Carrier Comair ramping up summer service at Logan

Comair, an airline providing regional flights under the Delta Connection banner, is beefing up its summer service at Logan International Airport, Delta Air Lines said. The carrier will extend through Sept. 6 its once-daily Spring Break nonstop Saturday service between Boston and New Orleans, which originally was planned to run from Feb. 2 to April 26. On May 3 it will reintroduce once-daily weekend flights between Boston and Myrtle Beach, S.C., after having suspended that route in October. And it will resume once-daily summer service between Boston and Quebec City, Quebec, and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, between June 13 and Sept. 7. Big Sky Airlines, another Delta Connection carrier, ended its Quebec City route in December because unusually bad weather, disappointing revenue, and record high fuel prices made many of the carrier's operations unsustainable. Additionally, Comair will add a third weekly flight between Boston and Bangor starting June 5. (Nicole C. Wong)

Genzyme Corp., the world's largest maker of drugs for rare genetic disorders, had a fourth-quarter profit as sales of Myozyme for Pompe disease doubled. Net income for the quarter climbed to $78.9 million, or 29 cents a share, after a loss of $268.2 million, or $1.02 a share, a year earlier when it had expenses from an acquisition, the Cambridge company said. Shares fell $1.42 to $75.30 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. (Bloomberg)

Valve maker Watts Water Technologies Inc. of North Andover said fourth-quarter profit rose 19 percent on sales growth boosted by favorable foreign exchange movements. Watts earned $21.5 million, or 55 cents per share, compared with $18.1 million, or 51 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Shares closed up $1.05 to $29.70 (AP)

EMC Corp, the world's top provider of corporate computer storage hardware, is in early-stage talks with Germany's SAP AG to deliver computer programs over the Web, a senior SAP executive said. The proposed tie-up reflects a push by Hopkinton's EMC into a much-hyped new area of technology known as "cloud computing" that centralizes computing and storage functions at data centers, and allows people with PCs or laptops and Web access to tap vast stores of information from afar. The companies would use virtualization technology to deliver that software to customers, Doug Merritt, president of SAP Labs North America, said. He did not discuss specifics. (Reuters)

The Justice Department allowed two private equity firms to go ahead with a $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications, the largest operator of radio stations in the United States. To address competition concerns, the agency is requiring Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners to sell four radio stations, in Cincinnati, Houston, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. The firms own stakes in other radio broadcasters in those markets, the department said. The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal to take Clear Channel private last month, contingent on the San Antonio-based company selling radio stations in 42 markets. (AP)

The founder of Comcast Corp. will give up his salary, bonus, and stock grants and will instead receive $1 in annual compensation, according to a regulatory filing. Ralph J. Roberts, 87, previously agreed to a compensation plan that would have paid his beneficiaries his salary for five years after his death, among other benefits. The plan, which became effective on Jan. 1, was amended to change his compensation to $1 starting tomorrow. Comcast's board changed the plan at the behest of Roberts. (AP)

A woman is suing Best Buy for $54 million because she claims the consumer electronics retailer lost her laptop while it was in for repairs and tried to cover up its disappearance. In her lawsuit filed Nov. 16 in Washington Superior Court, Raelyn Campbell also claims the Richfield, Minn., company failed to immediately notify her of the possibility of identity theft. A Best Buy spokeswoman said the company already gave Campbell $1,110.35 for the cost of the laptop and warranty, and a $500 gift card for her inconvenience. (AP)

Correction: Because of incorrect information from the Reuters news service, an item in some editions of yesterday's Business section mischaracterized an effort by EMC and SAP to provide computer programs over the Web. The two companies are in early talks about such a program.