Daily Business Update

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June 29, 2007

Sycamore lays off 46

Telecom network equipment maker Sycamore Networks Inc. said today that it will cut 46 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, as part of a realignment plan.

The company expects to take related charges of $4 million to $7 million, which will be recorded in the six months ending Oct. 27.

The cuts will be made across multiple areas of the company. After the layoffs, which are expected to be completed by the end of July, the company will have approximately 415 employees worldwide.

Sycamore said it is eliminating the positions in order to focus on growth opportunities, improve operational efficiency, and better capitalize on its acquisitions. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:38 PM | Comments (0)

Boston, Halifax cargo service starts

The Massachusetts Port Authority announced today new cargo service for the port of Boston.

Massport said that Eimskip, an Icelandic steamship company, is starting new direct service to the port of Boston from Halifax with the maiden voyage of the containership Simone J; the new service begins July 2 and will call at Conley Container Terminal in South Boston every Monday.

"This new call is a win for New England business because it gives importers and exporters more extensive international shipping options to the global marketplace," Mike Leone, port director for Massport, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:47 PM | Comments (0)

Nordblom buys Sun's Burlington campus

Nordblom Co. announced today its $212 million acquisition of the Burlington campus of Sun Microsystems Inc.

Nordblom is a commercial and multifamily real estate firm with offices in Burlington, Brookline, and Boston.

Headquartered in California, Sun Microsystems is a provider of network computing infrastructure solutions.

Jones Lang LaSalle, a Chicago-based real estate money management and services firm, represented Sun Microsystems in the transaction and procured the buyer, Nordblom said.

As part of the purchase, Sun Micorsystems entered into a long-term lease agreement to occupy 450,000 square feet of the 1.4 million square feet of buildings and undeveloped land involved in the transaction, said Nordblom, which will manage the property.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:51 PM | Comments (0)

Biogen CFO leaves for Merck

Biogen Idec Inc. said today that chief financial officer Peter Kellogg will leave the company to take a similar post at Merck & Co. Inc.

Biogen Idec of Cambridge develops drug products that address such diseases as lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis; Merck is a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company.

Biogen Idec said Kellogg would leave the company Aug. 10, adding that it will announce its plans regarding the chief financial officer's position over the next several weeks.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

Clean Harbors gets conservation award

Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc. said today it has received a conservation award for helping restore a Louisiana wildlife refuge damaged by hurricanes in 2005.

Headquartered in Norwell, Clean Harbors is provider of environmental and hazardous waste management services throughout North America.

The company said it received an award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for helping to restore the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Using equipment such as marsh draglines, marsh buggies, jib crane airboats, and pontoon barges, Clean Harbors said its crews collected items that ranged from 55-gallon drums to 20,000-gallon oil production tanks, and 30,000-gallon oilfield storage tanks.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

Vertex appoints 2 executives

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the appointments of Kurt Graves as executive vice president and Amit Sachdev as senior vice president.

The Cambridge company is expected to be soon introducing its first big drug, a treatment for hepatitis C.

Graves, who will also hold the title of chief commercial officer, will lead Vertex's strategic development and commercial functions as well as the business development group, the company said.

Sachdev will lead Vertex's public policy and government affairs activities; he will be based in Washington, D.C., where he will establish and manage the company's government affairs office, Vertex said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)

Harvard Square to be Hogwarts Square

Just when you thought you were safe from iPhone hysteria, a new hype hoo-ha about Harry Potter is heading your way, and helping to amp up the buzz is Harvard Square, which plans to briefly rename itself Hogwarts Square.

Hogwarts is the wizard school where Harry is enrolled, something that's hardly news to Potter buffs who are eagerly counting down the hours until just after midnight on July 21, when the seventh and supposedly final Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," goes on sale.

Some might think Harvard would be immune to a frenzy that has beguiled fourth graders and reportedly resulted in 1.4 million book "preorders" at online book-seller Amazon.co.uk, but they'd be wrong.

Not to be outdone by London, where author J.K. Rowling plans a midnight reading for her book's release date, Harvard Summer School and the Harvard Square Business Association are organizing "the most grand celebration of literature in Harvard history."

To association executive director Denise Jillson, a Potter-fest at Harvard Square is a no-brainer.

"'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' and the hallowed halls of Harvard," she said, connecting the dots.

The square's Potter gala is set for July 20, in the hours leading up to the book's release.

Plans call for a concert featuring such bands as Harry & the Potters, and there will be a scavenger hunt for owls, bats, and red stones at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, organizers said.

According to Jillson, Harvard Square is one of the rare venues that can handle such an event.

Yes, it's hard to imagine revels of such scope unfolding at Central Square, or even at Stanford University.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Inverness completes Biosite acquisition

Diagnostic device maker Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. today said it completed its acquisition of Biosite Inc., a medical diagnostic company, for $92.50 per share.

Inverness bid for the company against Beckman Coulter Inc. In March, Fullerton, Calif.-based Beckman, which makes biomedical laboratory instruments, said it would pay $1.55 billion, or $85 per share, for Biosite in a tender offer. The companies had a relationship spanning four years, collaborating on tests to diagnose heart illnesses.

But in early April, Inverness made an unsolicited bid of $90 per share. In early May, Beckman sweetened its offer to $90 per share after Biosite said it was considering the Inverness offer.

Inverness then increased its bid to $92.50 per share and Beckman bowed out of the bidding.

Biosite shares ceased trading at the close of business on Thursday and will be delisted from Nasdaq.

Inverness shares were unchanged at $51.63 in morning trading. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

CryoCor gains on deal with Boston Scientific

CryoCor Inc. shares jumped today after the company said it will collaborate with medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. to develop products that treat irregular heartbeat using extreme cold.

The companies will develop products to treat atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat. Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific agreed to buy $2.5 million in CryoCor stock in the deal, and could buy another $2.5 million based on development milestones.

CryoCor, based in San Diego, will also receive payments based on those milestones and future royalties.

"This agreement initiates a meaningful relationship between both entities, and increases the possibility for either a distribution agreement for a potential atrial fibrillation product or a more significant strategic relationship down the road," Roth Capital Partners analyst Matt Dolan wrote in a research note.

He rates the shares "Hold" and has $4 price target. The stock closed at $4.81 Thursday.

CryoCor stock rose $1.32, or 27 percent, to $6.13 in heavy morning trading. Shares have ranged between $1.25 and $7.35 in the last year.

Boston Scientific shares fell 6 cents to $15.44. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Private Financial prices notes

Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. said today it priced an offering of $250 million contingent convertible senior notes due 2027.

The company granted initial buyers of the notes a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $37.5 million notes.

The notes will be convertible into cash, Boston Private stock or a combination of cash and stock with an initial conversion price of $33.37 per share. The initial conversion prices is a 22.5 percent premium to Boston Private's closing price of $27.24 on Thursday.

The notes mature on July 15.

The company plans to use up to about $40 million in proceeds to buy back roughly 1.5 million shares. Proceeds of $30 million will be use to repay the expected outstanding balance on a credit line used to finance the Charter Financial acquisition, while the remainder of the proceeds will be used by banking affiliate partners to repay higher costing debt used to fund current loans outstanding and to fund future loan growth and investments.

The initial sale is expected to close Thursday. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)

Menino praises Roslindale Staples plans

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino praised a proposal to build a Staples office-supply store in Roslindale Village.

Such a store will "reinforce the community's strong economic appeal," Menino said in a statement.

Earlier the month, Staples, a Framingham-based retailer of office supplies, submitted plans for a $3 million project that will result in a building of roughly 19,000 square feet, Menino's office said.

Once approved by the BRA board, the store could start construction by the end of the year, Menino's office said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)

Panacos lands $20m in financing

Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has secured $20 million in debt financing.

The Watertown biotechnology company is focused on developing antiviral therapeutic products, and it said it has closed on a $20 million term loan agreement with Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc., a California firm that provides debt and equity growth capital to technology companies.

"This financing extends Panacos' cash runway in a relatively non-dilutive form and provides us with additional strategic flexibility as we continue to advance our pipeline of antiviral programs," Panacos chief executive Alan W. Dunton said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:49 AM | Comments (0)

EnjoyMyMedia launches beta site

EnjoyMyMedia of Concord launched a beta website this week where consumers can control who gets Internet access to their personal digital media content.

At the moment, consumers can post content on sites such as YouTube.com, where everyone from friends to total strangers can gawk at their photos and videos.

But EnjoyMyMedia thinks there's a "huge unmet void" for consumers who only want to share their content with a tight circle of family and friends, and the company believes it has figured out a feasible way to fill that void.

With EnjoyMyMedia, consumers can share personal files such as photos, videos, and audio content in "live, private Internet channels;" to ensure privacy, the content is password protected.

According to the company, its approach is so simple that even grandparents and people not technically proficient can use it, and one result is that a consumer can personally net-cast "the big and little moments in life," but net-cast it only to a tightly controlled list of people whom he or she cares about.

The service is designed to be free, with one revenue stream coming from companies advertising on the site; later this year, EnjoyMyMedia plans to let customers opt to pay fees, in the $5 to $10 a month range, for premium levels of service.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)

CBRE|Melody backs purchase of Wilmington building

The Boston office of CBRE|Melody said that it has arranged for $11.6 million in acquisition financing for the purchase and improvement of an industrial and manufacturing building in Wilmington.

The financing is for VinCo Properties Inc., a Boston-based real estate development company, CBRE|Melody said.

The financing was arranged through the Boston office of the Anglo Irish bank, and it includes future funds for tenant improvements and leasing commissions as well as for capital expenditures, CBRE|Melody said.

CBRE|Melody is a debt and equity placement unit of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., a commercial real estate services company headquartered in Los Angeles.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:34 AM | Comments (0)

Talbots picks Sullivan as chief executive

Talbots Inc. said today that Trudy F. Sullivan, a former president of Liz Claiborne Inc., will become chief executive of a company primarily known for classically styled women's clothing, effective Aug. 6.

Headquartered in Hingham, Talbots said that Sullivan, 57, will succeed Arnold B. Zetcher, who previously announced his intention to retire after 20 years with the company.

Zetcher will remain chairman of the board through March 31, and Sullivan, who will also hold the title of president, will become a member of Talbots' board, the company said.

"Trudy is the perfect person to build on Talbots legacy as the retail destination for the 35+ customer," Zetcher said in a statement, adding, "I look forward to working closely with Trudy to ensure a seamless transition."

Talbots operates nearly 1,400 stores, many of them under its own name and about 250 under the J. Jill brand name.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:43 AM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2007

Firms team up to treat irregular heartbeats

San Diego-based CryoCor Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp., of Natick, said they are collaborating on the development of cryoablation, or extreme cold, to treat irregular heartbeat, or cardiac arrhythmias.

The project will focus on most common type of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation. About 6 million patients have the affliction worldwide, and $9 billion is spent annually in the United States to treat it, the companies estimated.

CryoCor will be responsible for the development and possible manufacture of a cryoablation console to be used with Boston Scientific’s cyro-therapy balloon. Boston Scientific would make payments to CryCor based on development milestones and possible future royalties.

Additionally, Boston Scientific bought $2.5 million worth of CryoCor common stock and agreed to buy an additional $2.5 million in stock based on development milestones.
(AP)

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

Hull woman charged with embezzling

A Hull woman has been charged with embezzling nearly $600,000 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, money laundering, and tax evasion.

The Boston office of US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan charges that Lisa R. Delorey, 43, of 16 Bay St., formed a false company, Lane Development, to collect refund checks from the insurer.

Prosecutors said Lane Development was made to look like it had a self-insured health plan account, but Delorey cashed the refund checks for her personal use and did not report it as income.

If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine that could exceed $1 million.
(By Mark Pothier, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)

Marketing deal to give Coley at least $5m

Coley Pharmaceutical Group, of Wellesley, today said it will receive at least $5 million from Dynavax Technologies Corp. in return for rights to market an experimental vaccine.

Dynavax will have a nonexclusive license to commercialize Coley’s hepatitis B vaccine, Heplisav. The vaccine is currently in phase 3 clinical trials, and Coley expects to submit it to the Food and Drug Administration next year.

Coley is eligible for an additional $5 million payment upon US approval of the vaccine.

Shares of Coley fell 3 cents to $3.56.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:40 PM | Comments (0)

Caritas hospital deal is off

The Archdiocese of Boston's tentative deal to hand over its troubled Caritas Christi Health Care System to Ascension Health of St. Louis collapsed today after six months of research by Ascension showed the six-hospital chain was in worse financial shape than it expected.

Ascension, a Catholic chain that is the nation's largest nonprofit healthcare system, found large unfunded pension liabilities, rapid erosion in patient referrals, and continuing problems even after a Caritas Christi internal audit found the chain's physicians' group overstated revenue, according to hospital officials briefed on the situation.

Caritas Christi officials also wanted seats on Ascension's board of trustees, according to someone with knowledge of the situation. Ascension rejected the request.

In addition, Ascension unsuccessfully sought an agreement under which Archdiocese officials -- including Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley -- could have been held liable for any potential future problems related to the hospitals, such as financial shortfalls or environmental problems, according to a source close to the discussion.

"While we hoped to reach a definitive agreement, regrettably, after months of good faith efforts, we have collectively determined that is not possible and we have agreed not to pursue an affiliation," said the Archdiocese of Boston and Ascension Health in a statement.

The collapse of the deal leaves Caritas Christi in a vulnerable position.

"This is a blow to Caritas," said Ellen Lutch Bender, who runs a healthcare consultant firm in Boston. "With the history and issues

Caritas has faced, they need to align themselves with a partner. Caritas' ability to stabilize itself long-term in the absence of a merger or affiliation will be a struggle."

Ascension, formed in 1999, has 65 hospitals and other facilities in 20 states. The Caritas Christi system -- Massachusetts' second largest hospital chain -- has struggled in recent years in Eastern Massachusetts' increasingly competitive hospital environment. For example, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, an academic hospital affiliated with Tufts Medical School, is overshadowed by Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals in Boston.

The system also includes Carney Hospital in Dorchester, which has suffered significant losses in recent years despite receiving multi-million-dollar subsidies from the state. Other Caritas Christi hospitals include Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton; Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen; Saint Anne's Hospital of Fall River; and Caritas Norwood Hospital.

St. Elizabeth's, Carney and Holy Family are among the worst-performing hospitals in the Boston area, according to statistics compiled by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy. For the six months of the 2007 fiscal year ended March 31, St. Elizabeth's patient volume, measured by inpatient discharges, dropped by 5.5 percent. That follows a 7.5 percent drop, to 15,723 discharges, for fiscal year 2006.

Caritas Holy Family's inpatient volume dropped 5 percent during the first six months of 2007, after a drop 5.1 percent in the previous fiscal year. Carney Hospital's inpatient volume fell by 5.9 percent in the first half of 2007 after a drop of 2.9 percent in the previous fiscal year.

All of Caritas Christi's hospitals had fewer inpatients last year.

(By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)

Oni Medical secures $12.5m in financing

Oni Medical Systems Inc. reports that it has secured $12.5 million in funding.

The Wilmington maker of MRI systems plans to use the money to expand its product development and marketing efforts.

The funding round was led by Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners LP, a Milwaukee venture capital fund that focuses on healthcare and technology investments.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Rheumatoid arthritis treatment fails the test

CombinatoRX Inc. said today that it has discontinued one of its rheumatoid arthritis drugs in development, CRx-150.

The Cambridge pharmaceutical company said that tests to determine CRx-150's effectiveness as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, yielded mixed results.

"While we're pleased to see that this novel synergistic combination has demonstrated some clinical effect, it does not meet our target product profile and has been discontinued as a development program," chief executive Alexis Borisy said in a statement. "The level of activity observed with CRx-150 would not be competitive within the CombinatoRX product portfolio or the RA marketplace, as our lead RA product candidate, CRx-102, has demonstrated a much stronger clinical profile to date."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

IRobot partners with Taser

Taser International Inc. and iRobot Corp. of Burlington announced a strategic alliance today to develop a robotic capability that uses Taser technologies.

The combination will allow law-enforcement and military users to employ Taser-equipped iRobot platforms to "engage, incapacitate, and control dangerous suspects" from a safe distance, the companies said.

As the first step in this alliance, the two companies said they have integrated a Taser "electronic control device" into the iRobot PackBot Explorer.

PackBots are sometimes used by military personnel in war zones to detect and neutralize improvised explosive devices.

Taser is based in Arizona.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

Netezza plans IPO

Netezza Corp., which provides data warehouse appliances, plans to sell 9 million shares of its common stock in an initial public offering for an expected price between $9 and $11 per share.

The Framingham, Mass.-based company expects to raise $81.7 million from the IPO, based on an initial offering price of $10 per share.

Netezza said its product, the Netezza Performance Server, integrates database, server and storage platforms in a unit designed to enable detailed queries and analyses on large volumes of stored data. The company's competitors include EMC Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc.

In the three months ended April 30, the company reported losses after paying preferred dividends of $3.4 million on sales of $25.3 million.

Netezza plans to use the net proceeds repay $9.9 million in debt and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including product development, sales and marketing, capital expenditures and the costs of operating as a public company. Netezza said it may also use a portion of the net proceeds for possible acquisitions.

Credit Suisse Securities, Morgan Stanley, Needham & Co. and Thomas Weisel Partners are listed as underwriters for the offering. The company plans to offer the underwriters an option to buy up to 1.4 million additional shares to cover over-allotments.

The company plans to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NZ." (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

Casual Male wins $1.5m lawsuit

Casual Male Retail Group Inc., a retailer of big and tall men's apparel, said today that a jury awarded the company $1.5 million in a lawsuit against a former employee and competitor Westport Big & Tall.

Casual Male sued former staffer Robert Yarbrough and Westport Big & Tall, in a federal court in Massachusetts, alleging that Yarbrough violated his non-competition obligations to Casual Male and misappropriated the company's trade secrets.

The jury awarded the Casual Male $1.1 million in damages against Yarbrough and a further $400,000 in damages against Westport Big & Tall. Interest will accrue on the awards from 2005.

Casual Male also sued Cutter & Buck Inc., a competitor and supplier, along with Yarbrough in a separate case that is still pending in Massachusetts federal court.

Casual Male Retail Group operates 473 Casual Male XL retail and outlet stores, 25 Rochester Big & Tall stores, 12 Casual Male at Sears-Canada stores and a direct-to-consumer business.

Shares fell 16 cents to $10.43 during morning trading. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

Karen Kaplan promoted at Hill Holliday

Karen Kaplan, who joined Hill Holliday in 1982 as a receptionist, has been promoted to the position of president of the ad agency's national network, Hill Holliday chief executive Mike Sheehan said today.

Since 2002, Kaplan has been president of Hill Holliday's main Boston office; in her new role, agency offices in New York, Miami, and Greenville, S.C., will also report to her.

In January, agency cofounder Jack Connors stepped down as Hill Holliday chairman; in recent years, the agency was guided by Connors and chief executive Mike Sheehan.

Now Sheehan and Kaplan hold the top two positions, and Kaplan's promotion reflects that fact, an agency spokesman said.

Hill Holliday creates ads and provides marketing services to such clients as Bank of America Corp., CVS/pharmacy, and Dunkin' Donuts.

Hill Holliday is owned by the Interpublic Group of Cos., a New York company that owns numerous ad agencies and public-relations firms.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Margaritaville coming to Mohegan Sun

Jimmy Buffett at Fenway in 2004 (Globe photo)

High-rolling parrotheads and other fans of Jimmy Buffett will be happy to learn that a Buffett Margaritaville Restaurant is now part of Mohegan Sun's expansion plans.

Mohegan Sun, a casino complex in Uncasville, Ct., announced in November a $740-million expansion plan; at a ground-breaking ceremony today, casino officials were expected to disclose that a Margaritaville restaurant, replete with tiki huts and a "cheeseburger in paradise" menu entree, will be part of the mix, along with a previously announced 1,000-room hotel.

Part of the Buffett legend is that his love songs are not just about beautiful women, but also about stupefying slush drinks - a.k.a. the margarita.

To ensure that patrons don't suffer from tequila deficiencies, plans call for the restaurant to feature an eight-foot tall blender that fills with margaritas every hour, according to a publicist for the project.
(Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

D'Angelo's combines surf and turf

Taking fusion cuisine in a new direction, D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches today announced it has married its lobster roll with a grilled steak-and-cheese sandwich to create its first-ever surf-and-turf menu offering.

The Dedham-based restaurant chain said the Surf and Turf debuted this week as part of its "Summer Craving" campaign, which is supported by ads featuring Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.

At participating D'Angelo restaurants, the Surf and Turf is priced at $12.99, the chain said.

D'Angelo's parent company is Papa Gino's Holdings Corp., which also operates the Papa Gino's chain of pizzerias.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

FDA extends Momenta drug review

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today the Food and Drug Administration's review of its generic anti-blood clotting drug M-Enoxaparin is likely to take longer than it expected.

The news sent shares tumbling $1.67, or nearly 15 percent, to $9.65 in premarket trading, having closed Wednesday at $11.32. The stock is now indicated to open below its 52-week low of $10.40.

M-Enoxaparin is the generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' Lovenox. Momenta filed an abbreviated new drug application for the generic on Aug. 29, 2005, but said the review will probably last longer than the range of 18 to 24 months it originally expected. It did not say when it expects the process to end.

Momenta describes M-Enoxaparin as its most advanced product candidate. It said the review is progressing "satisfactorily," but the timing of parts of the review has changed. The company is developing the drug with Sandoz Inc., the generics unit of Novartis AG. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:39 AM | Comments (0)

AMSC gets $21.7m in federal funds

American Superconductor Corp. said today it could receive as much as $21.7 million in federal funding for work on power grid projects.

The Westborough company, which sometimes refers to itself as AMSC, focuses on energy technologies, and it said the funding will be provided by the US Department of Energy.

"We are delighted that the DOE has chosen AMSC to lead two superconductor projects in its initiative to modernize the US power infrastructure," company chief executive Greg Yurek said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:51 AM | Comments (0)

Shift wins 2 Bell Ringers

Shift Communications said today it has been awarded two Bell Ringer Awards by the Publicity Club of New England.

The public relations agency, which has offices in Boston, said one of the awards was for work on behalf of Ugobe Inc., a robot-technology company that seeks to transform inanimate objects into lifelike creatures, according to its website.

Shift was also cited for its work for Frucall Inc., a California-based software services firm focused on delivering personalized information from the Internet to users' mobile devices through a unified voice, text, and media interface.
(Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

Malden, Revere to share new fire station

Malden and Revere officials were scheduled to break ground today on a fire station that is believed to be the first in Massachusetts to have two communities sharing one building, the station's developers said.

The station will be built by developers Roseland Property Co. and Lennar Urban Northeast, which are collaborating on Overlook Ridge, a huge mixed-use project nearby.

The new fire station will house one engine from each community, the developers said.

Revere Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino and Malden Mayor Richard C. Howard were expected to be in attendance, along with other state and local officials, the developers said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:07 AM | Comments (0)

JetBlue launches service to San Diego, Aruba

JetBlue Airways kicks off another round of expansion with the Logan International Airport launch of service to two new destinations - San Diego and Aruba.

JebBlue said it will operate one daily nonstop flight to San Diego from Boston, beginning today.

On Saturday, the airline said it is set to launch one weekly nonstop flight, on Saturdays, to Aruba.

Beginning Nov. 5, flights to Aruba will expand to operate three times weekly - on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, JetBlue said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

June 27, 2007

State officials, lenders meet on foreclosures

The Patrick administration’s top housing officials met with nine mortgage lenders today about the foreclosure crisis.

Kofi Jones, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, called the 90-minute meeting a preliminary discussion of what the state and lenders can do to help ‘‘keep people in their homes.’’

A series of meetings is planned.

The nine lenders account for a significant share of the state’s residential mortgage market, Jones said.

Represented were Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo & Co.; Option One Mortgage; JPMorgan Chase; HSBC Finance; Countrywide Financial; CitiBank; Bank of New York; and GMAC’s Residential Capital subsidiary.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:49 PM | Comments (0)

Exact Sciences revises distribution deal

Exact Sciences Corp., a Marlborough developer of cancer tests, said it has revised an agreement with Laboratory Corp. to extend how long the company can exclusively distribute a colon cancer test.

Laboratory Corp. will be the sole distributor through 2010.

In exchange for the extended exclusivity, Labcorp gave up rights to $3 million in royalty payments. And milestone payments available to Exact Sciences decrease to $40 million, from $45 million.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:37 PM | Comments (0)

Spalding signs up two big names

Spalding has landed two big names to help it sell its basketballs and backboards.

The Springfield company signed Ohio State’s Greg Oden — one of the top NBA draft prospects — and Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas to multiyear deals today. Terms were not disclosed.

‘‘The combination of Greg and Gilbert give Spalding an unbelievable 1-2 punch to reinforce our worldwide basketball leadership and our partnership with the NBA,’’ said Dan Touhey, vice president of marketing.

Oden, a 7-foot center, finished his freshman year at Ohio State by leading the Buckeyes to their first national championship game since 1962.

Arenas is the Wizards’ all-time leader in 3-point field goals and the league’s third leading scorer for the 2006-2007 season. He’s been an NBA All-Star in each of the last three years.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:46 PM | Comments (0)

Pozen to chair an SEC advisory panel

Robert C. Pozen, chairman of MFS Investment Management, of Boston, will chair an advisory committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SEC chairman Christopher Cox today said the Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting will examine the financial reporting system, with a goal of reducing unnecessary complexity and making information more useful and understandable.

Cox expects 13 to 17 more members to be named to the committee.

Pozen, a former vice chairman of Fidelity Investments, noted via e-mail that 10 percent of US public companies in 2006 restated financial reports, costing investors millions, yet half the restatements were ‘‘later deemed immaterial.’’
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

Southwest to cut flights in New England

Nationwide, Southwest is trimming 39 round-trip flights. (AP file photo)

Southwest Airlines Co. will cut service at the Manchester, N.H., and Providence-area airports this fall as part of a bid to boost profits.

At Manchester Boston Regional Airport, Southwest will cut daily round-trips to Tampa from three to two in November.

At T. F. Green State Airport in Warwick, R.I., service to Philadelphia International Airport will drop to five flights in October, from six now.

Southwest aims to trim 39 round-trip flights from its current schedule and reduce its overall growth in capacity this year to 6 percent, from a previously planned 8 percent.

Chief executive Gary Kelly said the airline seeks fuller, more profitable flights.

It’s also cutting its fleet growth next year to 19 net additional Boeing 737s, instead of 34. That would bring its total fleet size to 539 Boeings.

Southwest will remain the dominant airline in Manchester and Providence after the changes, handling over half of total passenger volume.

From both New England airports, Southwest offers nonstop service to Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Chicago Midway, Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Tampa. From Rhode Island only, it offers service to Nashville and Fort Lauderdale.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:03 PM | Comments (1)

Owner of ATMs to retool them for the blind

The nation’s largest nonbank owner of ATMs has agreed to improve access for the blind at its machines.

Cardtronics Inc., of Houston, will make all of its ATMs accessible to the blind by 2010, under an agreement with the National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Cardtronics operates about 24,000 ATMs in locations including Albertson’s supermarkets, CVS pharmacies, CostCo., Hess Corp., Sunoco, and Target.

The machines will employ voice guidance technology, which is commonly available at many bank ATMs. It is activated by plugging headphones into a jack on the machines.

The federation and the attorney general’s office filed suit in 2003 against E-Trade Access Inc. and E-Trade Bank. Cardtronics purchased the E-Trade ATM fleet in June 2004.

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act required ATMs to be made accessible to and independently useable by the blind, Coakley said.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)

Bain Capital affiliates to acquire Guitar Center

Guitar Center operates 305 stores. (Reuters photo)

Guitar Center Inc. has agreed to be acquired by affiliates of Bain Capital Partners LLC in a transaction valued at $2.1 billion, including assumed debt.

Bain Capital, of Boston, is a private equity firm whose previous investments have included Burger King and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Under the agreement, company stockholders of Guitar Center, of Westlake Village, Calif., will receive $63 in cash for each share of company common stock they own, a premium of 26 percent over yesterday’s closing price.

Guitar Center operates 210 Guitar Center stores and 95 other stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:36 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. says UBS offered illegal favors

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has accused UBS AG of providing hedge fund traders with favors intended to win brokerage business for the investment bank.

The favors allegedly included below-market rent for leased office space, low-interest personal loans, and tickets to Red Sox baseball games.

Galvin filed an administrative complaint today, accusing UBS of running a ‘‘hedge fund hotel’’ catering to hedge fund traders. The alleged arrangements create a conflict that hurts investors who are unaware the funds may be paying higher than normal brokerage fees to UBS in exchange for the favors, Galvin said.

‘‘Unbeknownst to the pension funds, university endowments, charitable foundations, institutional investors and individuals who invest in hedge funds, the gifts and gratuities for the hedge fund advisers come with implicit and sometimes explicit quid pro quos,’’ the complaint states.

‘‘UBS requires the hedge fund advisers to cause the hedge funds they manage to meet certain benchmarks of profitability for UBS or ensure they do not use other prime brokers.’’

Galvin brought the case more than six months after initially disclosing his investigation to determine whether hedge funds were paying higher than normal brokerage fees to compensate the investment bank for office space.

A spokeswoman for UBS in New York declined to comment.

The complaint seeks a cease-and-desist order, a censure, and an administrative fine.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

Raytheon files protest over military contract

Raytheon Co. said today it has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office over its loss of a potential $6 billion contract to supply the Army and Air Force with a new cargo plane.

In an interview today, Jim Hvizd, vice president for Raytheon's cargo aircraft program, contended that the Waltham defense contractor's proposal for the C-295 transport plane was more than 15 percent cheaper than that of its rival, L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. of New York, which was awarded the contract on June 13.

Hvizd said officials from Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems division in El Segundo, Calif., were told at a June 18 debriefing by a joint Army and Air Force team that the Raytheon and L-3 proposals had been rated equally on non-price criteria, such as technology, logistics, program management and past performance.

"We're basing our protest on errors in the evaluation of our program and in the application of their weighting criteria," Hvizd said.

GAO officials are expected to establish a process in the next 30 days for reviewing Raytheon's bid protest. If the company gets its way, the accountability office will overturn the contract award.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:37 PM | Comments (0)

Verizon FiOS coming to Bedford

The board of selectmen in Bedford granted a cable franchise Tuesday for the FiOS TV service offered by Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon said today.

The action paves the way for the FiOS TV service to become available to 4,300 households, Verizon said.

According to Verizon, its FiOS offering delivers superior picture quality and more programming choices than rival TV services.

The Bedford's board unanimous vote brings to 50 the total number of Massachusetts communities where FiOS TV is either available or soon will be, the company said; to date, the service is available to roughly 280,000 Massachusetts households.

Headquartered in New York, Verizon delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless communications services to business, mass market, government, and wholesale customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Helium partners with OpenSecrets

With the campaign jabber of the 2008 elections already getting loud, an organization that promotes transparency in politics hopes one slice of the Web can promote reasonable, intelligent debate about issues.

The Center for Responsive Politics is working with Web startup Helium Inc. to spark public discussion on such topics as "Should there be spending limits on political campaigns?" and "Should members of Congress be allowed to add earmarks to appropriations bills?"

The Web is full of opinions on these and innumerable other matters, of course. What sets Helium apart as a soapbox is that the items voted the most valuable by the site's members rise to the top of its page, consigning -- in theory, at least -- hot-tempered or otherwise poorly constructed commentary to the scrap heap.

Helium, which is based in Andover, is free to use and even shares ad revenue with authors of top-ranked entries, increasing their incentive to contribute.

Helium has employed this wisdom-of-the-crowds approach to amass 300,000 user-generated informational articles since it launched last year. The debate section is newer, and Chief Executive Mark Ranalli wants to expand it by encouraging other non-profits to use Helium as a conversation platform.

The Center for Responsive Politics will sprinkle links to its Helium debate page throughout its campaign finance-analysis site, OpenSecrets.org. Helium will pay the center a small fee for each person who comes to the site this way and ends up registering as a member.

"One of the problems we have in this country right now is that it's hard for people to understand an opposing point of view," said Kevin Rooney, the organization's managing director. If people are exposed to more than just "bomb-throwers" from the other side, "you might appreciate where they're coming from." (AP)

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

State Street donates $750k to Children's Museum

State Street Corp. will donate $750,000 to the Boston Children's Museum.

Headquartered in Boston, State Street is a provider of financial services to institutional investors.

State Street said its donation will support an exhibit called "Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China," which seeks to explore contemporary Chinese life and culture through the eyes of children living in the metropolis of Hangzhou.

The exhibit is scheduled to open in Boston next May and run through December, followed by an international tour, the company said.

State Street's presence in China dates to 2000 when it entered an alliance with the Industrial Commercial Bank of China.

"Our active involvement in China's financial landscape has been instrumental in fueling our growth both in Boston and around the world," State Street chairman and chief executive Ronald E. Logue said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Shawmut Design promotes Hughes to top spot

Shawmut Design and Construction announced today the promotion of William Hughes as president.

Headquartered in Boston, Shawmut is a national construction management firm with projected 2007 revenues of $780 million.

Hughes, who joined Shawmut in 2000, will retain his position as chief operating officer, and Tom Goemaat remains as chief executive, the company said.

Among the projects that Shawmut is working on are renovation and expansion at the Boston Children's Museum and the building of a flagship store for Apple Inc. on Boston's Boylston Street.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

UniFirst posts higher 3rd-quarter profit

Uniform and protective clothing maker UniFirst Corp. said today that its fiscal third-quarter profit and sales rose, boosted by solid results from its laundry operations and specialty garments segment.

For the quarter ended May 26, the company earned $13.7 million, or 71 cents per share, up 25 percent from $10.9 million, or 57 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $229.8 million from $211.9 million.

"The core laundry operations continue to perform well as recent acquisitions have made solid contributions and our specialty garments segment had an excellent showing," said Ronald Croatti, chief executive, in a statement. "We expect to be able to continue our strong performance during the fourth quarter and finish with a record year."

Shares rose $4.01, or 9.9 percent, to $44.51 in morning trading. Earlier, the stock traded at a new 52-week high of $45.27. Shares have ranged from $29.50 to $45.01 over the past year. (AP)

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

Carlyle Groups sells Court St. building

The Carlyle Group has sold a Boston office building at 40 Court St. to Brickman Associates for $37 million, a broker involved in the transaction said today.

The broker is the New England office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate services firm.

CB Richard Ellis represented the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and noted that 40 Court St. is 84 percent leased and that it recently underwent a $2.5-million renovation.

CB Richard Ellis added that the Oceanaire Seafood Room, a high-end restaurant, is scheduled to open for business on the building's street level in the fall.

Brickman is a real estate private equity firm with headquarters in New York.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:31 AM | Comments (0)

Winthrop sells stake in America First

Winthrop Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust, said Tuesday it sold its stake in America First Apartment Investors Inc. for a gain of about $9.7 million.

Winthrop said it sold its 793,956 common shares for $25.02 per share, resulting in net proceeds of about $19.8 million. The REIT said it acquired the shares from January 2005 through August 2006 for an average per share price of $12.63.

America First is a REIT that owns and manages apartment complexes.

Winthrop shares rose 27 cents, or 4.2 percent, to close at $6.64 Tuesday. The stock has traded as low as $5.88 and as high as $6.99 in the past year. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:27 AM | Comments (0)

Biogen to buy 56.4m of its shares

Biotech company Biogen Idec Inc. said today that it expects to accept about 56.4 million of its shares for purchase at $53 each, or an aggregate of $3 billion, in a modified "Dutch Auction" tender offer that expired Tuesday.

The number of shares to be purchased is preliminary, the company said. They represent about 16.4 percent of the company's outstanding shares as of June 25.

Shares rose 29 cents to $52.65 in premarket trading. The stock closed at $52.36 Tuesday. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:14 AM | Comments (0)

FedEx renews Northborough lease

FedEx SmartPost Inc. has renewed its lease on a large Northborough warehouse, a broker involved in the transaction said.

The broker is Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC, a Boston-based full-service commercial real estate advisory firm.

Richards Barry Joyce said it represented the property's landlord, MM Industrial Beeman Road LLC.

The warehouse at One Beeman Rd. has 342,900 square feet of space and active rail access; the FedEx lease renewal is for 180,200 square feet, Richards Barry Joyce said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

WGBH now Brighton-based

Public broadcaster WGBH Boston said it has "flipped the switch" and begun complete broadcast operations at its new all-digital studio complex in Brighton.

For the past two weeks, WGBH has been broadcasting television programs from its long-time studios in Allston, but the Allston operations ceased yesterday as WGBH's two analog TV stations - WGBH 2 and WGBH 44 - and their two digital counterparts began broadcasting from the new studios, WGBH said.

WGBH said it had already begun broadcasting much of its radio programming from the new facility.

"As we prepare to move the last of our production units from Allston to Brighton, we're looking forward to embracing the technological capabilities of our new studios to fulfill our public service mission in ways that were unimaginable when WGBH was founded in 1951," WGBH president Henry Becton Jr. said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:06 AM | Comments (0)

WebDialogs updates conferencing service

WebDialogs Inc. of Billerica said today the latest version of its online conferencing service is now available.

The service is called Unyte Meeting, and for the first time, the newest version of Unyte Meeting offers videocasting, "giving the host and the presenters the ability to broadcast live images of themselves to participants and providing another level of connectivity between speaker and audience," the company said.

"All that's needed is a Webcam to enable participants to see the speaker in a small corner of the screen while still viewing the meeting materials," the company added.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:01 AM | Comments (0)

SpaceClaim adds German, French versions

SpaceClaim Corp. said today that French and German language versions of its 3D mechanical design technology are now available.

The Concord company said it sees an opportunity in positioning as a leader in mechanical design technology by addressing the 3D needs of manufacturers' product development teams, which are underserved by traditional computer-aided design tools.

With the addition of French and German, the company said its SpaceClaim Professional 2007 product will be available in four languages, the other two being English and Japanese.

"We recognize the importance of providing local language support in many of the geographies we serve," Howie Markson, the company's director of marketing, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

SolidWorks at America's Cup

Yachts racing in the 2007 America's Cup include features designed with SolidWorks Corp. software, the Concord company noted today.

One focus of SolidWorks is 3D computer-aided design software, and the company's CAD tools were used in designing hulls, winch mounts, and other deck hardware on boats used by the Emirates Team New Zealand and by Switzerland-based Alinghi, SolidWorks said.

SolidWorks is part of Dassault Systemes S.A., a French company that develops and markets software for design, analysis, and product data management.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:49 AM | Comments (0)

MicroStrain gets industry honor

MicroStrain Inc. said it has been feted with an industry honor - a gold "Best of Sensors Expo Award."

Headquartered in Williston, Vt., MicroStrain is a privately held company that produces smart, wireless, microminiature displacement, orientation, and strain sensors.

It won its award at the Sensors Expo & Conference, an industry event.

MicroStrain said it was cited for an energy-harvesting wireless strain node, or ESG-LINK, which was recently used to measure static and dynamic strains in rotating helicopter components during flight tests.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:45 AM | Comments (0)

Saunders to retire from Boston Foundation

The Boston Foundation said that Terry Saunders Lane will retire June 30 after serving as vice president for program since 2003.

The organization is one of the oldest community foundation's in the country, and it has assets of more than $830 million.

Angel Bermudez, senior director of grantmaking and special projects, has been named as acting vice president, the foundation said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

Alnylam, Isis reach milestone

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said today that it has achieved a key milestone in its collaboration with Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of California.

Alnylam is a biopharmaceutical company seeking to develop novel technologies based on RNA interference, or RNAi, a naturally occurring mechanism within cells for selectively silencing and regulating specific genes; because many diseases are caused by the inappropriate activity of specific cells, Alnylam believes that the ability to silence genes selectively through RNAi has great potential.

In 2004, Alnylam obtained an exclusive license to Isis intellectual property for oligonucleotide therapeutics that can mediate RNAi.

"The advancement of RNAi therapeutics into the development stages has occurred at a rapid pace, in part due to the pioneering work of Isis across virtually all categories of oligonucleotide therapeutics," Alnylam chief operating officer Barry Greene said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:39 AM | Comments (0)

Two bids for Tweeter

Two bids have emerged for assets of Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc. that could be auctioned off in the high-end electronics retailer's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Schultze Asset Management made a $38 million bid to acquire "substantially all" of Tweeter's assets and assume $8 million in costs related to the bankruptcy, Canton-based Tweeter said Tuesday.

The bid from Purchase, N.Y.-based Schultze also includes a $10 million line of credit to help Tweeter buy merchandise and cover other expenses during the bankruptcy case Tweeter filed June 11 in bankruptcy court in Delaware.

Schultze, which specializes in investing in financially troubled companies, also is bidding for Tweeter's 18.75 percent ownership stake in Tivoli Audio, a consumer electronics manufacturer.

The second of the two bids disclosed Tuesday involves only Tweeter's stake in Tivoli. Whippoorwill Associates Inc. and Bay Harbour Management teamed up in a $10 million bid for the Tivoli stake.

A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved the pair of so-called "stalking horse" bids in the first phase of a process under which other qualified bidders will have the chance to submit higher offers before a July 10 auction.

"Our objective is to bring cash into the company as quickly and responsibly as possible, and today's events move us closer to that goal," Joe McGuire, Tweeter's president and chief executive, said in a news release.

Tweeter has said it expects to continue normal business operations during its Chapter 11 reorganization by keeping its 130 stores open. The 35-year-old company's stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market last week.

Tweeter has suffered recent losses, ordered store closures and agreed to back out of naming-rights deals at four outdoor concert sites amid a price war for flat-screen televisions. Bigger rivals such as Best Buy Co., Costco Wholesale Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have been better able to absorb the price war's low profit margins.

Tweeter is the owner of stores under the Tweeter, hiFi buys, Sound Advice and Showcase Home Entertainment names in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Texas, Chicago, Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:29 AM | Comments (0)

The blimp is back

The Hood Blimp, shortly after it crashed into the woods last year.

The Hood Blimp, repaired since a September crash-landing on the North Shore, has been flying over Boston this week ahead of its first public events in New England in 10 months.

The blimp, one of the area's most recognizable advertising icons, will be flying over the Tall Ships celebrations in Newport, R.I., this weekend, over the Red Sox game at Fenway on Monday, over the Fourth of July festivities at the Esplanade on Wednesday, and over Maine and New Hampshire coastal areas next week.

That's according to Lynne Bohan, vice president of public relations for Lynnfield-based H.P. Hood LLC.

After the crash-landing in a remote wooded area of Manchester-by-the-Sea on Sept. 26, 2006, the blimp's envelope -- or balloon -- was deflated, packed up and driven to North Carolina to repair a tear. "It was just several inches long,'' Bohan said of the tear. No one was hurt in the crash, she said.

Last week the blimp flew from Orlando, Fla. to Rochester, N.Y., where it floated above the Wegman's LPGA golf tournament there, Bohan said.

It is back at its home hanger in the Beverly Airport ahead of the round of appearances beginning Friday.
(By David Beard, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:14 AM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2007

Insurer names two executives

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has named two senior executives co-chief operating officers:

*Roger W. Crandall, executive vice president and chief investment officer of MassMutual, as well as chairman, president, and CEO of Babson Capital Management LLC.

*William F. Glavin Jr., executive vice president of MassMutual’s US Insurance Group.

The promotions are effective July 1, according to a news release from the Springfield company.

Crandall and Glavin will maintain their current responsibilities.

Posted by globebusiness at 5:57 PM | Comments (0)

Company moves up top-exporters list

International Forest Products Corp., founded in 1972 by New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft, today said that it ranks 48th on a list of top 100 US exporters.

The list was compiled by the Journal of Commerce, a magazine that covers the international logistics industry.

International Forest Products, of Foxborough, said it has moved up 52 positions on the list in the past five years.

Calculated in 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, a standard measurement for containerized ocean shipping, the volume of company exports in 2006 was 24,500 TEUs, a 12.4 percent increase from 2005.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:32 PM | Comments (0)

Inverness now owns 92% of Biosite

A Waltham diagnostic device maker, Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., has completed a $92.50-per-share tender offer for San Diego-based medical diagnostic company Biosite Inc., bringing its ownership of the company to just under 92 percent.

Inverness had been bidding for the company with Beckman Coulter Inc. In March, Fullerton, Calif.-based Beckman, which makes laboratory instruments, said it would pay $1.55 billion, or $85 per share, for Biosite in a tender offer. The companies had a relationship spanning four years, collaborating on tests to diagnose heart illnesses.

But in April, Inverness made an unsolicited bid of $90 per share. Inverness already owned 4.9 percent of Biosite’s stock at that point. That bid was topped in May by Beckman.

Shortly after, Inverness increased its bid again to $92.50 per share. Beckman then bowed out.

In the completed tender offer, Inverness said it gained 15,759,794 shares of Biosite stock. The company will make another offering for the remaining shares at $92.50 per share. That offering expires Thursday.

Biosite will become a subsidiary of Inverness, and Biosite stock will stop trading.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)

Firm buys $60m worth of lithography gear

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, with operations in Marlborough, is buying $60 million in lithography equipment from Netherlands-based ASML Holding NV for the development of certain coatings used in manufacturing semiconductor devices.

The company, a unit of Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas Co., today said the new equipment will help it to deliver advanced lithography materials to semiconductor manufacturers.

The equipment is expected to be installed in the first quarter of 2008.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:22 PM | Comments (0)

Waltham's Overlook Center breaks ground

Developers marked the groundbreaking today for Overlook Center, a six-story office building in Waltham that will be visible from Route 128.

The developers are Normandy Real Estate Partners, a New Jersey-based real estate owner and operator, and Neelon Properties LLC, a Waltham real estate firm; leasing and marketing of the property will be handled by Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate money management and services firm with headquarters in Chicago and a big local presence.

Overlook Center features will include a concierge, a cafe, a fitness center, and a four-level parking garage.

"As demand for a limited pool of highly skilled labor increases, progressive employers will focus on the quality, accessibility, and amenities of their office space as tools for retaining the cutting edge intellectual capital that drives this economy," Justin Krebs, the Normandy principal who oversees the firm's portfolio of Greater Boston properties, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

BU creates lab for entrepreneurs

The Boston University and its School of Management said today that they have created a new type of business incubator called the Entrepreneurial Research Laboratory.

The lab for "entrepreneurial sciences" is designed to connect new entrepreneurs with students, professors, mentors, businesses, investors, and policy makers, BU said.

The establishment of the laboratory was announced by the management school's Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization and by BU's Office of Technology Development.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

2factor launches new products

A Mansfield company called 2factor said today it is debuting software products designed to thwart hackers and security threats.

Based on patented technology, the security software automatically negates the tactics used by hackers to commit fraud, the company said.

"Today's security products are simply not working," 2factor chief executive David M. Burns said in a statement. "If they were, you wouldn't constantly be hearing about one major company after another that was getting hacked. The one-time authentication in today's security products is not going to stop this new generation of hackers. 2factor is the only company with technology fast enough and small enough to authenticate and encrypt every transaction and every data transmission on any platform."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

Michigan hospital chooses LiveData

LiveData Inc. said today that a Michigan hospital has chosen the company's dashboard operating-room system.

Specializing in real-time data integration and display, LiveData of Cambridge builds systems for healthcare, utility, manufacturing, and government organizations; one of its healthcare products is OR-Dashboard, which captures, synchronizes, and integrates all relevant information data from any medical device or system, then presents easy-to-read graphic displays.

LiveData said that St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., has chosen the LiveData OR-Dashboard for 17 operating rooms at the facility.

According to LiveData, its systems facilitate the flow of information between medical devices and departments and among caregivers, equipping operating-room teams to see all relevant information about the patient and the operation when needed.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Jones Lang LaSalle wins energy award

Jones Lang LaSalle, a company with a big presence in Greater Boston, has won a "Stars of Energy Efficiency" award from the Alliance to Save Energy.

Jones Lang LaSalle is a real estate money management and services firm headquartered in Chicago.

The alliance, based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental, and consumer groups that promotes energy efficiency.

In 2006, Jones Lang LaSalle developed an energy management program that helped decrease greenhouse gas emissions of participating properties by 89,856 tons and resulted in savings of $33 million in energy-related utility costs, the alliance said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

Altra closes public offering

Altra Holdings Inc., which makes braking systems for elevators and wheelchairs, said today that its public offering of 12.7 million shares has closed.

Altra, which is based in Quincy, sold about 3.2 million shares; stockholders, including its largest shareholder Genstar Capital, sold about 9.5 million shares.

Merrill Lynch was the bookrunning manager and Robert W. Baird & Co., Jefferies & Co and KeyBanc Capital Markets acted as co-managers for the offering. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

Nasdaq delays Sonus delisting

Sonus Networks Inc. said today that the board of directors for the Nasdaq Stock Market has delayed the company's delisting until further review.

The Westford-based supplier of Internet telephony equipment supplier has delayed some of its financial reporting because on an internal review of its stock options practices.

Previously, the company said that it had until today to file its restated and delayed financial reports.

Today Sonus said it is still "working diligently" to file those financial reports, and when it does, Sonus said it believes it will regain compliance under Nasdaq's listing requirements.

The company's securities will remain listed on Nasdaq pending further action by the Nasdaq board, Sonus said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Stride Rite reaffirms outlook

The Stride Rite Corp., which makes Keds, Saucony and other shoes, today reaffirmed guidance for the year.

The company is being bought by Payless ShoeSource Inc. for about $800 million, in a deal announced in May.

The company reaffirmed earnings guidance between $1.10 and $1.15 per share for fiscal 2007, while analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect a profit of $1.10 per share.

It expects revenue to grow 5 percent to 8 percent for the year, excluding integration and acquisition costs. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)

Bednarcik will lead Wright Line

Wright Line LLC announced today that it has appointed Edward Bednarcik as chief executive.

The Worcester company is a manufacturer of operator consoles, data center enclosures, and other specialty furniture for technology intensive work environments.

Bednarcik comes to Wright Line from A123Systems, a Watertown-based supplier of lithium ion batteries, Wright Line said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:39 AM | Comments (0)

Survey: watch what you leave in car

A stolen car can lead to a stolen identity because of personal items motorists often leave in their vehicles, according to a new survey.

The survey is from LoJack Corp., a Westwood company focused on the stolen-vehicle recovery market, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a not-for-profit industry group that partners with insurers and law enforcement officials to facilitate the detection and prosecution of insurance criminals.

One purpose of the survey is to educate people to break their bad habits of leaving mail or bank statements in their vehicles, which then leave them at risk to identity theft if their vehicles are stolen.

"LoJack and NICB have joined forces because we believe many Americans are leaving themselves exposed to today's professional thieves," LoJack president Ronald V. Waters said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

New phase for Alnylam's anti-viral drug

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said today it has started a Phase 2 experimental infection trial with an anti-viral drug that seeks to treat respiratory problems.

The trial centers on ALN-RSV01, a potential treatment for respiratory syncytial virus infection; RSV is a highly contagious virus that causes infections in both the upper and lower respiratory tract.

Alnylam is a biopharmaceutical company seeking to develop novel technologies based on RNA interference, or RNAi, a naturally occurring mechanism within cells for selectively silencing and regulating specific genes.

Because many diseases are caused by the inappropriate activity of specific cells, the ability to silence genes selectively through RNAi has great potential, Alnylam claims.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Goombah powers talent search for Starbucks

Goombah.com said it has been tapped by Starbucks Corp. to run the online component of a New England talent search designed to seek out musicians with a coffee-house friendly style.

Goombah.com of Portland, Maine, is a music recommendation and social-networking community; Goombah.com analyzes users iTunes collections and listening behaviors, then connects them to people and music that match their taste, allowing users to sample recommendations and purchase them from various online sources.

Goombah is one of several entities involved in this year's Starbucks Music Makers Competition, which is led by Starbucks New England and the Nemo Music Festival.

The competition is seeking out roughly 50 contestants who will perform at regional competitions in Starbucks stores throughout New England, the companies said.

What the talent scouts are looking for is material that is "cafe-friendly and original," Starbucks noted.

The public is invited to play a role in picking the winner; beginning Aug. 6, people can cast a vote by logging on to www.starbucksmusicmakerscompetition.com and by selecting a favorite from the Goombah player, Starbucks said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:15 AM | Comments (0)

Biogen in new multiple sclerosis study

Biogen Idec Inc. of Cambridge said today it is participating in a new study of a potential treatment for a form of multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous systems.

Biogen Idec is conducting the Phase 2 study with UCB of Belgium; last October, the companies entered an agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize CDP323, a small molecule compound under development for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

The study is designed to enroll more than 200 patients with relapsing-remitting MS who have failed earlier treatment with a beta-interferon, the companies said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:11 AM | Comments (0)

Housing sales continue to slump

The number of single family homes sold in Massachusetts fell in May, but two separate studies on the local housing market reported different results on prices.

According to the Warren Group, the publisher of Banker & Tradesman, the median price of a single-family home in Massachusetts was $315,000 in May, down 4.6 percent from a year ago when the median was $330,000.

But a report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors claimed that single-family home prices "remain strong," as it said that the median price for single family homes rose 0.7 percent from $352,700 in May 2006 to $355,000 in May 2007.

The two groups use different methods to collect and analyze data, and their numbers also differed on condo sales.

The realtors association reported a slight rise in both condo prices and in the number of condo sales while the Warren Group saw declines in both categories.

On one point, there was consensus: The number of single family homes sold in May was lower than in May 2006.

According to the Warren Group, the volume of single-family homes sold in May took its biggest hit so far this year, falling 9.1 percent to 4,765 from 5,242 in May 2006.

In its report, the realtors group said the number of single family homes sold in May was 3,884, down 7.5 percent from 4,200 in May 2006.

As for condos, the realtors group said unit sales rose from 2,169 in May 2006 to 2,173 in May 2007, up 0.2 percent.

The median selling price for a condominium in May was $290,000, up 1.4 percent from $286,000 in May 2006, MAR said.

The Warren Group, in contrast, reported that the number of condos sold in May fell 2.1 percent to 2,981 from a year ago, and the median price for a condo fell 3.5 percent from $285,000 in May 2006 to $275,000 in May 2007.

"The first half of 2007 is seeing an awful lot of ups and downs in the housing market," Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of the Warren Group, said in a statement.

Warren added, "We're still hoping to see the market steadying by the end of the year, but factors like the rising rate of foreclosure and increasing mortgage rates will certainly have an effect on that."

Doug Azarian, MAR president, said in a statement: "Stable prices and declining supply indicate that there is still a steady demand. In fact, May is the fifth straight month that residential supply levels have gone down."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:02 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2007

CFO leaving Acusphere

The Watertown specialty drug maker Acusphere Inc. said its chief financial officer, John F. Thero, 46, will leave Saturday.

Frederick Ahlholm, vice president of finance, will be interim principal financial officer.

Acusphere expects to enter into a consulting agreement with Thero for transitional support services.

In March, Acusphere reported a loss for the fourth quarter and the year.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:03 PM | Comments (0)

Mich. firm being bought by Hanover Insurance

The holding company Hanover Insurance Group Inc., of Worcester, has agreed to buy Professionals Direct Inc. for $23.2 million.

Professionals Direct, of Grand Rapids, Mich., provides liability insurance for small and mid-size law firms. Hanover said it generates annual written premiums of about $30 million.

Hanover shares rose 22 cents to $44.57 in after-hours electronic trading. During regular trading, the shares fell 6 cents to $47.35.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:52 PM | Comments (0)

Spanish utility to buy Energy East

The Spanish power company Iberdrola SA plans to buy regional utility owner Energy East Corp. for $4.5 billion in cash, giving it a foothold in the United States.

The boards of both utilities agreed to a deal that would give Energy East shareholders $28.50 per share, a 27 percent premium over Energy East’s closing stock price Friday.

The deal is of special interest in Maine, where 80 percent of electric customers are served by Central Maine Power Co., an Energy East subsidiary.

Its subsidiaries would continue to operate under their current names. The others are Berkshire Gas, Connecticut Natural Gas, New York State Electric & Gas, Rochester Gas and Electric, and Southern Connecticut Gas.

Maine Governor John Baldacci said he was ‘‘cautiously optimistic’’ about the proposal, based on a conversation with CMP president Sara Burns. He plans to meet with company officials this week.
(AP)

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

Boston Scientific to acquire Israeli firm

Boston Scientific Corp. said late today that it has agreed to acquire privately held Remon Medical Technologies Inc.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Remon Medical is a development-stage company in Israel, focused on creating communication technology for medical device applications.

It was founded in 1997 and entered into a codevelopment agreement with Guidant Corp. in 2004. Guidant was acquired by Natick-based Boston Scientific in April 2006.
(Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:19 PM | Comments (0)

NeuroMetrix faces probe of sales practices

NeuroMetrix Inc. today reported it has received a subpoena as part of a Justice Department investigation of the Waltham company’s sales and marketing of a diagnostic test for nerve conditions, the NC-stat system.

NeuroMetrix is cooperating with the investigation, according to documents it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A company representative did not immediately return a call for comment this evening.

NeuroMetrix shares fell 16 cents to $9.74 in aftermarket activity after gaining 29 cents, or 3 percent, to close the regular trading session at $9.90.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:12 PM | Comments (0)

Librarians book the Hub

The American Library Association has scheduled two midwinter meetings at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the center's operator said today.

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority said that the library association has agreed to hold meetings at the Boston convention center in 2010 and 2016.

Each of the January meetings is expected to draw 14,000 attendees and result in the booking of more than 23,000 room nights at local hotels, the authority said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Mass. 5th in U.S. download speed

Looking for the fastest download in the US? Try Rhode Island. Or Kansas.

Ranked by Internet speed, Massachusetts comes in fifth nationally according to a report issued this afternoon by the Communications Workers of America.

Bay Staters eat the downloading dust of New York, New Jersey, Kansas, and Rhode Island -- which came in first, with a median download speed of 5 megabits per second.

But even consumers in the speediest states will find their YouTube video downloads lagging behind other countries. Japan's median download speed is 61 megabits per second; South Korea follows at 45.6 megabits per second, and Canada is more than double Massachusetts' median speed, at 7.6 megabits per second, according to the report.

"The United States is the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote universal, high-speed Internet access," Larry Cohen, president of the CWA said in a statement.

The data was collected through an online speed test that measures a user's Internet connection, sending a request to the nearest server and measuring the time it takes to get a response.

The bottom of the list was dominated by rural states: Iowa, Wyoming, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Alaska.

"From e-government and distance learning to telemedicine and public safety, high-speed Internet access for all Americans--from the rural plains to the inner cities--is essential to improving the quality of our economic, civic and personal lives," Cohen said.
(By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

Report: Merit pay raises increase slightly

High achievers in Massachusetts workplaces can expect merit-pay raises in the range of 3 to 4.5 percent this year, if a new survey out today is any guide.

Budgets for merit pay raises at Massachusetts employers are starting to "slowly ramp up in 2007," concluded a survey of employers by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, an association representing more than 7,600 Massachusetts businesses and institutional members.

The survey found that 38 percent of the respondents are predicting increases of between 3 and 3.4 percent, while 35 percent are predicting to increase salaries between 3.5 and 4.5 percent.

This is the group's 24th annual edition of its General Wage and Salary Report, which this year includes information reported by 223 employers from across the state and data on 16,710 individual workers, the group said.

Last year, 13 percent of survey respondents said they instituted a pay freeze, and 2 percent reported implementing a salary reduction program, the group said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:21 PM | Comments (0)

RCN to acquire Neon Communications

RCN Corp. said today it has agreed to acquire Neon Communications Group Inc. of Westborough for up to $260 million.

The transaction will combine RCN, a Virginia-based provider of video, data, and voice services to residential and business customers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Chicago metro markets, with Neon's pure play network transport services to carrier and enterprise customers in the twelve-state New England and mid-Atlantic regions.

Neon, RCN said, offers RCN a complementary network and a customer base that fits into RCN's business solutions growth strategy.

The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, and is expected to close during the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals, the approval of Neon's stockholders as well as certain other closing conditions, the companies said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Summit buys stake in Life of the South

Life of the South Corp. said today that Summit Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with offices in Boston, has purchased about 85 percent of the company in a transaction valued at more than $100 million.

Florida-based Life of the South, a provider and an administrator of payment protection products, said its senior management group will hold about 15 percent of company shares and will continue operation of the company with no change in location, personnel, or business model.

"Life of the South is a market leader in the insurance services industry," J.J. Kardwell, a principal with Summit Partners, said in a statement.

Kardwell will join the company's board of directors along with two other executives from Summit Partners, the firm said.

Summit also has offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and London.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

Mass., Texas land wind tech grants

Massachusetts and Texas, in projects backed by their public colleges, were selected to receive federal support to build wind technology testing centers, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said today.

Each $20 million project will receive up to $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to test equipment to develop large-scale wind blade testing centers, Bodman said.

Many states have been clamoring to capitalize on the possible economic growth associated with wind farms and renewable energy, while President Bush has promoted initiatives to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

"These two testing facilities represent an important next step in the expansion of competitiveness of the U.S. domestic wind energy industry," Bodman said in a prepared statement in advance of a news conference with Gov. Deval Patrick at the Statehouse.

Selected for the federal funds are the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Partnership and the Lone Star Wind Alliance.

The Massachusetts project involves building a center along Boston Harbor. The partnership includes the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the University of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Port Authority, and state agencies.

The Lone Star Wind Alliance proposes a test facility in Ingleside, Texas. The group includes several public colleges in Texas, as well as Montana State University, Stanford University, New Mexico State University, Old Dominion University, Houston Advanced Research Center, BP, DOW, Huntsman, and Shell Wind. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

NetScout brightens forecast

NetScout Systems Inc., which sells systems that report on network performance, said today that it raised its profit and sales outlook for the fiscal first quarter ending June 30.

The company now expects earnings between 6 cents and 8 cents per share, up from its prior outlook of 5 cents to 6 cents per share.

NetScout forecast revenue between $27 million and $28 million, up from its earlier outlook of $26 million to $27 million.

Analysts, on average, are expecting earnings of 6 cents per share on sales of $26.2 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

"We are particularly pleased with the strength in bookings because the first quarter is historically a weak quarter for us," said Anil Singhal, president and chief executive, in a statement.

The company plans to post its earnings on July 26. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

Nimbit launches online music widget

Who needs a record company, an impresario, or a colonel with a big cigar? For aspiring musicians, a company called Nimbit Inc. is unveiling a online widget that allows independent music artists and bands to sell their music directly to fans.

According to the Framingham-based company, which bills itself as a provider of direct-to-fan commerce solutions for independent bands and record labels, the nimbitOMT widget lets artists sell not only their music, but also CDs, T-shirts and tickets to upcoming shows.

With nimbitOMT, all a musician needs to do is drop a few lines of HTML code into their fans’ favorite websites, including MySpace and Facebook, and let the sales roll in, the company said.

The company calls its product a "portable marketing tool that delivers the same artist-to-fan connection that happens face-to-face at the typical merchandise table that a band would put up at their shows, such as meeting fans, collecting e-mails for mailing lists, selling CDs, t-shirts and other merchandise.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

Genzyme's Carticel gets FDA nod

Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. said today that the Food and Drug Administration approved new labeling for the company's cartilage repair product, Carticel.

The new labeling includes new safety and effectiveness information gained from a post-marketing study involving 29 clinical centers over four years, Genzyme said.

The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

Molecular starts Phase 2 Zemiva trial

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2 trial with Zemiva, a treatment designed to detect heart problems.

The Cambridge company that the trial with Zemiva is for the diagnosis of cardiac ischemia, or lack of sufficient blood supply to an area of the heart, in patients with suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in the emergency department setting.

Zemiva, the company said, is a metabolic, molecular imaging pharmaceutical that has previously demonstrated the ability to detect cardiac ischemia up to 30 hours after an ischemic event, as compared to currently available techniques, which are limited to an approximate two-hour imaging window.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:06 AM | Comments (0)

TA funds Twin Med

TA Associates, a private equity and buyout firm with offices in Boston, today announced that it has teamed with Twin Med LLC founders Steve and Shlomo Rechnitz in a $102.5 million recapitalization of Twin Med.

A medical supplies distributor serving long-term care facilities, Twin Med of California serves as a single source for a full range of nursing home supplies; Twin Med utilizes a unique Per Patient Day, or PPD, cost management program that generates significant savings, TA said.

"With the innovative PPD model that not only offers significant savings but also fixes a cost that used to be highly variable, Twin Med is becoming the supplier of choice for a fast-growing nationwide client base," said Jonathan M. Goldstein, a managing director at TA Associates who will join the company's board of directors along with Jennifer M. Mulloy, a principal at TA Associates.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)

LEDs lighting up homes

Joey Nicotera's fascination with multicolored light bulbs bordered on obsession when he was a teenager.

He framed posters in lights and decorated his own Christmas tree. When he couldn't find a color bulb he wanted, he got paint cans from the basement and made some himself, bathing his second-story bedroom in an eerie glow.

"I'd be driving home from work at night, and I could see his room from five blocks away, with all the weird colors and flashing lights," recalls his father, Joe Nicotera Sr.

Joey is now 32 and out of the family home. But a rainbow of ever-changing colors still emanates from his current living space, an 840-square-foot loft condominium in a renovated candy bar factory in Everett, just north of Boston.

Instead of painting light bulbs, Nicotera spent $5,000 to equip his bachelor pad with 54 fixtures containing light-emitting diodes, or LEDs -- devices similar to computer semiconductors that convert electricity into light and stream it out of glass domes the size of matchstick heads.

They may be pricey now, but LEDs are being touted as eventual replacements for standard, incandescent bulbs and even compact fluorescents because of their growing efficiency and predictions of increasingly lower costs.

And one of the most prominent LED manufacturers, Color Kinetics, is based in Boston. Last week it was bought by Royal Philips for $688 million.

As LEDs expand their reach into the aesthetic-minded market for home lighting, they boast something traditional lighting sources can't: LEDs can be programmed to emit light in virtually any color without the use of filters, enabling homeowners to design their own living room light shows, or tailor the color of the light to their mood.

"If colored light is needed, now there is a technology that can cater to that," said Nadarajah Narendran, director of lighting research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Nicotera counts himself among an apparent handful of lighting enthusiasts around the country who have outfitted their homes with large numbers of LEDs. Now, his pad is a popular party spot and a great place to bring dates.

"I wanted a Vegas cocktail lounge look, with a Jetsons flavor to it," said Nicotera, an information technology manager in Boston. "I always figured that George and Jane would have walls that changed color," he said of the old TV cartoon characters.

Narendran says niche applications are already emerging as homeowners install LEDs to light display cabinets and add color to high-end home theaters. But it's hard to say how many homeowners will follow Nicotera's example by installing color LEDs and programming light shows.

"It's a matter of personal preference, like fashions," Narendran said.

Nicotera installed all his LED fixtures himself. Each contains 45 to 75 of the tiny spotlight-producing LEDs, commonly used in on-off indicators for electronics and appliances. He doesn't have any incandescent bulbs and relies on 50 halogen fixtures for overhead light.

He says his 54 LED fixtures together use less electricity than a single 100-watt incandescent and account for just $2 a month on his utility bill.

But it's the light show capabilities that capture Nicotera's interest. He taps controls on a wall switch panel to choose among eight programs or uses lighting control software on his laptop to expand programming options even further. Each program varies the color and brightness of the LED arrays in hanging lamps and the LED strips in backlit wall shelving and kitchen cabinets.

The wall switch and laptop are linked to a flash memory device and a pair of VCR-sized transformers that control the lights from a hallway closet. Shelves and cabinets abruptly shift from one hue to the next or shimmer gradually through the spectrum, bathing the condo's neutral gray walls in light.

Nicotera runs a red-white-and-blue program each Fourth of July, and he can change colors on shelf panels to simulate Tetris, the falling-blocks video puzzle game. When Italy won soccer's World Cup last year, Nicotera displayed Italy's national colors in his first-floor condo, which is visible to nearby traffic.

"It was all red, white and green," Nicotera said. "People who would drive by would honk their horns."

Because of their color advantage, LEDs are being used to light display shelves at jewelry stores and supply ambiance in restaurants. Hotels are installing LEDs to provide splashes of exterior color. And Toronto's CN Tower is being lit this month with more than 1,300 color-changing LEDs running up the 1,815-foot structure.

As for LEDs that cast white light, Narendran expects it will be five to 10 years before such products begin seriously challenging other light sources in homes.

So far, cost is the biggest obstacle, but that should change over the next few decades.

Three years ago, the first 10 fixtures Nicotera mounted in the bathroom ceiling cost $125 apiece. Since then, the cost has come down to less than $75 each. He says he hasn't had to replace or fix any of his LEDs, which are touted to run continuously for 11 years.

Last Tuesday, Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics NV expanded its LED presence by offering $688 million to acquire Color Kinetics Inc., a decade-old Boston company that designed the CN Tower's new lighting and holds patents on systems to control LED color and brightness.

Fritz Morgan, Color Kinetics' chief technology officer, said the semiconductor technology underlying LEDs is becoming more affordable and efficient at a rate on par with advances in computing speed. Today's LEDs are about as efficient as the latest compact fluorescents, Morgan said, and they are improving faster than fluorescents.

"There's been a dramatic increase in just two or three years, where LEDs went from being as efficient as incandescents, to then being as good as halogens, to now being at the level of compact fluorescents," Morgan said.

Nicotera -- whose home is equipped with Color Kinetics LED products bought through distributors -- is so impressed with the technology that he's put his condo up for sale and plans to build a new home from scratch, equipped exclusively with LEDs.

His condo is being offered at $359,000 -- he may throw in the unit's LED lights and controls for a little extra, subject to negotiation.

Although the LEDs may turn off some prospective buyers, Nicotera's mother is proof that there can be rewards to investing in a new technology. She was initially skeptical when her son started planning his condo's design.

"When he started talking about having a wall of lights, I couldn't really imagine what he was talking about," Linda Nicotera said. "I thought it was going to look like a disco, or something on the tacky side.

"But there was a 'wow' factor when I finally saw it. It ended a lot better than I thought." (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)

Wendy's adds to Boston breakfast rollout

Wendy's International Inc. is expanding its breakfast menu rollout to include two more of its restaurants in Greater Boston.

The move comes after an extended test involving about 160 locations of the chain's nearly 6,000 US restaurants, the Ohio-based fast-food company said.

Breakfast menu items include a steak-and-egg breakfast sandwich, French toast sticks, and a "grande breakfast burrito," Wendy's said.

Plans call for Wendy's restaurants in Milford and Revere to offer the breakfast menu; with the addition of these two units, Wendy's said it will be offering breakfast at five of its roughly 90 restaurants in Greater Boston.

By the end of August, Wendy's said it expects to offer breakfast in more than 650 of its restaurants.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:27 AM | Comments (0)

Konarka names Hess to top spot

Konarka Technologies Inc. of Lowell said today that president Rick Hess will succeed Howard Berke as chief executive of the company, effective immediately.

Berke, who is also a company cofounder, will assume the new role of executive chairman of the board, the company said.

"I will be focusing on developing the strategic direction of the company," Berke said in a statement. "Rick has performed well as president and COO, and our planned succession will allow me to further utilize my industry expertise to ensure that renewable energy interests are identified and supported throughout the state of Massachusetts, United States and internationally."

Konarka, which builds products that convert light to energy; is a developer of polymer photovoltaic technology that provides a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)

KVH gets $1.1m military order

KVH Industries Inc. said today it has received a $1.1 million order for fiber optic gyros that will be used in US military simulators.

KVH Industries of Middletown, R.I., is a manufacturer of systems to provide access to live mobile media, ranging from satellite TV to telephone and high-speed Internet for vehicles and vessels. KVH is also a leading source of navigation, pointing, and guidance solutions for maritime, defense, and commercial applications. The company's products are based on its proprietary mobile satellite antenna and fiber optic technologies.

In the order announced today, KVH said its fiber optic gyros will be used for real-time image synchronization and stabilization in military training simulator systems.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Helicos starts manufacturing

Helicos BioSciences Corp. announced today the start of its manufacturing operations.

Helicos of Cambridge is a life sciences company developing genetic analysis technologies for the research, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics markets; the company has developed proprietary True Single Molecule Sequencing technology to enable ultra-high-throughput genetic analysis based on the direct sequencing of single molecules of nucleic acids.

Helicos also announced the addition to its management team of William Cotter as vice president of operations.

Before joining the company, he spent 10 years as vice president of operations at Closure Medical Corp., a Johnson & Johnson company, Helicos said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:11 AM | Comments (0)

Elixir publishes positive Glufast data

Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today it has published encouraging clinical data about Glufast, an insulin secretagogue that can help manage glucose levels by improving the body's own ability to produce insulin.

Elixir is a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat and prevent metabolic disease and prevent age-related diseases.

Marketed in Japan since 2004, Glufast has an extensive clinical package that demonstrates the product's ability to effectively and safely treat Type 2 diabetes, Elixir said.

"The publication of these data provide compelling confirmatory evidence that Glufast can control and reduce post-meal glucose, and in combination with metformin may offer complete glucose management, both before and after meals," William K. Heiden, Elixir's chief executive, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:07 AM | Comments (0)

Acusphere CFO resigns

Acusphere Inc. announced today that chief financial officer John F. Thero will leave the company to pursue other interests, effective June 30.

Acusphere of Watertown is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops new drugs and improved formulations of existing drugs using its proprietary microsphere technology.

Thero also holds the titles of senior vice president and treasurer and secretary.

Frederick Ahlholm, Acusphere's vice president of finance, will serve as interim principal financial officer.

Acusphere said it expects to enter into a consulting agreement with Thero under which he will provide transitional support services to the company in order to facilitate an orderly transition of his duties.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:56 AM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2007

Hologic buys BioLucent

Diagnostic imaging systems company Hologic Inc. said Thursday it is buying women's health company BioLucent Inc. for about $70 million.

The purchase price also involves a two-year earn out. The price includes $5 million in cash and $65 million in cash, shares of Hologic, or a combination of both. The earn out would be payable in two annual cash installments not to exceed $15 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

As part of the deal, BioLucent is spinning off its brachytherapy business into a new company which will remain independent. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:46 PM | Comments (0)

Herald to outsource much of home delivery

The Boston Herald said today that it will outsource much of its home delivery service, a move that will result in the loss of 36 jobs.

Effective Aug. 20, Publishers Circulation Fulfillment Inc., a Maryland company that according to its website provides "distribution outsourcing solutions to the publishing industry," will perform the bulk of the Herald's home delivery service under an agreement between the two companies, the Herald said.

"With this contract comes a reduction in force of 36 non-union Herald branch and zone managers," the Herald said.

"It's no secret that the newspaper industry is facing many challenges, and the Herald is not immune," Herald president and publisher Patrick J. Purcell said in a statement. "Utilizing PCF will allow us to broaden the geography in which we offer home delivery of our paper, increase service to our existing customers, and provide cost efficiencies as we move forward."

A call to one of the Herald's publicists was not immediately returned, and the Herald's release was accompanied by the following statement: "Mr. Purcell and the Herald will have no further comment beyond the statement."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:47 PM | Comments (0)

Daniels joins GateHouse Media

Richard J. Daniels, a former president and general manager of The Boston Globe, confirmed today that he has been named chief operating officer of GateHouse Media New England.

GateHouse Media Inc. is a media company headquartered in Fairport, N.Y.

Daniels, 50, said he will report to Kirk Davis, chief executive of the GateHouse's New England division, which is made up of daily and weekly newspapers, including the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, as well as websites and other publications.

Daniels, who spent 23 years at the Globe, left the company last August, according to a Globe press release.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. unemployment up in May

The Massachusetts unemployment rate rose from 4.6 percent in April to 5.1 percent in May, the largest statistically significant rate increase in the nation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

The commonwealth was one of only six states nationally to post a significant jobless rate increase over the month, said the bureau, which is part of the US Department of Labor.

Still, the Massachusetts jobless rate in May was not "measurably different" from that recorded in May 2006, the bureau said.

For May, the New England unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point from April to 4.7 percent, a level essentially unchanged from a year ago, the bureau said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Salary.com founder gets E&Y award

Salary.com Inc. said today that founder and chief executive Kent Plunkett has received an Ernst & Young New England Entrepreneur of the Year award in the business and financial-services category.

Salary.com is a Waltham firm whose software and databases help employers to set salaries and manage performance.

Ernst & Young is a global provider of professional services.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Chelsea property clears environmental hurdle

Plans to clean up the contaminated site of a former Chelsea printing plant and redevelop it into environmentally friendly housing cleared a significant hurdle, Chelsea and state officials said today.

The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said the project will move forward under a Brownfields Covenant between Coakley and developer Forbes Park LLC.

The covenant limits Forbes Park's liability related to decontaminating a distressed area in exchange for cleaning up and redeveloping the site in accordance with current state standards, Coakley's office said.

Plans, which include setting aside more open space for Chelsea citizens, call for the construction of 225 "eco-loft" condominiums on the site, Coakley's office said.

"The great potential of the Forbes property has been constrained by brownfields concerns," Chelsea city manager Jay Ash said in a statement included in Coakley's press release. "With that constraint now lifted, the Forbes project has cleared another significant hurdle on its way to becoming what could be the area's premier, smart-growth green development."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Zingale joins Foley Hoag

Law firm Foley Hoag LLP said today that Douglas A. Zingale is joining its Boston office as a practicing partner in its corporate, mergers-and-acquisitions, and private equity practices.

Zingale joins Foley Hoag from the Boston office of law firm Greenberg Traurig, Foley Hoag said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

Loss widens at Insulet

Insulet Corp., a maker of insulin control devices, said late Thursday its first-quarter loss widened as sales and marketing expenses climbed.

The company booked a loss of $11.6 million, or $24.02 per share, from $7.2 million, or $21.06 per share, a year ago. The year-ago quarter included the redemption of $222,000 in convertible preferred stock.

On a proforma basis, the loss for the quarter widened to 64 cents per share from 45 cents per share, based on the company's recent initial public offering of 7.7 million shares.

Revenue rose to $2 million from $222,000 last year based on sales of the OmniPod Insulin Management System.

Increased sales and marketing expenses drove total operating expenses up 88 percent to $8.2 million from $4.4 million a year ago.

The company expects revenue in the range of $10 million to $12 million for the year, with quarterly net losses to be the same as or higher than the first quarter. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)

UPC Wind reports on Mars Hill project

UPC Wind issued a report this week that early commercial operations at the Mars Hill Wind Farm in Maine have demonstrated the feasibility of such projects.

UPC is a Newton-based wind power company, and one of its projects is a wind farm in Mars Hill, Maine, that began commercial operations March 27, the company said.

To date, the Mars Hill Wind Farm has generated over 25,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity, the company said.

"As New England's first utility-scale wind project, the Mars Hill Wind Farm demonstrates that clean, renewable energy production is a feasible, viable commercial opportunity within Maine and throughout the region," company chief executive Paul Gaynor said in a statement.

A Globe story from February reported that some wind farm neighbors were upset by the whooshing sound of the wind farm's windmills.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Recycle your bulbs at Wal-mart tomorrow

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has scheduled a recycling day for fluorescent light bulbs at its Massachusetts stores for tomorrow.

Because fluorescent light bulbs and fluorescent tubes contain small amounts of mercury, they should be recycled like batteries and personal computers, the giant Arkansas-based discount chain noted.

Bulbs will be collected at both Wal-Marts namesake stores and its Sam Clubs stores in Massachusetts from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the company said; the event will offer consumers a "free and convenient opportunity" to drop off their used fluorescent light bulbs at kiosks outside the stores.

The recycling events are being conducted in partnership with Waste Management Inc. of Texas, Wal-Mart said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Army gets top spot at TissueLink

TissueLink Medical Inc. today announced the retirement of company cofounder M. Jacqueline Eastwood and the promotion of Joseph F. Army to the posts of president and chief executive.

Headquartered in Dover, N.H., TissueLink is a private company that develops and markets disposable surgical devices that reduce or eliminate bleeding during surgery.

Army joined TissueLink in 1999 as chief financial officer, the company said.

In a statement, Eastwood said of her retirement, "I am ready to focus on other things that I have started including a school for street children in Cambodia."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:41 AM | Comments (0)

Park joins Avid board

Avid Technology Inc. said today that it is expanding its board of directors from seven to eight and that John H. Park has been elected to the board.

The Tewksbury video editing supplier offers digital media creation, management, and distribution solutions to people in such fields as video, animation, and gaming.

Park is a partner at Blum Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, Avid Technology said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:36 AM | Comments (0)

Evergreen ups its solar panel power

Evergreen Solar Inc. said it has unveiled its most powerful solar panel.

The Marlborough company is a manufacturer of solar products that use its proprietary String Ribbon wafer technology.

The new panel is called the 195W model.

"Our 195W model provides installers and integrators with a powerful, versatile panel to meet the continued rapid growth in the number and size of solar power systems worldwide," Terry Bailey, Evergreen Solar's senior vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement.

Separately, the company said that EverQ, a manufacturer of Evergreen Solar-branded solar panels, has opened a second factory in Germany.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:29 AM | Comments (0)

99-cent lunch pizza coming to Papa Gino's

Papa Gino's is set to kick off a 99-cent lunchtime promotion in response to an outbreak of similar promotions at rival quick-service food chains.

The Dedham-based chain said the promotion will begin Monday and end July 8, and at participating Papa Gino's restaurants, customers can order a slice of pizza for 99 cents, up to four slices, from opening time until 2 p.m., the company said.

"As 99-cent menu items become more popular at quick-service restaurants, we wanted to remind our guests that pizza is a family-pleasing, convenient lunch option," Michael McManama, a chain executive, said in a statement.

Unlike other chains, Papa Gino's said it will "not change the size of its pizza to match the 99 cents price."

Papa Gino's is operated by Papa Gino's Holdings Corp., which is also the parent of the D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches chain.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:24 AM | Comments (0)

Saxton leaves BioSphere Medical

BioSphere Medical Inc. said that Gary Saxton has resigned as executive vice president and chief operating officer to head a California medical-device company.

BioSphere of Rockland is a medical-device company that uses bioengineered microspheres to treat uterine fibroids and certain types of tumors and vascular malformations.

Saxton has accepted the position of president and chief executive officer of FlowMedica Inc., a privately held medical-device company with headquarters in Fremont, Calif., BioSphere said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:21 AM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2007

Fidelity wins as suit over fees is tossed

Boston-based Fidelity Investments scored a legal victory this week when a federal judge threw out a lawsuit that alleged it had charged unreasonable fees to manage retirement savings.

Judge John Shabaz, sitting in US District Court in Wisconsin, dismissed a suit on Wednesday filed by workers at Deere & Co. They sued their employer and Fidelity, which acts as trustee and record keeper for the farm equipment maker’s 401(k) retirement savings plan.

They alleged Deere and Fidelity harmed them by charging ‘‘excessive and unreasonable fees and costs’’ and by failing to tell them about a revenue-sharing agreement.

The court ruled neither Deere nor Fidelity had to tell the workers about these matters.

The suit and others like it shed new light on fees, an often overlooked part of the 401(k) retirement savings business.

‘‘In this particular case, Fidelity has won the battle, but the war rages on,’’ said Gregory Ash, a lawyer specializing in employee benefits law.

Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio said, ‘‘We believe it was the correct ruling.’’
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:35 PM | Comments (0)

Turnaround firms plan merger

Two turnaround firms plan to merge, in part to prepare for the onslaught of corporate restructuring work they see on the horizon.

Boston-based The Recovery Group Inc. and Dallas-based Corporate Revitalization Partners LLC said the new firm will be called CRG Partners LLC. They didn’t disclose financial terms, but said the transaction is expected to close July 1.

Stephen Gray, managing principal at The Recovery Group, said the combined firm ‘‘will be a powerful force to work through what we think is a major expansion in the restructuring world.’’

The two firms are similar in size and share the same strategic focus: improving distressed middle-market companies.
(Dow Jones/AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)

Drug makers inflated prices, judge rules

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled today that the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Warrick Pharmaceuticals falsely marked up drug prices at various times in 2003.

The judge found the three companies grossly inflated prices, to the detriment of the Medicare program, insurance companies, and individuals.

Plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit said the drug makers boosted published average wholesale prices, which until 2003 were the basis for reimbursements from Medicare, state governments, and private insurers.

The marked-up prices created a spread between a doctor or pharmacy’s real cost and the drug’s published cost.

When their drugs faced competition, companies used spreads to make their drugs more attractive to doctors, who could pocket excess cash resulting from the scheme.

US District Judge Patti Saris found that AstraZeneca overcharged for Zoladex, a treatment for prostate cancer, and levied damages of nearly $4.5 million for one group of plaintiffs. She said the court needed additional information to figure damages for the other.

Saris ruled that Bristol-Myers Squibb overcharged for its cancer drugs Taxol, Vepesid, Cytoxan, Blenoxane, and Rubex. She levied damages of $183,454 for one group of plaintiffs and is collecting information to figure the other group’s damages.

She found that Warrick overcharged for its generic asthma drug albuterol sulfate. Damages are pending.

The judge cleared Johnson & Johnson, saying that while its "conduct was at times troubling, it did not rise to the level of egregious misconduct."

An AstraZeneca spokeswoman said the lawsuit’s claims are without merit. The company may appeal.

Representatives for the other defendants could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reuters)

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

Dynamics Research gets $4m Air Force order

Dynamics Research Corp. of Andover, a provider of technology management services for government programs, today received a $4 million order from the Air Force.

Dynamics Research has received seven orders worth up to $27.2 million under a $1.9 billion program dubbed Design and Engineering Support Program, or DESP II.

Under the contract, the company provides the Air Force with design, engineering, and technical support services for the Pentagon’s weapon systems, parts, and equipment through 2012.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:39 PM | Comments (0)

Genzyme, Calif. firm seek Parkinson's drug

At the Bio International Convention in Boston in May, actor Michael J. Fox appealed to scientists and investors to aggressively translate research into creative treatments for Parkinson's, a disease he has fought for over a decade. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Genzyme Corp. will team up with a California company to develop a treatment for Parkinson’s disease that employs gene therapy.

Genzyme, a Cambridge biotechnology firm, today said it’s making a $25 million upfront payment to Ceregene Inc., of San Diego.

Ceregene will also be entitled to development-related milestone payments of up to $125 million, the companies said.

The partnership will focus on CERE-120, Ceregene’s primary program to find a treatment for Parkinson’s, which affects at least 1 million people in the United States.

The disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs motor skills and speech.

Gene therapy is a controversial method of injecting genes into cells to make proteins that can fight disease, typically using a genetically engineered virus to carry the gene to the cell.

So far, no gene therapy product has been approved. Research shriveled after the 1999 death of Jesse Gelsinger, an 18-year-old participant in a gene therapy clinical trial.
(Chris Reidy, Globe staff/Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:01 PM | Comments (0)

Hood debuts Freedom Trail ice cream

HP Hood LLC debuted a new ice cream flavor today that will benefit the Freedom Trail Foundation.

The new flavor is Freedom Trail Mix, a blend of chocolate-covered peanuts, sunflower seeds, and pretzels in honey nut ice cream swirled with caramel, said Hood, a dairy company that recently relocated to Lynnfield.

Hood said that 56-ounce containers of the new flavor will be available at supermarkets this summer for a suggested retail price of between $4.99 and $5.99.

For each container sold, Hood said it plans to donate five cents to the Freedom Trail Foundation, which maintains the 2.5-mile walking trail that celebrates historic local sites.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:49 PM | Comments (0)

Bingham plans Tokyo expansion

Boston law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP said it plans to expand in Tokyo with its second acquisition in Japan so far this year.

Bingham said it plans to add a Japanese firm with 22 lawyers, called the New Tokyo International Law Office.

The addition will bring Bingham's total of Japanese lawyers to more than 50, said Bingham, which has roughly 1,000 attorneys firm-wide.

No financial terms of the transaction were included in Bingham's press release.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Staples to donate $550k to literacy program

Staples Inc. said it will donate $550,000 over the next three years to fund an early childhood literacy program in Boston.

Headquartered in Framingham, Staples is a retailer of office supplies and related products.

The chain said today it is announcing a new partnership with ReadBoston, a program founded by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to address low literacy levels among Boston's youth.

Staples said its support will enable ReadBoston to launch a new program this fall that will focus on early childhood literacy.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

11th Earl of Sandwich seeks franchisees

An heir of the inventor of the sandwich is looking for franchisees to open Greater Boston locations for his sandwich restaurant chain.

John Montagu is the founder of Earl of Sandwich, an Orlando-based chain of restaurants, and he is recruiting investors and franchisees.

The chain, which currently counts fewer than 10 units scattered around the country, has ambitious expansion plans and bloodlines rampant with lunch and fast-food DNA.

According to a company press release, Montagu is Britain's 11th Earl of Sandwich, and he traces his ancestry back to the fourth Earl of Sandwich.

In the mid 18th century, the fourth earl's era, British earls were truly earls; dining was a sit-down affair involving utensils, and advances in the culinary arts were largely confined to the Continent.

But then, in 1762, the fourth earl, in a burst of peckishness and menu innovation, invented the portable meal offering we now call a sandwich, and lunch was changed forever - or so suggests the company's press release.

Fast forward 245 years, and the younger earl and his company are seeking franchisees in a number of US markets, including Greater Boston, so it can meet its goal of expanding by 100 restaurants per year.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

Skinny dipping high on secret summer list

Beach goers should consider packing blinders along with their sun screen this year; according to a new survey that seeks to identify secret summer pleasures, 14 percent of men say that skinny dipping tops their list.

The survey is from Dunkin' Donuts, the Canton-based restaurant chain and a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands Inc.

Another favorite secret summer pleasure is to call in sick on a sunny day and decamp to the beach, the survey found; nearly 25 percent of the survey's respondents confessed to that grievous crime. Of those surveyed, 21 percent said one of their favorite secret pleasures is enjoying a summer romance.

Dunkin's survey calls attention to a new interactive website, MyIcedCoffee.com, where visitors can get advice and tips for planning "family fun-events" during the summer.

At MyIcedCoffee.com, consumers can bet dollars to doughnuts that they won't find any information about ideal skinny-dipping venues, though there are plenty of swell photos of TV personality Rachael Ray, a Dunkin' Donuts pitchwoman.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

Moldflow CFO resigns

Moldflow Corp., a provider of design analysis tools used by the plastics injection molding industry, said today that its chief financial officer resigned.

Christopher Gorgone, 57, will leave the company to pursue other interests. He will be replaced by Gregory Magoon, who will be promoted from corporate controller to executive vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer and assistant secretary.

Magoon has been corporate controller for the past six years, and was previously an audit services manager at audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Moldflow is based in Framingham.
(AP)

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

RatePoint lands $6.5m in funding

RatePoint Inc. said it has secured $6.5 million in Series A funding.

The funding round was led by Prism VentureWorks, a venture capital firm with offices in Westwood, and .406 Ventures Management L.L.C., a Boston venture capital firm, RatePoint said.

RatePoint of Needham offers a customer feedback platform for businesses, and it said it plans to use the funding to support product development and sales and marketing initiatives.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:08 AM | Comments (0)

SBA starts vet program

The US Small Business Administration announced the Patriot Express Pilot Loan, a program designed to help finance entrepreneurs whose business careers have been affected by military service.

"With military activations and extensions having a profound impact on entrepreneurs in the military community, SBA is committed to helping America's service men and women during the continuing War on Terror," SBA administrator Steven Preston said in a statement.

Patriot Express Loans are available up to $500,000, and they can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, and equipment and real estate purchases, the SBA said.

The Patriot Express loan is modeled on an existing SBA program but features enhanced guarantee and interest-rate provisions, the SBA said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)

PerkinElmer expands in India

PerkinElmer Inc. said it has established a wholly owned subsidiary in India.

The Waltham technology company focuses on the health sciences and photonics markets, and it said it has acquired the remaining minority interest in PerkinElmer India Pvt. Ltd., a direct sales, service, and marketing operation targeting India's life science and analytical instrumentation markets.

PerkinElmer said it purchased the minority interest from Labindia Instruments Pvt. Ltd.

"A stronger India presence will enable us to react faster to changing needs and develop new solutions specifically for the market," company chairman and chief executive Gregory L. Summe said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:55 AM | Comments (0)

RFID World coming to Boston

CMP Technology announced the launch today of RFID World Boston, a new conference and trade show designed to bring together major players in the field of radio-frequency identification technology.

The conference is scheduled for Sept. 19 and 20 at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in the Back Bay, said CMP, a marketing solutions company based in Manhasset, N.Y.

Robert C. Cresanti, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology and the chief privacy officer for the US Department of Commerce, is among the speakers booked for the event, CMP said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:49 AM | Comments (0)

Kelly's launches Red Sox contest

Kelly's Roast Beef has unveiled a "Dig in at the Dugout" promotion for seafood, beef, and baseball lovers.

The Saugus-based chain of five restaurants said it is encouraging customers to "dig in" to its summer seafood, salads, and sandwiches while entering for a chance to win Red Sox dugout seats and home game tickets to spend a summer day at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

Near the end of July three customers will win a pair of tickets each, ranging from a deuce next to the dugout to two seats in the bleachers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)

Two Financial Center breaks ground today

Mayor Thomas M. Menino is scheduled to attend the ground-breaking ceremony today for Two Financial Center, a 12-story office building in the city's Leather District, his office said.

The project, with a total development cost of $110 million, will replace a surface parking lot with an office building with ground-floor retail, the mayor's office said.

The building's developer is a joint venture between Lincoln Property Co., a Texas-based real estate firm, and ASB Capital Management, an institutional money management firm with headquarters in Maryland.

The project is expected to be completed by early 2009.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (1)

Diversa, Celunol complete merger

Diversa Corp. and Celunol Corp said they have completed their previously announced merger, and the resulting entity will be known as Verenium Corp.

Headquartered in Cambridge, the publicly traded Verenium seeks to become a major player in the emerging biofuels industry.

Earlier this year, Diversa of California, a publicly traded company that develops enzymes and biological compounds, said it would buy privately held Celunol of Cambridge, which seeks to turn farm waste into clean-burning ethanol.

Under the $115 million sales agreement, the plan was for the resulting company to be run by Celunol executives in Cambridge, the Globe previously reported.

In connection with the corporate name change, the company said it has changed the Nasdaq Stock Market ticker symbol it used as Diversa to VRNM for Verenium; the ticker change is scheduled to take effect today.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Captivate expands elevator screens

Captivate Network said it has significantly expanded the number of video screens it operates in office building elevators that show advertising.

The Westford company said it has installed screens in the elevators of 148 additional office buildings since January, including the Pembroke Real Estate World Trade Center East in Boston. With this latest round of expansion, the company said its screens can be found in more than 750 office buildings across North America.

According to Captivate, the digital at-work news and entertainment network that appears on those screens helps landlords to attract and retain high-quality tenants; the screens also show advertising.

Captivate is part of the Gannett Co., a Virginia-based information company that publishes many newspapers including USA Today.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2007

Tests of HIV drug encourages Panacos

Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc. will continue developing its HIV treatment after seeing positive response in a midstage study, the Watertown company said today.

A 250-milligram dose of bevirimat doubled antiviral effect in the Phase IIb study, compared with a previous 400-milligram dose. That study failed to meet its goal. At the time, the company said the problem could have been the tablet formation.

The new study results support further dose escalation, the company said. It anticipates completing a study involving a 300-milligram dose during the third quarter.

Shares of Panacos rose 33 cents, or 9 percent, to $3.98 in after-hours trading, after falling 13 cents, or 3.4 percent, to close at $3.65.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:43 PM | Comments (0)

Coley Pharmaceutical shares plunge 60%

Shares of Wellesley-based Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc. plunged nearly 60 percent today, to $3.46, after Pfizer Inc. said it had ended its lung cancer development program for PF-3512676, citing the drug’s ineffectiveness in combination with chemotherapy.

Pfizer licensed the drug candidate from Coley in 2005.

It was being tested in two late-stage clinical trials and two mid-stage trials to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer. It was being administered in conjunction with cytotoxic chemotherapy.

An independent monitoring committee recommended ending the program, as the risk-benefit of the treatment did not justify moving forward.

There was no evidence the drug candidate in combination with chemotherapy was any more effective than chemotherapy alone.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:41 PM | Comments (0)

Will boomers' retirements cut growth rate?

A steady decline in the working-age population as baby boomers retire may significantly reduce economic output, requiring new rules of thumb to guide the Federal Reserve as it seeks to keep inflation at bay.

But the pace at which growth in the labor supply will slow is far from clear — as debate at a conference in Chatham hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston this week showed.

A paper presented by Bruce Fallick of the Federal Reserve Board and Jonathan Pingle at Brevan Howard Asset Management showed the projected aging of the population will lower the aggregate labor force participation rate by a full 6 percentage points over the next 35 years.

The participation rate, the proportion of the working-age population in the labor force, peaked in the late 1990s after about a half-century of gains. It stood at 66 percent in May; many analysts expect it to gradually decline.

‘‘The implication of this for monetary policy is that potential output would be much less, holding everything else constant,’’ said Lisa Lynch, an economics professor at Tufts University, who is also chair of directors at the Boston Fed.

Fed officials are already searching for fresh benchmarks and trying to figure out what pace of job growth is sustainable.

Older Americans may have to work longer as benefits and pensions contract, according to one paper presented at the conference.

Yet even as growth in the working-age population slows, productivity gains may help keep the economy’s growth rate from slipping sharply.

Dale Jorgenson, an economics professor at Harvard University, expressed confidence productivity gains will remain robust — comparable to productivity growth during the 1960-2004 period.

Some economists, however, worry productivity growth may be slowing. After surging in the late 1990s to about a 2.5 percent annual pace, it has dropped below 2 percent.
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:42 PM | Comments (0)

Shareholders OK Investors Financial deal

Investors Financial Services Corp., which provides investment services to hedge funds, investment advisers and banks, today said its shareholders approved the company’s $4.16 billion acquisition by State Street Corp.

Investors Financial shareholders will receive 0.906 shares of State Street common stock for each share of Investors Financial stock held at closing. Both companies are based in Boston.

The deal is expected to close in early July, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The company also said the Federal Reserve has approved the acquisition.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

Voters support Westwood Station project

A developer of Westwood Station said that efforts to downsize and delay the project were defeated at a special Westwood town meeting last night by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.

Developers propose to replace the University Avenue industrial park in Westwood with a transit-oriented community with 1,000 residences, 1.5 million square feet of office space, retail shops and restaurants and two hotels; the project is near the MBTA's Route 128 Station.

"Residents voiced their overwhelming support for Westwood Station once again," Jay Doherty, president of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, a Boston real estate firm, said in a statement.

Besides Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, the project's development team includes New England Development and Commonfund Realty Inc.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Logan Terminal A vendors get an extension

Struggling airport vendors in the underutilized Delta Air Lines satellite Terminal A gates at Logan International Airport are getting a rent break extended for five more months.

The board of directors of the Massachusetts Port Authority voted today to extend a rent break deal, which was set to expire June 30, through Oct. 31. That's the day by which Continental Airlines Inc. is expected to move into the $500 million, 27-month-old Terminal A, bringing nearly 1 million more passengers annually to the terminal and, airport officials hope, boosting the fortunes of restaurateurs and retailers in the satellite gates A13-22.

Eating establishments in the satellite terminal, according to the Logan website, include Jasper White's Summer Shack, Famous Famigilia pizzeria, Fresh City, and Fuddruckers; shops include Airport Wireless, Brookstone gift shop, Johnson & Murphy Shoes, L'Occitane beauty products, Landau jewelers, and a Metropolitan Museum of Art Experience gift shop.

Terminal A consists of a main terminal directly behind the check-in counters and the satellite terminal, reached by an underground walkway.

Delta planned and built the terminal based on projections of booming travel demand made before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Since its opening, Delta has run the terminal at roughly 50 percent of its capacity, and many retailers have struggled.

In March 2006, Massport agreed to renegotiate Terminal A rent terms with Westfield Concession Management Inc., which oversees the restaurants and stores in the terminal. Massport agreed to waive a minimum monthly rent requirement equal to 45 cents for every passenger boarding a plane in the terminal, plus an additional percentage of the outlets' sales, and instead collect only the percentage of sales as rent. "Subtenant sales in the Terminal A Satellite have continued to fall short of projections,'' Massport officials said. Massport doesn't release sales or rent details for the shops.

Continental is taking six gates in the main part of Terminal A, next to the Delta New York shuttle operations, and Delta plans to shift most of its other flights -- except for the LaGuardia Airport shuttle and some small-plane service -- into the satellite gates. That should boost foot traffic and sales for concessionares in the satellite terminal and allow Massport to seek a rent increase from them after Nov. 1, Massport officials said.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:22 PM | Comments (0)

Massport continues Worcester bailout

The Worcester Regional Airport, which lost its last commercial airline service this autumn, will keep getting a financial bailout from the Massachusetts Port Authority for another six months.

Massport board members voted today to extend the authority's subsidies for the airport -- which had been slated to end July 1 -- through the end of the year while it attempts to negotiate a new bailout deal with Worcester officials. As it has been so far this year, Massport will continue to cover 68 percent of the airport's operating deficit, not counting capital expenses, and Worcester 32 percent, which translates to a total Massport subsidy for the airport of about $1.4 million annually.

Massport and Worcester officials jointly said they "believe that a good faith effort to reach [a] new agreement'' on allocating the operating deficits can be reached by Dec. 31. Massport said that "the prospects for increasing utilization of the airport and the efficiency of the regional airports system could be enhanced through the authority's continue operation of the airport and the possible acquisition, at a subsequent time, of the airport by the authority.''

Several airlines flew from Worcester to their northeastern and midwestern hubs in the 1990s but later pulled out as traffic dwindled. Allegiant Airlines began service in late 2005 between Worcester and Sanford, Fla., north of Orlando, becoming the only scheduled carrier at Worcester. But by September, Allegiant folded operations, becoming the 13th airline in 18 years to start and then later stop service from the airport, which is located on the opposite side of Worcester from Interstate 290 and requires travelers coming from there or the Massachusetts Turnpike to make a tortuous drive down city streets dotted by traffic lights.

Speculation has been heavy that new discount carrier Skybus Airlines, which flies to second- and third-tier airports from its Columbus, Ohio, hub including Portstmouth, N.H., would look to launch service from Worcester. But it wound up deciding to go to an even smaller airport, Westover Municipal in Chicopee, where it will begin service July 16.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)

Massport CEO gets $20k pay increase

Thomas J. Kinton Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, won a $20,145 annual pay raise today.

Without debate, Massport's board today unanimously approved a nearly 8 percent pay raise for Kinton, bringing his annual salary starting July 1 to $275,145, up from $255,000 currently. Massport board member Paul D. Foster said the increase was recommended by Massport human resources and compensation consultants Watson Wyatt Worldwide "to make Mr. Kinton's compensation more competitive with that of other chief executive officers at comparable airports and port authorities.''

Kinton will get the same 4 percent average merit raise being awarded July 1 to Massport administrative employees. Then in addition to that, according to Massport spokeswoman Danny Levy, Kinton will get a special 3.75 percent raise as voted by the seven-member board.

The raise comes eight months after Massport directors, facing public criticism for a policy that awarded retiring employees tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for unusued sick days, agreed to cap that benefit starting Jan. 1 and then sharply reduce it. Since the beginning of this year, Massport employees now going forward earn a cash credit equal to just 20 percent of their unused sick days instead of the previous 100 percent. The change has been estimated to mean Kinton will collect $46,000 less than he stood to get before the policy change, assuming he completes the remaining four years of his contract and continues to take sick days at the same rate.

Kinton is a 31-year Massport veteran who worked his way up from an entry-level position in the airport materials testing lab to become director of aviation, its head official overseeing Logan International Airport, and beginning last August chief executive and executive director. He had twice served as acting CEO before being named to the post permanently.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)

Herb Chambers buys 5 auto dealers

Auto dealer Herb Chambers acquired five luxury dealerships in Boston's western suburbs, Chambers said in a press release today.

The release said Chambers has acquired Foreign Motors West of Natick, Sudbury, and Wayland; Foreign Motors includes five dealerships, and one of them is New England's only Rolls-Royce dealership.

Other brands involved in the transaction include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Bentley.

No financial details of the transaction were included in the release, which noted that the purchase brings the number of Herb Chambers dealerships to 38.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

New directory assistance service from Verizon

Callers in Boston can get free directory assistance for business listings. The catch? Callers could hear an ad while waiting for an automated system to find the requested listing.

Verizon Communications Inc. said today that Boston is one of the markets where it is testing a new directory assistance service for business listings known as 800-THE-INFO.

The system will also give business listings verbally and by text messages to cellphone users when requested; calls are subject to the mobile provider's airtime and text-message fees, Verizon said.

Consumers simply dial 1-800-THE-INFO, or 1-800-843-4636, and ask for a listing free of charge; the service offers only business listings, Verizon said.

Headquartered in New York, Verizon delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless communications services to mass market, business, government, and wholesale customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

Dunkin' Donuts expands to Hersheypark

In a marriage possibly confected in sweet-tooth heaven, Dunkin' Donuts said today it is opening two stores in Hersheypark, a candyman's theme-park shrine to chocolate.

According to Dunkin' Donuts, the two stores will be the Canton-based chain's first within a theme park, though technically one store is located just outside the park entrance.

In news sure to wow the chocolate-kisses crowd, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for today at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pa., Dunkin' Donuts said.

The launch into theme parks coincides with the roll out of Dunkin' Donuts' national expansion program, said the chain, which is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands Inc.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

Genzyme seeks new Synvisc use

Genzyme Corp., a Cambridge biotechnology company, said today that it is seeking regulatory approval to use its Synvisc pain treatment in a new way.

Synvisc is currently delivered three times in once-a-week intervals to manage pain caused by osteoarthritis of the knee.

But now Genzyme is filing an application with the Food and Drug Administration that would allow for Synvisc to be delivered in a single treatment, called Synvisc-One, that could provide pain relief for up to six months.

If Synvisc-One is approved, it would be the only such product available to provide this duration of pain relief from a single injection, Genzyme said.

According to Genzyme, this product line extension of Synvisc can simplify osteoarthritis knee-pain management and reduce the overall cost of the therapy.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Sports Illustrated taps Gotuit

Gotuit said today that Sports Illustrated will use its technology in its Web coverage of the National Basketball Association's 2007 draft.

Gotuit of Woburn is provider of video, discovery, navigation, and monetization technologies.

The company said it is expanding its relationship with Sports Illustrated to power its broadband video experience for the NBA draft.

The latest in a series of SI.com FILMROOMs, the 2007 NBA draft website will provide viewers with a searchable database of video highlights from the top draft prospects organized by player, position, and prospective NBA team, Gotuit said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

Mass. pharmacist wins $2m from Wal-Mart

A pharmacist who claimed she was fired by Wal-Mart after asking to be paid the same as her male colleagues has won a nearly $2 million award against the retail giant.

A Berkshire Superior Court jury concluded Wal-Mart discriminated against Cynthia Haddad and awarded her nearly $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages Tuesday.

"It sends a message that you can't treat people poorly because of who they are," said David Belfort, Haddad's attorney.

Wal-Mart's attorneys didn't comment after the verdict.

Haddad was fired in April 2004 after more than 10 years at a Wal-Mart store in Pittsfield. She claimed in court that she was fired because she asked to be paid the same as her male counterparts, including a bonus given to pharmacy managers. The company paid the bonus, then fired her two weeks later.

Lawyers for the retailer said she was fired because she left the pharmacy unattended and allowed a technician to use her computer security code to issue prescriptions during her absence, including a fraudulent prescription for a painkiller.

Haddad's lawyers argued that the prescription was filled 18 months before she was dismissed and without her knowledge, and that more severe infractions by male pharmacists went unpunished. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

Iceland warms to Paradigm tech

Paradigm Tactical Products said today that its FriskerPro, a portable metal detector, has gotten positive feedback from Iceland's Capital Police Force.

The Georgetown company is a provider of non-lethal defense and homeland security solutions to the corrections, law enforcement, and security industries.

Its FriskerPro portable metal detector can be worn on the hand while leaving the fingers free.

The company said it got positive feedback when its distributor in Iceland showed the FriskerPro to some local police officials.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

Washington school adopts SolidWorks

A Washington state school district is using 3D computer-aided design software from SolidWorks Corp. as part of technology immersion program for its students, the Concord company said.

According to SolidWorks, Clover Park School District of Lakewood, Wash., is educating high school and middle school students in the same practices on the same technologies that many large companies use to design better products.

SolidWorks is owned by Dassault Systemes S.A., a French company that develops and markets software for design, analysis, and product data management.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Flatt joins Mascoma Corp.

Mascoma Corp. named James H. Flatt as senior vice president for research and development.

The Cambridge firm is focused on developing environmentally beneficial and cost-effective technologies for converting cellulosic biomass into ethanol.

Flatt previously held a similar position at Martek Biosciences Corp., a Maryland company whose products include nutritional oils for infant formula, nutritional supplements, and food ingredients.

Posted by globebusiness at 9:01 AM | Comments (0)

KeySpan expands green program

KeySpan Corp. is now pitching its "Be Green, Win Green" program to local communities as well as to homeowners.

A large distributor of natural gas in the Northeast, KeySpan unveiled a campaign in April to persuade homeowners in its service areas to "help reduce the effects of global warming" by converting their home heating systems from oil to gas.

Working with the Environmental Protection Agency, KeySpan is now expanding that campaign to include local communities and inviting those communities to take the EPA's Community Energy Challenge, an energy efficiency audit.

"The EPA's Community Energy Challenge is a launching point for helping towns and individuals to evaluate their energy needs and establish a plan for energy efficiency," Nick Stavropoulos, president of KeySpan Energy Delivery, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Report: new DVD formats gaining traction

HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc are building momentum, but they'll need three to five years to become a mainstream product, according to a new report from IDC, a Framingham-based market intelligence firm.

DVD burners will continue to be the dominant volume product of the optical/removable storage market until 2011 because of commodity price and almost universal compatibility, IDC said.

But a next generation of products, which use a blue-laser format, are gaining traction, IDC said.

"Similar to DVD and DVD burners, blue laser DVDs will need a three- to five-year ramp to reach mass-market volumes," Wolfgang Schlichting, research director for removable storage at IDC, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:51 AM | Comments (0)

"Experience gift" company comes to Boston

Need a hot-air balloon ride for two, a private sunset cruise off Cape Cod, or an in-home wine-tasting event?

Excitations, a Virginia company, said that it is now offering such "experience gifts" in markets including Boston.

"With wedding season in full swing, attendees are taking a pass on gifting the bride and groom a toaster or a set of knives, instead opting to provide a memorable experience that the newlyweds won't soon forget," company cofounder Kim AuBuchon said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

EnerNOC, OpenPages execs honored

Executives at EnerNOC Inc. and OpenPages Inc. were among those cited in Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year competition for New England.

Boston's EnerNOC, whose specialties include helping utilities to better manage electricity consumption, said that Tim Healy was honored in the clean technology category.

OpenPages of Waltham provides software that helps companies better manage their procedures for complying with their regulatory obligations, and it said that chief executive Michael J. Duffy was presented the award for the enterprise software technology category.

Ernst & Young is a global professional services company.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:34 AM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2007

iRobot secures credit facilities worth $50m

Robot maker iRobot Corp. today said it has secured two new credit facilities worth $50 million.

The Burlington company signed a three-year agreement with Bank of America for a $35 million unsecured revolving credit line and a one-year agreement with Banc of America Leasing & Capital LLC and TD BankNorth for a $15 million equipment-financing facility.

The new financing replaces iRobot’s previous $20 million secured revolving credit agreement from May 2005.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)

Proteus hires a new CEO

Proteus Industries has hired Timothy Driscoll as its chief executive.

Proteus, of Gloucester, is a protein-application company that focuses on reducing fat content in food.

Most recently, Driscoll headed Driscoll Management Services LLC, a firm engaged in strategy development and international lobbying.

Proteus also said it is opening a production facility in Alabama.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:15 PM | Comments (0)

NH ski visits fell 3% last season

Skier visits to New Hampshire’s alpine ski areas fell 3 percent last winter to about 1.96 million, Ski NH reported today.

Little natural snowfall early in the season was partly offset by better weather in the second half, said the group, which represents 37 alpine and cross-country ski resorts and more than 200 lodging properties.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Cyberoam parent gets a $10.3m boost

Cyberoam said its Indian parent company has received a $10.3 million investment from Carlyle Group, a private equity firm with offices in Washington, D.C.

Cyberoam, of Newburyport, provides Internet security appliances. Its parent is Elitecore Technologies Ltd.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:55 PM | Comments (0)

TA Associates completes Jupiter buyout

TA Associates has completed a $1.47 billion management buyout of Jupiter Investment Management Group, a London asset-management company.

Under the transaction, Jupiter’s management holds a majority stake in the business, TA Associates said today.

Jupiter’s management and TA Associates purchased the firm from Commerzbank, of Germany.

TA Associates is a buyout and private equity firm with offices in Boston.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)

Danvers Bancorp seeks to offer stock

Danvers Bancorp Inc. said that it is seeking state regulatory permission to convert from a mutual holding company to a stock holding company.

Danvers Bancorp is the mutual holding company of Danversbank; founded in 1850, Danversbank is a $1.3 billion financial institution with 13 locations, including Andover, Malden, and Woburn.

Money raised from a public offering of stock "will help us to maintain not only our commitment to the communities in which we operate, but also will afford us the opportunity to continue to grow our franchise," bank chief executive Kevin Bottomley said in a statement.

The company said its board of directors adopted a conversion plan on Friday and that today the bank filed an application to convert to a stock holding company with the Massachusetts Division of Banks.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)

Report: Forget the beach, job seekers

Attention job seekers: Don't take the summer off.

So states Winter, Wyman Cos. of Waltham, which today issued some career advice for those on the job hunt.

With so many folks at the beach or on the golf course, there is less competition in the job market, and the truly motivated job hunter should exploit that opportunity, the company said.

Other tips from Winter, Wyman include: Keep your resume updated at all times; take advantage of people relocating before the beginning of the school year, and network in alternative venues such as cruises, backyard cookouts, and college reunions.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

Life science campus coming to Worcester

Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Worcester Business Development Corp. said today they will launch a life science-based campus in the city this fall.

Set to open in September, Gateway Park is an 11-acre mixed-use complex that will serve as a stimulus for economic development and a catalyst for life-science cluster expansion in Worcester and throughout the state, the two said.

More than $75 million has been invested to date in the Gateway Park property, the two said.

The Worcester Business Development Corp. is a nonprofit business organization that seeks to be an innovative and leading force in the economic development of the Worcester region.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

Kevin McClatchy invests in Gather.com

Privately held Gather.com said today that Kevin McClatchy, chief executive of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a director of newspaper publisher McClatchy Co., took a minority stake in the social networking Web site geared toward adults.

Other investors include former Lotus Chairman Jim Manzi and McGraw-Hill Cos.

The company said it will use the funds to expand product development and support its global expansion plans.

Gather.com members discuss topics ranging from politics to cooking and are paid for their activity on the site. It has more than 1 million visitors a month. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Sedo buys GreatDomains

Internet domain name marketplace operator Sedo.com LLC said today it bought GreatDomains.com from domain name registry manager VeriSign Inc.

Sedo.com, which is based in Cambridge, did not disclose financial details of the deal.

Sedo.com is the U.S. unit of Germany-based Sedo GmbH, which is itself a subsidiary of United Internet AG. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)

Javelin reports positive Rylomine data

Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge today reported encouraging results for its product candidate Rylomine.

According to Javelin, Rylomine is a patient-controlled nasal spray that delivers a single metered dose of morphine, an opioid analgesic used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.

Data from clinical studies, Javelin said, have demonstrated that Rylomine has similar efficacy to an infusion of intravenous morphine.

"Today's gratifying results extend our prior positive study findings showing that Rylomine is a simple, effective alternative to more complex, cumbersome, and costly methods of postoperative opioid analgesia," Javelin chief executive Daniel B. Carr said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)

Hyundai chooses Enpocket tech

Enpocket said today that Hyundai has selected its platform to power the automaker's mobile advertising program.

Headquartered in Boston, Enpocket focuses on mobile advertising by providing brands with "end-to-end, turnkey solutions" that make marketing to consumers with personal mobile devices simpler and more effective.

Hyundai is looking to mount a mobile ad campaign that targets a youthful audiences and that includes a multimedia mobile website, content downloads, and a text-messaging campaign, Enpocket said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

Mass. foreclosure problems persist

Foreclosure auction announcements in Massachusetts nearly tripled in May when compared with year-ago numbers, according to a new report from the Warren Group.

May also marked the eighth straight month in which more than 2,000 petitions to foreclose were filed, said the Warren Group, the Boston publisher of Banker & Tradesman and a provider of real estate data.

There were 1,589 announcements of foreclosure auctions in May, compared with 654 in May 2006, the group said.

"As we can see from May's numbers, foreclosures are still affecting homeowners across Massachusetts," Timothy Warren, chief executive of the Warren Group, said in a statement. "And the Bay State has not yet seen this problem peak."

Petitions to foreclose are the first steps in the foreclosure process, and they do not always result in actual foreclosure; some homeowners can eventually sell their homes or refinance their mortgages, the Warren Group said.

But Timothy Warren noted in his statement, "As we see a higher number of homes make it farther through the foreclosure process, it becomes evident that homeowners are finding it difficult to refinance their mortgage or sell their homes before they reach auction."

One factor driving the increase in foreclosure auction announcements, regulators believe, was the rising popularity of so-called subprime loans in recent years; in general, subprime loans are marketed to home buyers with poor credit ratings.

Subprime often start with low interest rates, but when the rates are adjusted upward later, many homeowners can no longer afford their monthly mortgage payment, and they face the possibility of foreclosure.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)

Aveo exec gets entrepreneur honor

Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its chief executive, Tuan Ha-Ngoc, has been selected by Ernst & Young as the New England Entrepreneur of the Year in the life sciences category.

Aveo is a Cambridge biotechnology company seeking to leverage breakthrough discoveries in cancer biology to develop and commercialize targeted oncology therapies.

According to Aveo, the company has assembled a strong management team and developed a pipeline of promising cancer medicines since Ha-Ngoc joined Aveo as chief executive in 2002.

Ernst & Young is a global professional services firm.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

Color Kinetics sold to Philips

Royal Philips Electronics NV said today it is offering about $688 million for Color Kinetics Inc. and the Boston-based lighting company's management supports the deal.

Amsterdam-based Philips is the world's largest lighting company, while Color Kinetics makes Light Emitting Diode lighting systems for professionals.

LEDs are relatively expensive, but have the ability to produce light in any color, and are both energy-efficient and long-lasting. They are expected to win market share as their cost falls in comparison with incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent lights.

Philips is offering $34 per share for Color Kinetics, a 14 percent premium over its closing price Monday of $29.79. Color Kinetics shares had risen by about 50 percent since April 1.

"There was quite a run-up during the process" of negotiating the deal, Philips Lighting CEO Theo van Deursen said in a telephone interview. He said the discussions were confidential as far as the companies knew.

Van Deursen said the offer for Color Kinetics in part reflects important patents it holds on how LED lighting is controlled, specifically the software and hardware that makes it possible to adjust color and brightness. These will become more important in the future as other companies -- including Philips -- have licensed the technology.

Color Kinetics had sales of $65 million in 2006.

"We believe that joining Philips ... is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, partners, and employees," Color Kinetics CEO Bill Sims said in a statement.

Van Deursen said he expected the deal to win shareholder and regulatory approval and close before the end of the year.

Philips shares dipped 0.3 percent to 31.34 euros ($41.76) in Amsterdam trading.

Philips uses Color Kinetic's controls in its own "Living Colors" color-adjustable LED lamps for the home market. They were introduced in the Netherlands earlier this year and will be sold in five more European countries in September.

Van Deursen said the company does not yet have a date for when the product, which has drawn both praise and some skepticism from technology and design enthusiasts, will be introduced in the United States. He said sales are outperforming expectations so far in the Netherlands but declined to give figures.

Today's acquisition is Philips' third targeting the LED market, as the company continues to bet heavily on the future of the technology.

In 2005, it bought Agilent Technologies Inc. out of their Lumileds LED components joint venture for $950 million.

In March, Philips completed a 53 million euro ($71 million) purchase of Canada's TIR Systems Ltd., which specializes in white light-producing LED modules.

Van Deursen said Philips expects the market for LEDs to grow at more than 20 percent per year and reach $20-30 billion in 2025. The company now has first-place positions in the entire LED supply chain from components and modules to complete systems.

Among major lighting rivals, Siemens AG is the second-largest LED components maker after Philips' Lumileds, but does not have a strong presence in other areas, Van Deursen said.

General Electric Co. does not appear to be pursuing the LED market outside of niche areas such as movie screens, as part of a larger reduced emphasis on its lighting operations, Van Deursen said.

"I don't know what our competitors are missing but we are convinced we're not missing anything," he said. (AP)

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

Survey: iPhone buyers may wait

The buzz may be deafening, but consumers buying pricey iPhones en masse is no certainty, according to a survey out today from IDC, a Framingham-based market intelligence firm.

Working with Market Insight Corp., a California firm that seeks to gauge product demand, IDC said it conducted a survey of 456 online mobile phone shoppers to determine their views on the new iPhone from Apple Inc. of California.

While nearly 60 percent of those surveyed expressed interest in the iPhone, "they were unlikely to buy one anytime soon owing to the cost of the device and the potential cost of switching carriers," IDC said.

Apple is scheduled to launch the iPhone June 29, and the device has a suggested retail price of $499 for a four-gigabyte version and $599 for an eight gigabyte version.

"While the allure of owning the next 'cool' device will undoubtedly have early adopters - and die-hard Apple fans - queuing up to get the iPhone regardless of price, the associated costs of ownership will persuade many others into a 'wait-and-see' position," Shiv K. Bakhshi, director of IDC's mobility research, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)

Alternate currency circulates in Mass. towns

A walk down Main Street in Great Barrington calls to mind the pictures of Norman Rockwell, who lived nearby and chronicled small-town American life in the mid-20th Century.

So it is fitting that the artist's face adorns the 50 BerkShares note, one of five denominations in a currency adopted by towns in western Massachusetts to support locally owned businesses over national chains.

"I just love the feel of using a local currency," said Trice Atchison, 43, a teacher who used BerkShares to buy a snack at a cafe in Great Barrington, a town of about 7,400 people. "It keeps the profit within the community."

There are about 844,000 BerkShares in circulation, worth $759,600 at the fixed exchange rate of 1 BerkShare to 90 U.S. cents, according to program organizers. The paper scrip is available in denominations of one, five, 10, 20 and 50.

In their 10 months of circulation, they've become a regular feature of the local economy. Businesses that accept BerkShares treat them interchangeably with dollars: a $1 cup of coffee sells for 1 BerkShare, a 10 percent discount for people paying in BerkShares.

Named for the local Berkshire Hills, BerkShares are accepted in about 280 cafes, coffee shops, grocery stores and other businesses in Great Barrington and neighboring towns, including Stockbridge, the town where Rockwell lived for a quarter century.

"BerkShares are cash, and so people have transferred their cash habits to BerkShares," said Susan Witt, executive director of the E.F. Schumacher Society, a nonprofit group that set up the program. "They might have 50 in their pocket, but not 150. They're buying their lunch, their coffee, a small birthday present."

Great Barrington attracts weekend residents and tourists from the New York area who help to support its wealth of organic farms, yoga studios, cafes and businesses like Allow Yourself to Be, which offers services ranging from massage to "chakra balancing" and Infinite Quest, which sells "past life regression therapy."

LOCAL PRIDE

The BerkShares program is one of about a dozen such efforts in the nation. Local groups in California, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin run similar ones. One of the oldest is Ithaca Hours, which went into circulation in 1991 in Ithaca, New York.

About $120,000 of that currency circulates in the rural town. Unlike BerkShares, Ithaca Hours cannot officially be freely converted to dollars, though some businesses buy them.

Stephen Burkle, president of the Ithaca Hours program, said the notes are a badge of local pride.

"At the beginning it was very hard to get small businesses to get on board with it," said Burkle, who also owns a music store in Ithaca. "When Ithaca Hours first started, there wasn't a Home Depot in town, there wasn't a Borders, there wasn't a Starbucks. Now that there are, it's a mechanism for small businesses to compete with national chains."

U.S. law prevents states from issuing their own currency but allows private groups to print paper scrip, though not coins, said Lewis Solomon, a professor of law at George Washington University, who studies local currencies.

"As long as you don't turn out quarters and you don't turn out something that looks like the U.S. dollar, it's legal," Solomon said.

FULL CIRCLE

The BerkShares experiment comes as the dollar is losing some of its status on international markets, with governments shifting some reserves into euros, the pound and other investments as the U.S. currency has slid in value.

But the dollar is still the currency that businesses in Great Barrington need to pay most of their bills.

"The promise of this program is for it to be a completed circle," said Matt Rubiner, owner of Rubiner's cheese shop and Rubi's cafe. Some local farmers who supply him accept BerkShares, but he pays most of his bills in dollars.

"The circle isn't quite completed yet in most cases, and someone has to take the hit," Rubiner said, referring to the 10 percent discount. "The person who takes the hit is the merchant, it's me."

Meanwhile, Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., a western Massachusetts bank that exchanges BerkShares for dollars, is considering BerkShares-denominated checks and debit cards.

"Businesses aren't comfortable walking around with wads of BerkShares to pay for their supplies or their advertising," said Melissa Joyce, a branch officer with the bank, which has 25 branches, six of which exchange BerkShares. "I do hope that we're able to develop the checking account and debit card, because it will make it easier for everyone." (Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Foundation calls for "revolution"

Local institutions must galvanize for a "sweeping revolution" if Greater Boston is to continue to flourish in the future in the face of increasing global challenges and competition.

So concludes a new report from the Boston Foundation, a large community foundation, and the report, titled "A Time Like No Other: Charting the Course of the American Revolution," is scheduled to be unveiled today at a Boston College Citizen Seminar.

"We are at the intersection of peril and opportunity," foundation chief executive Paul S. Grogan said in a statement in a press release advancing the seminar.

The region is threatened, Grogan indicated, by a loss of young people, partly squeezed out by high housing prices, and by "growing competition for knowledge-economy clusters," but given that "revolution" is in the Bay State's "civic DNA," there is hope that local ingenuity and the region's tremendous talent pool can find a way for Massachusetts to continue to flourish.

To successfully meet the challenges ahead, local institutions must become more "collaborative, efficient, and innovative," the report indicated, and they must figure out a way to build housing that is affordable to young workers.

For example, the report notes that the "region's cost of living exceeds the nation's by a growing percentage."

Between 1998 and 2006, the number of communities in Greater Boston in which "a median-income household could afford a median-priced home shrank from 148 out of 161 to just 27," the report said.

On the bright side, the report found that Massachusetts has "turned the corner" following job and population loss in the aftermath of the 2001 recession.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

Roberts joins InVivo board

InVivo Therapeutics Corp. said today that the scientist who won a Nobel Prize for the discovery of split genes has joined its scientific advisory board.

That scientist is Richard Roberts, who won a Nobel Prize in 1993, the Cambridge company said.

InVivo is a medical device company focused on restoring function in individuals paralyzed by traumatic spinal cord injury; its science is based on research started at laboratories at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Roberts won his Nobel Prize for the discovery that a given gene could be present in DNA as several, well-separated segments; the discovery of split genes has been important to basic biological and more medically oriented research, InVivo said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:06 AM | Comments (0)

Helicos adds executives

Helicos BioSciences Corp. said today it has expanded its management team as a step in building a commercial organization.

Joining the Cambridge firm are Chip Leveille, as vice president of sales and marketing, and Mark Solakian, as a vice president and general counsel, Helicos said.

Helicos is a life sciences company developing genetic analysis technologies for the research, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostic markets.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:03 AM | Comments (0)

Epix imaging agent gets FDA response

Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington said it may be able to obtain regulatory approval of its radiology imaging agent Vasovist without further clinical trials.

The company said it has received a response from the Food and Drug Administration in regard to its appeal for immediate approval of Vasovist, which is designed to help detect vascular disease.

While denying immediate approval, the FDA indicated that further clinical tests may be unnecessary; instead, a "blinded reread" of results from previous tests may be sufficient to support approval, Epix said.

Epix has scheduled an investor conference call for this morning to further discuss the FDA's response.

According to the company, Vasovist is an injectable intravascular contrast agent designed to provide visual imaging of the vascular system.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:59 AM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2007

Kennedy calls for immigration reform

In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce today, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy railed against the Iraq war and told the crowd of hundreds that immigration reform is necessary for the country’s security and economic prosperity.

Kennedy, a Democrat, said he supports changes that would create a ‘‘front door’’ to allow foreign workers to fill vital jobs Americans won’t take.

He is sponsoring a proposal to create a guest worker program and pave the way for illegal immigrants to become US citizens after paying fines.

‘‘You look at these families, they send more than $40 billion home to take care of their families,’’ Kennedy said. ‘‘They’re not here for a free ride. They’re here to work.’’
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:16 PM | Comments (0)

Authorize.Net to be sold for $565 million

The electronic payment company CyberSource Corp. today said it will acquire Authorize.Net, a Marlborough company that provides electronic merchant services, for $565 million.

Authorize.Net shareholders will receive 1.1611 shares of CyberSource common stock for every share of Authorize.Net. They will also share a payout of approximately $125 million in cash.

Based on its March 31 share count, the transaction values Authorize.Net at roughly $19.49 per share, representing a 16 percent premium to Friday’s closing price.

The deal is expected to add to Mountain View, Calif.-based CyberSource’s fourth-quarter 2007 earnings, excluding certain expenses.

Authorize.Net, formerly known as Lightbridge, was founded in Provo, Utah, in 1996. In 2006, it earned $24.8 million, or 88 cents per share, and generated $95.6 million in revenue.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)

Idenix names Renaud CFO

Biotech drug developer Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. today named Ronald C. Renaud Jr. as its chief financial officer, effective June 29.

Renaud most recently served as chief financial officer at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc., and before that he spent several years as a biotechnology equity analyst for investment banks such as Bear Stearns and Schwab SoundView.

Renaud's last day at Keryx will be June 27. Mark Stier, the New York-based company's chief accounting officer will assume responsibility for the company's financial functions.

Shares of Idenix dropped 16 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $6.71 in afternoon trading. The company's stock has traded between $6 and $11.21 in the past year.

Shares of Keryx fell 77 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $10.72. The company's stock has traded between $9.53 and $15.46 in the past year. (AP)

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

Medicare lowers Sepracor reimbursement

Drug developer Sepracor Inc. said today that the reimbursement amount for its asthma medication Xopenex will be lower due to a change in the Medicare prescription drug program.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a rate change that lumps the inhalable asthma drug in with generic asthma medications. The new rate translates into $1.31 per unit dose of 1.25-milligram Xopenex. The company did not give the current reimbursement rate. The new rate is effective July 1.

The company said it could not yet assess the impact on its Xopenex revenue and disagrees with the change, saying Xopenex should remain in its separate reimbursement category.

Shares of Sepracor fell $1.14, or 2.5 percent, to $45.40 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $43.84 and $63.24 over the last 52 weeks. (AP)

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

Mass. gas prices dip below $3-a-gallon mark

Gas prices in Massachusetts dipped below the $3-a-gallon mark today for the first time in nearly a month.

A statewide survey by AAA of Southern New England found an average price of $2.95 per gallon of self-service regular unleaded, down a nickel from the previous week.

It was the third consecutive weekly decline after a nearly four-month run of price increases dating to early February. Prices rose 89 cents per gallon during that period, and eclipsed the $3-a-gallon mark on May 21.

Massachusetts' gas prices remain below the nationwide average of $3 per gallon, AAA said. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)

Cigna automates with Aveksa

Aveksa Inc. of Waltham said today that Cigna Corp. has selected an Aveksa product line to help automate some of its data.

One of Aveksa's products is software that corporate clients can use to manage their reporting procedures to comply with government regulations such as those imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Law, which seeks to make corporate governance more transparent.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Cigna is a financial services company whose products include group life and health insurance and managed care products.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

B of A renames wealth unit

Bank of America Corp. announced today that it will rename its private wealth management business U.S. Trust.

The name change is scheduled for July when the legal closing of Bank of America's acquisition of U.S. Trust Corp. is expected, the bank said.

In November, the bank announced plans to purchase U.S Trust for $3.3 billion.

According to a Globe story then, the purchase should add clout to the Bank of America's Boston-based Global Wealth & Investment Management unit.

"The new brand builds on the recognition of U.S. Trust as a leading provider of tailored wealth management solutions and service, and serves as an organic extension of the larger company's brand," Anne Finucane, the Bank of America's chief marketing officer, said today in a statement about the new name.

Headquartered in North Carolina, Bank of America has a large Greater Boston presence.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

Genzyme cites mixed results on Renvela

Genzyme Corp. said today that its kidney disease drug candidate Renvela showed mixed results in two studies, meeting its goal in one but failing in another.

The drug candidate is a powdered formulation aimed at reducing serum phosphorus levels in kidney disease patients. The buildup of serum phosphorus can increase the risk of cardiovascular-related deaths in kidney disease patients. Genzyme applied for approval of the drug in tablet form in December. It plans on filing for approval of the powder form in the first half of 2008.

The new study results compare Renvela to Genzyme's kidney disease treatment Renagel, which is in tablet form.

In the first study, patients treated with the powder Renvela three times per day had phosphorus levels equivalent to patients taking Renagel three times per day, meeting the study's goal.

In the second study, patients taking Renvela once per day had higher phosphorus levels than patients taking Renagel three times per day. The study failed to meet its goal of having Renvela prove at least as effective as Renagel.

The results will be used to support approval for a three-times daily dosing of Renvela powder.

Shares of Genzyme fell $1.42 to $65.48 in morning trading. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)

Steinway CEO to retire

Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. announced today that Bruce Stevens will retire as president and chief executive of its Steinway & Sons division by the end of the year.

Steinway of Waltham, through its Steinway & Sons and Conn-Selmer divisions, is a manufacturer of musical instruments.

The company said that it has retained Spencer Stuart, an executive search consulting firm, to assist with a search for a successor.

During Stevens' 22-year career at Steinway & Sons, the company's piano sales have more than tripled, to $200 million in 2006, and the firm expanded its operations into Japan and China, the company said.

In a statement, Steinway Musical Instruments chief executive Dana Messina said of Stevens, "We wish him and his family the very best in his retirement."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)

Verizon taps Nuance technology

Nuance Communications Inc. said today that Verizon Communications Inc. has selected Nuance voice-search products to power Verizon's automated directory assistance.

Nuance of Burlington is a provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers.

According to Nuance, its voice search product gives wireline or wireless callers faster and easier access to the information they need while simultaneously increasing call automation rates for carriers and service providers.

Headquartered in New York, Verizon delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless services to mass market, business, government, and wholesale customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

Inverness purchases Florida company

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. of Waltham continued its buying spree with the acquisition of a Florida company.

Inverness, a medical testing company, said it has acquired Quality Assured Services Inc. for an initial payment of $12.5 million in cash and $12.5 million in Inverness stock.

The acquisition will provide Inverness with an established in-home patient service and distribution network and a position in the prescription self-testing market, especially in coagulation monitoring, Inverness said.

Inverness recently prevailed in a $1.6 billion bidding war for Biosite Inc., which, by one count, was its eighth acquisition this year.

According to a recent Globe story, Inverness is emerging as a powerhouse in the field of point-of-car diagnostics - medical tests administered quickly either at home or in a doctor's office.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:56 AM | Comments (0)

Monster partners with Milwaukee paper

Monster, a career resource for employers and job hunters with offices in Maynard, unveiled today another alliance with a newspaper company to launch a locally focused co-branded job recruitment website.

Today's announcement is with Journal Sentinel Inc., which publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper and other publications.

Over the last 11 months, Monster said it has forged agreements with media companies representing more than 200 news publications.

In February, Monster disclosed such a relationship with The New York Times Co., whose properties include The Boston Globe and Boston.com; last month, Monster, the Globe, and Boston.com unveiled a co-branded website for Boston-area employers and job seekers.

Monster's parent company is Monster Worldwide Inc. of New York.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:05 AM | Comments (0)

PTC, Airbus extend partnership

Parametric Technology Corp. said today it has strengthened its strategic partnership with Airbus, the European consortium that manufactures aircraft.

Parametric Technology of Needham, which prefers to refer to itself as PTC, provides product lifecycle management solutions, such as its Windchill solution, to such sectors as the aerospace industry.

PTC said that Airbus has successfully deployed Winchill for process and content management.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:39 AM | Comments (0)

Verizon to launch FiOS in RI

Verizon Communications Inc. scheduled a press conference for this morning to launch its FiOS TV service in Rhode Island.

Verizon claims its FiOS TV network offers consumers better quality and more options than other TV services.

Rhode Island is the 11th state where its FiOS TV is available, Verizon said; the service is currently being offered in about 45 Massachusetts communities.

Headquartered in New York, Verizon delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless services to mass market, business, government, and wholesale customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

TA completes IntraLinks investment

TA Associates, a private equity and buyout firm with offices in Boston, said today it has completed its investment in IntraLinks Inc., a provider of online work spaces for secure document exchange.

TA and Rho Ventures, a venture capital firm with offices in New York and California announced that they have completed a majority recapitalization of IntraLinks.

Rho has been a major shareholder in IntraLinks since 2001 and will continue to hold a significant stake in the company; terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the firms said.

Brian J. Conway, a managing director at TA Associates, and Harry D. Taylor, a senior vice president at the firm, will join IntraLinks' board of directors, TA Associates said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:24 AM | Comments (0)

Sentrigo rolls out data breach product

Sentrigo Inc. announced today the general availability of Hedgehog, its software product designed to provide protection against company data breaches by hackers and corporate insiders alike.

Sentrigo of Woburn focuses on security software that monitors all database activity and that protects sensitive information.

"The vast majority of organizations today - including those in financial services, government, healthcare, education, and retail - have very little visibility into what's going on in their databases," Sentrigo chief executive Nathan Shuchami said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Aurora Imaging launches Aurora Asia

Aurora Imaging Technology Inc. of North Andover announced today the establishment of a subsidiary in Asia called Aurora Asia.

The company is the manufacturer of the Aurora 1.5Tesla Dedicated Breast MRI System, which is specifically designed to detect breast cancer.

"Asian women are in dire need of access to the most effective breast imaging technology, such as MRI," company chief executive Olivia Ho Cheng said in a statement. "By making the our Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI System available, we increase the potential to detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:15 AM | Comments (0)

Akamai releases customer study

Akamai Technologies Inc. issued data today that supports its claim that Akamai products increase customers' revenue.

The Cambridge firm is a global service provider for accelerating content and applications online.

According to Akamai, customers averaging $100 million in revenue enjoy $11 million in additional revenues after adopting Akamai's approach to accelerating the speed of dynamically generated site transactions; Akamai provides retailers with a platform for accelerating end-to-end e-commerce transactions.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:11 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2007

Brookwood sells Franklin building

Brookwood Financial Partners L.P. said today it sold a commercial building and a development site in Franklin to Realty Associates Advisors LLC for $11.75 million.

Brookwood is a Beverly-based private equity firm that acquires real estate.

In March, Brookwood said it purchased the Franklin properties, 14 and 16 Forge Park Dr., as part of a larger portfolio that included buildings in Danvers and Beverly in the Cherry Hill Corporate Center; the seller of the Franklin portion of the portfolio was National Development, a Newton real estate company, Brookwood said.

"In acquiring the Cherry Hill and Forge Park portfolio, we had planned to spin out the Forge Park properties in a short time period," Thomas W. Brown, Brookwood's director of acquisitions, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:44 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. realtors: We're above average

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors issued a demographic profile of its membership that found that Bay State agents are better educated and more experienced than their national counterparts.

Half of Massachusetts realtors have a bachelors degree or higher, compared with 44 percent of the membership of the National Association of Realtors, the Bay State group said.

The median for real estate experience is 10 years for members of the Massachusetts association, compared with a national median of seven years, the Massachusetts group said.

Other findings from the Massachusetts group's survey of its membership: 60 percent are women, and the median age is 54.

The median gross income for a sales agent who belongs to the group is $31,700, and the median gross income for a broker/owner in the group is $71,900, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:10 PM | Comments (0)

Cape Air's operations almost fully restored

Cape Air was running nearly all its flights in southern New England on Friday, three days after grounding its 49-plane fleet of Cessna 402s to replace a potentially faulty engine part.

The regional carrier was using the vast majority of its 34 planes on routes linking Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard with Boston, New Bedford and Providence, R.I., said Michelle Haynes, a spokeswoman for the Hyannis-based airline.

Several of the 15 planes flying routes in the Carribean and Florida also were back in the air on Friday, and all were expected to return by Sunday, Haynes said.

"The Carribean is moving a little slower because of the distance in getting parts there," she said.

On Tuesday, Cape Air grounded its fleet of twin-engine, propeller-driven Cessna and canceled hundreds of flights after consulting with Federal Aviation Administration officials and the manufacturer of the aircraft's engine, Continental Teledyne.

The planes returned to the air after mechanics worked around the clock to replace engine components called crankshaft counterweights. The parts were suspected of being prone to wearing down prematurely after three recent engine failures on Cape Air planes. In each case, the plane was able to land safely using the remaining working engine.

Cape Air offered refunds to passengers on canceled flights, and also tried to find alternative transportation for customers on buses, ferries and other airlines. The airline posted revised flight information on its Web site, http://www.flycapeair.com. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

Boston consumer price index dips

The consumer price index in Greater Boston dipped 0.1 percent for the two months ending May 31, the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said today.

The May decrease was largely due to a decline in the housing category and to a lesser extent in apparel, said the bureau, adding that declines in those categories were partly offset by a large increase in transportation.

Housing costs for the period were down 1.3 percent largely due to lower costs for piped gas, shelter, and electricity as gas and electricity suppliers switched to their summer-rate schedules, the bureaus said.

Within the transportation category, prices rose 2.9 percent mainly due to a 17.9 percent increase in gas prices, the bureau said.

Compared to the same period a year ago, the index was up 1.5 percent, the bureau said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)

One Kendall Sq. gets a $10m upgrade

A $10 million renovation and rebranding project was unveiled for One Kendall Square, a nine-building commercial campus in Cambridge, Beal Cos. said.

Beal, a privately held real estate investment company in Boston, bought the campus for $210.5 million last year with Rockwood Capital Corp., a Connecticut real estate investment firm.

The renovations are focused on seven buildings south of Binney Street, and improvements include upgrades to the buildings' lobbies and facades, new signage, and landscaping, Beal said.

"It has been our vision since we purchased this property to unify the spaces and provide a sense of place, tying each of the buildings together," Stephen N. Faber, Beal's vice president of asset management, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)

Pingo in tech awards finals

Pingo is a finalist in a competition that recognizes best-of-breed business practices on the worldwide Web, according to its parent company.

Pingo is an online prepaid calling card service of iBasis Inc., a Burlington-based wholesale carrier of international long-distance telephone calls.

The competition is the Fourth Annual LinkShare Golden Link Awards hosted by LinkShare Corp., a New York provider of technology solutions and a subsidiary of Rakuten Inc. of Tokyo.

The selection of Pingo as a finalist in the LinkShare competition is "a gratifying validation of our approach to our online business and partner support," iBasis chief executive Ofer Gneezy said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Jerry Remy is pitching for Sovereign

Sovereign Bank TV ads featuring Red Sox color analyst Jerry Remy are set to begin airing today, the bank's ad agency said.

The ads promote Sovereign as "America's neighborhood bank," and they were created by Partners + Simons, a Boston advertising and marketing services agency.

The ads promote Sovereign's free interest checking and business owner banking products as well as the 1,000 Sovereign ATMs in CVS/pharmacy locations, Partners + Simons said.

Sovereign Bancorp Inc. of Pennsylvania is the holding company of Sovereign Bank.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)

Can't beat the competition? Try a webcam

Clearing the way for Boston's coming Apple Store, captured by the Apple Store Webcam

If you can’t beat the competition, film them, and keep them under surveillance with a webcam that posts images on the Internet.

That’s the strategy of Michael Oh, owner of Tech Superpowers Inc., which sells Apple Inc. products and provides support services to businesses that rely on Apple products, such as ad agencies.

Last year, Oh learned of Apple’s plan to open a retail store on Boylston Street in Boston, behind his Newbury Street offices.

Casualty rates are high among Apple resellers when an Apple store opens nearby, he acknowledged, and his first reaction was ‘‘something you can’t print in a newspaper.’’

Later, he had a Webcam positioned in one of his office windows to keep tabs on Apple’s construction site.

The most exciting footage is from February, he said, when demolition began in earnest (captured in the video clip above). The new store could open this year.

Tech Superpowers is also contributing to a Birth of an Apple Store blog that chronicles the construction of the store.

One motive for Oh’s project is to spread the word about a David-and-Goliath story — only in Oh’s version, both live happily ever after.

Oh’s walk-in reselling business, which accounted for maybe $200,000 of his company’s nearly $2.9 million in 2006 revenue, could suffer. But he says the Apple store will generate so much buzz that the corporate side of his support-services business will flourish.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)

Patriots 5th Quarter renews for 3 more years

WBZ-TV announced an agreement with the New England Patriots and Kraft Sports Productions on a three-year renewal of a TV show titled "New England Patriots 5th Quarter."

As a result, WBZ-TV said it remains the exclusive station for live Patriots' post-game press conferences following all regular season and play-off games.

WBZ-TV said that occasionally "New England Patriots 5th Quarter" may be moved to sister station WSBK-TV, known as TV38, to accommodate CBS Network's broadcasting obligations.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:55 AM | Comments (0)

Gibson Sotheby's buys ReMax Waterfront

Gibson Sotheby's of Boston said it acquired another local real estate firm, ReMax Waterfront Realty.

Gibson Sotheby's press release did not include any financial details of the acquisition.

The firm said it will rename its acquisition Gibson Waterfront Sotheby's International Realty, which will continue its focus on residential properties primarily in the North End, Waterfront, and Charlestown neighborhoods.

According to Gibson Sotheby's, it ranks 10th in sales volume among Massachusetts residential real estate firms; with the waterfront acquisition, the firm said it expects to move up to seventh place in the rankings.

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

CBRE|Melody finances Canton building

The Boston office of CBRE|Melody said it arranged $4.7 million in financing for the new owner of a multi-use building in Canton's Shawmut Industrial Park.

CBRE|Melody said it secured interest-only financing on behalf of the borrower, APCA Shawmut Road LLC, an affiliate of APCA Property Fund I, a commingled investment fund sponsored by Paradigm Properties and the Ashforth Company.

The financing was arranged through Key Bank Real Estate Capital, CBRE|Melody said.

Earlier this month, Leggat McCall Properties, a Boston-based real estate development, investment, and project management firm, said it sold the building at 110 Shawmut Rd. to Boston real estate firm Paradigm for $6.75 million.

The so-called flex building can be configured for use as office, research, or storage space.

CBRE|Melody is the debt-and-equity placement division of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., a California-based commercial real estate services firm.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)

Patrick pledges $80m to rental housing

The administration of Governor Deval L. Patrick has pledged $80.5 million in state resources to boost affordable rental housing.

The money will be allocated to support developments across the state that are expected to yield 805 new rental apartments, 767 of which will be set aside for tenants with low and moderate incomes, the Department of Housing and Community Development said.

Developments in line to receive state funding include projects in Boston, Chelsea, Somerville, and Worcester, the department said.

"To revitalize our neighborhoods and ensure long-term economic growth and prosperity for all, we need to continue investing our resources to support rental housing developments like these," Patrick said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:36 AM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2007

Court clarifies affordable-housing law

Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court said municipalities that reach a 10 percent level of affordable housing can override zoning regulations to permit even more affordable units to be built under the state’s Section 40B law.

Amherst’s Zoning Board of Appeals in 2002 approved a 26-unit apartment building proposed by a nonprofit organization, but a group of citizens sued, saying the town had reached a state-required minimum of affordable residences and lacked authority to authorize more.

‘‘This should dispel any doubt that the 10 percent affordability requirement is a minimum and not a cap,’’ said David Weiss, of the law firm Goulston & Storrs, which filed a brief supporting the town.
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

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

Main Filene's Basement store to close till '09

Filene's Basement must close temporarily to make way for a major downtown Boston construction project. (Bill Greene/Globe staff)

Filene’s Basement Inc., unable to find temporary quarters during a massive rebuilding project in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, will close its legendary flagship store from Aug. 31 to spring 2009.

The chain said that when the flagship store reopens, its famous automatic markdowns on prices will resume, something that had been in doubt.

The store will close as a plan to redevelop the former Filene’s building into condominiums, a hotel, offices, and retail space kicks into high gear.

‘‘After an exhaustive search, Filene’s Basement was unable to identify a temporary location that was large enough to accommodate their existing operations,’’ the company said in a prepared statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:08 PM | Comments (0)

Stop & Shop opening first Maine store

Stop & Shop Supermarket Cos. opens its first store in Maine tomorrow in Kennebunk.

The Quincy company said it is hiring 200 local residents to staff the 60,000-square-foot market.

The chain operates about 390 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island and employs 59,000 people.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:12 PM | Comments (0)

Sepracor raises price of insomnia drug

Sepracor Inc. has raised the price of its insomnia drug Lunesta by 9 percent as the Marlborough company moves to shore up revenue amid tepid prescription growth, according to an analyst at American Technology Research.

That’s on the heels of a 9 percent increase in November, analyst Manoj Garg said in a research note.

Despite the introduction in April of a generic version of the rival sleep drug Ambien, Lunesta is maintaining a steady market share of about 13.5 percent, Garg said.

A report earlier this week from John LeCroy, an analyst at Natexis Bleichroeder, noted that weekly trends showed Lunesta running below his sales estimates for the quarter.

David Southwell, chief financial officer at Sepracor, said the company does not comment on price changes.
(Reuters)

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

Converse picks hip-hop artist for ad campaign

The "Weapon of Change" promotion begins in fall.

Converse Inc., the sneaker maker, has tapped the hip-hop artist and actor known as Common to be the face of a national print advertising campaign.

The campaign will support a partnership between Converse, of North Andover, and (Product) Red, an organization that aims to raise awareness — and money — to help fight AIDS in Africa.

A fall campaign, ‘‘Weapon of Change,’’ will feature irreverent messages and bold illustrations encouraging consumers to be ‘‘optimistic rebels’’ and ‘‘agents of change.’’

Converse is a subsidiary of Nike Inc., of Oregon.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:32 PM | Comments (0)

New diet pill alli selling briskly

Dieters anxious to buy alli, the first over-the-counter diet pill approved by federal regulators, began arriving at Walgreen Co. stores this morning before the retailer even opened and snatched up the product as quickly as it was placed on store shelves.

Nearly 6,000 Walgreen stores across the nation began selling alli today. Some of those stores quickly sold out - and this comes one day before the official national launch of the product.

GlaxoSmithKline, alli's manufacturer, is spending $150 million of its own money promoting the product, which for $1.80 per day helps dieters lose an extra five pounds for every 10 they shed through diet and exercise alone. Retailers are dipping into their own pockets, as well.

Walgreen, for instance, ran its own television ads for alli and others have sent customers postcards and installed fancy displays complete with telephones that play prerecorded messages about alli. While Glaxo has been criticized for the product and its promotional campaign, the dollars it makes from alli come at a crucial time, when its diabetes remedy Avandia falters and a potential rival diet pill, Acomplia, has been dogged by safety issues.
(By Diedtra Henderson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

Citizens Bank named in student loan report

Citizens Bank was named as one of the federal student loan lenders that provided improper benefits to school officials for preferential treatment in a report released by a US Senate committe today.

Citizens is part of Citizens Financial Group Inc. of Providence, which is owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc.

The committee issuing the report was the US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

The report, commissioned by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, the committee chairman, found that some lenders provided compensation to schools and played a generous host to school officials in order to gain more business.

Citizens Bank and four other lenders are specifically mentioned in the report for spending large sums to fly in school officials to advisory board meetings at hotels and resorts.

Citizens Bank, according to the report, paid for expensive restaurant meals, golf outings, and trips to the spa. For example, school officials attended a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game in a luxury box in fall, 2005 without paying for the $2,935 tab. The bank also covered the $4,100 bill for a dinner at Emeril's Restaurant during a board meeting at Disney World in February 2006.

Citizens Bank did not return a call seeking a comment on the report.
(By Se Young Lee, Globe correspondent)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

Rosengren named Boston Fed chief

A long-time executive at the Boston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank was tapped today to be its next president and chief executive officer.

Eric Rosengren, currently the executive vice president in charge of the bank's Supervision, Regulation and Credit division and its chief discount officer, will succeed outgoing Boston Fed chief Cathy E. Minehan, who will step down July 22. Rosengren began his career at the Boston Fed in 1985 as an economist.

Minehan, 59, announced her retirement in January after leading the bank since 1994. She took over that year after former Boston Fed chief Richard Syron left to lead the American Stock Exchange.

Rosengren was tapped after a six-month search for Minehan's successor.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

Urix opens California office

Urix announced today the opening of a new California office in Sacramento.

The Boston company is a provider of health care business intelligence and predictive modeling solutions.

"The new Sacramento office will position Urix to effectively meet the growing demands of our West Coast clients," Urix president John Farrell said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

"Spy video car" uses Kopin tech

Kopin Corp. said that a remote-control toy called the Spy Video Car that it helped develop has won industry recognition for the imaging of its infrared camera.

Kopin of Taunton was part of a team that produced a $99 toy car whose mounted camera wirelessly transmits imagery to eyewear worn by the user, thus allowing children to experience the perspective of driving from inside the car or of playing secret agent with night-vision capabilities, Kopin said.

The team that toy maker Wild Planet Entertainment Inc. put together to develop the car included OmniVision Technologies Inc. of California and Kopin, whose specialties include producing ultra-small liquid crystal displays.

For the Spy Video Car, Kopin said its job was to design a microdisplay the size of a grain of rice.

The car just won "The 2007 Imaging Solutions of the Year" award, which is sponsored by Advanced Imaging magazine, Kopin said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Amer. Superconductor names CFO

American Superconductor Corp., which makes electric motors and wires used in power lines, said Thursday it named David A. Henry as chief financial officer, replacing Thomas M. Rosa, who resigned.

Rosa is leaving to pursue other business opportunities but will remain as a consultant for an interim period to help with the transition. He was with the company for 15 years in various roles.

Henry, 45, takes over the CFO position July 9, and will also serve as senior vice president and treasurer.

Since 2004, he worked as CFO of AMIS Holdings Inc., which is the parent company of AMI Semiconductor. At AMIS, Henry completed a $200 million stock offering. He also has worked in finance roles at Fairchild Semiconductor International and National Semiconductor Corp., both public companies.

Shares gained 24 cents in morning trading to $17.97. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

Zink Imaging to buy N.C. facility

Zink Imaging LLC of Waltham said today it has agreed to buy a North Carolina manufacturing facility from Konica Minolta Manufacturing USA Inc. to produce a new kind of printer paper.

Zink, which did not disclose financial details about the transaction, offers digital imaging products, including a recently unveiled zero-ink digital printing technology that makes use of dyes embedded in special paper.

Typical ink-jet printers spray colored inks on to paper, but a Zink-enabled printer uses heat to activate and colorize the dye crystals embedded in the paper, the company said.

Zink said it plans to use the plant in Whitsett, N.C., to manufacture patented Zink Paper for use in Zink-enabled printers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Cynosure heading for Russell 3000

Cynosure Inc. said it expects to be included in the Russell 3000 stock index.

The Westford company develops and markets aesthetic treatment systems that are used by doctors and other practitioners to remove hair, treat vascular lesions, and rejuvenate skin.

Cynosure said that its name was included in a preliminary list of additions to the Russell 3000 Index and said that final index membership is scheduled to take effect on June 22.

"We are pleased with our pending inclusion in the Russell 3000 Index, which we believe will enhance our visibility among institutional investors," Cynosure chief executive Michael Davin said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Azimuth wins bronze at "Wiffies"

Azimuth Systems Inc. of Acton said it won a bronze award at this year's "Wiffies" competition.

In Hollywood, actors yearn to win Oscars, but in the Wi-Fi industry, some awards are called Wiffies.

They are from the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group that advocates for the adoption of a single worldwide standard for high-speed wireless local area networking, and Wiffies recognize member companies that showcase innovative use of the Wi-Fi Alliance brands in six marketing categories, Azimuth said.

Azimuth is a provider of Wi-Fi engineering test equipment, and it said it won a bronze award in the Wiffies' Integrated Program category.

Azimuth said it was "acknowledged for its thought leadership program promoting the AzCert Wi-Fi Certification Test Suite for Test Engine-enabled devices and the new Wi-Fi Alliance Test Engine architecture."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Is Google's ride over?

Revenue from Internet advertising will grow from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $31.3 billion in 2011, but challenging times could lie ahead for Google Inc.

So concludes a new report by IDC of Framingham, a global market intelligence and advisory firm.

Search advertising will retain its top position as the online format that draws the most ad dollars, but its market share is projected to decline from 40 percent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2011 as video advertising grows, IDC said.

That decline, IDC said, poses a "strategic challenge" for Google, the California firm that is the market leader in search advertising.

According to IDC, 99 percent of Google's income stems from search advertising.

Still, IDC expects revenue from Internet advertising will grow about three times as fast as advertising overall over the next few years.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:45 AM | Comments (0)

Hub a mecca for guinea pig gigs

College students are known for finding creative ways to earn money, but few can compete with Boston University senior Allison Yochim -- who once earned cash watching dueling images of sea turtles and hardcore pornography.

Yochim, a self-described "lab rat," says she has made more than $3,000 by participating in more than 30 medical studies at Boston's world-class research hospitals.

Researchers here can tap into a pool of about a quarter-million college students to find willing participants for scientific studies.

For some students, including Yochim, taking part can almost be a full-time summer job.

During one recent study on female sexuality, Yochim answered a survey of deeply personal questions. Then researchers measured her body's response while she watched a computer screen flashing a sequence of National Geographic-like nature images spliced with graphic sexual pictures.

"I'm not sure if it was academically credible, but hey, the more tortoises and porn that are involved, the better, because it was interesting," she said. "If it's going to yield a hilarious story, it's worth it. And the money is, of course, a perk. There's no other time in my life when I can do this without being seen as a weirdo."

Boston's subway cars and buses are plastered with advertisements soliciting volunteers for medical research. A glance through college newspapers or free weeklies reveals classified ads promoting studies on everything from HIV vaccine trials to cocaine addiction to restless legs and severe PMS.

"It's a win-win for college students and a win-win for the greater Boston area when these studies are ethically done," said Dr. I. James Hudson, a member of a board that supervises medical studies at Harvard's McLean Psychiatric Hospital. "We know how to do research here, so there's an assurance that the research will be done by some of the leading people in the world."

Hudson said many hospitals offer dozens of "pen and pad" studies that have few risks and requirements. The studies, often supervised by graduate students or staged over a few hours, are perfect for "psych 101 students" or students looking to earn quick cash.

There also are research projects that require volunteers with serious medical conditions like diabetes or schizophrenia. Others, like widely advertised sleep deprivation studies, pay thousands of dollars, but also force participants to stay many nights in the hospital for observation, Hudson said.

He said there are many federal guidelines regulating testing on humans and that all universities and research hospitals must establish review boards to make sure they are followed. Still, a glance through the ads does yield several bizarre experiments.

"There's a lot of marginal studies out there. There really are," Hudson said. "A lot of the things you see in scientific journals, you sometimes scratch your head. They either seem self evident or so obscure, you wonder why did they do this?"

Graduate student Scott Bressler said his university-funded study of the "Cocktail Party Effect" would be impossible without a supply of meagerly paid, college-student volunteers.

Participants earned $10 to spend one hour in a soundproof booth while wearing headphones that played a different voice into each ear: one repeating five digit sequences, the other garbling non sequitors and gibberish.

Bressler hopes the study will lead to a better understanding of how an individual focuses on a particular stimulus.

"It's amazing what they'll do for 10 bucks," he said of the volunteers. "I almost feel bad for them."

Rebecca Kazhdan, a 20-year-old Boston University junior from Hillsdale, N.J., said she was hard-up for money during her sophomore year when she saw an advertisement offering $50 for blood donors. The company, a clearinghouse that provides blood samples for medical research, called her back three more times this school year.

She said she spent most of her earnings on shopping.

"I guess, there a lot of medical places in Boston that need us," she said. "And, no one is willing to give up their time like college students." (AP)

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

ArQule prices secondary stock offering

Biotech drug developer ArQule Inc. today priced shares in its recently announced secondary offering at $7.75 apiece.

On June 7, the company announced a public offer of 7 million shares. ArQule also said it would give underwriters a 30-day option of just under 1.1 million additional shares to cover over-allotments.

UBS Investment Bank and CIBC World Markets are joint book-running managers. Leerink Swann, Fortis Securities, and Rodman & Renshaw are co-managers.

ArQule researches and develops next-generation, small-molecule cancer therapies that interrupt key biological processes in a disease.

The company did not specify how it would use proceeds from the offering. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

IRobot chosen for Army project

IRobot Corp. said it is part of a team that aims to help the US Army modernize some of its combat systems.

IRobot, a Burlington company whose PackBot robots can be used to detect and defuse roadside bombs, said it was selected for this task by Lockheed Martin Corp., a defense contractor for the Army.

Lockheed Martin is a provider of the Centralized Controller Device for the Army's Future Combat Systems program, and iRobot said it has been tapped to be a supplier of design and development for the project's controls and display through its estimated delivery in 2015.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

Pro-Pharmaceuticals sponsors symposium

Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will sponsor "A Special Symposium on Galectins" as part of the American Chemical Society's planned August meeting in Boston.

The Newton firm's lead drug candidate is Davanat, a drug target delivery compound that Pro-Pharmaceuticals hopes can be brought to market with multiple chemotherapy drugs.

Davanat targets specific lectin receptors, or Galectins, that are over "over-expressed" on cancer cells, according to the company.

Helping to lead the symposium will be chief executive David Platt and chief scientist Anatole Klyosov, the company said.

The symposium "will look to the future through an in-depth analysis of the applications and roles that Galectins may play in the treatment of serious diseases, including cancer," Klyosov said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:03 AM | Comments (0)

Microfluidics expands in Newton

Microfluidics Corp. will unveil a new technology center in its home town of Newton next week.

The company specializes in Microfluidizer processors that are used in reseach-and-development laboratories as well as in pilot and production manufacturing operations; the company said its equipment enables the manufacture and formulation of numerous nano-materials and nano-scale products in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, cosmetic, and food industries.

The center will house state-of-the-art technology and enable Microfluidics application specialists to enhance their work with potential customers to prepare physical samples, documentation, microscopic digital images, and particle-sized analysis of improved processes, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2007

Raytheon loses bid for $2.04b contract

The Army yesterday passed over Raytheon Co. and awarded a $2.04 billion contract to a rival, L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, of Greenville, Texas, to supply up to 78 cargo planes for the Army and the Air Force.

The contract is the first stage in a program that eventually could be worth up to $6 billion to the prime contractor, L-3 Communications, and its partner, the Italian aircraft builder Alenia.

Waltham-based Raytheon had teamed up with the Spanish manufacturer CASA in the bidding. The Army received four bids in all.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:49 PM | Comments (0)

Agency backs housing for those in recovery

MassHousing, the state’s affordable housing bank, will provide $2.1 million over the next three years for ‘‘affordable, sober housing.’’

The funding will help create or preserve 375 affordable housing units for recovering substance abusers.

Affordable housing rates are most often determined in relation to a community’s median income.

Separately, MassHousing said it approved $3.5 million in loan commitments toward the financing of the Waverly Woods rental development in Belmont, which will provide 40 units of affordable housing.

MassHousing also said it made $11 million in loan commitments to help redevelop Coolidge School in Watertown as a 38-unit rental development for residents over age 55. Fifteen of the units will be affordably priced.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

Region's economy doing well, Fed says

The New England economy performed well over the past several weeks: Most business sectors surveyed by the Federal Reserve reported growing sales and solid business conditions.

The survey, known as the Beige Book, collects anecdotal information from businesses across the nation in anticipation of the Fed’s rate-setting meetings. Fed policy makers meet June 27-28.

In New England, software and information technology firms reported double-digit revenue increases from a year ago. Orders for technology products and services are strong, suggesting further growth in revenues and profits. Tech worker salaries rose 3 to 5 percent.

Staffing firms reported increased demand for workers.

Commercial real estate also showed strength.

High-quality office space is filling quickly, with inventory falling. Foreign investors are bidding up prices on commercial buildings, realtors told the Fed.

Manufacturers reported increased sales and tight labor markets.

Retail sales were mixed, but tourism was strong, with the average hotel room rate up nearly 5 percent from a year ago. Tourism firms, however, worry the high price of gasoline could dampen leisure travel.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:08 PM | Comments (0)

Maven to collaborate with Microsoft

Maven Networks said today it has a collaboration with Microsoft Corp. aimed at enabling the delivery of next-generation Internet TV.

Maven Networks of Cambridge helps media companies launch Internet-delivered media programming; the company says its Internet TV platform is used by such television networks as CBS and A&E Television Networks.

The collaboration with Microsoft will enable the delivery of "cross-platform broadband video experiences" using Microsoft's Silverlight technology, Maven said.

"Microsoft Silverlight provides an impressive technology foundation that Maven can build on to help leading media companies bring even more compelling video experiences to their users and advertisers," Todd Boes, a Maven vice president, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Cantata partners with Austrian firm

Cantata Technology Inc. said today it is partnering with an Austrian company to deliver Internet Protocol solutions to service providers in Central and Eastern Europe.

Cantata of Needham provides enabling communications hardware and software that allows for the creation and the delivery of "anytime, anywhere IP-based communications applications.

Cantata said it has entered into a partnership agreement with Kapsch CarrierCom AG, an Austria-based systems integrator.

Under the agreement, Kapsch will incorporate Cantata's SnowShore IP Media Server and IMG 1010 Integrated Media and Signaling VoIP Gateway in solutions it delivers to tier-one service providers in Central and Eastern Europe, Cantata said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

MassCap coming back to Suffolk Downs

The Massachusetts Handicap Horse Race, which put Suffolk Downs on the map when the local race track opened in 1935, will be run again in 2007 after a two-year hiatus.

The track's enthusiastic new owner, businessman and casino developer Richard Fields, said today that the 65th running of the MassCap will take place on Sept. 22 and carry a guaranteed purse of $500,000.

Fields, who is vowing to reinvigorate horse racing at the tired East Boston-Revere track, made the announcement this morning at the Four Seasons Boston Hotel.

"The MassCap ... provided the backdrop for legendary thoroughbreds like Seabiscuit and Cigar to make history," Fields said. "I believe great riders and horses will once again make history at Suffolk Downs."
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

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

Dad worth $10k less than mom

Men may receive higher salaries in the workplace, but the annual value of services provided by a stay-at-home dad is $128,755 - or nearly $10,000 less than those provided by a stay-at-home mom.

That's the money quote from a new study issued just in time for Father's Day by Salary.com Inc., a Waltham firm whose software and databases help employers set salaries and manage performance.

Stay-at-home dads remain "relatively elusive," according to Salary.com, which cites US Census Bureau estimates that there were 159,000 stay-at-home dads in 2006, compared with 5.6 million stay-at-home moms.

To determine the salary equivalents for work performed by stay-at-home dads, Salary.com said it consulted both stay-at-home dads and working dads and used the survey results to rank the 10 top jobs that comprise a working dad's job description; next, all 10 of those jobs were assigned a dollar value based on the number of hours the respondents spent on each job.

"We calculated the multiple jobs that make up the role of dad to highlight their contribution in the home and to compare the amount and value of their work to mom," Meredith Hanrahan, Salary.com's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. "The findings do indicate that while dad's work is substantial, he is still paying catch-up to mom."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

Fractal, Nashua team up

Fractal Antenna Systems Inc. and Nashua Corp. are teaming up to distribute RFID tags with a wider read-range.

Fractal Antenna, a privately held Bedford company, supplies products for wireless applications; Nashua Corp. of Nashua is a manufacturer of label products, paper transaction supplies, and converted RFID tags.

Proponents of radio-frequency identification tags claim they will help make supply-chain and inventory management more efficient by enabling companies to keep better track of their merchandise.

Fractal Antenna and Nashua Corp. announced a licensing agreement to distribute RFID tags using fractal antenna technology.

"Using advanced fractal antennas will enable Nashua to offer RFID labels and tags with enhanced performance, not only for tracking cases and pallets in the supply chain, but also for individual items and even hard-to-tag items containing metal and water," Robert Pernice, director of RFID marketing and sales at Nashua Corp., said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Gershengorn joins Foley Hoag

Law firm Foley Hoag LLP said today that Ara Beth Gershengorn is joining its Boston office as an associate in its business crimes and government investigations practice.

Gershengorn joins the firm from the US Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, where served as assistant US Attorney in the criminal division, Foley Hoag said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

Cape Air, Nantucket offer contingency plans

Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines, which have suspended operations today while attempting to track down the cause of recent engine failures, said this morning Nantucket-Hyannis passengers may be accommodated on Island Airlines.

On its other local routes, however, "most flights will be cancelled,'' the sister airlines said in a statement this morning. Passengers holding tickets for travel today and on flights in the next several days that get cancelled can reuse the tickets on another flight within a year free of charge, or get a full refund.

Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines are suspending operations while mechanics work to identify and fix the cause of three recent engine failures on the two-engine piston-powered Cessna 402 planes the airline flies. Two failures happened on Memorial Day Weekend, a third on Tuesday afternoon on a flight from Nantucket to Logan International Airport. In all cases the planes were able to land safely using the remaining working engine.

Company president Dan Wolf said he decided to ground the airlines' entire 49-plane Cessna fleet while the problems are solved, which apparently involve excessive wear on a crankshaft counterweight.

The airlines expected about 2,000 to 3,000 passengers to board flights today leaving from Boston, Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, New Bedford, Providence, and Provincetown. Officials were scrambling to find passengers accommodations on buses and ferries. Wolf said Tuesday night he hoped to begin phasing flights back in Thursday afternoon as planes are deemed safe to fly.

Cape Air said Island Airlines "will do its best to serve you and will accept your Nantucket Airlines tickets'' for flights only on the Nantucket-Hyannis route. For all other routes, people who want to seek a refund can do so by email to reserv@flycapeair.com if they bought an electronic ticket or by mail, if they have a paper ticket, to Cape Air - Refunds, 660 Barnstable Road, Hyannis, MA 02601.

As of 10 a.m., Wolf said, five of the 34 Cessna 402s Cape Air has assigned to the New England market were operating, and he hoped to have two more flying by the end of the day today. (The company also has 12 planes in the Caribbean and three in Florida now, markets to which it shifts Cape and Islands-based planes in the winter months. Only one of those 15 was flying this morning.)

Wolf said if engine repairs can be completed fast enough, he hopes to put another five planes back in New England service Thursday, and he continues to hope the airlines will be back to as close to normal service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island as possible by Sunday.

Wolf said that "the ramp back up to full service is going to be better in some markets than others,'' with the airline trying to give priority to restoring service on routes with the fewest transportation alternatives, such as Boston to Provincetown and Boston to the islands. Service is likely to be restored first from Boston, second from Providence, and third from New Bedford, Wolf said.

"From a business perspective, this hurts, but it does validate what our existence is about, which is safety and customer service,'' Wolf said.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)

N. Orleans hires former Mass. inspector general

A former Massachusetts inspector general, who gained prominence for questions he raised about the long troubled Big Dig highway project, will be New Orleans' top watchdog.

Robert Cerasoli, 59, was offered and accepted the job of inspector general on Tuesday.

Cerasoli is "widely considered the founder of the inspector general movement in the United States," said the Rev. Kevin Wildes, chairman of the board charged with finding an inspector general for New Orleans.

The council created the post last year to send a message that the city, with its reputation for political corruption, could be trusted to properly spend federal rebuilding aid following Hurricane Katrina.

Cerasoli served as inspector general of Massachusetts from 1991 to 2001.

He gained some prominence because of the Big Dig tunnel, considered the costliest public works project in U.S. history and beset by myriad problems from leaks and cost overruns to a deadly ceiling collapse last year.

As early as the mid-'90s, Cerasoli questioned the close relationship between the department then overseeing the project and firms picked to build it, as well as how the work was being monitored.

Cerasoli said one of his first orders of business will be educating people on what an inspector general does and getting them to gain confidence in the office and to see it as a resource.

"The whole concept is detection and prevention of fraud, waste and abuse," he said. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)

Javelin drug gets European patent

Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that its lead drug candidate will gain an additional 10 years of patent protection with the issuance of a new European patent.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Javelin is focused on developing new "pain-management" drugs; its lead candidate is Dyloject, which aims to decrease the need for morphine and other opioids in treating post-operative pain.

Javelin said today that it has been awarded a new European patent covering 30 European countries; this new patent significantly broadens and extends Javelin's patent protection for Dyloject.

"Issuance of this key European patent represents a significant increase in value for our European Dyloject franchise," David B. Bernstein, Javelin's general counsel, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)

Forecast: ample energy this summer

Gordon van Welie, the man responsible for making sure the lights stay on in New England, is usually anxious this time of year.

Even though it looks like millions of residents in the region won't have to worry about being able to fire up their air conditioners to battle the upcoming summer heat, he knows the demand for electricity is only going to grow.

"We believe we have enough capacity available to meet the projected demand for electricity this summer," he said. "Assuming everything is running and nothing big breaks."

As president of ISO New England, which manages the region's power grid from a control room that's slightly larger than a tennis court, part of van Welie's job is to make sure there's enough power to feed the needs of about 14 million residents in six states.

During a nearly two-hour meeting with reporters at ISO New England's headquarters on Tuesday, he also pushed a message of conservation.

As electronic devices continue to become cheaper and more easily available, people need to make smart choices about using them, he said.

"You've added in your homes large plasma screen TVs, digital video recorders, cable modems, iPods, cell phone chargers," he said. "They're all sitting there consuming more energy and producing more heat. Now you have an air conditioner that has to try and reduce the inside of your home to be 10 degrees below what it is outside, and it's going to have to work that much harder to get rid of that heat."

Since 1980, there's been a 1.7 percent growth in demand for electricity during peak demand, which fall on the hottest days of the year. And overall, there's been a 1.2 percent increase in energy use each year.

But there are blips in that trend. Last year, which had a mild winter and high energy prices, New England used slightly less electricity than it did in 2005.

"High prices caused people to think seriously about conservation and energy efficiency," van Welie said. And as people used less energy, wholesale electric prices dropped by about five percent.

Still, ISO New England's projections show electricity demand rising. By 2015, the grid managers expect 32,000 megawatts will be needed to meet peak demand, up from the 29,000 megawatts expected from this summer's hottest day.

"The most viable option to deal with this is to become more efficient about our own usage," van Welie said. "We can do something to address this peak demand growth." (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:58 AM | Comments (0)

EMC collaborates with Wipro

Indian software company Wipro Ltd. and Massachusetts-based data storage company EMC Corp. said today they will work together.

The companies said they will look into collaborating in various aspects of their businesses to aid customers with storage, information and content management, as well as information security. They said the global information infrastructure market is worth about $60 billion.

EMC said it plans to help certify over 1,000 Wipro practice resources on EMC technologies to help in pre-sales, delivery and solution development. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:51 AM | Comments (0)

Aspect offers $10m in notes

Aspect Medical Systems Inc. said today that it will offer about $110 million in notes to finance its recently announced share repurchase from Boston Scientific Corp.

Proceeds from the sale of convertible senior notes due 2014 will finance the buyback of about 2 million shares from Boston Scientific. The move follows the buyback of 2 million shares from the company announced late Monday for about $32 million.

Under an agreement, the second buyback of 2 million shares will cost about $31.2 million.

Aspect Medical also has the option of buying another 2 million shares from Boston Scientific, the remainder of the company's stake, over the next six months.

Aspect Medical will also offer the initial purchaser of the notes an option for another $15 million in notes.

The company announced its plan to buy back the 6 million shares owned by Boston Scientific after the companies agreed to end a collaboration to develop medical tests for neurological conditions.

Aspect plans to use the remainder of the proceeds for future buybacks, investments in its neuroscience program, and general corporate purposes.

Shares of Aspect Medical closed Tuesday at $15.60. (AP)

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

Hooters taps Sophos technology

A Hub firm has been tapped to help make Hooters hacker-proof.

Sophos, a Boston company that specializes in information-technology security, announced today that Hooters of America Inc., the Atlanta-based restaurant chain where cheesecake isn't necessarily confined to the menu, has selected it to protect its desktops against viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, and other unwanted applications and hackers.

"We are pleased to be selected by one of the world's most recognized restaurant franchises," Dick Faulkner, a Sophos vice president, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

Kronos acquires Captor

Kronos Inc. announced today that it has acquired Captor, a privately held Belgian company that provides workforce management solutions.

What Captor does in Europe, Chelmsford-based Kronos does in the United States.

The Kronos press release did not include the financial terms of the transaction.

In the press release, Kronos said the transaction "marks a significant milestone in the execution of Kronos' global expansion strategy, providing Kronos with an even stronger European foundation."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

PermissionTV gets $9m in financing

PermissionTV said today it has closed a new $9 million round of financing.

PermissionTV of Waltham is a provider of a video technology platform designed to help media brands and video-content owners create one-to-one relationships with their audiences.

The financing round was led by two new investors, Castle Ventures LLC of New Jersey and Point Judith Capital of Providence.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)

Carle, Henriques move up at Partners + Simons

Boston ad agency Partners + Simons promoted Nancy Bond Carle and Anthony Henriques to creative directors.

The firm said it provides marketing services to such companies as Sovereign Bank, Genzyme Corp., and EMC Corp.

"Anthony and Nancy have continually made significant contributions to our success," Partners + Simons president Tom Simons said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Cubellis merges with Florida firm

Cubellis, the Boston architecture firm known for such projects as renovating Clock Tower Place in Maynard, announced today a merger with a Florida firm.

JLT Architecture & Consulting LLC of Naples will now operate under the Cubellis name; in July, Cubellis said it had merged with another architecture firm in Fort Lauderdale, describing that merger as the firm's fifth in the past year.

"Together with our existing Fort Lauderdale office, we are now well positioned to in the growing Southwest Florida market," Len Cubellis, founder and chief executive of Cubellis, said in a statement.

Financial details of the merger were not mentioned in the firm's press release.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Kateman joins Candela

Candela Corp. said that Jonathan Kateman has joined the company as vice president and general manager of home products.

The Wayland company makes lasers used in cosmetic surgery and in hair-removal procedures, and Candela sees an opportunity in making some similar products that can be used in the home.

In his new role, Kateman will oversee all aspects of Candela's entry into the home and consumer market, including product development, marketing, sales, service, and support, Candela said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:10 AM | Comments (0)

Aylus raises $15 million

Aylus Networks Inc. said today it has raised $15 million in venture capital funding to continue its business expansion.

Aylus of Westford plans to deliver a suite of applications that will enable cellphone subscribers to share live video and other multimedia content in real time as they have a conversation.

Aylus described the financing as a second round of venture capital funding from original investors, Matrix Partners, which has offices in Waltham, and North Bridge Venture Partners, which also has offices in Waltham.

"We believe wireless operators will continue to invest heavily in technology that improves person-to-person communications," Paul Ferri, managing partner of Matrix Partners and an Aylus board member, said in a statement. "Real-time multimedia sharing services will both improve communications and drive growth for the wireless industry."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:05 AM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2007

Sapient swings to a profit

Sapient Corp., a Cambridge business and technology services consultancy, today said it swung to a first-quarter profit, topping Wall Street expectations.

Net income was $775,000, or a penny per share, compared with a loss of $1.4 million, or a penny per share, for the year-earlier quarter. Excluding certain expenses, earnings were 7 cents per share.

Analysts expected, on average, first-quarter earnings of 2 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

Separately, Sapient said it completed its stock-options probe, and its restatement includes an additional $47 million for stock-option grant expenses from 1996 through 2005.

Shares of Sapient fell 13 cents to $7.54. In aftermarket activity, the shares added 46 cents, or 5.8 percent to $8.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:22 PM | Comments (0)

London exchange woos US start-ups

Going public? Go London.

That was the message today from Clara Furse, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, who visited Massachusetts to urge US start-ups to list on AIM, London’s junior international market.

Furse, speaking before the Mass Technology Leadership Council in Cambridge, said thousands of small companies are choosing to do initial public offerings on AIM, the LSE’s 12-year-old international market for small-cap companies, rather than US markets.

Furse said companies listed on AIM raised $30 billion in capital last year. She estimated that if AIM was its own exchange, it would rank as the world’s sixth-largest exchange for IPOs.

Furse portrayed AIM as a less costly and cumbersome alternative to the Nasdaq. She called it a ticket into London’s worldly trading market for companies that ‘‘need access to the kind of international investor community that we, and only we, have.’’

Several entrepreneurs in the audience said there was another big draw: They don’t want to deal with US regulatory requirements mandated by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The number of companies listed on AIM has tripled since 2000, to 1,640, Furse said. Nearly 500 of them are international, with 63 companies worth $11 billion coming from the United States.

Describing one success story, Furse said the chief executive of Protonex Technology Corp., a Southborough maker of portable fuel supplies, chose AIM because ‘‘it costs $1 million to be traded in London, compared with $3 million on Nasdaq.’’

John Jacobs, Nasdaq’s executive vice president, said its listing fees are modest, but companies do incur costs in complying with federal regulations.

He said the Nasdaq is in the final stages of approval for Portal, a new trading market in which companies will be able to sell shares to sophisticated institutional investors without going through Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
(Dow Jones/AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:20 PM | Comments (0)

PodZinger rebrands as EveryZing

PodZinger of Cambridge has rebranded itself with a new name - EveryZing.

According to a press release, the company's new name speaks to its expansion beyond podcasts to include all forms of online media content.

EveryZing is a multimedia search and advertising platform.

With EveryZing, media companies can enhance their online multimedia offerings and better merchandise their branded media content across the Web, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:50 PM | Comments (0)

Rocket Software launches security software

Rocket Software of Newton has debuted a product to protect confidential corporate data on stolen laptops.

Security risks don't just come from Internet hackers, but also from thieves who steal laptops or memory sticks that company employees are increasingly using to store company information on, Rocket Software noted.

Its new product, Rocket.SecurityVault Enterprise Edition, is designed to prevent thieves from accessing such files by creating a virtual hard drive whose contents are visible only to registered users, Rocket Software said; not only are hidden files inaccessible, but there is no way to know about their existence without a password.

"The bottom line is that no matter how good your firewall may be, it can't protect offline and mobile data," Rocket chief executive Andy Youniss said in a statement, adding that the new product is designed to protect "information that firewalls can't."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:25 PM | Comments (0)

Liberty Mutual cleared to buy Ohio insurer

Boston-based insurer Liberty Mutual Group has received antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission to buy Ohio Casualty Corp.

The FTC today said that it granted early termination of the waiting period required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law.

On May 7, Liberty Mutual said it had agreed to buy the Fairfield, Ohio, insurance company for $44 a share, or about $2.7 billion.

The law requires that under certain circumstances prospective acquirers of voting securities or assets apply for clearance from regulators. Requests for early termination or clearance are granted when the FTC and the Justice Department’s antitrust division have decided against taking action during the waiting period.
(Dow Jones)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

Steam utilities sold for $788 million

A private company that owns Trigen Boston, which provides steam to dozens of downtown office buildings, is being taken over by Veolia Energy of France in a $788 million deal.

Besides the Boston steam utility, Thermal North America Inc. also owns and operates so-called district heating and cooling systems in Atlanta, Baltimore, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Trenton, N.J., Tulsa, and centralized cooling networks in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Veolia, part of Veolia Environnement, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, said today expects the deal to close next year. Veolia 20 months ago bought a small steam utility in Cambridge formerly operated by NStar.

The takeover price is estimated to be 9.5 times Thermal North America's earnings next year before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Thermal employs 450 people nationwide.

The deal comes as Mayor Thomas M. Menino has been intensely critical of Trigen for recent steam-pipe leaks that have injured people and snarled traffic. Menino is pushing for legislation at the State House to have Trigen regulated by the state utilities commission.

"With more than 22 miles of steam infrastructure under the streets and sidewalks of Boston, appropriate oversight by the Commonwealth is urgently needed to protect the public,'' Menino's top environmental aide, James W. Hunt 3d, said in testimony at a State House hearing Tuesday.

"Today’s announcement that Trigen has been acquired by Veolia Environmental, a French-based conglomerate, does not give the City great comfort,'' Hunt said. "This acquisition amplifies the need for state-oversight to ensure that our local citizens needs are addressed.''

Chip O'Donnell, chief development officer for Veolia Energy North America, said in an interview this afternoon: "We share the mayor's commitment to safe operations. It's what we should do as responsible business owners. That's our commitment at Veolia Energy for the long run.''

O'Donnell said that in the 20 months it has owned the former Cambridge steam utility, it has invested $12 million in system upgrades and pipe replacements. O'Donnell said Veolia is eager to "revitalize the Boston system'' as part of a plan to double its business in North America in coming years.

Trigen was formerly owned by another French energy conglomerate, Suez Energy North America Inc., before private-equity-backed Thermal bought it in mid-2005. Trigen provides steam heat, cooling, and other energy services to more than 200 Boston office towers, hotels, and other buildings totalling over 40 million square feet of space.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

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

Mass. life sciences workforce study launched

Two groups said today they have commissioned a $250,000 study to come up with recommendations for training a local life sciences workforce.

The groups are the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, which is funded by the state, and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a not-for-profit group that provides services and support for the state's biotechnology industry.

The groups said they have selected the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts to conduct a study titled the Life Sciences Talent Initiative.

The Donahue Institute is the public service, outreach, and economic development unit of the University of Massachusetts president's office, according to the institute's website.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

Schwartz wins 13 Bell Ringer awards

Schwartz Communications said it won 22 awards last night at the annual Publicity Club of New England Awards dinner in Boston.

According to Schwartz, which is based in Waltham, its total was more than any other public relations agency in the 2007 competition.

Schwartz said it won 13 Bell Ringer Awards and nine Awards of Merit.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Pentagon renews Mullen contract

Mullen, a Wenham advertising agency, said today that it successfully defended a Pentagon account for creating ads that encourage adults to support young people interested in enlisting in the military forces.

The estimated annual value of the contract to Mullen from the US Defense Department's Joint Advertising, Market Research & Studies Program is $50 million, Mullen said.

Mullen was first awarded the contract in 2002; according to federal guidelines, the account was the subject to an ad agency review when the contract expired, and Mullen prevailed in that ad agency review.

The military services have their own campaigns aimed at recruits.

The ads by Mullen, in contrast, are focused on adults such as parents and teachers who might influence a young person to join one of the military services.

The most recent campaign that Mullen has created for this program is called "Make it a two-way conversation," and it invites the audience to get the facts about military service through resources available at www.todaysmilitary.com, the agency said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

Court cites ImClone for intimidation

Biotech drug developer Repligen Corp. said today that a federal court barred Imclone Systems Inc. from further communication with a central witness in a patent fight, citing intimidation tactics.

Repligen shares rose 18 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $3.73 in Tuesday morning trading. Shares have traded between $2.14 and $4.17 in the past 52 weeks.

In 2004, Repligen and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued ImClone, claiming the company infringed a patent covering the manufacture of ImClone's lead drug, the cancer treatment Erbitux.

The ruling Tuesday by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts supported a motion filed by Repligen and MIT charging that one of ImClone's in-house lawyers and one of its outside lawyers violated state rules of professional conduct.

The court found the actions were intended to prevent an unnamed witness from cooperation in the prosecution of Repligen's and MIT's case.

The ruling bars one of ImClone's in-house lawyers from further access to confidential information in the case, and allows Repligen and MIT to introduce evidence supporting their patent claims.

A trial date is set for Sept. 10, 2007.

Representatives for ImClone were not available for immediate comment.

In their most recent quarter, ImClone said global sales of Erbitux rose 34 percent to $306.1 million from the year-ago quarter. Bristol-Myers Squibb sells the drug and pays ImClone royalties. ImClone licenses the drug from Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis SA. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

Idenix cites positive test results

Biotechnology company Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that its hepatitis C treatment candidate showed positive results in a midstage study.

The drug candidate is part of a triple combination therapy including the drug candidate valopicitabine and the small molecules pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The Phase II clinical trial compared that combination with treatment using only pegylated interferon and ribavirin, the current standard treatment for hepatitis C.

There was no adverse reaction to the valopicitabine and ribavirin combination, Idenix said, meaning the drug combination met the study's primary goal. Also, the triple combination showed higher rates of treatment, measured by the amount of virus cleared from the system.

The study involved 117 patients in three sections.

Shares of Idenix rose 31 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $7.54 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $6.59 and $11.21 over the last 52 weeks. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

IBasis completes financial restatement

IBasis Inc. said today it has completed a restatement of financial results and recorded a $10.1 million charge relating to misdated stock options grants.

Headquartered in Burlington, iBasis is a global Voice-over-Internet Protocol company.

The company said today it filed its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, restating its consolidated financial statements as of Dec. 31, 2005, and for the years ended Dec. 31, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2004, and for the first two quarters of 2006.

The company recorded $10.1 million additional non-cash stock-based compensation of which $9.1 million related to three grants made during 2000, 2001, and 2003; the amount of the restatement is at the low end of the range previously estimated by the company, iBasis said.

As previously announced, a special committee of independent directors appointed by the company's board conducted an internal investigation related to stock options granted to company employees and the timing of such grants, the company said.

In October, the company disclosed that the committee had concluded that the measurement dates for determining the accounting treatment of certain stock option grants differed from the measurement dates used by the company in preparing its financial statements.

In a statement today, iBasis chief executive Ofer Gneezy said, "We are pleased to have concluded the arduous process to determine the most appropriate dates for our historical stock option grants and to complete the related restatement of our prior period financial statements."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

Acusphere prices offering

Specialty drug maker Acusphere Inc. said Tuesday an offering to institutional investors of 7.7 million units was priced at $2.60 per unit.

The company expects to raise net proceeds of about $18.7 million after placement agent fees and estimated offering costs.

Each unit contains one share of common stock and one warrant to buy 0.4 shares of stock at an exercise price of $3.10 per share.

The shares of common stock and warrants are immediately separable and will be issued separately. The warrants will be exercisable starting on Dec. 15 through June 15, 2012.

The offering is expected to close on Friday, subject to customary closing conditions. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

Cumberland Farms settles on tobacco charge

Cumberland Farms Inc. agreed to pay the commonwealth $35,000 to resolve allegations that it lacked the proper procedures to curb tobacco sales to minors, the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

The agreement with Cumberland Farms, a Canton-based company that operates about 125 stores in Massachusetts, requires changes to the chain's personnel practices relating to the sale of tobacco to minors, including establishing new policies surrounding the sale of tobacco products, Coakley's office said.

Cumberland Farms said in a statement: "Cumberland Farms has an excellent employee training program in place to make our very best efforts to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors. Unfortunately, there have been some employees who have failed to follow this training. We are pleased that the number of incidents has been steadily declining."

Coakley said in a statement, "Massachusetts law requires retailers to check the photo ID of every customer who appears under the age of 27 to verify that the customer is at least 18 years old before selling tobacco products, and we expect retailers to abide by that law."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:28 AM | Comments (0)

CombinatoRx extends Angiotech pact

Cambridge biopharmaceutical company CombinatoRx Inc. said today it has extended a collaboration with a Canadian company to create next-generation drug devices and local medicines.

The agreement with Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Vancouver has been extended beyond the initial two-and-a-half-year term to a total of five years, resulting in a $7 million payment to CombinatoRx due before Oct. 3, the companies said.

"This collaboration capitalizes on CombinatoRx's capability in the discovery of synergistic combination drug candidates and Angiotech's significant expertise in the development and commercialization of drug-device combinations and local interventional medicines," Alexis Borisy, CombinatoRx chief executive said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:06 AM | Comments (0)

Exact Sciences partners with Belgian firm

Exact Sciences Corp. of Marlborough has teamed up with a Belgian company to advance the commercialization of stool-based colorectal cancer screening technologies through laboratories in Europe and North America.

Exact Sciences, which uses applied genomics to develop "patent-friendly" screening technologies for use in detecting cancer, said it has granted nonexclusive rights to its DNA stabilization, isolation, and extraction technology to OncoMethylome Sciences, a Belgian company that develops tests designed to detect cancer at early stages.

In exchange, OncoMethylome has agreed to pay royalties to Exact based on sales, the companies said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:52 AM | Comments (0)

Report: 1 billion PCs worldwide by 2008

It will take the world 27 years to have 1 billion personal computers in use worldwide, but only a fraction of that time will be needed to reach the 2 billion mark.

So concludes a PC census of sorts from Forrester Research Inc., a Cambridge technology and global research firm.

By the end of 2008, there will be more than 1 billion PCs in use worldwide, and Forrester predicts that there will be more than 2 billion computers in use by 2015, thanks to advancing technology, lower prices, and global demand.

The markets encompassing Brazil, Russia, India, and China will account for more than 775 million new PC's by 2015, Forrester said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

Aspect, Boston Scientific end partnership

Aspect Medical Systems Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. said late Monday they agreed to end a collaboration to develop brain monitoring products, prompting Aspect to begin a buyback of its shares.

Aspect will buy back 2 million of its shares held by Boston Scientific immediately for about $15.91 per share, the average closing price of its stock over the past 20 trading days. Shares closed Monday at $16.02 per share.

Aspect also has the right to buy back the remainder of shares held by Boston Scientific for $15 per share, or at the 10-day average price before the company exercises the option, whichever is higher, for the next six months. Aspect said it may seek financing to replenish cash used in the repurchase.

Boston Scientific held 6 million Aspect shares, or 27 percent of shares outstanding. Boston Scientific also agreed not to sell their Aspect shares to any other party during the six-month period.

Aspect also gets back rights to its products previously shared by Boston Scientific. The collaboration sought to develop products to help doctors diagnose neurological conditions such as depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Originally, Boston Scientific had pledged $25 million over five years in the collaboration. Aspect so far received $10 million, and is not entitled to any more under the new agreement.

Under another agreement, Boston Scientific declined an option to develop sedation products with Aspect, resulting in a $3.8 million payment, which Aspect will record as deferred revenue this quarter.

Aspect raised its total revenue guidance for the second quarter to a range of $26.1 million to $27.1 million, while reaffirming its product revenue guidance of $22.3 million to $23.3 million. The company also raised its earnings per share guidance to a range of 13 cents to 15 cents per share, from 10 cents to 11 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of 10 cents on revenue of $24.2 million. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:27 AM | Comments (0)

Amer. Superconductor lands 2 orders

American Superconductor Corp. said today it has received two additional orders for voltage regulation equipment that will be used in wind farms now under construction in the Midwestern part of the United States.

American Superconductor of Westborough is an energy technologies company that does much of its business with overseas customers, and it said that each domestic order for its D-VAR voltage regulation solution is worth over $1 million.

"While most of our orders have come from overseas, where government-imposed dynamic voltage requirements are in place, we are beginning to generate more business in the United States based largely on requirements put in place in local utilities," Chuck Stankiewicz, senior vice president and general manager of AMSC Power Systems, said in a statement. "We see this trend continuing as wind plays a more prominent role in our domestic power supply in the years ahead."

Posted by globebusiness at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

Cyalume markets its chemical lights

Cyalume Technologies announced that it is putting a once top-secret firefly-like technology in consumer products that will be available in retailers such as the Big Y supermarket chain.

Cyalume, a West Springfield company focused on "special purpose" lighting, is marketing something it calls SnapLights and has packaged them in home-emergency and roadside-emergency kits.

Based on the same chemistry as the firefly, SnapLights draws on light technology developed during the Cold War for US military forces, the company said; during an emergency, SnapLights are far more safe and effective than candles.

"SnapLights safely mix two chemicals in a plastic tube to create instant light," Sandy Weisz, Cyalume's vice president of new product development, said in a statement. "There's no battery, bulb, flame, or heat - just safe light for emergencies, evacuations, and distress signaling."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

Cabot to close W. Va. facility

Cabot Corp. said today it will close a carbon-black manufacturing facility in West Virginia in March as more tire manufacturing migrates from North America.

Cabot, a Boston firm that is celebrating its 125th anniversary, is a global specialty chemicals company; one of its products is carbon black, which can be used as a reinforcing agent in tires.

Cabot said it expects the closure plan will result in a pre-tax charge to earnings of about $22 million over the next two years, with about $8 million of this amount expected to be recorded during fiscal 2007; of the $22 million, the net cash outlays anticipated to be paid over the next two years are about $4 million.

The tire manufacturing industry has experienced "significant restructuring" over the past 18 months, with "multiple tire capacity reductions" in North America, and the expansion of tire manufacturing in Asia and South America, Cabot said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:03 AM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2007

Governor seeks to criminalize mortgage fraud

Mortgage companies that engage in predatory lending practices could face criminal penalties under a bill filed today by Governor Deval Patrick.

The bill would criminalize mortgage fraud, require lenders to file an intent to foreclose, and ban so-called foreclosure ‘‘rescue’’ schemes, which allow homeowners to stay in their home in exchange for signing over the property.

This month, Attorney General Martha Coakley adopted an emergency ban on rescue schemes, which she said entice homeowners facing foreclosure to sign over their property to a temporary purchaser, under the false hope it will help them keep the home.

In April, Patrick ordered the Division of Banks to seek foreclosure delays on a case-by-case basis for homeowners who filed complaints with the state.

Since then, more than 400 people have contacted the division looking for help, and in most cases officials were able to win 30- or 60-day delays.

Some of the homeowners were able to refinance, modify their loan terms, receive credit counseling, or sell the homes, officials said.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)

ViryaNet to be delisted tomorrow

ViryaNet Ltd. will be voluntarily delisted from the Nasdaq tomorrow.

The Southborough software company had previously expected the delisting to take effect today.

A market maker has applied to the National Association of Securities Dealers to trade ViryaNet over the counter.

ViryaNet continues to expect its shares will be eligible for trading over the counter and on the Pink Sheets.
(Dow Jones)

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

GAO criticizes Raytheon defense system

A Raytheon Co. mini-missile system at the core of a US weapons-buying storm is technically immature, and Army estimates for testing the vehicle-protection system appear optimistic, congressional auditors said today.

Army officials opted last year to forgo a rival Israeli system, even though it was the most technically mature of the systems evaluated, said the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.

In March 2006, Raytheon won a contract worth as much as $70 million to develop an ‘‘active protection system,’’ or APS, to protect future US combat vehicles from rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. Cued by radar, it fires a tiny interceptor missile from the target vehicle.

The APS story garnered headlines in September and sparked congressional hearings after NBC News quoted unidentified Pentagon sources as saying the Army had ‘‘cooked the books’’ to justify its choice of Raytheon’s technology.

But the GAO found the Army and the industry team managing its overall modernization program, led by Boeing Co., followed ‘‘a consistent and disciplined process in selecting Raytheon to develop the APS’’ and in conducting a controversial follow-up study of competing designs.

It said only one of the seven alternatives evaluated was less technologically mature than Raytheon’s ‘‘vertical launch’’ concept at the time the study was conducted.

Decision makers accepted the higher risk because they concluded the vertical launch approach had great technical merit, the GAO said.

Still, Raytheon’s system was ‘‘technically immature and the Army’s estimates for testing it appear optimistic.’’

Waltham-based Raytheon anticipates the effectiveness of its APS solution will be fully demonstrated in a relevant environment by late summer or fall, said a Raytheon official, who asked not to be named.
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)

Sale of Kronos is complete

Kronos Inc., which provides human resources software and services, said it completed its sale to private equity companies Hellman & Friedman LLC and JMI Equity.

Kronos, of Chelmsford, announced the $1.8 billion transaction in March.

Kronos shares were removed from the Nasdaq Stock Market at the end of today’s trading session. They fell 7 cents to close at $55.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:31 PM | Comments (0)

7 bidders vie to run city-owned parking garage

Seven parking-management companies responded to the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s request for bids to operate the city’s aging Winthrop Square garage, site of a proposed 85-story skyscraper by businessman Steve Belkin, owner of Trans National Properties.

A BRA spokeswoman said an operator would be selected by July 1 and would share revenue with the city under a one-year contract, with options to renew for three more years while Belkin develops his plans.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino has said he would use the revenue to support the Boston Housing Authority, which the city says is underfunded by the federal government.

The Boston Municipal Research Bureau last week called for a public process to determine how proceeds from the increased parking fees and money from the sale of the garage would be spent.
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:21 PM | Comments (0)

Logan urges navigation upgrage

Logan International Airport officials are urging airlines to step up their use of new navigation systems in Boston.

In a letter dated last week obtained by the Globe today, Thomas J. Kinton Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, wrote to every airline serving Logan urging them to adopt more "required navigation performance" and "area navigation" arrival and departure paths in and out of Logan, known as RNP and RNAV.

Those technologies, the subject of a Boston Globe story today, enable jetliners to fly much more precise routes in and out of airports, saving fuel and travel time, allowing safe landings in rain and fog conditions that now keep airplanes from landing, and easing workload for air traffic controllers. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have begun using the new kinds of flight paths at their Dallas and Atlanta hubs, and Southwest Airlines Co. said last month it will upgrade all 490 of its jets to be able to handle RNP operations.

Kinton said, "Massport fully supports this effort as a win-win-win strategy for enhanced safety, improved reliability and customer service, and reduced air and noise emissions along with lower fuel costs.'' Currently, very few of the 1,000 to 1,100 daily arrivals and landings at Logan are made using the new technologies being promoted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Although the technology could over time enable airports to increase the overall number of operations, neither the FAA nor Massport now envisions raising the current effective cap of 120 hourly operations -- takeoffs or landings -- at Logan. Kinton spokesman Matthew Brelis noted that Logan now rarely comes anywhere near 120 operations hourly, and the airport is handling as many passengers as it did in 2000 with one-sixth fewer operations, as airlines have trimmed flight frequencies to operate fewer, fuller, more profitable flights.

Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis said the agency especially hopes for the more precise navigation technologies to control and minimize exposure to late-night flight noise for residents of communities near Logan, ensure more planes travel over water or at the highest possible altitude when they cross from the harbor over land, and promote "controlled descent arrivals'' in which planes glide in to Logan with their engines in idle, substantially reducing noise.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:17 PM | Comments (0)

TJX Cos. names a new chief financial officer

TJX Cos., which operates eight retail chains including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, said Nirmal K. Tripathy was named chief financial officer today, succeeding Jeffrey Naylor, who was named chief administrative and business development officer.

Tripathy will report to Naylor.

Tripathy, 49, previously served as president and chief operating officer of Macy’s Florida Inc., a division of Federated Department Stores.

Naylor, 48, joined TJX in January 2004 as CFO, and was promoted to chief financial and administrative officer in September 2006. He has served as finance chief of Big Lots Inc.

Vice chairman Donald Campbell served as chief administrative and strategic development officer before Naylor was moved into the administrative role in September. With today’s announcement, Naylor assumes the remainder of Campbell’s business development responsibilities.

TJX is struggling with the fallout from a data theft that exposed at least 45 million credit and debit cards to potential fraud. The company disclosed the breach Jan. 17. The theft is believed by independent organizations to be the largest in the United States, based on the number of customer records compromised.

Banks, consumers and investors have filed lawsuits against the Framingham company related to the security breach.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:01 PM | Comments (0)

On J.P. Licks's menu: cucumber ice cream

Vegetarian desert lovers should be thrilled: Cucumber ice cream is one of several summer flavors on the menu at J.P. Licks, a seven-store chain of ice cream shops.

The ‘‘motley crew of fresh fruit ice cream’’ includes watermelon sherbet, lime ricky sorbet, and honey dew ice cream, the Boston company said.

And let’s not forget the mojito pomegranate sorbet.

J.P. Licks’s founder and owner, Vince Petryk, promised the chain will use ‘‘the absolute freshest fruit and most interesting combinations you will find.’’
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:37 PM | Comments (0)

Convention center a finalist for an award

The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is one of the three finalists for a Convention Center of the Year award from Event Solutions magazine, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority said.

The other finalists are centers in Virginia and Indiana. The winner will be announced Aug. 23.

‘‘We have worked hard to make Boston a leader in the convention center industry, and I believe the nomination demonstrates that Boston is a city that does it right,’’ said James E. Rooney, executive director of the authority.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:14 PM | Comments (0)

Tweeter files for bankruptcy

Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc. said today it filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Canton-based consumer-electronics chain said its remaining stores will stay open as it looks to restructure operations under Chapter 11.

Tweeter warned last month that it may have to seek bankruptcy protection when it reported a loss of $35 million for the quarter ending March 31, and the company said earlier this year that it would close nearly one-third of its 153 stores and cut about 20 percent of its workforce as part of a restructuring.

Tweeter also said today it has secured a $60-million secured debtor-in-possession credit facility from General Electric Capital Corp.

In a statement, Tweeter chief executive Joe McGuire addressed the bankruptcy filing.

"After considering a wide range alternatives, it became clear that this course of action was a necessary and responsible step to secure our future," McGuire said in the statement. "I am confident that, with our tremendous talent pool of the best-trained, most knowledgeable sales and installation teams in the business, we will emerge from this process as a stronger, more competitive organization that is well positioned to respond to and succeed in the ever-changing consumer-electronics industry."

Tweeter has lost money in its last five fiscal years as consumers have shifted their shopping habits for consumer-electronics products.

The Internet allows consumers to do much of their research on such products online, reducing the need to consult with well-trained clerks at chains such as Tweeter; meanwhile, big retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have increased their presence in the consumer-electronics space, and they can use their size and buying power to offer consumers lower prices than smaller chains.

Tweeter said that it filed for bankruptcy protection in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:05 PM | Comments (0)

Keane settles with Garnick

Boston technology services firm Keane Inc., acquired by Caritor Inc. in an $854 million cash deal that took effect June 4, today said it has settled litigation with a former senior executive, Richard S. Garnick, who had sued Keane for breach of contract and defamation after being fired last fall for travel expense violations and unauthorized communications.

The company also confirmed that Kirk E. Arnold, who was hired last January as Keane's chief executive, will be leaving the company some time this summer.

The settlement with Garnick, who had been a candidate for chief executive at Keane, involved a financial settlement, but neither party would disclose the terms or acknowledge wrongdoing. A company statement said "Keane appreciates Mr. Garnick's efforts during his tenure at Keane and wishes him well in future endeavors."

Garnick released his own statement saying he was pleased with the resolution. "Throughout my work at Keane, I always intended to act with integrity in the company's and shareholders' best interests," it said. "I wish Keane nothing but success under its new ownership."

Meanwhile, the company said Arnold, who was hired only weeks before the company agreed to be be purchased by Caritor, will step down some time in the next couple of months after it completes its management transition. The new chief executive, Mani Subrananian, will continue to work from Caritor headquarters in San Ramon, Calif. But the company, which has extensive operations in India, will retain the name Keane and the US operations base in Boston.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:54 PM | Comments (0)

Luminus gets Mass. agency loan

Luminus Devices Inc. said today that it has received a $2.5 million loan from the Bay State's finance and development authority.

Luminus of Woburn develops and manufactures high-performance solid state light sources that can be customized for a variety of applications, including high-definition TVs and video projectors.

The company said it obtained the loan from the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, the state's finance and development authority.

Luminus said it will use the financing to expand its manufacturing operations and to help meet increased demand from customers as its PhlatLight LED technology becomes more widely adopted.

In the last four years, Luminus said that it has created 175 local jobs and that it will continue to expand its workforce.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

Navy orders 114 Foster-Miller robots

Foster-Miller Inc. said today it has received an additional $18.5 million for 114 more Talon robots, which are designed to accomplish such missions as neutralizing roadside bomb threats in war zones.

Foster-Miller, a Waltham-based engineering, manufacturing and development firm, said that the order for robots and spare parts is from the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division.

This installment brings the total funding actually released to $132 million against the six-year, $257 million contract that Fisher-Miller initially announced in September 2005, the company said.

Foster-Miller is a wholly owned subsidiary of QinetiQ North America Operations LLC.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

New immigrant worker center in Springfield

A new immigrant worker center in Springfield and the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO plan to announce a "landmark partnership" at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the center today, the two groups said.

The worker center is an initiative of the Anti-Displacement Project, a Springfield based group focused on community organizing and the delivery of social services, according to its website.

The project said the center will be the first worker center in the region serving low-income and immigrant workers.

The agreement between the project and the union will bring together a local independent worker center and the AFL-CIO's Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council and the national AFL-CIO, the two said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Citizens announces charity matching program

The parent of Citizens Bank announced today the launch of a program that will help match charitable donations by employees.

Under the new Colleague Matching Gifts Program, the company said its Citizens Charitable Foundation will annually match individual donations by full- and part-time colleagues, as the company calls its employees, of up to $1,000 to nonprofit organizations, Citizens said.

The announcement of the new program coincides with the company's 14th annual Colleague Appreciation Week, which is being celebrated this week, Citizens said.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. is a $165 billion commercial bank holding company; it is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.

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

Small business diversity initiative launched

Sovereign Bank said today it helped launch an initiative that will make $3 million in capital available to women and minority-owned firms in Massachusetts.

Also involved in the initiative, which is called the Massachusetts Small Business Supplier Diversity Initiative, are US Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts; the Business Development Corporation of New England; and the Property and Casualty Initiative.

The diversity initiative aims to assist minority and/or women-owned small business vendors with expansion and job creation, the partners said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. weekly gas prices drop again

Gas prices dipped 3 cents per gallon over the past week in Massachusetts, the second straight weekly decline after a nearly four-month run of rising prices, AAA of Southern New England said today.

A statewide survey by the automobile association found an average price of $3.00 for a gallon of self-service regular unleaded, down from $3.03 on June 4, when the average price edged downward a penny compared with the prior week.

That penny-a-gallon decline snapped a string of 16 straight weeks of increases in Massachusetts dating to early February. Prices rose a total 89 cents per gallon during that period.

Massachusetts' gas prices remain below the nationwide average of $3.02 per gallon, AAA said. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Life Sciences changes name

Boston Life Sciences Inc. began trading today under a new name, Alseres Pharmaceuticals Inc., and a new stock symbol, ALSE, on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the company said.

The name change reflects the evolution of the Hopkinton firm from a life sciences company to a biopharmaceutical company with late-stage product candidates in clinical development for central-nervous-system disorders, the firm said.

"Alseres is derived from a Latin term meaning 'to grow together, to take root, to become established,'" company chairman and chief executive Peter G. Savas noted in a statement.

The term provides "an image for our growing pipelines, scientific expertise, management, and culture," he added.

Under its old name, the company traded under the stock symbol of BLSI.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Altus reacquires therapy rights

Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today it has reacquired the European development and commercialization rights to ALTU-135, an enzyme replacement therapy for patients with certain disorders of the pancreas.

The Cambridge biopharmaceutical company said the rights were reacquired under an agreement with Dr. Falk Pharma, a German drug company.

"We believe this agreement with Dr. Falk Pharma is in the best interest of our company," Altus chief executive Sheldon Berkle said in a statement. "Altus now has the freedom to evaluate multiple strategic options for worldwide commercialization, including retaining full commercial rights worldwide, or seeking a new commercial collaboration, with the ultimate goal of maximizing the value of our ALTU-135 assets."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Verizon FiOS adds 3 more communities

Verizon Communications Inc. said that starting today, consumers in Franklin, Lawrence, and Southborough can receive its FiOS TV service.

According to Verizon, its TV service is better than those offered by rivals because it provides superior picture quality and a broad range of programming choices.

Franklin, Lawrence, and Southborough are among 44 Massachusetts communities where the company's new television service is being offered, Verizon said.

Headquartered in New York, Verizon delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless services to mass market, business, government, and wholesale customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Toyota taps PTC tech

Parametric Technology Corp. said today that Toyota Motor Corp. has deployed its Windchill product lifecycle management solution.

Parametric of Needham, which prefers to refer to itself as "PTC, the product development company," said that Toyota is using Windchill as part of a strategic process improvement initiative for its powertrain division.

PTC said it provides product lifecycle management, content management, and dynamic publishing solutions to more than 40,000 companies worldwide.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:08 AM | Comments (0)

Voltaire launches new platform

Voltaire today unveiled a new director-class switching platform for high-performance grid computing in the data center.

Voltaire of Billerica is a provider of grid backbone solutions, and it said its Grid Director ISR 2012 is ideal for large, scale-out architectures.

The company claims the new product "addresses many of the critical pain points of today's data centers, including inefficiencies from increasing server I/O bottlenecks."

Posted by globebusiness at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)

Pro-Pharmaceuticals seeks quick FDA OK

Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that it is seeking expedited regulatory approval for a new formulation of a previously approved drug to treat cancer.

The Newton company is exploring uses for its lead drug candidate, a drug target delivery compound called Davanat, and the company said today it has submitted data to begin a filing with the Food and Drug Administration for a new formulation of Irinotecan, a chemotherapy drug used to treat colorectal cancer, to be co-administered with Davanat.

"Our goal is to get our lead compound, Davanat, to market with multiple chemotherapy drugs," company chief executive David Platt said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Archemix partners with Japanese firm

Archemix Corp. said today it will collaborate with a Japanese company to discover, develop, and commercialize aptamer-based therapeutics.

The privately held Cambridge biopharmaceutical company said it will receive an upfront payment of $6 million under its agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. of Osaka.

Archemix specializes in aptamers, short strings of nucleic acid customized to stick to certain molecules involved in disease.

"Our alliance with Takeda is the sixth major partnership we have formed within the past year and is a major step in the continued validation of aptamer therapeutics," Archemix chief executive Errol De Souza said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Altitude designs special Mr. Coffee

Altitude Inc., a local product design firm, said it has been commissioned to design a special model of Mr. Coffee to celebrate the brand's 35th anniversary.

The firm described its mandate as modernizing a "classic icon," and Altitude's iteration of the coffee maker include "contemporary finishes" such as "a warm coffee-colored satin finish" and "a perforated backsplash and stainless steel wrapped casings."

"This new 12-cup coffee maker captures the heritage of the original 1970s models with better functionality, improved ergonomics, and updated finishes," the firm said in a statement.

According to its web site, Altitude is headquartered in Somerville.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

June 8, 2007

R.I. lab settles Vt. Medicaid charges

A Rhode Island medical lab company has agreed to pay $1 million to the Vermont Medicaid system to settle allegations it overcharged the state for services including testing urine samples for drugs.

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell said the state reached the settlement with Dominion Diagnostics, of North Kingstown, R.I., over claims it overbilled Medicaid for lab work from January of 2001 through June of 2003.

Sorrell said the company billed Medicaid for running routine drug screens ordered by "many Vermont substance abuse treatment programs.

"The settlement agreement resolves all the billing issues for clinical urine testing, billing, and related services provided by Dominion up to the date of the signed agreement," Sorrell said.

Mark McSally, the lawyer for Dominion Diagnostics, said the company had denied wrongdoing.

He called the matter "a dispute over billing methodology related to technical scientific issues" over the type of tests being performed. "The company is happy to have it resolved and behind it and is looking forward to continuing to work with the state of Vermont." (Associated Press)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:16 PM | Comments (0)

KB Toys names Bailen chief executive

KB Toys Inc. said today that it has appointed Andrew Bailen as president and chief executive.

Headquartered in Pittsfield, KB Toys operates roughly 570 stores, many of them in shopping malls.

Greg Staley, chief executive for the past two years, is leaving the company for personal reasons, KB Toys said.

Bailen was most recently president of Loew-Cornell, a division of Jarden Corp., a Rye, N.Y., company whose brands include Coleman camping equipment and Sunbeam housewares.

KB Toys is owned by an affiliate of Prentice Capital Management LP, a private equity firm. (By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:11 PM | Comments (0)

American Renal opens Ohio center

American Renal Associates Inc. announced today the opening of the Pickaway Dialysis Center in Circleville, Ohio.

Headquartered in Beverly, American Renal Associates is an owner and operator of outpatient kidney dialysis facilities in partnerships with nephrologists throughout the United States.

American Renal Associates said this is the sixth facility it has opened in 2007, and it is the company's seventh facility in Ohio.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Ching, Hines join TJX board

TJX Cos. reported today that its shareholders elected David T. Ching and Michael F. Hines to its board of directors.

Headquartered in Framingham, TJX is an off-price retailer that operates such chains as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, A.J. Wright, and Bob's Stores.

Since 1994, Ching has been senior vice president and the chief information officer for Safeway Inc., a California-based food and drug retailer, TJX said.

From 1995 until March, Hines served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Dick's Sporting Goods Inc., a Pittsburgh-based sporting goods retailer, TJX said.

Ching and Hines were elected at TJX's annual meeting earlier this week, and they joined a slate of eight other ongoing directors who were reelected at the meeting, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:40 PM | Comments (0)

Cape beach #5 on national list

Looking for a prestige place to take a dip this weekend? How about a nationally-ranked sandy seaside spot like Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod, which just placed fifth on this year's America's top 10 beaches survey.

The list is compiled by a chap who bills himself as Dr. Beach.

In real life, his name is Stephen P. Leatherman, and he is a professor of environmental studies at Florida International University with an academic resume that includes stints at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts.

This year's top ranked beach? Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin and Clearwater, Fla., was second, and placing third and fourth respectively were Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y., and Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii, he said.

In issuing annual lists since 1991, Leatherman has compiled a raft of criteria for rating beaches: from sand quality and water temperature to absence of red tides, bad smells, and mosquitoes; his goal, he said, is to inspire people to take better care of a precious natural resource.

Damage from a recent hurricane can knock a beach off the top 10 list, and improved conservation efforts can move a beach up in the standings, Leatherman said.

Beaches in Florida occupy three of the spots on this year's top 10 list, and a Californian might squawk that Coronado Beach in San Diego is California's only 2007 honoree.

So is Dr. Beach a homer? No way, he said.

His list is about "swimming beaches," not surfing beaches, he said, and the waves that surfers crave are not ideal for the devotee of the backstroke and the Australian crawl.

A shortage of sharks and people can also propel a beach to high places on Dr. Beach's list; too many people can detract from the beach experience, he said.

California beaches "can be loved to death," Leatherman said. "My beaches are not the most popular beaches."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:02 PM | Comments (0)

Winthrop Realty declares dividend

Real estate investment trust Winthrop Realty Trust today declared a regular quarterly dividend of 6 cents per share.

The company will pay the dividend on July 16 to shareholders of record on June 29. (AP)

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

Mass. exports on record pace

Massachusetts firms exported merchandise at a record pace through the first four months of the year, according to the World Institute for Strategic Economic Research. Exports rose nearly 9 percent from the same period in 2006, a record year for the state.

Through April, Massachusetts companies sold $8.1 billion in goods in foreign markets, compared to $7.5 billion last year, according to WISER, a nonprofit research group at Holyoke Community College. Massachusetts firms exported a record $24 billion in all of 2006.

Two of the state's key products -- technology and pharmaceuticals -- remain in demand. Exports of pharmaceutical products rose 37 percent from a year ago, according to WISER. Exports of industrial machinery, which includes computers and other high tech equipment, rose 21 percent.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)

Shareholders approve Kronos sale

Kronos Inc. said today that company shareholders approved its proposed purchase by Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VI, L.P., a San Francisco private equity firm.

Kronos is a Chelmsford-based software maker that helps businesses manage their workforces.

In March, Kronos announced that it had signed an agreement to be acquired by Hellman & Friedman in a transaction valued at approximately $1.8 billion.

Investing alongside Hellman & Friedman is JMI Equity, a private equity firm with offices in Baltimore and San Diego that is focused on the software and business services industries, Kronos said.

Based on preliminary results, Kronos said that the number of shares that voted to approve the merger agreement represented about 79 percent of the total number of shares of Kronos common stock outstanding.

The company said the transaction is expected to close Monday.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

CBRE|Melody finances Worcester complex

The Boston office of CBRE|Melody said today that it has arranged a $16.95 million financing for a suburban office and storage complex in Worcester.

The property, which originally served as the headquarters for the Thom McCann Shoe Co., is called the Worcester Business Center, said CBRE|Melody, which added that it secured the non-recourse financing on behalf of the center's owner, Franklin Realty Advisors Inc., a full-service real estate and advisory firm headquartered in Boston.

CBRE|Melody said the lender was Capmark Financial Group Inc.

According to Capmark's web site, the firm's US headquarters is in California.

CBRE|Melody is part of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate services firm.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

Ribatt promoted at Weitzman holdings

Stuart Weitzman Holdings LLC promoted Brookline resident Gregg Ribatt to chief executive officer.

With offices in New York, the company is a luxury fashion footwear and accessories brand, and it said its customers include Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstom.

Ribatt, a footwear industry veteran, joined the company in August, and he was previously president and chief operating officer, the company said.

"We will be expanding our core businesses and capitalizing on new opportunities, so the experience and strategic perspective that Gregg has shown will help us to continue to evolve and develop business in the future," executive chairman Stuart Weitzman said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Lawsuits mounting over data breach at TJX

TJX Cos. faces federal lawsuits in five additional states over a data theft that exposed at least 45 million credit and debit cards to potential fraud, according to a regulatory filing Thursday by the owner of stores including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.

A quarterly filing said TJX was named in nine new lawsuits filed since the company's March 28 update on a theft believed to be the largest in the U.S. based on the number of customer records compromised.

Thursday's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission says complaints seeking class-action designation on behalf of customers were filed in April and May in the federal courts of five additional states: Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas.

Three new lawsuits were filed over the past two months in Massachusetts, where cases had previously been brought earlier in the year. The March 28 filing had listed more than a dozen lawsuits in Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico and six Canadian provinces. The Massachusetts cases against Framingham-based TJX have been consolidated.

In addition to listing TJX as a defendant, some of the lawsuits also name Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp, which processed some payment card transactions for TJX.

TJX said in Thursday's filing that it "intends to defend all of these actions vigorously," and Fifth Third has said it believes there are "substantial defenses" against the claims it faces.

Most of the complaints have been filed by TJX customers whose personal data was stolen. But some have been brought by financial institutions saddled with costs to replace cards and cover fraudulent charges tied to the theft. In April, bank associations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine sued TJX, the owner of nearly 2,500 discount stores.

TJX disclosed the breach on Jan. 17, and said March 28 that one or more intruders unearthed data from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards from transactions as long ago as early 2003. Independent organizations that track data thefts say the TJX case is believed to be the largest in the U.S. based on the number of customer records compromised.

TJX says about three-quarters of the 45.7 million cards had either expired by the time of the theft, or the stolen information didn't include security code data from the cards' magnetic stripes. However, TJX also has said the intruders could have tapped the unencrypted flow of information to card issuers as customers checked out with their credit cards.

The only arrests so far have come in Florida, where 10 people who aren't believed to be the TJX hackers are accused of using stolen TJX customer data to buy Wal-Mart gift cards.

Last month, TJX said its first-quarter profit dipped 1 percent, in part due to a $12 million after-tax charge from costs related to the theft. Nevertheless, TJX reported a 6 percent increase in revenue as customer traffic remained strong despite negative publicity about the theft.

On Thursday, TJX said sales at stores open at least a year rose 5 percent. Shares of TJX fell 77 cents, or about 2.7 percent, to close at $27.74, after the May sales report and before TJX's SEC filing.

Besides its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, TJX operates HomeGoods, A.J. Wright and Bob's Stores in the United States, Winners and HomeSense stores in Canada, and T.K. Maxx stores in Europe. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:58 AM | Comments (0)

Maine Food & Lifestyle mag launched

The publisher of Edible Coastal Maine announced the launch of a new magazine called Maine Food & Lifestyle.

The Edible Coastal Maine name has been phased out so the rechristened and rebranded magazine can broaden its focus to include food trends and happenings in the inland part of the state, a spokeswoman for Maine Food & Lifestyle said.

According to a statement from Merrill Williams, publisher of Edible Coastal Maine, the "timing of Maine Food & Lifestyle's arrival on the culinary scene coincides perfectly with the national press attention and acclaim that the state's food industry continues to earn."

The magazine's editorial office is in Rockland, Maine, and the magazine will be published quarterly by Mainely Living LLC, according to the magazine's press release.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

"Homeownership University" coming to Dorchester

At a ground-breaking this morning for its new Boston headquarters, the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance's executive director said the organization has provided more than 10,000 affordable mortgages to families since 1991.

As state officials deal with an increase of foreclosure filings, which are caused by a proliferation of subprime loans, MAHA has created a "Homeownership University" that aims to help low- and moderate-income consumers "avoid the pitfalls of predatory lending and become home owners," an alliance spokesman said. The "university" is a series of classes it currently sponsors, which will be held in the new building at 1803 Dorchester Avenue that is about to go under construction.

Founded in 1985, MAHA is a nonprofit group that works to encourage local and state government and businesses to invest more money in affordable housing, and arranges mortgage financing through banks for homebuyers with modest incomes.

The new headquarters "will expand our presence in the neighborhoods and give us more space to serve more homebuyers," said Thomas Callahan, MAHA's executive director.

The new building is being funded by a $3.5 million capital campaign spearheaded by long-time MAHA supporter Robert Sheridan, chief executive of The Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts, or SBLI. So far, $2.75 million has been raised from contributors that include companies ranging from Bank of America Corp. to small community banks, Sheridan said.

MAHA is temporarily located St. Mark Catholic School, also on Dorchester Avenue, and staff hope to move into the new building by next spring.
(By Chris Reidy and Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

Holland Mark wins Benjamin Franklin account

Boston ad agency Holland Mark said it was named agency of record by Benjamin Franklin Bank.

Benjamin Franklin is an independent community bank with corporate offices in Franklin and branches in such communities as Bellingham, Milford, and Foxborough.

Billings for what will be a three-year integrated marketing and communications campaign have not yet been determined, Holland Mark said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:21 AM | Comments (0)

British design firm expands to Cambridge

A British product design and technology firm plans to quadruple its Massachusetts work force to 100 people over the next few years and relocate its chief executive to Cambridge.

Founded in Cambridge, England, a firm called Cambridge Consultants said it is set to beef up its US presence in Cambridge, Mass.

In 2004, the firm opened a Boston office, which was just moved across the river to the Kendall Square part of Cambridge.

The relocated chief executive is Brian Moon, and he said in a statement: "After a successful few years here, I'm eager to expand on our role in the US as a technology incubator as well as a provider of product development services. Cambridge, Mass., is home to exactly the kind of entrepreneurial engineers that thrive within our portfolio approach to innovation - where we encourage novel thinking outside of our client work and reward engineers for doing so."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

June 7, 2007

Gates to Harvard grads: 'Be activists'

Bill Gates (left) accepts his honorary degree at Harvard's commencement. (Reuters photo)

Harvard University’s most famous dropout returned to his alma mater today to urge its students, faculty, and alumni to help end poverty and preventable diseases worldwide.

‘‘You have technology that members of my class never had. You have an awareness of global inequity, which we never had,’’ said Bill Gates, cofounder and chairman of Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest maker of software.

‘‘Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.’’

Addressing a commencement crowd in Harvard Yard, Gates described his two-and-a-half years at the school, where, he joked, he led ‘‘the antisocial group,’’ as a ‘‘phenomenal experience.’’

But when he dropped out during his junior year in 1975 to create Microsoft, he was unaware of the entrenched poverty and widespread illnesses that exist worldwide.

Learning about those ‘‘appalling disparities of health and wealth and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair,’’ Gates recalled, spurred him to use his education, money, and the power of technology to try to combat the problems.

Gates is one of the world’s richest and most influential businessmen, as well as one of its most prominent and generous philanthropists.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000, has an endowment of more than $30 billion. Making grants of more than $1.5 billion a year, it focuses on health, particularly on battling malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

It also supports major initiatives to alleviate poverty and hunger.

Gates said he is committed to improving the world’s health because he remains shocked by the number of people in poor countries who die each year of diseases that are easily treatable or preventable, such as measles, hepatitis B, and yellow fever.

Developing nations often lack the resources to obtain vaccines and medications, and wealthy nations do too little to help, he said.
‘‘It’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not,’’ Gates said.

‘‘Yes, inequity has been with us forever, but the new tools we have to cut through complexity have not been with us forever,’’ he said. ‘‘And the defining and ongoing innovations of this age — biotechnology, the computer, the Internet — give us a chance we’ve never had before to end extreme poverty and end death from preventable disease.’’

‘‘When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given — in talent, privilege, and opportunity,’’ he said, ‘‘there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us.’’

At the school’s 356th commencement, Harvard awarded 6,871 degrees. Gates received an honorary doctorate that he jested will come in handy.

‘‘I will be changing my job next year,’’ he said, referring to his plan to give up his day-to-day role at Microsoft in July 2008 to spend more time running the foundation. ‘‘It will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.’’
(By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:51 PM | Comments (0)

Firm to pay $2.4m to underpaid workers

Patni Computer Systems Ltd., an Indian outsourcing firm with its US headquarters in Cambridge, has agreed to pay more than $2.4 million after federal investigators found it underpaid hundreds of employees hired under a controversial visa program for highly skilled foreign workers.

The US Department of Labor said Patni hired 607 employees to do computer work in 32 states in 2004 and 2005, but they were not paid prevailing local wage rates, as required under the H-1B visa program.

Patni will pay the workers more than $2.4 million under an administrative settlement, said a spokesman for the department.

The company, headquartered in Mumbai, was started by Narendra K. Patni, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who conceived one of the earliest ‘‘offshore’’ business models with his wife, Poonam, in the early 1970s.

A spokesman said the company has contacted the employees due to receive money. He said the wage violation was due to an accounting error but declined to elaborate.

The visa program permits US companies to temporarily hire foreigners in professional occupations and is heavily used in high-technology industries. Employers are required to offer prevailing wages to avoid undercutting US workers’ pay.

Patni is one of several Indian firms operating large technology services centers in the United States to handle jobs outsourced from US companies. Patni provides information technology consulting, software development, and other business services.
(AP, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:29 PM | Comments (0)

State seeks to halt Scituate man's stock sales

State regulators today filed an administrative complaint against a Scituate man who is accused of selling securities without being registered to do so.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s office said Thomas John McKenna, 52, operated as an unregistered broker-dealer, soliciting investors for companies he represented through his own firm, Sales Fusion Inc., of Norwell.

Attempts to reach McKenna and Sales Fusion were not immediately successful.

The complaint says McKenna, either himself or through his company, has made at least 104 sales transactions that totaled about $2.5 million since 2001; the commissions came to at least $375,185, and the average commission was 16 percent of the investment. Some commissions were as high as 40 percent, the complaint says.

The state is seeking a cease-and-desist order, unspecified fines, and an order that people who bought the securities be offered the chance to rescind the deals.

‘‘My office is determined to crack down on securities salesmen who operate without registering with the Securities Division, especially when they are peddling high-risk stocks for large commissions,’’ Galvin said in a prepared statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:38 PM | Comments (0)

Dunkin' names a brand marketing officer

Dunkin’ Donuts has appointed Frances Allen as brand marketing officer.

The title is new at Canton company. Many of Allen’s marketing duties were previously the responsibility of John Gilbert, who as vice president of marketing played a role in the "America runs on Dunkin’" ad campaign.

In January, TJX Cos., of Framingham, named Gilbert executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Allen joins Dunkin’ from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, where she was vice president of marketing.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:06 PM | Comments (0)

Aspen to acquire Australian firm

Aspen Technology Inc., a Cambridge maker of optimization software for manufacturers, today said it is acquiring its Australian alliance partner, Plant Solutions Pty Ltd.

Terms were not disclosed.

Since it was founded in 2000, Plant Solutions has provided software and professional services to Aspen Tech customers in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:36 PM | Comments (0)

Testing of inhaled osteoporosis drug begins

The Cambridge biotechnology company Alkermes Inc. has started an early-stage clinical trial for its inhaled formulation of Eli Lilly & Co.’s osteoporosis drug Forteo.

The study will test the safety and tolerability of the inhaled formulation, along with its effectiveness in reaching its target area, the company said today.

In 2006, Alkermes and Eli Lilly agreed to develop and commercialize an inhaled version of the drug using Alkermes’ AIR technology.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which bone mineral density is reduced, making bones weak.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

MIT discovery could unplug your iPod forever

The latest technical advance out of MIT could dramatically change the drudgery of recharging portable devices: An MIT research team has figured out how to wirelessly illuminate an unplugged light bulb from seven feet away.

Details about WiTricity, or wireless electricity, are scheduled to be reported today in Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.

In a December story in the Globe, MIT physicist Marin Soljacic sketched out a vision of how everything from iPods to laptops could be wirelessly recharged by using a carefully designed magnetic field to deliver power to such devices from a range of 10 to 15 feet.

Now, MIT said, Soljacic and a research team he works with have some data to begin validating his theory - namely, the successful experiment to light a 60-watt light bulb from a power source two meters away, with no physical connection between the power source and the light bulb.

If Soljacic's idea bears fruit, consumers could be truly unplugged, their rechargers replaced by single device that transmits power wirelessly.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:42 PM | Comments (0)

First Marblehead raises dividend

Student-loan servicer The First Marblehead Corp. today raised its quarterly cash dividend 67 percent to 25 cents per share, payable June 25 to shareholders of record as of June 18.

The previous dividend was 15 cents per share. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

Rutherford to lead Digitas Global

Digitas Inc. announced today that Alan Rutherford will join the agency family as chief executive of Digitas Global, the division formed to grow the agency's business and service to clients worldwide.

In December, Digitas, a Boston Internet marketing agency, agreed to be acquired by the French advertising giant Publicis Groupe for $1.3 billion in a bid to create the world's largest digital marketing firm.

Digitas said Rutherford will report to Digitas chairman and chief executive David Kenny.

Rutherford is currently vice president of global media at Unilever NV, the Dutch company known for such consumer brands as Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Lipton tea drinks, and Dove soap.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

Mass. residents: your 2006 productivity = $47K

Massachusetts' economic growth accelerated last year, outpacing other New England states, but still lagging the nation, the Commerce Department reported.

Massachusetts's productivity, or output per person, was the third highest in the nation, as measured by value, the Commerce Department said. Each person produced nearly $47,000 in goods and services, compared to about $38,000 nationally. Delaware, at $59,288, and Connecticut, at $50,332, led the nation.

The Commerce Department attributed the high output per person to a concentration of high value industries, such as financial services.

The state's economy grew 2.9 percent last year, accelerating from 1 percent in 2005. That compared to a national growth rate of 3.4 percent 2006. Massachusetts economic growth rate ranked 27th among states. Idaho's 7.4 percent growth rate led the nation.

In New England, Vermont's economy grew 2.8 percent last year; Connecticut's 2.6 percent: Maine's, 1.9 percent; Rhode Island, 1.8 percent; and New Hampshire's 1.3 percent.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

Earnings flat at CRA

CRA International Inc., a financial and management consulting agency, said today that fiscal second-quarter earnings were flat despite higher sales, as a tax provision and higher recruiting fees kept profits in check.

Net income came in at $6.7 million, or 53 cents per share, in the quarter ended May 11. A year ago, earnings were $6.7 million, or 55 cents per share. The higher per-share figure reflects fewer shares outstanding.

The result in the most recent quarter included a tax provision of $1.4 million, or 11 cents per share.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $88.3 million from $84 million last year.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:53 AM | Comments (0)

Dekkers joins Biogen board

Biogen Idec Inc. announced today that Marijn E. Dekkers, chief executive of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., has been elected to its board of directors.

Biogen Idec of Cambridge develops, manufactures, and commercializes novel therapies focusing on oncology and immunology; it's known for such drugs as Avonex, a treatment for multiple sclerosis, and Rituxan, which treats non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Thermo Fisher Scientific of Waltham manufactures scientific instruments.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:50 AM | Comments (0)

Parexel narrows outlook

Pharmaceutical services company Parexel International Corp. on Wednesday narrowed its guidance for the fiscal fourth-quarter and the full-year, and revealed expectations for 2008.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, the company now expects revenue in the range of $200 to $203 million, compared to a range of $197 to $203 million as reported in late April. The company's anticipated fourth-quarter earnings per share remained unchanged at 35 cents to 37 cents per share.

For the full-year ending June 30, the company expects revenue of between $737 and $740 million, compared to a previously issued guidance of $734 to $740 million. The company still anticipates it will earn between $1.30 and $1.32 per share for the year.

The company also provided initial guidance for fiscal 2008, with expected revenue in the range of $850 to $880 million, and earnings per share of $1.56 to $1.66. Thomson Financial reports analysts, on average, expect revenue for 2008 of $857.8 and earnings per share of $1.63.

The company said it will discuss its earnings expectations at its Investor Day today in New York. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)

TJX reports strong May

May sales figures gave no indication that shoppers were avoiding T.J. Maxx or Marshalls because of a recent security breach at parent company TJX Cos. that involved the theft of at least 45 million credit and debit card numbers.

The Framingham-based off-price retailer said today that sales for the four-week period ending June 2 were $1.4 billion, up 9 percent from a year ago; at stores open at least year, an important measure of a retailer's health, TJX sales were up 5 percent from May 2006, the company said.

That 5 percent increase "was above our expectations," TJX chief executive Carol Meyrowitz said in a statement.

Besides the May figures, TJX also reported sales numbers for the 17-week period that ended June 2; for that period, total sales were $5.5 billion, up 7 percent over the comparable period a year ago, and sales at stores open at least a year rose 3 percent.

Earlier this week at a shareholders meeting, Meyrowitz apologized for the security breach, which TJX disclosed in January.

Aside from T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, TJX operates several other chains, including HomeGoods, A.J. Wright, and Bob's Stores.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Sales up at BJ's

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. said today that its May same-store sales rose 4.1 percent on increased demand for food, major appliances, lawn and garden, summer seasonal products and televisions.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key measure of retailer performance, because it measures growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

May results included a 1 percent contribution from gasoline sales, compared with a contribution of 2.2 percent from gasoline sales in the 2006 month.

BJ's total sales rose 8.2 percent to $711 million from $657.4 million in May 2006.

So far this year, BJ's same-store sales are up 2.8 percent. Total sales increased 7 percent to $2.72 billion from $2.54 billion at the same time last year. (AP)

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

Analogic will repurchase $60m in stock

Analogic Corp., which makes high-precision health and security imaging equipment, said today that its board authorized the repurchase of up to $60 million in stock.

Analogic, which had about 14 million shares outstanding as of May 31, will find the purchases with available cash.

"Even with the completion of this stock buyback, we will still have sufficient cash available to meet our strategic goals and objectives," said James Green, president and chief executive.

Shares of Analogic closed Wednesday at $66.49. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $43.78 to $66.98. (AP)

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

Playmobil chooses Demandware tech

Demandware of Woburn said today that the Playmobil toy brand used its eCommerce Platform in relaunching 10 international Web sites.

Demandware said it was chosen to support a quick international expansion by Playmobil while maintaining a consistent brand.

As a toy manufacturer, Playmobil traditionally has strong seasonal fluctuations in the numbers of visitors to its Web sites, and Demandware's technology is not only well suited to handling large fluctuations in traffic, but it also enables Playmobil officials to easily modify product attributes and descriptions while further localizing web sites tailored to specific countries, Demadware said.

Demandware said it teamed up with German implementation partner T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, to relaunch the Playmobil web sites.

The Playmobil brand is owned by Geobra Brandstaetter GmbH & Co. KG of Germany.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Indevus reports positive Nebido trial data

Lexington drug company Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported positive data today from a trial of Nebido, a testosterone therapy under development for the treatment of male hypogonadism.

According to Indevus, male hypogonadism is an increasingly recognized medical condition characterized by a reduced or absent secretion of testosterone from the testes; common effects of hypogonadism include decreased sexual desire, muscle loss and weakness, and increased risk of osteoporosis.

In disclosing final results from its Phase III pharmacokinetic trial, the company said that Nebido achieved "all key endpoints for both efficacy and safety."

Indevus describes Nebido as "a long-acting injectable testosterone therapy for the treatment of male hypogonadism," which is licensed from Bayer Schering Pharma AG of Germany.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

Milos joins Helicos BioSciences

Helicos BioSciences Corp. said today that it has appointed Patrice Milos as vice president and chief scientific officer.

Milos joins Helicos of Cambridge from Pfizer Inc., where she most recently held the position of executive director within Pfizer Global Research and Development, Helicos said.

Helicos is a life sciences company developing innovative genetic analysis technologies for the research, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics markets.

The company said it has developed its proprietary "True Single Molecule Sequencing" technology to enable ultra-high-throughput genetic analysis based on the direct sequencing of single molecules of nucleic acids.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

Goodwin Proctor opens Palo Alto office

Boston law firm Goodwin Procter LLP announced the opening of an office in Palo Alto, the fifth California office the firm has opened in the past 14 months.

The firm said its West Coast expansion is a key component of its national strategy to create "a bicoastal platform for serving clients in the areas of technology companies, life sciences, private equity, corporate (mergers and acquisitions), intellectual property, and securities litigation."

Goodwin Procter said Kevin Dennis and Kathy Fields, corporate partners in the firm's Boston office, will relocate to California to work with several other attorneys who are joining the firm.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Enpocket wins MITX award

Enpocket said it has won an industry award for innovative technology.

The Boston firm, a provider of mobile advertising and marketing services, said it has been selected as the winner in the mobile category for an annual awards competition organized by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, or MITX.

According to its web site, MITX is an industry and professional organization "where technology, marketing, and digital media intersect."

Enpocket said this is its first award for the technology that drives the Enpocket Platform, a carrier-grade mobile advertising campaign management and delivery system.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

June 6, 2007

Akamai lets you monitor Net traffic, attacks

What does the Internet look like? A free new Web service from Akamai Technologies Inc. offers a peek, providing a sort of Internet weather report on global traffic tie-ups, cyberattacks, and spikes in activity.

Akamai, which says it delivers 15 to 20 percent of Internet traffic on any given day, hopes its new website helps not only the techies it counts as clients, but the general public.

If your Internet connection is slower than usual, Akamai’s tool can show whether traffic is clogged overall in your city. (If not, your Internet service provider might be to blame.) Or you might just want a way to visualize the global ebb and flow.

‘‘We originally built this feature as a tool for our customers, but once it was built it seemed like a fun thing to put out there to the public,’’ said Tom Leighton, Akamai’s chief scientist.

The service, at http://tinyurl.com/yooz96, reveals some of the data engineers at Akamai’s Cambridge headquarters rely on.

The tool shows the 10 cities with the slowest Web connections at any given moment, and ranks the regions facing the most network attacks. Other sections measure traffic on digital music, retail, and news websites.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:16 PM | Comments (0)

Linear Air to fly from DC to Outer Banks

Concord-based Linear Air, which operates air taxis and private-plane-style scheduled service, will start a new route on June 29 from suburban Washington, D.C., to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Linear, whose main base is at Hanscom Field, flies charter flights between 500 US airports and operates scheduled trips from Hanscom to Nantucket and Teterboro, N.J., that passengers make on eight-seat Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops, which have plush private-plane appointments. Such arrangements are sometimes called ‘‘scheduled charter by the seat.’’

The new service, from Manassas, Va., to Manteo, N.C., will leave Manassas Friday nights and Saturday mornings and return Saturday afternoons and Sunday evenings.

The 90-minute flights cost $438 round-trip, which Linear president William Herp calls attractive, considering it’s an eight-hour drive from Washington to the Outer Banks.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:27 PM | Comments (0)

Firm's software aids shipbuilder for Coast Guard

SolidWorks Corp. today said that a Seattle shipbuilder is using its software to build a Coast Guard patrol boat.

With offices in Concord, SolidWorks is part of Dassault Systemes SA, a French company that develops and markets software for design, analysis, and product data management.

The shipbuilder is Kvichak Marine Industries.

Kvichak’s contract requires that each of the boat’s 5,000 parts be fully modeled in computer-aided design software. Kvichak is using SolidWorks software to annotate the Web-based model of the ship, SolidWorks said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Buyer completes Spotfire acquisition

Tibco Software Inc., a maker of business integration software, today said it has completed its $195 million acquisition of privately held Spotfire Holdings Inc., of Somerville.

Spotfire, which develops business intelligence software and has more than 200 employees, will operate as a division of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tibco.

Spotfire has more than 800 customers, including Chevron Corp., Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Shell Oil Co., and Texas Instruments Inc.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:34 PM | Comments (0)

First day Starent shares shoot up

Starent Networks Corp. shares shot up more than 15 percent in their first trading day today as investors rushed to buy a stake in the newly public wireless infrastructure company.

Starent shares gained $1.81, or 15.1 percent, to $13.81 by midday. They had traded as high as $14.30 earlier in the session.

The Tewksbury, Mass.-based company Tuesday evening priced its initial public offering of 10.5 million shares at $12 per share, higher than the $9 and $11 previously expected. The company is selling 9 million of the shares, with stockholders offering the rest.

The company has granted its underwriters -- which include Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Securities and Thomas Weisel Partners -- an option to buy up to 1.6 million additional shares to cover any over-allotments.

Starent makes hardware and software allowing wireless carriers to offer multimedia services. Its clients include China Unicom, Virgin Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless.

The company trades under the ticker symbol "STAR." (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)

House hears of diabetes drug warning delay

GlaxoSmithKline Plc waited 11 months before telling federal regulators about clinical trial results linking its diabetes drug, Avandia, to heart risks, and government officials ignored years of earlier warnings about the treatment, US Representative Henry Waxman said this morning during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing.

Avandia, the world's top-selling oral diabetes drug, has been under increasing scrutiny since late last month when Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that patients in trials who took Avandia had a 43 percent higher risk of suffering a heart attack compared with those who took other drugs or sugar pills. Food and Drug Administration officials told the House committee that GlaxoSmithKlines' own analysis of nearly four dozen studies found similar heart risks, as did a statistical analysis that the FDA conducted.

“Avandia is a case study of the need for reform of our drug safety laws,” said Waxman, Democrat of California, who is chairman of the oversight and reform committee.

Today’s hearing is designed to galvanize support for a pending FDA reform bill, cosponsored by Waxman, that would give the agency power to force manufacturers to complete safety studies for drugs on the market and would make it easier for researchers to gain access to clinical trials results. The bill, cosponsored by Representative Edward Markey, Democrat of Malden, is expected to be discussed during a House hearing next week. The Senate has already passed such an FDA reform bill, cosponsored by Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, but critics are pushing for the House to take a stronger stance.

“FDA needs the will, the resources and the authority to be a more effective watchdog,” Waxman said.

It is unclear, however, whether the agency welcomes added authority to force manufacturers to conduct postmarketing trials. At the time of Avandia's approval in 1999, the FDA was more concerned about the drug's potential to cause heart failure, as well as the liver toxicity that forced a similar diabetes drug, Rezulin, from the market.

"In retrospect," Avandia's link to heart attacks has loomed larger as an equally important cardiovascular side effect, FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach testified this morning.

But the postmarketing study that Glaxo has conducted, at the behest of the FDA, is not large enough to definitively address the drug's heart attack risks, officials said.

Despite dogged questioning by Representative John F. Tierney, Democrat of Massachusetts, von Eschenbach refused to say he supports legislation giving the FDA authority to force manufacturers to conduct safety research once drugs are on the market.
(By Diedtra Henderson, Globe staff)

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

TA leads $113m investment in FreeWave

TA Associates, a private equity and buy-out firm with offices in Boston, said today that it has led a $113 million investment in FreeWave Technologies Inc.

FreeWave of Colorado designs and manufactures board-level and enclosed-format data radios for the commercial and military markets.

"The company has built long-term, recurring relationships with its channel and customers based on one of the highest quality data radio product suites in the industry," Vivian Wu, a TA Associates principal, said in a statement.

Wu and Michael Child, a managing director at TA Associates, will join FreeWave's board of directors, TA Associates said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

Raytheon shares jump

Shares of Raytheon Co. ticked up at the opening bell today on the heels of the defense contractor's $11.2 billion contract with the U.S. Army.

On Tuesday, Raytheon said it signed an $11.2 billion contract with partner Computer Sciences Corp. to manage the U.S. Army's Warfighter Field Operations Customer Support, a program for training U.S. soldiers.

"This is clearly an important win for Raytheon," said Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Safran wrote in a client note.

Cowen and Co. analyst Cai von Rumohr said the contract itself is not a game-changer but it is a good sign that it came against tough competition.

Shares of Raytheon rose 38 cents to $56.38 in morning trading. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

Repligen partners with Applied Biosystems

Biotechnology Repligen Corp. said today that it entered into a four-year supply agreement with Applied Biosystems for recombinant Protein A.

The company will supply the protein, which is used to make monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are infection-attacking proteins that are identical because they are made from one type of immune cell.

Repligen said Applied Biosystems has been a customer for more than 10 years. It did not provide financial details for the supply agreement.

Repligen said 18 monoclonal antibodies have received regulatory approval with more than 150 in various development stages. Worldwide revenue from the class of drugs exceeded $20 billion 2006.

Shares of Repligen fell 2 cents to $3.56 in morning trading. (AP)

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

Biz meal primer: It's not about the food

Never order lobster. And if you must have a restaurant cheeseburger, be sure to cut it in half before taking dainty bites.

Those are among the guiding principles for the proper consumption of business meals - or so says Judith Bowman, a local author who is promoting her new book, "Don't Take the Last Donut: New Rules of Business Etiquette."

Bowman doesn't just pen self-help books; she also offers charm-school crash courses for etiquette-challenged executives at her Rhode Island-based consulting business, Protocol Consultants International.

Always keep in mind that the primary objective of a business meal is to begin building a personal business relationship, she said. "Eating is secondary."

For that reason, lobster is out. Why? Because it's nearly impossible to look suave and impressive while bibbed up and wielding mallets and crunching tools. Have the spinach salad instead.

If you're actually hungry, chow down privately beforehand, preferably on "brain food" that will get the business IQ humming.

At a business meal, never eat or look at your plate while the other person is talking, she said, and if your big cheese dining partner orders a seven-course meal, be sure to match him (or her) course for course, even when not hungry.

In such circumstances, disregard what your mother told you, Bowman said, "and play with your food."

When ordering for yourself, keep it simple and avoid sloppy, high-maintenance fare, like lobster or ribs, that can distract an eater's attention from the business at hand, she said.

In a press release pegged to the release of her book, Bowman said in a statement: "The dining table is a great stage from which to share your personal side and demonstrate the respect you hold for your client or prospect. It is a moment when you can display your proper attention to etiquette, protocol, manners, and a myriad of details that can set you apart and distinguish you from the competition."

So don't even think about ordering that third Budweiser.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

Shaw's in-store fryers going transfat free

Shaw's Supermarkets Inc. announced today that is beginning the process of converting all the oil in its in-store fryers to zero transfat oil.

The West Bridgewater-based chain said that 150 of the 209 Shaw's Supermarkets in New England have in-store fryers and that the full conversion should be complete by Labor Day.

"We continue to make the wellness of our customers a top priority," Shaw's president Carl Jablonski said in a statement. "We're proactively taking this important step to address concerns about transfats."

All the fried foods now found in Shaw's Deli and LaCarte departments will be affected by the change, Shaw's said.

Shaw's is part of Supervalu Inc., a Minnesota-based food retailer.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

Big Y will carry Peet's

Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. said today it has expanded its New England grocery presence with new distribution with Big Y Foods Inc., a Springfield-based supermarket chain.

By mid month, a selection of Peet's whole-bean and ground coffees will be available in 55 Big Y stores throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut, said Peet's, which has its headquarters in Emeryville, Calif.

"Our goal is to offer our customers the very best in taste, quality, and freshness, so we know they will be delighted to see Peet's on our shelves," Big Y category manager Bill Eichorn said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

Kadant gets $7.5m order from China

Kadant Inc. said today it has received $7.5 million order from China.

The Westford supplier to the global pulp and paper industry said its Kadant Black Clawson Inc. subsidiary got the order for stock-preparation systems that will be used to produce linerboard from recycled fiber for two mills in China.

"This order demonstrates the continued strength of the pulp and papermaking market in China as well as the confidence the leading producers in that region have in our equipment and technology," Kadant chairman and chief executive William A. Rainville said in a statement. "We have received over $40 million in stock preparation orders in China so far this year."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Amgen to buy Alantos Pharmaceuticals

Drug maker Amgen Inc. today said it agreed to acquire privately held Alantos Pharmaceuticals, for $300 million in cash.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Alantos is developing drugs for the treatment of diabetes and inflammatory diseases. Its lead drug, a diabetes treatment, is currently undergoing mid-stage clinical trials.

The acquisition has been approved by both companies and will close in the third quarter of 2007, pending regulatory approvals.

Amgen shares declined 35 cents to $57.26 in morning trading. In the past year, the stock has traded between $52.36 and $77.00. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)

Lehman joins Schneider Associates

Boston-based public relations firm Schneider Associates announced the appointment of DeWayne Lehman as the director of public affairs for the firm's corporate group.

Lehman joins Schneider Associates from the city of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development, and he has previously been a deputy press secretary for Mayor Thomas M. Menino and a correspondent for The Boston Globe.

According to Schneider Associates, Lehman's areas of expertise includes strategic communications, crisis media management, initiative development, and public and community relations.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)

Aileron raises $7 million

Aileron Therapeutics Inc. said today that it has raised $7 million through a private placement of preferred stock.

The Cambridge biopharmaceutical company seeks to use its proprietary stapled peptide technology platform to develop a new class of drugs to treat cancer and other major diseases.

The company said its financing round included Apple Tree Partners, a Cambridge firm that backs experienced entrepreneurs in the creation of drug-development, drug-discovery, and medical-device companies, and Novartis Venture Fund, a firm with offices in Cambridge and Switzerland that invests in life sciences companies.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

New extraction method from Pressure BioSciences

Pressure BioSciences Inc., a West Bridgewater biotech company, plans to unveil a novel protein extraction method for lipid-rich samples at a conference this morning.

Analysis of lipid-rich tissue is used to study such diseases as type II diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers, the company said.

Current processes to analyze lipid-rich samples use detergents, which can skew results and make analysis more costly and time-consuming; partly because it doesn't use detergent, Pressure BioSciences said its extraction method offers many advantages over current methods.

The company said it plans to discuss findings about its extraction method at a session this morning during an Indianapolis conference orgranized by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:34 AM | Comments (0)

ArQule will sell 7 million shares

ArQule Inc. said today that it registered to sell 7 million shares in a secondary offering.

In May, the biotechnology company said it planned to sell $100 million in securities. In neither case did ArQule say what it plans to use the proceeds for.

At the stock's closing price of $8 Tuesday, the 7 million shares would raise about $56 million.

UBS Investment Bank and CIBC World Markets are joint book-running managers. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:27 AM | Comments (0)

TD Banknorth Garden taps Telecast Fiber tech

Telecast Fiber Systems Inc. said its systems are being used at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden to support the country's first in-arena, fully functional high-definition scoreboard and the arena's HD control room.

Telecast is a Worcester company that specializes in portable and fixed fiber-optic systems for television broadcast production.

An additional Telecast package has enabled the New England Sports Network, or NESN, to improve the quality of video and the depth of information it provides to viewers during telecasts of Boston Bruins hockey games played at the garden, Telecast said.

NESN is owned by the Bruins and the Boston Red Sox.

The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, holds a 17 percent stake in the Red Sox.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

IBM to buys Watchfire

International Business Machines Corp. said today it has agreed to purchase a Waltham software company to help its customers guard against online security attacks and compliance breaches.

The local firm is Watchfire Corp., a privately held security and compliance testing software company.

Financial details were not disclosed, and the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

IBM said that Watchfire's technology will extend its government and risk-management strategy, with broad security and compliance capabilities integrated into the software development lifecycle.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

New assignment for Claro at Evergreen

Evergreen Investments, a Boston asset management organization, said that Francis Claro has been appointed head of its International Developed Markets Equity Team.

Claro, a 13-year veteran at Evergreen, was also appointed portfolio manager of the Evergreen International Equity Fund, the Evergreen VA International Equity Fund, and the equity portion of the Evergreen International Balanced Income Fund, the firm said.

Claro succeeds longtime portfolio manager Gilman C. Gunn III, who is retiring July 31; Gunn and Claro will work together to ensure a smooth transition over the next two months, the firm said.

Also, Michael Bradshaw has been named portfolio manager of the Evergreen Precious Metals Fund, succeeding Joseph Wickwire, "who has chosen to pursue other opportunities outside of Evergreen," the firm said.

Evergreen Investments is the brand name under which Wachovia Corp., a North Carolina-based provider of banking and financial services, conducts its investment management business.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:05 AM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2007

Sycamore expects $215.6m in added expenses

Sycamore Networks Inc., a Chelmsford maker of optical switches, said it expects to record $215.6 million in additional noncash expenses for fiscal years 2000 through 2007, following an investigation into its stock-option granting practices.

The company said most of the additional expenses, about 97 percent, will be recorded for periods through the fiscal year ended July 31, 2004. The adjustments will have no effect on previously reported revenue or cash balances.

Sycamore said it reviewed more than 1.8 million pages of documents and examined about 5,100 stock option and restricted stock grants.

Its audit committee concluded the former chief financial officer, former director of financial operations, and others were responsible for deliberately altering the recorded grant dates for some options.

Sycamore said the workers left the company for reasons unrelated to the investigation.

It said the committee concluded no current managers or directors engaged in any wrongdoing.

Sycamore hopes to file its 10-K annual financial report for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, as soon as possible, which will include restated statements for the fiscal years ended July 31, 2005, and July 31, 2004.

The company’s stock has been subject to delisting by the Nasdaq Stock Market due to its delayed financial reports. Sycamore submitted additional information last week to Nasdaq to support its request for continued listing.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:25 PM | Comments (0)

Business confidence index rises

A business confidence index for the Bay State rose 3.3 points from April to 57.2 in May, Associated Industries of Massachusetts said.

A rebound in optimism about business conditions probably accounted for the increase, said the group, a nonprofit association representing more than 7,600 businesses and institutions.

Still, the index was slightly below its 57.5 reading in May 2006.

The index has fluctuated in recent months. Raymond Torto, cochairman of the group’s board of economic advisers, said the likely cause was ‘‘mixed signals from the economy and from the state’s political leaders.’’
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:37 PM | Comments (0)

Acorn plans Wed. Fed protest

The national housing group, Acorn, is demonstrating on Wednesday at Federal Reserve Banks in more than a dozen cities to pressure the federal regulator to crack down on predatory lending by subprime mortgage companies.

Acorn, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is also rolling out a new program to assist subprime borrowers facing foreclosure. Twenty-nine of the nation's large subprime lenders, including Ameriquest, New Century Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and others have agreed to restructure existing mortgages for homeowners who request assistance from Acorn because they are struggling to make their payments, said Chris Leonard, the campaign director for Massachusetts ACORN.

The lenders agreed with Acorn to negotiate a new payment plan under an existing subprime mortgage, he said.

Acorn said the Federal Reserve, one of the nation's top three regulators for the financial industry, has powers to regulate subprime lenders under the Home Ownership & Equity Protection Act of 1994.

Acorn's recommendations for new regulations include: explicitly barring lenders from selling mortgages that homebuyers cannot afford; eliminating prepayment penalties on subprime mortgages; limiting the use of stated-income mortgages that do not require borrowers to provide proof of their earnings; and require lenders to escrow taxes and insurance when calculating the monthly payments.

Subprime mortgages generated record foreclosure actions against Massachusetts homeowners in 2006, and other states including Georgia and Michigan are also experiencing increases in foreclosures.

The Home Ownership Act gives the Fed "the power to make regulations that affect the entire lending industry," Leonard said. He said the protest would be held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's office on Atlantic Avenue at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:32 PM | Comments (0)

Raytheon, partner win 10-year, $11b Army deal

Waltham-based Raytheon Co. and a partner, Computer Sciences Corp., have won an $11.2 billion deal to manage the Army’s virtual and constructive training operations and support systems worldwide.

The 10-year program aims to improve the readiness and effectiveness of training for US soldiers. The pact will consolidate operations, maintenance, and engineering support services on all Army training programs, Raytheon said today.

Raytheon and Computer Sciences will be working with 64 additional teammates, including small- to medium-size businesses.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

Fergie dethrones Akon

Fergie dethroned Akon as the most-watched online video in May at the gotuitmusic.com website, GotuitMusic of Woburn said today.

But don’t cry for Akon; he had six entries on the top 10 list, GotuitMusic said.

Fergie’s ‘‘Glamorous,’’ which also features Ludacris, was GotuitMusic’s most popular video. Fergie’s ‘‘Fergalicious’’ ranked eighth.

GotuitMusic said its online catalog features more than 3,000 free music videos from more than 1,300 artists.

Hip-hop remains the most popular category, with hip-hop artists grabbing all spots on the May top 10 list.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)

Dunkin' and SoBe team up on a new drink

Dunkin’ Donuts has a new frozen drink: the SoBe Energy Coolatta.

Dunkin’ Donuts, a subsidiary of Dunkin’ Brands Inc. of Canton, said the new beverage marks a new relationship between the chain and SoBe Beverages, a unit of Pepsi-Cola North America.

SoBe Energy Coolatta is ‘‘cherry-citrus-flavored,’’ Dunkin’ said.

To promote it, the chain has launched a sweepstakes, with instant prizes and a $10,000 grand prize. For details: www.Coolatta.com.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)

TJX chief apologizes for data breach

ATLANTA -- At her first shareholder meeting as chief executive of TJX Cos., Carol Meyerowitz apologized for the Framingham merchant's recent security breach that involved the theft of at least 45.7 million credit and debit card numbers and said she wished the incident -- the biggest loss of personal data reported -- never happened.

Meyerowitz, who took over the helm of the company in January, said increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals are a global and complex problem for government agencies, hospitals, universities, and retailers who have all suffered attacks in recent years. Despite having security measures in place, TJX said hackers still managed to get into its systems.

"But we had locks," Meyerowitz said.

It was one of the first times TJX held its annual shareholder meeting outside of its hometown Framingham. Only a handful of shareholders attended yesterday's meeting and none asked about the security breach. The company refused questions from the media.

A company spokeswoman said the shareholder meeting coincided with a yearly off-site trip by the board of directors. This year Atlanta was selected because it is one of TJX's largest markets and the company operates a distribution center in a nearby town.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)

State Street upgrades online real estate tools

State Street Corp. said today that it has enhanced the online tools that its customers can use to monitor their real estate investment portfolios.

State Street of Boston is a provider of financial services to institutional investors.

"Providing our customers with automated capabilities to analyze their real estate portfolios from an aggregate level down to tenant level is yet another way we are enhancing our capabilities to accommodate our customers' increased allocations to alternative investments," Joe Antonellis, vice chairman, chief information officer, and head of State Street's North American investor services business, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

NStar launches new customer phone service

AT&T Inc. said it has implemented a new voice method for managing NStar's customer-service calls.

AT&T of Texas provides communications services; NStar is a local utility that delivers electricity and natural gas to more than 1.3 million customers.

AT&T said its VoiceTone solution is designed to "enhance the customer-calling experience by replacing time-consuming menus and touch-tone prompts with conversational interactions."

AT&T added, "Customers ask questions, make requests, and receive accurate, natural-voice responses."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

Michael's chooses Netezza tech

Netezza Corp. said that arts-and-crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc. has chosen one of its systems as its enterprise data warehouse.

Netezza of Framingham said that Michaels will use its Netezza Performance Server System to support merchandising, supply chain, planning, finance, human resources, and executive reporting and analytics across its 900 stores in the United States and Canada.

According to a recent press release that Texas-based Michaels issued on a separate matter, the private equity firms Bain Capital of Boston and the Blackstone Group invested in a recapitalization of Michaels Stores last year in a take-private transaction valued at more than $6 billion.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

NaviSite tops analyst expectations

NaviSite Inc., an information technology services provider, said Monday it expects sales to slightly exceed Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter, and for 2007 and 2008.

The company projected sales of $33.5 million to $34 million for its fourth quarter ending in July. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect revenue of $33.4 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the quarter are expected to range from $6.3 million to $6.8 million.

For the full fiscal year, NaviSite anticipates sales of $125 million to $125.5 million, with EBITDA of $22.8 million to $23.3 million. Analysts expect 2007 sales of $123.8 million for the year.

For fiscal 2008, NaviSite projects sales of $140 million to $150 million. The consensus estimate among Wall Street analysts is $139.4 million in sales.

The company also announced the appointment of Rathin Sinha as chief marketing officer. Sinha was most recently general manager of eBusiness at Monster.com, a job listings site.

Shares of NaviSite fell 90 cents, or 13.2 percent, $5.90 in the after-hours session, after adding 10 cents to $6.80 in regular trading. The stock has ranged from $3.33 to $7.22 over the past year.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:24 AM | Comments (0)

Synergy buys Dorchester tract

Synergy, a Boston-based real estate investment and development firm, said it has purchased roughly nine acres of Dorchester land that includes a Shaw's Supermarket for $34 million.

The acreage is near the JFK/UMass MBTA stop and Morrissey Boulevard, said Synergy, which added that the property also includes just over two acres of undeveloped land, two billboards overlooking Interstate 93, and a two-story office building occupied by Greater Media Inc., which, according to its website, is the Braintree-based parent company of roughly 20 radio stations in such markets as Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia.

Synergy identified the seller as Pappas Enterprise Inc., another local real estate and development firm.

CB Richard Ellis/New England represented Pappas as a broker and procured the buyer, Synergy said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:15 AM | Comments (0)

Two join Boston Civic Design Commission

The office of Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced the recent appointment of Daniel St. Clair and Andrea Leers to fill two vacancies on the Boston Civic Design Commission.

Menino also appointed Ed Tsoi as commission chair; Tsoi has served as a commissioner since 1993.

The commission is a design advisory body that serves both the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city's planning agency, as well as developers and architects doing business before the BRA.

A trained architect, St. Clair is a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate money management and services firm with local offices and headquarters in Chicago, the BRA said.

Leers is a principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, a Boston architecture firm.

St. Clair and Leers fill commission vacancies left by the departures of Joan Goody and Curtis Davis, the BRA said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)

Haber reports gold-processing progress

Haber Inc. announced today that it has made successful bulk-production test-pilot runs in its Massachusetts gold processing facility.

The Arlington company said it has developed a proprietary technology for processing gold in an environmentally friendly manner.

For the test-pilot runs, the company said it used e-scrap and mine ores, in conjunction with its proprietary extraction and recovery technologies, known as the Haber Electronic Scrap System, or HESS, and the Haber Gold Process, to produce more than 36 ounces of gold.

"These first runs were not only successful technically but provided a wealth of essential production information for the future and have provided our first saleable gold worth approximately $25,000 in revenues," company president Albert B. Conti said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:06 AM | Comments (0)

Exact Sciences partners with Norweigian firm

Exact Sciences Corp. said today it has entered into an agreement with a Norwegian company that seeks to commercialize its colorectal cancer screening technologies outside the United States and Canada.

The collaboration and nonexclusive license agreement is with NorDiag ASA, said Exact Sciences, which is headquartered in Marlborough.

"This agreement fulfills one of our key corporate goals, which is to expand our DNA-based colorectal cancer screening technologies into international markets where there is a tremendous need for new methods," Exact Sciences chief executive Don Hardison said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:01 AM | Comments (0)

Kumata named managing director at Cambria

Cambria Consulting Inc. said today that Ellen Kumata has been elected to lead the firm as its first managing director.

Cambria Consulting is a Boston consultancy specializing in strategic talent management and organizational assessment.

Since Cambria Consulting's founding in 1985, the firm has been managed by its collective partners, but with the growth and expansion of its service offerings, the firm said it decided to choose Kumata to coordinate the firm's efforts toward future growth.

Kumata is partner at Cambria with more than 20 years of experience at the firm, Cambria said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Download Bowdoin to your iPod

Nostalgic for the heady intellectual atmosphere of academia? Now you can stuff your iPod with college content from select institutions of higher learning, including Bowdoin College.

The Brunswick, Maine, college said it was selected by Apple Inc. to help launch iTunes U.

According to Bowdoin, the California developer and manufacturer of personal computers and other products developed iTunes U as a place within the iTunes Store where users can download a variety of free content from a number of colleges and universities, including lectures, language lessons, campus tours, interviews, and sport highlights (Go Polar Bears!).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, and Stanford University are some of the other academic institutions participating in iTunes U.

One video, Bowdoin said, is of the college's "world-competitive team of soccer-playing robot dogs."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)

June 4, 2007

Purchase of Keane Inc. completed

Caritor Inc., a private information technology services company in San Ramon, Calif., today said it has completed its purchase of Keane Inc. for about $854 million.

Shareholders of Boston-based Keane will receive $14.30 per share in cash. Keane will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The combined company will take the Keane name and operate from San Ramon. US client management will be located in Boston.

Keane shares added 4 cents to close at $14.30.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:33 PM | Comments (0)

Ex-Putnam officials settle SEC cases

Two former managing directors at Putnam Investments have agreed to pay a civil penalty of $400,000 each plus other costs to settle charges they engaged in improper trading of Putnam mutual fund shares, the Securities and Exchange Commission said today.

The SEC said Justin Scott and Omid Kamshad also agreed to a suspension from an association with an investment adviser for one year. They settled without admitting or denying the charges.

Attorneys for Scott and Kamshad could not immediately be reached for comment.

The SEC said the former managers violated their responsibilities to other fund shareholders by engaging in short-term trades that were made in their Putnam-administered deferred compensation and retirement accounts.

The SEC said Scott agreed to pay the civil penalty in addition to $489,439 in disgorgement of ill-gotten profits and $159,475 in prejudgment interest.

One-half of his total liability may be offset by payments he makes to settle a related action brought by Massachusetts’ secretary of state.

Kamshad agreed to pay disgorgement of $57,157 and prejudgment interest of $13,709 as well as the $400,000 civil penalty, the SEC said. Half of the total may also be used to offset a related state action.
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:07 PM | Comments (0)

First Marblehead plans $1.04b loan deal

Student-loan servicer First Marblehead Corp. today said it plans a $1.04 billion securitization of private student loans.

Under terms of the securitization, the National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2007-2 will buy the loans. There will be a related issuance of student loan asset-backed notes by the trust.

National Collegiate Funding LLC is the sponsor and depositor of the securitization.

The deal is scheduled to close on or about June 14.

The private student loans came from several banks under loan programs structured with the help of Boston-based First Marblehead.

The trust plans to acquire private student loans with a principal and accrued interest balance of about $770.2 million and expects about 90 percent of the loans purchased will be direct-to-consumer loans. The remaining 20 percent will be ‘‘school channel’’ loans.

The loans are guaranteed by Education Resources Institute Inc.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

Rite Aid completes Brooks, Eckerd deal

Rite Aid Corp. said today that it has closed an approximately $4 billion cash-and-stock deal to add more than 1,850 Brooks and Eckerd stores and six distribution centers in a bid to keep up with its rapidly growing competitors.

The nation's third-largest drugstore chain will expand its already strong presence on the East Coast, although some analysts have criticized the price being paid for underperforming stores.

The acquisition is Rite Aid's first major deal after a turnaround team arrived in late 1999 to pull the company from the brink of bankruptcy.

"Today we are a bigger, stronger company and we're in a much better position to take advantage of growth in the drugstore sector," Rite Aid's Chief Executive Mary Sammons said in a telephone interview.

Sammons, who was part of the turnaround team, was appointed chairman Monday, taking over for Bob Miller, who will remain on the board.

Under the deal, Rite Aid is paying $2.36 billion in cash and issuing 250 million shares for the U.S. Eckerd and Brooks operations of Canada's Jean Coutu Group Inc. Shares of Rite Aid rose 17 cents to $6.53 in midday trading Monday.

The agreement, announced Aug. 24, originally required Rite Aid to assume $850 million in debt from Jean Coutu Group. Rite Aid increased its cash offering to $2.36 billion after Jean Coutu Group initiated a tender offer for the debt.

The acquisition made Jean Coutu Group the largest Rite Aid shareholder, with approximately 32 percent of common stock and about 30 percent of voting power.

With the Brooks and Eckerd buyout complete, Rite Aid will operate about 5,160 stores in 31 states and Washington, D.C., although it has said it will close up to 200 stores to avoid overlap. Jobs will be available for all affected store employees, although some employees from Jean Coutu's U.S. headquarters in Warwick, R.I., will be let go, Sammons said.

There are currently 167 Brooks stores in Massachusetts.

CVS Corp., based in Woonsocket, R.I., is currently the nation's leader with more than 6,160 drug stores. Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. operates more than 5,700 stores.

"We'll close any gap that there is with our competitors in those neighborhoods that we operate in," Sammons said.

Federal and state regulators required Rite Aid to divest 26 stores, all in East Coast states, a number that was smaller than Rite Aid originally expected.

Rite Aid plans to spend more than $1 billion rebranding and remodeling the acquired stores and distribution centers in the next several years. The new stores are to be converted to Rite Aid's systems and signage within 16 months, the company said. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:27 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. gas price drops a penny

Gasoline prices dipped a penny per gallon over the past week in Massachusetts, breaking a nearly four-month string of increases that sent prices above the $3-a-gallon mark, AAA of Southern New England said today.

A statewide survey by the automobile association found an average price of $3.03 for a gallon of self-service regular unleaded, down from $3.04 last Tuesday.

A year ago, the average price was $2.96.

During the 16-week string of price increases that began in early February, Massachusetts gas prices rose 89 cents per gallon.

Massachusetts' gas prices remain 12 cents below the nationwide average of $3.15 per gallon, AAA said. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

Sonesta exploring strategic options

Hotel operator Sonesta International Hotels Corp. said today that it is exploring strategic alternatives to try to enhance shareholder value.

The company, which is based in Boston, hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to assist with the process.

The company said there was no guarantee the review would result in a particular strategic or financial transaction. (AP)

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

Biogen reports positive lymphoma drug trial

Biogen Idec Inc. said Sunday a trial showed the drug maker's Zevalin treatment helped more patients with lymphoma improve their condition than standard treatments.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based pharmaceutical company said a study demonstrated that 88 percent of patients suffering from follicular lymphoma, a type of cancer, improved after taking Zevalin followed by Rituximab. Under a standard treatment regimen, 44 percent of patients improved.

Fifty-six patients in the study took Zevalin in a short-course first-line treatment followed by Rituximab weekly for a month. (AP)

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

Inverness to acquire Cholestech

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. said today it agreed to buy Cholestech Corp. in a stock deal worth about $326.3 million.

The announcement sent shares of Inverness, a diagnostic device developer, down $2.80, or 5.8 percent, to $45.37 in heavy morning trading, while shares of Cholestech, which provides diagnostic tools for cholesterol and other health issues, surged $2.47, or 15 percent, to $19.26.

Under the agreement, Cholestech shareholders will receive 0.43642 shares of Inverness common stock for each share of Cholestech common stock.

Under the agreement, each Cholestech share would be worth about $21.02, representing a 25 percent increase over the company's Friday closing stock price of $16.79. Cholestech has about 15.52 million shares outstanding.

Inverness said it expects the deal to add to its earnings in the short term.

The agreement is subject to Cholestech shareholder and regulatory approvals. Approval by Inverness shareholders is not required, the companies said.

The deal is structured as a tax-free reorganization and is expected to close during the fall.

Covington & Associates acted as financial adviser and Foley Hoag LLP acted as legal counsel to Waltham-based Inverness. Savvian advisers LLC acted as financial adviser and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C. acted as legal counsel to Cholestech of Hayward, Calif.
(AP)

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

Mass. Innovation & Tech names Green

The Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange announced that Yankee Group chief executive Emily Nagle Green has been elected as its president.

The exchange is an industry organization focused on the intersection of technology, marketing, and digital media.

The Yankee Group is a Boston research and consulting firm that specializes in global connectivity issues.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Gulf launches Green Monster promotion

Gulf Oil Limited Partnership unveiled a promotion today that gives local customers a chance to win Green Monster seat tickets to a Red Sox game.

Gulf Oil LP of Newton is a large wholesaler of petroleum products in the Northeast.

Red Sox customers need to fill up twice with Gulf gas between now and June 29 to qualify for prizes, the company said.

The company is offering similar promotions in locations where there are large concentrations of New York Mets fans and Philadelphia Phillies fans, the company said.

The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, also owns a minority interest in the Red Sox.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

Best Buy expands mobile offerings

Best Buy Co. said Greater Boston will be one of the first markets where it expands a new format to sell mobile phone products, plans, and accessories.

The Minnesota retailer said it is teaming up with British mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse to create "Best Buy Mobile," which aims to provide one-stop shopping for mobile products.

In many cases, Best Buy Mobile will be a store-within-a-store at existing Best Buy locations, occupying about 800 square feet of display space and upgrading current space dedicated to mobile products, but the chain is also scouting for some stand-alone locations, the company said.

Plans call for most Best Buy Greater Boston locations to have the Best Buy Mobile concept by October, the company said.

Best Buy Mobile stores offer more than 90 handsets, eight network brands, and 100 accessories, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

Leggat McCall sells Canton building

Leggat McCall Properties said today it sold a building in Shawmut Industrial Park in Canton to Paradigm Properties for $6.75 million.

Headquartered in Boston, Leggat McCall is a real estate development, investment, and project management firm; in 2005, it said it bought Shawmut Industrial Park, which includes nine buildings that can be configured into such uses as office and research space as well as for warehousing.

Leggat McCall said it has been redeveloping the buildings and selling them to various buyers.

Paradigm Properties, the buyer of 110 Shawmut Rd., is a Boston real estate firm.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

EMC acquires Verid

Data storage vendor EMC Corp. said today that it acquired Verid Inc., a privately held information technology security firm based in Florida.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

For at least the remainder of the year, Verid will function as a separate product line and services offering within RSA, the security division of EMC.

Verid Chief Executive Kevin Watson will continue to lead the business, reporting directly to Christopher Young, RSA's vice president of consumer and access solutions.

Shares of EMC gained 11 cents to $16.94 in morning trading. (AP)

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

Daschle joins Mascoma board

Mascoma Corp. announced today that former US Senator Tom Daschle has joined its board of directors.

Mascoma of Cambridge is focused on developing cost-efficient methods to produce affordable ethanol fuel from cellulosic biomass such as wood chips.

While in Congress, Daschle of South Dakota rose to the position of the Senate's Democratic leader.

"Senator Daschle provides Mascoma with significant government and industry expertise for the emerging market in cellulosic ethanol," Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures of California, a founding Mascoma investor, said in a statement.

Earlier this year, chief executive Bruce Jamerson came to Mascoma from a South Dakota ethanol maker.

In a statement, Jamerson noted that he's known Daschle "for several years."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

North End apartment building sold

Valerie Post, a private investor, bought a North End apartment building for $1.76 million from 35 Charter St. LLC, the broker involved in the transaction said.

The broker was NAI Hunneman Commercial, a Boston provider of commercial real estate services.

The firm said it represented the seller and procured the buyer for a 10-unit brick-and-beam building at 35 Charter St. and 5 Henchman St. that was built in 1900.

The fully rented apartment building in one of Boston's most desirable neighborhoods "provided an outstanding investment opportunity to the new buyer," Robert Tito, NAI Hunneman Commercial executive vice president an principal, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

Attunity plans possible offering in Israel

Attunity Ltd., a maker of data integration software, said today it filed preliminary paperwork for a possible public offering in Israel.

The company filed a draft preliminary prospectus with the Israel Securities Authority and the Tel-Aviv stock Exchange. If the offering is completed, the company intends to dual-list its ordinary shares for trading on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

Yamron joins Leerink Swann

Leerink Swann & Co. appointed Daniel Yamron as managing director of equity capital.

Leerink Swann is a healthcare focused investment banking firm in Boston.

The firm also said it appointed Steve Weiss as senior managing director and head of institutional sales and Jonathan P. Gertler as managing director and head of biopharma investment banking.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Kottaridis takes over at Historic Boston

Katherine L. Kottaridis assumed her duties as the executive director of Historic Boston Inc. last week, the citywide preservation group said.

Since 1960, the group has been involved in the preservation of pivotal historic properties in transitional neighborhoods.

Kottaridis, a resident of Jamaica Plain, established Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Boston Main Streets program in 1995 and went on to run business and economic development offices at the city's Department of Neighborhood Development and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Historic Boston said; most recently, she served as associate director of public affairs at Northeastern University.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)

SolidWorks tech powers human body models

SolidWorks Corp. said today that Zygote Media Group is using its computer-aided design software to build "hyper-accurate" 3D models of the human body.

One goal is to develop 3D models of skeletons, the heart, arteries, nerves, and muscle tissues that Zygote customers can use to develop better products in the biomedical, entertainment, athletic gear, and video gaming industries, SolidWorks said.

With offices in Concord, SolidWorks is part of the French company Dassault Systemes S.A.

Zygote has its headquarters in Utah.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

Verizon FiOS lands in Lawrence

Lawrence Mayor Michael J. Sullivan granted a cable TV franchise to Verizon Communications Inc. Thursday, Verizon said.

According to Verizon, the move paves the way for the company to make its FiOS TV network available to another 7,500 households.

Verizon claims its FiOS TV network offers consumers better quality and more options than other TV services.

Lawrence's authorization brings to 49 the total number of Massachusetts communities where FiOS TV is or soon will be available, Verizon said.

Headquartered in New York, Verizon delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless services to mass market, business, government, and wholesale customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

Reinmuth joins Litle & Co.

Litle & Co. said today that Chris Reinmuth has joined the company as director of business development, direct response.

Litle of Lowell is a payment processor for direct-response merchants.

Reinmuth has previously held such positions as national sales manager for Communication Data Services Inc. of Iowa, Litle said.

Reinmuth will be responsible for Litle & Co.'s strategic initiatives in the direct response industry, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Arnold honored as promotions agency

Arnold said it has earned the top spot on Promo magazine's Promo 100 of outstanding promotions agencies.

Arnold, a Boston advertising and marketing agency, said it earned the top ranking for campaigns on behalf of such clients as Fidelity Investments and Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc.

Notable among those efforts was a "Bogs Across America" Tour for Ocean Spray, which transported temporary bogs to such cities as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Arnold said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:12 AM | Comments (0)

South Boston elderly project opens

Mayor Thomas M. Menino is scheduled to join today with local developer Joseph Fallon at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new residential project in South Boston for the elderly, the Boston Redevelopment Authority said.

The newly renovated building at 376 West Fourth St. will have 18 affordable studio and one-bedroom apartments for the elderly, the BRA said.

The project is a result of a collaboration between the BRA and the Fallon Co., the BRA said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:07 AM | Comments (0)

June 1, 2007

Plan floated to redevelop Bayside Expo site

The owner of the Bayside Exposition Center today floated a plan to replace it with a $1 billion residential, retail and office development, creating a new waterfront neighborhood that juts out into Dorchester Bay.

Corcoran Jennison Cos., the developer, says the expo center was doomed by the flight of its core tradeshow business to the gigantic Boston Convention and Exposition Center, which opened three years ago less than four miles away. But now the developer sees a golden opportunity to redevelop a 30-acre peninsula that is arguably one of the most valuable waterfront parcels in the city.

In a meeting with reporters today, executives involved with the project said they plan to file a detailed plan with the city by September. In the meantime, they will meet with residents, business owners and elected officials in the area to hear their concerns.

Preliminarily, they said the development could have roughly 1,000 new housing units facing the bay, a commercial section with a grocery store, dozens of shops and expansions of the existing office building and hotel on the end of the site closest to the JFK-UMass Red Line station. Connecting the two would be a "main street" with green space, sidewalks and both water and street access.

"We're at the very beginning of this process," said Richard Heapes, a partner at Street Works LLC, a White Plains, N.Y., developer that is Corcoran Jennison's consultant on the project.

"We wanted to see whether we are just out on Mars with this, does it resonate with anyone out there or should we just stop right here."

(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:14 PM | Comments (0)

Foreclosure rescues banned

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley today issued an emergency ban on foreclosure-rescue transactions, saying they are illegal and take advantage of people who are in the process of losing their homes.

Under such schemes, for-profit companies promise assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure, but end up taking possession of their houses to strip out any equity, leaving the homeowner with nothing.

At a press conference in her Beacon Hill office, Coakley said the emergency regulation would be effective for 90 days to prevent the schemes. She said they are on the rise due to the prevalence of subprime mortgages, and that her office has brought four lawsuits against firms that promote foreclosure rescue plans.

"The harm that is done is often irreparable for the borrower," Coakley said.

Coakley's action comes at a time when the state Legislature is still weighing whether to pass a law to deal with the subprime lending and the state's foreclosure crisis. Subprime mortgages are targeted to homeowners with poor credit, but the low initial payments that make them attractive increase two years into the loan when the interest rate increases.

Coakley said she would seek comments from the public over the next 28 days for proposals to make it illegal for lenders to inflate a borrower's income on their mortgage application, to make mortgages that borrowers clearly cannot pay; and to provide credit when it is not in the interest of the homebuyer or an existing homeowner who is refinancing a property.
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

Coakley will address foreclosure crisis

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference for today to outline her plans to address the state's foreclosure crisis.

Among other initiatives, the Massachusetts attorney general's office was expected to offer a proposal that would address so-called foreclosure rescue schemes - schemes in which lenders entice troubled homeowners into bailouts that only push them deeper into debt and that can result in the loss of their homes.

Foreclosures have become a problem in Massachusetts over the last year.

The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data, reported that the number of Massachusetts homeowners facing an auction of their homes from foreclosure jumped 54 percent in April, the fourth consecutive month of increases, the Globe noted in a May 16 story.

Regulators have blamed so-called subprime loans, which are often targeted to home buyers with poor credit, for driving up the number of Massachusetts home owners delinquent on mortgage payments, the Globe has reported.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Telco inks distribution deal for Japan

Telco Systems said it has signed an agreement with a major Japanese distributor.

Telco Systems of Foxborough develops solutions that allow carriers to deploy Ethernet-based services to both residential and business customers.

Telco Systems said the Japanese distributor is Itochu Techno-Solutions Corp., an arm of Itochu Corp.

Telco Systems is a subsidiary of BATM Advanced Communications Ltd., which designs and produces broadband data and telecommunications solutions.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:11 AM | Comments (0)

Mini-sub firm opens UK office

Hydroid LLC announced today it has officially opened an office in England to support existing European clients and attract new international customers.

Based in the Pocasset section of Bourne, Hydroid is a manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, which can be used to detect mines or to monitor environmental missions.

Given the pace of sales so far in 2007, Hydroid said it is "on track to have a record-setting year, both in bookings and in the formation of new customer relationships."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

Beacon Street Girl goes Hollywood

B..tween Productions, which seeks to create books and websites that will wow 12-year old girls while also winning the approval of their parents, unveiled its latest effort: a novel about a girl going to movie camp.

The Lexington firm may be best known for its Beacon Street Girls brand, and its latest offering is "Maeve on the Red Carpet," which chronicles the tale of a young girl named Maeve and her dream to become a Hollywood star.

According to the company, girls love to read about "just like me" characters, and "parents appreciate age-appropriate books with positive values."

"The new Maeve book continues the Beacon Street Girls tradition by addressing issues today's preteens are experiencing themselves," company chief executive Addie Swartz said in a statement. "Maeve needs to decide if her newfound friend is a real friend or not."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

Texas law firm aims to defend Hub patents

A Texas-based law firm announced the formation of a patent infringement legal team to focus on high-tech cases in Greater Boston.

The firm is Johnson Law Group, with principal offices in Houston.

"In this increasingly high-tech world, the emphasis on protecting intellectual property is critical to US corporations," Nick Johnson, an attorney with the firm, said in a statement. "We've put together an experienced team to handle the litigation of even the most difficult-to-prove patent infringement cases. This team is helping corporations protect valuable assets. It's especially important in the state of Massachusetts, which is one of the two US bases for technology."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:01 AM | Comments (0)

Malden city workers get unwired

Proxim Wireless Corp. said that the city of Malden has deployed a municipal network using Proxim's WiMAX and Wi-Fi mesh product lines as the foundation.

According to Proxim, a California company, the network currently connects all municipal offices and public safety facilities and is being expanded to deliver connectivity along key transit corridors; the system will support efforts of the city's mobile work force to deliver city services, and the network will provide the backbone to Malden's citywide school video security monitoring system.

A call placed to Malden's director of information technology yesterday was not immediately returned.

One city goal in deploying the Proxim wireless network was to replace costly leased lines, Proxim said.

Proxim is a subsidiary of Terabeam Inc., a company that develops and supplies broadband wireless Internet and local area network products.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:46 AM | Comments (0)

Bixby will preside over legal panel

Brian D. Bixby was elected president of the Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court, his law firm said.

Bixby is a partner at Burns & Levinson LLP, a Boston law firm.

The Inn of Court is a scholarly organization made up of judges and law professors, among others.

The Inn of Court focuses on developments, trends, and changes in laws in order to improve the professional level of the bench and bar, Burns & Levinson said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:23 AM | Comments (0)