Bay State opens second trade office in China

Massachusetts has opened a second trade office in China to help Bay State companies do more business in Asia. Massachusetts, which shares an office with four other states in Shanghai, now also has an office in Beijing, according to the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Daniel Ding, a former Beijing consultant, will run both offices. Massachusetts' exports to mainland China have increased by 79 percent since 2005, the state said. Nine months ago, Governor Deval Patrick led a trade mission to China. (Todd Wallack)

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the Connecticut-based seller of life and property insurance, said investment losses may reduce third-quarter earnings by more than $191 million. The villain? Troubled credit markets, said chief financial officer Lizabeth Zlatkus. Investments in hedge funds and private equity may lose money in the period, the company said earlier. The company has reported falling profit amid lower investment returns for three straight quarters and posted more than $2 billion in write-downs linked to the meltdown of the subprime market. (Bloomberg)

Government toxicologists have reiterated safety concerns about a chemical used in baby bottles and food containers, just weeks after the Food and Drug Administration declared the substance safe. They said there is "some concern" that bisphenol A can cause developmental problems in infants and children. The conclusion, from the National Toxicology Program, repeats initial findings issued in April. The group said bisphenol's risks to humans can be ruled out, though its concerns are based on animal studies. The American Chemistry Council, representing manufacturers, called it "limited and inconclusive evidence." (AP)

Television stations may reject network programs they deem "unsatisfactory or unsuitable or contrary to the public interest," the Federal Communications Commission decided, seven years after it got a complaint from stations that carry shows from ABC, NBC, and CBS. The stations, in a group called Network Affiliated Stations Alliance, told the FCC the networks and News Corp.'s Fox violated rules by forcing affiliates to carry all of their programming. In June, the alliance and the networks reached a settlement, which they then asked the FCC to ratify. (Bloomberg)

Microsoft Corp. plans to cut prices on its entry-level Xbox 360 video game machine to $50 below Nintendo Co.'s top-selling Wii. That will make the Xbox 360 the first game machine of this generation of consoles to sell for less than $200. The lower price puts pressure on Nintendo and Sony to cut the prices of their machines ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. Microsoft will cut prices for the Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes without a hard drive, to $199 from $279 and lower the prices of its mid-range and high-end Xbox 360 consoles by $50 each, effective tomorrow. (Reuters)

The editor of the New York Sun, a small five-day-a-week newspaper that professes to offer an alternative to The New York Times, said the paper may close at the end of September if it doesn't receive new backing. The Sun is losing money, Seth Lipsky said, and as costs rise "and the advertising market for newspapers generally tightens, keeping the Sun alive . . . will require broadening the base of investors beyond the original group." Talks with other newspaper owners and investors about "possible combinations or investment relationships" will continue, he said. (AP)

Two dozen government investment funds, also called sovereign wealth funds, agreed on voluntary principles to address concerns about their influence after talks in Chile brokered by the International Monetary Fund. The funds made high-profile investments this year in firms that lost billions in the housing slump, including Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, sparking concern about their motives. Some of the largest funds are in the Middle East and China, and several members of Congress have warned that the funds could invest for noncommercial reasons, such as to gain access to sensitive technology. One of the largest, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, has not officially disclosed how much it holds; analysts estimate the amount could be between $500 billion and $900 billion. (AP)