AG wins ruling to prevent some Fremont foreclosures

A Massachusetts Appeals Court justice has upheld the state attorney general's request to prevent Fremont Investment & Loan from initiating or proceeding on foreclosures deemed to be unfair. The original Feb. 28 ruling gave Attorney General Martha Coakley's office at least 30 days' notice of a foreclosure and 45 days to object. Subprime mortgages were deemed unfair if they were adjustable-rate loans with a low introductory rate, and if the borrowers' debt payments were more than half of their income. On Friday, Coakley said Justice Cynthia Cohen upheld the previous preliminary injunction, "which offers some measure of relief to homeowners and communities suffering from the effects of Fremont's loans." (Kimberly Blanton)

Bruker Corp., a Billerica X-ray technology and molecular analysis company, said it swung to a loss in the first quarter, weighed down by acquisition-related expenses and foreign currency exchange losses. The loss was $685,000, or break-even per share, compared with earnings of $14.4 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier. Results include foreign exchange losses, acquisition-related expenses, and interest expense, totaling 10 cents per share. Revenue rose 15 percent to $238.4 million from $207.5 million in the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, estimated earnings of 6 cents per share on sales of $241.3 million. (AP)

The medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp., of Natick, said an arbitration panel with the World Intellectual Property Organization ruled in its favor in a patent dispute with Medinol Ltd., of Israel, which had argued that its patents were infringed on by Boston Scientific's Liberte and Taxus stents. The companies agreed to arbitration in 2005. Medinol has a right to appeal. (AP)

The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Simon Johnson, has resigned after 14 months in the job to return to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he is on leave. His resignation is effective Sept. 1; he will return to the Sloan School of Management. (Reuters)

Chrysler LLC, coming off a 24 percent slide in US sales in April, said it will subsidize gasoline for new-car buyers so they pay only $2.99 a gallon for three years. The program is for US buyers of new vehicles in May in lieu of another incentive, the closely held automaker said. The incentive expires June 2 and excludes Sprinter commercial trucks and high-performance models such as the Challenger and Viper sports cars. (Bloomberg)

Merck & Co., the third-largest US drug maker, said it will cut its US sales force by 1,200 jobs to help trim costs. Salespeople nationwide will be notified by the end of this month, and all cuts will be completed by the end of July, the company said. Laid-off employees will receive benefits and other assistance, the company said. Merck has cut 7,200 jobs since 2005, according to documents filed with regulators. Merck lost patent protection this year on the osteoporosis pill Fosamax, which generated more than $3 billion in sales in 2007. (Bloomberg)

Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest US securities firm, plans to reduce headcount by as much as 5 percent through the end of this year after posting its first quarterly loss as a publicly traded company. A spokesman confirmed the job cuts, which will come mainly in the United States and won't affect the firm's retail business. Morgan Stanley has already shed at least 3,000 jobs since October, when it had 48,000 employees. (Bloomberg)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will buy 47 percent of Target Corp.'s credit-card loans for $3.6 billion, giving the second-largest US discount chain enough cash to implement its capital investment and share-buyback plans. The transaction may be completed by the end of May, both companies said. They will share profits on the basis of what they own, subject to a cap. The agreement will give it "sufficient liquidity to implement its business plans" without having to borrow money this year, the Minneapolis-based retailer said. (Bloomberg)