NStar, National Grid file for added efficiency funds

NStar and National Grid are pushing to collect a combined $6.3 million in additional funding for energy-efficiency programs aimed at helping customers control their heating costs. Both utility companies have filed proposals with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, officials said, and are hoping to gain approval in time for this winter. The utilities collect efficiency funds using an energy conservation charge on monthly bills. Currently, that charge is a quarter of a penny per kilowatt hour used, which means that a household using 500 kilowatt hours would be charged $1.25. Spokeswomen for NStar and National Grid said, if approved, customers would not see any increased charges on their bills until at least next year. (Erin Ailworth)

Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. said it named V. Charles Jackson as chief executive of its Southern California subsidiary, First Private Bank & Trust. Jackson is replacing the interim CEO, James D. Dawson, the Boston-based wealth management firm said. Dawson, who is CEO of Boston Private Financial's private banking operation, will continue to sit on the firm's board of directors. Jackson was CEO of Security Pacific Bancorp before coming to First Private Bank & Trust. (AP)

A mortgage company that does business in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts has agreed to pay $425,000 as part of a settlement with New Hampshire banking regulators. The Mortgage Specialists, its president Michael Gill, and compliance officer Lisa Tracy also have agreed to submit to an independent review. The state banking department has accused the company of more than 60 violations, including forging signatures and destroying documents. (AP)

United Airlines this week suspended the $2 fee for each piece of luggage checked curbside at Boston's Logan International Airport and other major US airports as it reviews its slate of fees, airline spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. The airline has started to collect $15 from most passengers who check in one piece of luggage whether at the curb or the counter. Shannon Liss-Riordan, the Boston lawyer representing several airlines' skycaps in lawsuits alleging wage violations linked to curbside-baggage fees that some passengers mistook as required gratuities, said she had asked United to get rid of the $2 fee. McCarthy said she could not comment on whether the change is in reaction to the lawyer's request, but emphasized that the fee has been suspended, not eliminated. (Nicole C. Wong)

General Dynamics Corp., the second-largest maker of business aircraft, agreed to buy Zurich-based Jet Aviation Management AG from Permira Advisers LLP for $2.23 billion. Jet Aviation maintains and refurbishes planes and ground facilities for passengers and flight crews at business terminals. General Dynamics, the maker of Gulfstream corporate jets, is betting demand for such aircraft may double in 10 years. Jet Aviation will expand General Dynamics' global flight support business, which is focused in the United States and the United Kingdom, to other parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. (Bloomberg)

Intel Corp. lifted the lid on a chip design that is at once a big challenge to smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and an admission that AMD nailed a key design feature before it fell into a severe financial slump. Intel showed off the new blueprint, known as a microarchitecture, for its chips at a developers conference in San Francisco. Though some details were already known, the formal unveiling represented another demonstration of Intel's advantage over AMD in cranking out chip designs once every two years. The details of Intel's microprocessor architecture are always highly technical. But they're also closely watched because of the ubiquity of Intel's chips in personal computers and corporate servers. (AP)

Circuit City Stores Inc. said it's still considering a sale of the company four months after the consumer electronics retailer first said it was reviewing its options to improve shareholder value. The company remains committed to its turnaround plan but "the board continues to pursue strategic alternatives for the company that offer the best possible results for our shareholders in the long term," chief executive Philip Schoonover said in a statement. (AP)