Nuance Communications CEO turns down bonus

THE REGION

The chief executive of Nuance Communications Inc. of Burlington asked that his bonus of $95,625 be eliminated because bonuses were reduced for other employees for the first half of fiscal 2006, the company said in a regulatory filing. Nuance's compensation committee accepted Paul Ricci's request. Ricci was traveling and unavailable for comment, said a company spokesman. Nuance Communications provides speech and imaging solutions, including a product that converts text into speech. Its second-quarter loss widened from $1 million to $1.4 million as it took restructuring charges. (Chris Reidy)

Federated Investors Inc., the second-largest US manager of money market funds, agreed to buy MDT Advisers for as much as $240 million to expand its equity unit. The purchase will add $6.8 billion in individual and institutional accounts and $300 million in mutual funds, Pittsburgh-based Federated said. Cambridge-based MDT uses mathematical formulas to select stocks. The transaction includes an initial payment of $110 million and as much as $130 million more, depending on MDT's growth over three years after closing. (Bloomberg)

Profit at Partners Healthcare, the Harvard-affiliated network that owns Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, rose 54 percent in the second quarter compared to the year-ago period, the company said. Earnings were $153 million in the three months ended March 31, compared to $99 million for the same period in 2005. The largest share of the gains, about $105 million, came from investment income. It said some profits are being used for capital improvements and community needs, including $50 million in electronic records investment and $350 million for a new heart center at Brigham and Women's. (Christopher Rowland)

Acusphere Inc.'s first-quarter loss widened to $13.45 million, or 61 cents a share, from $7.97 million, or 45 cents a share a year ago, on higher expenses. The Watertown pharmaceutical company's collaboration revenue was unchanged at $857,000, but operating expenses grew $4 million to $13.43 million. Acusphere also had $500,000 in stock-option expenses and an $879,000 expense for a change in derivative valuation. It paid $601,000 in dividends on preferred stock, whereas it didn't pay any a year ago. (Dow Jones)

Putnam Investments said Hugh Mullin and Christopher Miller, managers of its largest mutual fund, are leaving the company. Mullin, 43, will be replaced as lead manager of the $15.6 billion Fund for Growth and Income by deputy head of investments Joshua Brooks and small-cap fund manager Eric Harthun. Miller, 39, is retiring, Boston-based Putnam said. Putnam Fund for Growth and Income has gained 15 percent in the past year, trailing two-thirds of large-company value funds, according to data tracked by Bloomberg. Over three years, the fund's 15 percent annualized return trailed 74 percent of peers. (Bloomberg)

Brooks Automation Inc., a Chelmsford maker of software and machines to help automate computer-chip production, said the Securities and Exchange Commission notified it of an informal inquiry into its stock-option granting practices. Brooks said it is cooperating with the SEC . . . Gloucester-based Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. said its patent dispute with Nissin Ion Equipment Co. was settled without any admission of infringement or payment by Nissin Ion. (Globe wires)