S&P, Fitch cut Boston Scientific bond ratings

THE REGION

Boston Scientific Corp., the world's second-largest maker of heart devices, had its credit ratings cut to below investment grade by Standard & Poor's and Fitch after deciding not to sell part of its endosurgery unit. S&P lowered the credit rating to BB+ from BBB- and may consider more downgrades, the rating service said. Fitch said it dropped the issuer default rating to BB+ from BBB-. The ratings are considered junk status. Boston Scientific will disclose a restructuring and job cuts next quarter "to begin enhancing shareholder value," the Natick-based company said. (Bloomberg)

The Boston Redevelopment Authority said it is raising rates today at the Winthrop Square Garage. All the new rates remain well below what downtown garages are charging. The rate for two hours or less is rising to $5 from $4.15, the rate for two to three hours is headed to $10 from $5.75, and the daily maximum is going to $20 from $12.45. The full-day rate at many downtown garages is $30 to $33 and often starts after as little as 80 minutes. The Winthrop Square property is where Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants to see Boston's tallest building constructed. A developer has proposed a 1,000-foot tower, but until construction begins, the BRA plans to manage the garage on behalf of the city. (Bruce Mohl)

BG Medicine Inc. filed for an initial public offering of up to $80 million in stock. The Waltham life-sciences company said in its prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to list its common stock on the Amsterdam exchange of NYSE Euronext under the symbol "BGMDX." BG Medicine discovers biomarkers and is developing molecular diagnostic tests based on biomarkers that are intended to provide information to physicians to improve patient-treatment decisions. The company didn't disclose how many shares will be offered and it didn't estimate a price range for the IPO. (Dow Jones/AP)

FHO Partners, a Boston commercial real estate brokerage, said it has entered an agreement with DTZ, a London-based real estate advisory company, that gives DTZ the option to buy FHO by next spring. The agreement includes an initial $2 million investment by DTZ, and FHO has rebranded itself as DTZ FHO Partners; if DTZ exercises all its options and moves forward with the purchase, the purchase price would be $35 million, a company spokeswoman said. (Chris Reidy)

Friendly Ice Cream Corp. swung to a second-quarter loss of $228,000, or 4 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of $4.66 million, or 58 cents, hurt in part by expenses from the proposed acquisition by an affiliate of private investment company Sun Capital Partners Inc. The Wilbraham restaurant company's revenue rose slightly, however, to $142.2 million from $141.5 million, helped by higher restaurant revenue. (Dow Jones)

Governor Deval Patrick signed legislation that requires businesses and government agencies to promptly notify consumers when private information such as Social Security and driver's license numbers have been lost or stolen. The law also allows residents to place a "security freeze" on their consumer credit reports to prevent identity thieves from fraudulently creating new accounts in their names. It also establishes rules for the disposal of old records containing personal information. Under those rules, state officials would be required to delete the first few digits of Social Security numbers when handling documents involving personal information if federal authorities don't require the full number. The law also requires companies and state agencies to destroy documents that contain personal information. (AP)

Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world's largest insurance broker, completed the $3.9 billion sale of its Boston-based Putnam Investments mutual fund unit to Power Financial Corp. Marsh management will discuss how it intends to use the $2.5 billion in after-tax proceeds in a conference call scheduled for Tuesday, the New York-based company said. The sale, originally expected to close in the second quarter, had been delayed as the companies waited for regulatory approval. (Bloomberg)