Mass. might end appeals of insurance surcharges

The state insurance commissioner is considering eliminating the unique right Massachusetts drivers have used to appeal auto premium surcharges they consider unfair for accidents caused by bad weather, road problems, or some other abnormal circumstance. An announcement could come as early as next week. Each year, some 50,000 Massachusetts drivers seek relief from the Division of Insurance's Board of Appeals. Roughly 20,000 people succeed, saving themselves $8 million in insurance surcharges, or roughly $400 per case. There's a 20,000 case backlog at the Board of Appeals. But in the latest wrinkle to the "managed competition" insurance system she instituted in April, Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burns is considering eliminating surcharge appeals. Insurers argue that the appeals process is no longer valid because it is not written into the managed competition law. (AP)

Putnam Investments said Jeffrey R. Carney, 46, will join the Boston mutual-fund company as head of global marketing and products, leaving Bank of America Corp.'s Boston wealth-management group after little more than a year of heading operations that include the retirement services group. Carney will report to chief executive Robert Reynolds. William T. Connolly will continue to oversee sales functions, Putnam said. A Bank of America spokesman said it expects to name a replacement for Carney soon. (Ross Kerber)

Mayor Thomas M. Menino offered a mediator to help end a standoff between the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's concessions provider, Aramark Corp., and Unite Here, Local 26, the union representing food and beverage workers. Since its contract expired last October, the union has picketed to urge conventioneers not to patronize Aramark. Issues include wages and health insurance. An Aramark spokeswoman said the firm would be happy to participate. Union president Janice Loux said the union would suspend the boycott for five days for mediation. The mediator would be Harry R. Collings, retired from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. (Nicole C. Wong)

Boston Scientific Corp. said a major sell-off of its stock was due to involuntary selling by its cofounders and did not reflect on the company's performance. On Wednesday, about 13 million shares owned by Pete Nicholas and John Abele and their families were sold. Shares of the Natick-based company fell $1.01, or 10.1 percent, to $8.95. Boston Scientific said the sale was automatically triggered by recent turbulence in the financial markets. Shares fell 56 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $8.39. (AP)

Biogen Idec Inc., which makes treatments for muscular sclerosis, will halt work on a drug for rheumatoid arthritis because it failed in studies. Baminercept missed its primary and secondary goals in a clinical trial with patients who did not respond to drugs known as disease modifiers, Biogen said. The company also based its decision on preliminary results from a study of patents who didn't respond to drugs called tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. Shares of the Cambridge company fell by $1.55, or 3.4 percent, to $44.76. (Bloomberg)

Alkermes Inc. said a long-acting version of its schizophrenia drug Risperdal has been approved for injection into the arm by the Food and Drug Administration. That means Risperdal Consta is cleared for injection in the deltoid muscle, according to the company. Previously the drug was only approved as a gluteal injection. By year's end the drug will come with two separate needles for injection. (AP)

The US government's debts have ballooned so much that the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the spiraling figure. The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed $10 trillion last month, the sign could not display the full amount. The board was erected to highlight the $2.7 trillion level of debt in 1989. The clock's owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt. For the time being, the Times Square counter's electronic dollar sign has been replaced with the extra digit required. (Wire services)