By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff

With hundreds of National Grid employees still unpaid for work performed during Hurricane Sandy because of payroll system glitches, attorney general Martha Coakley on Monday fined the utility $270,000. She called on National Grid to “resolve this matter immediately” or risk more fines. National Grid began using a new payroll system shortly before Sandy hit the region in late October., leaving the company little time to fix any glitches before it had to handle the complex pay and overtime issues created by the massive storm.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Athenahealth Inc., a Watertown company that provides electronic record and billing systems to hospitals and other medical industry clients, said it has agreed to buy Epocrates Inc., which has developed point-of-care medical applications that about 330,000 doctors use as reference tools, in many cases on their iPhones. The companies’ boards of directors have agreed to a price of $11.75 per share, in cash, for an aggregate purchase price of about $293 million. The purchase price represents a 22 percent premium over Friday’s closing price for Epocrates shares on NASDAQ.

By Globe Staff

The Boston Globe is seeking the most innovative people in Massachusetts -- individuals who did the most in the past year to transform a business or their community. And we need your help. You can nominate candidates using this convenient online form. The achievements of candidates could range from introducing a new product that changed the way people work or play, to launching a new effort that became a runaway success. What’s important is that the bulk of their accomplishment occurred in the past 12 months.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Yankee Publishing Inc., the New Hampshire company that publishes the Old Farmer’s Almanac and Yankee Magazine, said Monday that it has acquired the assets of McLean Communications, which publishes New Hampshire Magazine, New Hampshire Business Review, Parenting New Hampshire, New Hampshire Home, and other publications. McLean will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yankee Publishing Inc., which also goes by YPI. YPI said it now employs a staff of 82 people. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff

A Suffolk Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt to block the sale of leases at four bankrupt Upper Crust restaurants to a private equity firm with ties to the pizza chain’s ousted founder.

UC Acquisition, which plans to work with founder Jordan Tobins, submitted the winning bids at a December auction of leases for the South End, Watertown, Wellesley, and Lexington locations.

But Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney representing former Upper Crust workers in a class action lawsuit, had argued the sale should be stopped.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

The average price for gas in Massachusetts is $3.459 a gallon in the latest weekly AAA survey, up 4 cents from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said Monday. It was the first weekly increase locally since early October, AAA Southern New England added. The current national average for a gallon of gas is $3.29. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.37.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Cambridge Savings Bank announced Monday the appointment of Wayne F. Patenaude as president and chief executive of Cambridge Financial Group Inc. and Cambridge Savings Bank. Patenaude, who succeeds Robert M. Wilson, has served as the bank’s chief financial officer and treasurer since 2007.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Attivio Inc., a Newton-based software company, said Monday it has secured $8 million in funding from the General Electric Pension Trust. That is in addition to a $34 million investment round that was led by Oak Investment Partners and that was announced in October. Attivio’s software enables companies to analyze their data to solve complex business problems. Attivio calls its product the Active Intelligence Engine, or AIE.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

National Development has sold a six-story office building in Boston’s Financial District to local real estate investor Henri Jacques LLC for $6.4 million, said brokers involved in the transaction. The brokers are Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, which represented the seller, and Chandler Co. LLC, which represented the buyer. With nearly 22,000 square feet of space including street-level retail space, the building has two addresses --- 274 Franklin St. and 67 Batterymarch St.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Covidien, a global provider of health care products that is incorporated in Dublin but has its headquarters in Mansfield, said Monday that its Tri-Staple technology platform has achieved more than $1 billion in sales. Launched in mid 2010, the technology enables surgeons to use staplers in a broader range of tissue thicknesses. The Covidien product line that incorporates this technology is employed in a wide range of laparoscopic surgical procedures.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

NeuroMetrix Inc., a Waltham-based medical device company, said Monday that it has started commercial shipment of its SENSUS Pain Management System, a device that helps manage chronic pain in the lower leg or foot. The system is a lightweight electrical nerve stimulator that is worn on the upper calf and activated by the press of a button. According to the company’s website, trancutaneous electrical nerve stimulation has been shown to provide pain relief for patients with diabetes. 

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff

Lord’s Department Store, the longtime retail anchor of Main Street in Medfield, is shutting down in February after 73 years in business. Tom Kelly, who runs the 10,000-square-foot store with his sister, Nancy Kelly-Lavin, said the format -- featuring an old-fashioned soda counter, and small departments with toys, sporting goods, clothing, hardware, and candy -- was still profitable, but they were ready to move on.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Two days after they hosted the final talk show broadcast on WTKK-FM, Jim Braude and Margery Eagan have lined up a one-day gig on WGBH-FM that could double as an audition. WGBH said Friday that the former WTKK morning show hosts will guest host “Boston Public Radio” on Jan. 8, filling in for Callie Crossley, Emily Rooney and Kara Miller. WGBH managing director Phil Redo suggested there could be more to come.

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff

Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp. Friday tapped Ian Baines as the new president and chief executive of the Boston pizza chain. Baines, who most recently served as a senior vice president at Brinker International and Chili’s Grill & Bar, is scheduled to begin his new job Monday. Frank Guidara, the company`s current chief executive, plans to stay on as a part-time consulant until July 2014.

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

The judge in the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church bankruptcy case on Friday gave the congregation until the end of February to file an amended plan of reorganization, despite a withering argument by the bank’s lawyers that the church’s current plan is unrealistic and based on inaccurate projections. It was the latest skirmish in what’s turned into a long court battle between the church and OneUnited Bank, two prominent black institutions in Boston. Charles Street AME filed for federal bankruptcy protection last March..

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Bedford-based iRobot Corp. is diving into the deep end, with a new machine that automatically cleans swimming pools.

Among the new products being introduced by the robot-maker is a submersible named The Mirra 530, priced at $1,299, that automatically calculates the size and shape of a pool, then scour its floor and sides to remove algae and bacteria.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Safelite Group Inc. said Friday it has purchased North Andover-based Giant Glass Co. Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The sale, rumored for more than a week, was completed Monday, ending 34 years of local ownership by Dennis Drinkwater and Lance Cramer. “I am proud of the company that my business partner, Lance, and I have built,” Drinkwater said in a statement. “We have a strong customer base and excellent employees, and we wanted both of them to be well taken care of in the future. We trust that Safelite will take care of them both.”

By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff

Weston-based Biogen Idec Inc. has applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a new therapy to treat hemophilia B, the biotechnology company said Friday. Hemophilia B is a rare inherited disease that impairs patients’ blood from clotting and can cause bleeding, joint damage and life-threatening hemorrhages. Biogen Idec said it submitted its biologics license application to the FDA late in the fourth quarter and expects a decision some time in 2013

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff

A lawyer representing former Upper Crust workers lost a last-ditch effort to buy four of the company’s pizzerias and block their sale to a private equity firm with ties to the chain’s ousted founder. On behalf of ex-employees who accuse the company of seizing wages, Shannon Liss-Riordan submitted a plan late Wednesday night to the bankruptcy court judge that offered $855,000 for leases at the South End, Watertown, Wellesley, and Lexington locations. That’s $200,000 more than the proposed sale amount of these restaurants to UC Acquisition, an affiliate of investment firm Ditmars Ltd.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Macy’s Inc. said Thursday it plans to close its Belmont store, along with five others, laying off 101 local workers. The Belmont store opened in 1978 as a Filene’s and became a Macy’s in 2006, when Macy’s Inc. bought May Department Stores, Filene’s parent company. The other stores being shuttered include the Bloomingdale’s Fashion Home Store in Las Vegas and Macy’s locations in Pasadena, Calif.; Honolulu, Hawaii; St. Paul, Minn.; and Houston. A total of 634 workers will be laid off, though the Cincinnati-based company said some may be offered positions at other stores.

By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff

Biogen Idec Inc. said Thursday it is halting efforts to develop dexpramipexole, an experimental drug to treat ALS, the progressive neurodegenerative disorder, after the drug candidate proved ineffective in clinical trials. The move was a blow to efforts to advance treatments amyotrophis lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gerhig’s disease, for which there is currently no cure. It was also a setback to the Weston-based biotechnology company, which had invested in the high-risk development program.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Yankee Group Research Inc., the Boston mobile strategy firm, has been acquired by a New York technology research company, 451 Group LLC, the companies said Thursday. Terms of the deal with Yankee Group’s prior owner, Boston private equity firm Alta Communications, were not disclosed. Yankee Group, Boston’s oldest technology forecasting firm, analyzes mobile communications trends and advises business about how to capitalize on them

By Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff

Massachusetts foreclosure activity fell in November as fewer struggling homeowners went into foreclosure and lost properties to lenders, according to new data released Wednesday. There were 295 completed foreclosure filed in November, 2012, a decline of almost 60 percent from November 2011. Between January and November, there were 7,158 homeowners who lost their properties to foreclosure -- a nearly 8 percent drop compared to the first 11 months of 2011

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Compacting trash and recycling can maker BigBelly Solar Inc. said Wednesday it has hired former Infinite Power Solutions chief executive Jim Norrod to the same position. The Newton-based company said it picked Norrod because the veteran chief executive has a record of growing companies, leading some toward profitable mergers and acquisitions.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

WTKK-FM made its anticipated switch from talk to music Wednesday, rebranding as Power 96.9 with an urban contemporary format at the conclusion of the final “Jim & Margery” morning show, hosted by Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. A format change by WTKK, a talk radio station since 1999, had been reported for weeks but owner Greater Media Inc. had kept the music genre a secret.

By Katie Johnston, Globe Staff

Cambridge-based Zipcar is being acquired by Avis for nearly $500 million, following a period in which the pioneering local hourly car rental company faced increased competition from traditional car rental companies entering the hourly rental market.

By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

For the second time in three years, the Department of Revenue has missed a statutory deadline to produce a report on the controversial film tax credit program. Agency spokeswoman Ann Dufresne said the report - which by law was required to be released by December 31 -- was still being reviewed Monday.

By Katie Johnston, Globe Staff

The lawyer representing former Upper Crust employees who is turning the bankrupt pizza chain’s former Harvard Square location into a worker-owned store is spearheading a fundraising effort to turn four more Upper Crust restaurants into worker-owned stores.

By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

Federal unemployment benefits for people unemployed more than 27 weeks expired Saturday, cutting off an estimated 45,000 Massachusetts residents as negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff stalled. Those affected are mostly the long-term unemployed, who will file their final claim this week. About 2 million people nationwide are expected to lose benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project.

By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

Safelite Group, the country’s largest providers of vehicle glass repair services, declined to comment Monday on possible negotiations to buy a prominent competitor in Massachusetts, Giant Glass Co.

“Nothing has been finalized at time,” said Melina Metzger, the public relations manager for Safelite Group in Columbus, Ohio, adding that it was premature to make any announcements or provide other details

By Globe Staff

Free lunch may be hard to come by, but free coffee is not. Starting at 5 pm today and until 5 am on Tuesday, Cumberland Farms will be giving away free coffee at its stores. Customers will be treated to a complimentary cup of Farmhouse Blend, iced or hot. It’s the sixth year in a row the company has offered this freebie.

By Associated Press

The cost of a gallon of gas in Massachusetts has inched up by a penny in the past week.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular is up to $3.41 per gallon, 12 cents above the national average. The current price is still 13 cents lower than a month ago, but 12 cents higher than this time last year.

By Alli Knothe, Globe Correspondent

Readers have spoken, and by an overwhelming margin the biggest local business story of 2012 was NStar’s merger with Northeast Utilities that also included an agreement to buy power from the controversial Cape Wind project. Here are the others that rounded up the top five:

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

The judge in the Upper Crust pizza bankruptcy case on Friday approved a purchase of four of the chain’s stores by an investment firm with ties to the restaurant group’s founder, but gave plaintiffs who objected to the sale until Jan. 7 to seek a ruling from the Superior Court on whether the transaction would violate an order barring Jordan Tobins from transferring his assets.

Judge Henry J. Boroff, of US Bankruptcy Court in Springfield, said the issue of whether Upper Crust founder Tobins may be involved in any way in the purchase of stores from his failed company must be decided in Superior Court. It was there that Tobins was previously barred him from transferring more than $2,500 of his assets, as part of a class action law suit brought against him by his former workers.

By Michael B. Farrell, Globe Staff

Federal investigators are looking into allegations of accounting fraud at Autonomy, a British software company with offices in the Boston area that Hewlett-Packard Co. bought last year for $11.1 billion. HP officials have accused former Autonomy executives of misrepresenting the company's finances and inflating its revenue figures. Last month, HP took an $8.8 billion charge because it said the enterprise software company wasn’t worth its original price tag.

By Katie Johnston, Globe Staff

Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. has decided not to sell its band instrument division, the Waltham manufacturer announced this week.

The company had previously reached an agreement in principle with a group of investors led by two current Steinway board members, but called off the deal due to a recommendation from a special committee and the operating performance of the division that makes trumpets, saxophones, and other band instruments, according to a statement on the company’s website.

By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff

A threatened strike by dock workers Sunday that would have closed much of the port of Boston and other major shipping outlets along the east coast has been averted after the Longshoremen’s union reach a tentative deal with maritime operators. A federal mediator announced Friday the two parties had reached an agreement in principle over royalty payments for handling container cargo at the ports and that the deadline for a strike has been moved back 30 days, to January 28, 2012.

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

A lawyer representing former Upper Crust pizza workers on Wednesday filed an objection in US Bankruptcy Court to the sale of any of the pizza chain’s stores to entities affiliated with founder Jordan Tobins. Upper Crust filed for bankruptcy protection in October and at an auction held last week, the high bidder for the assets of four former Upper Crust locations was UC Acquisition, an entity attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan alleges it has ties to Tobins.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Parexel International Corp., a Waltham biotechnology services company , said Thursday it has purchased software maker Liquent Inc. for $72 million. Liquent, based in Horsham, Pa., makes software used by drug companies to manage regulatory submissions and product registration. The purchase of Liquent will allow Parexel to expand the consulting services it provides to biotech and medical device companies. Liquent brings to Parexel more than 200 clients worldwide that use its software. Prior to the sale, Liquent was owned by private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners of Hermosa Beach, Calif.

By Jenifer McKim, Globe Staff

Motivated homebuyers purchased 4,539 single-family properties last month, the best November for sales since the market peak in 2005, according to data released Thursday. Sales of single-family homes increased by 38 percent in November compared to the same month in 2011, the 11th month in a row of sales increases, according to the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks local real estate.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Beverly biotech company Cellceutix Corp. surged again on Wednesday, pushing its stock price up by 30 percent in two days of trading since it claimed to be ahead of giants Merck, Roche and Sanofi in the race to develop a new cancer drug. Cellceutix closed trading on the Nasdaq exchange at $2.42 per share on Wednesday, an all-time high since the company went public in February 2008. As recently as Nov. 26, a share of Cellceutix cost $0.98.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Chevron USA, Inc. and Texaco Downstream Properties, Inc. will repay the state $1.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging they accepted money from a public fund for gas station cleanups without disclosing reimbursement payments from their insurers, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced on Wednesday. The repayment announced Wednesday is the second in Coakley’s crusade against misuse of the cleanup fund. In April, Sunoco agreed to a $2.2 million settlement in a similar case.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Home prices in Boston have risen in the past year but at a much slower pace than in other major housing markets, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released on Wednesday. Boston housing prices were 1.6 percent higher in October this year than they were in the same month last year. The average increase in 20 metropolitan areas was 4.3 percent -- the largest year-over-year increase in two and a half years.

By Michael B. Farrell, Globe Staff

For the second year in a row, Logan International Airport recorded a record number of passengers with 29 million travelers passing through the Boston airport. The airport will mark the occasion this afternoon by welcoming the 29th million traveler, who is expected to depart on a United Airlines flight later Wednesday afternoon. The airport’s previous passenger record was set in 2011 when 28.9 million travelers flew in and out of Logan.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals said Monday it has won approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market the Cambridge biotechnology company’s first drug, a treatment for a rare inherited genetic disorder that can raise cholesterol to life-threatening levels. The condition, disordehomozygous familial hypercholesterolemia -- or HoFH -- is resistant to statins and other medications typically used to bring high cholesterol under control.

By Callum Borchers, Globe Staff

Beverly-based biopharmaceutical company Cellceutix Corp. on Monday said a cancer drug it is testing in clinical trials is more advanced than similar drugs under development by larger companies that were featured in The New York Times on Sunday. Merck, Roche and Sanofi are not yet testing their drugs in clinical trials against many kinds of cancer but Cellceutix, which was not mentioned in the Times article, said Monday that it is already conducting such trials.

By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff

Unionized nurses have filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board charging that UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester was breaching its contract and violating federal labor law by requiring some nurses to work on Christmas. Between 10 and 20 nurses were told in recent days that they will be needed on Christmas even though they worked on Thanksgiving and are scheduled to work on New Year’s day, said David Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

State treasurer Steve Grossman said the Massachusetts pension fund has $27.8 million invested in the gun industry. The Globe reported earlier this week that Grossman had asked for an accounting of gun-related investments following last Friday’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. “Given recent events, we’re engaged in a serious conversation on gun violence in America, and I hope that the timely release of this information will make that as comprehensive a discussion as possible,” Grossman said in a statement Friday.

By Globe Staff,

TJX Cos. Inc., the Framingham-based owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, said it bought discount online retailer Sierra Trading Post for about $200 million. The privately-held Sierra Trading Post, which launched in 1999 and is headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, generates annual revenue of more than $200 million. The company specializes in apparel, footwear, and home furnishings. As part of the deal, TJX said, it is acquiring Sierra Trading Post’s office, distribution center and photography studios in Cheyenne, customer call centers in Cheyenne and Cody, Wyoming, and four outlet stores in Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming.

By Casey Ross, Globe Staff

The Globe has named Brian McGrory, a longtime reporter and Metro columnist for the paper, as its new editor.