Bay State Gas seeks 10.2% rate cut over last winter

Bay State Gas Co. said yesterday customers in the 60 Massachusetts communities where it provides service will see a 10.2 percent rate cut this winter compared to last year, reflecting a drop in natural gas prices. A typical residential customer who uses 932 therms of gas during the November-April period will pay a total bill of $1,451, $165 less than last year, Bay State said. Bay State is asking the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy to approve a cost-of-gas rate of $1.19, down from an average of $1.35 last winter. Last week NStar Gas sought a 14 percent rate cut, but KeySpan Energy Delivery New England, the state's biggest gas utility, said it has to raise rates 5.4 percent because of the aftereffects of high-priced gas it bought when prices were still high because of hurricane damage to Gulf of Mexico gas rigs and pipelines. (Peter J. Howe)

A former Orleans lawyer has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail by a Barnstable Superior Court judge after pleading guilty to stealing $450,000 from 12 of his clients, several of them elderly. Anthony R. Bott, 57, of Harwich was also given 10 years of probation following his jail term and ordered to pay restitution of $361,000; he had already repaid two of the clients a total of $90,000, the attorney general's office said. Bott, who specialized in personal injury cases, stole the money by persuading several of his clients to sign a power of attorney that allowed him to settle cases on their behalf without their knowledge. Then he forged their names on the settlement checks and used the proceeds for personal and business expenses. (Sacha Pfeiffer)

Direct marketer Harte-Hanks Inc. said it has agreed to buy AberdeenGroup Inc., a provider of technology market research, for an undisclosed sum. Boston-based AberdeenGroup offers market information and services in 17 business areas and prepares reports based on primary research and benchmarking data. Harte-Hanks said AberdeenGroup offices and analysts will remain in Boston. AberdeenGroup president and chief executive Jamie Bedard will serve as managing director of the group when it becomes a Harte-Hanks subsidiary. (AP)

The asset managment firm Eaton Vance Corp. has signed a long-term lease for space for its corporate headquarters at Two International Place, the building's owner, Chiofaro Co., said. Eaton Vance is moving from 255 State St. and will lease about 230,000 square feet of space on floors 6 through 14 of the 35-floor building, the shorter of the two International Place towers. The 15-year lease, which includes space for future expansion and extension options, was negotiated by Jones Lang LaSalle for the tenant and Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Inc. for the landlord. It begins in May 2009. Some local developers had hoped Eaton Vance would commit to space in a planned but yet-to-be-developed tower, helping to get a new Boston office project off the ground. (Thomas C. Palmer Jr.)

Fidelity International, the London-based affiliate of the world's largest mutual fund manager, said it's starting 12 new funds that invest in other mutual funds for sale in Europe. The funds will concentrate on areas such as stocks in the United States and in the United Kingdom, the company said in an e-mailed statement. So-called funds of funds are becoming popular because they help clients allocate assets to the best-performing managers. (Bloomberg)

Healthcare Services Group Inc., a provider of housekeeping, laundry, and food services to hospitals, said it will acquire closely held Summit Services Group Inc. for $17.2 million. Healthcare is based in Bensalem, Pa. The acquisition of Newton-based Summit will be paid for with 369,000 new shares of common stock and $9.5 million in cash, the statement said. Summit is also a provider of housekeeping, laundry, and food service. (Bloomberg)

THE NATION

A former high-ranking Enron Corp. trading and retail energy executive was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for insider trading in connection with the Houston energy company's financial collapse. David Delainey, who pleaded guilty in October 2003, had admitted to participating in schemes to manipulate earnings to please Wall Street. (AP)