RCN price increase hit more subscribers than reported

RCN Corp.'s price increase last fall was broader than the company first reported. The company, which has 75,000 television customers in Massachusetts, raised monthly cable TV prices $2.99 in November. But a company executive initially said customers wouldn't be affected if they also had a bundle with phone or Internet service. This week, RCN said some customers with such packages were hit with the price increase. An RCN spokeswoman declined to say how many customers were affected "for competitive reasons." (Todd Wallack)

Cambridge biopharmaceutical company Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration granted priority review for the Velcade injection in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. Velcade is approved in the United States for patients with multiple myeloma or mantle cell lymphoma who have received at least one prior therapy. The priority review status puts the drug on track for potential approval in mid-2008. Velcade is being codeveloped by Millennium and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC. (AP)

A Patrick administration report estimates the value of the Massachusetts defense economy at $14.7 billion. Massachusetts ranked eighth nationally in the dollar amount of federal defense dollars it attracted, according to the study, which added that the defense sector of the Massachusetts economy supported 71,000 jobs. The report based its findings on an analysis of data from the federal government's 2005 fiscal year, the latest year for which figures are fully available. The contracts generated $5.5 billion in related economic activity, resulting in a total of $14.7 billion. (Chris Reidy)

An investment group involved in a proxy fight with newspaper publisher Media General Inc. defended its plan to nominate members to the company's board. Harbinger Capital Partners, which holds an 18.4 percent stake of class A stock, said its action last week was neither hostile nor ill-advised, as characterized in a statement by Marshall N. Morton, Media General's president and chief executive. Philip A. Falcone, the group's portfolio manager, wrote in a letter sent to Morton and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Media General's stock has declined 39 percent since it first invested in the company and said he hopes changes to the board will help improve profitability. A Media General spokesman did not immediately return phone calls. (AP)

The company that developed one of the first mid-size sport utility vehicles and ran an ad campaign with a fibbing salesman says it will stop selling new passenger vehicles in North America. Isuzu Motors Ltd. said it will end distribution of its sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks starting Jan. 31, 2009. The Japanese company blamed the move on General Motors Corp.'s ceasing production for Isuzu of the Ascender sport utility vehicle and i-290 and i-370 pickup trucks. An Isuzu spokesman would give no more details about the decision, saying the company was still talking to dealers and employees. Isuzu sold 7,098 vehicles in the United States in 2007, down nearly 18 percent from 2008, according to Autodata Corp. (AP)

The Transportation Department said it is revamping a consumer ratings system for child safety seats. The new approach will use a five-star rating system, based on a seat's ability to secure a child and the ease with which the seat can be installed. It will also consider the labeling and instruction manual. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said seven in 10 child safety seats are either the wrong size or are misused, reducing their ability to protect kids. (AP)

The Energy Department canceled a virtually emissions-free $1.8 billion coal plant scheduled to be built in Illinois, saying it preferred to spend the money on a handful of projects nationwide that would demonstrate the capture and burial of carbon dioxide from commercial power plants. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the agency would solicit industry applications for participation in the new carbon-capture projects. The idea is for the government to pay for building the carbon-capture and storage facilities and industry to build the modern coal-burning power plant. (AP)