Hospitals report gains
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center swung to an operating profit of $10.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004, compared to a $3.4 million loss in the same period last year. Revenue shot up 15 percent to $242.6 million in the quarter ended March 31, up from $211.3 million in the year-earlier quarter. Operating profit at Children's Hospital, Boston, soared 35 percent to $6.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004, compared to $4.8 million for the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 16 percent to $194.8 million this year, up from $167.9 million a year ago. (Liz Kowalczyk)
Boston Scientific wins
Boston Scientific Corp., the biggest maker of heart stents, said a US appeals court upheld a ruling that lets it continue selling its products while contesting a patent suit with Johnson & Johnson's Cordis unit. Cordis, maker of the Cypher drug-coated stent, lost a court bid to block Boston Scientific from selling its Taxus stent while the suit is pending in Wilmington, Del. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed that any decision in favor of Cordis may be resolved through cash compensation, so there is no need to halt sales. (Bloomberg)
Ruling favors Chiofaro
US Bankruptcy Judge Joan N. Feeney ruled that International Place developer, part-owner, and manager Donald J. Chiofaro, whose office tower companies filed for bankruptcy this month, may continue to use revenue from leases to run the buildings. Feeney ruled that the property ''is not declining in value," so lender Tishman Speyer, which holds notes for about $650 million on the towers, is ''adequately protected against any diminution in value of its collateral." But Feeney ordered Chiofaro's firm to issue more liens ensuring that Tishman Speyer will benefit from the rents of tenants who lease space after the date of the bankruptcy filing. (Thomas C. Palmer Jr.)
Firm gets mixed ruling
Transkaryotic Therapies Inc. said a US District Court in Massachusetts has denied in part and granted in part the firm's motion to dismiss a suit alleging securities fraud. The court found that some of the claims made against the firm were protected by the ''safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The suit alleges that from Jan. 4, 2001, through Jan. 10, 2003, the defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose material information about the status and progress of a bid for obtaining US marketing approval of Replagal, a drug to treat Fabry disease. (Dow Jones)
THE NATION
Income, spending up
Consumer spending, which plays a crucial role in shaping economic activity, increased in April by a solid 0.3 percent, a good signal that the recovery remains firmly rooted. The increase, reported by the Commerce Department, came after a brisk 0.5 percent advance in March. Americans' incomes, meanwhile, rose by a strong 0.6 percent in April, marking the largest gain since January 2001. (AP)
. . .Etc.
ITT Sheraton Corp. won a reduction of a $51.5 million award in 1999 to $3.34 million on appeal. A three-judge panel cut the award to John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. and a unit of Sumitomo Corp. after finding incorrect jury instructions and damage calculations . . . Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington won Food and Drug Administration approval of the Sanctura drug to help prevent incontinence and frequent urination. (Globe wires)
