Tewksbury company's quarterly earnings off 22
Avid Technology Inc., a maker of software and computers for editing digital audio and video, said its second-quarter earnings fell as much as 22 percent because of lower-than-expected video revenue. Net income was $12 million to $13 million, or 34 to 36 cents a share, down from $15.5 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier, Tewksbury-based Avid said in a statement of preliminary earnings. Revenue was about $160 million, less than the $171.4 million average estimate of seven analysts in a Thomson Financial survey. Shares fell $4.80, or 9.5 percent, to $50.50 in after-hours trading. (Bloomberg)
MassMutual loses ruling over subpoena about CEO
A Springfield judge dismissed MassMutual Financial Group's attempt to quash a subpoena from Secretary of State William F. Galvin that sought information on the insurer's firing of its chief executive, Robert J. O'Connell. But Judge Constance M. Sweeney did not rule on the validity of Galvin's subpoena, and she left the door open for MassMutual to refile the petition to quash it. MassMutual had argued that Galvin does not have jurisdiction over the matter because MassMutual is not publicly traded and is owned by its policyholders. Galvin, who has authority to regulate securities, argued that he was only interested in the events surrounding O'Connell's firing that directly related to MassMutual's mutual fund unit, Oppenheimer funds. (Sasha Talcott)
FAA to seek new bids for air-traffic radar upgrades
US aviation regulators will accept new bids for four air-traffic control facility upgrades previously awarded to Raytheon Co. The decision is a victory for rival Lockheed Martin, which competed for the projects. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will solicit bids to replace controller displays in Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, and St. Louis. Raytheon won a $940 million contract in 1996 to upgrade the equipment at those sites and 158 other locations. Kenneth Mead, the Transportation Department's inspector general, said in November the FAA should scrap plans for the Raytheon upgrade and instead replace the screens on existing Lockheed equipment. The need for new technology was too great to wait three years for the full Raytheon upgrade, he said in a report. Raytheon is examining how it will respond to the decision, said Mel Weinzimer, Raytheon's director of domestic automation programs. (Bloomberg)
Galvin demands files from consultant's legal counsel
Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin issued a subpoena for McKinsey & Co. general counsel Jean Molino as part of his investigation into Procter & Gamble's proposed $57 billion acquisition of Gillette. McKinsey, a consulting firm, conducted analyses on the value of revenue gains and cost reductions resulting from the acquisition. In the subpoena, Galvin ordered Molino to turn over all documents McKinsey prepared for P&G in connection with the merger and to identify personnel from Goldman Sachs Group and UBS AG that were provided these documents in their role as advisers to Gillette in connection with the acquisition. A McKinsey spokesman declined to comment. (Jenn Abelson)
Investment Technology to acquire Macgregor
Investment Technology Group Inc., a supplier of brokerage and trading software, agreed to buy Boston-based Macgregor for $230 million to add services that allow portfolio managers to place orders. Investment Technology plans to finance the transaction using cash and bank debt. The deal is expected to close within 90 days. (Bloomberg)
THE NATION
IBM to give universities access to its technologies
IBM is set to unveil an initiative today that will enable universities worldwide to freely license a range of technologies developed at IBM's research labs. In an effort to boost development skills on campus in technologies based on open standards, IBM will give students and professors access to more than 25 advanced technologies, including games and simulations, grid computing tools, and software applications designed for the visually impaired. (Robert Weisman)
Profit plummets 65, but still beats Wall St. forecast
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s second-quarter profit fell 65 percent but beat Wall Street expectations as the chip maker reported record microprocessor sales. For the period ended June 26, AMD earned $11.32 million, or 3 cents per share, on sales of $1.260 billion. That's down from a profit of $32.2 million, or 9 cents a share, on revenue of $1.262 billion in the same period last year. Analysts were expecting a loss of 5 cents per share on sales of $1.22 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. (AP)
