Daily Business Update

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August 31, 2006

Cinquegrana to head Boston Bar Association

Jack Cinquegrana, a trial lawyer who leads the government enforcement and compliance practice group at Boston law firm Choate Hall & Stewart, took over as the new head of the Boston Bar Association today. He will serve a one-year term.

Cinquegrana succeeds Edward P. Leibensperger, a lawyer with McDermott, Will & Emery in Boston. The Lawrence native and current Newton resident said he plans to focus on the 9,000-member organization's initiatives to recruit and advance minorities in Boston law practices.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Jack Cinquegrana

Posted by globebusiness at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)

Cruise industry docks $401 million in Mass.

The cruise industry produced $401 million in direct spending in Massachusetts in 2005, up 35 percent from 2004 and putting the state ninth in the country in terms of the revenue generation from the industry, according to new data released today by the International Council of Cruise Lines.

The industry supported about 2,500 jobs statewide that paid $245 million in wages to workers last year, the report said. More than 80,000 people took cruises that left from Cruiseport Boston in South Boston last year, the report said.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:18 PM | Comments (0)

Telecom companies face uphill cable battle, study says

Verizon Communications Inc. and other telecommunications firms face a tough road ahead of them as they try to lure business away from cable companies and onto their broadband television offerings, according to a new report from Forrester Research in Boston.

Only 13 percent of pay television subscribers plan to switch their providers in the next twelve months, according to the report by analyst Maribel Lopez.

Telecom companies might improve their chance at luring customers if they undercut cable and satellite providers' prices, though. More than 70 percent of those who said they would switch indicated that price was their primary reason for doing so, according to the study.

Verizon and other telecom companies are introducing cable-like television services using high-speed fiber optic lines. Verizon's FiOS TV offering is already available in about a dozen Massachusetts communities, mostly tony suburbs ringing Boston.

(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

LTX shares tumble on outlook

Shares of LTX Corp., the Westwood-based maker of semiconductor-testing equipment, tumbled in morning trading today after the company told investors to expect slowing orders and shrinking margins this quarter amid a weakening semiconductor industry.

Late Wednesday, the company issued profit and sales outlooks for the fiscal first quarter significantly worse than Wall Street forecast. The company said orders are slowing and its backlog is shrinking as customer inventories build, leading to weaker margins and revenue.

LTX projects revenue in a range of $51 million to $53 million, while analysts expect $66.8 million in sales. The company forecast earnings of 7 cents to 9 cents per share, versus analysts' estimates for earnings of 16 cents per share.

"Our guidance for the first quarter certainly corresponds to a slowing business environment," Chief Executive Dave Tacelli told investors in a conference call Wednesday. The company told investors to expect gross margins of 51 percent during the fiscal first quarter, compared with gross margins of 53.2 percent in the just-reported fiscal fourth quarter.

Total orders in the fourth quarter fell 42 percent versus the third quarter, and the company's backlog slimmed to $73 million at the beginning of the first quarter from $105 million at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Shares of LTX Corp. fell 80 cents, or 14.2 percent, to $4.85 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. The company's shares have traded in a range of $3.20 to $8 in the past year, and have shed nearly 23 percent since July 6.

"LTX's results and guidance point to a softening in broader semiconductor testing orders," said Canaccord Adams analyst Dennis C. Wassung.

Needham analyst Robert Maire downgraded LTX to "Hold" from "Buy," citing deferred purchases of the company's products among Asian subcontractors and higher inventories at U.S. computer chip makers.

"Customers deferred new orders in the fourth quarter as rising inventory levels created a cautious near-term outlook," Maire said in a note to clients Thursday. "This weakness could stretch longer than one quarter due to rising pockets of inventory among certain customers." (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Scientific enrolls 13,000 In stent study

Boston Scientific Corp. said today that it has enrolled more than 13,000 patients in its Olympia registry, which is aimed at evaluating the safety and performance of the company's second-generation drug-eluting coronary stent, Taxus Liberte.

The Natick company plans to enroll up to 27,000 patients at more than 500 centers worldwide to test the stent in "real-world" settings.

Boston Scientific said preliminary six-months results from Phase I of the Olympia registry, which enrolled 529 patients from a limited number of international markets in which Taxus Liberte is already commercially available, showed a low overall major cardiac event rate of 2.3%.

The company plans to enroll up to 24,000 patients from intercontinental and European markets for Phases II and III of the study. The final phase will enroll U.S. patients.
(Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)

FDA to let NMT Medical change trial

NMT Medical Inc., a maker of devices to treat heart defects, said today that the Food and Drug Administration will allow it to make changes to its clinical trial for a device meant to reduce migraine headaches.

The company asked the FDA if it could change the primary endpoint of its late-stage clinical trial to the reduction of migraines, from the resolution of migraines. NMT Medical also asked the FDA if it could replace the device tested, the Starflex, with a newer version, the Biostar, which is largely absorbed by the body over time.

The device is intended to treat patent foramen ovale, or a tiny hole in the heart wall that allows deoxygenated blood to mix with oxygenated blood. The unfiltered blood can trigger migraines in some patients.

The clinical study seeks to enroll about 600 migraine patients, who will either receive an implanted device or a fake procedure to test for the placebo effect.

In March, the company reported a clinical trial of the Starflex failed to meet its goal of eliminating at least 40 percent of migraine headaches after six months. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:57 AM | Comments (0)

Diomed Holdings gets favorable ruling in patent infringement case

Diomed Holdings Inc., which develops minimally invasive medical procedures to treat varicose veins and other medical conditions, said Thursday it received a favorable legal ruling stating that one of its patents is valid and enforceable.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton concerns Diomed's patent on its EndoVenous laser treatment for varicose veins, which it acquired in 2003. The company sued AngioDynamics Inc. and other competitors in 2004, charging them with patent infringement.

In granting Diomed's motion for summary judgment, the court rejected arguments from AngioDynamics and other defendants that Diomed's patent was invalid and unenforceable.

The court's ruling means Diomed, which is based in Andover, can proceed to trial on its claims for an injunction and damages against the defendants. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)

General Dynamics wins Air Force contract

A local unit of defense contractor General Dynamics won a $5.5 million contract to build a networking system for the US Air Force. The contract will be handled by General Dynamics' Needham Heights network systems unit. The contract calls for General Dynamics to put a network in place that can carry voice, video and data using Internet protocol technology by September 2007.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)

Sales up at BJ's Wholesale

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., a warehouse retail club, said today that same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, increased 2.3 percent in August and outpaced Wall Street's expectations.

Total sales for the month increased 4.4 percent to $624.7 million from $598.3 million.

The company, which is based in Natick, said same-store sales in the upstate New York and metropolitan New York area were particularly brisk. Sales were slowest in the Southeast. The average same-store sales transaction, excluding sales of gasoline, increased 3 percent, while customer traffic fell 2 percent in the month.

Year-to-date, same-store sales rose 1.9 percent. Total sales year-to-date increased 5.7 percent to $4.59 billion from $4.35 billion during the same period a year ago. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:07 AM | Comments (0)

Lowell company tops Inc.'s fast growing list

A Lowell company that handles credit card payments for the direct marketing and e-commerce industries is the fastest-growing privately-held company in the US, according to Inc. magazine's latest ranking of the top 500 such firms.

Litle & Co., a company that has 38 employees and was founded five years ago, raked in revenue of $34.8 million last year. While that revenue was much smaller than many of the other firms on the Inc. list -- the second-ranked financial services firm, United Bank Card, had sales of $53.4 million -- Litle's three-year sales growth of 5,629.1 percent outpaced every other company listed.

Also on the Inc. list was OpenPages, a 10-year-old Waltham regulatory compliance firm with $30.8 million in 2005 sales and 167 employees. OpenPages ranked number 22 on the overall Inc. list, but its 2,033.4 percent three-year growth rate made it the number one software firm on the list.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:03 AM | Comments (0)

TJX sales up 4 percent in Aug.

TJX Cos., operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls discount stores, said today that its August same-store sales, or sales in stores that have been open at least a year, increased 4 percent, topping Wall Street estimates.

Sales for the four weeks ended Aug. 26 were $1.3 billion, up 9 percent from $1.2 billion last year.

"Our August consolidated comparable store sales increase of 4 percent exceeded our expectations, as we saw business trends pick up toward the end of the month, said Ben Cammarata, chairman and acting chief executive officer.

For the 30 weeks ended Aug. 26, same-store sales increased 3 percent, while total sales grew 8 percent to $9.2 billion from $8.5 billion last year.

The company, which is based in Framingham, also reiterated projections for third-quarter of 39 cents to 41 cents per share.(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:30 AM | Comments (0)

Beacon Roofing Supply buys RSM Supply

Roofing material distributor Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. said Wednesday it acquired competitor Roofing & Sheet Metal Supply Inc. to extend its presence in the Southwest and Arkansas.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Roofing & Sheet Metal Supply is based in Tulsa, Okla., with locations in Missouri and Arkansas. It had $33 million in sales for its fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2005. Its 70 employees will continue to operate under the RSM Supply name.

Peabody-based Beacon Roofing Supply's 155 branches are spread through 31 states. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:28 AM | Comments (0)

ImmunoGen gets research fund extension

Biotech drug developer ImmunoGen Inc. said today that French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA has decided to extend its research collaboration with the company.

Under the extension, an option under the original 2003 agreement, Sanofi-Aventis will continue to provide research funds to ImmunoGen for two more years.

ImmunoGen, which is based in Cambridge, will get a minimum of $10.4 million in funds during the final year of the collaboration, the 12-month period beginning Sept. 1, 2007.

Effective immediately, ImmunoGen is no longer obligated to present new targets for antibody-based cancer drugs to Sanofi-Aventis, and can use those targets to develop its own products.

For targets covered under the collaboration, ImmunoGen will continue to receive milestone and manufacturing payments, along with royalties and co-promotion rights. Also after August 2008, ImmunoGen can potentially get payments if Sanofi-Aventis uses the company's technology for disease targets not covered by the collaboration.

The collaboration involves ImmunoGen's TAP technology, which uses antibodies to carry medication directly to tumor cells. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2006

AARP: MIT ranks 7th among best employers for older workers

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the top places for senior citizens to be employed in the United States, according to rankings released today by the AARP.

MIT ranked seventh on the list of the top 50 employers for workers aged 50 and over. It was the only organization in the top ten not in the healthcare industry and one of only two Massachusetts employers on the entire list.

Massachusetts General Hospital, which ranked 39th, joined MIT from the Bay State on the list.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:28 PM | Comments (0)

Verizon drops new supplier surcharge after customer complaints

Verizon Communications cancelled a days-old supplier surcharge on high-speed Internet service after customers complained that the company was taking advantage of them by replacing an expiring government tax with a fee of its own.

"We have listened to our customers and are eliminating this charge in response to their concerns," said Bob Ingalls, chief marketing officer of Verizon Telecom.

Verizon stopped collecting a federal tax called the Universal Service Fund on DSL customer bills on Aug. 14 and replaced it last Saturday with its own fee that comes out to be just slightly less. The new fee, called a supplier surcharge, was to go to Verizon.

Some of Verizon's 6 million DSL customers had reacted with dismay to the new supplier surcharge, which is equal to 8 to 9 percent of their monthly bill.

(By Bruce Mohl, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:58 PM | Comments (0)

Security for Plymouth nuclear plant to be brought in-house

The owner of Pilgrim Nuclear Station and an employee union have agreed to cancel Wackenhut Corp.'s contract for security at the plant and bring the site's more than 100 security officers in-house.

An Entergy Corp. spokesman said that the decision was a move to reduce costs, improve employee morale, and eliminate an administrative layer -- and not a reflection of dissatisfaction with Wackenhut's performance overseeing security at the Plymouth power plant for the past six years.

Critics including the nonprofit group Project on Government Oversight have accused Wackenhut of providing inadequate security at several US nuclear sites where the company is a contractor, including Pilgrim.

The 34-year-old plant provides electricity for about 670,000 homes. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:36 PM | Comments (0)

Raytheon unit gives maker of flight simulators $30m contract

Canadian flight simulator maker CAE Inc. said today that it received contracts worth $52 million from Flight Options, a unit of Waltham-based Raytheon Co., and Boeing Co.

CAE received a four-year $30 million contract extension from Flight Options, a fractional jet-ownership company, for pilot training through 2010.

Flight Options' pilots will receive training at CAE SimuFlite's Dallas-Fort Worth training center for its entire fleet -- including Beechjet 400As, Legacy Executive, Hawker 400XP, Hawker 800XP and Citation X aircraft.

The $22 million subcontract from Boeing calls for the design and development of upgrades and training devices for the Air Force's C-130 avionics modernization program.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)

West Elm opens stores in two locations

West Elm, the modern furniture chain of Williams-Sonoma Inc., is opening its first stores in the Boston market this week. The store at Trilogy in Boston's Fenway neighborhood opened today, and its second store in Burlington at Wayside Commons opens Sept. 1. It's the first time the company has opened stores back-to-back in a market, according to West Elm spokeswoman Meredith Mazur.

Each store features more than 9,000 square feet with furniture that emphasizes clean lines and modern silhouettes, usually at lower prices than West Elm's sister chains, including Pottery Barn. West Elm opened its flagship store in New York City in 2003. The Boston locations are the chain's 16th and 17th stores.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Floor displays at West Elm's San Diego store.

Posted by globebusiness at 2:31 PM | Comments (0)

Lerner goes Metrostyle

The West Bridgewater company that publishes the popular Lerner Catalog for women's apparel is changing the publication's name to Metrostyle.

The name change won't affect the mix of products in the catalog, but was done by publisher Redcats USA to update the brand and help it appeal to a more fashionable "urban" female consumer, the company said. Lerner Catalog's web site has already been changed to reflect the new name, and by January, all of its material will have been changed.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:33 PM | Comments (0)

Life-sciences companies lease space in Kendall Square project

DSM Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the biotechnology company Crucell, both of the Netherlands, have leased 47,033 square feet of space at One Hampshire at Kendall Square, in a seven-story building still under construction and owned by the research and development company Draper Laboratory of Cambridge. In a joint venture, the companies will occupy the entire fifth floor of the laboratory complex of new and existing buildings, which has a total of 361,000 square feet.

The petroleum services company Schlumberger Technology Corp. also has leased 190,000 square feet on several floors in both buildings and will move in in October. Draper was represented by Mark Winters, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Inc., who said that DSM, which occupies a half-million square feet of space in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, looked at several states and chose Cambridge, where many biomedical firms are concentrated.
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

Sycamore delays full financial filing, citing stock-option probe

Sycamore Networks Inc. today reported partial financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended July 31, saying it needed more time to investigate new information related to stock options.

The Chelmsford optical-networking company had already restated its past financial results last year because of options-accounting problems and said it had put tighter controls in place. But this year the company has been swept up in broad probes by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether technology companies manipulated stock options they granted to benefit employees at the expense of shareholders.

In a press release today Sycamore said that "pending further investigation of recently discovered information relating to the granting of stock options, it is unable at this time to provide complete financial results'' and that it has reported the information to the SEC and Justice Department. It does not yet know if further financial charges will be taken, though it does not currently expect it will need to adjust historic revenue figures.

The company continues to cooperate with regulators, chief executive Daniel E. Smith said in a statement. The company will not file its annual form 10-K until after the investigation has been completed, the company said.

For the fourth quarter, Sycamore said revenue fell to $16.3 million from $18.5 million for the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the fiscal year was $87.4 million, compared with $65.4 million for fiscal 2005.

In noontime trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Sycamore stock was down 17 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $3.85.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)

Genzyme attempts hostile takeover of Canadian drug company

In an unusual hostile takeover attempt, Genzyme Corp. today launched a $380 million cash offer to buy a Canadian drug-development company whose board of directors has twice rejected its bid.

AnorMed Inc. , based near Vancouver, is a 10-year-old company with an experimental drug for patients with lymphoma, myeloma, and other blood cancers.

In a statement, AnorMed's directors said the company was worth more than the $8.55 a share Genzyme is offering. AnorMed's stock nearly doubled upon news of Genzyme's offer, jumping 95 percent from $5.03 to $9.82.

The hostile bid marks a departure in the closely networked world of life-sciences companies. Deals are usually negotiated quietly and announced only after the directors of both firms have agreed to terms. It is also unusual for Genzyme, the Cambridge company that has built itself into one of the world's largest biotechnology players by absorbing numerous other companies into its $17 billion empire.

Most recently it bought the kidney-drug developer Bone Care International Inc. in June 2005 for $600 million, and the cancer-drug company Ilex Oncology Inc. for $1 billion in December 2004.

Like those deals, the offer for AnorMed represents an effort by Genzyme to widen its range of drugs and other healthcare products. Currently the company's sales lean heavily on a handful of high-priced drugs for extremely rare genetic diseases, but during the past several years it has been steadily investing in new areas, including kidney disease and cancer treatment.

AnorMed would expand Genzyme's transplant-drug division, which now relies almost exclusively on the anti-rejection drug Thymoglobulin , derived from rabbit blood.
(By Stephen Heuser, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

T. J. Maxx to unveil designer boutiques in 25 stores

Off-price retailer T.J. Maxx is planning to open designer boutiques at 25 stores across the country this fall. The boutiques, called "The Runway at Maxx," will feature top names in couture from around the world and will open locally on Sept. 10 at stores in Bedford, Cambridge, Framingham, and Sudbury.

The Runway at Maxx will have new shipments arriving weekly, including an assortment of casual, career, evening wear, lingerie, and accessories. The boutiques will host both American and European designers -- from couture to pop trend favorites -- with prices up to 60 percent less than those found in top boutiques and fashion houses.

"We'll have great brands at terrific values for customers," said Sherry Lang, a spokeswoman for TJX Cos. of Framingham, parent company of T.J. Maxx. "And it's another way for us to pursue our chief goal of driving profitable sales."
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

Zipcar expands service in Somerville

Zipcar, the car rental service that lets members pick up vehicles from locations on the street or in parking garages, said it plans to more than double the number of vehicles it has available in Somerville in the next year.

Zipcar already has 27 vehicles operating in Somerville under a deal with the city's mayor which both sides say have taken more than 500 private vehicles off of local roads and saved drivers more than $5 million in transportation costs in the last year.

Now the company says it will add dozens more, and the city has agreed to expand the number of parking spots on its streets that it has reserved for Zipcars.

Zipcar members access the cars using a small, digital card that unlocks the doors to vehicles and allows them to function. Members carrying the cards can access any Zipcar at any time, and can also reserve them months in advance. They are then billed for their usage; gas and insurance are included.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:23 AM | Comments (0)

Wireless product maker SiGe raises $19.5 million

SiGe Semiconductor Inc., a Meuthen company that makes components for wireless products, has raised $19.5 million in a new round of funding from eight investors.

The money is slated to fund the development of new products and to grow the company's staff. SiGe had revenues of $31.8 million in 2005, and reported sales of $23 million in the first half of this year.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:16 AM | Comments (0)

Semiconductor maker GSI Group receives $5M purchase order

Semiconductor maker GSI Group Inc. said today that it received a $5 million purchase order for its WaferTrim systems, which are used in producing power-management devices for cell phones and MP3 players.

The company, based in Billerica, did not disclose the customer's identity. Deliveries are scheduled for later this year.

"Both the automotive and consumer drivers for the wafer trimming business have been strong in 2006," said Nino Federico, general manager of the company's semiconductor systems business.

GSI Group posted 2005 sales of $260.8 million. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:47 AM | Comments (0)

Flight simulator CAE gets $52 million from Raytheon, Boeing

Canadian flight simulator maker CAE Inc. said today that it received contracts totaling $52 million from Boeing Co. and Flight Options, a unit of Raytheon Co.

The $22 million subcontract from Boeing Co. calls for the design and development of upgrades and training devices for the Air Force's C-130 avionics modernization program.

Under the agreement, CAE will upgrade an existing C-130 weapon systems trainer to the specifications of the modernization program for delivery in early 2009.

The company will also upgrade an existing C-130 cockpit familiarization trainer, cockpit procedures trainer and fuselage trainer to the new configuration and design and manufacture a new avionics part task trainer.

CAE will work with Boeing, the prime contractor, and Lockheed Martin, the prime aircrew training system contractor, to install and test all modifications.

The first modified aircraft is seen entering service in 2009.

CAE also received a four-year $30 million contract extension from Flight Options, a unit of Raytheon Co., for pilot training through 2010.

Flight Options' pilots will receive training at CAE SimuFlite's Dallas-Fort Worth training center for its entire fleet including Beechjet 400As, Legacy Executive, Hawker 400XP, Hawker 800XP and Citation X aircraft. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:08 AM | Comments (0)

August 29, 2006

Attunity to sell shares to meet Nasdaq requirements

Attunity Ltd., a Burlington-based maker of data integration software, said it agreed to sell $5 million in shares to institutional and private investors to meet Nasdaq Global Market shareholders equity requirements.

One group of investors is headed by Shimon Alon, Attunity's chairman, Ron Zuckerman, a board member, and Aki Ratner, the company's chief executive.

Under the agreement, Attunity agreed to sell 4 million shares at $1.25 each. The investors also will receive three-year warrants to purchase 2 million shares at the same price.

The transaction is subject to shareholder approval at a special meeting to be held within the next 60 days, the company said. Attunity has about 18.4 million common shares outstanding. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. incomes remain essentially flat

Incomes in Massachusetts barely increased last year and have remained essentially flat since 2001, when the technology boom turned bust, according to an analysis of Census data released today. The poverty rate also was little changed.

Adjusted for inflation, the median household income averaged $54,888 from 2004 to 2005, up slightly from $53,916 in 2003-04 and down a bit from $55,311 in 2000-01, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a Boston think tank. The state's poverty rate was 9.7 percent in 2004-05, compared to 9.8 percent average in 2003-04, and 9.4 percent in 2000-2001.

Massachusetts' median household income remained well-above than US median of $46,071 in 2004-05. Only five other states -- New Jersey, Maryland, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Connecticut -- had higher incomes.

The state's poverty rate, meanwhile, was well below the national rate of 12.7 percent, as was the percentage of people in Massachusetts without health insurance in 2004-05.

In Massachusetts, 10.8 percent had no health insurance compared to 15.8 percent nationally. The percentage of uninsured in Massachusetts dipped slightly in from 11.2 percent from 2003-04, but rose significantly from the 8.5 percent in 2000-01.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:32 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Beer Co. shares drop after downgrade

Shares of Boston Beer Co. retreat after Deutsche Bank analyst downgrades stock on valuation

NEW YORK -- Shares of Boston Beer Co. Inc., brewer of Samuel Adams brand beer, fell sharply after a Deutsche Bank analyst downgraded the stock, saying it has reached a fair price after a sustained run-up.

The stock has gained 31.4 percent so far this year, and trades in a 52-week range of $22.61 to $33.49.

Ted Tabasso, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., downgraded Boston Beer to "hold" from "buy" with a target price of $33. Tabasso said Boston Beer's growth prospects remain robust, its retail demand continues to trend higher and the company recently raised its 2006 earnings expectations.

But he notes that the market has recognized those fundamentals, which are now priced into the stock. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:28 PM | Comments (0)

P&G's Lafley gets $25.1 million pay package

The executives who guided Procter & Gamble Co.'s $57 billion buyout of Gillette Co. last year were paid tens of millions in salary and bonuses and perks from the company, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Procter & Gamble chief executive A.G. Lafley was paid $1.7 million in salary and total compensation of $25.1 million by the Cincinnati-based consumer products maker. Meanwhile, Gillette vice chairman James M. Kilts was paid $1.1 million in salary plus nearly $2.3 million in bonuses.

Previously, Kilts had received a compensation package valued at $165 million compensation related to the acquisition the sale of Gillette. As part of that compensation, Kilts was awarded 1 million stock options in October, according to the filing, with a value calculated at $15.7 million.

In addition to the cash, Kilts and Lafley flew on Procter & Gamble's corporate jet, racking up $280,175 in expenses. The company also paid more than $102,000 for corporate housing in Boston for Kilts, who lived full-time in Rye, N.Y., and commuted to Boston for his work duties.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Lafley

Kilts

Posted by globebusiness at 2:53 PM | Comments (0)

Newton consulting firms Braver buys tech consultant Andrews

Braver PC, a Newton accounting and consulting firm, said this morning that it bought Andrews Computer Systems Inc., a Mansfield technology consulting practice for businesses. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Braver is renaming the unit Braver Technology Solutions LLC and plans to use it to expand its client base and the number of services it offers.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

Fidelity adds new 401(k) services

Fidelity Investments today said it has added new features to its 401(k) retirement services for businesses. The Boston mutual-fund giant said it added a feature employers can use to automatically enroll employees into a retirement-savings plan, a step encouraged by recent a new federal law President Bush signed earlier this month.

Fidelity also said it will offer an annual review of the financial situation of eligible employees in retirement plans and new consulting services. Fidelity said total assets in the 401(k) program it runs were $14.5 billion as of June 30, up 21 percent from $12 billion a year earlier.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

Decas Cranberry moves to Carver

A Wareham company that supplies cranberries for use in juice and other products is moving its corporate headquarters to a new facility in Carver.

Decas Cranberry Products Inc. already has its main cranberry processing plant in Carver, and now it is moving its executive offices there as well, the company said today. Decas was founded in 1915 and has kept its headquarters in Warehma since 1934. The company says it distributes about 50 million pounds of cranberry ingredients to other companies annually, and made the move to be closer to its suppliers on cranberry farms in southeastern Massachusetts.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

NeuroMetrix gets updated FDA approval

Medical device maker NeuroMetrix Inc. said today that the Food and Drug Administration gave its NC-stat nerve conduction testing system updated clearance.

The system had already been approved for use in diagnosing neuropathies, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Neuropathies include diseases that effect the nerves, often resulting in numbness and pain.

The system can now also be used to stimulate and measure neuromuscular signals in diagnosing and evaluating systemic and entrapment neuropathies. NeuroMetrix is based in Waltham. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

Mass. foreclosures spike in July

Foreclosure filings in Massachusetts rose sharply in July, more evidence that the housing market in the state is still on a downward spiral.

There were 1,348 foreclosures statewide in July, according to data collected by ForeclosuresMass.com. That's an average of nearly 70 every day and 56 percent more than the 866 filings in July 2005. Foreclosure filings are the first step lenders must take on the path to removing a borrower from a home for missing mortgage payments.

Jeremy Shapiro, ForeclosuresMass.com's president, blamed rising interest rates and energy costs for the foreclosure increases, which he said should continue at least through year's end.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

Raytheon supplier gets extension

Kaiser Aluminum, a producer of aluminum used in planes, said today that it extended to 2010 a contract with A.M. Castle & Co. to supply aluminum to military contractor Raytheon Co.'s aircraft unit.

Terms of the extension were not disclosed.

Raytheon uses the products from Castle, a distributor of specialty metals and plastics, and Kaiser to make its Beechcraft and Hawker business jets. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:59 AM | Comments (0)

Avici Systems names William Stuart as CFO

Avici Systems Inc., which makes high-speed Internet routers, said today that it has named William J. Stuart as chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and administration.

He replaces Paul F. Brauneis who resigned in May to join another company.

Stuart previously served as a general partner at venture capital firm Still River Funds.

In his new role, Stuart will be responsible for finance, human resources and investor relations. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:13 AM | Comments (0)

Report: P&H of Newton sold to Omaha firm

Transaction Systems Architects Inc. is expected to announce today the acquisition of P&H Solutions Inc. for $150 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

P&H, of Newton, produces Web-based software used by some of the country's largest banks including Sovereign Bank, TD Banknorth, and Wells Fargo. For the fiscal year ending in September 2007, the company expects P&H to contribute revenue of $40 million to $42 million. TSA, of Omaha, Neb., makes software that facilitates electronic financial transactions involving credit cards, debit cards and other systems. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:20 AM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2006

Logan dispatches team to study Comair crash

Logan International Airport officials dispatched a three-person "go team" to the site of a fatal Comair plane crash in Lexington, Ky., hoping to gather information and intelligence for handling any future aviation accidents at the Boston airport. Robert J. Donahue, fire chief for the Massachusetts Port Authority Fire Rescue Department, which serves Logan, said the team includes Sergeant George Chiason of the State Police Troop F, which covers Logan; Massport Fire Captain Don Collins; and Ron Stella, an operations shift manager at Logan.

"Fortunately, events like this don't happen frequently, but we take any opportunity we can to learn,'' Donahue said. "For us, it's a real-world case study." Forty-nine people died in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 as it took off from Blue Grass Airport Sunday, and the plane's co-pilot, the sole survivor rescued, remains in grave condition in a local hospital.

Although the Kentucky airport where the crash occurred Saturday is much smaller than Logan, with just one main commercial jet runway compared to Logan's four, Donahue said Massport officials anticipate they can learn a lot to evaluate and improve their emergency-management plans. Among other areas, the three officials will be studying aspects of the response to the Lexington crash such as how debris at the crash site is charted and handled and how well airport arrangements work for dealing with the family members of the dead passengers.

Logan has not experienced an aviation fatality, Donahue said, since a January 1980 accident when a World Airways jet skidded off a snowy runway and plunged into Boston Harbor, throwing two passengers to their deaths. The three Logan officials are expected to stay in Lexington most of this week evaluating the response to the Comair crash.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)

FDA turns down Epix's Vasovist appeal

Biotech drug maker Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that the Food and Drug Administration turned down its appeal to get an approval for its blood imaging agent Vasovist, placing pressure on shares.

Shares of Epix fell 91 cents, or 13 percent, to $6.30 in early Nasdaq trading.

Epix said the FDA turned down its request for an advisory committee meeting to review data. The agency also suggested that the company conduct two clinical trials as a safer course of action to get the product approved.

In June, the company appealed the agency's decision requiring another clinical trial for Vasovist. That decision came in an "approvable letter" in November, following another earlier letter that had requested more data from the company.

The product is an injectable agent that when used with imaging technology can show blood flow throughout the vascular system. Vasovist is aimed at detecting blood clots.

"We are evaluating several options available to us as next steps with Vasovist in the United States, including the option to appeal this decision to the next level at the FDA, and will update the market accordingly," said Andrew Uprichard, Epix' president, in a statement.

Vasovist is already approved in Europe and was recently recommended for approval in Australia. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)

Study says Rituxan is effective in treating multiple sclerosis

Drug makers Biogen Idec Inc. and Genentech Inc. said today that a mid-stage study of Rituxan showed it was effective in treating multiple sclerosis.

The Food and Drug Administration originally approved the drug in 1997 for the treatment of cancer. It was developed by Cambridge-based Biogen and is comarketed with South San Francisco-based Genentech in the United States.

The companies said the treatment reached its primary endpoint in reducing the number of gadolinium enhancing T1 lesions, or indicators of relapsing forms of MS, in a 104-patient study. The clinical trial compared Rituxan to a placebo and took place over 24 weeks.

Patients involved in the study will be followed for an additional 48 weeks as the companies monitor the long-term safety affects of the treatment.

Multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease, is the leading cause of neurological disorders in young adults, the companies said, with the relapsing form of the disease accounting for 65 percent of all multiple sclerosis cases. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

Infinity to collaborate with MedImmune

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge drug development firm, will collaborate with a MedImmune Inc in a deal that could be worth as much as a half billion in revenues, the company said today.

Under a new pact with the Gaithersburg, Maryland company, Infinity will work with MedImmune on the development of cancer treatments that target a specific protein that is specific to the ailment that Infinity has been researching. MedImmune is paying Infinity an initial fee of $70 million, with both companies agreeing to share the costs of treatment developments.

Infinity also stands to gain as much as $430 million more in royalties if the two firms successfully take a new drug to market as a result of their partnership.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

RCN adds wireless phone service

Cable and broadband provider RCN Corp. plans to add mobile phone service to its menu of bundled services, the company said today.

RCN, which sells so-called triple-play packages of cable, Internet and landline telephone service in many of Boston's suburbs, is adding wireless service to its menu of services under a deal with MobilePro, a Bethesda, Md., wireless firm. MobilePro will provide the wireless service for RCN customers who sign up, while RCN will market the service under the name RCN Wireless, offering a discount off the cost of service if consumers take a bundle.

The company said it plans to begin offering the service in Boston, expanding to other regions later.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)

One to One buys AdTools

One to One Interactive, a Charlestown digital marketing outfit bought AdTools Inc., a Boston online advertising firm, the companies said this morning. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

Journal Register, Dow Jones seek to sell N.E. papers

Several New England newspapers are being shopped for sale as their owners try to wring cash out of them at the same time that investors frown upon the sector.

The Journal Register Company is putting all of its papers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the block. The chain owns 26 papers in the two states, including the Herald News in Fall River, the Taunton Gazette and various other dailies, weeklies and shopper publications. The company is trying to get rid of less-profitable operations in favor of focusing on more lucrative ones, it said in a statement about the possible sale.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones & Co. said it is shopping its paper in Danbury, Conn., along with several others in its Ottoway newspaper chain for sale. Neither company said how much they were seeking for the assets.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:26 AM | Comments (0)

Hancock closes Classic Value Fund to new investors

John Hancock Funds LLC, the Boston mutual fund firm, is closing one of its most popular options to new investors, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning.

The $7 billion John Hancock Classic Value Fund will no longer offer shares to new investors as of Sept. 15. Those who already own shares in the fund by that date will still be able to make new investments.

The fund makes investments in the shares of the top 500 publicly traded companies in the U.S., with an emphasis on stocks that are undervalued. John Hancock is opening a new fund, Classic Value II, which will focus on investments in the largest 400 companies in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal story, which was based on John Hancock filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:46 AM | Comments (0)

Federal Realty acquires properties in Wellesley, Chelsea and North Dartmouth

Federal Realty Investment Trust acquired three retail properties in the Boston metropolitan area from a private developer for about $150 million.

The Rockville, Md., real estate investment trust said its Boston-area holdings now include more than 2 million square feet of retail space, including those held by a joint venture.

The off-market purchases include Linden Square in Wellesley, Mass.; Chelsea Commons in Chelsea, Mass.; and North Dartmouth Shopping Center in North Dartmouth, Mass., Federal Realty said.

Federal said it funded the purchases with a bridge facility from Wachovia Corp.

The company said it plans to invest about $50 million in the redevelopment of the 250,000-square-foot Linden Square from 2007 to 2008. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)

N.Y. Times completes Baseline acquisition

New York Times completes Baseline Studio Systems acquisition for $35 million in cash.

New York Times Co., which operates The Boston Globe and International Herald Tribune along with its namesake newspaper, said today that it completed its acquisition of Baseline Studio Systems, an online database and research service for the film and television industries, from Hollywood Media Corp. for $35 million in cash.

The transaction is being looked at to diversify the New York Times' online revenue base, President and Chief Executive Janet L. Robinson said in a statement.

Baseline will stay based in Santa Monica, Calif., headed by Rafi Gordon and Alex Amin. It will become a separate division of the New York Times, reporting to Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com. The unit will become part of the New York Times' media group.

Baseline's database has more than 1.5 million records with various facts, analysis, statistics, news, contacts and trends on the entertainment industry. Revenue for Baseline is pegged at about $6 million for the year.

The deal, which was structured as a cash-for-stock purchase, is expected to add to earnings in 2008. The New York Times said it plans to treat the acquisition as an asset purchasing, producing tax benefits worth more than $7 million. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:17 AM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2006

Arnold wins Trex account

Trex Co., a company that makes composite decking, said today it has awarded its advertising account to the Virginia office of Boston ad agency Arnold Worldwide.

Billings for the account were not disclosed.

According to a statement by Virginia-based Trex, Pile and Co. of Boston managed its ad agency review.

In that review, Arnold beat out two other agencies that made final presentations: Fitzgerald + Co. of Atlanta and McCann Worldgroup of New York, Trex's statement said.

Other Arnold clients include RadioShack and Jack Daniels.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:44 PM | Comments (0)

Salem Five launches grant program

Salem Five Bank disclosed today that it has launched the Heritage Grant Program, which will award $25,000 to nonprofit organizations located in Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, Peabody, and Danvers.

"The program will award grants with a minimum value of $5,000 to organizations that provide services in the areas of education, health and human services, youth programs, affordable housing, and community development," said Salem Five vice chairman Peter Copelas in a statement.

As part of the merger with Heritage Co-operative Bank earlier this year, Salem Five established the Heritage Salem Five Charitable Foundation with a $1 million endowment, which will provide funding for the Heritage Grant Program.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:52 PM | Comments (0)

Papa Gino's launches new look in Shrewsbury

Papa Gino's is about to unveil a new look and a new slogan at a new restaurant with a new name.

A store set to open Monday in Shrewsbury will be known as Papa Gino's Pizzeria, and it will showcase a new look that aims to incorporate a bistro feel and highlight Papa Gino's pizzeria roots. One goal is to make the store more inviting for sit-down lunches and family evening meals, said Michael McManama, senior vice president of brand development.

The Dedham chain plans to open five to seven new stores through February, and they will feature expanded guest seating with comfortable updated booths and more inviting colors that McManama described as "contemporary Italian with mild yellows and reds."

The chain's new marketing statement is, "The family pizzeria since 1961."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)

AvalonBay leases space at 51 Sleeper

NAI Hunneman Commercial, a commercial real estate services firm, said today it has brokered a 10-year office lease at 51 Sleeper St. in Boston on behalf of the landlord, the Mayo Group.

The new tenant is AvalonBay Communities Inc., which specializes in developing and managing apartment communities.

AvalonBay is leasing 11,545 square feet in an eight-story building with 138,500 square feet of space; 51 Sleeper St. is located next to Fort Point Channel's waterfront.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)

Robert P. Kempf named VP, product at Boston.com

The New York Times Co. today named Robert P. Kempf to be vice president, product for Boston.com, effective Sept. 18.

Boston.com is a regional Web portal and the online partner of The Boston Globe, which is owned by the Times Co.

Kempf will lead product development and product management for Boston.com, the company said.

Kempf, 52, has been vice president of interactive media for GateHouse Media Inc. He is a graduate of Boston College.

Kempf will be based in Boston and report to Michael Zimbalist, who is vice president for research and development operations for The New York Times Co.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

RFID Executive Council launched

Manufacturing Insights of Framingham is launching a new organization called the RFID Executive Council that aims to serve as a forum for retailers and suppliers to share effective practices for radio frequency identification technology, or RFID.

The council plans its inaugural meeting for Sept. 28 at the Westin hotel in Waltham.

The meeting will feature RFID technology being implemented by council participants Best Buy and Sears.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

Raytheon expands Mississippi plant

Raytheon Co. will hire more than 100 people and expand its Forest, Mississippi plant by 90,000 square feet, the company announced yesterday.

The Waltham based defense contractor said expansion at its plant on U.S. 80 is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2007.

Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business in Forest manufactures sensor and radar systems for fighter aircraft.

With 2005 revenue of $4.2 billion and 13,000 employees, SAS, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., also operates facilities in Goleta, Calif., and in Dallas, McKinney and Plano in Texas. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

Filene's Basement opens Maryland store

Filene's Basement, the putative birthplace of the Hub bargain, is about to open another store in suburban Baltimore.

Plans call for the chain to open a store next week in Hunt Valley, Md., its second in the area.

Filene's Basement operates 26 stores in such markets as Atlanta, Chicago, and Pittsburgh _ none more famous than its flagship in Boston's Downtown Crossing, where shopping can be a contact sport.

A pioneer in off-price shopping _ selling brand name goods at prices below department stores', Filene's Basement recently disclosed plans to open some stores in high-rent districts.

Filene's Basement is a division of Retail Ventures Inc. of Ohio.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:56 AM | Comments (0)

SkillSoft earnings fall

SkillSoft PLC, a provider of Web-based training courses and software, said today that second-quarter profit fell 79 percent from a year-ago period helped by a hefty gain, but still came in ahead of analyst estimates.

Profit for the quarter ended July 31 dropped to $4.8 million, or 5 cents per share, from $22.9 million, or 22 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Results include expenses of $100,000 relating to an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and more than $6 million of amortization charges, stock-option expense and income tax provisions. Among other items, the year-ago period included an insurance settlement gain of $19.5 million.

Revenue edged up 4 percent to $55.7 million from $53.6 million last year.

Revenue from the company's Multi-Modal Learning's segment grew 9 percent to $54.2 million, accounting for most of SkillSoft's revenue.

The company, based in Nashua, N.H., raised its outlook for fiscal 2007, now expecting a profit of $18 million to $21 million, or 17 cents to 20 cents per share. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:53 AM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2006

Putnam fund picked up by A.G. Edwards

A small-cap stock fund run by Putnam Investments won inclusion into an exclusive investment program for high net-worth clients of the A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. brokerage firm.

Putnam's Small Cap Value Managed Account, a fund that invests in common shares of US companies whose stock price is undervalued, is now an option for investors under A.G. Edwards' so-called separately managed account program, which is open only to A.G. Edwards clients who have at least $100,000 in assets managed by the firm.

Clients with those accounts are allowed to choose between 45 different account managers, now including Putnam, that have been screened for certain performance benchmarks before they are allowed to offer their services to the A.G. Edwards clients.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)

Lee hires seven executives for new investment firm

Thomas H. Lee today named seven executives for his new firm, Lee Equity Partners LLC, one of his first substantial moves following his departure from the well-known Boston firm he founded in 1974, Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.

In a press release Lee's new New York based firm named figures including the former chief executive of J.C. Penney Co., Allen Questrom, and the former chief executive of Mercer Management Consulting, David Morrison.

Lee Equity said it plans to "extend the traditional private equity model with a differentiated approach to identifying and fully capitalizing on the potential of growth-oriented companies.''

The company also said it has arranged interim equity financing and will start making investments of between $100 million to $500 million, mainly in the US.

Lee, 62, and his former firm are best known for generating a tenfold return on Snapple Beverage Corp. in 1994.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:23 PM | Comments (0)

Deutsche Bank will test blogging at Norton golf tournament

Investment banking firm Deutsche Bank AG is using an upcoming professional golf tournament in Norton to experiment with blogging as a marketing tool.

The company said today it will maintain a blog to follow the action during next week's Deutsche Bank Championship, a Professional Golfers' Tour event for which the company is the title sponsor.

Those who visit the blog will get behind the scenes stories, pictures and video from the tournament. Deutsche Bank meanwhile will be monitoring reaction to the site, which it says will be a test as it considers more widespread use of blogging as part of its overall marketing strategy.

The tournament is slated for Aug. 29 through Sept. 4.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:14 PM | Comments (0)

Chambers plans new dealership in Sharon

Boston car sales magnate Herb Chambers plans to break ground tomorrow on a new $30 million Lexus dealership in Sharon.

The dealership, which will be Chambers' thirty-second property, is designed as a 95,000 square-foot glass building with a 200-foot skylight. The showroom floor is envisioned as a "Main Street" of sorts, according to a statement from Chambers, where car shoppers can stroll along and stop off at several mini-showrooms to view different car models.

It will have space for an inventory of 1,500 cars and 50 service bays.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:13 PM | Comments (0)

Consumer confidence in Mass. lags US

Consumer confidence in Massachusetts is at its lowest level in more than three years and continues to considerably lag that of consumers nationally, according to the latest report from Mass Insight, an economic consulting firm that tracks the data.

The state's consumer confidence index stands at 76, the same level as it was at the time of the last survey in April, compared with a national index of 107. The index is a measure of consumer confidence about jobs, ability to make purchases and general economic optimism. Numbers below 100 indicate weaker optimism, and higher than 100 indicate stronger consumer confidence.

In a survey that accompanied the latest report on Massachusetts, 47 percent of those who responded said the state was moving in the wrong direction economically, compared with 36 percent who said the opposite. Another 47 percent, though, thought it was a good time to make major household purchases compared with 32 percent who were pessimistic about such spending.

The percentage of Massachusetts consumers who are pessimistic about job prospects in the state also grew, to 33 percent from 25 percent in April.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

Deutsche Bank snags Credit Suisse executive

An investment banker has been poached from his executive position in Boston to run a major unit for Deutsche Bank AG that is also based here, according to a report from Dow Jones.

Gary Domoracki, a former executive for Credit Suisse Group has been tapped to run Deutsche Bank's private client group. His move follows those of two other former Credit Suisse executives -- Frank Scheuer and Chip Packard -- who also left the company to join Deutsche Bank's private client operation recently.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

Schwartz opens office in Sweden

A Waltham-based public relations firm is expanding to Europe with a new office in Stockholm, Sweden.

Schwartz Communications, a 16-year-old agency with 200 employees, will open the Swedish outpost Nov. 1. The firm taped Kristina Ebenius, a former executive at another agency in that country, to run its European office, the company said today.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)

ViryaNet swings to profit

ViryaNet Ltd. swung to a second-quarter profit as total revenue climbed 14%, helped by more maintenance and services revenue.

The Southborough company said today that it earned $408,000, or 5 cents a share, for the latest period that includes income of about $700,000 for the conversion of $2 million in long-term debt into preferred A shares.

The software provider posted a loss of $1.38 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier.

Total second-quarter revenue rose 14% to $3.86 million from $3.4 million, as maintenance and services revenue increased to $3.5 million from $3.38 million. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:36 AM | Comments (0)

Officials plot strategy for keeping Conn. sub base off closure lists

A year after sparing Submarine Base New London from closure, supporters are meeting today to devise ways to keep Connecticut's largest military installation off future cost-savings plans at the Pentagon.

The strategy session at the Millstone Power Station comes a year after local officials successfully campaigned the Base Closure and Realignment Commission to keep the base open, reversing the Pentagon's recommendation and saving thousands of jobs.

"I'm convinced if there is another round of BRAC and the submarine base is on the list, we will not be successful in getting it off the list," said John Markowicz, who is moderating the panel discussion.

The discussion will focus on how to improve the military value of the base and keep it from being on future planned closure lists, Markowicz said.

Officials who campaigned to keep the base open, including Gov. M. Jodi Rell, U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., were planning to attend the meeting.

Commissioners voted in August 2005 to remove the base from the closure list, saying it didn't make sense to shut a facility where sailors are trained alongside employees of the nearby Electric Boat shipyard, which builds the submarines. The closure would have affected nearly 8,600 Connecticut jobs.

Local and regional officials had argued that closing the New London base would be bad for national security. The future size of the Navy's sub fleet had not been set, and closing the base would make it impossible to expand, they said.

A similar effort in 1993 headed off another BRAC recommendation to remove submarines from Groton. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2006

Itau purchase of BankBoston's Brazilian unit approved

Brazil's Central Bank has approved the acquisition of BankBoston's Brazilian operations by local bank Banco Itau SA, Itau has said.

Itau, which announced the acquisition in May, paid about $2.1 billion in shares to buy BankBoston's operations from Bank of America Corp, which obtained control of BankBoston when it bought Boston-based Fleet Bank in 2004.

Itau said that it will maintain existing BankBoston branches and workers, integrating them into its existing high-income service, called Itau Personalite. Earlier this month, Itau also said it was acquiring BankBoston's assets in Chile and Uruguay from Bank of America. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:21 PM | Comments (0)

Newspaper union to air ads criticizing Globe

The Boston Newspaper Guild plans to launch a radio ad tomorrow that criticizes the management of The Boston Globe and its corporate parent, The New York Times Co., for seeking to shift more healthcare costs onto Globe employees who belong to the guild.

The Globe and the guild are negotiating a new labor contract. According to the script of an ad set to air on WBZ, WEEI, WRKO, and other stations, the guild says, ‘‘Management wants to shift even more healthcare costs to workers by freezing contributions for the next four years.’’ The ad also says, ‘‘Management’s outsourcing jobs but at the same time is adding to its own highly paid executive ranks.’’

Globe executive vice president Alfred S. Larkin Jr. said in a statement: ‘‘The Newspaper Guild is attempting to bring public pressure to bear on what have been private and ongoing labor negotiations. As always, we prefer to confine our comments to the bargaining table.’’

Posted by globebusiness at 7:12 PM | Comments (0)

Brighton consulting firm Novations sold to its president

Novations Group, a Brighton consulting firm, was sold earlier this week to a group led by its president and backed by two financing firms in Connecticut.

Mike Hyter, who was also chief operating officer, bought Novations from its Japanese parent, Drake Beam Morin-Japan, for an undisclosed amount. Hyter was backed by MGC Global LLC, a Westport, Conn., private equity firm, and Webster Bank NA in Stamford, Conn.

Novations has about 100 employees in Massachusetts and double that number around the globe.

(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:25 PM | Comments (0)

Flat-panel TVs poised for more growth

The market for sleek, flat-panel television sets won't slow down anytime soon, but it could grow even faster if the costs of pricey, larger screens fall and retailers do a better job of explaining the technology, according to the results of a new survey from Framingham-based technology research firm IDC.

Nearly 1,300 consumers worldwide responded to IDC's survey on the market for flat-panel televisions: thin TVs with flat screens that fit on a tabletop or can be mounted on a wall. More than 23 percent of the respondents said they already owned a flat panel TV, while three quarters of those who said they were in the market for a new TV said they would buy a flat panel television.

The problem for retailers, though, is price: 60 percent of respondents to the survey said they expect to pay less than $2,000 for a new TV. Prices on flat panel televisions, particularly high-definition models, have dropped dramatically in recent years but the cost of the biggest and most popular models -- those with 40-inch and larger screens -- can cost upwards of $2,500.

The survey also indicated that retailers and manufacturers need to simplify how they market flat panels to consumers, because many shoppers are confused by the labyrinth of terms for the new technologies associated with them.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:56 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. economy outpaces US

The Massachusetts economy, boosted by global demand for technology, grew at a faster pace than the US in the second quarter of the year, the University of Massachusetts reported today.

UMass estimated the state economy grew at a 3.9 percent annual pace from April to June, compared to 2.5 percent nationally. In the first quarter, January to March, the state economy grew at a 3.4 percent, compared to 5.6 percent nationally.

Over the next six months, UMass projects the state economy to slow a bit, to just over a 3 percent annual rate, as higher energy prices and interest rates cut into consumer spending. But national and global spending on technology, business services and medical products and services should offset much of the consumer slowdown, according to UMass.

Also boosting the state economy: a pick-up in hiring. Over the past 10 months, payroll employment in Massachusetts has grown at the same annual rate as nationally, 1.1 percent. In recent years, the state has badly lagged the nation in job creation, with employment here growing at half the national rate, or less.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)

Three agents charged with defrauding clients

Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin today charged three agents of broker-dealer firms with defrauding their clients, and said the firms failed to supervise the agents properly.

Galvin's civil action seeks to revoke the agents' licenses, compensation to victims, and a fine. First, he charged a former registered representative of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., Shane A. Selewach of Hyannis, with selling fraudulent interests in a commodities hedge fund.

Second, Galvin charged an agent of Gateway Financial Agency Corp., Patricia Ann Palmer of Fiskdale, with selling about $663,000 in nonexistent certificates of deposit to Massachusetts residents.

Third, he charged that New England Securities Corp. failed to properly supervise an agent, Paul Surface of Waltham, who Galvin said steered clients to an Internet company that eventually failed.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

Cabeus Capital to raise $100 million over the next year for energy fund

A Boston money management company plans on raising $100 million over the next year for a fund that trades in energy securities, according to a report today by Bloomberg News.

Cabeus Capital LLC, the report said, started the fund on Aug. 1. It is managed by Christian Hnat and Jeffrey Dutile, both energy trading veterans.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)

SJC rules that insurance commissioner can move ahead with auto insurance plan

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today ruled the Romney administration can move ahead with a new system for assigning as many as 1 million high-risk drivers among auto insurers.

Overturning a lower court decision, the unanimous SJC decision said state Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler has the legal authority to implement the system on her own without legislative approval.

The ruling represents a major victory for the Romney administration, which until now has seen its efforts to revamp the state's tightly regulated auto insurance system stall in the courts and die in the Legislature.

The court challenge to Bowler's authority was filed by Commerce Insurance of Webster, the state's largest automobile insurer.

(By Bruce Mohl, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)

Sallie Mae completes Upromise purchase

The sale of Needham-based college savings fund manager Upromise Inc. to lender Sallie Mae closed today.

Upromise, which manages so-called 529 savings plans -- named for the section under the federal tax code that gives deposits in such accounts tax deferred status if they're used to pay college expenses -- was sold at an undisclosed price. It manages plans in seven states, but not Massachusetts.

Upromise is perhaps best known for its membership program, in which consumers can sign up to have a small portion of the cost of their purchases at supermarkets and other retailers be deposited into their children's college savings accounts.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)

State real estate market slows dramatically in July

The state's real estate is experiencing a dramatic slowdown.

Single-family house sales in July slumped 25.3 percent, while house prices declined 3.5 percent, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said today in its monthly housing report. The median price in July was $361,750, compared with $375,000 in July 2005.

The condominium market began its downturn earlier but sales slumped dramatically last month: Condo sales fell 21.4 percent, pushing the median condo price down by 4.1 percent. The median price in July was $276,000, compared with $287,900 in July 2005.

The steep declines in sales volume follow a June report that sales that month for houses and condos fell 16.6 and 14.3 percent respectively.

David Wluka, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said about the price declines, "we're beginning to see more realistic prices on the part of sellers."
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

Eaton Vance third-quarter profit rises but misses Wall Street estimates

Investment management firm Eaton Vance Corp. said today that fiscal third-quarter profit rose 13 percent as assets under management climbed past $120 billion, but results failed to meet Wall Street expectations.

Net income for the three months ended July 31 increased to $41.8 million, or 31 cents per share, from $35.8 million, or 26 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue climbed 13 percent to $216.3 million from $190.8 million last year.

Wall Street had expected higher profit of 33 cents per share on greater sales of $219 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Net inflows rose to $2.6 billion from $2.4 billion last year.

Eaton Vance said it had $120.4 billion in assets under management at the end of the period, 14 percent higher than a year ago. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

Comverse buys Netonomy

Wakefield-based Comverse Inc. said today that it agreed to pay $19 million for Netonomy, a Paris-based company that makes billing software for the telecommunications industry.

Comverse, which sells software to telecom and wireless companies that allows phones and other equipment to access multimedia services like text messaging and video, plans to use Netonomy to develop new ways for its customers to manage their own billing and other self-service functions. The company is a subsidiary of New York-based Comverse Technology Inc.

Recently, several former Comverse Technology executives have been charged by federal authorities with manipulating stock options.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

Global Partners buys Pennsylvania fuel terminal

Global Partners LP, a New England wholesale distributor of oil and gasoline, today said it agreed to buy a 170,000-barrel refined petroleum products terminal from Pipeline Petroleum Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

The terminal has capacity for 7 million gallons of distillates, gasoline and diesel fuel and is located in Macungie, Pa., near major transportation corridors and urban areas, Global Partners said.

The company expects the terminal "to generate strong cash flow and to be fully accretive to our unit holders." The deal is slated to close in the third quarter, subject to customary conditions. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:38 AM | Comments (0)

First Marblehead expands agreement with National City

Education-loan processing company First Marblehead Corp. said today that it expanded its private student loan services agreement with a division of financial holding company National City Corp.

Under the deal, First Marblehead will provide National City Bank with marketing services as well as its original product design and securitization program and educational lending products.

"This joint marketing effort will dramatically increase our capability to make student loans," National City Executive Vice President Lakhbir Lamba said in a statement. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:16 AM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2006

Globe names production executive

Veteran newspaper production executive Robert F. Burns has been named senior vice president for production operations at The Boston Globe.

Burns, 53, who will start Sept. 11, will be responsible for newspaper production and commercial printing at the Globe, reporting to president and general manager Mary Jacobus.

The production duties at the Globe, which is owned by the New York Times Co., most recently fell under Gregory L. Thornton, senior vice president for employee relations, but now are being split off as a separate job.

Burns joins the Globe from the Newspaper Agency Corp., the Utah publisher of the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News, where he was senior vice president of operations. Before that, he worked at Knight Ridder for 23 years in senior newspaper production and operations roles.

(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:01 PM | Comments (0)

Big Dig traffic tie-ups hurt Logan in July

Huge traffic problems following the July 10 Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse are being blamed for a drop in several types of business at Logan International Airport last month.

New data from the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan, show that overall July passenger volume at Logan was down 0.8 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, even though for the first half of the year Logan has had passenger growth of over 2.1 percent.

The biggest factor was a 5.6 percent drop in international passengers, including a sharp drop in passengers heading to Central and South America following cutbacks in Logan-Mexico City service in the last year.

Hassles for motorists and truckers reaching Logan after the fatal ceiling collapse that snarled access to the Ted Williams Tunnel were apparently a big reason why domestic express and small package shipments plummeted 20.9 percent for the month, leading air-freight carriers to divert business away from Logan. Total express and freight volume fell 16.5 percent during the month.

Private-plane operations at Logan in July fell 14.3 percent, to 2,892 takeoffs and landings, which apparently reflected private travelers opting to steer clear of Logan because of the tunnel woes, airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said. About 1,400 fewer private plane passengers used Logan this July compared to July 2005, a 12 percent drop.

(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:51 PM | Comments (0)

Delta seeking new operators for commuter routes

Delta Air Lines Inc. is seeking new operators for about one-quarter of its Delta Connection regional jet service, including several routes from New England cities to Atlanta, Cincinnati, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The move could lead to new companies replacing affiliates such as Comair and Chautaqua Airlines operating Delta Connection flights, but any changes should be "seamless and invisible" to passengers, Delta spokeswoman Gina P. Laughlin said.

As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, Delta is soliciting new bids from commuter airlines to operate 93 of its 450 existing regional jets, including 50- and 70-seaters, as well as 50 76-seat regional jets that have a first-class section that are being added to the Delta Connection system in the future.

In addition to Logan International Airport in Boston, other New England cities from which Delta offers regional jet service that could be affected include Bangor, Maine; Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn.; Burlington, Vt.; Manchester, N.H.; Portland, Maine; and T.F. Green State Airport in Warwick, R.I., near Providence.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

North American investors lose confidence

Institutional investors in North America lost confidence in the financial markets in the last month, according to the latest data from the research arm of Boston investment house State Street Corp.

State Street Global Markets' monthly investor confidence index report measures the confidence of investors around the world by looking at their willingness to hold stocks in their portfolios. Then it assigns a number to illustrate their tolerance for risk, with higher numbers showing indicating greater confidence and lower numbers the inverse.

Last month, North American investors had a higher level of confidence than investors broadly, but it was one of the only regions' measured where confidence dipped. The North American index fell to 95.2 in August from 98.1 last month. That compares with an index of 86.5 for Asian investors and 88.4 for European investors, both of which rose compared to a month ago.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

Boston firms look for business in empty parking spaces

Two local companies are partnering to create technology that will help drivers find available parking spots on crowded streets.

Tele Atlas NV of Boston, which creates digital maps of cities, and SpotScout Inc., a Cambridge mobile software company, said they plan to create a system in which drivers will be able to locate spots using their mobile devices. A person who owns, leases or is currently in a parking spot but is about to leave it would "spotcast" the location of their spot using their own mobile device, and then someone who needed it could reserve the space.

Boston-based digital mapping company Tele Atlas NV and Cambridge-based mobile application provider SpotScout Inc. report they are partnering to develop a parking availability platform based on Tele Atlas' digital map data and the spread of social networking via digital media.

Financial terms of the agreement were not provided.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)

July single-family home sales drop at sharpest rate in 11 years

Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts declined in July at the sharpest rate for a single month since 1995, and condominium sales dropped off at the fastest pace since 2003, according to a report released today by a firm that tracks real estate transactions.

Single-family home sales dropped nearly 27 percent and condo sales fell 23.5 percent, offering fresh evidence that the state's housing slump isn't about to end soon. But The Warren Group urged people not to read too much into numbers from a single month.

"Monthly fluctuations can happen," said Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of the Boston-based publisher of regional real estate and financial data. "We're not pressing the panic button yet, but we are watching the trend lines very closely." (AP)

A total 5,070 sales of single-family homes were recorded statewide in registries of deeds in July, compared with 6,934 in the same month a year ago. The decline was the state's biggest in percentage terms since a 29.6 percent drop in April 1995, according to the group, which began tracking sales data in the 1980s.

The median sales price -- the point where half of homes sell for more and half sell for less -- fell 6.1 percent to $339,000.

Condominium sales fell to 2,692 last month from 3,518 in July 2005, the sharpest decline since a 23.8 percent drop-off in March 2003. The median price fell 4.2 percent to $277,000.

Single-family home sales have now declined for seven straight months measured against comparable months a year earlier, and for 17 of the last 18 months dating to February 2005. Condo unit sales have fallen each month since April. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

Wheeler new chief at Momenta

Cambridge-based Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., hired Craig A. Wheeler, a long-time industry executive and current board member, to be its next chief executive officer.

Wheeler will take over the executive suite from current chief Alan Crane on September 12; Crane will remain on Momenta's board. Wheeler most recently oversaw the operations of Chiron BioPharmaceuticals, as president of the $600 million, 2,300 person company based in Emoryville, Calif. Before that, he was a partner in Boston Consulting Group's health care consulting practice and as an engineer at drug firm Merck.

He holds undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:29 AM | Comments (0)

Report: Defibrillators may be a tough sell for Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific Corp. may face a tough time selling its defibrillators as doctors shun them in the wake of several recalls of the devices, Bloomberg news reported this morning.

The company was mentioned in a report by analyst Robert Faulkner of JMP Securities in New York, which said that defibrillator sales plunged 12 percent to $1.37 billion in the second quarter. The cause: doctor and patient worries after 300,000 defibrillator implants were recalled starting last February.

Boston Scientific has 500 defibrillator-related lawsuits pending and saw sales of the devices drop by 20 percent last quarter, the Bloomberg report said.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:26 AM | Comments (0)

Mayflower Bank plans to open second branch in Plymouth

Mayflower Bank plans an expansion into Plymouth with a newly-built retail branch, the Middleboro-based company said this morning.

Mayflower has agreed to buy a site on Obery Street, where it plans to start building next year, pending the close of its deal for the property. Plans for the site include a 2,000 square-foot branch, several cash machines and a drive-through banking lane inside a building large enough to accommodate several tenants, the bank said in a statement.

Mayflower already has one Plymouth branch, but hopes the new site will give it access to more customers in an area not currently served by the existing one. The bank has ten existing branches and one under construction in West Wareham.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:18 AM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2006

NStar seeking state approval to offer fixed-price natural gas contracts

NStar Corp. is seeking state approval to let 75,000 of its residential and small commercial natural gas customers lock in a fixed price for their fuel this winter.

Under the plan, similar to fixed-price contracts offered by heating oil dealers, customers would save money if the market price rises above the fixed price but would pay more if the price drops below.

NStar said it will make no profit on the program, so any revenue generated if the market price falls below the set fixed price would be returned to all 300,000 NStar customers the following year.

Last year, NStar's natural gas prices fell twice during the winter as the market retreated from its peak following Hurricane Katrina. An NStar spokeswoman said the fixed price would be set Sept. 15.

Keyspan Energy Delivery, which services Boston, currently doesn't offer a fixed-price program in Massachusetts.

(By Bruce Mohl, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)

National Amusements buys office building in Norwood

National Amusements Inc. of Dedham is paying $9.4 million for an office building in Norwood which will serve as its temporary headquarters during the renovation of its current space. The 64,542 square-foot building is located at 846 University Ave. in Norwood.

National Amusements is redeveloping its current headquarters into Legacy Place, a "lifestyle center" featuring a 16-screen cinema, offices and retail shops.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)

Oscient Pharmaceuticals pays $82 million for rights, supply to cholesterol drug

Drug maker Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Waltham said today it completed the $82 million buyout for the licensing rights and inventory of Reliant Pharmaceuticals' Antara cholesterol drug.

The drug, made by Reliant of Liberty Corner, N.J., is used to reduce the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the bloodstream. Oscient is paying $78 million for the US rights and $4 million for existing inventory. It is funding the deal with $70 million in financing from Paul Capital Partners' Paul Royalty Fund II, a health care investment fund.

During the 12 months ended in June, Oscient said Anatara generated revenue of $35 million. The US market for Antara, called fenofibrate generically, is estimated at $1 billion.

With the funding from Paul Capital Partners comes the appointment of Dr. Gregory Brown to Oscient's board of directors. He is a partner at the health care fund.

Shares of Oscient rose 8 cents to $1.33 on the Nasdaq Stock Market in afternoon trading. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:57 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. gas prices fall below the $3 a gallon mark

Gas prices in Massachusetts fell to $2.96 per gallon today, marking the first time since early summer the statewide average has fallen below $3, AAA of Southern New England said.

The average price for self-service unleaded was down 5 cents from a statewide survey conducted a week earlier, and down 8 cents from the survey two weeks ago, the automobile association said. A year ago, the statewide average was $2.61.

Today's survey found prices as low as $2.77 to as high as $3.27.

The last time the statewide average was below $3 was July 3, when the survey found a price of $2.97.

Despite the price drop in Massachusetts, gas in the Bay State remains more expensive than it does nationally. A nationwide AAA survey on Monday found an average price $2.92 for a gallon of self-serve unleaded.

Gas prices fell back last week as supply fears abated after the cease-fire in Lebanon and British Petroleum restored half of the production at an Alaskan oil field. BP recently scaled back its Prudhoe Bay operations because of pipeline leaks and corrosion. (AP)

To view a graphic of Massachusetts gasoline prices for the past 18 months, click here.

Posted by globebusiness at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

Inverness Medical plans stock sale

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a maker of vitamins, nutritional supplements and diagnostic products like home pregnancy tests, today said it plans to sell 5 million shares of company stock to a group of 17 institutional investors at $30.25 per share.

The purchase price represents a 7.6 percent discount to the stock's closing price of $32.75 per share on Aug. 17, when the sale agreement was reached. The company currently has 33 million shares outstanding.

Inverness Medical said it plans to use proceeds from the sale to fund general corporate purposes, including debt repayment and future acquisitions. The deal is expected to close later this week.

The company is currently restructuring and earlier this month reported a second-quarter loss $10.6 million, or 33 cents per share. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)

WILD-FM to Entercom for $30 million; format to switch to rock

WILD-FM, one of two stations on Boston's FM dial programmed to appeal to African-Americans was sold this morning in a $30 million deal that will see the station's format flipped.

Entercom Communications Corp., a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., broadcasting company is buying WILD-FM from Radio One Inc. of Lanham, Md. Radio One bills itself as the country's largest radio station owner targeting black listeners. The deal for its station here is part of a larger deal in which Entercom is also purchasing 15 stations from CBS Corp. for $262 million, according to the Associated Press. Executives at Radio One and Entercom did not immediately return calls from a Globe reporter this morning.

WILD-FM plays a so-called urban adult contemporary format, with a heavy focus on R&B and some classic soul music. Entercom plans to use its frequency to simulcast its rock station, WAAF-FM. That would leave WJMN-FM, a station that plays mostly hip-hop and contemporary R&B music, as the only station on Boston's dial with a format aimed at African-Americans.

Radio One also owns an AM station in Boston that goes by the same call letters and runs talk programming, such as shows hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton and University of Pennsylvania professor and activist Michael Eric Dyson, which also targets Boston's black listeners. That station is not being sold under the Entercom deal.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)

Massachusetts lags in houses built

Massachusetts ranked near the bottom of states in the production of housing last year, with the number of units growing less than one percent, the US Census Department reported.

The state added just under 16,000 units from July 2004 to July 2005, a growth rate of sixth-tenths percent. Only New York (four-tenths percent); Washington, D.C. (four-tenths percent) and Rhode Island (three-tenths percent) had slower growth rates. Housing units grew 1.5 percent nationally.

Economists say the slow production of housing in Massachusetts has contributed to soaring home prices in recent years. Despite the recent slowdown in Greater Boston housing market, for example, the regions' single family home prices ranked 13th among 151 metropolitan areas in the second quarter of the year, with a median price of $421,200, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national median is $227,500.

Greater Boston condo prices were the eighth highest in the nation, with a median price of $304,700, compared to a national median of $225,800.

Between 2000 and 2005, Massachusetts added an average of about 13,000 housing units a year, a growth rate of 2.5 percent, the Census Department said. Again, only New York, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. had slower growth rates. Nationally, the number of housing units grew 7.4 percent during the same period.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

Clean Harbors buys Dallas firm

Clean Harbors Inc., a Norwell company that specializes in hazardous waste removal, said this morning that it bought Teris LLC of Dallas for $52.7 million in cash.

Teris runs waste disposal and incineration plans in Arkansas and California. Clean Harbors' executives said in a statement that the company hoped to combine its own system of waste removal and transportation with Teris' disposal facilities to save money and increase revenues. Teris had $95 million in revenues last year; Clean Harbors reported $711.1 million in revenues in 2005.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:02 AM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2006

Commerce names two executives

Property and casualty insurer Commerce Group Inc. of Webster said today it created two new positions for its property and casualty insurance operations.

Massachusetts insurance operations, which include Commerce Insurance Co. and Citation Insurance Co., will be led by James A. Ermilio, who has been named executive vice president.

Ermilio, 43, will continue as general counsel of Commerce Group and will also serve as executive vice president and secretary. Louise M. McCarthy will succeed Ermilio as senior vice president and general counsel of the insurance subsidiaries, having previously served as vice president and senior counsel for the units.

The second position is for insurance operations beyond Massachusetts, comprised of American Commerce Insurance Co. in Columbus, Ohio, and Commerce West Insurance Co. of Pleasanton, Calif. Commerce Group said it expects to fill the position shortly. These two business segments were led by Gerald Fels in his former role as president and chief operating officer of the company's insurance subsidiaries.

Commerce Group also named Robert E. McKenna as vice president, treasurer and chief accounting officer. McKenna, 53, replaces Randall V. Becker who will continue as senior vice president and chief financial officer as well as handling investor relations.

Shares of Commerce Group fell 27 cents to $29.63 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

Viisage jumps from Nasdaq to NYSE

Viisage Technology Inc., maker of identification systems including facial recognition technology, said today that it plans to switch stock exchanges after the acquisition of rival Identix Inc., which provides similar products.

Both companies told the Nasdaq Stock Market they want to be delisted from the exchange after the deal closes on Aug. 29 and filed an application for the new company to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ID" on Aug. 30.

In January, Viisage said it would buy Identix for $770 million.

Shares of Viisage fell 8 cents to $14.26, and shares of Identix fell 6 cents to $6.63 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)

Lynn condo sale sets record

A 3,200 square-foot condo unit inside of a renovated Lynn church that dates back to 1885 has sold for $699,000, a record for that city and a sign that the luxury condo market is still expanding in Boston's surburbs even as other segments of the housing market have cooled off.

Judy Vega and Dharma Cortez bought the condo from its previous owner, Darryl Zelter. Zelter had originally listed the property for $729,000, said his agent, Paul Campano. A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Multi-Listing Service, which tracks residential real estate sales, confirmed that a $699,000 sale price was a record for Lynn. The previous record sale was $529,900 for a six-room, two bedroom condo which also sold this summer.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

Emergency room software firm Picis files for IPO

Picis Inc., a Wakefield company that sells software for hospital emergency rooms, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering, the company said today.

Details of the offering such as the total number of shares and per share price have yet to be finalized. A group of investment banking firms lead by Goldman Sachs & Co. and including Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, Piper Jaffray & Co. and William Blair & Co. will manage the stock sale.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Dollar Tree opening stores in Brockton, Norwood

The Dollar Tree chain of discount variety stores plans to celebrate the grand openings of two Massachusetts stores tomorrow, one in Brockton, the other in Norwood, bringing its Bay State store count to nearly 40.

Operating more than 3,100 stores around the country, Dollar Tree of Virginia specializes in selling a wide variety of items, including food, toys, and party goods, for one dollar.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)

Cabot opens carbon black plant in China

Cabot Corp., the largest producer of carbon black, a reinforcing and pigmenting agent used in tires, inks, cables and coatings, said Friday its new plant in China has begun operating.

The plant, in Tianjin, China, is a joint venture between Cabot's subsidiary Cabot(China) Ltd. and Shanghai Coking Chemical Co.

The subsidiary invested about $60 million to build the plant, which has an annual capacity of 105,000 metric tons of carbon black. Cabot Corp. is based in Boston. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:19 AM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2006

Dewey Square Group is acquired by WPP of London

The Dewey Square Group, a Boston-based public affairs firm, has been acquired by WPP Group of London, which owns many advertising agencies and public relations firms. "While Dewey Square will continue to operate independently, we can now offer our clients access to WPP's comprehensive range of global communications services," said chairman Charles M. Campion in a statement. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The Dewey Square Group was founded in 1993 by Campion, Charles Baker, and Michael Whouley. According to the firm's website, Campion was a special assistant to former Vice President Walter Mondale; Baker was national field director for former Governor Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign and a senior advisor to the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004, and Whouley was national campaign manager for Al Gore's 1996 vice presidential campaign and the 2004 general election director for the Democratic National Committee.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

Interleukin Genetics buys Alan James Group

Interleukin Genetics Inc., based in Waltham, said today that it has bought Alan James Group LLC, a consumer healthcare-products management company.

Interleukin paid $7 million in cash and $500,000 in new stock. In addition, if certain revenue milestones are reached by Alan James Group between 2007 and 2009, Interleukin could pay up to another $1.5 million in cash and about 1.6 million shares of stock worth $9.25 million.

In connection with the acquisition, Alticor Inc., which owns a majority interest in Interleukin, will provide $30 million in new financing.

Tim Richerson, who was president of Alan James Group, has been named chief executive of Interleukin. Dr. Kenneth Kornman, previously Interleukin's president and chief executive, will retain his roles of president and chief scientific officer, and will also serve on the Interleukin board of directors.

“This acquisition provides Interleukin with new products and sales and marketing leadership in the rapidly expanding consumer health segment,” said Kornman, president and chief scientific officer of Interleukin. “Alan James has a strong track record of innovation and marketing in the area of preventive therapeutics."
(By Mark Pothier, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:48 PM | Comments (0)

Borders will open new store in Burlington

Borders Group Inc. plans to open a 24,000 square-foot store in Burlington next month, complete with a cafe and wireless Internet access. It will be the chain's 15th store in Massachusetts, and just a few exits away on Route 128 from competitor Barnes & Noble.

Borders says it plans to hire 40 employees to staff the store, and is currently accepting applications.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:20 PM | Comments (0)

Smith & Wesson nominates new board member

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., the parent of Springfield-based gun maker Smith & Wesson Corp., has nominated a former federal homeland security official to take the board seat soon to be vacated by a former chairman with stint in prison for armed robbery in his past.

David M. Stone, a retired Navy rear admiral and former assistant secretary of homeland security for the Transportation Security Administration, will take a seat on Smith & Wesson's board pending a vote by the board next month. Meanwhile, vacating his seat on the board is James J. Minder, who resigned as chairman of the board in 2004 after news reports surfaced that he had done time for armed robbery and attempted escape in the 1950s and 1960s.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. employers add 4,000 jobs

Massachusetts employers added 4,000 payroll jobs in July across a broad array of industries while the state jobless rate plunged below the national average for the first time since January, the state Department of Workforce Development reported.

July marked the second consecutive month of strong job gains, following 2,700 added in June, and provided more evidence the state's recovery is at last gaining momentum. The jobless rate, meanwhile, dove to 4.7 percent from 5 percent in June, and fell below the national unemployment rate of 4.8 percent.

The last time Massachusetts had a lower unemployment rate was January, when the state jobless rate stood at 4.6 percent, compared to 4.7 percent nationally.

The state, however, has a long way to go to recover jobs lost in the last recession. It still has 148,000 fewer jobs than at the pre-recession peak in 2001

But after languishing in recent years, and badly lagging the nation in the pace of job creation, the Massachusetts economy appears to have turned the corner. Through the first seven months of the year, the state has added 19,100 jobs, compared to 18,700 in all of 2005, according to employment statistics.

In additon, the state economy has, since September, just about matched the nation's pace of job creation, adding jobs at annual rate of more than 1 percent. Earlier, the state created jobs at about half the national rate.

Perhaps more important, jobs are growing in key, high-paying sectors that drive the Massachusetts economy. Expanding national and global economies, increasing business investment, and growing exports, particularly technology products, are providing the boost.

Professional and business services, which includes a variety of technology and consulting firms, added 600 jobs in July, on top of 2,100 in June.

Financial services added 1,000 jobs, its biggest monthly gain since January 2002. Over the last year, the sector has added nearly 5,000 jobs, and had the highest growth rate of any sector, 2.2 percent.

Manufacturing added 1,100 jobs in July, building on solid gains in recent months. Since January, the sector has added 3,600 jobs.

Posted by ragrella at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

Raytheon wins U.S. Navy weapons contract

Raytheon Co. won a $16 million contract with fellow defense contractor BAE Systems under which Raytheon will provide technical support for some US Navy weapons system, the company said today.

The deal calls for Raytheon to work with the Navy at its Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I., including doing some training and engineering for torpedoes, sonar and other systems. Raytheon is based in Waltham and reported $21.9 billion in sales last year.

Posted by ragrella at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)

Casual Male Retail Group Inc. reports strong profits

Casual Male Retail Group Inc., which is based in Canton, Mass. and operates more than 500 stores across the US and Canada, on Thursday said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose more than 50 percent on stronger profit margins.

Quarterly earnings increased to $3.4 million, or 9 cents per share, from $2 million, or 6 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Revenue grew 11 percent to $111.8 million from $100.6 million during the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a profit of 9 cents per share on sales of $109.4 million.

Dennis Hernreich, Casual Male's chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said in a statement strong comparable sales performance and gross margin improvement are driving earnings at the retailer in 2006. (AP)

Posted by mmicheli at 8:54 AM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2006

Prices in Hub rise more slowly than nationwide

Consumer prices in Boston rose 3.6 percent over the past year, boosted by higher energy and housing costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Boston prices, however, advanced at a slower pace than the nation's 4.1 percent increase.

Area gasoline prices surged nearly 30 percent from a year ago, about the same as nationally, while utility costs jumped 18 percent, compared with 10 percent nationally, according to the bureau. Housing costs rose nearly 3 percent in Boston, primarily due to energy costs, said Denis McSweeney, BLS regional commissioner.

Medical costs, meanwhile rose 5 percent over the past year, compared with 4 percent nationally, while food prices increased nearly 4 percent, compared with about 2 percent nationwide. On the other hand, rents rose less than 1 percent in Boston, compared with 3.5 percent nationally, while clothing prices, unchanged nationally, fell nearly 2 percent in Boston.

(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:48 PM | Comments (0)

P&G will cut 55 jobs at Devens

Procter & Gamble Co. is cutting about 55 jobs at its Gillette warehouse facility in Devens as part of its downsizing of warehouse and distribution operations, according to a letter filed with the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, which provides warehouse staffing services for the plant on the former military base in the towns of Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley, said the Devens warehouse operation will become a supply-only warehouse as of Oct. 1. About 35 of these employees "may remain with the organization," according to the letter, but in different positions than they occupy today. P&G, which bought Gillette last year, has said it also plans to shutter a small packaging plant at Devens in the fall, which employs up to 100 full-time and temporary workers.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:15 PM | Comments (0)

Brockton banks to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure

A coalition of Brockton-area banks is trying to stop the rapid increase in foreclosure filings in their community by helping homeowners in danger of foreclosure on their high-cost loans to refinance those loans.

The coalition, which also includes credit unions, government housing agencies and the Brockton Interfaith Community, begn training yesterday for a program to steer troubled borrowers into loans that will be financed by the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency. Mass. Housing has already made $20 million in loans to purchase or refinance homes, but Brockton lenders said their community is near crisis.

The program comes as foreclosure filings are soaring across Massachusetts. During the housing boom, community groups and lenders said homeowners took out low-interest adjustable-rate, no-down-payment, or interest-only loans to buy houses many could not afford. As interest rates have risen, triggering higher payments, growing numbers of homeowners are being squeezed.

Brockton had one of the biggest spikes in foreclosure filings in the state. From January to June, lenders began foreclosure proceedings on 298 properties, a 148 percent increase from the same period in 2004. Statewide, the increase was 88 percent.

"All of us are affected because it deflates the real estate market," said Stephen Pike, vice president of North Easton Savings Bank, a coalition member. "More importantly there's a human side to each one of those foreclosures," he said.

Coalition bankers said many homeowners took out loans that were inappropriate or that financed homes they couldn't really afford by offering low payments for an introductory period.

"A number of people have been refinancing in bad ways, all of which are catching up with them now," said Leo MacNeil, community reinvestment officer for another coalition member, HarborOne Credit Union in Brockton.
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)

Report: LPL will buy Uvest

A Boston company is reportedly buying Charlotte-based Uvest Financial Services in a deal first reported today by the Charlotte Observer newspaper.

Linsco/Private Ledger Corp., which lists headquarters offices in Boston and San Diego on its website, is said to be buying Uvest, a 230-employee company that provides investments and insurance on behalf of small banks and credit unions. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Linsco/Private Ledger plans to keep Uvest in Charlotte and hire as many as 300 new workers there over the next year and a half, according to the Charlotte Observer report.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:39 PM | Comments (0)

OneBeacon unloads its agricultural insurance business

White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. said its Boston-based OneBeacon Insurance Group unit agreed to sell its agricultural-insurance business to QBE Insurance Group Ltd. for $32 million.

The Hanover, N.H., financial services holding company said it expects the sale to close in the third quarter of the year and result in a pretax gain of about $30 million.

White Mountains said employees of OneBeacon Agri are slated to become employees of QBE the Americas, a unit of Australian QBE, after the sale. OneBeacon also will continue to provide transitional services, the company said.

In 2005, OneBeacon Agri wrote gross premiums for commercial farm and ranch and agribusinesses totaling $85.7 million. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)

Zoom launches wireless home audio device

Zoom Technologies Inc. of Boston has started shipping a $99 device that it says will allow you to connect your iPod or other digital media players to any speakers in your home wirelessly.

Zoom's so-called iHiFi line of products include a transmitter and receiver that use Bluetooth technology to send data back and forth from a device like an iPod to speakers or a stereo system. The company says the system works within a range of up to 70 feet between transmitter and receiver.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

MIT researcher wins grant for brain research

A researcher at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology has won a $200,000 grant to fund neurological research.

Alan Jasanoff, an associate at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research is one of four recipients of the bi-annual Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Awards, funded by the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience. Jasanoff is workgin to develop technology to improve the detection changing levels of calcium in brain cells.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

Tweeter offers iPod upgrades

Music fans looking to upgrade their iPods to a newer model now have that option at home electronics retailer Tweeter.

The Canton-based chain said today that it now offers an iPod trade-in program: consumers can bring the digital media device into any of its 153 stores and trade it in towards the purchase of a new iPod or any other merchandise inside the store. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc., the chain's parent company, is partnering on the initiative with Needham-based NextWorth Inc., a company that runs consumer-product trade-in programs.

NextWorth's software will be used to determine the trade-in value of iPods and Tweeter's sales staff will then issue store credit to the owner for that amount.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:41 AM | Comments (0)

Sony will win video game battle, says Yankee Group

Sony Corp. should win the latest battle in its war with Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo of America Inc. for dominance in the video game console business, but that victory will come with plenty of bruises.

That's the word from a study on the sector released today by the Yankee Group, a Boston technology research firm. The report predicts that Sony's PlayStation 3 console will ultimately control a larger market share than Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's planned Wii, but that Sony will likely be forced to slash prices for the expensive system and will be faced with a slimmer lead over Microsoft than with previous game consoles.

PlayStation 3 is due on retail shelves later this year after a delay disappointed many customers who expected it in stores in the spring. Microsoft, whose current Xbox lags the PlayStation 2 in sales by a wide margin, put the Xbox360 on sale last November, giving it a year's head-start on sales. By 2011, though, the Yankee Group report predicts that Sony will have sold 30 million PlayStation 3s, controlling 44 percent of the market, compared with an estimated 27 million Xbox 360 units, which would account for 40 percent of the market.

Nintendo is expected to stay in third place with 11 million Wiis sold, claiming 16 percent of the console buying market.

The report also says that Microsoft, which launched the Xbox 360 at $399, is poised to deeply cut the retail price of the machine next year, putting price pressures on Sony, which plans to launch the PlayStation 3 at roughly $600, the highest price ever for a video game console.
(Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:12 AM | Comments (0)

Talbots earnings slide; J. Jill acquisition cited

Clothing retailer Talbots Inc. reported a second-quarter loss on Wednesday versus a year-ago profit, due in part to charges related to its acquisition of catalog retailer J. Jill Group.

For the quarter ended July 29, losses totaled $3.9 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with prior-year profit of $18.9 million, or 35 cents per share.

Revenue rose to $571.4 million from $449.6 million last year.

Excluding acquisition costs of 14 cents per share and stock option expense of 3 cents per share, Talbots reported a profit of 10 cents per share in the latest period. Talbots completed its $517 million acquisition of J. Jill in May.

Sales in stores open at least one year -- a closely watched performance gauge called same-store sales -- rose 1.3 percent.

Talbots, which is based in Hingham, forecast second-half earnings between 50 cents and 55 cents per share, or 80 cents to 86 cents per share excluding acquisition and stock option costs. Second-half same-store sales are expected to rise in the low single-digit range. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:18 AM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2006

Epix shareholders approve merger

Shareholders of Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge drug company, approved a merger with private Predix Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. of Lexington today. Under terms of the deal Epix will buy Predix, which is developing an anxiety drug, for approximately $90 million in stock plus an additional $35 million in milestone payments. The resulting company will be run by Predix management. The deal is expected to close tomorrow.
(By Stephen Heuser, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:42 PM | Comments (0)

Boston homeowners, businesses may have to pay $80 million more for electricity

Greater Boston homeowners and businesses could collectively be forced to pay $80 million too much this winter in electric bills unless federal regulators take action, a group including NStar, the city of Boston, and Transcanada Power Marketing Ltd. said.

The NStar group urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order the regional power grid operator, Independent System Operator New England, to acknowledge wholesale power prices in Greater Boston will probably drop this winter when a new 18-mile underground power line goes into service.

When it is activated next month, the Stoughton-to-Boston line will let more lower-cost power from Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts flow into Boston. In setting certain wholesale power market fees, ISO said it can't recognize the power line's economic effects until it is actually operating, but the NStar group said that stance will make area electric customers pay needless extra charges.

The power market fees involve what are known as "locational forward reserve requirements," or backup power supplies that Boston-area utilities and competitive power suppliers have to pay for in case power plants like the big Mystic 8 and 9 units in Everett shut down.

Those fees are set through free-market bidding. If power that can flow through the new Stoughton line is not counted, the price for backup power supplies in Greater Boston will soar to $30 million to $80 million more than what is warranted, the NStar group said.

That could translate to roughly $2 to $4 in extra retail costs for residential homeowners and small businesses, although it is unclear how the costs would be passed through to customers.

ISO officials said the issue is clear that federal regulations don't allow them, when conducting bidding for backup power supplies, to acknowledge the possible effects of new transmission facilities that aren't in operation.

(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:05 PM | Comments (0)

Fallon profit falls

Worcester-based insurer Fallon Community Health Plan reported a $3 million profit for the second quarter, down 23.1 percent from $3.9 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The thinner results came on revenues that actually increased in the quarter by 8.5 percent, to $208.4 million from $192 million in the 2005 second quarter.

Fallon said it added several health systems in the Boston area as members of its network in the quarter, which ended June 30.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:45 PM | Comments (0)

First look at Apple's proposed Boston store

The Boston Redevelopment Authority has released a rendering of the proposed Apple Computer Inc. retail store on Boylston Street.

Last week, the Back Bay Architectural Commission approved Apple's preliminary design for a store near the Prudential Center.

While details are still being tweaked, Apple has generally been proposing to construct a three-story building with a green roof and a front made largely of glass after demolishing the building at 815 Boylston St. The store would be Apple's first in Boston. There are Apple stores at malls in Chestnut Hill and Cambridge and at four other Massachusetts sites.

The store proposal still awaits approvals from other city agencies and from the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he's enthusiastic about the planned store. "It's great for the city," he said.

Posted by globebusiness at 1:41 PM | Comments (0)

Handheld device can quickly detect liquid explosives, Wilmington firm claims

A Wilmington company says its handheld device can quickly detect liquid explosives such as those which terrorists may be attempting to smuggle onto airplanes.

Ahura Safety Corp. chief executive Paul Kahn said his company has been selling the First Defender for about a year, to law enforcement agencies like the FBI and the New York City police. Kahn also said that the US Department of Homeland Security acquired one of the liquid containers a year ago, but has not yet decided whether to deploy it at airports.

Speaking during a visit to Ahura headquarters, US Rep. John Tierney of Salem criticized the Bush administration for not moving more quickly to deploy the First Defender and other security technologies at the nation's airports and seaports. "Members of Congress from both parties have been telling them that they've been getting their priorities wrong," said Tierney.

The $30,000 First Defender works by firing laser light through the side of a bottle. A spectroscope inside the device analyzes the reflected light spectrum, matching it against a database of about 2,500 chemical compounds. Kahn said the device would have detected the chemicals that terrorists in London were allegedly planning to mix on board several passenger planes to create an explosive compound that would have destroyed the planes in midair.
(By Hiawatha Bray, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:02 PM | Comments (0)

First Ipswich Bancorp records $649,000 loss in second quarter

The parent company of First National Bank of Ipswich swung to a $649,000 loss in the second quarter of 2006, compared with an $8,000 profit in the same quarter a year ago.

First Ipswich Bancorp attributed the loss partially to a $286,000 charge related to the value of real estate involved in its purchase of a new branch last June.

The company was able to hold its net interest income stable at $2.6 million by shifting assets from less profitable investments into loans, but expenses from the branch purchase still pushed results down, it said in its earnings statement, released this morning.

First Ipswich is based in Ipswich, has $398.4 million in assets and 11 branches.

(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Bruins hires Zimmer to head ticket sales and other functions

The Boston Bruins hockey team hired a new executive to lead its ticket sales, retail and other business functions.

Dan Zimmer, a former treasurer and vice president for the Delaware North Cos., was named the Bruins' vice president of business operations today.

Zimmer's last job brought him in close contact with the sports world, including handling financing arrangements for the Bruins and the management of the TD Banknorth Garden, the North End arena where they play. He is a graduate of Canisius College in Buffalo.

(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

Home sales fall 10.6 percent in second quarter

Statewide sales of single-family houses declined 10.6 percent in the second quarter, while prices edged down just 1.3 percent, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported today.

There were 12,439 home sales between April and June, compared with 13,918 sales during the second quarter of 2005, the association said, while the median house price, $360,000, was down from $364,900 last year.

The second quarter is the single-busiest selling season, accounting for one-third of annual sales, on average.

The condominium market also is reporting fewer sales, though the trend is less dramatic. There were 6,185 condo sales statewide in the second quarter, 9 percent less than the 6,790 sales in the second quarter of 2005. Prices were unchanged at $280,000.

The association said that the second-quarter sales were the third-busiest in state history.

"Although we saw less activity this spring than in the prior two years, the volume of sales remains quite strong," said the association's president, David Wluka.
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)

New York Times July revenue slides

New York Times Co., which operates The Boston Globe and International Herald Tribune along with its namesake newspaper, said today that revenue dipped 1.8 percent in July as the company continued to face a weak print advertising climate.

The company had $172.4 million in advertising sales during the month, down 3.4 percent from $178.4 million in the year-ago period. Total revenue fell to $274.5 million from $279.5 million.

In the news media group, advertising revenue slid 4.6 percent at its New York Times group and rose 0.3 percent at its regional segment. Ad sales tumbled 11.7 percent at its New England media unit, in part due to the consolidation of the segments two largest department store advertisers. Combined, news media group ad revenue fell 5.3 percent to $153.9 million.

The company's broadcast holdings saw a 9.5 percent increase in monthly advertising sales to $12.4 million. About.com, a news and information Web site, had a 34.4 percent leap in July ad sales to $6.2 million.

Circulation revenue edged down 0.7 percent to $81.2 million.

For the year-to-date, the company reported total advertising revenue of $1.31 billion, up 1.6 percent. Total revenue since the beginning of the year also increased 1.8 percent to $1.97 billion in the same period last year. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:40 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Communications to delay financial report due to options review

Boston Communications Group Inc., a telecommunications management software maker, said today that it will delay filing its second-quarter financial report pending a review of its stock options practices.

The Bedford-based company previously disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an informal inquiry of certain stock options grants it made between 1998 and 2002. Boston Communications said it has retained outside counsel, which is reviewing its option grants going back to 1998.

Boston Communications is one of more than 60 companies under federal investigation for questionable stock option practices.

The issue is whether companies backdated stock options grants by timing them at low points in the share price, thus boosting the payout. Backdating is not necessarily illegal, but it must be disclosed to investors and accounted for properly. If not, it can cause a company to improperly deduct employee compensation expenses, which could overstate profits and lead to an underpayment of taxes.

Boston Communications said that, based on its investigation to date, "the actual measurement dates for accounting purposes for certain stock option grants during prior periods will likely differ from the recorded grant dates for such awards."

As a result, the company said it will likely have to record additional non-cash stock option expenses and said the impact of these costs has not been determined.

Boston Communications did not say when it expected to conclude its internal review. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:23 AM | Comments (0)

Bain and Lee benefit from telecom deal

Two well-known Boston private equity firms stand to profit from the marriage of one telecommunications company in which they have a stake to another.

Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners together own 24 percent of US LEC, a Charlotte, N.C., company that sells networked voice and data services to mid-sized and large companies. US LEC yesterday agreed to merge with another business-to-business telecommunications provider, Fairport, N.Y.-based PAETEC Communications Inc., in a deal the companies valued at $1.3 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, US LEC shareholders will get one share of the new company for every one they held prior to the merger, which still needs final approval from shareholders of both companies. Also as part of the deal, US LEC is paying about $268 million to repurchase its series A preferred stock from Bain and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:16 AM | Comments (0)

TJX posts solid sales growth

Discount apparel and home decorations retailer TJX Cos. said today that second-quarter earnings rose nearly 25 percent year-over-year on solid sales growth to beat Wall Street expectations.

For the quarter ended July 29, net income rose to $138 million, or 29 cents per share, from $110.8 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago.

Sales grew 9 percent to $3.99 billion from $2.65 billion last year. Total sales at stores open at least one year, or same-store sales, increased 4 percent.

For the third quarter, the Framingham-based company expects earnings per share in the range of 39 cents and 41 cents, compared with adjusted profit of 34 cents last year. TJX also forecasts total same-store sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent for the quarter.

For the full year, the company now sees earnings per share in the range of $1.49 to $1.53, up from adjusted profit of $1.29 per share in fiscal 2006. TJX also is forecasting same-store sales growth of about 3 percent for 2007. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:04 AM | Comments (0)

GEI Consultants merges with Chadwick & Associates

GEI Consultants Inc., a Winchester environmental and water engineering firm has agreed to merge with Chadwick & Associates Inc., an environmental consulting practice based in Littleton, Colo., the two companies said today.

Their merger will create a company with $46 million in billings and 285 employees in 16 offices. Other financial details were not disclosed. The New company will be known by the GEI moniker.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:57 AM | Comments (0)

BJ's profits down, lowers earnings forecast

Warehouse retailer BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. said today that its second-quarter profit declined, weighed down by stock option expense, and lowered its earnings forecast for the fiscal year.

For the quarter ended July 29, net income fell to $26.4 million, or 39 cents per share, from $30.5 million, or 44 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $2.14 billion from $2.02 billion.

The quarter's results included $3.4 million, or 5 cents per share, for stock-based compensation expense, compared with $200,000 for stock-based compensation expense in the year-ago period.

Sales in stores open at least one year -- a closely watched performance gauge called same-store sales -- rose 1.8 percent. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:04 AM | Comments (0)

Profits rise at Staples

Staples Inc. said today that its second-quarter profit rose 19 percent as the nation's biggest office products seller reported a modest rebound from its recent slow sales growth in North America.

Framingham, Mass.-based Staples reported net income for the May-July period of $161.2 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with a profit of $135.2 million, or 18 cents per share, in last year's second quarter. Revenue rose 12 percent to $3.88 billion from $3.47 billion a year ago.

Sales at North American retail stores open at least a year increased 4 percent, driven in part by growth in sales of portable computers, copying services, print and toner cartridges, and office furniture.

The performance marked an improvement from the first quarter, when North American retail sales grew 1 percent, Staples' slowest growth in that category since 2002's first quarter. Staples' office products delivery business continued to post stronger gains than its retail stores, with 17 percent growth in delivery sales compared with a 10 percent gain in store sales, including growth from newly opened stores.

Lagging sales in Europe have hurt Staples' recent international results. The 20-year-old chain of 1,801 stores has blamed Europe's slow economy and the costs of integrating some of Staples' new European operations and remodeling stores. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:57 AM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2006

Verizon unveils multiroom DVR

Verizon Communications Inc. is offering a new kind of digital video recorder that will let subscribers to its new FiOS TV service zap recorded videos, music, or photos to any room in their home.

The concept, known in the cable industry as "multiroom DVR" but called "Home Media DVR" by Verizon, is one of the first such offerings in the subscription television business and is another sign that Verizon plans to use technology and not just price to compete against its cable rivals.

"Verizon definitely sees the demand in the market," said Harry Wang, a research analyst with telecommunications and entertainment research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. "The multiroom DVR is one of the things that the teleco companies are using to compete with each other and defend against the cable TV systems.”

Digital video recorders store TV programs onto hard drives, letting viewers watch their favorite shows later in the day or evening, pause live television, skip commercials and other functions. But most of them don't connect to home networks, meaning whatever is recorded can only be watched on the same television it is connected to. Multiroom DVR's like Verizon's, however, use home computer networks to allow users to zip video around a home.

In this case, Verizon says its devices are designed to connect automatically to its home fiber optic network, which is required to get FiOS TV. That makes it possible for the machines to shoot recorded video to up to three other televisions in the home -- even if they don't have DVRs connected, as well as to play back music and pictures stored on a home computer throughout the house as well.

It comes at a price, though: Verizon plans to charge an extra $19.95 cq a month for Home DVR, and customers also need normal FiOS set top boxes, which cost $3.95 cq a month, to take advantage of the networked DVR feature.

Wang said the functions that Verizon is offering in its new digital recorder are likely to become commonplace for subscription TV customers in a few years, as several companies are also slowly rolling out multiroom digital video recorders of their own.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:54 PM | Comments (0)

Loss widens at Boston Life Sciences

Boston Life Sciences Inc.'s second-quarter loss widened to $3.93 million, or 24 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $2.4 million, or 23 cents a share, according to its quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Boston Life Sciences, which is a development-stage company, reported no revenue for the quarter ended June 30. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:59 PM | Comments (0)

Logan to get nonstop service to Glasgow, Scotland

Logan International Airport is scheduled to get its first nonstop service to Glasgow, Scotland, since 1994 when a discount Scottish carrier, Flyglobespan, begins a daily Boston-Glasgow round trip next May.

The airline plans to fly daily during the summer and three times per week during the colder months, with fares expected to run about $560 round-trip, according to Yil Surehan, manager of airline route development for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan.

Surehan said the last airline to offer non-stop Boston-Glasgow service was Northwest Airlines in 1994. The Scottish government is offering subsidies to help support the Flyglobespan service.

Flyglobespan operates three kinds of jets, ranging in size from 150 to 264 seats, and the bigger jets are likely to be used during the busier summer travel months, Surehan said.

Currently, flying from Boston to Glasgow requires making a connection through any of a number of cities including London, New York, Dublin, and Reykjavik.

Alan Barr, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said in a prepared statement: "This new route opens up tremendous opportunities for inbound tourism and for business links between Scotland and the eastern seaboard of America. We expect this new route will prove popular on both sides of the Atlantic."

(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)

Dump Stop & Shop, two large shareholders tell Royal Ahold

The parent company of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain is being pressured by two large shareholders to dump the Quincy-based unit and another US grocery chain, Bloomberg News is reporting today.

The shareholders, hedge funds Centaurus Capital Ltd. and Paulson & Co., suggested in an e-mail reported by Bloomberg that shares of Amsterdam-based Royal Ahold NV would climb as much as 26 percent over its closing price on Friday, to about $11 a share, if the company sold Stop & Shop and Giant, a Landover, Maryland supermarket chain. Together, Centaurus and Paulson own a 6.4 percent stake in Ahold.

The hedge funds believe that Stop & Shop and Giant have been a drag on Royal Ahold's earnings, a factor that could hurt the company's value in the event it were sold, the story said.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Call centers embracing Internet phones

Companies are switching their call centers to voice over Internet calling technology at an extremely rapid clip, creating a potential boom for companies supplying such equipment, according to a new report from the Yankee Group.

About 38 percent of all call centers in the US are considering using the technology, which routes voice calls over data networks and which advocates say can significantly reduce costs. The percentage of call centers actually using voice over internet protocol, or VOIP as the technology is known, will increase to more than 47 percent by the end of 2007 from 17 percent in 2007, the report said.

The data "certainly shows a major uptick in intentions to purchase this equipment. It's very good news for the vendors," said Ken Landoline, the Yankee Group senior analyst who wrote the report.

The trend might also wind up helping customers when they need help from a call center, he said, because companies can use the technology to pinpoint the best person to handle a particular call, regardless of location.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

Epix drug near approval in Australia

Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops drugs for magnetic resonance imaging, said today that its Vasovist blood pool imaging agent is close to being approved in Australia.

The company said the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee recommended approval to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The imaging agent, which is injected into a patient and then used in conjunction with imaging technology, shows blood flow throughout the vascular system.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked Epix to conduct another clinical trial on the agent in November 2005. A decision on the company's appeal has been delayed until September.

Vasovist is the company's lead product candidate. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Dow Corning acquires Aprilis of Maynard

Dow Corning Corp. acquired the assets of privately held data-storage development company Aprilis Inc.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Dow Corning, which is equally owned by Dow Chemical Co. and Corning Inc., said it will continue to develop Aprilis' holographic data-storage technology through newly created unit DCE Aprilis Inc.

Dow Corning named Shane Ladwein general manager of the new unit, which hired several people formerly employed by Aprilis Inc., including chief scientist David Waldman.

The company, based in Maynard, said the holographic data-storage technology would offer hundreds of gigabytes of removable capacity for archiving applications.

DCE Aprilis will keep its headquarters in Maynard. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

FDA approves BioSphere microcatheter

Medical device maker BioSphere Medical Inc. said today that the Food and Drug Administration approved its EmboCath Plus infusion microcatheter.

The device is used for injections into the vascular systems to treat uterine fibroids, or non-cancerous growths in the muscular wall of the uterus. The catheter is also meant for use in treating hypervacularized tumors of the brain, spine, head and neck before surgery.

The company said it will begin shipping the mircrocatheter's in September.

The approval drove shares of BioSphere up 36 cents, or 7.4 percent, to $5.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market in morning trading. The stock has traded between $4.57 and $9.43 over the last 52 weeks, and is off 40 percent year-to-date. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)

Data center software maker Egenera raises $26 million

Egenera Inc, a Marlboro company that makes equipment and software for corporate data centers, has closed on a $26 million round of venture capital funding, the company's fifth.

Pharos Capital Group, a Dallas-based venture firm and Fujitsu Siemens Computers, one of Egenera's customers, led the round. The new money brings the company's total raised to $150 million.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:32 AM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2006

Green light for two projects in Dorchester and Roxbury

Two new development projects slated for parts of the city's Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods were given final approval by the Boston Redevelopment Authority yesterday, clearing the final hurdle for tens of millions in new construction to get underway.

The bigger of the two developments calls for the Salvation Army to construct the Kroc Center, a $40 million community center complex on a 6.19 acre site that straddles the Dorchester-Roxbury border on Dudley Street. The project is being built with an $85 million grant from the Joan and Ray Kroc Trust, the charitable foundation named after the late McDonald's Corp. founder his wife. Besides construction funds, $45 million of the grant will go into a fund for the continued operation of the facility, which will include a 95,000 square-foot community center, 131-space parking lot and a soccer field.

The Salvation Army expects the project to produce 300 construction jobs and about 100 full and part-time positions once the center opens. Construction is slated to start next Spring.

The redevelopment authority also approved a new 56-unit senior housing development on Washington Street in Roxbury's Dudley Square section. Financial details of that project were not immediately available.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. auto insurers ask for 3.7 percent rate cut

Massachusetts automobile insurers today asked the state's insurance commissioner to cut their rates next year by 3.7 percent, which would yield a statewide average premium of $983.

The final decision on auto insurance rates will be made in December after Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler hears testimony on the industry's filing, and competing proposals from the attorney general and a unit within the Division of Insurance. Most analysts expect rates to drop between 10 and 15 percent.

This is the second year in a row the Automobile Insurers Bureau of Massachusetts has recommended a rate decrease. Last year, the bureau called for a 0.1 percent reduction and the commissioner ultimately approved an 8.7 percent cut.

The insurers said rates are falling because claims are declining. The bureau said its member companies handled just over 1 million claims last year, a 1 percent increase over the prior year but down 8 percent from two years ago.

The bureau also asked Bowler to increase the discounts for consumers who insure more than one car with the same company from 5 to 10 percent. The bureau also sought a decrease in discounts for some antitheft devices.
(By Bruce Mohl, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:06 PM | Comments (0)

Delta offers service to Newport News

Delta Air Lines Inc. will begin offering a pair of daily non-stop round-trips from Logan International Airport to Newport News, Va., starting Nov. 15.

Fares will begin at $158 round trip for tickets bought by Aug. 28, not counting taxes and fees. Service is on 50-seat regional jets.

The launch brings to 29 the number of non-stop destinations served by Delta from Logan, which has been pushing to offer more point-to-point and trans-Atlantic service to improve its profitability and emerge from bankruptcy protection. Delta's main competition on the route will be AirTran Airways, which now offers three daily round-trips between Logan and Newport News.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:55 PM | Comments (0)

Everest Partners refinances New England properties

A New York-based real estate holdings firm has refinanced its mortgages on three office properties in New England to the tune of $30 million.

Everest Partners secured the new financing from an unnamed private lender in a deal brokered by the Boston office of CBRE/Melody, the finance arm of real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis. The three buildings involved, in Franklin, Nashua, N.H., and Bedford, N.H., represent a total of 326,100 square-feet of office space.

Everest said in a statement that the refinancing was done to help it free up capital.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)

Bain leads buyout of Applied Systems

Boston private equity firm Bain Captial Management is leading the buyout of Applied Systems Inc., a University Park, Ill., firm that makes software for the insurance industry.

Financial terms of the deal, in which Bain is partnering with James P. Kellner, Applied's chief executive officer, were not disclosed. The company is buying Applied Systems from another private investment house, Vista Equity Partners LLC of San Francisco. Kellner will remain at the company's helm.
(Keith Reed, Globe staff)

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Eaton Vance launches new fund

Eaton Vance Corp., a Boston money management firm, said today it completed the initial offering of shares in its new bond fund, raising a total of $221 million from the sale of common and preferred shares.

Eaton Vance's new Credit Opportunities Fund focuses on producing income by investing 80 percent of its assets in securities like bonds and other debt. Its shares will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

Reverse stock split by Sontra

Sontra Medical Corp. said it completed a 10-for-one reverse stock split today, taking more than 20 million of its outstanding common shares off the Nasdaq Stock Market.

A reverse stock split occurs when a publicly traded company reduces the number of its shares on the equities markets by issuing one share in exchange for a larger number of shares. In this case, Sontra gave stockholders one share for every 10 they owned before the stock, resulting in the total number of shares outstanding dropping from 27.2 million to 2.7 million. Consequently, the per-share value of the stock climbed by a multiple of ten.
(Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)

Genzyme asks European regulators to expand Synvisc usage

Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. said today that it asked European regulators to expand approved usage of its Synvisc pain treatment for osteoarthritis.

The drug is currently approved for pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee and hip. The company is requesting that Synvisc also be allowed to treat osteoarthritis in the shoulder and ankle.

The European review is expected to be complete by the end of the year, the company said.

In the United States, the drug is approved for knee pain and the company is also pursing expansion to include hip pain relief.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

Airlines relax cancellation policies in wake of terror plot

Airlines are relaxing cancellation policies in the wake of the terror plot uncovered by authorities yesterday.

Several major carriers said they will not charge passengers who want to change their flight plans due to the threats, even if those passengers are holding non-refundable tickets that usually carry change fees of $100 or more.

United Airlines, which operates 38 daily flights daily from Logan International Airport, is waiving all cancellation and change fees for passengers holding non-refundable tickets. United usually charges a $100 fee if passengers want to change their flights after buying a no-refund ticket, but in the wake of the terror plot, the airline is allowing such changes with no penalty as long as passengers notify it between now and Sept. 1. If passengers want to cancel their flights without rebooking, they can keep the full value of their tickets for a year to apply to future travel, but there won't be cash refunds offered on non-refundable tickets.

The policy applies to all domestic and international flights.

"We’re just trying to be sensitive to our customers' feelings during this time," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski, who added the carrier hadn't seen a significant increase in cancellations in the last two days.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the airline has seen hundreds of cancellations, but called that a "statistically minuscule" number compared with the number of passengers with flights scheduled between now and Sept. 1, the date that its cancellation fee waiver expires. American is waiving fees for passengers with non-refundable tickets between the United States and the UK and on all domestic flights.

Those fees range from $50 to $100. American has three daily flights between Logan International Airport and London.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is also waiving change fees, the company said in a statement this morning. Virgin has one daily flight between Logan and London.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

BG Medicine partners with Philips on biomarkers

BG Medicine of Waltham said it has arranged an alliance with Royal Philips Electronics under which the Dutch corporation will receive a minority stake in the Massachusetts biotechnology company.

The companies didn't give financial details. Philips will help BG develop ''biomarker sets'' and will receive preferential access to the products. Biomarkers are used in conjunction with advanced medical imaging devices to help diagnose medical conditions in tissue.

BG Medicine aims to develop biomarkers that can help doctors distinguish particular diseases, and even tell what stage the disease has reached and how it might be treated.

Founded in 2000, BG's original investors include Flagship Ventures of Cambridge and Gilde Investment Management, which like Philips is based on the Netherlands.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:50 AM | Comments (0)

Raytheon: dirty bomb detectors show promise

Raytheon Co. sensors that scan cargo shipments for nuclear weapons and "dirty bombs" could generate $1 billion in U.S. sales, company officials said yesterday at a Washington press briefing.

Raytheon won a $28 million Department of Homeland Security contract in July to make and demonstrate the new systems, as one of three firms selected for the $1.2 billion program. The U.S. agency says it wants to buy a lot of the new systems if technology demonstrations are successful.

Thermo Electron Corp. and Canberra Industries Inc., a Connecticut company owned by French engineering firm Areva, also won parts of the program. The Department of Homeland Security awarded each company a one-year contract, with up to four years of extensions.

In the first year, the program goal is to develop and test a detector to become the standard installation for screening trucks and cargo containers, the agency said in a July press release.

The new systems are panels intended to spot dangerous radioactive material in vehicles moving past at about 5 miles per hour. These "advanced spectroscopic portal" systems are expected to reduce the number of inaccurate scans while also bringing improvements in detection of shielding material or other concealment efforts.

Weapons that don't have a radioactive component won't be detected by these systems. But the equipment will be able to scan for nuclear weapons or for so-called dirty bombs that could use conventional explosives to spread toxic radioactive material over a large area, said Lianne Ing, vice president for business development at Bubble Technologies Inc., a privately held firm that is part of the Raytheon team.

Raytheon's timeline calls for deploying a test system in November. A low-rate production run could be ready by January, with full production on track to start by July 2007 if the Department of Homeland Security chooses to move forward.

Raytheon program director Mike Sharp said the system also has international potential. The program is considered a commercial system for export purposes, although the Department of Homeland Security would need to approve any foreign buyers under the terms of the current contract, he said. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2006

Boston Beer buys land for Freetown brewery

Boston Beer Co., whose brands include Samuel Adams, has agreed to purchase roughly 50 acres of undeveloped land in Freetown to build a brewery, a company spokeswoman said. The sale price was not disclosed, but she said the company hopes to build a $120 million to $160 million facility, which will have the capacity to brew about 1 million barrels of beer annually, on the site. Boston Beer currently brews most of its beer in Boston and Cincinnati. The hope is that the new brewery would go on-line in 2008, the spokeswoman said. Earlier this week, the company reported record second-quarter revenue of $79.3 million, up 29 percent from a year ago.

(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:06 PM | Comments (0)

Competitive rates for auto insurance rejected

Insurance Commissioner Julianne M. Bowler said today that she will set all auto insurance rates for 2007, rejecting appeals from Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. of Boston and several industry trade groups to introduce competitive rate-setting.

"Present conditions are such that competition, if implemented in 2007, would be insufficient to assure that rates will not be excessive," she said. The state's automobile insurance companies are expected to ask Bowler tomorrow to cut their rates by 3.7 percent next year.
(By Bruce Mohl, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:34 PM | Comments (0)

Palomar and Candela in patent dispute

Two local firms who are rivals in the business of using lasers to correct medical and cosmetic problems are headed to court in a patent dispute.

Palomar Technologies Inc. of Burlington filed a patent infringement suit yesterday against Candela Corp. of Wayland, accusing Candela of making equipment that infringes on Palomar patents for using laser technology for hair removal.

Candela fired back today with a countersuit accusing Palomar of violating at least three Candela patents for technology that uses intense light for various medical treatments. The company claims Palomar's so-called Starlux device, a laser system used for various kinds of cosmetic procedures, infringes on its patents.

Palomar is coming off a recent victory in a similar suit against another firm, Cutera Inc. of Brisbane, Calif. Cutera settled in that suit, agreeing to pay $22 million in damages plus 7.5 percent of the future sales of its laser hair removal systems to Palomar.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

Hologic settles intellectual property dispute

Medical imaging equipment maker Hologic Inc. said today that it gave final approval and completed its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over an intellectual property dispute with Siemens AG.

Under the terms of the settlement, first agreed upon in July, Hologic sold its intellectual property (IP) related to Mammotest systems to Siemens for a cash payment of $6.5 million, while retaining a royalty-free, non exclusive right to license and use the IP related to the breast biopsy system.

Shares of Hologic were down 30 cents at $40.80 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)

Profits halved at Wesborough Financial Services

Profits were cut in half at the parent company of Westborough Bank in the second quarter.

Westborough Financial Services Inc. reported net income of $88,000 or 6 cents per share for the quarter, compared with a $171,000, or 11 cents-per-share profit for the same quarter in 2005.

The company attributed its weaker results to a decrease in income from loans, which declined by $210,000 in the quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Westborough Bank was founded in 1869 and has four branches.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)

State Street donates $3 million to ICA

State Street Corp. is paying $3 million for the naming rights to the lobby of the Institute of Contemporary Art's new location. The museum, currently on Boylston Street, is building a new facility on the South Boston waterfront which is slated to open this fall, and is on a campaign to raise $62 million to cover the costs.

State Street's donation is the largest contribution so far to that fund. In exchange, the money management company will get its name on the 3,625 square-foot lobby that will be the entrance to the new museum.

The Institute's new building is one part of a larger redevelopment effort on the South Boston waterfront. Also under construction within blocks of the new building is a new convention headquarters hotel, and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, which opened in 2004. The new museum will have exhibit space, a store, education center and a restaurant by famed chef Wolfgang Puck.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:17 PM | Comments (0)

After the bomb plot: tips for travelers

From packing to getting through security checkpoints, here are tips for travelers who will face new restrictions and longer waits at airports:

PACKING: No liquids or gels of any kind are allowed in carry-on baggage until further notice. This includes all beverages, cologne, hair gel, suntan lotion, contact lens formula, toothpaste, shampoo, and all items of "similar consistency" to these. The only exceptions are baby formula and juice -- but just for those passengers traveling with children-- and medicines, which must have your name on the container. You must present these to Transportation Security Administration screeners for inspection. If you buy a drink between the security checkpoint and the gate, you must consume it before boarding.

Some travel experts suggest packing everything into your checked bag to avoid hassles with carry-on luggage. Many airlines are now allowing passengers to check one or two more bags than usual without penalty. Pack as light as you can to speed TSA inspections and put a card or slip of paper with your name and contact information inside.

For flights from the United Kingdom to the United States, all electronic devices including cellphones and portable music players cannot be carried onto the plane, but instead must be packed into checked luggage. US officials are not yet banning such devices.

GETTING TO THE AIRPORT: Plan on allowing about two hours or more to get through longer-than-usual security lines. Logan is urging passengers departing on international flights to allow three hours. Even with improved highway access to Logan from a reopened ramp to the Ted Williams Tunnel, taking the subway, water taxi, or Logan Express bus may be easier than driving.

WAITING IN LINE: Consider bringing an extra bottle of water or juice for the wait in line, especially if you have children travelling with you. Be alert for airport security personnel calling for passengers who are on flights approaching departure time to come to the front of the line.

STAY IN TOUCH: Use airline services that let you sign up to have text messages sent to your cell phone with updates on whether your flight has been delayed or cancelled.

SWITCHING FLIGHTS: Several major US airlines are allowing passengers who have booked flights in the next several days to switch without penalty to later dates, when security procedures may be back closer to normal. In many cases right now airlines were rebooking for free those passengers who missed a flight because of security delays, but those new flights may be less direct and take hours longer.

Sources: Transportation Security Administration, Massachusetts Port Authority

Posted by globebusiness at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

Alkermes holds off earnings report until after option review

Alkermes Inc. said today that it will need more time to file its quarterly report because of an ongoing review of its treatment of stock options, which are also the subject of an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The delay by the Cambridge company follows a similar step announced earlier this morning by another local biotechnology firm, Sepracor Inc. of Marlborough. Both were mentioned in a report in May by a Maryland research firm as being at risk for problems related to stock options.

In all more than 90 companies face scrutiny from federal authorities who are already pursuing civil and criminal charges against various former executives who allegedly profited by manipulating options grants.

In a press release, Alkermes said it began its own investigation after it turned up in a report by a third party, apparently the Maryland research group. Its audit committee has found nothing to indicate officials backdated options from 1999 to 2002. But its reviewers "identified certain issues with respect to the measurement date for certain stock options as a result of changes that may have been made to options grants'' for some non-executive employees in the period since 2003, Alkermes said.

Alkermes said it doesn't yet know whether it will need to restate its previous financial statements. Alkermes said it will file for an extension until Aug. 14 to file its form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

Implant Sciences expects revenues to double

Implant Sciences Corp., a medical technology company that also develops devices to detect explosives, said today that it expects 2006 revenue to double year-ago results.

The company set revenue guidance between $24 million and $25 million, compared with sales of $12.3 million a year ago. Implant Sciences' fiscal year ended June 30.

The revenue growth spans all of the company's units, with the greatest boost coming from semiconductors and explosives detection.

Shares rose $1.14, or 53 percent, to $3.29 on the American Stock Exchange, on about five times average volume. Last summer the stock traded at a high of $7.74, but has steadily declined over the past year, hitting a 52-week low of $2 on July 31. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

The latest on delays and restrictions at Logan Airport

Travelers worried about delays and restrictions due to today's foiled terror plot against airliners in the United Kingdom can check the Massachusetts Port Authority's website. The agency, which runs Logan International Airport, has posted the latest restrictions on carry-on luggage and provides up-to-the-minute data on flight delays and cancellations that are searchable by destination, flight number and departure or arrival time.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

Sepracor delays earnings report pending review of stock options

Sepracor Inc., a drug maker focused on respiratory and central nervous system disorders, said today that it will delay filing its latest quarterly report until a review of its stock option practices is completed.

Based on preliminary company findings, Sepracor said it has already found instances of backdating. As a result, the company plans to restate financial reports for quarters ended March 31, June 30 and Sept. 30, 2005, the quarter ended March 31, 2006 and fiscal years ended Dec. 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003.

The company also intends to revise information contained in earnings release for the latest period, which ended June 30, and said financial reports dating back to Jan. 1 are no longer reliable.

In addition, Sepracor will record adjustments for additional non-cash charges relating to stock-based compensation expense in periods prior to July 1. The charges will not affect reported revenue, cash or cash equivalents, the company said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is presently reviewing Sepracor's stock option practices and last month the company appointed a committee of outside directors to perform an internal review. The investigations are eyeing stock options as far back as 1996.

Sepracor is among at least 21 companies that have launched internal probes of stock-option grant practices. More than 64 companies are under review by either the SEC or Justice Department for dating stock-option grants to coincide with share price lows in order to boost the value of the option.

Shares of Sepracor fell 46 cents to $46.51 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $42.29 to $60.75. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

More red ink at solar SatCon

SatCon Technology Corp., a Boston company that makes solar and other alternative energy sources, reported a loss of $3.5 million or 9 cents per share in its fiscal 2006 third quarter, which ended July 1. That's a 52.2 percent deepening of the company's red ink compared with the same quarter a year ago when it lost $2.3 million, or 7 cents per share.

The losses came as revenues remained flat and operating expenses increases slightly. Total revenues in the quarter were $8.1 million, compared with $8.2 million in the 2005 fiscal third quarter. Total operating expenses, meanwhile, grew 11.9 percent, to $11.6 million from about $10.4 million last year.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

Loss widens at CombinatoRx

CombinatoRx Inc.'s second-quarter loss widened due to higher research and development expenses.

The Cambridge bipoharmaceutical company had a loss of $9.03 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with a loss of $8.83 million, or $11.44 a share, a year earlier.

CombinatoRx said revenue for the quarter ended June 30 jumped to $3.4 million from $547,000 a year earlier.

Research and development costs widened 54% to $8.7 million from $5.65 million a year earlier.

In addition, CombinatoRx said it expects a 2006 loss of $31 million to $36 million. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)

Logan Airport cancels at least two flights to UK

The terrorist threat to blow up airplanes that was uncovered in Great Britain affected Logan Airport in Boston, prompting at least two flights to be canceled and forcing delays on others because of strict searches of passengers and airline crews.

The first flight to Britain's busy Heathrow Airport - American Airlines Flight 156 that was due to leave Logan at 9 a.m. was canceled, according to John Hotard, American Airlines spokesman in Ft. Worth, Texas. American Airlines Flight 109 from Heathrow to Logan also was canceled.

Phil Orlandella, spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan, said there are seven flights daily from Logan to Great Britain - three American Airlines, three British Airways and one Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Flyers were handed to passengers at Logan telling them what they could and could not take aboard as carry-on luggage. Among the banned items were any liquids, including bottled water, shampoo, gels and suntan lotion.

Orlandella said airport security was been raised to level orange - one below the top level of red. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:08 AM | Comments (0)

August 9, 2006

Foreclosures continue to rise in Mass.; state also second in price-reductions

Two new reports on the housing market in Massachusetts and elsewhere offer a glimpse of a weak market where foreclosures continue to rise and where in some communities more than half the homes on the market have had their asking prices reduced.

In one report, the town of Newton tops a national list of cities and suburbs in the percentage of homes on the market at least a month that have had their asking prices reduced. That same report, the first of its kind from national online real estate agency Zip Realty, ranks Massachusetts second only to California among states with cities in the top 20 for percentage of price-reduced homes.

The second report, from research firm RealtyTrac Inc., reported that foreclosure filings in the metropolitan Boston market increased by 181.1 percent in the second quarter of 2006 compared with the same period a year ago. In the second quarter the area had 1,823 foreclosure filings, which is the first step taken by lenders toward reclaiming properties from delinquent mortgage holders. That's one foreclosure for every 1,243 households.

Both reports were released today.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)

Princeton Properties buys Falmouth, Maine apartment complex

A 170-unit apartment complex in Falmouth, Maine has been sold to Princeton Properties of Lowell for $16.5 million.

The property dates to 1981 and had been owned by MB Management Co. of Braintree. It includes ten two and a half story buildings on 52 acres near Route 1. The sale was brokered by CB Richard Ellis/New England.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:28 PM | Comments (0)

AirTran to offer Florida service from Logan

Logan International Airport will get new low-fare airline travel options to three Florida cities this autumn when AirTran Airways begins offering new seasonal service.

AirTran said yesterday it would begin a daily round-trip flight to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers on Nov. 15, and to Orlando on Dec. 21.

AirTran did not say what it will charge for fares, but its website showed several winter flights available beginning at $178 round-trip, not including fees and taxes. AirTran also had no comment on when the seasonal service will end.

Delta Air Lines for years has dominated non-stop routes from Boston to Florida. But since folding its former Song discount carrier -- which flew from Boston to five Sunshine State destinations -- back into the mainline Delta in May and reassigning big Song Boeing 757s to longer-haul routes, Delta has been using smaller jets on Boston-Florida routes. That's cut the number of Delta seats available and left an opening for AirTran, JetBlue Airways, and others to expand Boston-Florida service.

AirTran's service will depart for Orlando at 9:20 a.m. daily, for Fort Myers at 1 p.m. daily, and for Fort Lauderdale at 4:08 p.m. daily, with all flights scheduled for about 3 1/2 hours. Return flights arrive in Boston in mid-afternoon.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

World Cup boosts Adidas

Adidas AG said today that its second-quarter net profit rose 24 percent as consumers snapped up its World Cup-related merchandise and the effects of its acquisition of Canton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd. took hold.

The company, which trails only Nike Inc. in global sales of sporting goods and apparel, earned $105.2 million, or $105.2 million U.S., in the April-June period compared with 66 million euros a year earlier.

Sales rose nearly 60 percent to 2.43 billion euros, or $3.1 billion, from 1.52 billion euros, also more than the 2.37 billion euros expected by analysts.

Adidas sponsored several teams at the June 9-July 9 World Cup, including host Germany and Argentina. The company benefited tremendously from sales of its Teamgeist soccer ball, which it designed specifically for the tournament. German for "team spirit," Adidas has sold more than 15 million of the 14-panel balls, at a price that has ranged from $113 to $138. The figures beat the company's initial expectations of 10 million and blew past the 6 million balls it sold during the 2002 World Cup.

As a result, the company expects the World Cup tournament to help provide more than 1.2 billion euros in revenue from soccer-related products, including shoes and replica jerseys. In all of 2005, Adidas had 6.6 billion euros in sales, with 434 million euros in profit.

The company raised its full-year sales forecast for the Adidas brand and said it expected growth to increase in the low double-digits. But it said that sales of its Reebok-branded products were likely to dip in the coming months, citing a drop in order backlogs.

Adidas acquired Reebok last year in a $3.8 billion deal aimed at closing in on market leader Nike Inc. The deal was completed at the end of January, and Adidas has said Reebok needs to update its offerings to compete with Puma AG and Nike. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

Profits rise at Beacon Roofing

Building products seller Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. said today that its third-quarter profit rose, aided by higher home roofing sales and recent acquisitions.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company, which is based in Peabody, reported net income of $17.1 million, or 38 cents per share, versus a prior-year profit of $11.3 million, or 28 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $407.1 million from $248.5 million in the year-ago period.

In morning trading, the stock fell $1, or 5.6 percent, to $16.89 on the Nasdaq. The stock has traded between $16.17 and $28.97 over the past year. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)

Navy orders more torpedos from Raytheon

Military contractor Raytheon Co. said today that the U.S. Navy expanded the value of two existing torpedo contracts by a combined $100 million.

Raytheon said the Navy added $95.4 million to a 2004 torpedo hardware contract in order to cover 2006 procurement needs.

The second modification adds $5 million to a torpedo spares contract with the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

Raytheon shares rose 36 cents to $45.12 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

Somerville company gets $3 million from National Cancer Institute

Thermedical Inc., a Somerville company developing a new cancer treatment, has won a three-year, $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.

The money will be used to fund Thermedical's development of a system that uses saline and electrical energy to obliterate cancerous tumors. In the treatment, saline is injected into the tumor which changes how it reacts to energy; the injection is followed by an exposure to electrical energy that overheats and kills cancerous cells.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

Profit falls at American Science

American Science and Engineering Inc., a provider of X-ray security systems, said today that fiscal first-quarter earnings fell as expenses for stock options and a higher tax bill cut into the bottom line.

The results badly missed Wall Street expectations, sending the Billerica-based company's shares tumbling in electronic premarket trading. The stock was off $6.70, or 14.6 percent, to $39.10 after closing Tuesday at $45.80 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Net income in the three months ended June 30 fell to $6 million, or 41 cents per share, from $7 million, or 78 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The company has about 9.4 million shares outstanding.

The latest quarter included 14 cents per share in stock-option expenses and a tax rate that rose to 41 percent from 23 percent last year, taking 13 cents off earnings.

Revenue dropped 18 percent to $29.9 million from $35.2 million, missing the Street estimate of $39 million. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:53 AM | Comments (0)

Westborough campus sold to California firm; will house biotech company

A California real estate firm that specializes in buying research and development space said today that it paid $9.4 million for a 113,000 square-foot complex in Westborough.

The campus, at 20 Walkup Drive, was sold by the Campanelli Cos. of Braintree to Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. of Pasadena, Calif., in a deal brokered by Richards Barry & Joyce Partners of Boston. The property is slated to become the new headquarters of Renamed Biologics Inc., which is relocating from Lincoln, R.I.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

Bank of America unloads operations in Chile and Uruguay

Bank of America Corp. said today that it will exchange its BankBoston operations in Chile and Uruguay for an equity stake in Banco Itau Holding Financeira S.A..

The deal is valued at $650 million.

After the completion of the deal, Bank of America will own 7.4% of Banco Itau's shares.

Bank of America shares closed Tuesday down 10 cents at $52.06. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:14 AM | Comments (0)

August 8, 2006

Spaulding & Slye takes down its shingle

Spaulding & Slye, a well-known name in the Boston real estate industry, is virtually disappearing today as the firm takes on the name of Jones Lang LaSalle, the publicly traded company that acquired it earlier this year for $150 million.

Spaulding & Slye had about 500 employees and offices in Boston and Washington, D.C. The Boston office of Spaulding & Slye and Jones Lang LaSalle's smaller office here both occupy about 55,000 square feet on three floors of One Post Office Square.

Jones Lang LaSalle had about 19,000 employees and 100 offices in 36 countries when the merger was completed in January. The firm now does property management, construction, leasing, investment sales, and development. Spaulding & Slye's former investment unit will retain the title Spaulding & Slye Investments.

Spaulding & Slye in Boston, which opened its doors in 1966, is perhaps best known for having managed and won permits for the 21-acre Fan Pier development in South Boston, which was sold last year by its owners, the Pritzker family of Chicago, for $115 million.

Jones Lang LaSalle is now also an equity partner, developer, and manager of NorthPoint, an ambitious mixed-use project initiated by Spaulding & Slye at a former railroad yard in East Cambridge that will have 2,800 residential units. Spaulding & Slye last week moved out of its offices at 255 State St. Jones Lang LaSalle was formerly at Two International Place.

(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:19 PM | Comments (0)

New Balance acquires sports equipment maker Brine

New Balance today said it had acquired Brine Inc., a local manufacturer of soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and volleyball products, for an undisclosed sum.

Brine, of Milford, is the successor to the original W.H. Brine Company founded in 1922.

"Brine's history of manufacturing high-performance team sports products will enable us to broaden our offerings at the global level," New Balance's chief executive Jim Davis said in a statement. "Brine's motto 'Find Your Game' speaks directly to their long-standing support of game improvement products and programs, and fits well with New Balance's philosophy of promoting personal athletic achievements."

(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:32 PM | Comments (0)

Healthcare advocates criticize insurance law

Advocates for affordable healthcare said yesterday that a key piece of the state's new health insurance law asks far too little of businesses, requiring them to provide employees only bare-bones coverage to avoid a $295 per-worker fee for companies offering no insurance plan.

But business organizations said a proposed coverage rule that's part of the law accurately reflects a legislative compromise intended to guarantee coverage for virtually all state residents.

The rule's supporters said lawmakers who reached the deal in the spring shared a modest goal: ending an unfair system that allowed companies offering no insurance to get a free ride by relying on more generous employers to help foot the bill for uninsured medical expenses. The Democrat-led Legislature that adopted the nation's most ambitious healthcare restructuring didn't embrace the broader goal of requiring employers to meet minimum coverage levels, supporters said.

At issue is proposal by the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy to define what constitutes a "fair and reasonable" contribution for employers with 11 or more workers. The law uses that language as a benchmark to determine which employers must pay $295 per worker to help finance the initiative.

The rule is expected to be made final next month. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:55 PM | Comments (0)

London Fog sold to group that includes Boston firm

A local firm is in a deal to buy the famous London Fog apparel line from the bankrupt Seattle company that currently owns it for a reported $18.1 million.

London Fog Licensing Group, a partnership that includes Boston's Gordon Brothers Group LLC and two other companies, is buying the London Fog brand, best known for winter outerwear, from London Fog Group in Seattle. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the companies but the sale's value was reported in the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper today.

The brand's new owner plans to licence the London Fog name to companies who could make apparel, housewares, fragrances and even sporting goods under the name.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:42 PM | Comments (0)

Fenway Park concessaire sold; Boston firm among buyers

A group that includes Boston private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners is buying food service company Aramark in a deal worth $8.3 billion.

Under the deal, Joseph Neubauer, the chairman of the Philadelphia-based company, along with GS Capital Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors, J.P. Morgan Partners, Warburg Pincus LLC and Thomas H. Lee, will pay $33.80 per share for the company and assume $2 billion in debt.

Aramark is best known as the company that manages concessions at many major league sporting stadiums including Fenway Park.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:35 PM | Comments (0)

N.E.W. Enterprise

Boston's Berkshire Partners LLC said today that it has teamed up with another private-equity firm, Freeman Spogli & Co. of California, and with company management to make a major investment in N.E.W. Customer Service Cos. of Virginia, a provider of extended service contracts that cover everything from consumer electronics to power tools and appliances.

The transaction gives N.E.W. an enterprise value of $1.2 billion, Berkshire said, and the investment is designed to help accelerate the next stage of N.E.W.'s growth.

According to Berkshire, the transaction represents a "successful exit" for TH Lee Putnam Ventures, a private equity firm affiliated with Boston buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners and money management firm Putnam Investments.

Two years ago, TH Lee Putnam and Freeman Spogli disclosed that they, along with N.E.W. management, had acquired "a significant equity interest" in N.E.W. at "an enterprise value of approximately $370 million."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

TD Banknorth distributes affordable housing grants

The charitable arm of TD Banknorth Inc. is giving out $250,000 to 16 groups in Massachusetts to assist in affordable housing projects, including two in Boston.

Both the Asian Community Development Corp. and a group called the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing will get $15,000 grants from the TD Banknorth Foundation. The Asian community group plans to build an affordable housing project in Chinatown, while the other group received funding for a 16-unit development in Holliston.

Each year, the foundation doles out several $15,000 grants and one $25,000 one to groups seeking to build more housing that is accessible to people with moderate incomes.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)

Business leaders, healthcare advocates clash over reform rules

The divide between business leaders and healthcare advocates over what constitutes a company's "fair and reasonable" contribution to employees' health insurance deepened today as they presented opposing views at a public hearing on rules proposed last month by the Romney Administration.

The Division of Health Care Finance and Policy said businesses with at least 11 employees could avoid a $295 per year assessment if they paid at least one-third of the premium for individual healthcare, or if at least one-quarter of their employees signed up for the company-sponsored health plan.

Healthcare advocates said the proposal would further erode the quality of existing employer health plans, leading to a "race to the bottom."

"The proposed regulations make an already inadequate assessment even more inadequate," said Phil Edmundson, head of a private insurance company and chairman of Affordable Care Today's Massachusetts coalition.

Business leaders at the hearing -- held at the University of Massachusetts Boston -- praised the proposal and warned about the consequences of raising the standards for employer contributions to health insurance.

Requiring larger contributions from employers could "damage our competitiveness compared to other states," said James Boyle, assistant director of economic development for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

The final rules are due Aug. 29.
(By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

EMC makes management changes

EMC Corp. announced a management restructuring today in which the company is promoting a new chief financial officer and shifting the responsibilities of several other senior executives. The changes come as the result of the May promotion of former chief financial officer Bill Teuber to the position of vice chairman.

His move, designed to allow him to help run the Hopkinton company's day-to-day operations, caused EMC to promote former executive vice president David Goulden to the chief financial officer's chair. At the same time, the company promoted David DeWalt to the position of president of customer operations and content management software. DeWalt had been an executive vice president since joining EMC in 2003 when it bought Documentum, a company he had lead as chief executive officer.
(Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

Losses grow at Oscient

Oscient Pharmaceuticals' second quarter net loss widened to $23 million, or 25 cents per share, from $21.7 million, or 28 cents per share for the same quarter a year ago, the company reported this morning.

Oscient, which makes a drug to treat chronic bronchitis and is developing other drugs, reported revenues that rose to $4.6 million from $4.2 million in last year's second quarter.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

Cancer drug maker Ariad posts larger loss

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is developing drugs to treat cancer, today reported a wider second-quarter loss, because of higher expenses.

For the quarter ended June 30, Ariad reported net loss of $17 million, or 27 cents per share, versus a prior-year net loss of $14.1 million, or 27 cents per share. The number of shares outstanding increased to about 62.1 million from around 52.9 million.

Ariad said the increase in net loss came from expenses related to its litigation against Eli Lilly & Co., which resulted in a favorable ruling in May, and the adoption of stock option expense.

Total license revenue declined to $229,000 from $350,000 in the prior-year period. Operating expenses rose 20 percent, to $17.7 million.

Ariad's cash and cash equivalents at the end of June totaled $54.3 million, down from $81.5 million at the end of 2005. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)

Losses expand at Momenta

Losses grew for Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the second quarter. The Cambridge drug development firm which is focusing on new ways to manipulate sugars in creating generic treatments said it lost $12.6 million or 41 cents per share in the three months that ended June 30, compared with a $4.6 million or 18 cents per share loss in the same quarter in 2005.

The widened losses came as Momenta's revenues grew at a clip less than half that of its development costs. Revenues increased 60.4 percent in the quarter, to about $5.4 million from roughly $3.4 million a year ago. But research and development expenditures in the quarter climbed 169.5 percent, to $13.4 million from $4.9 million last year.
(Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)

CSP sells systems to Raytheon

CSP Inc. of Billerica said that it landed a deal worth between $17 million and $18 million to sell high performance computer systems to Raytheon Co. over the next year.

Raytheon, a defense contractor, is purchasing an undisclosed number of CSP's FastCluster 220R computers, which can be used to gather data from multiple sources at the same time and then analyze them within seconds. The machines can also be outfitted for use in extreme conditions, such as outdoors, on a battlefield or on an airplane.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:03 AM | Comments (0)

DUSA narrows loss

DUSA Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s second-quarter loss narrowed as total revenue rose sharply to $6.62 million from $2.23 million.

The Wilmington biopharmaceutical company said today that it posted a loss of $4.65 million, or 24 a share, compared with a loss of $4.83 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier.

DUSA partly attributed its total revenue growth to increased sales volume, higher average unit selling price and a reduction in overall sales volume discount programs for the company's Kerastick topical solution. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:49 AM | Comments (0)

Parexel moves to a profit

Parexel International Corp., which provides contract research, marketing and consulting services for the biopharmaceutical industry, said today that it moved to a profit in the fourth quarter, boosted by strong revenue growth.

The company also lifted its fiscal 2007 guidance, sending its shares higher in the aftermarket session.

Net income totaled $8.4 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $51.5 million, or $1.98 per share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue expanded 20 percent to $214.3 million, with service revenue increasing 18 percent and reimbursement revenue up 30 percent.

Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal first-quarter earnings per share of between 22 cents and 24 cents on sales of $164 million to $169 million. Wall Street is looking for profit of 23 cents per share on sales of $159.9 million.

For the full fiscal year, Parexel boosted its earnings projection to between $1.12 and $1.22 per share on sales of $700 million to $720 million. The company had previously forecast per-share earnings of between $1.10 and $1.20 on sales of $690 million to $710 million.

Parexel shares rose 4 cents to $28.38 in afterhours trading on the INET electronic exchange. They had closed the regular session down 52 cents at $28.34 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)

August 7, 2006

LA bank to hire 150 for Quincy facility

A Los Angeles-based bank is opening a mortgage-processing center in Quincy to serve its clients in the Northeast.

Indymac Bank, which bills itself as the largest savings and loan in Los Angeles and the seventh-largest mortgage lender in the country, said its new 11,672 square-foot facility will bring more than 150 new jobs to the area. The facility becomes one of 16 such regional centers for Indymac nationwide.

(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:09 PM | Comments (0)

VMware virtualizes the Mac

A California company owned by data storage giant EMC Corp. of Hopkinton has unveiled software that lets Apple Computer Inc's Macintosh machines run Microsoft Corp's Windows software side-by-side with Mac programs.

VMware Inc. of Palo Alto is a leading maker of "virtualization" software. These programs let a computer run two or more operating systems at the same time. Virtualization software lets companies get maximum use out of costly server computers. It also lets desktop users work in Windows, Linux or Unix environments on a single machine.

Over the past year, Apple has begun migrating all its Mac computers to a new architecture based on processors from Intel Corp. These are the same chips used in machines that run Microsoft Windows, so the new machines can work with either operating system. Apple has developed a program called Boot Camp that lets users run either Windows or Mac OS X, but not at the same time.

The VMware product will let users run the two operating systems simultaneously. A user could run Apple's Safari Web browser in one window while running Microsoft's Outlook e-mail program in a different window.
(By Hiawatha Bray, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)

Waltham company launches salary negotiation service

A Waltham company is starting up a salary negotiation consulting practice that it says will help you get a better deal from your prospective employer, or your money back.

The new service, called Fizgig, promises clients who sign up on its website a personal consultation at least 45 minutes long with a compensation expert who will analyze the offer at hand, and the client's work and salary history, to determine what negotiating target the prospective employee should shoot for. The company assumes, it says, that most employers intentionally make low-ball offers expecting prospective employees to ask for more.

Fizgig will charge on a sliding fee-scale -- $495 for clients who make between $50,000 and $100,000, $695 for those with offers between $100,001 and $150,000 and $995 for incomes above $150,000 -- and promises to return that fee if a client isn't able to negotiate an increase of at least twice the fee they paid to FigZig.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

Cingular upgrades coverage in Maine tourist areas

Cingular Wireless LLC, the largest mobile phone company in the country, is adding towers to its network in Maine as the company tries to provide better service for its New England customers.

Cingular said today that it has added nine new cell sites in Maine. These sites are antennae or other transmitters that relay voice and data as part of a wireless network. The new sites should improve call reception in the areas near Kittery, Shepard's Hill, Dedham, East Hancock, along Routes 1A and 9 and along the Portland harbor.

The company plans to spend $6 billion on network upgrades this year.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

Danvers campus gets new owner

A Portland, Maine, real estate development firm is paying $16.7 million to buy an office and research campus in Danvers, with plans to turn it into an environmentally-friendly facility.

Tea Light LLC, a subsidiary of real estate firm the Goggin Co., bought the 280,000 square-foot complex at 75 Sylvan Street in Danvers from Applied Materials Inc. Tea Light plans to outfit the campus with an on-site recycling facility and bicycles for workers to get around. It also plans to upgrade to a more efficient heating and cooling system, roofing and lighting.

The company is financing the purchase and renovations with a $25.7 million mortgage from New Star Financial Inc., a Boston financing firm.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

LoJack profit climbs

Shares of vehicle tracking device maker LoJack Corp. spiked in this morning's trading after the company said its second-quarter profit climbed 11 percent and it expects full-year sales to come in ahead of previous expectations.

LoJack's income for the quarter was $5.5 million, or 29 cents per share, up from $5 million, or 26 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter was $56.7 million, up 15 percent from $49.2 million in the year-ago period.

The company, based in Westwood, said it expects to meet its previous guidance for 2006 earnings-per-share growth of 8 percent to 10 percent and net income growth of 12 percent to 14 percent. The company projected 2006 sales growth in the range of 12 percent to 15 percent, up from May guidance of 10 percent to 12 percent.

Shares of LoJack, which have traded between $15.10 and $29 over the last year, were up $1.95, or 11.1 percent, at $19.50 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:56 AM | Comments (0)

Sales up in July at CVS

Drugstore chain CVS Corp. on Monday said same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least one year, increased 9.5 percent in July and outpaced Wall Sreet expectations.

In the year-ago period, the company saw same-store sales increase 5.1 percent.

The company, based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, said its same store results for July received a boost of 110 basis points from the 1,100 stores acquired on July 31, 2004.

Total sales for the month increased 27.5 percent to $3.4 billion from $2.7 billion. Those figures included sales from the 701 Sav-On and Osco drugstores the company acquired in June. CVS said those stores will be included in same-store sales beginning in fiscal year 2007.

The company said pharmacy same-store sales increased 10.6 percent in July, despite the negative affect of some generic drug introductions. Front-end same store sales increased 7.0 percent, the company said.

The company also said it has finished renegotiating its contract with Midwest Health Plan, a managed care organization with 50,000 members. CVS had been in a dispute with Midwest over the company's payments to the pharmacy chain on behalf of its members. Both sides were able to reach an agreement that will allow Midwest members to still use CVS to have prescriptions filled.

Year-to-date, total sales are up 14.2 percent to $23.9 billion from $21 billion. Same-store sales for the year advanced 7.7 percent. Pharmacy same-store sales rose 8.3 percent and front-end same store sales increased 6.5 percent, the company said.(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:48 AM | Comments (0)

AS&E gets $3.4 million X-ray detection order

American Science and Engineering Inc. received a $3.4 million order for an X-ray detection system that will be sued to scan cargo.

The Billerica company did not disclose the name of its client, but said the contract also includes maintenance and spare parts.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

Internet TV Maven gets $12 million in funding

Maven Networks Inc., a Cambridge company that makes technology for distributing TV channels over the Internet, said today it raised a $12 million round of venture capital which it plans to use to further develop its products.

The funding was led by Prism Venture Partners of Westwood and also included money from Cambridge's General Catalyst Partners and Accel Partners of Palo Alto, Calif. It brings Maven's total venture funding to $30 million.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:31 AM | Comments (0)

Operator of WPRI-TV and WNAC-TV tumbles to loss

Television station operator LIN TV Corp., which operates two Providence TV stations, fell to a second-quarter loss due to an impairment charge and higher costs.

The company, based in Providence, posted a loss of $244.4 million, or $4.87 per share, compared with a profit of $10.1 million, or 17 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

An impairment charge of $333.6 million was recorded during the quarter for the write-down of goodwill and broadcast licenses related to seven stations the company acquired in 2005.

The company also saw its corporate overhead expense more than double to $12.8 million from $5.1 million, as it incurred a $5.6 million charge, excluding stock-based compensation, related to the retirement of former Chief Executive Gary Chapman.

Quarterly revenue grew 17 percent to $115.4 million from $99 million, helped by the sales from seven stations acquired last year. On a pro forma basis -- as if the seven stations were acquired on Jan. 1, 2005 -- revenue edged up 1 percent. The company also said it had better-than-expected revenue from political advertising.

LIN said it expects third-quarter revenue to increase in the low 20 percent range compared to sales of $91 million last year. Analysts are looking for revenue of $112.5 million. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

American Tower may restate results

American Tower Corp. reported limited financial results for the second quarter today as an internal stock option grant review may cause the wireless and broadcast communication tower operator to restate prior results.

In July a special committee of independent directors found differences in the dates when employee stock options were recorded by the company and when they were actually granted.

American Tower has determined that a restatement of its previously issued financial statements is likely, due to options expenses, and that it hopes to report full second-quarter and past results in the next four to six weeks.

For the second-quarter, the company was able to report that revenue jumped 73 percent to $325.9 million, beating Wall Street's estimate of $321.7 million.

Rental and management segment revenue surged 73 percent to $320.2 million, with $111.2 million from SpectraSite. The segment's gross margin climbed 70 percent to $240.6 million, with $77.5 million from SpectraSite.

The company forecast third-quarter rental and management segment sales in a range of $324 million to $327 million, with full-year revenue for the segment between $1.29 billion and $1.3 billion.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

August 4, 2006

$186 million Amgen payment boosts profits at Partners

Partners HealthCare third quarter profits were dramatically boosted by a $186 million licensing settlement paid by Amgen Inc. to Massachusetts General Hospital for a rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The hospital helped the drug company develop the drug, called Enbrel.

Without the one-time Amgen payment, profits for the quarter ended July 31 would have dipped to $64 million from $69 million in the same quarter in 2005. The decline was related to weaker investment performance, said Peter Markell, Partners chief financial officer.

Partners is the parent corporation for Mass General and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
(By Christopher Rowland, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:54 PM | Comments (0)

Sox edge out the Yankees -- in ticket sales

The Red Sox may be trailing the detested New York Yankees in the American League East, but Boston's ticket sales were the hottest in Major League Baseball last month, according to one measure.

The Red Sox squeezed into the number one spot over the Yanks in sports ticket sales for July, according to the TicketsNow Entertainment Index.

TicketsNow ranks teams by the number of tickets it sells through its online box office. In July, TicketsNow sold more tickets for the Red Sox than for any other sports team.

Despite a losing record, the Chicago Cubs ranked just ahead of the White Sox for third place on the index for sports ticket sales.

(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:23 PM | Comments (0)

One Laptop Per Child will come loaded with Wikipedia

The nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation said today that the One Laptop Per Child program has chosen to load select Wikipedia articles onto the laptops the program is developing.

The One Laptop Per Child Program is a project based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and one goal is to design and distribute laptops that are so inexpensive that every child in the world will have access to Internet-distributed knowledge.

The Wikimedia Foundation made the disclosure at the Wikimania 2006 conference, now being held in Cambridge.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

Unica to market Breathe Right strips

Unica Corp., a Waltham provider of marketing management solutions, said today that CNS Inc., the maker of Breathe Right nasal strips, has selected Unica's Affinium software to streamline its marketing operations.

"We put Affinium software through a scenario-based test using an integrated marketing campaign that included TV, print, radio, and public relations, and felt it was a marketing resource management product that met our needs," said Don Himsl, director of IT for CNS of Minnesota in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

How to take advantage of the Mass. tax holiday

Shoppers won't have to pay the state's sales tax on many items during the Massachusetts tax holiday on the weekend of Aug. 12 and 13, and Newton accounting firm Rodman & Rodman PC is offering tips to consumers who want to take advantage of the tax break.

Most single items not exceeding $2,500 will be sales-tax free.

Bundled items, such as computer packages that include computer, monitor, and printer, in a single sales price only qualify for the tax exemption if the price of the entire bundle is less than $2,500.

Prior sales and layaways do not qualify.

Meals, gas, and tobacco products are among items that remain taxable.

All services are excluded. Only tangible purchases are eligible. Airline tickets and sporting events are considered services.

(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)

Aspect Medical to buy back shares

Aspect Medical Systems Inc., a maker of brain monitoring technology, said today that its board has approved a plan to repurchase up to 2 million shares of common stock.

Buying back shares will allow the company to manage its cash and offset dilution from employees exercising stock options, Aspect said.

The company will fund the program with working capital. As of July 1, it had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of about $66 million.

Aspect Medical has about 22.5 million common shares outstanding. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $14 to $38.73. They closed Thursday at $14.38 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

Net income, revenue rise slowly at Citizens Financial Group

The Royal Bank of Scotland, parent company of Providence-based Citizens Financial Group, said today that its net income rose 18 percent to $5.5 billion in the first six months of this year, propelled by strong earnings from corporate banking. Revenue rose 10 percent to $25 billion.

At Citizens, pre-tax operating profits grew just 3.6 percent to $1.5 billion, as rising interest rates in the US dragged on profits. Citizens' revenue increased 3.5 percent to $3 billion.

Citizens' net interest income remained essentially flat during the last six months at $1.9 billion, though its non-interest income -- which includes items such as banking fees and credit-card income -- grew 11 percent to $1 billion.

Customer deposits increased to nearly $112 billion, but Citizens is paying more in interest for those deposits, cutting into the bank's ability to make money. "As interest rates have risen, personal and business customers have moved balances from liquid savings to higher cost deposits," Royal Bank of Scotland executives said in a statement about Citizens' results.

Citizens has been increasing its efforts to attract business customers by working more closely with the Royal. In the first six months of this year, the bank increased its business customers by 5 percent to 460,000.

Citizens purchased Charter One Financial Inc. of Ohio in 2004 to expand its operations into the Midwest. The bank also is expanding its supermarket banking operations, with plans to open 75 branches in New York State Stop & Shop stores over the next three years.

Companies based in the United Kingdom such as Royal Bank are required to report earnings twice a year.
(By Sasha Talcott, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

Tweeter to open new concept store in Burlington

Tweeter Home Entertainment is opening a new concept retail store in Burlington, the third location of its "Consumer Electronics Playground" stores.

The stores feature concierges that greet customers when they walk in, assessing what a customer may need or want for his or her home and guiding the customer through demonstrations in the store. Instead of wall displays of components like televisions and speakers, the playground stores are replicas of homes, complete with bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen, sports bar and deck displays that offer examples of how audio, video and lighting can all be integrated into a home and controlled from one location.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:47 AM | Comments (0)

Senior living firm Five Star swings to loss

Five Star Quality Care Inc., an operator of long-term care senior living facilities, said today that it swung to a loss in the second quarter, weighed by a charge for terminating some management pacts.

Quarterly loss totaled $87.2 million, or $2.82 per share, compared to a profit of $1.2 million, or 10 cents per share during the same period last year.

Results include an $89.8 million charge for the termination of 10 management agreements with Sunrise Senior Living Inc. Excluding this, income from continuing operations was 12 cents per share.

Revenue at the company, based in Newton, grew 10 percent to $196.7 million, from $178.4 million last year. Occupancy was 91 percent, compared to 90 percent during the same period last year. The average daily rate grew 7 percent to $132, from $124 last year. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:05 AM | Comments (0)

Biogen to collaborate with Amorfix on ALS

Biotech company Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. said Thursday it struck a research and investment deal with Cambridge-based Biogen Idec.

The Toronto company said the deal with Biogen includes an option to license the exclusive worldwide rights to Amorfix's technology to develop and commercialize therapeutic treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a neurodegenerative condition also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Under the deal, Biogen Idec will spend $375,000 US to buy 289,187 Amorfix common shares at $1.46 each, taking a minority stake in the Canadian company.

The Biogen has options to buy more shares, while Amorfix would get upfront payments, royalties and other benefits from the licensing agreement, Amorfix said.

If the option is exercised, Biogen Idec would be responsible for completing preclinical and clinical development, regulatory approvals, manufacturing and commercialization of any new drugs. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)

Earnings up at Northeast Utilities; divestment plans continue

Northeast Utilities, which runs New England's largest energy delivery system, reported Thursday that it earned $22.2 million in the second quarter as it made progress in divesting its competitive energy businesses.

The earnings were 14 cents per share for the three months ending June 30, compared with a loss of $27.7 million, or 21 cents per share, during the same quarter last year.

Berlin, Connecticut-based NU announced last year that it would divest itself of its competitive businesses and focus on its regulated transmission, distribution and generation operations.

NU delivers energy to nearly 2 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Its regulated businesses include Connecticut Light & Power Co., Yankee Gas Service Co., Public Service Company of New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

August 3, 2006

Restaurateur gives away free food in Virgin Atlantic promo

Boston chef and entrepreneur Todd English is giving away free food at his restaurants as part of a promotion for Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

English promises a free appetizer per table to people who walk into one of his restaurants and mention "The London Shuttle," Virgin's name for its daily flights from Logan International Airport to London, between now and Oct. 20. The promotion applies at English eateries Olives, KingFish Hall, and all three locations of Figs.

The offer is part of a larger marketing campaign promoting the 20th anniversary of Virgin's Boston-to-London flights.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Boston chef Todd English's restaurants are participating in a Virgin Atlantic promotion.
Patricia McDonnell for The Boston Globe

Posted by globebusiness at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)

Viisage's second-quarter loss widens

Viisage Technology Inc., which makes identification systems such as facial recognition technology, said today its second-quarter loss widened as costs grew, despite higher sales.

The Billerica-based company posted a loss of $1.6 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss of $500,000, or 3 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. The most recent quarter's results included stock options costs of $800,000. Sales rose 24 percent to $24.9 million from $20.1 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 5 cents per share on sales of $27.5 million. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)

Boston-New York airfare price war could be brewing

US Airways Group said today that it had lowered fares on its hourly shuttle between New York and Boston, a route analysts say could see a low-fare battle between US Airways and JetBlue Airways.

US Air said it cut prices by 54 percent on 14-day advance purchase tickets on the shuttle route, to as low as $100 for a round trip. The airline offers 16 round-trip flights a day from New York's LaGuardia International Airport and Boston's Logan International Airport.

"I think this is very tactical, and it's addressing the price sensitive academic communities in New York and Boston," said airline consultant Robert Mann.

He noted that the 14-day advance purchase requirement excludes many business travelers who book on short notice.

Mann said US Air's fare cut seems to be a shot at low-cost carrier JetBlue, which last week announced fall fare sales, including one on its popular New York-to-Boston service.

U.S. airlines have boosted revenue this year by cutting costs, restricting capacity and raising fares. As a result, major carriers have posted their first quarterly profits in years.

Mann said the fare sales do not represent a significant departure from the trend toward higher fares. Rather they reflect the end of the peak summer travel season, when carriers typically lower fares, he said. (Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

Disappointing sales of heart medication for African-Americans reported

Shares of NitroMed Inc. tumbled 22 percent today as the maker of a heart-failure medication approved only for use by African-Americans continued to report disappointing sales and withdrew an earlier forecast that the year-old drug would post $20 million in sales this year.

NitroMed's stock took the hit even as the company reported its second-quarter loss narrowed, falling from $22.6 million a year ago to $18.3 million. Lexington-based NitroMed also said it continues to persuade more pharmacy benefit managers to increase reimbursement for the drug BiDil and reduce patient co-payments.

But NitroMed withdrew its early May projection of $20 million in BiDil sales this year. Kenneth Bate, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said the company won't make a forecast "at least until we are able to base such a projection on more consistent trends" in BiDil reimbursement and sales force productivity.

When BiDil was approved last summer as the first medication approved for use in a specific racial group, some analysts had projected sales would approach $200 million as soon as 2007.

But estimates have steadily been cut as BiDil has failed to gain sales momentum, causing NitroMed's stock to plunge from its high of $27.99 in February 2005, when expectations for BiDil were high in advance of its launch. On Thursday, shares were at their lowest level since NitroMed's stock began trading in November 2003. Shares fell 83 cents to $2.92 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

BiDil's launch has been closely watched because it's expected to help usher in an era of so-called "personalized" medicine in which treatments are increasingly tailored to individuals' genetic make-ups. NitroMed's unique marketing approach has included homespun-style pitches at predominantly African-Americans churches and African-Americans health fairs.

NitroMed says BiDil prescriptions in the second quarter rose 20 percent from the first quarter, compared with faster 50 percent growth in the first quarter.

Two pharmacy benefit managers, Medco and Caremark, recently agreed to grant preferred status for BiDil. The moves reduced many patients' monthly copays from $50 or more per month to $15 to $25 -- making the drug more affordable for patients, many of whom are low-income.

As of July 1, 45 percent of U.S. blacks over the age of 45 had access to BiDil at a copay of $25 or less, compared with 30 percent two months earlier, the company said.

NitroMed's second-quarter revenue -- all from BiDil sales -- rose to $2.9 million compared with about $400,000 in the last year's second quarter, when all of NitroMed's revenue came from licensing fees.(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

Profits flat at Marsh & McLennan; Putnam Investments unit declines

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., the nation's largest insurance brokerage, today said its profits were flat in the second quarter on weakness in European sales and human resources consulting.

The earnings were well below what Wall Street analysts had expected and the company's stock sank $1.85, or about 7 percent, to $25.04 -- below its previous 52-week low of $25.33 -- in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The New York-based brokerage said it earned $172 million, or 31 cents per share, in the April-June period, up slightly from the $166 million, or 31 cents a share, it reported a year earlier.

Special items cut second-quarter earnings by 5 cents a share, while stock options accounting reduced income by 3 more cents, the company said.

Revenue was $2.98 billion, even with a year earlier.

Marsh & McLennan has been struggling with profitability since it was forced to change its operating procedures after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in 2004 accused it of bid rigging, price fixing and the use of hidden incentive fees to steer property and casualty insurance contracts.

In January 2005, the company agreed to pay $850 million in restitution over several years to settle the allegations. It also pledged to reform its commission practice, which has lowered quarterly revenue.

Revenues at Putnam Investments, the company's investment arm, declined 10 percent to $339 million; average assets under management were $185 billion, down from $196 billion in the second quarter of 2005.

Boston-based Putnam was the first company accused of wrongdoing in a 2003 scandal over mutual fund trading practices that eventually enveloped much of the industry. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:18 PM | Comments (0)

Verizon jilts New Hampshire for New Jersey

Verizon Communications Inc. is delaying entry into New Hampshire's cable television market to focus on New Jersey, a spokeswoman says.

Jill Wurm said this week that the company has sent equipment and franchise negotiators intended for New Hampshire to New Jersey, where a single franchise agreement can be negotiated at the state level.

Verizon would have to negotiate with each of the 23 New Hampshire communities in which it has installed fiber optic cable and pay them a franchise fee.

"So, since that's the mode of operation in New Hampshire, everything...got reallocated," Wurm said.

Since 2004, the telecommunications giant has spent billions of dollars across the country laying fiber optic cable to create a platform to offer telephone, Internet and cable television service.

She said Verizon could reinvest in New Hampshire as soon as six months from now but said she couldn't guarantee any timeline.

"We're disappointed," said lawyer Robert Ciandella, who had been negotiating with Verizon on behalf of Salem, N.H. "We were trying to...conduct a very effective franchise negotiation."

His firm, Donahue, Tucker and Ciandella of Exeter, was negotiating on behalf of five other New Hampshire towns, Ciandella said.

Salem held a hearing last spring to give public officials and residents an opportunity to discuss the town's need for cable access. Verizon then had 30 days to submit a proposal and begin negotiations. The company never started the process and instead notified Ciandella it wouldn't pursue a franchise. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

Vertex Pharma to swap notes for stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that three holders of its 5.75 percent convertible senior subordinated notes due 2011 will exchange them for common stock.

The trade involves $58.3 million worth of notes for 4.1 million common shares. That amounts to about 159,000 more shares than when the bonds were convertible under their original term. The exchanges are expected to be completed by Aug. 9.

After the deal is completed, the principle amount of the notes outstanding will be reduced to $59.6 million, and outstanding common stock will total 115 million shares. Vertex will see a $5 million charge during the third quarter as a result of the exchanges.

Shares of Vertex fell 11 cents to $32.24 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

Liberty Mutual revenue increases, net income falls

Boston insurer Liberty Mutual Group said today that it earned $323 million in the second quarter, down 35 percent from $500 million during the same period last year.

Though the company's revenue grew 14 percent to more than $6 billion, it said net income decreased due to lower realized capital gains and an increase in federal and foreign tax payments. For the last several years, Liberty has used tax credits and allowances from a large loss in 2001 to offset tax payments, but those offsets have been used up.

Liberty also posted other signs of growth: Net written premium in the second quarter increased 20.9 percent to $5.3 billion, with strong growth in several categories, including workers' compensation insurance, homeowners' insurance, and group disability. Net written premiums in the company's international businesses grew by 31.9 percent to $1.2 billion. Also during the quarter, Liberty Mutual signed an agreement with Sert Holding A.S. to acquire a majority interest in Seker Sigorta A.S., a mid-sized property and casualty insurer located in Turkey. It expects the deal to close later this year.

"We are very pleased with our results," Liberty's chief executive, Edmund F. Kelly, said in a statement. He added: "While market conditions are competitive, we are still able to take advantage of the attractive margins we see in most lines of business."

Liberty Mutual is not a publicly traded company, but voluntarily reports earnings. It is the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States.
(By Sasha Talcott, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

Kronos gets more credit

Kronos Inc., the Chelmsford human resources software company that yesterday completed the buyout of a Beaverton, Ore. rival, is getting a $100 million credit package from Citizens Bank of Massachusetts to help it with the deal.

Kronos bought Unicru Inc., which makes software that helps companies in their hiring process, for $150 million in cash. That deal closed yesterday after its announcement in July.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

Global Partners expands its credit line

Global Partners LP, a Waltham heating fuel wholesale distributor, refinanced its bank line of credit to give itself access to $100 million more cash.

The company's revolving line of credit, put together by 11 banks including Bank of America, Sovereign Bank and TD Banknorth Inc., increased to $600 million from $500 million. The credit facility includes $550 million for working capital, $35 million for acquisitions and $15 million for general administration expenses.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

Profits up at CVS

Drug store chain CVS Corp. said today that its second-quarter profit rose 23 percent on solid sales growth, improved margins and greater cost controls.

Net income grew to $334.4 million, or 40 cents per share, from $272.4 million, or 33 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 16 percent to $10.56 billion from $9.12 billion in the prior year.

Quarterly same store sales, or sales at stores open at least on year, grew 8.8 percent, with same-store pharmacy sales up 9.1 percent, and front-end same store sales -- or non-pharmacy sales-- rising 8.1 percent for the quarter.

CVS attributed its results to strong sales growth across all markets in both the retail and the pharmacy, as well as improved operating efficiencies. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:32 AM | Comments (0)

Cash registers ringing at TJX

TJX Companies Inc., which sells discount apparel and home goods at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other stores, today said July same-store sales increased 4 percent.

Same-store sales are from stores open at least a year and are considered the best measure of a retailer's health.

Total sales for the month grew 9 percent to $1.2 billion, from $1.1 billion a year ago.

Year-to-date, same-store sales grew 3 percent, while total sales rose 8 percent to $7.9 billion, from $7.3 billion a year ago.

Based on July's performance, TJX said it now expects second-quarter earnings slightly above the high end of its previously stated guidance of 24 cents to 26 cents per share. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)

Red ink at Cabot

Net income dropped by 3.8 percent despite a 22.2 percent revenue increase in its fiscal third quarter for Cabot Corp., a Boston specialty chemicals company that makes, among other things, colored ink for computer printers.

Cabot reported a net income of 25 million, or 37 cents per share in the quarter, which ended June 30, on revenues of $666 million. That compares to a $26 million, or 39 cents per share, profit on revenues of $545 million for the same quarter a year ago.

In a statement regarding the earnings, Cabot chief executive officer Kennett F. Burnes attributed the weaker results to higher utility costs, increased maintenance expenses at its Japan unit and an inventory reduction plan that led to higher per-item manufacturing costs.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:15 AM | Comments (0)

Income improves at Senior Housing Properties Trust

Senior Housing Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust, today reported improved second-quarter results as the company generated higher income from its assisted-living communities.

Funds from operations -- a key performance measure used by the real estate sector -- grew to $27.8 million, or 39 cents per share, from $25.9 million, or 38 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. FFO adds depreciation and amortization expenses and other non-operating items back to net income.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast FFO of 39 cents per share.

Net income fell to $12.7 million, or 18 cents per share, from $15 million, or 22 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

Revenue rose to $41.3 million from $39.6 million a year ago, as the company booked higher rental income.

Senior Housing owns 188 senior living properties in 32 states. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:55 AM | Comments (0)

BJ's reports a good July

Warehouse retail chain BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. reported today that sales in stores open at least one year -- a closely watched performance gauge called same-store sales -- rose 1.9 percent in July.

Wall Street had forecast a same-store sales rise of 3.4 percent, the average of 13 analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Total July sales rose 5.4 percent to $613.3 million.

On a same-store basis, BJ's said merchandise sales fell 2 percent, with apparel, books and DVDs among the weaker categories. Food sales rose 2 percent. Gasoline sales contributed 1.1 percent of the monthly same-store sales increase.

For the second quarter ended July 29, total sales rose 5.7 percent to $2.1 billion, while same-store sales increased 1.8 percent.

In the fiscal year to date, sales advanced 6 percent to $3.97 billion, while same-store sales rose 1.9 percent.

For August, the company expects sales at clubs open at least one year to increase 1 to 2 percent, with gas sales contributing up to half a percentage point of that increase. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:51 AM | Comments (0)

Talbots sales up

Clothing retailer The Talbots Inc. said today that same-store sales rose 1.3 percent in the second quarter.

Same-store sales or sales in stores open at least one year, are a widely used retail industry gauge of performance.

Same-store sales for the Talbots brand rose 3 percent while J. Jill brand same-store sales dropped 8.2 percent, below company expectations.

Revenue was $571.4 million, including a 4 percent revenue jump for Talbots, to $403.7 million from $388.8 million last year, and $73.1 million for J. Jill, which was acquired in May.

The company affirmed second-quarter earnings guidance of a loss of 10 cents to 8 cents, including 18 cents per share in costs and adjustments related to the J. Jill acquisition. Analysts are looking for a loss of 9 cents per share.

Talbots plans to release full second-quarter results on Aug. 16.

Shares closed down 4 cents at $20.29 in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:46 AM | Comments (0)

Romney signs bill speeding up permitting process for businesses

Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday signed legislation that business leaders and state officials said will make Massachusetts more attractive to growing businesses, as well as add jobs.

The bill is intended to cut the time it takes for businesses to get permits to set up shop in Massachusetts. Under the new law, communities will be able to select certain sites for expedited permitting and cities and towns will agree to complete the permitting process in 180 days.

"For too long, the burdensome permitting process has been a barrier to job growth," Romney said at a Statehouse news conference, flanked by business and government officials. "By cutting the red tape, we will spur job growth and give employers and communities greater control over where they want to locate business."

State officials have said Massachusetts hasn't been able to compete with other states like North Carolina and Texas for new manufacturing facilities because of the complex permitting process.

"By fixing our antiquated permitting system, we're giving companies the opportunity to grow and add jobs in Massachusetts," said Rep. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, chairman of the Joint Committee of Labor and Workforce Development.

Secretary of Economic Development Ranch Kimball disputed concerns that the speedier permitting process would mean environmental restrictions would be compromised.

"In the core of this bill we don't in any way ever affect or lower standards," Kimball said.

Last week, Sen. Dianne Wilkerson staged a filibuster before Senate passage of the bill because it didn't include an amendment on environmental justice that she said would provide health protections for communities with a high concentration of polluting facilities. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:21 AM | Comments (0)

IBM to buy MRO Software for $740 million

IBM, the world's biggest technology services company, said today it agreed to buy MRO Software Inc. for $740 million as it expands its profitable software business.

International Business Machines Corp. said in a statement it would pay $25.80 per share for Bedford-based MRO Software and expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. (Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)

August 2, 2006

American Airlines to end Boston to Shannon, Ireland flights

American Airlines said it will phase out its daily flights from Logan International Airport to Shannon, Ireland, Oct. 28, replacing them with an expanded service from its Chicago hub through Dublin.

"It's essentially an economic decision" aimed at operating fuller, more profitable flights, American spokesman Ned Raynolds said.

American is the biggest carrier at Logan by passenger volume. American has flown one-class Boeing 757s from Logan to Shannon and will use larger, two-class Boeing 767s on the Chicago-Ireland service.

(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:16 PM | Comments (0)

Drug made in goat milk gets European approval

A Framingham biotechnology company today won final approval from European regulators to sell a drug made in the milk of genetically altered goats. GTC Biotherapeutics Inc. said the European Commission has approved ATryn, an injectable anti-clotting drug that replaces a blood protein missing in some people. GTC expects to begin selling ATryin next year with its partner, LEO Pharma A/S, and plans to apply for United States approval after further tests are completed. Although relatively few people have the hereditary disorder that ATryin treats, the company hopes this first approval will pave the way for more biotechnology drugs to be produced in its herd of recombinant goats in central Massachusetts.
(By Stephen Heuser, Globe staff)

At its farm in central Massachusetts, GTC Biotherapeutics makes a drug in the milk of genetically altered goats. (Globe file photo)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:54 PM | Comments (0)

It's official: Massport taps Kinton as new CEO

Directors of the Massachusetts Port Authority board tapped a 30-year agency aviation professional, Thomas J. Kinton Jr., to serve as Massport's chief executive.

The appointment of Kinton, who had been serving as acting chief executive last month since Craig P. Coy resigned to take a private-sector job, drew widespread praise, including from some strong Massport critics.

"This is an excellent choice,'' said John A. Vitagliano, a Winthrop business consultant and community activitist who has battled Massport expansion plans for 30 years and was named by former governor Michael S. Dukakis to two terms on the Massport board.

Although Vitagliano is currently lobbying against Kinton-backed Massport plans for a new $200 million taxiway community critics contend will bring jet fumes and noise far closer to Winthrop and Orient Heights, Vitagliano said, "Tom's a first-rate manager and extraordinarily knowledgeable. This is a step in the right direction.''

Massport's board unanimously voted to sign Kinton to a five year, $255,000-a-year contract, the same pay Coy was getting when he resigned to take a senior executive position with L-3 Communications Inc., a satellite communications and security technology company.

Kinton said he does not envision making any major changes at Massport, which runs Logan International Airport, Hanscom Airport, the Worcester airport, Boston's seaport and waterfront development parcels, and the Tobin Memorial Bridge.

"I don't believe in changing things for the sake of changing things,'' Kinton said in an interview.

Speaking to three dozen top Massport officials after they gave him a standing ovation after the vote, Kinton said: "One good thing about this is we hit the ground running. There is no learning curve. I know you, you know me, and we know what the agenda is.''

(By Peter Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)

Tax holiday coming -- August 12 and 13

Massachusetts shoppers will get a reprieve from the state's 5 percent sales tax next weekend. Gov. Mitt Romney signed a bill repealing the levy on Aug. 12 and 13 for purchases of $2,500 or less.

The tax would still apply to cars, boats and tobacco. The state had its first, one-day tax-free day in 2004, which was extended to two days last year.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

Oppenheimer & Co. charged in connection with alleged bilking of Fall River couple

A well known investment banking firm is being charged in connection with the alleged bilking of $350,000 from the accounts of an elderly Fall River couple.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. was charged today by Commonwealth Secretary William F. Galvin in the case, which also includes fraud charges against an Oppenheimer broker, Stephen J. Toussaint. Toussaint, according to Galvin's office, stole $350,000 from the account of William and Doris Pitera, even as William Pitera became ill and eventually succumbed. The broker, Galvin charges, deposited the money in his own bank account.

The Piteras had an account with Oppenheimer once valued at as much as $2.9 million, and while Doris Pitera told her broker she did not want the securities bought with their money actively traded, Toussaint allegedly made frequent trades on the account, racking up hundreds of thousands in commissions for his firm. He is also accused of forging 19 checks from the account. Oppenheimer is accused of lax oversight of its employee.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)

Fidelity to open new facility in North Carolina

Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund company, plans to spend $100 million to build a new facility in Wake County that will employ 2,000 workers, Gov. Mike Easley said today.

Fidelity already has about 1,000 employees at the massive Research Triangle Par, and Easley said the new jobs will pay an average annual salary of at least $58,400 plus benefits. It was not immediately clear if the jobs are new positions, or would move from another of Boston-based Fidelity's locations.

The company will receive a large combination of state incentives, worth nearly $60 million dollars over 12 years should Fidelity create all the jobs it has promised, Easley said.

Fidelity employs about 38,000 people at its headquarters and offices nationwide. The company had $2.6 trillion in customer assets of May 31, including more than $1.3 trillion under management. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

MTV buys Boston college publisher

A Boston company that runs 450 online college newspapers said today that it has been bought by a unit of MTV Networks.

Y2M: Youth Media & Marketing Networks was acquired by mtvU, MTV's college broadcasting and marketing arm for an undisclosed sum. The Boston-based firm uses 7,000 student journalists who find and write original stories that are then read by more than 2 million registered users of its web sites. MTV plans to use the company to better target students in local markets with content and advertising.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

Report: Boston workers more concerned about layoffs

Boston workers generally enjoy their jobs but are concerned about their personal finances. They also believe in greater numbers that their employers are likely to slash jobs, according to the latest monthly report on employee confidence here and in 10 other major cities.

The Hudson Employment Index measures the confidence of workers who respond to five questions about their job prospects, satisfaction and personal finances. The index for Boston stood at 97.7 in June, on a scale that starts at 100 and moves higher or lower depending on the level of confidence of workers here compared to the other cities measured.

Among the June findings: 21 percent or Boston workers said they expect their companies to slash jobs in the next few months, the highest level ever measured in the study, which polled about 9,000 workers nationally. The index also measures workers' attitudes in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Tampa, Fla. and New York.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)

Profits rise at Hospitality Properties Trust

Second quarter profit climbed by 58 percent at Newton-based Hospitality Properties Trust.

The real estate investment firm posted net income of $35.4 million, or 47 cents per share, versus $22.4 million or 30 cents per share for the same quarter in 2005. The improved profit came on revenues that increased 24 percent in the quarter as hotel rates climbed. The company's average revenue per room -- a statistic that measures how much money a company takes in on each of its rooms per night -- grew by 11 percent in the quarter.

Hospitality Properties Trust owns 308 hotels, 13 in Massachusetts.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)

Procter & Gamble's profits grow 36%, helped by Gillette business

Procter & Gamble Co. said today its fourth-quarter profit grew 36%, as price increases helped boost revenue.

Quarterly profit was $1.9 billion, or 55 cents a share, up from $1.39 billion, or 52 cents a share, during the same period last year.

The latest results include a dilution of between 6 cents and 8 cents a share from the company's acquisition of Gillette.

Revenue climbed 25% to $17.84 billion from $14.26 billion last year. Organic sales, which exclude the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign exchange, increased 8%.

Sales results were helped by price increases across several segments and the addition of the Gillette business acquired late last year. In addition, unit volume grew 23%, or 6% excluding newly acquired or former businesses.

Beauty unit sales grew 9% to $5.44 billion, helped by growth from the company's Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Oil of Olay and other brands. Health Care sales jumped 35% to $1.97 billion, bouyed by adding the Gillette Oral Care business. Household care sales grew 9% to $4.35 billion, helped by price increases and gains from brands including Tide and Ariel.

Baby care and family care sales grew 4% to $3.08 billion, as price increases in the U.S. and Western Europe offset rising commodity and energy costs.

Sales at the division that markets pet health, snacks and coffee products grew 2% to $1.11 billion as a double-digit earnings increase in snacks offset a decrease in coffee and pet health.

For the year, profit grew 25% to $8.68 billion, or $2.64 a share, from $6.92 billion, or $2.53 a share, last year. Revenue gained 20% to $68.22 billion from $56.74 billion last year.

The company expects fiscal 2007 earnings to be between $2.96 a $3 a share, including a dilution of 12 cents to 18 cents due to Gillette. Sales are expected to grow 8% to 11% from 2006 levels. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:12 AM | Comments (0)

Massport board selects Kinton as new chief executive officer

The Massachusetts Port Authority board has decided to make Thomas J. Kinton Jr., the agency's longtime aviation chief, the permanent chief executive officer, replacing Craig Coy, according to a top Statehouse aide.

Kinton has been serving as acting CEO since Coy's resignation became official July 1. His appointment was to be made permanent at a board meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning, said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the board wanted to release the news.

Board Chairman John Quelch, a professor at Harvard Business School, notified various state and city political officials on Tuesday night, said the aide and others close to those notified, but Quelch refused to either confirm the news or knock it down when contacted Wednesday by The Associated Press.

"I can't comment on it at all until the board meeting," Quelch said.

The Statehouse aide said that Kinton met last week with Gov. Mitt Romney "as the final step in the selection process." (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:07 AM | Comments (0)

Monotype Imaging buys German font company

Monotype Imaging Inc., a Woburn company that designs fonts for computer software and printing, said today that it has bought Linotype GmbH, a Bad Homburg, Germany, font company. Linotype is the company that created popular fonts like Helvetica and Optima. Its operations will remain in Germany.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:03 AM | Comments (0)

August 1, 2006

Study: Hub firms scrimping a bit on raises

Boston employers are increasing the budgets from which they give employee raises by a fraction less than the national average.

Raise budgets in Boston are expected to grow by 3.7 percent in Boston this year, compared with 3.8 percent for the rest of the country, according to a study by WorldatWork, a national organization for human resources professionals. The study said 92 percent of employees nationally can expect a raise this year, but those in line for merit raises will fare better than those due cost-of-living increases.

Merit raises, the study says, will average 3.5 percent, while cost-of-living adjustments will be a slimmer 2.8 percent on average.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:05 PM | Comments (0)

Toronto company snaps up Boston firm that is developing glaucoma treatments

Toronto healthcare company OccuLogix Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SOLX Inc., a privately held Boston company developing glaucoma treatments.

OccuLogix said the move is part of its previously announced diversification plans focusing on age-related eye diseases. SOLX has developed the DeepLight Glaucoma Treatment system, a next-generation treatment platform "that has the potential to change the current approach to glaucoma therapy," it said.

OccuLogix will acquire SOLX by way of a merger of SOLX and a newly incorporated OccuLogix unit. It said it will provide SOLX with a $240,000 bridge loan and expects the transaction to be completed within the next 31 days. At closing, OccuLogix will issue 8.4 million common shares and pay $7 million in cash. It will make additional payments of $3 million and $5 million in cash on the first and second anniversaries of the closing, respectively. If SOLX receives final U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the marketing and sale of the DeepLight GMS product on or prior to Dec. 31, 2007, OccuLogix will pay an additional $5 million. (Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:46 PM | Comments (0)

Housing slump deepens in second quarter

The slump in Massachusetts' housing market deepened in the second quarter as sales of single-family homes dropped to their lowest level in 11 years and prices dipped, a firm that tracks real estate transactions said today.

The slowdown extended to the state's condominium market, where the number of sales for April through June fell 10.9 percent compared with a year ago, according to the Warren Group, a Boston-based publisher of regional real estate data and other financial information.

Single-family homes sales fell 11.7 percent in the second quarter to 15,857, the lowest second-quarter figure since 12,978 homes were sold from April through June in 1995. The second quarter is traditionally the second-highest sales period of the year behind the third quarter.

Massachusetts' 13-year run of double-digit percentage increases in single-family home prices ended last year. This year, prices have begun to slowly decline amid a growing glut of unsold homes and rising mortgage rates. The median price fell 2.9 percent to $340,000 in the second quarter.

"That slowdown, though, is a market correction, leading to a soft landing and not a plummet in prices," said Timothy Warren, chief executive of the Warren Group.

The slowdown has been less severe in the condo market, which posted a median price increase of 0.7 percent in the second quarter to $285,000 despite the nearly 11 percent decline in condo sales. And the second-quarter condo sales total of 9,028 was the second-highest on record for any April-June period, falling short only of last year's 10,113 condo sales.

Hampshire County posted the state's biggest percentage increase in second-quarter single-family home sales at 3.9 percent, while Barnstable (down 18.1 percent) and Essex (down 14.2 percent) posted the biggest declines.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors is scheduled to report statewide second-quarter housing data on Aug. 15. The association's report is based on sales recorded in Realtor-affiliated Multiple Listing Services. The Warren Group draws its data from sales logged by registries of deeds -- figures that include some for-sale-by-owner and estate sale transactions not included in the association's numbers. (AP)

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Americans believe they can bargain hunt to maintain lifestyle

Half the country believes that swelling gasoline prices aren't anywhere near done rising yet, according to a new survey from the Boston Consulting Group.

Forty-eight percent of the adults who responded to the study said they believe gas could hit $5.50 per gallon on average. That's caused three quarters of Americans to cut back on their spending or change their habits recently, the study said.

But that doesn't mean the country is ready to abandon its consumerism completely: another three-quarters of the survey's respondents said they're still confident they can maintain their current lifestyle, even with gas prices skyrocketing. That's because, the research said, 82 percent of them believe they're great bargain hunters who can find the cheapest price for an item when they need or want something new.

Boston Consulting Group, a Boston-based consumer and economic research firm, interviewed 1,020 US adults for the study.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

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Massachusetts more confident

Business confidence in Massachusetts rebounded last month as concerns about inflation and interest rates moderated, Associated Industries of Massachusetts reported. AIM's business confidence index rose to 55.4 in July from 53.2 in June. Confidence is considered important because firms are more likely to expand and hire when they are optimistic. A reading over 50 is considered optimistic.

July's 2.2 point gain recovered only part of a decline in June, when unsettling news about inflation and interest rates drove the index down 4.3 points from May. July's confidence level is also 2.4 points lower than a year ago, when the index read 57.8. For the most part, AIM said, the index has held pretty steady in the last year, reflecting a moderately positve outlook. In July, employers were more optimistic about national conditions than Massachusetts'. The index measuring the national outlook jumped 8.2 points to 57.4, while the Massachusetts index advanced one-tenth, to 50.1.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

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Archemix gets R&D infusion

Archemix Corp., a Cambridge drug development firm, said a partner company will pay $4 million up front and contribute at least $5 million towards the research and development of a new category of treatments being worked on by the firm.

The company is working with Nuvelo Inc. of San Carlos, Calif., to develop treatments involving aptamers, which are chemical antibodies that can inhibit other, harmful chemicals in the body from producing disease. Under the deal, Nuvelo will make an initial $4 million payment to Archemix and then spend at least $5 million on the company's aptamer research. Nuvelo has also agreed to invest as much as $10 million in Archemix should the company go public.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

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Verizon profit falls; plans to sell print phone directory business

Second-quarter profits fell 24 percent at Verizon Communications Inc., weighed down by labor and merger expenses, but the results exceeded most forecasts as the telephone company's cellular and broadband Internet businesses posted more strong growth.

The company also disclosed Tuesday there likely will be no deal to buy the remainder of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group PLC, which has told Verizon it expects to hold its 45 percent stake for at least the next few years. But even if Verizon won't need to raise tens of billions of dollars to buy the Vodafone stake, the company still plans to proceed with a spinoff or sale of its phone-book business.

New York-based Verizon earned $1.61 billion, or 55 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30. In the same period last year, before the acquisition of long-distance carrier MCI Inc., Verizon earned $2.11 billion, or 75 cents a share, a result padded by one-time gains from the sale of operations in Hawaii.

The Verizon CEO also disclosed that the company now sees a spinoff as the more likely route for the proposed divestiture of its print and online phone directories business, which will proceed even though there will be no pressing need for money to buy the rest of Verizon Wireless.

At Verizon Wireless, second-quarter revenues grew 18 percent to $9.26 billion, including a first-ever contribution of more than $1 billion from non-voice services such as ringtones, text messaging, e-mail and other data usage. Under accounting rules, all of the wireless operation's revenues are added to Verizon's revenue tally, rather than a share equal to its 55 percent ownership, because Verizon controls management of the business.

Verizon Wireless added 1.8 million customers in the quarter to finish with 54.8 million customers, second only to the 57.3 million subscribers at Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp.

The broadband operation added 440,000 subscribers to finish the quarter with 6.1 million.

That tally includes 375,000 subscribers for the critical new FiOS broadband service, a gain of 110,000 for the three months. FiOS is being delivered over the new fiber-optic lines that are replacing copper phone lines across Verizon's network -- an upgrade expected to cost up to $20 billion overall.

Verizon said it has now rewired the network in areas serving 4.5 million homes in 16 states, and that it remains on track for the year-end target of 6 million homes. The company said it has sold FiOS broadband service to about 12 percent of the homes in the markets where it is available.

The company did not, however, provide any update on the number of subscribers for the new FiOS TV service, a crucial element of the rationale behind the network upgrade, but which has not yet been launched in all FiOS markets. (AP)

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Lionbridge earnings roar

Lionbridge Technologies Inc., a Waltham company that translates software and digital media content into multiple languages, posted a 116.5 percent profit increase in the second quarter, to $3 million, or 5 cents per share net income compared with $2 million, or 3 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago. The results come on revenues that also more than doubled, to $110.5 million from $41.3 million in last year's second quarter.

The company also said it expects revenues of between $104 million to $108 million in the third quarter.

A spokeswoman for the company, Sara Buda, said its larger profit was primarily due to its acquisition of another company, Bowne Global Solutions, last year. The deal made Lionbridge better able to compete for business and lure clients, she said.

"“We’re just better positioned because we’re bigger," Buda said.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

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Brooks executives say restatement should bring "closure" to inquiries about backdating options

Executives at Brooks Automation Inc., a Chelmsford company that makes equipment for the semiconductor industry, expressed the hope today that a restatement of the company's financial performance will put behind it an episode in which a former chief executive made millions of dollars by backdating a stock option.

"Our hope is to achieve some degree of closure on these matters," said Edward C. Grady, the current chief executive, during a conference call this morning with Wall Street analysts.

Grady added, "We are pleased the process is over so we can get back to business."

Brooks' accounting practices are being scrutinized by regulators. Brooks executives declined to comment on the inquiries.

In a securities filing on Monday, Brooks said that it had understated options compensation expenses by $64.5 million. Brooks said it would record a $5.8 million noncash expense to represent the value of an option exercised by former chief executive Robert Therrien in 1999.

An inquiry by Brooks found that Therrien had misrepresented the facts in a way that allowed him to exercise the option after its expiration date.

During today's conference call, Brooks executives noted that nearly all the incidents involved in its earnings restatement occurred before 2002. Grady joined the company a year later and has formed a new management team.

A call to Brooks was not returned.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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Akamai to power Neurotic campaigns

Akamai Technologies Inc., a Cambridge company that develops methods to distribute music and movies digitally, said today it has formed a partnership with Neurotic Media, a company behind many ubiquitous retail media promotions.

Based in Atlanta, Neurotic makes deals with retailers, consumer products companies and media firms, getting the former involved in promoting the latest music and video releases. Its campaigns often include offers to consumers who buy a product to go online, enter a code and get a free movie or music download.

Under the deal, Neurotic will use Akamai's technology to facilitate those downloads and provide digital rights management for songs and videos made available in Neurotic campaigns. Financial details were not disclosed.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

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Matrix Partners invests in India

Matrix Partners, a Boston venture capital firm, said it has finished raising capital for a new $150 million fund to make targeted investments in India.

The Matrix India Fund is to be led by Avnish Bajaj, a former e-commerce entrepreneur in India whose company, Baazee.com, was bought by eBay Inc. He’ll be joined by venture capitalist Rishi Navani, a former managing director at WestBridge Capital Partners, an Indian firm with $350 million under management.

The fund will be based in Mumbai and will invest in consumer-oriented companies in the media, entertainment, travel and leisure and financial services sectors. (By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

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Analog Devices buys into digital radio and television

Chip maker Analog Devices Inc. said today that it closed its acquisition of Integrant Technologies Inc., a privately held Korean supplier of low-power radio tuners used for digital radio and digital television reception.

Under the terms of the deal, ADI paid $127 million in cash at the closing, and may pay an additional $33 million depending upon unspecified factors.

The company believes the acquisition may grow revenue by 1 percent in each of the next few quarters. ADI also expects to record charge of $12 million in the fourth quarter related to the acquisition. (AP)

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