Developer to sell communities

A Cincinnati-based apartment developer that specializes in affordable housing is negotiating the sale of more than 100 of its communities to an undisclosed buyer.

When the sale is complete in two months, Brisben Cos. apartment construction and management affiliates will be phased out. The firm did not say how many positions will be eliminated.

Founder Bill Brisben blamed the soft economy for driving down both rents and occupancy levels of its apartment buildings. The purchasing firm should have more access to capital, which will help maintain the apartment buildings' quality, he said.

The firm operates 15 apartment communities in Greater Cincinnati.

Deducting options may alter incomes

Lexington-based Lexmark International Inc., the No. 2 U.S. maker of computer printers, said 2002 net income would have been $32.8 million less, or 8.9 percent, had the company treated stock options as an expense.

Earnings would have been $333.9 million last year, instead of the reported $366.7 million, Lexmark said in its yearly report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets U.S. accounting rules, decided last week to put on its agenda the issue of treating stock options as an expense. Analysts and executives say rule makers are moving closer to a decision that would force companies to deduct billions of dollars in stock options from earnings.

Report: Hoosier economy in crisis

Indiana's economy is on a slow, steady decline that has reached a crisis point, the Indianapolis Star concluded after reviewing the state's jobs picture.

"The nation changed, and Indiana did not move along with it," said Indiana University economist Morton Marcus, hired by the Star to help research the problem. "Our standard of living will come down. We can become among the poorest states in the country."

The Star conducted a seven-month analysis of Indiana's economy. The newspaper noted Indiana lost a greater share of its jobs during the 2001 recession than any other state, mostly in manufacturing.

- Staff/wire reports