John Hancock wins 2 rulings in lawsuit
THE REGION
A federal court dismissed claims in a lawsuit that John Hancock Financial Services Inc. jeopardized the company's health by paying executives generous compensation packages. The US District Court also dismissed claims by Jason Adkins, a Boston lawyer and frequent Hancock critic, that the insurer filed false proxy statements when it became publicly traded. Adkins filed the lawsuit, called a "derivative action," on behalf of the company's shareholders against its management team in May. Executive pay has been a sore spot at Hancock in recent years. Chief executive David D'Alessandro made $21.7 million in 2002, while the stock price dropped by one-third. But after an outcry at the company's shareholder meeting last year, Hancock now plans to pay D'Alessandro just $5.1 million in 2004. Adkins also claimed in the lawsuit that Hancock's directors are not independent and cannot fairly evaluate executive pay. The court is allowing that allegation to go forward. (Sasha Talcott)
SBC to offer wireless Internet access
SBC Communications Inc. said it plans to offer high-speed wireless Internet access at more than 100 UPS retail stores and Mail Boxes Etc. outlets in Massachusetts and 5,000 nationally by 2007. Access will cost $20 per month or $8 per day. SBC plans to add the service at 1,500 UPS package shipping outlets by year-end. The San Antonio phone company said about 90 UPS stores in Greater Boston, 12 in and around New Bedford, and 10 in the Springfield-Holyoke area will get SBC "FreedomLink" WiFi coverage over the next three years, although dates for specific location launches were not disclosed. SBC this spring also plans to offer a roaming deal giving FreedomLink subscribers access to 800 Wayport Inc. WiFi hotspots nationally. (Peter J. Howe)
English-language classes lag demand
Massachusetts has failed to meet a pressing need for English-language classes for a booming immigrant population, the biggest source of growth in the state's labor force over the past decade. A study by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth said more than 16,000 individuals were on waiting lists for English classes in September 2003 and many more of the state's 195,000 immigrants with limited English skills would sign up if classes were readily available. State funding for English classes and general adult basic education fell in the current fiscal year by $300,000, to $27.8 million, said John Schneider, director of programs at the Boston think tank and the study's coauthor. New immigrants "want to work, they want to learn English," he said. The study, which addressed an array of worker training issues, proposed the state find ways to motivate the private sector to fund workers' English training. (Kimberly Blanton)
FiberMark files for Chap. 11 protection
FiberMark Inc. of Brattleboro, Vt., a maker of fiber-based materials used in products such as filters, wallpaper, and packaging, filed for bankruptcy after losses totaling $192 million in the past three years left it unable to pay creditors. FiberMark listed $405.7 million in debts and $329.6 million in assets in Chapter 11 papers filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Rutland, Vt. The company arranged a $30 million loan from General Electric Co.'s GE Commercial Finance unit to help fund operations while restructuring, subject to court approval. FiberMark operates paper mills and processing plants in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, and has offices in Massachusetts. (Bloomberg)
Ohio taps Vanguard for college plan
Vanguard Group, the second-largest US mutual fund company, was hired by Ohio to run index funds for the state's college savings program managed by Putnam Investments. Starting in May, Vanguard will oversee 15 portfolios in the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority's CollegeAdvantage Savings Plan. Boston-based Putnam will continue to run 17 funds and serve as the plan's administrator, as it has since 2000, state spokeswoman Judy Cunningham said. In December, Ohio sought bids to expand the state's options beyond Putnam's actively managed, broker-sold funds. Ohio has a five-year contract with Putnam that runs through July 2005. (Bloomberg)
THE NATION
Auditor doubts RCN able to go forward
RCN Corp., the cable company whose investors include billionaire Paul Allen, may not have enough cash to continue operating past 12 months, its auditor said. The company's projected cash for 2004 isn't sufficient to meet its anticipated needs, PricewaterhouseCoopers said as part of its audit of 2003 financial results. RCN said it had cash and cash equivalents of $18.4 million at the end of the year. The 2003 net loss to common shareholders was $499.1 million, or $4.50 a share, compared with a loss of $1.6 billion, or $14.78, in 2002, RCN said. A spokesman didn't immediately return a voice-mail message. (Bloomberg)
Fraud charges dismissed in Qwest trial
On the eve of closing arguments, a federal judge in Denver tossed out a securities fraud charge against each of four former Qwest executives charged with improperly booking nearly $34 million in revenue in 2001. US District Judge Robert Blackburn said there was no evidence to prove the men committed the crime because it would have had to include the purchase or sale of a security. The four still face other counts of securities and wire fraud, as well as conspiracy. Thomas Hall, Grant Graham, John Walker, and Bryan Treadway are accused of conspiring to help the telecommunications company improperly book the money in June 2001 to meet financial targets. All pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a $100 million deal to connect Arizona schools to the Internet. (AP)
. . .Etc.
Pactolus Communications Software Corp., a privately held Westborough company that makes software for voice-over-Internet-protocol services, said it closed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal with USA Datanet, which offers unlimited-length phone calls for 99 cents and 4.9-cent-per-minute long distance and plans to offer VOIP over broadband in the autumn . . . Wilmington-based Polychromix Inc., a start-up maker of optical telecommunications components, said it has opened a 24,000-square-foot headquarters and robot-enhanced factory and will grow from 25 to 40 employees this year . . . Gillette Co. appointed Mark Leckie president of its Braun group and named Edward Shirley president of international commercial operations to replace the retiring Ernst Haberli, 55, who headed both units. Leckie, 50, will remain president of Gillette's Duracell unit . . . Staples Inc. let a plan discouraging takeover bids expire partly because some investors didn't approve of it. The company is also letting the shareholder rights plan lapse because it doesn't fear an acquisition, said Jack VanWoerkom, general counsel of Framingham-based Staples. Commonly called a "poison pill," Staples' plan gave stockholders the right to buy one-hundredth of a share of a new series of preferred stock at an exercise price of $130 if a takeover bid were to occur . . . A manufacturer of portable compressors and generators plans to lay off 60 people by year-end and move manufacturing to South Carolina. Atlas Copco told city officials that about 90 workers will remain working at its Holyoke facility, the Republican newspaper of Springfield reported . . . Charles W. Shivery, who had been named interim president of Northeast Utilities in January, was named chairman, president, and chief executive. Shivery had been leading the company since Jan. 1 following the departure of former chairman Michael Morris, who left Northeast to become the president and chief executive of American Electric Power in Ohio. (Globe staff and wire services)
