Single-family home sales, prices drop in December

THE REGION

Massachusetts single-family housing sales had their worst December since 1991, and the median sale price fell 8.1 percent to $310,000 in December 2006, the lowest monthly figure since March 2004, according to a report by the Warren Group, a Boston provider of real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman. December single-family home sales fell 8.4 percent from December 2005 to 4,037, the lowest level for the month since 1991. For all of 2006, single-family home sales dropped 14.4 percent to 54,203, the lowest since 1995, and down 20 percent from the peak of 2004. The median sales price dropped 5.8 percent to $325,000 in 2006; the first annual drop since 1993. (Chris Reidy)

The panel assigned with turning Massachusetts' groundbreaking healthcare law into a reality sent insurers back to the drawing board, saying they need to do better at coming up with low cost plans. The move came after members of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector were told on Friday that the average price for the new plans could cost about $380 a month, almost twice what former Governor Mitt Romney had predicted before signing the bill last year. Under the new law, all state residents are required to have health insurance by July 1 or face tax penalties. (AP)

Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc. said it is suspending development of its hepatitis C treatment Actilon and will lay off about 33 employees, or 22 percent of its staff. The drug was granted fast-track status by the Food and Drug Administration in May, which meant it faced a quicker review process. Wellesley-based Coley said it decided to end the program after results from a midstage clinical trial showed the drug is not effective. The company expects a charge of $1.1 million during the first quarter because of the layoffs. Cutting the Actilon program is expected to save the company about $15 million in expenses. (AP)

THE NATION

Drug makers led by GlaxoSmithKline PLC spent $4.9 billion for consumer advertising in the first 11 months of 2006, $86 million more than for all of 2005. The top two advertised drugs were sleep aids -- Sepracor's Lunesta at $316.3 million, and Sanofi-Aventis SA's Ambien at $173.8 million, said Nielsen Monitor Plus. Glaxo spent $757.5 million, including $120.5 million for its asthma therapy Advair, according to the Neilson data. The amount spent on ads designed to bypass doctors and appeal directly to consumers has almost doubled since 2001, when $2.7 billion was spent, Nielsen's data show. (Bloomberg)

The California Public Employees' Retirement System might begin managing retirement money for people who aren't public workers, putting it in competition with private mutual funds such as Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group. The largest US public pension fund is considering a plan to expand selling some mutual-fund-type products to private employers and investors in California as a way to generate fees, said the fund's chief investment officer Russell Read. The proposal is part of a larger plan being considered by the $225 billion fund's board to expand retirement and healthcare services for its 1.5 million current and retired public workers. (Bloomberg)

Ruckus Network, which distributes movies and music online to colleges nationwide, is expanding access to its ad-supported music download service to any US college student. Now, any student with a valid university e-mail account will be able to use the service to download music to their computer. The company aims to boost the rolls of college students who use its service to woo more advertisers seeking to market to young audiences. (AP)

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., maker of the "Grand Theft Auto" video games, said it let former chief executive Ryan Brant "control and dominate" improper options backdating that began when the company went public in 1997. The compensation committee abdicated its responsibilities and failed to maintain proper controls, the company said in a regulatory filing. Take-Two will restate results from 1997 to 2003 to reflect options costs. (Bloomberg)