Single-family home sales in state fell 12.6% in year

Massachusetts single-family home sales in November slipped to the lowest level for the month since November 1994, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. The 2,986 sales reported by the group were down 12.6 percent from last November, the third straight month-over-month decline. Part of the reason may be the relative stability of prices, which declined by only 2.9 percent compared to last November, suggesting people are choosing to keep their homes rather than seeking buyers at lower prices. Such a dynamic often indicates that significant price drops are on the horizon, as owners who want to sell accept the need to reduce prices. Condominium sales also fell sharply, by 14 percent over last November, but remained relatively strong by historical standards. Median condo prices actually nudged upward by 1.9 percent. Earlier this month the Warren Group released a broader sales count of monthly home sales that showed volume fell to the lowest level for November since 1991. (Binyamin Appelbaum)

Brooks Automation Inc., whose robots and pumps are used in microchip production lines, said chief financial officer Robert Woodbury resigned effective Dec. 31 and will be replaced on an interim basis by controller Richard Small. Woodbury, 51, "resigned to pursue other endeavors," company spokesman Michael McCarthy said in an interview. Those endeavors "have not been disclosed at this time," he said. He declined to say whether Woodbury, who has been with the Chelmsford company since February 2003, was asked to leave. (Bloomberg)

Hopkinton's EMC Corp., the largest maker of data storage computers and programs, agreed to buy Document Sciences Corp. for $85 million, adding publishing software that creates customized marketing materials and investment statements. Document Sciences stockholders will receive $14.75 in cash for each share, the companies said. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008. (Bloomberg)

A Massachusetts construction company has won a $48.3 million contract for a new border crossing in Calais, Maine. The General Services Administration said J.J. Contractors Inc. of Lowell will build the Land Port of Entry for the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection. Work is due to begin in February on the project, which will help reduce traffic congestion at two existing border crossings between Calais and St. Stephen, New Brunswick. (AP)

Governor John Lynch says the owners of a Claremont company that shut down last week are hiding behind legal maneuvers rather than honoring the rights of its former workers. Customized Structures Inc., shut down Saturday, putting 120 employees out of work. The company has agreed with state officials to pay workers two weeks of severance, but Lynch says a federal law requires it to pay 60 days of severance. The state asked a Superior Court judge yesterday to freeze the company's assets and use them to pay the workers. Instead, the court granted the company's request to transfer the case to New Hampshire's US District Court in Concord. A hearing date in the federal court has not been set. (AP)

The Home Shopping Network has agreed to pay the government an $875,000 civil settlement after the US accused the company of failing to promptly warn consumers about dangerous pressure cookers that were blamed for at least 37 burning incidents. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the payment was part of an accord reached with HSN LP and its partner firms over defects in Welbilt electronic pressure cookers sold between September 2001 and November 2002.(AP)

Boeing Co. said it finalized a deal with British Airways, notching 790 orders for its long-awaited 787 Dreamliner plane during the last three years. British Airways' order for 24 Dreamliners gives the plane one of the industry's most successful launches ever - even though the airliner has yet to take flight. The British Airways deal is worth $4.4 billion at list prices. (AP)