Bank of America installing energy-monitor systems

Starting next month, nearly 80 Bank of America Corp. branches in the Boston area will be outfitted with energy-monitoring systems designed to help the bank reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save on energy costs. The system, made by Pennsylvania-based Field Diagnostic Services Inc., is being installed in more than 3,300 Bank of America branches nationwide as part of a $20 billion, 10-year green initiative it unveiled last year. (Erin Ailworth)

Civil and commercial construction contractor Perini Corp. said second-quarter profit rose 4 percent, driven mostly by the company's building and management services segments. After the closing bell Thursday, Framingham-based Perini reported net income of $28.6 million, or $1.03 per share, compared with $27.6 million, or $1.01 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 21 percent to $1.39 billion from $1.15 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, expected earnings of $1 per share on revenue of $1.31 billion. (AP)

Raytheon Co., the world's largest missile maker, was sued by rival defense contractor Honeywell International Inc. for allegedly monopolizing a radio technology worth billions of dollars to the US armed forces. An exclusive contract between Raytheon and Rockwell Collins Inc., maker of military communication systems, prevents Honeywell from competing to build a prototype state-of-the-art Navy aircraft landing system incorporating global-positioning-system technology, Honeywell's lawyers said in a complaint filed in federal court in Newark. Rockwell Collins makes the only type of radio that satisfies Navy specifications for the GPS-based system, according to the complaint. A spokesman for Waltham-based Raytheon declined to comment. (Bloomberg)

A123 Systems Inc. filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock, the Watertown maker of high-efficiency batteries said. The registration statement, though filed, has not yet become effective, the company said. (Elizabeth Campbell)

In a tough US economy, McDonald's Corp. posted an 8 percent gain in July same-store sales as hungry consumers worldwide lined up for breakfast items and the classic Big Mac sandwich. Many consumers have cut back on eating out amid economic weakness and rising gasoline prices, but business at the Golden Arches held up well in July, especially in the United States. Sales at stores open at least 13 months, grew 6.7 percent in the United States. Total sales worldwide soared 15.9 percent. Shares of the Dow Jones industrial average component rose $3.81, or 6.2 percent, to $65.67. Earlier in the session, the stock hit $66.24, a record high. (AP)

Wachovia Corp., the fourth-largest US bank, will stop making mortgage loans through its own branch offices in 19 states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, continuing the fallout from the 2006 acquisition of Golden West Financial Corp. The bank will cut 125 jobs as part of the move, spokesman Don Vecchiarello said. The Charlotte, N.C., company, which ranked seventh among US home lenders last year, still offers mortgages nationwide through Internet, phone, and direct-mail service. Chief executive Robert Steel, a former Treasury official, last month replaced Kennedy Thompson, who led the $24 billion purchase of Golden West. The California-based mortgage lender's portfolio contributed to Wachovia's second-quarter loss of $8.9 billion. Wachovia plans to cut 10,750 jobs and $2 billion of expenses by the end of 2009. It is trimming 4,440 positions from the mortgage unit. (Bloomberg)