BUSINESS IN BRIEF
Thermo Electron names chairman
12/9/2003
Scientific-instruments company Thermo Electron Corp., of Waltham, named Jim Manzi as chairman. He succeeds Richard F. Syron, who resigned to become chairman and chief executive of the troubled mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac. Manzi joined Thermo Electron's board in 2000 and serves as chairman of its compensation committee. He was chairman, president, and chief executive at PC-software provider Lotus Development Corp. from 1984 until 1995, when Lotus was acquired by IBM. Since then, he has been taking part in various technology start-up ventures. (AP)
Alkermes reports on alcoholism drugAlkermes Inc., of Cambridge, said a pivotal human clinical trial showed its Vivitrex drug candidate helped men reduce problem drinking. Male patients treated with Vivitrex in addition to therapy were able to reduce their rate of heavy drinking by 48 percent more than those treated with a placebo, the company said. Female patients showed no statistical benefit. The preliminary results show Vivitrex "can significantly advance the practice of treating alcoholism," Dr. James Garbutt, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and lead investigator in the trial, said in a prepared statement. (Jeffrey Krasner)CMGI posts quarterly profit of $29.9mCMGI Inc., an Internet venture firm whose shares have more than doubled this year, had first-quarter net income of $29.9 million because it sold stock in Overture Services, now a part of Yahoo Inc. Net income for the period ended Oct. 31 was 7 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $93.6 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier, the Andover company said. Revenue fell 16 percent, to $94.9 million from $113.2 million. CMGI had a gain of about $40.5 million by selling 3.2 million Overture shares. (Bloomberg)Akamai raises estimates for 4th quarterAkamai Technologies Inc. boosted its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2003 revenue estimates to reflect demand for services, including an increase in e-commerce traffic during the holiday season. The provider of Internet speed-up services said it expects fourth-quarter revenue of $43 million to $45 million, up from prior estimates of $42 million to $44 million. In the year-ago quarter, the company posted revenue of $35.4 million. Akamai also raised full-year revenue estimates to $159 million to $161 million from its previous range of $158 million to $160 million. In fiscal 2002, the company had revenue of $145 million. Earnings guidance was not provided for the fourth quarter and full year. (Dow Jones)Arrhythmia Research stock gets boostArrhythmia Research Technology Inc. stock reached a 52-week high based partly on its status as a "strong interest stock" on Quicken.com, a financial website. Shares rose $3.71, or 22 percent, to $20.73. Earlier in the session, the shares reached $22.30. Fitchburg-based Arrhythmia makes parts used in disposable electrodes for electrocardiograph equipment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Micron Products Inc. Arrhythmia was listed on Quicken.com's "one-click scorecard" as a strong interest stock based on a strategy for picking small-cap stocks attributed to the Motley Fool, a financial advice company. (AP) THE NATION Texas Instruments raises forecastsTexas Instruments Inc., the world's top supplier of microchips for cellular phones, raised its forecasts for the current quarter, citing continuing strong demand for its products. Analysts said the company's forecast that both sales and earnings could top earlier expectations provided further evidence of a broader recovery in consumer demand for technology products. TI said it now expects fourth-quarter revenue of $2.64 billion to $2.765 billion and earnings per share of 25 to 27 cents. Excluding a gain of 7 cents per share from its sale of Micron Technology shares, TI' earnings for the quarter would be 18 to 20 cents per share. On that basis, the company said in October that it expected fourth-quarter sales of $2.49 billion to $2.70 billion, with earnings in a range of 14 to 19 cents per share. (Reuters)Spiegel seeks to pare Eddie Bauer storesSpiegel Inc., the bankrupt chain store and catalog retailer, asked a federal judge for permission to close 30 Eddie Bauer stores and to hire companies to sell inventory at the locations after the holidays. Spiegel has closed 60 Eddie Bauer stores along with distribution and customer-service centers since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. The company sells clothing and home furnishings at 470 Eddie Bauer stores in the United States and Canada and on the Internet. Closing the stores after the holidays may boost returns for Spiegel and creditors owed more than $1.7 billion. The request comes after Spiegel reported comparable-store sales at its Eddie Bauer division dropped 6 percent in the 48 weeks ended Nov. 29. (Bloomberg)PayPal adds fee for online music firmsThe online payment provider PayPal, a unit of online auctioneer eBay Inc., set new payment-processing fees for high-volume online digital music companies. The new fee that online music stores pay to PayPal to process song sales is 2.5 percent, plus 9 cents for each transaction, compared with typical credit card fees that add 20 to 30 cents. While no online music company -- such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes music store, Roxio Inc.'s Napster, or closely held MusicMatch -- has yet inked a deal for the new fees, they are forthcoming, said Todd Pearson, managing director of merchant services at PayPal. PayPal's standard rate for clients that process more than $1,000 a month is 2.2 percent, plus 30 cents per transaction. (Reuters)Banker testifies in DaimlerChrysler trialChrysler Corp. shareholders were shortchanged by at least $6.4 billion in the 1998 deal that combined the Michigan automaker with Daimler-Benz AG of Germany, an investment banker told a federal court reviewing the merger in Wilmington, Del. Conrad Meyer, of Gleacher Partners, was the first of several experts on value expected to take the stand in Kirk Kerkorian's fraud lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler AG, the company that resulted from the merger. Meyer said Chrysler should have been valued at $43.6 billion in the deal, instead of the $37.2 billion value put on the company for purposes of swapping its shares for shares in the new company being formed. Had the combination of Chrysler and Daimler been set as a takeover, Chrysler shareholders should have received a 50 percent premium over the market price on May 4, 1998, the day before the deal was disclosed, Meyer said. Instead, they received a 28 percent premium, he said. (AP) THE WORLD EU threatens US with new trade disputeDays after resolving a trans-Atlantic fight over steel, European Union governments signed off on a threat to levy sanctions against US products in March in a trade dispute over US export tax breaks. Foreign ministers voted unanimously to back the threat from the European Commission, which handles trade talks for the 15-nation bloc. Starting March 1, the EU will apply a 5 percent tariff on $4 billion worth of US exports and increase the duty by one percentage point each month for a year unless the tax break is removed. To increase the pressure, targeted US products range from orange juice to textiles manufactured in states key to President Bush's reelection bid. The World Trade Organization declared the US tax breaks illegal last year. Bush administration officials say they expect Congress to enact a new tax law early next year, but it remains subject to intense lobbying by US-based multinationals. (AP)
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