Bank of America promotes 2 at US Trust subsidiary

July 18, 2008

Bank of America promoted two Boston executives at its US Trust private-banking organization. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank named Eric Hayes to the new position of chief fiduciary officer for trust organizations for families and private foundations. He was previously head of US Trust's New England division, a job that now will be held by Lynn Davis. Davis also will continue to head a US Trust planning area that provides services for well-to-do customers. Hayes and Davis will remain in Boston and report to US Trust president Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa. (Ross Kerber)

Seven Starbucks stores in Massachusetts will close as part of the coffee chain's shuttering of approximately 600 company-operated stores nationwide, the company said. The closings will begin this month. The Massachusetts sites designated for closing are: 47 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington; 70 Union St., Newton; 999 S. Washington St., North Attleborough; Five Post Office Square, Sharon; 425 Washington St., Stoughton; 225 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, and the store in the Dartmouth Mall. A full list is at Starbucks.com. (Elizabeth Campbell)

BG Medicine, a Waltham biotech company, raised $40 million in venture capital in addition to $52 million already raised. The company had originally tried to raise money through an initial public offering, but yanked the IPO filing in January, citing market turmoil. BG is trying to develop novel medical tests for congestive heart failure and other maladies based on proteins and other molecules found in the body. The company said the financing round included Legg Mason Capital Management, GE Asset Management and Smallcap World Fund, Flagship Ventures, Gilde Healthcare Partners, Humana, and Stelios Papadopoulos. (Todd Wallack)

Marlborough-based Exact Sciences Corp., which is trying to use genomics to develop cancer-screening technology, said it slashed operations to preserve cash while pursuing a possible sale or other strategic alternatives. The company said it's eliminating eight jobs, canceling a clinical study, and trying to renegotiate obligations. Exact said the cost-saving measures will extend its cash through at least the second quarter of 2009, giving it breathing room to find a partner. (Todd Wallack)

Advanced Micro Devices Inc., following its seventh straight quarterly loss, said Hector Ruiz will step down as chief executive, passing the reins to chief operating officer Dirk Meyer. Ruiz will continue as chairman, AMD said. Meyer, a former chip designer who joined the company in 1995 from Digital Equipment Corp., will take over immediately. He becomes the third person to occupy the top job at 39-year-old AMD. The company's stock decline in the past year is more than double the 33 percent drop by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. (Bloomberg)

Raytheon Co. won a $232.8 million order from the Navy to develop a system that allows aircraft to use three-dimensional data from satellites for precise landings. The Waltham missile maker will deliver eight ship-based systems and four aircraft units under the contract . . . Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. said it will pay New Jersey-based PTC Therapeutics Inc. $100 million upfront to license rights to a developing treatment for genetic disorders. The deal gives Cambridge-based Genzyme rights to market PTC124 outside the United States and Canada . . . Lab supply and scientific instrument maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. said it bought Colorado-based Affinity BioReagents for an undisclosed amount. Affinity has made more than 35,000 reagents, which are used in medical and academic research and drug discovery. Waltham-based Thermo will make Affinity part of its Analytical Technologies business . . . SCO Group has been ordered to pay Waltham-based Novell Inc. more than $2.5 million in royalties in a dispute over the Unix computer operating system. SCO said it might appeal the decision . . . Mortgage rates fell this week, with 30-year rates dropping to 6.26 percent, the lowest level in six weeks, as investors became less worried that the Federal Reserve would soon tighten credit policy to stall inflation. Fifteen-year fixed-rates, a popular option for refinancing, fell to 5.78 percent, from 5.91 percent. Five-year adjustable-rates fell to 5.80 percent, from 5.82 percent. One-year ARMs dropped to 5.10 percent, from 5.17 percent. (Globe wire services)