Insurance chief backs Fair Plan rate hike

Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes yesterday filed a legal brief supporting her predecessor's decision to increase the rates of the state's insurer of last resort by an average of 12.4 percent statewide and 25 percent on Cape Cod. Attorney General Martha Coakley is suing the Division of Insurance and the Massachusetts Fair Plan, alleging the state's former insurance commissioner, Julianne M. Bowler, made several procedural errors in approving the hefty rate increases last year. A Cape Cod citizens group last week urged Burnes to side with the attorney general and show her opposition to what the group's spokeswoman called illegal rate increases. (Bruce Mohl)

Federal Judge Douglas Woodlock delayed ruling on whether to throw out a lawsuit filed against the founder of Facebook.com, saying he needed more information about allegations that Mark Zuckerberg stole the ideas of the creators of a rival social networking website. The judge gave ConnectU founders Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss -- who are brothers -- and Divya Narendra until Aug. 8 to flesh out their allegations against Zuckerberg, which include fraud, copyright infringement, and misappropriation of trade secrets. (AP)

Hydra Biosciences of Cambridge said it could receive more than $195 million from a licensing deal it signed with a unit of Pfizer Inc. of New York. The privately held biotechnology firm will receive up-front and milestone payments for the first drug launched with its technology, with the potential for additional payments if the drug is approved to treat other diseases or if other treatments are developed. Pfizer Global Research & Development will fund the research and development covered by the agreement. Hydra seeks to develop drugs to treat pain, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases. (Jeffrey Krasner)

Patrick administration officials held preliminary discussions with mortgage lenders on proposals that include making lenders pay for relocation costs of those who lose homes to foreclosures. Lenders didn't dismiss the proposals, some of which still need to be fleshed out, and agreed to meet again, according to an executive briefed on the meeting. Kofi Jones, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said the talks made progress and another meeting will be scheduled in early fall. It was the second meeting with lenders as the Patrick administration seeks ways to ease skyrocketing foreclosures. In addition to the proposal on relocation costs, the administration is considering a foreclosure prevention initiative that calls on lenders to delay foreclosure proceedings in some cases; reduce loan amounts and waive prepayment penalties in others; and work to transfer vacant, foreclosed properties to first-time home buyers or nonprofit agencies. (Robert Gavin)

HLM Venture Partners of Boston said it has hired Marty Felsenthal as a partner to open a San Francisco office. Felsenthal most recently was a partner at Salix Ventures, where he oversaw investments in healthcare services and healthcare information technology. HLM last fall raised $216 million for its HLM Venture Partners II fund. It seeks to invest $8 million to $12 million in early- and midstage companies. The San Francisco office is expected to be open by September. (Jeffrey Krasner)

Cognex Corp. said it will delay the release of its second-quarter earnings because of a voluntary review of irregularities it discovered in certain transactions originating at its Japanese unit. The Natick maker of machine vision systems said that in 2006's fourth quarter, improper orders generated about $757,000 in revenue, $644,000 in operating income, and $483,000 in net income, or a penny a share. Cognex previously reported fourth-quarter earnings of 21 cents a share. (Dow Jones)

Liquidating retailer Tweeter Home Entertainment Group of Canton is scrapping its executive bankruptcy bonus program and apologizing to workers for a failed attempt to pay severance benefits. Tweeter finance chief Gregory Hunt said the firm decided to abandon plans to pay bonuses to top-ranking executives when results of a bankruptcy sale brought disappointing results. (Dow Jones)