Wage, holiday cuts coming for Globe's union drivers

The Boston Globe said yesterday that it reached a two-year agreement with the newspaper's nearly 200 union drivers to cut wages 5 percent and eliminate all 10 of their paid holidays, starting in 2009. Globe senior vice president Greg Thornton said the cuts agreed to by the Teamsters Local 259 are "necessary cost reductions to offset declines in revenue due to media restructuring and the slowing economy." The Teamsters' treasurer, Ralph Giallanella, said the agreement "was a difficult one" but "it promises the best possible outcome over the next two years for union members, including the preservation of driver jobs, and the paper." The drivers distribute the Globe and The New York Times to stores and warehouses throughout the region. The New York Times Co. owns the Globe. (Beth Healy)

The three governors and six US senators from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey have asked the federal labor secretary for $48.2 million to retrain people who have lost jobs because of the crisis on Wall Street. State officials estimate the tristate region will lose about 160,000 financial sector jobs by the end of 2008 and 82,000 more by the end of 2009. Over the past five months, the overall unemployment rate for the region has increased to 5.8 percent from 4.5 percent, meaning 146,000 fewer jobs. In addition to people employed in financial services, workers at businesses that serve the industry, such as restaurants, are also facing job cuts. (AP)

Investors including private equity firms may find it easier to acquire US banks now that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has said it will let groups without charters bid for the deposits and assets of failing lenders. Regulators this year have seized 22 banks, the most since 1993, amid a credit crunch that fueled more than $968 billion in financial company losses and write-downs since 2007. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week granted a new type of national bank charter called a "shelf charter," also designed to find buyers for failed lenders. Those granted preliminary approval must apply for Federal Reserve membership and seek FDIC insurance. (Bloomberg)

Rates on 30-year mortgages sank for a fourth straight week, falling below 6 percent for the first time since early October. Further drops are likely, analysts said, reflecting the market's positive response to the programs the Federal Reserve and the Treasury unveiled to fight the financial crisis. The Fed's move to spend up to $600 billion buying mortgage-backed securities owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae caused rates to immediately drop by a half-point. Economists say the new Fed program should help keep rates low as the government increases efforts to battle the credit crisis. Freddie Mac reported that rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.97 percent this week, down from 6.04 percent last week. Rates on the 30-year mortgage hit a high for this year of 6.63 percent in late July. (AP)

Johnson & Johnson said the Food and Drug Administration rejected its application for ceftobiprole, an antibiotic for the treatment of complicated skin infections, including diabetic foot infections. J&J's Pharmaceutical Research & Development unit said that the FDA in a letter said the company needs to conduct additional audit work of clinical investigator sites and to address specific questions related to site monitoring. J&J and its partner, Swiss-based Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., are reviewing the FDA's letter and said they will continue to work with the agency to resolve any issues. The companies initially asked for approval of the drug in May of 2007. (AP)

John Soules Foods Inc. of Tyler, Texas, is recalling 8,496 pounds of cooked chicken-strip products because they contain wheat, an undeclared allergen, the Department of Agriculture said. The 24-ounce bags of the company's Italian and rotisserie style Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strips with Rib Meat, labeled gluten-free, were produced Nov. 7 and Nov. 13, the department said. The poultry was distributed in 26 states. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the product, which was discovered by the company, the USDA said. A John Soules Foods vice president, Tom Ellis, confirmed that a recall is underway. (Bloomberg)