and subject to change thereafter. Payment includes principal, interest and processing fee.

Ad must be presented at time of application. Available on new loans at First of America Bank-Indiana. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. t) For individuals with a TDD device, service is available 9-5 EST at 1-800-289-4614.

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