Royal Philips healthcare unit lays off in Andover

Royal Philips Electronics NV's healthcare unit, based in Andover, said it cut 5 percent of its workforce this week, or 1,600 jobs worldwide, including fewer than 100 in Andover. Spokesman Ian Race said the cuts were needed to streamline management and make the company more responsive to customers. He said the affected workers will be offered severance packages. The Dutch conglomerate has about 4,300 workers in Massachusetts, with nearly 3,000 in the healthcare unit, making it one of the state's larger employers. Philips Healthcare has about 35,000 workers worldwide. (Todd Wallack)

MFS Investment Management of Boston said it laid off 90 employees in Massachusetts yesterday, or 5 percent of its staff, as market declines cut into revenue. A spokesman for MFS, a unit of Canada's SunLife Financial, said the layoffs were in Boston and Quincy. MFS is the third major Boston investment firm to eliminate jobs recently along with Fidelity Investments and Putnam Investments. (Ross Kerber)

CombinatoRx Inc., a Cambridge biotechnology company, said it plans to lay off another 30 employees, just weeks after it said it was cutting 52 jobs. CombinatoRx said the combined cuts, amounting to 65 percent of its workforce, should enable the company to continue to operate for at least four more years without raising additional cash. The company made the moves after its lead drug, an osteoarthritis treatment, proved ineffective in a clinical trial, causing its stock to plummet. (Todd Wallack)

Cambridge biotech Genzyme Corp. and five other large companies have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent within three years, in response to a challenge issued to large commercial and industrial energy users by Governor Deval L. Patrick. The companies also include Millipore Corp. in Billerica, Boston Scientific Corp. in Natick, and Sovereign Bancorp. This year, Patrick signed the Global Warming Solutions Act, which mandates an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. (Erin Ailworth)

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its new technology blocked production of proteins tied to an incurable liver illness in an animal study, and may be tested next year in humans. The technology, called RNAi, can stop harmful genes from making proteins that prompt action in the body. The Cambridge biotechnology company showed its drug affects DNA linked with the rare hereditary disease TTR amyloidosis, a progressive ailment that results in death or transplant, according to the Mayo Clinic website. (Bloomberg)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said it plans to cut 1,800 positions, or 4 percent of its 43,000 jobs worldwide, possibly including some in Massachusetts, a spokesman said. The company has about 3,000 employees in the state, mainly in Boston and in Everett. Mellon said it is trimming expenses because of the weak global economy. (Ross Kerber)

Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the holiday season. Both said they will halt foreclosure sales from Nov. 26 to Jan. 9, while they evaluate whether borrowers qualify for a new loan modification program disclosed last week. Fannie Mae said about 10,000 households would be affected. Freddie Mac said the changes would affect about 6,000. The change does not apply to vacant homes. (AP)

Mortgage rates dropped for a third straight week, reflecting the impact the weakening economy is having on financial markets. Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giant, reported rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.04 percent this week, down from 6.14 percent last week. For 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, rates dropped to 5.73 percent, from 5.81 percent last week. Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.87 percent, from 5.98 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages edged down to 5.29 percent, from 5.33 percent last week. (AP)