Doughnut franchises in Saugus, Medford close

Krispy Kreme doughnut shops closed yesterday in Saugus and Medford. Officials at the Jan Cos., a Cranston, R.I., company that is the Krispy Kreme franchiser for New England, did not return phone calls seeking comment. But a Lynn lawyer who leases the Saugus location on Route 1 to the franchiser, said Janice Mathews, a vice president at Jan Cos., notified him Tuesday , of the company's decision to close the two stores, along with one in Connecticut, effective yesterday. ''She really didn't give any reasons," Greg Demakis said yesterday. The Medford location was the franchiser's first Massachusetts store. The Jan Cos. operates five other Krispy Kreme shops, including one in Dedham, according to the company's website. (Kathy McCabe)

Citizens Financial layoffs include some in Mass.

Massachusetts officials said Citizens Financial Group has notified them that it laid off 100 employees nationally in recent weeks, but only a handful in Massachusetts. The notice comes as Citizens has embarked on a ''reorganization." but executives have declined to provide details. As part of the changes, Citizens executives previously said they will cut ''a few hundred" jobs throughout the bank's footprint, but declined to say exactly how many or where. Separately, Citizens' filings with federal regulators show the company eliminated 713 jobs in the third quarter in the Midwest, New York, and Vermont. Most of the cuts came from Ohio, where Citizens acquired Cleveland-based Charter One Financial Inc. in 2004. Spokeswoman Barbara Cottam said the Charter One employees were notified in August 2004 that their jobs would be cut, but they remained employed until the third quarter of 2005. (Sasha Talcott)

Foreclosures in Mass. rise 35% through October

Home mortgage foreclosure filings are rising in Massachusetts according to a report showing a 35 percent increase statewide through October. Filings in suburban Reading more than tripled and increased 113 percent in Lawrence compared with the same period last year, according to Land Court filings tracked by Framingham-based ForeclosuresMass. The number of foreclosures filed through Oct. 31 was 9,459, compared with 7,003 in the same 10-month period last year, the report said. Essex County had the largest increase, at 50 percent. Among the state's three largest cities, Worcester had the largest increase with 52 percent, while filings were up 42 percent in Boston, and 20 percent in Springfield. (AP)

2d-quarter net income falls at Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.'s second-quarter net income fell sharply from a year earlier, when results were buoyed by an insurance benefit. The Springfield gun maker posted net income of $692,377, or 2 cents a share, compared with $2.1 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Stock compensation cut earnings in the recent quarter by 1 cent a share, while year-earlier results included a net insurance benefit of $2.1 million, or 6 cents a share. Sales grew more than 22 percent to $35.5 million, from $29.1 million a year earlier. (Dow Jones)

THE NATION
Merck rests in first federal trial concerning Vioxx

Merck & Co. rested its case in the first federal trial involving the painkiller Vioxx after a pathologist testified the drug played no role in a man's fatal heart attack. The trial in Houston stems from a lawsuit filed by Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, whose 53-year-old husband Richard ''Dicky" Irvin died in 2001 after taking Vioxx for back pain for a month. Dr. Thomas M. Wheeler, the head of Baylor College of Medicine's pathology department, testified that Irvin's sudden death was caused by plaque that ruptured in an artery, causing a blood clot that led to the heart attack. He said Vioxx did not contribute to Irvin's death. (AP)

Tribune Co. cuts 900 jobs in drive to bolster profit

Tribune Co. eliminated 900 jobs, or 4 percent of its workforce, in 2005 as part of a cost-cutting drive, Tribune chief executive Dennis FitzSimons told investors. The cuts came mainly in the publishing division, FitzSimons said. Tribune cut jobs this year at Newsday, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and other papers in an effort to preserve profitability amid faltering revenues and rising costs including newsprint and employee benefits. After the cuts, Tribune will have a workforce of slightly more than 22,000. (AP)

Cellphone chip maker sees profit forecast at high end

Texas Instruments Inc., the world's biggest maker of cellphone chips, said profit this quarter will be at the high end of its forecast on higher holiday demand. Fourth-quarter net income will rise to 38 to 40 cents a share, compared with the company's October forecast of 36 to 40 cents. Sales will be $3.56 billion to $3.71 billion, narrowed from the $3.42 billion to $3.72 billion the company predicted earlier. (Bloomberg)