"I love from afar, do the best I can from afar but nothing equals a hug," said Eric Ball, funeral director, owner of David A. Hall Mortuary.

A clutch of big company results today illustrate the big economic trends in the UK and the world - and also say something about what the UK economy needs if its insipid recovery is to become something a bit stronger.

First the good news.

ARM, the world-leading designer of electronic chips for smartphones, tablets and consumer devices, saw revenues rise 29% in the first three months of the year and profits increase 35% (to £51m).

If we had a few more ARMs in this country, we would be agonising less about the imperative of "rebalancing" the structure of our wealth-creation away from financial services and the City.

That said, we'd need an incredible number of ARMs to make a dent in the high unemployment figures, because ARM simply licences its technology to the likes of Apple and LG, which put the chips into their devices. Or to put it another way, ARM's success is in exploiting the grey matter of a few boffins: it manufactures nothing.

Now part of the drag on Britain's recovery is the burden of debt on households and the impact of rising commodity prices on consumers' spending power.

You can see some of that in the first half figures of Associated British Foods, which points out that world sugar prices are at a 30-year high and that there has been a sugar shortage in Europe. ABF's sugar, grocery and agriculture profits were up substantially (sugar by 27%).

ABF's Primark chain of shops, whose prices tend to be the lowest on the high street, seems to have benefited from shoppers desire to trade down and economise, since underlying or like-for-like sales rose 3%. But although that looks okay compared with competitors, it was half the rate of last year's increase.

A further manifestation of all that borrowing in the euphoric years, before the bubble burst in 2007-8, is another set of uninspiring financial results from Heathrow and Stansted airports, and their holding company, BAA (SP) limited.

The losses of the two London airports increased 8% to £211.5m and net debt in BAA (SP) was flat at a substantial £9.9bn. Net debt at the next corporate level up, BAA (SH) plc was a chunky £10.4bn, against a regulated asset base of £13bn (which moved in the right direction by 2.7%).

BAA was acquired by the Spanish group Ferrovial and partners at the height of the debt-fuelled buyout boom of 2006 - and although BAA would argue that operational performance has improved, there is a question about when if ever the owners will ever see a return on their enormous investment.

Meanwhile, in spite of the rising trend of commodities and energy, including oil, BP's profits in the first three months of the year actually fell a fraction to $5.5bn. You can see the impact of higher oil prices in a near trebling of profits to $2.1bn made in refining and marketing - but there was a significant fall in production, some of it related to the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

The fundamental BP story is that the risks and costs of extracting energy are on a secular rising trend - for which we all pay a price.

Last but never least is Barclays and its figures for the first quarter of 2011 - which show top line income lower than the first quarter of last year and below the last quarter of last year. As for profits, they were up a bit or down a bit, depending on what view you take of whether changes in the notional value of Barclays' own borrowings should be included.

The unambiguous trend is a sharp reduction in the charge of debts and investments going bad - which was 39% lower compared with a year ago and 33% down on a three-month comparison.

As for lending, loans to retail customers rose by just under £1bn to £229bn since the end of 2010 - which is neither here nor there for a bank of Barclays' size. And the overall value of Barclays' loans and investments, on a risk-weighted basis, fell 1.5% over 12 months to £392bn.

For Barclays and other big western banks, it's no longer about growing their balance sheets, about lending more and more. Their long term recovery requires deleveraging, shrinking, which is the corollary of the perceived need for western consumers and governments to pay down their respective debts.

Here's the painful part: we may need banks to become smaller, but we all suffer if in the process they starve job-creating businesses of vital finance.

Those who fear the worst won't be reassured by figures just released by the British Bankers Association (BBA), which show that net lending to non-financial businesses by banks fell £3.2bn in March.

The BBA blames weak demand from companies. And although Barclays and the other banks have promised the Treasury, in their Project Merlin agreement, that they will meet the credit needs of the economy, my electronic postbag indicates that there remains quite a gap between their perception of deserving borrowers and yours.

Update 11:15: As some of you have pointed out, ARM saw its profits increase to £51m not £51bn, as I originally said, whilst losses at the two London airports increased to £211.5m, not £211.5bn. Sorry for my brainstorm. I've probably been dealing in billions a little too often recently - due to the magnitude of our recent financial crisis.

Although Royal Bank of Scotland is back in loss on a so-called statutory basis, having made the tiniest of profits in the final three months of last year, that doesn't really tell the story of what has been going on at this semi-nationalised bank.

For the record, the statutory attributable loss was £528m in the three months to March 31, compared with a profit of £12m in the last quarter of 2010 and a £248m loss in the first quarter of 2010.

But, as is par for the course with big, complex universal banks, these numbers do almost as much to obscure as to enlighten.

They are, for example, heavily influenced by changes in the valuation of debt sold by Royal Bank of Scotland to investors and of credit insurance bought from taxpayers in the form of the Asset Protection Scheme.

There was a loss of not far off £1bn on these items. Now it's moot whether it really enhances our understanding of Royal Bank of Scotland's performance that the value of these contracts - which can't be broken at a moment's notice - have moved against RBS.

More important, I think, is that operating profits of RBS's retail and commercial operations are almost a fifth better than a year ago at £1.9bn, though a little bit lower than in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The trend at RBS's global banking and markets business - what most would call its investment banking arm - was more volatile. Operating profits were £1.1bn in the latest period, double what was generated in the final quarter of 2010, but a third less than the bumper first three months of last year.

For the bank as a whole, the charge for debts going bad seems to be on an unambiguously declining trend, from £2.7bn in the first quarter of 2010, to £2.1bn in the final quarter of last year, and just under £2bn in the latest quarterly figures.

As for other important measures, RBS is succeeding in widening the gap between what it charges for credit and what it has to pay to borrow (good for shareholders, not always welcomed by customers) - and overheads appear to be under control.

So there is progress towards re-establishing RBS as thriving, growing business, which could prosper without the benefit of exceptional support from taxpayers - although that progress goes by fits and starts rather than in one giant leap (witness, as with Lloyds, a big increase in losses on lending to the troubled Irish economy).

What will perhaps spark some controversy is that the provision of credit to small businesses fell 7%. And, once again, RBS puts this down to a weakness of demand rather than a lack of any determination on its part to supply - but that doesn't enlighten on whether it's the unattractive borrowing terms on offer that puts off some potential business borrowers.

Also RBS has gone on the record for the first time with its opposition to the proposal from the Independent Banking Commission that internal firewalls should be erected inside giant banks such as RBS.

RBS says that the Independent Banking Commission's recommendation that universal banks like it should erect internal firewalls, or should put their retail and investment banking operations into separate insulated subsidiaries, are "likely to add to bank costs - impacting both customers and shareholders -without the safety gains that the broader Basel process is delivering" (the Basel process is the global negotiations on strengthening banks).

It is also striking that RBS signals that it isn't overjoyed at the unilateral decision made yesterday by Lloyds to chuck in the towel in the banks' legal battle against the regulators' judgement that they should make comprehensive restitution to those mis-sold PPI loan insurance. The banks says: "a decision on appeal of the court case...has not yet been made as it relates to important other issues of retrospective regulation".

As I've mentioned before, if RBS follows Lloyds's lead and offers a comprehensive PPI settlement, that would probably cost the bank a bit more than £1bn, about a third of the cost to Lloyds.

And if we're in the business of comparing the two partly nationalised mega banks, Lloyds and RBS, both still look some way from being in a fit state to see taxpayers' huge stakes privatised at a profit to all of us.

However if Lloyds entered the reporting season looking as though it was nearer to privatisation than RBS, their respective latest results probably show RBS inching forward a bit in that journey and Lloyds perhaps retreating slightly.

Most Marion County public schools will close Friday and all public schools in the county will close by Monday.

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced new steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus Thursday, including the prolonged closure of schools.

The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel invites the class of 2020 from across Central Indiana to a prom this August.

Indiana colleges and universities talk plans for the fall as campuses remain empty statewide

An advisory group from across the state is looking at the challenges and possibilities for bringing students back to campus.

While a return to full, in-person classes is unlikely, IU President Michael McRobbie outlined five possibilities for the fall semester.

As colleges look to the fall semester, they're faced with the uncertainty of what it will look like. But plans are underway.

The first day of the 2020-2021 school year is just a few months away. Will kids be back in classrooms or continue logging on?

Passagem da Terra pela trilha de resquícios do cometa Halley traz espetáculo de chuva de meteoros todos os anos; países da América do Sul estão entre os melhores posicionados para assistir a esse show noturno.

See which incoming sophomores Kyle Neddenriep thinks are the best in the state.

A look at where locals land on new national lists

Victor Oladipo made the move from Team Takeover to IU star. Hoosiers have their sights set on another guard from his AAU team.

Right now, there's a 1 in 8 chance the Hoosiers land the consensus top-10 talent out of Minnesota. But they're competing with NCAA royalty.

Senior combo guard Armaan Franklin, a standout at Cathedral and a four-star prospect, becomes IU's first commitment in the 2019 class.

"I had a coach tell me that I could pick the players they recruit to come and play with me."

"I'm pretty sure he's one-and-done. I just want to see how they develop him. What they do for him is key for me."

Trayce Jackson-Davis and Keion Brooks are considered among the nation's best players in the 2020 class

In-state names sprinkled through new rankings for 2020, '21 and '22

In-state players well-represented in national recruiting rankings

What Trayce Jackson-Davis' decision to return to Bloomington for his sophomore season means for Archie Miller and the Hoosiers.

Tom Allen and his staff will have positional questions to work whenever they can bring the Hoosiers back together.

A fixture in IU's starting lineup for most of the past two years, Smith averaged 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2019-20.

"I could miss 15 shots, and I always have the mindset that the next one's going in," Grace Berger says. "I'm not worried about those other shots."

Holloman, a three-star prospect from Auburn Hills, also had offers from West Virginia, Nebraska, Maryland, Iowa State, and Central Michigan, among others.

Anderson, a 6-7 wing from South Bend, put his name in the transfer portal exactly a week ago.

IU baseball, softball working out expanded rosters

"I look at that group — it was not sexy at that time to play for Indiana. They made it sexy."

Kevin Peoples has been mentored by Pete Jenkins, a defensive line master for decades.

Former Center Grove High School standout attended Stanford but will play for the Hoosiers in his remaining season.

IU basketball alum Cody Zeller recalls getting an unusual pep talk from Super Bowl coaches John and Jim Harbaugh

This week, PrepVolleyball.com released its Class of 2020 recruiting rankings. The Hoosiers came in at No. 15 — a program best.

Kyle Neddenriep and Matt Glenesk discuss sports after the coronavirus hits, what is happening in recruiting, concerns about fall sports and more.

Paul Corsaro is already busy at UIndy and a bunch of local players are on the move.

IndyStar high school sports Insider Kyle Neddenriep caught up with outgoing IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox.

In 2018, Gray was honored as the state's top coach at the Indiana Sports Awards.

It might sound alarmist to even wonder about having fall sports. But we are probably well past the point of anything sounding alarmist.

With the 2020 softball season approaching, it's time to break down the top Indiana prospects in each class. We start with a loaded senior class.

There are 124 teams signed up for the Charlie Hughes Shootout, but the June 30 mandate of schools being closed throws the event in doubt.

With the 2020 softball season approaching, it's time to break down the top Indiana prospects in each class.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.

IndyStar preps Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 "best" high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together.