Bankruptcies in Mass. soar 28 percent in one year

Bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts soared 28.3 percent in 12 months, according to the Administrative Office of the US Courts. The nationwide increase was 28.9 percent from July 2007 through June 2008. Yet Massachusetts ranked 35th in bankruptcies per capita, indicating it's faring better than the country as a whole. The state had 15,047 filings in the 12 months ended June 30, including 334 by businesses. (Todd Wallack)

Expressor Software Corp. has secured $10 million in a second round of funding, the Burlington company said. Commonwealth Capital Ventures led the way, with additional funding from Globespan Capital Partners and Sigma Partners, which were already investors in Expressor. The company said the funding will allow it to move forward with its data integration platform and invest more in marketing, sales, business development, and product support. (Elizabeth Campbell)

The less California motorists drive, the less they might pay for auto insurance under proposed regulations. State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said the idea is to provide an incentive for motorists to save fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Such pay-as-you-drive policies already are an option in 34 states. The Brookings Institution estimates nearly two-thirds of California families would save money under the plan, an average of $276 a year per vehicle. The regulations would allow insurers to track mileage through odometer readings or wireless devices placed in vehicles but prohibit the tracking of motorists' locations or how they drive. (AP)

The pace of the mortgage industry's efforts to assist troubled borrowers increased last month, an industry group said. Hope Now reported that about 192,000 borrowers got some form of help with their mortgages in July, up 6 percent from June. Foreclosures have continued to escalate, though. There were nearly 92,000 sales of foreclosed properties in July, up from about 82,000 per month in the April-June period, according to Hope Now's data. Consumer advocates say permanent loan modifications, in which a mortgage company agrees to reduce the interest rate or make other changes, are the best way to help borrowers. (AP)

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest US oil company, agreed to sell its 600 US gasoline stations in 10 states to PetroSun Fuel for $800 million so it can focus on the more profitable businesses of producing and processing petroleum - as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have done. Closely held PetroSun is making the purchase through a newly formed affiliate, Pacific Convenience & Fuel LLC. The stations will operate under the Conoco, Phillips 66, and 76 brands. (Bloomberg)

Kevin Cogill, 27, of Culver City, Calif., was arrested yesterday, US Attorney Thomas O'Brien in Los Angeles said, and charged in connection with the posting of nine songs from the unreleased Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on his website. He could get three years in prison if convicted of copyright violation and five years if convicted of infringing on copyrights for financial gain. Cogill admitted to the FBI that he put the songs on his site, according to court documents. He did not immediately return a call for comment. (Bloomberg)

Target Corp. will pay $6 million in damages to plaintiffs in California unable to use its online site as part of a class-action settlement with the National Federation of the Blind. Target will place the money in an interest-bearing account against which individuals who are part of the class can make claims. The settlement requires Target to make its site more accessible to the blind by Feb. 28 with technologies such as screen-reading software. Target had argued that federal law to protect the disabled covers only physical spaces. (AP)

A leading maker of printers, Lexmark, wants to help you print less. Printing an online article often produces wasted pages with ads and links. The latest version of a Web toolbar from Lexmark International gives people more ways to block such images, saving ink and paper. The free program is available for both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. (AP)