Nurses at Tufts-NEMC ratify two-year contract

THE REGION

About 1,100 unionized nurses at Tufts-New England Medical Center have ratified a contract that includes wage increases of 11 percent to 16 percent over two years, depending on experience. The highest hourly wage for nurses will rise to $58.23, from $52.23. The contract, made public by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, will be in effect through Oct. 31, 2008. It also establishes a retirement health insurance savings account, which will be funded through contributions from employees and the hospital. (Christopher Rowland)

Bridgestone Corp., the world's largest tire maker, sued GPX International Tire Corp. of Malden, claiming it's selling knock-offs of Firestone tires for forestry vehicles. Bridgestone Firestone North America said it has a 90 percent share of the market for forestry-vehicle tires and GPX is unfairly competing by using Firestone's Rock Master brand name and advertising slogans. The complaint against closely held GPX was filed in federal court in Des Moines. (Bloomberg)

Shares of Marlborough-based Sepracor Inc. fell a second day after another analyst downgraded the stock a day after the drug maker offered a 2007 forecast that disappointed Wall Street. Shares fell $2.31, or 4.1 percent, to $54.75. Separately, the advocacy group Public Citizen said Sepracor's Xopenex asthma inhalers should not be used as there is no "compelling evidence" they work better than older, much cheaper products. (Wire services)

THE NATION

A federal jury deliberating the fate of a former Coca-Cola secretary charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets from the beverage maker and sell them to PepsiCo Inc. told a judge it is unable to make a decision. The jury has deliberated nine hours over two days. The judge told the jury to take another crack at reaching a verdict in the case against Joya Williams, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. She was fired as a secretary to Coca-Cola's global brand director at Coke's Atlanta headquarters after the allegations came to light. (AP)

Medicare officials proposed expanding coverage of carotid artery stenting procedures to prevent strokes, the agency said. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it was proposing to cover the procedure for certain patients without symptoms who have artery narrowing of greater than 80 percent. For patients age 80 and older, the plan would allow coverage only when the stents are implanted as part of a study. The agency said it wanted to limit coverage for older patients because "significant concerns regarding safety" had emerged for that age group. (Reuters)

Vornado Realty Trust raised its bid for Equity Office Properties Trust to about $41 billion in cash and stock, topping Blackstone Group LP's $38.3 billion offer in the competition for the biggest real estate takeover ever. Vornado offered $56 a share for the largest US office landlord, compared with Blackstone's all-cash bid of $54. Blackstone said it doesn't plan to raise the offer, which Equity Office directors accepted Jan. 25. Shareholders are scheduled to vote Monday. (Bloomberg)

Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. are apparently suspending their court battle over the iPhone to return to the negotiations table. Although Cisco's lawsuit against Apple remains pending, the two companies have agreed to extend the time Apple has to respond so that the parties can discuss trademark rights and interoperability, the companies said Wednesday. Cisco, which makes routers and switches to link networks and power the Internet, has owned the trademark on the name "iPhone" since 2000 and began shipping its own line of iPhone-branded Internet-enabled phones in the spring. When Apple unveiled its cellphone-iPod-Internet communications device and called it "iPhone," Cisco sued Apple the next day claiming trademark infringement. (AP)