Children's Hospital holds financials for audit review

Children's Hospital Boston said it plans to wait until late next week to file financial reports for fiscal year 2005 with the state, in defiance of a Nov. 15 deadline mandated by state law. Children's Hospital was one of seven hospitals that failed to file after the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy denied requests for extensions. Partners HealthCare -- the parent corporation for Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and three other institutions -- filed this week after originally planning to file next week. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Needham campus also filed this week. Richard Powers, spokesman for Governor Romney's Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said there would be no penalty against Children's. Children's Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Davis said it will not file until after its audit committee has reviewed the numbers. (Christopher Rowland)

Cynosure rockets 26.2% in first day of trading

Cynosure, a Westford maker of lasers for hair removal and skin treatments, opened at $16.99 on the Nasdaq stock market, up 13 percent from its IPO offer price of $15. The company sold five million shares at a price above the expected range of $12 to $14 set by underwriter Citigroup. Shares finished up $3.93, or 26.2 percent, at $18.93. Cynosure earned $1.63 million in the first nine months of 2005, compared to $4.54 million in the same period a year ago, but has had operating losses in three of the last five years, and warns it may not be able to sustain the profitability it achieved in 2004 and 2005. (Dow Jones)

Biotech awards 5% raise to chief executive Termeer

Genzyme Corp., the fourth-biggest US biotechnology company, will raise chief executive Henri Termeer's salary 5 percent to $1.43 million next year and increase his potential bonus to $1.7 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Termeer, chief since 1985, has a salary this year of $1.37 million with a bonus of $1.53 million if certain performance targets are met. The Cambridge company reported an 18 percent increase in profit in the third quarter. (Bloomberg)

THE NATION
GM, Kerkorian fail to agree on board seat for aide

General Motors Corp. and billionaire Kirk Kerkorian said in a joint statement they have failed to reach an agreement on Kerkorian's request to gain a seat on the automaker's board for his aide Jerome York. GM and Tracinda Corp., Kerkorian's private equity firm, said they expect to continue discussions. GM spokeswoman Toni Simonetti wouldn't comment on why talks failed. A message seeking comment was left with a Tracinda spokeswoman. Kerkorian has been amassing GM shares and now has a nearly 10 percent stake. (AP)

BlackBerry maker's offer to settle lawsuit is rejected

Patent holding company NTP Inc. has rejected an offer by BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. to settle a legal battle and the two sides are not currently negotiating, NTP cofounder Don Stout said. Stout said RIM made an ''unacceptable" written offer Thursday to settle the patent infringement lawsuit that could shut down BlackBerry e-mail service in the United States. (Reuters)

Viacom unit offers $1.5b to purchase DreamWorks

Viacom Inc. reached broad terms of a deal to acquire DreamWorks SKG Inc., the privately held studio cofounded by director Steven Spielberg, in a transaction that could be finalized by tomorrow, sources familiar with the plan said. The deal would involve $1 billion in cash and $500 million in the assumption of debt, one source said, but details were not immediately available. The transaction must be approved by both companies' boards of directors. (Reuters)