Port of Boston business up 10% over '06 period

Business at the Port of Boston rose 10 percent between January and October compared to the same period last year, the Massachusetts Port Authority said yesterday. Massport said the increase can be traced to the June modernization of its Conley Container Terminal in South Boston, which allows it to handle increased retail shipments from Asia more quickly. The terminal handled 1.4 million tons of cargo between January and October, compared to 1.3 million tons last year. The $28 million terminal upgrade, which took two years to complete, allowed containers to be stacked higher and wider and added eight cranes and four machines to handle empty containers. (Nicole C. Wong)

General Dynamics Corp., the defense contractor that protested an $11 billion Army award to Raytheon Co., has joined with the rival to work on the training contract. Raytheon has been told it can now begin work on the award, called the Warfighter Field Operations Customer Support program, Jonathan Kasle, a spokesman for Waltham's Raytheon, said Raytheon originally won the contract in June. The protest by General Dynamics had prevented the start of work until now. General Dynamics gained $1.72, to $91.85, while Raytheon rose 21 cents to $63.37. (Bloomberg)

IAC/InterActiveCorp., whose shares have dropped 14 percent this year, will split into five publicly traded companies, dismantling a media and Internet conglomerate Barry Diller spent more than a decade assembling. The five companies will be the HSN home shopping network; Ticketmaster; the Interval International vacation timeshare service; LendingTree mortgages; and IAC, which will include the Ask.com search engine, the New York company said. Diller will remain chief executive of IAC. The heads of the four divisions will continue to lead their respective firms, which will have separate boards and chairmen. (Bloomberg)

Shares of Kraft Foods Inc. climbed after a published report said the nation's biggest food and beverage maker was nearing a deal to sell its Post cereal division for about $2.8 billion. Kraft, the third-largest US cereal maker, has nearly two dozen cereal labels, including Shredded Wheat, Grape-Nuts, and Alpha-Bits. Citing unidentified sources "familiar with the matter," The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Northfield, Ill.-based company was planning to sell its cereal brands to St. Louis-based Ralcorp Holdings Inc., which makes store-brand cereals and foods. Representatives from both Kraft and Ralcorp did not immediately return calls seeking comment. (AP)

Yahoo Inc., tapping the growth of social networking, introduced a website that helps graduating college students get career advice from their schools' alumni. The program, called Kickstart, debuts today, Scott Gatz, Yahoo's senior director of advanced products, said. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company plans to spend the next few months building its database with colleges, fraternities, companies, and professional groups. (Bloomberg)

Microsoft Corp. began offering televised games, sports shows, and video game programs from ESPN on Xbox Live, the online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 console. Starting today, fans can access sporting events and programs from Walt Disney Co.'s cable sports network, including college football and basketball games, the companies said. Financial terms won't be released, ESPN spokeswoman Colleen Stack Lynch said. (Bloomberg)

PepsiCo Inc. chief executive Indra Nooyi realigned the operating units of the world's second-largest maker of snacks and soda, and named new beverage leaders. Massimo d'Amore, 51, will oversee drinks for North America and Latin America, the company said. Hugh Johnston, 46, will lead the Pepsi-Cola North America group, replacing Dawn Hudson, who resigned after eight straight quarters of declining soda sales. John Compton, 46, was named chief of the Americas food unit, and Mike White, 55, continues to lead the international division. PepsiCo fell 22 cents to $72.76 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Bloomberg)

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