Court denies appeal of Gaiety demolition
The Massachusetts Appeals Court rejected the Glass Slipper strip club's request to stop demolition of the defunct Gaiety Theatre. The Gaiety's owner, Kensington Investment Co., wants to construct an apartment building near the corner of Washington and LaGrange streets, land partly occupied by the Gaiety and the Glass Slipper. The Glass Slipper had asked the Massachusetts Land Court for an injunction that would spare the Gaiety. That request was denied Tuesday and the Glass Slipper appealed. Yesterday, the Appeals Court upheld the Land Court's decision. The Glass Slipper's lawyer said his client was reviewing his options. A Kensington spokeswoman said the developer was pleased with the result. She declined to elaborate on an earlier statement that the Gaiety's demolition "will shortly proceed." In Land Court, a lawsuit continues in which the Glass Slipper alleges that Kensington was wrongly granted special zoning for its housing development. (Chris Reidy)
Mass. board clears sale of 3 hospitals
A state board has cleared the $126.7 million sale of Saint Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center and MetroWest Medical Center to Vanguard Health Systems. Vanguard is in the final stages of completing the purchase from Tenet Healthcare Corp., the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain. The state's Public Health Council on Tuesday approved the sale to Vanguard, a privately held chain of 16 hospitals. The sale is part of Tenet's attempt to shore up its ailing finances and focus on core hospitals in California, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Vanguard is paying about $57.2 million for Saint Vincent and $43.1 million for the MetroWest Medical Center, which includes Framingham Union Hospital in Framingham and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick. The rest of the purchase price, $26.4 million, is for working capital. (AP)
DNA cancer test results disappointing
The first big trial of a DNA test to detect colon cancer proved disappointing to those hoping for an easy and accurate screening method. The test, which looks for signs of mutant genes in stools, found just half the colon and rectal cancers detected by colonoscopies. It did find four times as many cancers as a widely used test that looks for blood in stools, but the DNA test is too expensive at $400 to $800 and too inaccurate to recommend, specialists said. The study in today's New England Journal of Medicine looked at 4,400 people who were at least 50, had no symptoms of cancer, and were at average risk of the disease. The trial was paid for by Exact Sciences of Marlborough which makes the test. (AP)
Buyer set for Westin Providence hotel
The Rhode Island Convention Center Authority has selected a Cranston hotel ownership and construction company as the likely purchaser of the Westin Providence. The Procaccianti Group, which bid $95.5 million to buy the 364-room hotel, was chosen from among 15 companies that bid for the state-owned property. The deal will not be final until the Procaccianti Group and the authority work out a purchase-and-sales agreement, which the authority hopes to vote on at its next meeting in January. The privately owned company said it plans to spend $40 million to $60 million to improve and expand the hotel by 200 rooms on adjacent vacant land. (AP)
THE NATION
Marsh & McLennan receives SEC request
Marsh & McLennan Cos., already under intense scrutiny from regulators, said it received a request for information pursuant to a Securities and Exchange Commission formal investigation. In a filing with the agency, the financial services company said the request seeks documents and other information concerning related-party transactions in which a director, executive, or 5 percent stockholder of the company "had a direct or indirect material interest, including transactions with the Trident funds." Marsh, the corporate parent of Putnam Investments, said it intends to cooperate fully in the investigation. (Dow Jones)
Broadband Internet connections up 38%
The number of American consumers and businesses that subscribe to high-speed Internet service, or broadband, jumped 38 percent in the year ended June 30, 2004, according to Federal Communications Commission statistics. About 32.5 million broadband lines connected homes and businesses to the Internet, up from 23.5 million at the end of June 2003, the semiannual report said. In the six months ended June 30, the number of broadband lines rose 15 percent compared to 20 percent in the previous six months the agency said. But, even with the broadband rate increasing, the United States continues to fall behind other countries for broadband subscribers, placing 13th in the most recent rankings by the International Telecommunications Union. (Reuters)
Food company to sell yogurt business
Kraft Foods Inc. said it has agreed to sell its yogurt business, including licenses for Breyers' Creme Savers, Fruit on the Bottom, and Light 'n Lively, to CoolBrands International Inc. for about $59 million. Kraft expected the yogurt business to generate about $90 million in net revenue in 2004. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2005 and result in an aftertax book loss of about $12 million, or 1 cent per share, Kraft said. (AP)
Dollar falls slightly against euro
The dollar was slightly lower against the euro in light trading, with markets showing little appetite for testing new lows ahead of the Christmas holiday. In late New York trading, the 12-nation currency stood at $1.3381 -- a fraction higher than the $1.3373 it fetched late Tuesday. The dollar was narrowly mixed against its other rivals in New York. The British pound traded at $1.9144, down from $1.9279 late Tuesday. The dollar was quoted at 104.08 yen, down from 104.38; 1.1523 Swiss francs, down from 1.1530; and 1.2442 Canadian dollars, up from 1.2304. Concern over the US trade and budget deficits pushed the euro to a record high of $1.3470 on Dec. 7. (AP)
Guilty plea entered in stock fraud cause
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty to stock fraud in connection with promoting a device that he claimed would protect against chemical and biological attacks. Stewart Kaiser also admitted the device, which he promoted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, was neither patented nor operational. Federal authorities said the device described in a fraudulent news release was actually a filing cabinet painted yellow with a siren and flashing red light and that Kaiser's promotion helped him sell his company's stock at inflated prices. Kaiser's wife, Nancy C. Vitolo, pleaded guilty Tuesday to making false statements to federal authorities. Both were indicted in connection with their company R-Tec Technologies Inc. R-Tec stock was trading at 46 cents on the day of the news release, but amid a 34-fold increase in volume, shares hit $2.40 on Sept. 28, 2001. Kaiser admitted selling 50,000 shares that day, which he had placed in his mother's account two days earlier. (AP)
THE WORLD
Russia acquires buyer of production unit
Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft has acquired the mysterious buyer of Yukos' most important production unit, Russian news agencies reported. ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported that Rosneft had bought 100 percent of the shares in the little-known company, BaikalFinansGroup. The move gives Rosneft more than three-quarters of the shares in Yukos' Yuganskneftegaz production unit, which BaikalFinansGroup bought at a government auction on Sunday, reports said. The reports could not be immediately confirmed. (AP)
