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Today's Boston Globe Business stories

Pay czar’s personality is as big as the problems he’s asked to solve

If the Harvard Law students settling into the Friday afternoon advanced seminar on mediation were expecting a self-effacing peacemaker as their guest speaker, they guessed wrong.

Loan delinquencies seen falling

Massachusetts homeowners are expected to reverse a four-year upward trend in mortgage delinquency rates by the first quarter of next year, with more able to make payments on time, according to a study released yesterday by the Chicago-based credit bureau TransUnion.

Biotechs continue merger moves

Buyout fever heated up in the local biotechnology sector yesterday, with a pair of privately held Cambridge biosciences companies linking up with out-of-state partners in two separate deals.

Revere waterfront project gets $47m jump-start

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration said it will spend $47 million in federal stimulus money and state funds to jump-start the long-delayed revitalization of the Revere waterfront, where a developer is proposing to build a complex of condominiums, offices, and a hotel on 9 acres.

NY Times Co. pulls Telegram & Gazette off the market

The New York Times Co. said yesterday it won’t sell the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, after spending several months exploring a possible sale and attracting at least two bidders.

Small, bright spots

How many times have you read about companies making money this year by cutting jobs and every other expense to the bone?

Google unveils real-time search

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Fresh information from blogs, news sites, Twitter, and other popular hangouts will appear in Google’s search results more quickly as the company aims to give people a more comprehensive look at what’s happening on the Web.

Credit decline portends fall in spending

WASHINGTON - Americans borrowed less for a record ninth straight month in October, another sign that consumer spending will remain weak, making it harder for the economy to mount a sustained rebound.

Cadbury to reply soon to Kraft’s bid

LONDON - Cadbury PLC plans to publish its formal response to a $16.3 billion hostile takeover offer from Kraft Foods Inc. on Monday.

Home Depot, Stewart expand ties

NEW YORK - Home Depot Inc. will start selling Martha Stewart-branded paint and cleaning products next year in addition to the home decor and closet organization lines announced in September.

SEC sues ex-New Century executives

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued three former New Century Financial Corp. executives, alleging they concealed information that the company’s subprime mortgage business was at risk of collapse.

Retail hiring rose in Nov., firm says

NEW YORK - Hiring by discount, grocery, restaurant, and specialty chains in November rose to the highest level in 2009, signaling that retailers may be anticipating a gradual recovery in consumer spending, a monthly survey found.

Rates mixed on short-term T-bills

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in yesterday’s auction. Rates on three-month bills dropped to the lowest level in two weeks, while rates on six-month bills rose to the highest level since early November.

Reader’s Digest aims to sell off a unit

NEW YORK - The bankrupt Reader’s Digest Association Inc. is seeking approval to sell its CompassLearning business to a bidder formed by Marlin Equity II and WRC Media Inc.

Crude oil prices continue downward

NEW YORK - Crude prices, which have trended lower for over than a month, grew even cheaper yesterday.

EMC says new system cuts data costs

EMC Corp. of Hopkinton has introduced a money saver for businesses: a technology that automatically calculates the least expensive way to store big volumes of data.

Infinity Pharmaceuticals names CEO

The Cambridge biotechnology company Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. has named Adelene Q. Perkins its chief executive.

Former CEO says eBay didn’t misuse data from Craigslist

GEORGETOWN, Del. - The former chief executive of eBay , Meg Whitman, said yesterday she was unaware of any attempt by the Web marketplace to misuse confidential data from Craigslist to help eBay develop a competing online classifieds business.

Amazon works to make Kindle more accessible

SEATTLE - Amazon.com Inc. will add two features to the Kindle e-book reader to make it more accessible to blind and vision-impaired users.

Fed says too early to gauge recovery

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned yesterday that it’s too soon to know whether the economic recovery will last and again pledged to hold rates at record low levels for an “extended period.’’

GM will invest $700m in Michigan for Volt

DETROIT - General Motors Co. said yesterday it will spend $700 million at eight Michigan facilities to get its new rechargeable electric car road-ready - a technological and economic boost for its home state.

Hasbro wins deal to make Sesame Street toys, games

NEW YORK - Elmo is getting a new home - or his toys are, at least.

Justices questioning audit board makeup

WASHINGTON - US Supreme Court justices questioned the constitutionality of the accounting oversight board set up by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley law in the aftermath of the Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. collapses.

Dubai World might sell assets to pay debt

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Dubai World, the cash-strapped conglomerate at the center of Dubai’s debt crisis, appears set to retrench. Yesterday, the emirate’s top finance official said the company may need to change course and unload assets as it struggles to pay lenders.

With few reasons to buy, investors didn’t

Even the Fed chief saying interest rates are apt to stay low didn’t lure buyers. Stocks were little changed. Dan Deming, at Stutland Equities, said there were simply too few buyers on a day with scant news to keep the momentum going. Many investors have closed their books on the year and wonder if incremental gains in the economy can ...

Nutrisystem cuts deals with Walgreen, Sam’s Club

Nutrisystem Inc. has a deal with Walgreen Co. that will make its 14- and 28-day weight loss programs’ cards available in more locations. The cards will appear Christmas Day, giving people who make New Year’s dieting resolutions early access. After a card is activated, the customer gets home-delivered food. Nutrisystem also announced a deal with Sam’s Club that will make ...

Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines Inc. fell the most in almost six weeks. The fourth-biggest US carrier, based in Houston, said it would sell $200 million in convertible notes, potentially diluting the stakes of current shareholders. The offering would equate to about 11.9 million shares at Continental’s Dec. 4 closing price of $16.74, or about 8.6 percent of total stock outstanding.

MetroPCS

MetroPCS Communications Inc. shares surged to their highest price since Oct. 22. The pay-as-you-go mobile-phone carrier’s chief executive, Roger Linquist, said he sees opportunities for consolidation in the industry. He spoke at a UBS AG conference in New York.

Akamai says sales will beat forecasts

Cambridge-based Akamai Technologies Inc. , the largest supplier of software to make websites load faster, rose to the highest level since July 2008 after raising its fourth-quarter revenue forecast. Sales this quarter will be at least $230 million, Akamai said. That compares with the $221 million average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Akamai said it’s getting more sales in ...