Daily Business Update

« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »

March 31, 2008

Northland forms multifamily joint venture

Northland Investment Corp. of Newton is joining with Tarragon Corp. of New York to form a company that will own and manage 83 multifamily properties in 12 states.

Northland, a real estate firm, will hold a 77.5 percent controlling interest in the new company, Northland Properties LLC, which it said in a press release yesterday will be worth about $2 billion and will be among the top 50 multifamily companies in the United States.

Tarragon, a mixed-use property developer focusing on apartments and condominium residences, will contribute 7,433 units to the portfolio of the new company, bringing the total held to more than 21,000.

Founded in 1970, Northland Investment Corp. is privately held and owns about 22 million square feet of property of all types in 15 states as a result of the merger with Tarragon.
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:38 PM | Comments (0)

Vertex shares jump on test data for hepatitis drug

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped today after the company presented data from a midstage study showing hepatitis C patients responded to its experimental drug telaprevir.

The study involves 54 patients receiving telaprevir in combination with peginterferon and another treatment, ribavirin. The Cambridge company presented the results at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for Study of the Liver.

The stock rose $4.71, or 25.2 percent, to $23.35 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares have traded between $13.84 and $41.42 over the last 52 weeks.

Vertex's telaprevir is being developed at the same time that competitor Schering-Plough Corp. of New Jersey works on the hepatitis C treatment candidate boceprevir.

Robert W. Baird analyst Thomas Russo reaffirmed a "Neutral" rating with a $24 price target on the stock, saying that telaprevir is the most advanced pipeline candidate for hepatitis C, as it nears late-stage studies.

"Upside potential may be several-fold greater if it (telaprevir) can tap into hepatitis C treatment-experienced group." he said.

There are about 250,000 people in the U.S. who have already received some for of hepatitis C treatment, but have failed to respond to therapy.

Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Brian Abrahams, meanwhile, reaffirmed a "Outperform" rating and raised his price target to $43 from $38, citing telaprevir's clinical advantage so far over future competitor boceprevir. He cited better patient responses to telaprevir. (AP)

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

Worcester bank sues TD Bank over name change

A Worcester-based bank has filed a federal lawsuit against the parent of TD Banknorth Inc. over its plans to begin doing business in Massachusetts under the name "TD Commerce Bank."

The trademark infringement lawsuit was filed today by Commerce Bank & Trust Co., which has 12 branches and has operated in Massachusetts since 1955.

Toronto-based TD Bank Financial Group, parent of TD Banknorth, was expected to complete its $8.5 billion purchase today of Commerce Bancorp, based in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Officials from the Worcester-based bank said customers will be confused if TD Bank is allowed to use the name TD Commerce Bank. They are asking a judge to issue an injunction to stop TD Bank from using the Commerce name in Massachusetts.

Representatives of TD Bank did not immediately return calls seeking comment. (AP)

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

BoltBus tickets go on sale April 7

BoltBus, a division of Greyhound Lines Inc., will launch service between Boston's South Station and New York's Penn Station area on April 24. Tickets go on sale April 7 at www.boltbus.com.

At least one seat on every bus will cost just $1 one way, plus a booking fee of 50 cents, and the remainder will be priced according to market demand. Fares will rise the longer passengers wait, up to a maximum of $20 for a walkup fare.

BoltBus, which will have 12 daily departures on this route on weekdays and more on the weekends, will be the first low-cost carrier on this popular route to offer free Wireless internet access.

MegaBus, another new entrant in the competitive Northeast Corridor market, also will offer $1 seats and free WiFi once service starts on May 30. BoltBus is celebrating by offering every seat between April 24 and April 27 for $1. MegaBus has done one better by offering every seat for free during its first week of service.
(By Nicole C. Wong, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:24 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Scientific rival reports stent test results

Abbott Laboratories said today that a clinical trial showed its Xience V stent was more effective in preventing serious heart problems than a product from rival Boston Scientific Corp., a Natick medical device maker.

Boston Scientific, which distributes a version of the Xience stent called Promus, said the results for the two stents were statistically insignificant.

(A Boston Scientific stent is shown at right.)

Abbott Laboratories, an Illinois company, reported results from a two-year trial today. It said patients implanted with the Xience stent were 40 percent less likely to suffer a major adverse event, which includes heart attacks and death, than patients using Boston Scientific's Taxus stent.

Xience V patients were 44 percent less likely to require another treatment, Abbott said.

Stents are mesh-wire tubes that prop open arteries after they have been cleared of plaque during a medical procedure. Some stents are coated with drugs to stop the arteries from closing again. Xience is coated with a drug called everolimus, which is licensed from Novartis AG while Taxus elutes paclitaxel.

A total of 300 patients were treated in the Spirit II trial. Abbott said 6.6 percent of the Xience patients suffered an adverse event, while 11 percent of the Taxus patients experienced those problems.

Abbott shares rose $1.92, or 3.6 percent, to $54.99 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Boston Scientific rose 30 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $12.91 on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)

Galvin slams plan to overhaul financial regulation

The top securities regulator in the Bay State is calling the White House's proposal to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system "a disastrous step backward."

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin (right) says the proposal released today would pre-empt the role of state regulators and give too much power to the federal government.

Galvin argues that the federal government has repeatedly failed to protect investors from financial troubles such as the subprime mortgage mess, while states have often taken the lead.

The proposal by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (left) would give the Federal Reserve more power to protect the stability of the entire financial system. Paulson also wants to create one super agency in charge of business conduct and consumer protection. (AP)

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

Chambers breaks ground on tony new dealership

Auto dealer Herb Chambers has scheduled a ground-breaking ceremony this afternoon for a new Infiniti dealership in Westborough, where plans call for an art gallery-style layout to showcase the luxury vehicles.

When Herb Chambers Infiniti of Westborough opens, something expected to happen at the end of the year, seating areas will fan out around some of the new cars so prospective buyers can admire them in a contemplative setting, Chambers said.

Chambers may have set the New England standard for new car showrooms when he opened a Lexus dealership in Sharon last year. With a price tag of more than $30 million when the costs of acquiring the land were included, the 110,000-square-foot Sharon dealership features such over-the-top amenities as a coffee bar, a "Zen garden," and marble flooring, not to mention a lounge with plasma-screen TVs.

The 34,000-square-foot Infiniti dealership in Westborough will be more modest - a pocket battleship compared to the Sharon dreadnought - though still pretty snazzy in comparison to the showrooms of 20, or even five, years ago.

A smaller footprint is one reason why his Infiniti dealership on four acres of Westborough real estate won't eclipse his Lexus dealership on 13 acres of Sharon real estate, said Chambers, who also noted that Lexus is currently a more popular brand in Greater Boston than Infiniti.

"Infiniti is more about performance," Chambers said. "Lexus is more about luxury."

Chambers (left) already owns the land in Westborough - he operates Herb Chambers Ford on the same property - and he estimates building costs for the Infiniti dealership will be about $10 million.

Regent Associates Inc., the Westborough architectural firm that designed the Lexus dealership in Sharon, will also design the Westborough Infiniti dealership.

Principal Mark Regent said the firm has been building or remodeling auto dealerships for nearly two decades.

His first dealership, a Saturn in Worcester, opened in 1991.

"It was pretty bare bones," he said.

Because auto dealers are selling identical products, areas where they can differentiate themselves include customer service and a superior shopping experience that can be provided by a state-of-the-art showroom, Chambers said.

"My Lexus is the same as somebody else's Lexus," he said of rival dealers.

Plans for the new Infiniti dealership call for lots of frosted glass and, inside, mesh curtains can be draw around the space where individual vehicles are exhibited.

The idea is to "build the suspense" of the Infiniti brand, Regent said.

Some auto companies are very strict in dictating what dealers are permitted to do in building new showrooms.

"They're telling us what carpets to use, what tiles to use, and what kind of lighting," said Regent, who added that Lexus was "pretty flexible" when it came to building the Chambers Lexus dealership in Sharon.

Plans call for the new Infiniti dealership to have a coffee counter, a "quiet lounge where people can read," and a lounge with plasma TVs, Regent said.

While it may be awhile before Chambers tops Sharon, he's also planning this year to build a new location in Sudbury for his BMW dealership and a new location for a Porsche-Audi dealership in Burlington.

In 2007, his 42 dealerships had sales of $1.85 billion on transactions involving about 64,000 vehicles, Chambers said.

Given that many of his customers are shelling out $30,000 or more for a car and given that many of them return to the dealership for service appointments, providing them with a free cup of coffee or an apple isn't a significant expense, Chambers said.

Showrooms with espresso machines are a far cry from the first dealership that Chambers bought in 1985; that Cadillac dealership in New London, Conn., featured a pool table among its decor.

As for the opulence of his Lexus dealership in Sharon, Chambers said, "I may have gotten carried away."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:50 PM | Comments (0)

Gas prices up two cents in Massachusetts

Gas prices are up two cents a gallon this week in Massachusetts, after a decline of a penny last week.

A statewide survey released on Monday by AAA Southern New England found an average price of $3.14 per gallon of self-serve regular. The average was $3.12 last week, when the price declined for the first time in six weeks.

The auto club says Massachusetts is 14 cents below the national average price of $3.28 per gallon.

But prices remain well above what they were a year ago, when a gallon averaged $2.63 in the state. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)

MIT, Bank of America unveil banking research center

The MIT Media Laboratory and Bank of America Corp. announced the creation of a research center to explore new ideas and technologies in banking.

Bank of America said it is committed to spending $3 million to $5 million per year during a planned five-year collaboration.

The Center for Future Banking, which will be located on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, will seek to "transform the ways banking will be conducted in a world of rapidly changing social, economic, and information landscapes," the MIT Media Lab and Bank of America said.

Bank of America is a financial services company with headquarters in North Carolina.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Boston Scientific sells aortic repair unit

Natick medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. announced today the sale of its aortic repair program as part of an ongoing plan to divest itself of nonstrategic assets.

The company said it sold Boston Scientific Santa Rosa Corp., formerly known as TriVascular Inc., to TV2 Holding Co., a privately held company in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Terms of the sale included $30 million in cash and a warrant allowing Boston Scientific to purchase a minority interest in TV2, Boston Scientific said.

Boston Scientific said it acquired TriVascular, which was founded to develop devices and procedures for treating abdominal aortic aneurysms, in 2005.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Report: Foreclosure crisis hits three-decker owners

The foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts is hitting two- and three-family homes at a more devastating rate than single-family homes and condominiums, the Warren Group said today.

Three-family dwellings, sometimes known as three-deckers, have iconic status in Massachusetts and over the years, they have served as affordable housing for many a working-class and immigrant family. (At right, a three-decker in Worcester that was foreclosed late last year.)

A Boston real estate data firm that publishes Banker & Tradesman, the Warren Group said it can't give a precise explanation for this phenomenon but suspects that one reason may be that many two-and three-family homes are owned by absentee investors who are "quicker to walk away when the going gets tough."

In a statement, Warren Group chief executive Timothy Warren Jr. (left) noted a second possible explanation for the troubles in the multifamily home market: "Maybe it's that many owners of small multifamilies are very dependent on rents and are more likely to default if they can't fill their apartments every month."

Petitions to foreclose are the first step in the foreclosure process; for all property types in Massachusetts, there were 2,835 such petitions in February, up 27 percent from the same month in 2007, the Warren Group said.

Of those petitions, 635, or 23 percent of the total, were filed against owners of multifamily homes even though two-and and three-family homes represent only 11 percent of the Massachusetts housing stock, the Warren Group said; in February 2008, there were 1.8 petitions to foreclose filed against two-and three-family homes for every sale transaction for that property type.

Petitions to foreclose for all property types fell 11.7 percent from the 3,212 that were filed in January 2008, the group said.

In February, foreclosure deeds, which denotes the final step in the foreclosure process, rose 145.7 percent from 350 a year ago to 860, and up 7.5 percent from the 800 foreclosure deeds recorded in January 2008, the Warren Group said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:54 AM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2008

Galvin issues subpoenas in debt securities probe

Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin said today that he has issued subpoenas to business units of three large financial services companies as he seeks more information for his investigation into auction rate market securities.

Galvin's office said he has issued subpoenas to UBS Securities LLC; Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; and Bank of America Investment Services Inc., all of which are registered as Massachusetts broker dealers.

Galvin's investigation focuses on whether Main Street investors were properly informed by broker dealers and asset managers of the risks of putting money into these types of securities.

"The recent freezing of the auction market coincided with the decision by a number of major brokers to stop supporting the auction market and appears to be yet another after-effect of the subprime lending crisis and the subprime market meltdown," Galvin said in a statement. "Within the last couple of weeks, my office has received calls from many people who thought they were investing in safe, liquid investments only to find that they had, in fact, purchased auction market securities that are now frozen, and they cannot get their money."

A spokeswoman for Bank of America said the bank doesn't comment on whether it receives subpoenas. A UBS spokesman declined comment. And attempts to reach Merrill Lynch were not immediately successful.

Last month, Galvin's office said it sought information from nine asset managers on their "experiences with closed-end funds in the wake of auction failures in the auction rate securities market."
(By Chris Reidy and Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

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

Sovereign Bank readies new marketing push

Sovereign Bank plans to kick off a spring marketing offensive Sunday with newspaper ads that tell consumers how they can get $150 in incentives for opening a premier checking account.

The underlying theme of the campaign is "getting more" because Sovereign wants Boston's business more, said Partners + Simons, Sovereign's Boston-based advertising agency, which added that $150 is the largest incentive that Sovereign has ever offered.

The campaign will also later feature radio and TV ads as well as swarms of Segway riders swooping into such locations as North Station and South Station to blanket the area as they hand out magnet clips with promotional flyers, the agency said.

Plans also call for the Segway marketers to be on hand for the Red Sox home owner at Fenway Park, Partners + Simons said.

Sovereign TV ads in the Boston area will again feature Jerry Remy, a Red Sox announcer on NESN and a former Red Sox player, as well as the tag-line that Sovereign debuted two year's ago, "Sovereign Bank: America's neighborhood bank," the ad agency said.

Newspaper ads are set to appear in The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald as well as in other area newspapers, the ad agency said.

With 750 branches and 2,300 ATM's in the Northeast, Sovereign Bank is part of Sovereign Bancorp Inc., a holding company based in Pennsylvania.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

Program your cellphone to avoid speeding tickets

First, the highway patrol set up radar guns. Then motorists who hate speed limits got radar detectors. And now a California inventor is proposing a new wrinkle - a cell-phone social network that aims to share information and help members avoid getting speeding tickets by issuing real-time cellphone warnings when they approach speed traps.

The California inventor is Pete Tenereillo, and his firm, Trapster.com, partly relies on Skyhook Wireless, a Boston company that provides location-based positioning services based on WiFi access points.

Trapster, which bills itself as a speed-trap sharing system, also depends on Global Positioning Systems, which uses satellites, and other systems that use cell towers to determine the exact whereabouts of an individual cellphone user who happens to be zipping along happily well above the speed limit.

To view a video of an interview with Tenereillo that recently aired on CNN, click here.

Here's how this warning system is supposed to work: Go to Trapster.com and sign up for free membership. Next down-load some special software to your cellphone. According to Tenereillo, most newer generation cellphones and personal digital assistants can support Trapster.

Now when you're motoring about and spot a police officer with a radar gun, hit "pound one" on your cellphone. Trapster knows your location, and if any other Trapster members are driving in the vicinity, they'll get an audio alert on their cellphone when they near the speed trap: "Live police! Live police!"

For cellphones with screens, members can also see a road map of their whereabouts with speed traps clearly marked.

Still in the beta-testing mode, Trapster is planning an official launch in early April, Skyhook noted.

It would seem that Trapster would need a critical mass of members for its speed-trap early-warning system to be effective, with input coming from many widely dispersed cellphone-equipped motorists.

But according to Tenereillo, that isn't necessarily the case. A video-sharing network like Youtube.com has a "high leech rate," he said; in other words, only a tiny fraction of users are sharing content and posting videos, while maybe 95 percent of visitors to the site are simply viewing videos and not contributing videos of their own.

But so great is the public aversion for speeding tickets that nearly half of Trapster members in beta testing have contributed data.

"My leech rate is only 60 percent," Tenereillo said proudly.

One subject he won't discuss is how many cellphone users have signed up for Trapster so far.

"With a Web 2.0 business, that's like telling people your Social Security number," Tenereillo said.

Trapster sounds cool enough, but what about a business model?

While companies have approached him about advertising on the Trapster network, a Trapster bottom line isn't an immediate concern, said Tenereillo, 46, who claims to have made enough money from writing code for networking products giant Cisco Systems Inc. that he is at the moment gloriously free from the immediate need of a positive cash flow from Trapster.

"I'm going to worry about that later," he said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:07 AM | Comments (1)

The IRS is gearing up for "Super Saturday"

The Internal Revenue Service is billing tomorrow as "Super Saturday."

In an effort to help retirees, veterans, and low-income workers receive their economic stimulus payments - the individual checks that the Bush administration is hoping will help jump-start a sluggish economy - the IRS is opening hundreds of offices across the country tomorrow, including several offices in Massachusetts.

It's all part of an effort to reach out to Americans who are eligible for the economic stimulus payment but who are normally not required to file an income tax return, either because their income is too low or because their income is not taxable, the IRS said.

Massachusetts IRS offices where people can get help include 15 New Sudbury St. in Boston, 1 Montvale Ave. in Stoneham, 166 Main St. in Brockton, and 120 Front St. in Worcester, the IRS said.

For many Americans, including low-income Americans, filing a tax return is not routine, IRS spokesperson Peggy Riley said in a statement, "but this year, filing a 2007 tax return is the only way to receive an economic stimulus payment."

According to the IRS, millions of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes may be eligible for a $300 payment, or a $600 payment for married couples, if they have at least $3,000 in qualifying income.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:58 AM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2008

TJX settles with government over data breach, avoids fines

More than a year after millions of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls customers found out their credit card information had been hacked into, the discount stores' operator agreed to have its information audited but avoided paying federal fines.

TJX Cos. was one of three firms that agreed to settle charges that each "failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for sensitive consumer information," federal regulators said today in two unrelated data-breach decisions. A copy of the TJX settlement can be viewed here.

Data broker Reed Elsevier PLC and its Seisint subsidiary also avoided fines but have agreed to obtain third-party audits biennially for 20 years under a separate settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The agreements, which will be finalized after a 30-day public comment period, also require the companies to implement comprehensive information security programs.

"These cases bring to 20 the number of complaints in which the FTC has charged companies with security deficiencies in protecting sensitive consumer information," FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said in a release.

TJX said last March that at least 45.7 million cards were exposed to possible fraud in a breach of its computer systems. Court filings by banks that sued TJX estimated the number of cards affected at more than 100 million.

Sherry Lang, TJX's senior vice president for investor and public relations, said the company disagreed with the FTC's allegations, but agreed to the settlement "which is consistent with the agreements between the FTC and other retailers that have been victimized by cyber crime."

The Framingham, Mass.-based company's 2,500 stores include the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains.

"We have been at work for over a year implementing a comprehensive, improved information security program designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of our customers' personal information," Lang said in a statement.

The FTC did not impose financial penalties against the companies because it lacks the authority to do so. The commission has asked Congress for such authority since 2005.

The breach is believed to have begun in mid-2005 but wasn't detected until December 2006. A judge on July 15 will consider whether to approve the settlement reached last September. The FTC said it coordinated its investigation of TJX with 39 state attorneys general, lead by Massachusetts.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:18 PM | Comments (0)

Simon Property plans $450 million investment in New England malls

Simon Property Group Inc. said today that it will have invested $450 million in upgrading and expanding its 20 New England malls when it completes a five-year renovation plan in 2010.

Details of some of those plans have been previously announced, but Simon Property, an Indiana company with a portfolio of 380 shopping centers in North America, Europe, and Asia, including 14 in Massachusetts, hadn't publicly put a dollar figure on its New England renovations before.

The company said that major renovations are planned for Northshore Mall in Peabody, South Shore Plaza in Braintree, and Burlington Mall - a Nordstrom Inc. department store is set to mark its grand opening at Burlington Mall tomorrow.

Last week, Simon made public additional details about expansion plans at its Copley Place shopping complex in Boston.

Simon's vision for that site includes building a 569-foot tower that would include about 300 luxury residences above an expanded Neiman Marcus department store; the residential tower's budget is not included in the $450-million mall renovation budget, said a local spokeswoman for Simon.

When the details of Simon Property's proposal for Copley Place were unveiled last week, a company official said that Simon Property had no cost estimate for the project yet and added that he estimated that the project could be completed in 2011 or 2012.

Simon Property malls in Massachusetts include Arsenal Mall in Watertown, the Mall at Chestnut Hill, and Square One Mall in Saugus.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:26 PM | Comments (0)

Verizon's Seidenberg calls for less red tape

Verizon Communications Inc. chief executive Ivan G. Seidenberg called for a streamlined cable franchising process and cautioned politicians to be careful when considering new taxes or regulations.

Speaking at the Boston College Chief Executives' Club of Boston, Seidenberg jokingly referred to Mayor Thomas M. Menino several times during his speech. The mayor supports a recent Appellate Tax Board decision that Verizon should pay taxes on telephone poles and wires over public ways, but the company has said it will appeal the ruling.

Seidenberg mentioned Verizon's recent announcement that it would invest $200 million in Massachusetts this year, and plans to offer its television service, called FiOS, to 30 more communities, but said that even though the company has had success negotiating cable franchises with individual towns and cities, the process has been more costly and uncertain than elsewhere.

In other states where Verizon has gotten streamlined rules for offering video service, part of the negotiations of the legislation included broader commitments about its FiOS buildout, Seidenberg said. "We'd be willing to address the breadth of our rollout."

Menino, who sat at the same table as Seidenberg, said he did not bring up telecom tax issues. If the city is able to tax poles and wires over public ways, it would add an estimated $7.5 million to Verizon's tax bill.

Menino also said he has no timeline for Verizon to offer television service in Boston, and is more concerned in ensuring that the eventual buildout of service occurs equally, across all neighborhoods.
(By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:24 PM | Comments (0)

Abiomed medical device wins European approval

Danvers medical-device company Abiomed Inc. said today that it has gotten the approval of European Union regulators to market a power-pack (right) for one of its heart pumps in EU countries and countries that recognize EU approval.

A heart pump such as Abiomed's AB5000 ventricular-assist device, or VAD, helps patients with weak hearts, but patients must remain in the hospital close to a power source.

By connecting a VAD to the company's new Portable Driver, an 18-pound device featuring new battery technology, a patient using a VAD can be discharged from the hospital, Abiomed said

Abiomed has submitted the Portable Driver to the Food and Drug Administration so the device can be marketed in the United States, but the FDA has asked the company for additional information, Abiomed said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)

More than a dozen flights canceled at Logan

More than a dozen flights from Boston's Logan International Airport were among the 725 flights that American Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. canceled in the last two days as they conduct inspections to address safety issues.

The carriers are scrambling to make sure a bundle of wires associated with operating the plane's landing gear are laced together properly so they meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

American, which ranked as Logan's largest airline last year by carrying 16.7 percent of the passengers, canceled five flights yesterday and four today that were headed to Chicago, Dallas, and St. Louis.

Delta, the No. 2 carrier with 16.2 percent of the passengers, would not say how many flights were canceled at Logan. But the airport website's real-time flight database shows Delta canceled nine of today's flights that were going to or from New York LaGuardia, Fort Lauderdale, and Atlanta. It was not clear, however, if the safety inspection was the reason for each of those cancellations.

The decisions to cancel flights were made the night before, American spokesman Ned Raynolds said.

Both airlines expect to finish the inspections tonight and proceed with tomorrow's flights as planned.

The inspections come almost three weeks after the FAA ordered a check of all US airlines' maintenance records. That check was ordered after controversy erupted over the agency's handling of missed safety inspections at Southwest Airlines Co. of Dallas.
(By Nicole Wong, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:29 PM | Comments (0)

Harvard endowment names new chief

The chief investment officer of Wellesley College was named today as the next executive to oversee Harvard University's $34.9 billion endowment.

Jane Mendillo was named as the new chief execuitve of Harvard Management Co., the university's organization responsible for the world's largest academic endowment. Mendillo succeeds Mohamed El-Erian, who left at the end of last year after a tenure of less than two years. Her appointment will become effective July 1.

Mendillo had been Wellesley's chief investment officer since 2002. Previously, she worked at Harvard Management for 15 years. Mendillo served as vice president in charge of external investments, a category that accounted for about a third of the entire endowment, in her last post at Harvard.

"Jane Mendillo has an excellent record as one of the most able and accomplished investment managers in the endowment world, as well as an extensive knowledge of the Harvard endowment nad a deep commitment to higher education," said Harvard treasurer James Rothenberg, who is also chairman of the Harvard Management Co. board.

Harvard said the Wellesely endowment had earned average annual returns of 13.5 percent during Mendillo's five year tenure. The endowment grew from $1 billion to $1.7 billion during that period.
(By Steven Syre, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

Syre to join Finneran talk show on WRKO

Local talk radio station WRKO-AM said today that Boston Globe business columnist Steven Syre will be a regular contributor on Finneran's Forum, the weekday morning talk show of Tom Finneran, a former speaker of the Massachusetts House.

Starting Monday, Syre will fill the 7:30 a.m. slot vacated by Steve Bailey, another Globe business columnist.

Earlier this month, Bailey announced that he is leaving the Globe after three decades to move to London to join Bloomberg News as a senior enterprise editor.

Syre has been covering the Boston business scene for 20 years and has been with the Globe since 1995.

WRKO is owned by Entercom Communications Corp., a Pennsylvania company with a portfolio of more than 100 radio stations.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

2008 could be even worse for local foreclosures

Home foreclosures in Massachusetts are estimated to increase by at least 15 to 25 percent above the historic highs reached in 2007, ForeclosuresMass.com reported today.

With the economy slowing and home prices declining as many home owners face an increase in their monthly payments as a result of an adjustable mortgage, February was the fourth highest month for Massachusetts foreclosures on record, with 2,861 filings, up 28.5 percent from filings in February 2007, ForeclosuresMass.com said.

Still, February's number was down 11.4 percent from the 3,230 foreclosures in January 2008, the single highest monthly total in Massachusetts history, according to ForeclosuresMass.com, a Framingham firm that provides foreclosure data to investors, real estate investors, and mortgage brokers.

For the 12-month period that ended Feb. 29, lenders initiated 31,516 foreclosures statewide against home owners, up 45.6 percent over the comparable 12-month period a year ago, ForeclosuresMass.com said.

“2007 was the worst year in history for Massachusetts homeowners, and our forecast for 2008 is even gloomier,” Jeremy Shapiro, president and cofounder of ForeclosuresMass.com, said in a statement. “2007 ended with two consecutive record quarters, and the surge is continuing this year."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:51 AM | Comments (0)

1366 Technologies lands $12.4 million in funding

Lexington start-up 1366 Technologies said it has secured $12.4 million in a first round of financing.

The company aims to make silicon solar cells competitive with coal as a source of energy, and it has just taken space in Lexington to build its pilot solar-cell manufacturing facility.

Company founder Ely Sachs, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is taking a leave of absence from MIT to help get the company off the ground.

According to his resume, Sachs previously invented the String ribbon wafer technology that is being commercialized by Evergreen Solar Inc., a Marlborough company that makes solar panels.

The financing round for 1366 Technologies was co-led by North Bridge Venture Partners, a venture capital firm with an office in Boston, and Polaris Venture Partners, a venture capital firm with an office in Waltham.

As for the significance of the company's name, 1366 is the earth's solar constant, the average amount of solar radiation just above the atmosphere, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Vertex drug improves lung function in study

Cambridge biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that its oral drug candidate VX-770 improved lung function in cystic fibrosis patients during a midstage study.

The Phase IIa clinical trial compared the drug candidate with placebo, which had no observed effect. The interim results come from 20 patients receiving various doses of VX-770 or placebo.

The company is moving on with the second part of the study and plans to meet with regulators to discuss the most rapid development path for the drug candidate.

Cystic Fibrosis affects about 30,000 people in the U.S. and around 70,000 people worldwide, the company said. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)

MIT creates global network for supply-chain research

The MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics announced the creation of an international alliance of leading research and education centers dedicated to supply-chain innovation and excellence.

The MIT Global SCALE Network initially has centers in Cambridge; Zaragoza, Spain; and Bogota, Colombia, the center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.

Plans call for expansion into Asia and Africa.

The MIT Global SCALE Network - SCALE stands for Supply Chain And Logistics Excellence - will allow faculty, researchers, students, and affiliated countries to pool their expertise and to collaborate to create supply-chain and logistics innovations with global applications, the MIT center said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Schilling fat? No way, blogger Jim Rice says

Did Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling have a weight problem last year? Former Boston baseball great Jim Rice doesn't think so.

On a new baseball blog sponsored by Sullivan Tire & Auto Service of Norwell, Rice writes of Schilling, "If you see him in the locker room, he's not fat, he just has a bad body."

Rice added of the burly hurler, "I thought Schilling was in fantastic shape."

Sullivan Tire is keen on sports marketing - with Comcast SportsNet, it's sponsoring a competition that lets basketball fans get an opportunity to name the Celtics "sixth star" and get a chance to win C's play-off tickets.

And one of Sullivan Tire's latest sports marketing ventures is Rice's new blog, www.ask14.com, which mixes Rice's baseball commentary with Sullivan Tire online ads. During Rice's career with the Sox from 1974 to 1989, he wore number 14, hence the name of the blog.

Questions, comments, and feedback can be submitted to Rice, who also does baseball commentary for the New England Sports Network, at www.ask14.com, and by visiting the blog, fans can also enter to win a Sullivan Tire gift certificate every week, the company said.

And now let's return to blog musings of Rice on weight: "When you talk about 'shape,' it could mean two different things. Are we talking body wise or baseball shape? If you look at Babe Ruth, he was a heavy guy but he was in 'baseball shape' and didn't have trouble doing his job."

Schilling, as many fans know, has his own blog, www.38pitches.com.

As a big guy with plenty of opinions he can't keep to himself, perhaps Schilling will soon weigh in on Rice's racing lines and body type.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:32 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2008

Boston buyout firms sue banks to force $19b Clear Channel deal

Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners have filed lawsuits against six banks to try to force them to finance the $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc., a deal that was inked last year but has imploded with the crash of the credit markets.

The lawsuit is a remarkable bookend on a period of loose credit that fueled multibillion-dollar acquisitions in 2006 and early 2007 -- a period that abruptly ended in July. At no time in recent memory have Bain or THL, both Boston-based buyout firms, sued their banking partners over a deal.

In a joint statement, Bain Capital and THL said, "We are disappointed and dismayed that the banks have chosen not to fund the transaction under the terms of the binding commitments they entered into almost a year ago. It seems clear that lenders' remorse set in when credit markets worsened."

The banks, for their part, are trying to save themselves from losses of $3 billion to $4 billion that they would now incur. Under the terms they offered in May, executives involved in the deal said, the banks would immediately lose money in today's market, because the slices of the loans they ordinarily sell off to investors are trading at 75 cents to 80 cents on the dollar.

The banks being sued are Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and Wachovia Corp. They had promised to provide $22.1 billion for the $39.20-a-share acquisition of Clear Channel, a San Antonio, Texas, media giant that owns radio and television stations and advertising bill boards. Clear Channel is a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits.

Kevin Landry, a well-known private equity executive and chairman of TA Associates in Boston, said it's no surprise the banks want out. "It's just another way overpriced '07 deal, and anybody in their right mind would try to get out of it."

The banks, as a group, claimed they were still willing to do the deal. In a statement, they said, "The bank group presented the sponsors with credit agreements fully consistent and compliant with the commitment Letter. The Bank Group has been and remains prepared to honor the obligations as set forth in that letter. We believe the suits are without merit and will contest them vigorously."

However, an executive involved in the Clear Channel deal said that in recent days and weeks, the banks have, in fact, back-pedaled on the original deal. They banks wanted to raise the interest rate they were offering, a proposal the private equity firms rejected. And most recently, they inserted what one dealmaker called a "poison" term that would have limited Clear Channel's ability to use its cash flow or revolving credit lines to refinance some older debt on its books.

Those were terms the private equity investors would not accept, the executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the pending lawsuit.

The lawsuits were filed in state courts in New York and Bexar County, Texas. The Texas suit alleges that the banks are "refusing to execute necessary documents in an overt effort to 'run out the clock' and cause [their] merger agreement to collapse" and are "fabricating false reasons to refuse to proceed with the transaction." The deadline to complete the deal is June 12.
(By Beth Healy, Globe staff)
A copy of the New York complaint can be viewed here; a copy of the Texas complaint can be viewed here.

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

Robot competition is coming to Boston University

Co-founders of Apple Inc. and iRobot Corp. will be among the judges of a student robotics competition called the Boston FIRST, which is scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday at Boston University's Agganis Arena.

The obstacle course that robots designed by student teams must negotiate is shown at right.

Steve Wozniak of Apple fame and Colin Angle of iRobot, the Burlington company that makes reconnaissance robots for the battlefield and vacuuming Roomba robots for the home, will join Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe, now a general partner in the Waltham office of the venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners, on the panel of judges for this year's event.

The letters that make up FIRST stand for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," a competition founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, creator of the Segway personal transporter.

About 40 regional FIRST competitions are now held around the country, and this is the third year for the Boston FIRST, a spokesman for the Boston competition said.

More than 50 teams from high schools in the region are participating in this year's Boston FIRST.

Their challenge? Design a robot that can race around a large, oval track while moving gigantic balls above and below obstacles along a designated path.

Teams have about six weeks to design such a robot and can spend no more than $3,500 on their project, the Boston FIRST spokesman said.

Typically, teams have corporate sponsors; for example, the Tewksbury Titans, a team from Tewksbury Memorial High School, is sponsored by Waltham defense contractor Raytheon Co., the Boston FIRST spokesman said.

The judges recognize teams for robot design excellence and competitive play, among other categories, but many students can also qualify for college scholarship and win intern opportunities from some of the corporate sponsors.

According to Boston FIRST, there is a rock 'n' roll quality to the event, and to gin up extra energy, the theatrical troupe Blue Man Group has been booked to put on a brief Saturday show.

The event is free and open to the public.

Last year, more than 3,000 people attended the Saturday session of the competition, the Boston FIRST spokesman said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)

Workers at National Grid center authorize a strike

Local 369 of the Utility Workers Union of America said 125 workers at a National Grid PLC call center in Northborough have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if a new contract is not agreed to.

The existing contract with National Grid, which supplies gas and electricity to 2.1 million customers in Massachusetts, is set to expire March 31, Local 369 said.

According to the union, the two sides are divided over "stressful and unsafe working conditions," cuts in benefits and wages, and outsourcing.

National Grid spokeswoman Jackie Barry said, "We are in negotiations with the union, and our goal is to successfully reach an agreement that is fair to employees, customers, and the company."

In August, National Grid, a British energy giant, completed a $7.3 billion acquisition of KeySpan Corp., the Brooklyn company that supplied gas to many Massachusetts customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:32 PM | Comments (1)

Shareholders OK Thomson acquisition of Reuters

Shareholders of Thomson Corp. and Reuters Group PLC have approved Thomson's $16.3 billion acquisition of the London-based news and information company.

The approval is a key step in creating an enormous supplier of financial news and information. When the deal was first disclosed last year, Thomson's head count in its Boston operations was 900 people.

Thomson says its shareholders approved the deal today in a meeting in Toronto. It says Reuters shareholders approved the deal during a meeting in London.

The acquisition has already been approved by the US Department of Justice as well as regulatory officials in Europe and Canada, where Thomson is based.

The deal must also be approved by courts in Canada and the United Kingdom before it closes in April.

The valuation is based on share prices. Thomson shares fell 68 cents to 34.88 in trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange; Reuters U.S. shares fell 40 cents to $72.01 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:26 PM | Comments (0)

NASA extends Raytheon contract for astronaut training

Raytheon Co. of Waltham said today it has received a $56.9 million contract extension to support astronaut training for NASA.

The contract is for work at the Johnson Space Center and the Sonny Carter Training Facility, both in Houston, where astronauts train for space missions, in some cases by doing underwater simulations of tasks that will be performed in zero-gravity or partial-gravity situations on the space shuttle or during space walks.

The contract extension for the defense contractor, which begins April 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2010, includes a one-year pre-priced option that could increase the contract value to $78.3 million, Raytheon said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Repligen starts trials on pancreas test

Waltham biotechnology company Repligen Corp. said it has started a Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate an imaging agent that would help MRI tests better detect abnormalities in the ducts of the pancreas.

The imaging drug is called RG1068, a designation for synthetic human secretin.

Repligen noted that about 150,000 pancreatic MRI's are conducted in the United States each year.

In November, the company reported positive results from a midstage clinical trial for another of its drug candidates, this one a potential treatment for bipolar disorder.

In September, New York drug maker ImClone Systems Inc. agreed to pay Repligen and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $65 million to settle claims that ImClone had infringed on a patent that MIT licenses to Repligen; the suit involved an ImClone cancer treatment called Erbitux.

When not developing drug candidates in its pipeline, Repligen makes money by providing recombinant Protein A, which other pharmaceutical companies use to produce a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

Income up 6 percent in Mass. last year

Average per person incomes in Massachusetts rose 6 percent in 2007, the eighth fastest rate of growth in the nation, the Commerce Department reported today. Nationally, per capita income rose 5.2 percent.

The state's per person, or per capita, income increased to $49,082 from $46,299 in 2006. Massachusetts has the third highest per capita income in the nation, 27 percent above the national average of $38,611. Connecticut ranks first, at $54,117, followed by New Jersey at $49,194. Lousiana had the fastest income growth, 9.2 percent, followed by New York, 7.6 percent; Mississippi, 6.7 percent; and Connecticut, 6.6 percent. (A spreadsheet with state-by-state breakdowns can be viewed here.)

The Commerce Department said professional services, healthcare, and finance contributed the most to income growth over the past year. All are major employment sectors in Massachusetts.

(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

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

Chamber, Ad Club highlight diversity achievements

Paul Francisco, an executive with the staffing company Veritude, and Massachusetts General Hospital will be among those honored today with Arnold Z. Rosoff Awards for their work to promote diversity.

Deloitte LLP and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority will also be honored at a luncheon ceremony at Fairmont Copley Plaza.

The awards are presented by Boston's Ad Club and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

The awards are named after Arnold Z. Rosoff, founder of Boston ad agency Arnold Worldwide and an advocate for diversity in the workplace.

A former football star at Boston University and later a player with the New England Patriots, Francisco is also the executive vice president of the Boston chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, said the chamber, which added that Francisco maintains "a special focus on developing, mentoring, and supporting youth, the underprivileged, and minority populations."

Francisco joined Veritude, a subsidiary of Boston mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments, in 2005 and previously held positions at Bank of America Corp. and Gillette Co.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:11 AM | Comments (0)

PerkinElmer opens facility in Singapore

PerkinElmer Inc. today marked the opening of a new research and manufacturing facility in Singapore.

The Waltham company supplies life sciences firms and research laboratories with services and equipment; it also makes products to help screen newborns for diseases.

PerkinElmer said its "center for excellence" in Singapore will focus on the development of new precision instrumentation and chemistries for such applications as drug discovery and development, environmental monitoring, food safety, and sustainable energy.

The company reported 2007 revenues of $1.8 billion and has a global work force of 9,100 employees.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:55 AM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2008

South Shore Plaza seeks to make room for Nordstrom

South Shore Plaza in Braintree, one of the largest malls in New England, is looking to get a bit bigger.

South Shore Plaza's owner, Simon Property Group Inc. of Indiana, said it will present mall expansion plans to the Braintree planning officials tonight.

Simon Property's blueprint calls for adding about 123,000 square feet of retail space at the back of a mall that currently has about 1.5 million square feet of space, room for 180 stores, and anchor tenants Lord & Taylor, Macy's, and Sears.

Plans also call for demolishing and rebuilding about 250,000 square feet of space that was once occupied by a Macy's department store, Simon Property said.

It has been previously announced that Nordstrom Inc., the Seattle-based luxury department store chain, plans to build a store at South Shore Plaza, with an expected opening in the spring of 2010.

After Macy's corporate parent bought Filene's corporate parent in 2005, the Filene's closed, and the Macy's at South Shore Plaza relocated to the space previously occupied by Filene's. The former Macy's space has since remained vacant, a mall spokeswoman said.

The plan is for the Nordstrom to attach to the new space that Simon Property is seeking Braintree approvals for. Simon Property is hoping to begin construction this summer and complete the expansion by the spring of 2009.

The new space is expected to accommodate as-yet unnamed "upscale retail shops," Simon Property said.

When Nordstrom opens in 2010, it is expected that South Shore Plaza will have 1.62 million square feet of space.

Simon Property owns several malls in Eastern Massachusetts, including the Northshore Mall in Peabody and the Burlington Mall.

A Nordstrom store is scheduled to have its grand opening at the Burlington Mall on Friday.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)

A first look at Seaport Square

The developers of the proposed Seaport Square project will give the public a first look at their plans for the South Boston Waterfront tonight.

Seaport Square is proposed as a massive 20-block, 20-building development with 2.65 million square feet of residential space, 1.5 million square feet of offices, 1.25 million square feet of retail stores and restaurants, a half-million square feet of hotels, and 600,000 square feet of cultural, arts, and educational use, including a proposed private Nations Academy School.

It would include two parks and may involve the relocation of the Barking Crab, a well-known seafood restaurant on the Fort Point Channel adjacent to Seaport Square, and St. Vincent de Paul Parish's Our Lady of Good Voyage Chapel.

The developers are Gale International, run by John B. Hynes III of Boston, and the financial firm Morgan Stanley. Gale also is developing the old Filene's building in Downtown Crossing and New Songdo City in South Korea, a new, $25 billion community.

Gale has filed a notice of intent of its plans with the city, but has not filed a formal proposal. It is showing it to community groups and the public to gauge reaction to its concepts before finalizing the details.

The meeting will be held tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the J. Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse on Fan Pier in South Boston.
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:20 PM | Comments (0)

Consumer group to buy downtown office space

The National Consumer Law Center, a Boston-based advocacy group that helps low-income consumers nationwide, plans to buy a commercial condominium in Boston's Downtown Crossing to serve as its permanent headquarters.

The center said it has rented space in various Boston buildings since its founding in 1970.

The purchase of a commercial condo at Winthrop Square is partly made possible by the actions of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, which has issued $6.4 million in tax exempt bonds for the center.

The center will use proceeds from the bonds, which were purchased by Boston Private Bank & Trust Co., to buy and renovate space for its headquarters, MassDevelopment said.

The consumer law center expects to complete the relocation to its new home by the summer.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

Realtors data confirms February price drop

The number of Massachusetts single-family homes sold in February was 1,857, down 22.9 percent from sales in February 2007, and the median selling price fell 4.6 percent to $310,000 last month, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported today.

In February, 827 condos were sold in the Bay State, down 34.6 percent from the same month a year ago, said the association, which added that the median selling price for a Massachusetts condo in February was $252,000, down 6.7 percent.

The association's number showed a similar pattern to numbers out yesterday from the Warren Group, a Boston publisher of New England real estate data.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports only sales that involve a real estate agent so its data sample is smaller than that of the Warren Group's.

February numbers for both Massachusetts and the nation reflected a slight improvement over January numbers, offering some hope that housing sales may be nearing a bottom.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Survey says: Red Sox fever is rampant

Red Sox fans may be even more rabid than feared, according to a new survey from Bank of America Corp. A team tattoo? Bring it on. Letting junior play hooky to catch the Fenway home opener? No problem.

According the survey, 35 percent of locals would blow off an important business meeting to attend the first baseball game of the season at Fenway Park; by comparison, only 20 percent of baseball fans nationwide share such a cavalier disregard for job obligations, and only 23 percent of Yankee fans would cancel a business meeting for a chance take in the first home game at Yankee Stadium, the bank said.

What's more, 59 percent of Sox fans would allow their child to skip school for an opening day game, and nearly 20 percent of Sox fans would consider sporting a Sox-themed tattoo, the survey found.

In New York, 50 percent of Yankee fans said the first home game of the season was an acceptable excuse for skipping school.

The bank commissioned the survey, which contacted about 1,400 fans nationwide, including 300 in the Boston area, in part to highlight a program called MLB Banking, which allows baseball fans across the country to show their loyalty by opting for team-specifc credit and debit cards and checking accounts, the bank said.

Red Sox-themed credit cards have been available from the bank for a few years, but now the bank is also making available a bundled product offering so customers can get team-themed credit cards, debit cards, and personal checks for the Major League Baseball team of their choosing. The availability of team-themed debit cards is new, and for the first time, the bank is offering this product suite for all 30 Major League Baseball teams.

Bank of America launched similar programs with NASCAR and the National Football League last year, noted bank spokesman Joe Goode, and those programs, sometimes referred to as affinity banking programs, have big appeal for consumers.

Based on last year's results, affinity banking is trending toward contributing 10 percent of year-to-year deposit growth for Bank of America, Goode said.

Customers who sign up for the MLB Banking program can qualify for special rewards and be eligible to win prizes such as special on-field access during warm-ups before a game or tickets to the All-Star game.

Bank of America has sponsor relationships of some kind with 10 Major League clubs, and it is the official bank of the Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the San Francisco Giants, among others, Goode said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

Akamai shares slip on future tax-burden concerns

Shares of Akamai Technologies Inc. were down slightly this morning, as an analyst said the provider of online media technology is likely to face a significant tax burden starting in 2011.

Shares of Cambridge-based Akamai were down 39 cents at $32.48 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Akamai pays minimal taxes now because of past operating losses and a related deferred tax asset of $349 million.

According to Jefferies & Co. analyst Katherine Egbert, Akamai should move from a cash tax rate of about 2 percent now to a blended rate of 33 percent for federal, state and foreign taxes in 2011. She estimates the increase will reduce Akamai's earnings per share by about 84 cents.

Egbert rates Akamai at "Hold."

Yesterday, Akamai shares rose along with the broader market as a Pacific Crest analyst reiterated an "Outperform" rating, predicting the company will meet or exceed first-quarter profit estimates. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

Zipcar heats up car wars in Philly

The car-share competition is heating up in Philadelphia.

Zipcar Inc. is making a drive to grab Philadelphia's government, business, and residential Web-based car-share market.

Zipcar, a Cambridge-based car sharing service that allows its customer to rent vehicles by the hour, bought Seattle-based Flexcar last fall and plans to convert its 100-vehicle fleet to the Zipcar brand today.

Robert Fox, the head of Philadelphia's Office of Fleet Management, says Zipcar is bidding to replace local not-for-profit PhillyCarShare Inc. as the city government's car-share supplier.

Zipcar is offering promotional pricing that includes free gas, mileage and insurance.

Deputy executive director Clayton Lane says PhillyCarShare is also expanding to Wilmington, Del., and is making deals with car-sharing groups in Chicago, San Francisco and other big cities. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:25 AM | Comments (0)

Casual Male 4th-quarter earnings down 98 percent

Canton retailer Casual Male Retail Group Inc. said today that its fourth quarter profit dropped 98 percent due to falling customer traffic and hefty write-downs for inventory adjustments.

For the quarter ended Feb. 2, net income fell to $638,000, or 2 cents per share, from $38.7 million, or 83 cents per share in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 15 cents per share.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $133.9 million from $144.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Analysts predicted revenue of $137.3 million.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, fell 0.3 percent for the quarter. Same-store sales is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

The company said sales in the year-ago quarter were helped by an extra selling week in the year.

Customer traffic also fell nearly 8 percent. Casual Male said promotional discounts meant to minimize excess seasonal inventory also hurt margins and profit.

The company added it cleared out Rochester Big & Tall merchandise and made other inventory adjustments, which resulted in write-downs of about 8 cents per share. The year-ago quarter included a tax benefit of $30.5 million or 64 cents per share.

For the year, profit dropped 99 percent to $414,000, or 1 cent per share, from $42.6 million, or 98 cents per share in the prior year.

Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $464.1 million from $465.4 million in 2006.

Casual Male Retail Group Inc. also said today that its fiscal 2008 earnings per share would be in the range expected by Wall Street analysts.

Casual Male expects earnings between 25 cents and 30 cents per share for the year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit between 16 cents and 40 cents per share, with a mean of 28 cents per share.

The retailer predicted sales of $470 million to $480 million. Analysts anticipate revenue of $486.9 million.

The company said same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, will be flat to down 2 percent.

Most retailers have struggled to keep same-store sales growing as consumers cut back on discretionary spending to deal with high gas and food prices and the weak housing market. (AP)

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

Fans watch Sox at Fenway's State Street Pavilion

Dice-K may have struggled early in Tokyo, but that hardly dampened the zeal of 300 people who came to the State Street Pavilion in an empty Fenway Park this morning to watch the game on big screen TVs.

The host of this baseball-and-breakfast event was State Street Corp., the big Boston firm that provides financial services to institutional investors.

State Street, which acquired naming rights to the State Street Pavilion two years ago, is also a major sponsor of the Red Sox road trip to Japan - indeed chief executive Ron Logue (left) is in Tokyo - while back at Fenway Park, State Street guests this morning were lining up to get autographs from such baseball legends as Luis Tiant (right) and Jim Lonborg, along with their bacon and eggs from the buffet spread.

State Street executives said that the company's baseball sponsorships have helped its growing business in Asia.

"It has opened some doors," vice chairman Jay Hooley said.

In all, foreign business now accounts for 43 percent of State Street revenues, he noted, and the company employs about 400 professionals in Japan.

Groups that State Street invited to Fenway this morning included representatives from the Asian American Civil Association, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, and North Quincy High School.

They couldn't have been too thrilled to see the Sox opponent, the Oakland A's, jump out to an early 2-0 lead, but going into the fourth inning, the atmosphere at the State Street Pavilion remained upbeat and noisy.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

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

March 24, 2008

Comcast rolls out phone service for small business

Comcast Corp., the state's largest cable provider, said it would offer voice services to businesses, adding new competition to the business telecommunications landscape.

Comcast disclosed in January that it had become the fourth-largest residential phone provider in the nation, with its digital voice offering for residential customers. Now, the company is targeting small- and medium-sized businesses. The company will offer a "Triple Play" for businesses, similar to the bundle of phone, high-speed Internet, and television that they offer to residential customers.

"Comcast already delivers reliable voice service to thousands of business owners where they live," Ed Gallagher, vice president and general manager of business services for Comcast's NorthCentral Division in a statement. "These business owners now have the option of choosing Comcast for all of their communication needs where they work."
(By Carolyn Johnson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)

Globe's Howe to join New England Cable News

Peter J. Howe, who has written more than 6,000 stories in his 22 years at The Boston Globe, will become a business reporter for the New England Cable News network next month, NECN said today.

Howe will replace Mont Fennel, NECN's business reporter for the past 16 years; Fennel is joining DigiNovations Inc., a Concord firm specializing in video production and Internet TV, NECN said.

At the Globe, the 42-year-old Howe has covered such beats as transportation, energy, airlines, travel and tourism, telecommunications, and technology.

For the last four years, he also has been editor or co-editor of the Globe 100, an annual special section that focuses on the top-performing publicly traded companies in Massachusetts.

Howe's work has won awards from the Associated Press and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:22 PM | Comments (0)

Boston Beer chairman exercises stock options

The chairman of Boston Beer Co., brewer of the Sam Adams beers, exercised options for 10,000 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

In two Form 4 documents filed Friday with the SEC, C. James Koch reported he exercised the options Thursday for $14.47 to $20.98 apiece and then sold all 10,000 shares on the same day for $46.45 to $48.32 apiece.

Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.

Boston Beer is based in Boston.

In mid afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, company shares were trading at $49.25. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)

For 2008, free furniture requires a sweep

A display at a Jordan's Furniture store in Reading advertising last year's promotion. (Globe staff file photo/Wendy Maeda)

Jordan's Furniture is betting again on a Red Sox win, this time a sweep of the World Series. Jordan's chief executive Eliot Tatelman revealed today at Fenway Park that if the Boston Red Sox sweep the 2008 World Series by winning the first four games, customers who make a purchase between March 25 and April 27 will receive sofas, sectionals, dining room tables, beds, mattresses, and rugs for free as part of its new "Monster Sweep" promotion.

The promotion is more stingy than last year's offer, when Jordan's, the official furniture store of the Boston Red Sox, offered free furniture if the hometown team simply won the World Series. Like last year, Jordan’s has taken out an insurance policy for Monster Sweep 2008, with the anticipation of an even bigger response than last year, Tatelman said.

When the Boston Red Sox won the 2007 World Series, more than 24,000 customers of Jordan’s Furniture received free furniture following to the company’s “Monster Deal” promotion. The Red Sox open their season against the Oakland A's tomorrow morning in Tokyo.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

Mass. gas prices drop for the first time in six weeks

Gas prices in Massachusetts are down a penny, for the first decline in six weeks.

A weekly survey by AAA Southern New England found a gallon of self-serve regular averaging $3.12 Monday, down one cent from the same time last week.

The auto club says Massachusetts is 14 cents below the national average price of $3.26 per gallon. According to the Lundberg Survey of about 7,000 gas stations, prices nationally rose 6.9 cents, to $3.26 a gallon for self-serve regular.

Prices in Massachusetts remain well above what they were a year ago, when a gallon averaged $2.55 in the state. (AP and Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

Home prices fall sharply in Mass., US

Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts fell 19 percent in February compared to the same month last year, and prices fell 9 percent, Banker & Tradesman reported this morning. The median sales price of a single-family home was $301,000.

A total of 2,123 single-family homes sold in February, compared with 2,628 last year. It is the sixth straight monthly sales decline sales, dating to August.

Banker & Tradesman, a Warren Group publication, said condo sales fell 25 percent, and condo prices fell almost 7 percent. The median price was $256,500.

Sales of existing homes nationwide fell 24 percent in February compared to the same month last year, the National Association of Realtors said. The nicer way of looking at the numbers, highlighted by the NAR press release, is that the number of sales increased 2.9 percent over January. Most analysts, however, believe the more telling comparison is with sales volume in the same month in previous years. By that standard, this was the worst February since 1998. The median price nationally for a single-family home was $195,900.
(By Binyamin Appelbaum, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Raytheon unveils device to blast through concrete

Waltham defense contractor Raytheon Co. has unveiled the prototype of a portable device that firefighters and search teams can use to quickly pulverize concrete walls as they look to rescue people trapped in rubble by disasters.

During a recent demonstration, the device smashed through a concrete barrier in 13 minutes, compared with the 29 minutes it took for conventional methods to achieve similar results, Raytheon said.

Raytheon's 100-pound device is called the Controlled Impact Rescue Tool, or CIRT, and its rapid-breaching technology can be operated by two people.

Conventional methods to breach concrete often involve power-saws, drills, and small jack-hammers, which in many cases are powered by electricity, a Raytheon spokesman said. That means rescuers have to drag electrical cords behind them.

With CIRT, operators carry blank ammunition cartridges that when fired, cause a specially designed impact head to generate pulverizing shock waves to create a hole large enough for a victim to escape from, a Raytheon spokesman said.

Not only is CIRT faster and more flexible than conventional methods for breaching concrete, it also takes less of a physical toll on its operators, the spokesman said.

The device was developed under a program of the Department of Homeland Security. Much of the work for the program was done at a Raytheon facility in Virginia.

The company has not yet determined a price tag for the device, a Raytheon spokesman said.

Potential customers for CIRT include fire departments, local and federal rescue agencies, and the military services.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

VMware plans to invest $100 million in India by 2010

VMware Inc., the virtualization software company controlled by Hopkinton data-storage giant EMC Corp., said today that it will invest $100 million in the next two years to expand its research and development operations in India.

VMware plans to double its development work force in the country to 1,000 people and open a facility in Bangalore.

VMware makes virtualization software, which allows a computer to act like multiple machines, each with its own operating system and software. It helps companies spend less on equipment and energy in their data centers.

The company has more than 300 customers in the country and offices in five cities. Its total work force in India is nearly 700 people, about 500 of whom are developers.

California-based VMware's shares rose $1.13, or 2.5 percent, to $46.25 in premarket trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

Fewer jobs but higher pay for college grads, Monster says

There's good news and bad news on the job front for this year's crop of college graduates, according to an survey of employers and students by MonsterTRAK, the student division of the job search and recruiting firm Monster.com.

First, the bad news: With the economy slumping, only 59 percent of employers surveyed plan to hire 2008 graduates in the spring or summer; that compares with 76 percent of employers last year, MonsterTRAK said.

The good news? Roughly a third of employers with hiring plans said they will increase their starting salaries; the anticipated average starting salary for 2008 graduates is $39,500, up from last year's average of $36,000, MonsterTRAK said.

One survey finding may give parents pause; 48 percent of the students surveyed said they expect to spend some time living with their parents after graduation, MonsterTRAK said, and 43 percent of 2007 graduates are still living with their parents, mostly because of limited financial resources.

Monster, which has much of its operations in Maynard, is the flagship brand of Monster Worldwide Inc., a New York communications and technology company.

The New York Times Co., the corporate parent of The Boston Globe and Boston.com, has an alliance with Monster to sell help-wanted advertising.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Pro-Pharmaceuticals gets OK for breast cancer test

Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Newton said today that a regimen that includes its lead product Davanat has been approved to treat a breast cancer patient.

Davanat is designed for use in combination with multiple chemotherapy drugs; according to Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Davanat can extend survival in cancer patients and reduce side effects of chemotherapies and biologics.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals said today that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted an investigational new drug application for use of Davanat in combination with other drugs to treat a breast-cancer patient.

The company cited American Cancer Society estimates that 180,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United State this year and that breast cancer annually kills about 45,000 Americans.

Davanat is also in clinical trials for its use in first-line treatments of colorectal and biliary cancer patients.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Nuance and Samsung sign licensing agreement

Nuance Communications Inc., a Burlington company that makes speech and imaging software, said today that Samsung Electronics signed a global licensing agreement for Nuance Mobile applications.

The agreement includes various Nuance speech-based services and interfaces like text message read-out.

In the last several years, Samsung has incorporated Nuance products on more than 160 Samsung models, Nuance said. (AP)

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

March 21, 2008

Coakley reissues warning to Hannaford customers

Attorney General Martha Coakley today upgraded her warning to consumers who recently have shopped at Hannaford Bros. supermarkets, following the Maine company's disclosure of a data breach that potentially compromised millions of payment card numbers.

She urged customers to contact their banks if they shopped at a Hannaford store and paid with plastic between Dec. 7 to March 10, the period the company believes its data was vulnerable. Those people, she said in a statement from her office, "should assume that their credit or debit card numbers have been compromised.''

Hannaford hasn't given many details of the breach, but has said it doesn't believe names or addresses were compromised as part of the intrusion. That could make shoppers identities less vulnerable to identity theft. But Hannaford cannot confirm whether or not a particular card number was compromised, which could leave it vulnerable to misuse.

Coakley said she is urging store customers from the four-month period to take several steps. First, they should contact the fraud department of their bank or credit-card issuer, who should monitor the account for any suspicious activity.

Also, they should review their own recent and current card and bank account statements to check for unauthorized purchases. People who find unauthorized use use should consider cancelling the account or requesting a new payment card, she said.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

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

New Balance triples ad spending, launches new campaign

New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. of Boston is launching a new ad campaign with the theme of "LOVE/hate. this is the new balance."

The campaign is part of a larger plan to nearly double its athletic shoe and apparel sales, in part by tripling the company's spending on marketing.

A TV ad set to debut Thursday during the NCAA college basketball tournament shows a young man walking by a house where a boisterous party is in progress; the young man, a basketball player, is tempted to join the party but takes a pass so he can stick to a training regimen that includes lots of running.

"What has running given you?" a voice-over asks, then answers, "An extra half step in overtime."

The sub-text of the ad is that running makes someone a better athlete, yet many young athletes have a love-hate relationship with running.

One point of the ad campaign, which was created by the company's new ad agency BBDO New York, is to show that New Balance is dedicated to reducing the hate and growing the love of running.

The new campaign launches as New Balance seeks to attain the long-term goal of ringing up $3 billion in global sales by 2012; global sales were $1.63 billion in 2007, up from $1.55 billion in 2006 and $1.54 billion in 2005, a New Balance spokeswoman said.

If New Balance is to break out of its recent pattern of modest sales gains and jump-start more explosive growth, it needs to reach beyond its loyal customer base of serious runners over 30 who are more focused on an athletic shoe's functionality than its fashion appeal.

The new multimedia ad campaign, which also includes print and online ads, looks to broaden New Balance's appeal beyond this group of core customers, and it generally aims at consumers between 18 and 29 who are more casual about jogging than a dedicated runner.

This younger group tends to see running as a means to an end, the end being improved performance in specific sports such as basketball or football.

New Balance declined to disclose the size of its budget for the love-hate campaign.

Advertising Age, in a story this morning, cited an estimate by TNS Media Intelligence that pegged New Balance's 2007 spending on US advertising media at just under $20 million.

Achieving $3 billion in global sales within the next few years is an ambitious goal, and the athletic-shoe category's dominant player, Nike Inc. of Oregon, is showing few signs of slowing down.

"Nike just had a blockbuster quarter," said Bob McGee, editor of Sporting Goods Intelligence, a newsletter that follows the industry.

This week, McGee reported that New Balance shifted responsibilities for executive vice presidents Paul Heffernan and Joe Preston to "bring a stronger global focus to the brand's product and marketing development as the company works toward its global sales objective of $3 billion by 2012."

Earlier this month, Reebok International Ltd. of Canton, a unit of Adidas Group, said it was naming Uli Becker, its chief marketing officer, as its president and chief executive.

Becker's challenge? Refocus Reebok's scattered brand identity and boost stalled sales.

When it comes to advertising, Nike and Reebok have often used high-profile athletes such as Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson to push their products.

New Balance, which once emphasized a philosophy of "Endorsed by no one," doesn't use high-profile athletes in its advertising.

Themes for previous New Balance ad campaigns include "For love or money?", "N is for fit ... N is for performance," and "Achieve New Balance."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:34 PM | Comments (0)

Mascoma moves to larger space in Boston

Mascoma Corp., a renewable fuels company, signed a five-year lease to move its headquarters from 4,000 square feet of office space near Kendall Square to 22,000 square feet of space at 1380 Soldiers Field Rd. in Boston, Mascoma's broker said.

Mascoma's broker is the local office of Grubb & Ellis Co., a California-based commercial real estate firm.

Mascoma is one of several companies seeking to find a commercially feasible way to produce large-scale amounts of ethanol from something besides ears of corn; in Mascoma's case, it is making ethanol from such ingredients as wood chips and switch grass.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:25 PM | Comments (0)

April Fool's shouldn't be another day at "The Office"

Advice to workplace drudges thinking about playing an April Fool's Day prank on a Michael Scott-style boss at the office: Leave those whoopee cushions at home.

Most pranks are better suited to fictional workplaces such as the one portrayed in "The Office," the NBC sitcom starring Steve Carell in the demanding role of a pompous and deluded boss named Michael Scott.

In the real world, April Fool's Day pranks in the work place may be "no joking matter," reports the Creative Group of California, a staffing service.

The group commissioned a national survey that conducted 250 telephone interviews with advertising and marketing executives around the country to determine the appropriateness of April Fool's Day shenanigans.

In general, advertising and marketing agencies are pretty liberal when it comes to workplace ambiance, the theory being that a Dilbert-style cubicle culture can stifle creativity.

Nevertheless, many ad and marketing execs take a dim view of April Fool's Day pranks in the work place, with 71 percent of marketing executives saying that April Fool's Day jokes in the office are either "not very appropriate" or "not at all appropriate," said the Creative Group, a unit of Robert Half International Inc., a California company that provides staffing and risk-consulting services.

Ad executives are more laid back than their marketing counterparts when quizzed on the subject of whoopee cushions and water balloons; 51 percent said that April's Day Fools jokes are either "very appropriate" or "somewhat appropriate," the survey found.

When it comes to April Fool's Day, Creative Group executive director Megan Slabinski recommends using good judgment.

Sound advice, that. But is she unclear on the concept? Isn't the whole idea of April Fool's about suspending good judgment for one day a year?
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:21 AM | Comments (0)

Foxborough apartments sold for $7m

Oak Ridge Apartments Limited Partnership sold a seven-building apartment complex in Foxborough for $7.2 million to Universal Realty Corp., a broker involved in the transaction said.

The broker is NAI Hunneman, Boston-based real estate services firm.

Hamilton Square was built in 1965 and has 61 apartments, said NAI Hunneman, which added that the new owner plans to hold the property as rental apartments until the condo market recovers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

3Com seeks $66m breakup fee from failed Bain deal

3Com Corp. said that it intends to pursue a $66 million break-up fee after Bain Capital Partners LLC said yesterday that it has decided to give up on a deal to take 3Com private.

According to 3Com, a Marlborough networking company, the reasons that Bain cited yesterday for backing off the deal are "invalid" and "not grounds for termination."

3Com said it intends to move ahead with a shareholders meeting scheduled for this morning to enable its shareholder's to vote on the existing merger agreement.

Bain had planned to pay $2.2 billion to buy 3Com with the help of Huawei Technologies, a Chinese company with ties to the Chinese military.

Proposed in September, the deal would have given Huawei a 16 percent stake in 3Com, but the federal government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States expressed concerns that the transaction could harm US national security.

"Bain Capital made several alternative proposals to 3Com that we believe could have satisfied the concerns raised" by the committee, Bain said in a statement yesterday. "We regret that we were unable to agree upon an alternative transaction."

3Com said today it will continue to fulfill its obligations under the terms of the existing merger agreement while it pursues a $66 million termination fee payable under the terms of the agreement.

For previous Globe coverage, click here.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:38 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2008

Construction firm ordered to pay penalties

A Wayland man and the construction company he runs have been ordered to pay nearly $300,000 for violating wage requirements and other labor laws.

Forty-three-year-old Laurence Maloney and Wayland-based Shannon Construction Corp. pleaded guilty today in Boston Municipal Court.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley says a nearly yearlong state investigation found violations of laws covering prevailing wages, overtime, payroll records and workmen's compensation.

In addition to the nearly $300,000 in fines and restitution, Maloney and Shannon Construction are barred for three years from bidding or working on future public construction projects. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:44 PM | Comments (0)

Epix shares plunge to all-time low

Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares have shed about half their value and are trading at all-time lows after the company stopped development of an experimental depression treatment.

The Lexington company said its PRX-00023 was not effective in a midstage trial against clinical depression. In September, tests showed the drug was no better than a placebo at treating anxiety.

The stock plunged $1.57, or 51 percent, to $1.51 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, bottoming at $1.48.

Epix shares began trading in March 1997, and had ranged between $2.63 and $7.28 over the past year.

Cowen and Co. analyst Ian Sanderson said the previous trial gave investors reason to hope that PRX-00023 would work as a depression treatment, which built up expectations. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:16 PM | Comments (0)

Bain terminates 3Com deal

Boston investment firm Bain Capital Partners LLC said it advised 3Com Corp. that it is terminating its merger agreement with the Marlborough-based maker of computer networking equipment.

Bain said it made the decision because the US government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States said it intended to take action to prohibit the transaction.

Bain had planned to pay $2.2 billion to buy 3Com with the help of Huawei Technologies, a Chinese company with ties to the Chinese military.

Proposed in September, the deal would have taken 3Com private and given Huawei a 16 percent stake in 3Com, but the deal stalled because it failed to satisfy the Committee on Foreign Investment that the transaction wouldn't harm US national security.

"Bain Capital made several alternative proposals to 3Com that we believe could have satisfied the concerns raised by CFIUS," Bain said in a statement today that referred to the committee by its initials. "We regret that we were unable to agree upon an alternative transaction."

3Com had scheduled a shareholder vote on the proposed transaction for tomorrow.

For previous Globe coverage, click here.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Board approves increase in state's health care costs

The board that oversees the state's landmark health care law has voted to approve increases in premiums and co-payments for people enrolled in the subsidized health insurance plan.

About half the 177,000 people enrolled will have to pay a bit more for health care under the increases approved by the Health Care Connector board.

For example, people who are just above the federal poverty level will have to pay $18 co-payments instead of $10 for a visit to a specialist.

The Connector Board also approved contracts with four providers that include an increase in payments of 12.1 percent over last year. That was lower than the original 15.4 percent increase the health care providers had requested.

For previous Globe coverage, click here. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

Copley Place to grow; 47-story tower planned over Neiman Marcus

Rendering by Elkus|Manfredi Architects

Copley Place owner Simon Property Group told Boston city officials today that it plans to expand the Neiman Marcus store and luxury shops there and build residential condominiums in a new, 47-story tower.

"The expansion of Neiman Marcus and the specialty shops will ensure the City of Boston's retail pre-eminence within the entire metropolitan region," Simon, based in Indianapolis, said in a press release.

The filing provides details of previously announced plans for Copley Place's final large structure.

The expansion will include a complete renovation of the 115,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus store and an addition of 54,000 square feet. An additional 60,000 square feet of expansion will include new retail shops and restaurant space and a "public winter garden," which will replace the existing Stuart Street plaza.

Residences will take the form of 300 luxury condominiums with 24-hour concierge service, plus a health facility, spa, and residents' library, Simon said.

The first four floors of the tower will be commercial and retail space, topped by 43 floors of residential. The 47-story tower will be slightly smaller than the 52-story Prudential Tower and the 60-story John Hancock Tower, both located nearby in the Back Bay. Currently, the tallest building in the Copley Place complex is Westin Copley Place, at 36 stories.

Elkus|Manfredi Architects of Boston is the design firm. The project is forecast to bring 250 new permanent jobs.

No additional parking space is to be built; the new tower is across the street from the MBTA's Back Bay Station.

Copley Place was built in the 1980s on air space over the Massachusetts Turnpike and on a former railroad yard. According to its website, the Back Bay shopping complex houses about 75 stores, including Barneys New York, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry.

Simon Property Group bills itself as the largest public US real estate company, with regional malls, outlet centers, lifestyle centers, and international properties.

It controls 257 million square feet in all.
(By Thomas C. Palmer, Globe staff)

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

Alnylam licenses gene-silencing technology

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge biotechnology company, said today that it licensed certain patent rights to China-based Shanghai GenePharma Co.

Alnylam focuses on developing therapies using gene-silencing technology, which aims to shut down a disease or condition at the genetic level. Shanghai GenePharma is supplier of gene-silencing technology in China.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Alnylam shares rose 21 cents to $23.94 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:27 AM | Comments (0)

State unemployment rate holds steady

The Massachusetts unemployment rate remains below the national jobless figure, after holding steady at 4.5 percent in February.

The state jobless rate posted last month and in January is up from December's rate of 4.3 percent, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said today. The nation's unemployment rate stood at 4.8 percent last month.

February's state unemployment rate is based on a survey of households that found a 9,800-person decrease in employed residents, and a 3,700-person decline in residents without jobs. Those changes weren't big enough to shift the unemployment rate.

A separate survey of employers recorded a loss of 700 jobs in February. Losses among retailers and the construction industry were offset by job gains in a sector that includes professional, scientific and business services. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

Frank renews call to regulate financial markets

Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the excesses of the subprime mortgage crisis will result in a new era of regulation, similar to those that broke the monopolistic trusts of the early 20th century and restored the financial system following the Great Depression.

Frank, addressing the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, said most problem mortgages, which have led to record foreclosures and infected financial markets where mortgage-backed securities are traded, emerged from lightly regulated or unregulated sectors of the financial system, such as mortgage brokers and investment banks. Commercial and savings banks, subject to much stricter oversight, didn't write the risky loans to people unable to pay them back, Frank said.

"We now see a situation that more damage was done by inadequate regulation," Frank said. "What we have is a systemic problem, and that's what we want to address. Sensible regulation is pro-market because it can instill confidence."

Frank, noting Congress must first address the immediate threat of rising home foreclosure, said he expects to take up legislation next year to put in place new regulations, such requiring investment bank to operate under rules similar to commercial banks. Investment banks buy mortgage loans, bundle them into mortgage-backed securities and buy and sell them for profit.

This system, which relieves lenders of the risk and responsibility of collecting loans, has broken the "discipline of the lender-borrower relationship," and which regulation ultimately must restore, Frank said. In other words, he said, "You don't make loans if you don't think people will pay you back."
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Read this morning's Boston Capital column on Frank and market regulation here.

Posted by globebusiness at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)

Chelsea: No hard feelings over Alkermes layoffs

Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash confirmed today that Alkermes Inc. is under no obligation to repay state and local tax breaks it received to build a manufacturing plant in the city, despite Alkermes' plans to shutter the plant and let go 150 workers this week.

Alkermes said it was forced to make the decision after its partner, Eli Lilly & Co., dropped plans to develop an inhalable form of insulin for diabetics (right) -- an alternative to injecting insulin -- that was being manufactured at the site.

In exchange for the decision to build the Chelsea plant, which opened five years ago, Alkermes received a reduction in property taxes from the city. Alkermes also received a break on corporate excise taxes from the state (a standard incentive available to all companies that expand). It's unclear how much money the company saved on taxes.

"The company fulfilled its responsibilities to create and maintain jobs each year it was in operation here," Ash said. "Now that the company is closing its Chelsea facility, the local property tax relief will be withdrawn."

"The state and city invested in a company with promise,'' Ash said. "While that promise has not yet been realized, the investment was a sound one, made after intense review of the company and its potential. Unfortunately, in the world of biotech, not every great idea makes it from the lab and into people's medicine cabinets."

Ash said it's unclear whether Alkermes will continue to lease the Chelsea property, but said the city is interested in continuing to work with Alkermes and other biotech companies to help them find manufacturing space.

"Alkermes took control of a building that had a million dollars of value and a roof caving in," he said. "Since then, they invested more than $20 million in the building, making it a state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing space. Given the quality of the building and its proximity to Cambridge, I would expect there would be a great deal of interest from other biotech companies in the space."

Though Ash said Alkermes' shutdown is a blow to the city's Everett Avenue Urban Renewal District, he said the state is poised to approve a new 250-unit housing development on Sixth Street and a new hotel could be built on Beech Street.

"I'm sorry to hear about Alkermes, but we don't 'put all our eggs in one basket,' " Ash said. "We've made a name for ourselves for being nimble, and therefore act to changes in market conditions, and being innovative, and therefore being able to take advantage of those changing market conditions."
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:48 AM | Comments (0)

CRA International reports drop in profits

CRA International Inc., a Boston-based business and economics consultant, said today that its first-quarter profit dropped 56 percent due to a revenue decline its international businesses, particularly in the Middle East, and higher expenses.

For the quarter ended Feb. 15, net income fell to $3.1 million, or 28 cents per share, from $7.1 million, or 56 cents per share in the prior year quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 27 cents per share.

The company blamed the profit drop on a downturn in revenue in several of its international businesses, particularly its chemicals and petroleum division. Revenue from several large, long-standing Middle East projects declined more quickly than expected and follow-on contracts were not received during the quarter, CRA said.

Higher rent expenses and recruiting and professional fees led to lower profit as well.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $86.1 million from $83.3 million in the first quarter of 2007. Analysts predicted revenue of $86.6 million. (AP)

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

Progress Software's earnings surge

Progress Software Corp. of Bedford Progress Software Corp. said today that fiscal first-quarter earnings surged 47 percent as it cut costs and boosted revenue.

Net income in the quarter ended Feb. 29 rose to $12.8 million, or 29 cents per share, from $8.7 million, or 20 cents per share, a year ago.

Earnings adjusted to exclude one-time items rose to $18.6 million, or 42 cents per share, from $16.2 million, or 37 cents per share, last year. Analysts expected 41 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Favorable exchange rates boosted revenue 6 percent to $121.6 million from $115.2 million last year. Software license revenue grew by 1 percent to $45.1 million from $44.7 million a year ago.

Total operating expenses fell 1 percent, as general costs dropped 8 percent, offsetting higher sales and marketing expenses.

Progress Software also forecast 2008 financial targets that fall within current Wall Street estimates.

The maker of software that runs business applications expects net profit of $1.35 to $1.40 per share and adjusted earnings between $1.92 to $1.97 per share in the year ending Nov. 30. Analysts, whose estimates typically target adjusted earnings, expect $1.94 per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Progress forecast revenue between $520 million and $530 million, while Wall Street expects $522.6 million.

For its fiscal second quarter, which ends May 31, Progress expects net income of 31 to 33 cents per share, adjusted earnings of 45 cents to 47 cents per share and revenue between $127 million and $129 million.

Analysts anticipate profit of 45 cents per share and revenue of $126 million. (AP)

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

Synta Pharmaceuticals' loss widens

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a Lexington biopharmaceutical company, said today that its fourth-quarter loss widened partly on higher operating expenses.

The company reported a loss after preferred dividends of $15.5 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with a loss of $13.3 million, or 60 cents per share, in the prior year. The per share discrepancy is due to fewer outstanding shares in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 50 cents per share.

Total operating expenses climbed to $17.1 million from $13 million. Research and development costs rose to $13.3 million from $10.5 million, while general and administrative expenses increased to $3.8 million from $2.5 million.

Synta reported revenue of $743,000 for the quarter from a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline on the company's lead drug candidate elesclomol. The drug is an experimental treatment for skin cancer.

The company reported an annual loss after preferred dividends of $122.1 million, or $3.76 per share, compared with a loss of $59.1 million, or $2.66 per share, in the previous year.

Full-year results were hurt by a $58.6 million charge related to converting the company's preferred stock for its initial public offering.

Excluding the charge, Synta reported a loss of $63.5 million compared with a loss of $57.3 million a year earlier.

Collaboration revenue for the year totaled $743,000.

On the Nasdaq Stock Market yesterday, Synta shares closed at $7.36, up 6 cents. (AP)

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

Epix stops work on depression drug candidate

Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington said today it is halting development of a potential treatment for depression following disappointing results in a clinical trial.

The company said it is discontinuing clinical development of PRX-00023 "due to a lack of significant efficacy."

In its statement this morning, the company noted that its plan to get US approval of an imaging agent called Vasovist is "on track" - Vasovist has already won regulatory approval for marketing in 33 countries.

Epix also reported that it is "making important progress in its promising Alzheimer's disease program."

On the Nasdaq Stock Market yesterday, shares of Epix closed at $3.08, up 11 cents.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:58 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2008

Hannaford vanishes, reappears on security co. site

Rapid7 LLC, a Boston company that makes security software to keep out intruders, has long counted Hannaford Bros. as one of its marquee customers along with Eastern Bank and the US Department of Homeland Security. But after the Maine-based supermarket chain reported a massive data breach Monday that exposed as many as 4.2 million credit and debit cards to fraud, Rapid7 abruptly stripped Hannaford’s name and logo from its website.

Was it damage control? Embarrassment about being linked to the breach? An admission that its software failed?

A Rapid7 executive says none of the above.

David Precopio, the company's vice president of marketing, said Hannaford asked Rapid7 to remove its name from the site once the data breach was made public. But after some sharp-eyed observers spotted the deletion (including the security website attrition.org) Precopio said Rapid7 asked Hannaford to let it repost the company’s name.

Sure enough, Hannaford’s name popped back on the website today, shortly after a Globe reporter called to inquire about its absence.

“We didn’t want to make it look like (the breach) had anything to do with us, for sure,” Precopio said. “We had nothing do with the breach.”

Hannaford spokeswoman Carol Eleazer did not respond to messages seeking comment.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)

MIT energy competition narrows field

Twenty teams, proposing everything from energy-efficient lumber to 100-mile-per-gallon cars, were named semi-finalists in an MIT competition to commercialize advanced energy technologies. The grand prize: $200,000.

The semi-finalists were chosen from a field of 94 by a panel of specialists. The proposals include: solar energy systems 25 percent cheaper than current ones; car design for a 100 mpg car; gasoline from grasses, trees, and other plants; and framing lumber to reduce home energy use by 20 percent. "Solutions are needed to reduce fossil fuel dependence, lower greenhouse gas emissions and meet escalating energy demand," said Joe Nolan, senior vice president at Boston utility NStar, a competition sponsor. "We need to accelerate the pace of entrepreneurship to bring new innovation to the market."

Finalists will be selected and the prize awarded in May. In addition to MIT and NStar, the US Energy Department is also sponsoring the competition.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:28 PM | Comments (0)

3Com vote on Bain takeover is set for Friday

3Com Corp. of Marlborough said today that it plans to proceed with its currently scheduled meeting on Friday so shareholders can vote on its pending takeover.

The board continues to recommend that shareholders vote in favor of the proposed $2.2 billion buyout by Bain Capital Partners LLC of Boston and China's Huawei Technologies Co. Under terms of the deal, 3Com shareholders would receive $5.30 in cash per share, and 3Com would become a private company.

The networking equipment company had postponed the shareholder vote in order to address lawmakers' national security concerns over the deal.

3Com and affiliates of Bain Capital and Huawei made a joint voluntary filing with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, but the parties have since withdrawn the filing as they were not able to reach an agreement with the committee.

No application has been resubmitted, and the parties have been unable to agree on an alternative transaction that addresses the committee's concerns and is acceptable to 3Com's board.

At the time of the application withdrawal, the parties assured the committee that they would not proceed with the original proposed transaction, which included a minority investment by Huawei affiliates.

Therefore, there can be no assurance that the parties will be able to close the current deal, even if 3Com shareholders vote in favor of it, the company said.

Huawei has strong ties to the Chinese government, and lawmakers and Bush administration officials have expressed concerns that sensitive military technology could be transferred to China through the 16.5 percent 3Com stake that would be held by Huawei under the deal's original terms.

3Com shares lost 37 cents, or 12.9 percent, at $2.49 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:15 PM | Comments (0)

Garden may be renamed -- again

TD Banknorth said it will change its name to TD Commerce Bank following its $8.5 billion purchase of a New Jersey institution, the company said today.

TD Banknorth of Portland, Maine, is a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank, headquartered in Toronto, and is the fourth largest lender in Massachusetts behind Bank of America Corp. of Charlotte and other companies. It disclosed plans to purchase Commerce Bancorp Inc. of Cherry Hill, N.J., in October. The purchase is expected to be finalized at the end of March.

The name change will occur at the banks' combined operations through next year. A spokeswoman said the company is still studying how it might change the name on the Boston arena where it has naming rights, now known as the TD Banknorth Garden.

The arena has gone through many name changes in its brief existence. Originally to be known as the Shawmut Center, it was renamed the FleetCenter in 1995, before it even opened, after FleetBoston Financial Corp. purchased the former Shawmut Bank. When Fleet in turn was acquired by Bank of America Corp. in 2004, the bank gave up the naming rights. TD Banknorth agreed to pay $6 million a year for the naming rights, triple the price Fleet was paying.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

March Madness will squeeze work place productivity

The March Madness NCAA college basketball tournament now underway could have a lot of locals playing mental hooky in the work place, a new survey finds.

The survey by Atlantic Associates, a Boston firm that specializes in information-technology staffing, found that 33 percent of 300 local employees contacted for the survey plan to spend some of the boss's time "researching, reading about, watching, or following online" a tournament in which North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough (right, number 50) is likely to star.

Atlantic Associates principal and cofounder Jack Harrington advises employers to give their basketball fans some leeway.

While distractions such as March Madness can take away from productivity, bosses who show some latitude are likely to maintain better relationships with their employees, Harrington said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

Steinour joins CrossHarbor Capital Partners

CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC said today that Stephen D. Steinour will join the Boston-based investment firm.

The announcement comes two weeks after Citizens Financial Group disclosed that Steinour planned to step down as its chief executive.

Steinour will join CrossHarbor Capital Partners immediately and hold the title of managing partner, said CrossHarbor, which specializes in real estate as well as distressed securities and private equity.

Steinour's departure from Providence-based Citizens Financial capped a series of reorganizations at New England's second largest bank, which had grown by acquisitions under a Steinour predecessor, Lawrence K. Fish.

For previous Globe coverage on Steinour, click here.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

Fidelity fund shareholders reject 'genocide-free' plan

Shareholder proposals that would have barred two Fidelity Investments mutual funds from holding assets in companies tied to genocide were defeated, officials announced at the funds' annual meeting this morning in Boston.

The proposals were part of an effort by activist to bring attention to atrocities in Sudan. Fidelity's fund trustees had opposed the measures, arguing that investment decisions should lie with fund managers. While the vote went in Fidelity's favor, activists said their measure received an unusually high number of votes compared to campaigns on social and environmental causes at other companies. They predicted similar measures would receive a rising level of support as other Fidelity funds hold votes this spring.

"We expected to lose, but by a much wider margin,'' said Eric Cohen, chair of Investors Against Genocide, one of the groups that had backed the measure.

Only one fund trustee, Dennis J. Dirks, appeared in person at the small meeting, held at a Fidelity building adjacent to South Station. Dirks, 59, retired as chief operating officer of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. in 2003 and has served as a member of the 11-person Fidelity funds board since 2005. The gathering included about 30 other activists, shareholders, and company employees, including Fidelity general counsel Eric Roiter. Dirks and Roiter said the issue has been widely discussed internally, but said management must respect the wishes of all fund shareholders based on voting totals.

At the meeting the proposal received 27 percent of votes cast among holders of Fidelity's Capital & Income fund and 28 percent of votes cast among holders of Fidelity Health Care Portfolio fund. Voting results for other funds including Fidelity's well-known Contrafund were postponed as not enough votes were cast, executives said.

Fidelity had previously disclosed in filings that its managers had sold the majority of shares they once held in companies targeted by the activists including a pair of Chinese oil companies providing royalty payments to Sudan's government. The regime in Darfur has been widely accused of human-rights abuses.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

Bus wars heat up in Hub: Megabus coming in May

And then there were four. Discounter Megabus plans to start offering trips between Boston and New York starting in late May. They will be going head to head with Boltbus, which is launching its service in April.

Both services has a similar pricing deal: It begins at a $1 for a seat if you reserve in advance and gets more expensive the closer you get to departure. BoltBus will offer WiFi and power outlets; Megabus won't. BoltBus will be shoving off from South Station; Megabus from 700 Atlantic Ave.

And both companies are locked in a Texas Death Cage showdown with the Chinatown bus services, Lucky Star and the sometimes-mechanically-challenged Fung Wah, which offer potentially lower cost service without amenities or the guaranteed seating.

The BoltBus-Megabus Battle in Boston is part of a larger war between the Scottish owner of BoltBus, FirstGroup PLC, and Scottish rival, Stagecoach Group, which runs Megabus. A kind of Scottish, Battle Royale for the hearts and minds of the Backpack Brigade.

Still all this fighting over us. I'm thinking it's a good thing.
(By Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

Alkermes will cut 150 jobs, close Chelsea plant

Alkermes Inc. of Cambridge said today it will lay off 150 people, or about 18 percent of its work force, and close a facility in Chelsea following a recent decision by Eli Lilly and Co. to end a joint effort to develop an inhalable form of insulin.

All the job cuts will occur in Massachusetts and leave the company with a work force of 635 employees, about 400 of them in Ohio and the rest in Massachusetts, a company spokeswoman said.

Alkermes announced the termination of the collaboration with Lilly on March 7.

Two other drug makers, Pfizer Inc. and Novo Nordisk A/S of Denmark, recently scrapped work on similar products; Pfizer said too few patients preferred inhalable insulin to its injectable form.

To read previous Globe coverage, click here.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Zillow teams up with local home listing service

Zillow.com, the website that allows home owners to get instant estimates of their home's current market value -- and their neighbor's home's current market value -- announced a partnership today with MLS Property Information Inc., or MLS Pin, the Shrewsbury-based company whose real estate listings cover much of Massachusetts.

Under the partnership, real estate brokers who are customers of MLS Pin will have the option of having their home listings automatically fed to Zillow.com on a daily basis, the companies said.

The partnership allows real estate broker customers of MLS Pin to gain free marketing exposure for their listings on Seattle-based Zillow's highly trafficked website while providing Zillow's users with a more robust search experience, the firms said.

For previous Globe coverage of Zillow.com, click here.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Sox plan to check out new scoreboards in Japan

The Boston Red Sox may not return from their historic road trip to Japan with a string of victories, but Sox management may come back with some ideas for a new scoreboard at Fenway Park.

Just as Governor Deval L. Patrick went on a trade mission to China last year, the Sox brass is treating the upcoming six-day trip to Japan as an opportunity for a mini trade mission of its own - as well as a diplomatic mission for Major League Baseball.

Red Sox players are getting ready for 6 a.m. EDT games March 25 and March 26 against the Oakland A's in Tokyo, the first games of their 2008 season.

Meanwhile, team president and chief executive Larry Lucchino (left, with Wally the Green Monster) and other club executives expect to spend some of the trip checking out new scoreboards and engaging in a "series of events in Tokyo designed to extend existing sponsor relationships and explore new business ventures," according to a Red Sox press release.

Plans call for club executives to meet with several major electronics corporations as the team considers the future acquisition of a new state-of-the-art scoreboard.

Scoreboards have gotten pretty snazzy these days - maybe too snazzy for venerable Fenway, which author John Updike once famously likened to a "lyric little bandbox."

The Sox press release noted that any investment in video-board technology will be in keeping with "this ownership's pledge to preserve all that is good about Fenway Park."

When Lucchino and company are not sizing up scoreboards, they will be involved in series of events with the corporate sponsors of what is being billed Major League Baseball Ricoh Opening Day Japan Series 2008.

Sponsors with local ties include EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, the data storage giant, and State Street Corp. of Boston, which provides financial services to institutional investors.

In a statement redolent of Foggy Bottom politesse, Lucchino said, "During our time in Tokyo, we hope to engage in dialogue with key industry leaders to learn more about their business and explore mutually beneficial ways to grow the game of baseball around the world."

The New York Times Co., the owner of The Boston Globe, owns a 17 percent stake in the Red Sox.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:48 AM | Comments (0)

"Genocide-free" investments are urged for Fidelity

Investors in some of the largest mutual funds managed by Fidelity Investments are considering a proposal to block investments that may contribute to genocide in places like Sudan's Darfur region.

Shareholders of Boston-based Fidelity's biggest fund, the $73 billion Contrafund, are scheduled to vote on the activist proposal today. Similar votes are expected on a few other of Fidelity's more than 400 mutual funds.

The company is recommending a vote against the non-binding proposal, which is seen as unlikely to pass. Backed by activists including the group Investors Against Genocide, the plan would require mutual fund managers to screen out investments in companies that do business with governments tied to human-rights violations. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:52 AM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2008

Staples confirms offer for Corporate Express

Office-supply retailer Staples Inc. reaffirmed today that it will offer $3.67 billion to acquire Corporate Express Inc., although the Dutch office supply wholesaler has already rejected it.

Framingham-based Staples also said it will submit the offer to a Netherlands regulatory agency.

In February, Staples made the unsolicited buyout offer for 7.25 euros per share for Corporate Express NV, which Corporate Express said was too low. Some analysts have said there may eventually be an agreement, however.

Staples said the deal is a premium of 33 percent to Corporate Express' closing share price on Feb. 18, the day before the offer was announced.

The company said it is "disappointed" that Corporate Express' boards have not entered into negotiation about the deal.

Staples said it expects to submit a request for offer approval to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets before May 13.

Shares of Staples rose $1.13, or 5.4 percent, to $22.20 during afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has traded between $19.69 and $27 during the past 52 weeks. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:08 PM | Comments (0)

Westin Copley unveils state-of-the-art ballroom

Mention the word "ballroom," and it evokes images of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (right) effortlessly gliding across a dance floor.

Ballrooms can also generate a nice revenue stream for the hotels that have them; which is one reason why the Westin Copley Place Boston invested $13 million in recently completed renovations for its ballroom and meeting spaces.

Some of the renovations were designed to make turn-around times quicker. Just as the bull gang at the TD Banknorth Garden must shake a leg when the Bruins hockey rink needs to be quickly broken down to make way for the circus, event planners must know how to hustle to get the most of the ballroom space with limited set-up and tear-down time.

Ballroom events have become increasingly dramatic and require a good deal of logistical preparations, said Scott Alpert, director of sales and marketing at Westin Copley Place (left).

"It's like taking a Broadway show on the road," Alpert said of the logistics behind setting up a ballroom event.

Changes to a ballroom that books roughly one event per day include an updated audio system and extra rigging points for lighting fixtures that give event planners more flexibility to use their creativity, Alpert said.

Alpert said the Westin Copley consulted on renovations with several event planners, including Bryan Rafanelli, owner of Rafanelli Events in Boston.

Old-fashioned ballrooms with heavy carpeting, flocked wallpaper, and chandeliers can cramp the style of an event planner, he said, and the new neutral-color scheme at the renovated Westin Copley Place Boston ballroom is much appreciated.

"It's like having a blank canvas," Rafanelli said.

With a blank canvas, a planner can use color and lighting schemes to "complement the brand" of the organization that is putting on a ballroom event, he said.

Using "bright jewel colors" like red and turquoise, Rafanelli helped the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston last month stage the first event that took place in the Westin Copley Place's renovated ballroom.

With a traditional ballroom, there's a challenge with putting on an annual fund-raising dinner that might draw 500 or 600 people, said boys-and-girls-clubs events director Jill Goldweitz, and that challenge is that guests in the back room can feel left out of the festivities.

Taking advantage of the ballroom's new features, Rafanelli deployed mini-stages on the edges of the room around a larger stage in the room's middle.

The evening's main speakers spoke from the larger stage. Then boys and girls clubs members on the mini stages told the guests about how the clubs had helped transform their lives, Goldweitz said.

The result was dramatic and engaging, she said.

"It was like there was no back of the room," she said. "We'll probably stay with this configuration in the future."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:33 PM | Comments (0)

Dunkin' Donuts plans Michigan expansion

Dunkin' Donuts plans to open more than 100 new restaurants in the Detroit, Flint, and Lansing areas over the next several years.

The Canton-based bakery restaurant chain is in the midst of a national expansion.

Dunkin' Donuts has been serving brewed coffee and bakery items for more than half a century. The company says it sells 2.7 million cups of coffee a day.

The announcement comes as some other food and beverage chains, including Starbucks Corp. and the Cheesecake Factory Inc., say they will scale back expansion plans.

Dunkin Donuts' competitor, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C., has closed some stores in the past few years. (AP)

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

CVS will pay $3.7 million to state Medicaid program

CVS Caremark Corp. has agreed to pay $3.7 million to the Massachusetts Medicaid Program to settle allegations of billing improprieties, the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (right) said today.

Headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I., CVS Caremark operates a pharmacy chain and also provides pharmacy services.

In a statement, CVS said, "Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the company has expressly denied engaging in any wrongful conduct."

The share of Medicaid payments that will go to Massachusetts is part of a larger $36.7 million settlement between CVS Caremark and the federal government, a coalition of 23 other states, and the District of Columbia, Coakley's office said.

The agreement settles allegations that from 1999 through 2006, CVS filled prescriptions for many Medicaid recipients by aggressively switching dosage forms of an anti-ulcer medication and that those switches caused Medicaid programs nationwide to pay substantially more for this medication than they otherwise would have, Coakley's office said.

A CVS spokesman noted that it dispensed the medication in capsule form rather than in tablet form because it cost less for CVS to acquire the drug in capsule form.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

EMC unveils ads for Sox visit to Japan

EMC Corp., the Hopkinton data storage giant, is planning to make a splash with its sponsorship of the Red Sox games in Japan.

These ads are running in Tokyo subways for the days leading up to the opening series, which starts next week.

The ads roughly translate to: "The moment when confidence becomes conviction. IT strategy based on EMC's technology is the winning approach."

Japan is a huge market - the country spends the second largest amount on information technology, or IT, in the world behind the United States - and EMC is hoping to use the Red Sox opening games to build its brand abroad.

The company scored a deal to get its logo on the Red Sox jerseys - the first corporate logo on the team's uniform - and EMC logos will be emblazoned on all Boston Red Sox opening series replica jerseys sold in Japan by Major League Baseball.

EMC is also auctioning an all-inclusive trip for four (or two pairs) to the games to benefit Curt Schilling's "Pitch for ALS" on the local sports radio station WEEI this week.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

FDA keeps Boston Scientific stent on hold

Boston Scientific Corp. is still trying to persuade federal regulators to approve its next generation stent. The Natick medical-device maker received an "approvable" letter from the Food and Drug Administration for its Taxus Liberté stent. Such a letter typically means the FDA needs more information before approving a product. The agency declined comment.

The decision is moot for now because Boston Scientific is barred from rolling out new stent products until it clears up FDA concerns about its quality systems. The company has previously said it expects the FDA to lift its "corporate warning letter" in mid-2008, clearing the way for it to roll out new products. Boston Scientific spokesman Paul Donovan said the company hopes to win approval for Liberte shortly after its corporate warning letter is lifted.

The Liberté is the company's newest version of the tiny drug-coated devices which are used to prop open cleared arteries. It is already widely used overseas.

But if Boston Scientific cannot resolve the FDA's questions about Liberté quickly, it could delay the product's launch. That's key because the company is expected to face increased competition in the stent market this year from Abbott Laboratories and Medtronic Inc., which plan to begin selling drug-coated stents in the United States for the first time.

Previously, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson were the only companies with permission to sell drug-coated stents in the United States.

Boston Scientific could not be immediately reached for comment.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

Medical imaging company has new name

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s former medical imaging unit in Billerica has a new name and management team.

Avista Capital Partners, which bought the company from Bristol-Myers in January for $525 million, has renamed the operation Lantheus Medical Imaging.

The new chief executive is Don Kiepert, who previously founded and ran Point Therapeutics, which merged with Dara BioSciences in October.

Lantheus, which has 700 employees, provides medical imaging products for ultrasound and other diagnostic procedures.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)

Hub Web firm gears up for Red Sox season

Compete Inc., a Boston firm that tracks and analyzes Web traffic, is on full Red Sox alert after Yankee big-wig Hank Steinbrenner was recently quoted as saying: "Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [expletive] that is."

According to Compete, the number of unique visitors checking out the Red Sox website each month during last year's regular season was between 800,000 and 900,000; during that same period, the Yankees led with an additional 89,000 unique visitors each month on average to their website.

Not surprisingly, current events can have a big influence on traffic.

When David Ortiz, Jason Varitek (right), and company led the Sox to a World Series, October website traffic spiked to about 1.1 million unique visitors, said Compete, which British media information company Taylor Nelson Sofres plc, or TNS, recently disclosed plans to buy.

Back on the baseball diamond, meanwhile, Derek Jeter and his pin-striped playmates fell idle in October as the Yankees were eliminated in the play-offs.

In October, the number of unique visitors to the Yankee website dropped to under 800,000, said Compete, which now looks to determine whether Hank Steinbrenner's rash comments will result in any serious tremors on the Yankees-Red Sox Richter scale.

Compete's new sister company, Cymfony of Boston, might be able to offer additional online insights into the Beantown-Big Apple rivalry.

According to its website, Cymfony puts to work content analysis techniques used by US intelligence agencies to "extract meaning" from content on blogs and social networks.

Last week, TNS said it was creating a new entity called TNS Media that will combine all its North American operations including Compete and Cymfony.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

The chart above shows Compete's monthly tracking of traffic to the official Red Sox and Yankees websites. The bars in red indicate Red Sox visits, and the bars in blue show Yankee visits. Additional information from Compete on the online rivalry between Sox and the Yanks can be found at this link.

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

Exact Sciences explores possible sale

Exact Sciences Corp., a Marlborough company in the cancer-screening business, said it is exploring a possible sale of the company.

Exact Sciences announced today that it has hired Leerink Swann LLC, a Boston-based investment banking firm that focuses on the healthcare sector, to assist its board in evaluating "strategic alternatives for the business, including, but not limited, to the sale of Exact or merger with another entity."

The company also said that it has promoted president Jeffrey R. Luber to president and chief executive; Luber replaces interim chief executive Patrick J. Zenner; a board member since 2003, Zenner will continue to serve on the company's board of directors.

Yesterday, with company stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market closing at $2.62 per share, Exact Sciences had a stock market value of $71 million.

In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Exact Sciences said yesterday that its auditors have expressed doubt about the company's "ability to continue as a going concern."

The filings indicated that the company has an accumulated deficit of $163 million and took in $1.8 million in revenue last year.

As of Dec. 31, the company had 14 employees, the filings said.

Exact Sciences has developed stool DNA technology that, like a colonoscopy, can detect colon cancer. There is only one stool DNA test on the market, and it is based on Exact's technology, the company noted.

Earlier this month, several medical groups, including the American Cancer Society, recommended alternatives to the colonoscopy, including stool DNA tests and another procedure called a "virtual colonoscopy," which has been described as a sort of super X-ray of the colon.

Colonoscopies are costly and unpleasant, and medical groups think that more consumers will opt for colon-cancer screenings if alternatives to colonoscopies are available.

Colon cancer is the nation's second leading cancer killer, killing about 50,000 people in the United States a year, the cancer society estimates.
(By Chris Reidy and Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:37 AM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2008

Supermarket data breach affects 4.2 million accounts

The Hannaford Bros. supermarket chain said a breach of its computer system potentially exposed about 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers from its Hannaford and Sweetbay stores and other locations.

Hannaford, based in Maine, said about 1,800 cases of fraud have been tied to the breach, but no personal information -- such as names or addresses -- was accessed, and it has contained the breach. The security lapse is the latest to affect a large retailer, and comes amid tougher scrutiny on the payments industry following a breach that emerged last year that compromised as many as 100 million card numbers of customers of Framingham retailer TJX Cos.

Hannaford operates 165 stores in the Northeast. There are 106 Sweetbay supermarkets in Florida. The company said in a statement posted to its website that the stolen data was "illegally accessed from our computer systems during transmission of card authorization.''

Separately, the Massachusetts Bankers Association said today that Visa and MasterCard had warned as many as 70 banks in Massachusetts about a large data breach at a major retailer, and association urged consumers to monitor their accounts.

The banking trade group said neither Visa nor MasterCard would identify the source of the breach.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

Material from Globe wire services was used in this report.

Posted by globebusiness at 4:43 PM | Comments (0)

New York Times Co., investor settle dispute

The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, defused a standoff today with its largest outside shareholder, Harbinger Capital, by agreeing to support two people nominated by the hedge fund as directors at its annual meeting next month.

Harbinger had accumulated a 19 percent stake in the company in recent weeks, rivaling the amount held by the Sulzberger family. The Sulzbergers still control the company through a special class of shares that allows them to name 70 percent of the board.

The Times will expand its board from 13 to 15 to accommodate the new nominees, one of whom is Scott Galloway, a New York University marketing professor and shareholder activist who has been advising Harbinger.

The agreement calls for Harbinger to halt its campaign to have its own slate of four directors elected at the shareholder meeting. In addition to Galloway, the Times has also agreed to support James Kohlberg, co-founder of the investment firm Kohlberg & Co., as a director.

Harbinger and Galloway have argued that the Times need to take drastic action to shed assets outside of its core newspaper and invest aggressively in building up its online businesses.

Times executives told investors at a recent conference that the company was always re-evaluating its portfolio of assets and moving quickly to expand readership and revenues on the Internet.

In addition to its main newspaper, the Times company also owns the Globe, a stake in the Boston Red Sox, its headquarters building in Manhattan, a group of smaller newspapers, and the International Herald Tribune. It also owns About.com, an online consumer information business.

Last fall another dissident investor, Morgan Stanley Investment Management fund manager Hassan Elmasry, abandoned a two-year campaign to press for changes in the Times' dual-share structure and other areas of corporate governance.

While Elmasry's efforts didn't result in any corporate changes, other public investors also signaled their unhappiness by withholding 42 percent of their vote for publicly elected directors last year. The previous year, shareholders withheld 30 percent of the vote.

Galloway and Kohlberg will stand as directors elected by the Times' publicly traded Class A shares, along with Robert Denham, a former CEO of the investment bank Salomon Inc., German media executive Thomas Middelhoff, and Doreen Toben, chief financial officer of Verizon Communications Inc.

Harbinger has agreed to support the entire five-person slate of Class A proposed by the Times. The other 10 directors will be elected by the Sulzbergers, who control the company's supervoting Class B shares.

Like other newspaper publishers, the Times' stock has declined sharply in the last year over concerns about weakening revenue trends as more readers and advertising dollars go to the Internet.

The shares have rebounded in recent weeks after Harbinger's campaign for changes there became public, but they're still down about 20 percent over the past year.

Unlike Elmasry, Harbinger and Galloway have said they don't intend to challenge the two-class share structure that allows the Sulzberger family to maintain control.

The media company's Class A shares rose 23 cents to $18.73 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

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

IRS will start sending stimulus payments May 2

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will begin sending more than 130 million economic stimulus payments on May 2.

Stimulus payments will be made by direct deposit to taxpayers who opt to receive their 2007 income tax refunds through direct deposit; others will receive refunds in the form of a paper check, the IRS said.

Stimulus payments will be sent out in the order of the last two digits of the Social Security number used on the tax return, the IRS said; as a result, taxpayers may receive their checks at different times than their neighbors or other family members.

With jointly filed returns, the first Social Security number listed will determine the mail-out time, said the IRS, which expects to make about 34 million payments in the three weeks following the May 2 starting date.

The IRS also unveiled a new online calculator on its website that can taxpayers determine the amount of their stimulus payments.

To view the full IRS statement, which includes additional details about the schedule for sending refunds, please click this link.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Skybus to offer cheap "Boston" to "New York" flights

Not really, but sort of, so keep reading. This is the story. A little bird (actually TheAirDB) told me that Skybus is going to start offering service from "Boston" (Portsmouth, N.H., really) to "New York" (Newburgh, N.Y., which is really about 80 miles north of Manhattan for all of you geographically-challenged types).

What? You've never heard of Skybus? (You're so ignorant sometimes you're like embarrassing to hang with.) They're the guys who started up last year and they set aside 10 seats for $10 on every flight. And the real fares are pretty low, too. How do they do it? Well, first of all they fly into places that don't get used much or at all (but are sort of close to places where you might want to be). And they charge for EVERYTHING: Water costs $2 a bottle; checked luggage $5 a bag per flight; and pillows $12 each.

My pal Nicole Wong wrote a cool story last month about what it's like to fly with these guys.

OK, so you don't care about the "Boston" to "New York" deal. Well, they're also planning to start flying from Springfield (you know, like Western Mass.? Like Basketball Hall of Fame?) to Punta Gorda and St. Augustine, Fla.

Ultra-cheap flights to Florida. Hmm. Sound better? OK, now, you CAN'T get these deals just yet because, well, they're not soup yet. But I'm predicting in the next few days....(so shake yourself and start paying attention to Current Events, OK? Sha.)
(By Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:11 PM | Comments (0)

New system will be tested at Logan

Again, it's like I told you so. Remember last month I told you about the new system TSA was trying out in Denver and Salt Lake City? (Think hard. I'll try to speak more slowly.) The deal was that they were trying to speed security lines at the airports with color-coded lanes.

Well, Ann Davis of the TSA tells me that they are gonna try the system out here starting tomorrow in Terminal A.
How does it work? Think skiing. Green circle for beginners (families or those needing special assistance), blue squares for intermediates (a casual traveler, perhaps, but one who's been around the block a couple of times -- although never without multiple carry-ons), and black diamonds for experts (Special Forces in Gray Flannel camo with limited carry-ons and the rules of engagement with liquids, gels, laptops. and footwear tattooed on the insides of eyelids).

Basically, you decide which lane is for you, and in theory it makes the process more efficient and less stressful.
Earl Morris of TSA told me last month that the system had worked well Denver and Salt Lake City. Me I had/have doubts because, let's face it, here in Boston if you set up lanes and let people choose everyone will head for the breakdown lane and try to beat the system.

I guess we'll just have to see.
(By Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:05 PM | Comments (0)

AirTran Airways is relocating at Logan

AirTran Airways will relocate check-in and ticketing operations at Logan International Airport from the lower level of Terminal C to the main lobby of the terminal tomorrow, the airport's operator, the Massachusetts Port Authority, said.

The airline, which is operated by AirTran Holdings Inc. of Orlando, will utilize the ticket counter once used by Continental Airlines Inc. in the main lobby and will use new gates – 38, 40, 41, and 42; each of the gates will be accessible from the upper level of Terminal C, Massport said.

Currently, AirTran Airlines services eight destinations out of Logan, including Akron/Canton; Atlanta; Baltimore; Fort Myers; Orlando; Tampa; and West Palm, in Florida, as well as Newport News, Va., Massport said.

AirTran is also planning two new nonstop routes from Boston; three daily flights to Chicago Midway will start April 9, and two nonstop flights to Milwaukee will start May 21, Massport said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Mass. bankers report data breach at retailer

The Massachusetts Bankers Association is warning consumers about another data breach involving a major retailer.

The association said today that about a third of its 200 member banks have been contacted by Visa and MasterCard. The alerts advised that some of the credit and debit cards the banks issued could be at risk.

Credit card companies haven't named the retailer in the breach, which is believed to affect consumers in Massachusetts and northern New England states.

MasterCard said in a statement it could not name the retailer because the breach is the subject of an ongoing investigation by law enforcement.

The bankers association says the breach reportedly occurred from Dec. 7 to March 10. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

Raytheon wins $90 million radar contracts

Defense contractor Raytheon Co. of Waltham said today that it received contracts worth over $89.5 million to provide F-15C radar systems to the US Air Force and Air National Guard.

The contracts with Boeing Co. include eight APG-63(V)3 AESA radar systems for the National Guard, along with eight systems for the Air Force. They also include spares, maintenance and training support, Raytheon said.

Raytheon shares fell 19 cents to $69.32 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)

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

BMC will buy BladeLogic for about $800 million

BMC Software Inc. said today that it would buy Lexington-based BladeLogic Inc. for about $800 million, adding a line of programs that help boost automation within its customers' data centers.

BMC of Texas said it plans to pay $28 a share in cash, about a 19 percent premium to BladeLogic's $23.61 closing price on Friday. BladeLogic shares rose 16 percent to $27.40 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

In acquiring BladeLogic, BMC is beefing up its portfolio as it looks to win business away from Hewlett-Packard Co., which sells similar software through its purchase of Opsware.

BMC already sells a line of software for managing the computer systems of its customers, from mainframes to servers and PCs. Its programs perform what have become relatively routine tasks such as helping workers quickly deploy security patches throughout a company's computer network.

The programs from BladeLogic can simultaneously make more advanced changes across dozens of systems.

"We coveted this business for a long time. Getting them to sell was not an easy process. It took time," BMC Chief Executive Bob Beauchamp said in a conference call.

BladeLogic CEO Dev Ittycheria said on the call that his company's board had solicited and received other bids after getting a proposal from BMC. He declined to elaborate on the bidding process.

Analysts have speculated for months that BladeLogic would be acquired, with BMC and VMware Inc mentioned as potential buyers.

BMC shares fell 5.4 percent to $31.95 on a day when Nasdaq was down 1.4 percent. BladeLogic shares have nearly doubled from a 52-week low of $14.51 at the end of January.

The agreement will slightly reduce BMC's operating earnings in fiscal year 2009, but add to its profit in fiscal 2010, BMC said. (Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)

Iomega likes revised $205M takeover offer by EMC

Iomega Corp., a data storage company best known for the Zip drive, said today it considers a revised $205.5 million takeover offer from EMC Corp. of Hopkinton to be superior to a proposed all-stock transaction with a stockholder.

San Diego-based Iomega said EMC's revision to its earlier, unsolicited offer would increase the offering price for Iomega's 54.8 million outstanding shares to as high as $3.75 per share. An offer from EMC that Iomega disclosed a week ago proposed a price of $3.25 per share, or about $178.1 million.

While EMC's offer is nonbinding, Iomega said its board "has determined that the revised acquisition proposal from EMC would reasonably constitute a superior proposal" to an agreement reached in December with other parties.

Under that deal, Iomega agreed to acquire China's ExcelStor Group from a shareholder of the California company in an all-stock deal that would more than double the number of its outstanding shares.

Had that deal closed, Great Wall Technology Co. Ltd. -- an Iomega shareholder and parent firm of ExcelStor -- would have held a majority stake in Iomega, and ExcelStor would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Iomega. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Iomega had considered EMC's initial, lower offer inferior to the other transaction.

With the higher offer, Iomega said will enter into discussions with EMC that could lead to a definitive acquisition proposal.

Dave Farmer, a spokesman for EMC, said in statement, "We're encouraged by Iomega's decision to move ahead with EMC discussions, and look forward to next steps."

EMC's storage services are largely geared toward corporate clients, and acquiring Iomega would expand EMC's business with small businesses and consumers.

Iomega, a 28-year-old company with about 300 employees, is best known for the more than 50 million Zip storage drives and 300 million Zip disks it has sold since 1995.

But Zip products now make up a small share of Iomega's current storage business, which is focused on such successor technologies as the Rev backup drive, as well as storage accessed via computer networks.

Shares of Iomega rose 28 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $3.54 in morning trading tdday on the New York Stock Exchange while EMC's stock fell 64 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $14.15. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

State lottery will sponsor Celtics play-off run

The Boston Celtics announced today that the Massachusetts State Lottery will be its "presenting sponsor" during the team's 2008 play-off run.

Through the sponsorship, a co-branded logo will be integrated throughout Celtics' marketing of the play-offs, said the team, which added that this is the first time that the Celtics have had a presenting sponsor for the play-offs.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

Local gas prices edge closer to all-time high

Massachusetts gasoline prices are now within 10 cents of an all-time high after rising 5 cents per gallon, according to AAA of Southern New England.

AAA said its latest survey of gas prices in the Bay State found that self-serve, regular unleaded gas averaged $3.13 a gallon, up from $3.08 per gallon in the previous survey.

A gallon of gas in Massachusetts is now 19 cents higher than it was five weeks ago, said AAA, which added that strong global demand has driven diesel fuel past the $4 per gallon mark.

Massachusetts is currently 15 cents below the national average for regular unleaded of $3.28, AAA said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

Luminus lands $72 million in financing

Luminus Devices Inc. of Billerica announced today the closing of a new round of financing of $72 million.

One company product is PhlatLight light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, (right) which can be used as components by manufacturers in making high-definition televisions.

According to Luminus Devices, PlatLight LEDs produce superior color in high-definition TVs and digital projection systems, while offering a more environmentally friendly light source that doesn't require repeated replacement during the lifetime of the TV or projector.

The company said it stands to benefit as the $4-billion LED lighting industry and other industries migrate away from conventional incandescent and florescent lighting and convert to LED technology.

The Luminus financing round was led by Braemar Energy Ventures, which according to its website, is a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Boston.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Millennium moves drug candidate into its pipeline

Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today it has advanced a drug candidate called MLN3126 into its development pipeline, a move with the potential to expand the company's "inflammatory bowel disease franchise."

The Cambridge company noted that another drug candidate, MLN0002, has already demonstrated the ability to induce clinical remission in patients with such inflammatory bowel diseases as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

MLN0002 is expected to enter Phase III trials late this year or in early 2009, said the company, which has identified inflammatory bowel disease as "a key focus area for Millennium."

MLN3126 is expected to enter into Phase I clinical trials in early 2009, Millennium said.

In the United States, Millennium markets Velcade, a blood-cancer drug it co-developed with Johnson & Johnson of New Jersey.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:39 AM | Comments (0)

Axcelis board rejects higher acquisition offer

Axcelis Technologies Inc. of Beverly said this morning that its board of directors unanimously rejected an unsolicited proposal from Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan that valued Axcelis at $630 million, or $6 per share.

According to Axcelis, Sumitomo's latest offer "undervalues" Axcelis, which provides equipment to the semiconductor industry.

In Friday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Axcelis shares closed at $5.59.

A month ago, it became public that Sumitomo had made a hostile bid that valued Axcelis at $544 million, or $5.20 a share, before sweetening the offer to its current level. Last week, Axcelis said its board was evaluating the new offer.

In statements today, Axcelis officials acknowledged that its share prices have been depressed and its financial performance adversely affected, partly because of its delay in bringing its Optima HD products to markets.

Still, Axcelis officials insisted that Sumitomo's latest offer continues to undervalue the company and that Axcelis is poised to regain high current implant market share.

About 25 years ago, Sumitomo, a conglomerate that sells everything from machine tools to mortgages, and Axcelis formed a joint venture called SEN Corp. to sell in Japan ion-implantation gear used in the making of computer chips.

When Sumitomo made its offer last month, a Sumitomo executive expressed concern about Axcelis's "inability to keep pace with its competitors."

That inability to keep pace, an analyst said then, was causing SEN to lose some Japanese customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:11 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

Veteran Globe reporter leaving to edit international news site

Charles M. Sennott, a special-projects reporter at the Globe, will become the executive editor of Global News Enterprises LLC, the first US website devoted exclusively to international news, which is set to launch early next year.

Sennott, 45, who is also cofounder of Global News, will be responsible for building a team of 70 foreign correspondents across the world and overseeing a series of in-depth, multimedia reports to be featured on the site.

Sennott has worked at the Globe since 1993, serving as the Globe's Middle East bureau chief in Jerusalem from 1997 to 2001 and as the European bureau chief in London from 2001 to 2005. More recently, he has worked for the Globe's special-projects team, completing a year-long multimedia project on veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sennott will begin his new job on April 7. Global News will be based in Boston with about 10 to 15 full-time employees, many of whom will be editing.

New England Cable News founder Philip S. Balboni is launching the site with Sennott, having raised more than $7 million from a group of local investors led by billionaire Amos B. Hostetter Jr., who is chairman of Pilot House Associates and a cofounder of Continental Cablevision, one of the nation's first cable companies. Benjamin Taylor, former publisher of The Boston Globe, and Paul Sagan, president of Akamai Technologies, are also among the investors. (By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:11 PM | Comments (0)

Industry seeks "eco-label" for Maine lobster

PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine lobster industry has long been held up as a well-run fishery. Now it's seeking a seal of approval to prove it.

Efforts are under way to have the state's signature seafood certified as sustainable by an international organization that evaluates fishing practices worldwide. With consumers demanding more "green" food products, the lobster industry stands to lose out if it doesn't get certified, supporters say.

"It'll open up a lot of markets for us," said John Hathaway, owner of Shucks Maine Lobster processing company in Richmond. "If we don't do it, we'll probably lose markets."

The London-based Marine Stewardship Council has been in the business of encouraging responsible fishing practices since 1997. Fisheries that are certified as "sustainable" can use the council's blue eco-label, a seal that assures consumers that the seafood was not overfished or harvested in a way that harms the ocean.

The MSC has now certified 26 separate fisheries around the world, and nearly 1,200 seafood products carry the group's label.

A growing number of retailers and restaurants are jumping on the bandwagon.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has pledged that, in the next few years, all wild-caught seafood it sells in its North American stores will be certified as sustainable. Other US chains, including Whole Foods Market Inc., Target Corp., and Costco Wholesale Corp., have committed to the program in varying degrees.

It's hard to ignore heavy-hitters like those, said Linda Bean, owner of Port Clyde Lobster.

"We're convinced that the demand for Maine lobster will be greatly affected if won't do this," she said. "We'll be out of the loop."

Maine is the nation's lobster breadbasket, accounting for about 80 percent of the 90 million or so pounds of American lobsters -- the type of with big claws and tails -- caught each year in waters off the Northeast. American lobster was the single most valuable U.S. fishery in 2006, worth $395 million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Gov. John Baldacci has appointed a task force to pursue the MSC certification for lobsters caught in Maine. Its members are Department of Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe; Hathaway; and Bean, granddaughter of L.L. Bean, who founded the outdoor apparel company that bears his name.

Hathaway and Bean plan to soon start raising funds privately to pay for a third-party company to evaluate the harvesting practices, regulatory regime and science of the lobster fishery. The assessment will be submitted to the MSC for approval. The process will probably take more than a year.

If approved, Maine lobster would join other certified fisheries that run the gamut from cod and haddock to shrimp and salmon. The list ranges from large fisheries such as Alaskan salmon and Bering Sea pollock to the tiny Thames River herring and Burry Inlet cockle fisheries, in the United Kingdom. Among lobster, the Western Australia rock lobster and Mexican Baja California spiny lobster fisheries have been certified.

Maine's lobster fishery, which was valued at about $250 million last year, is often cited as a model fishery. There are trap limits and rules that ban catching lobsters that are too small and too big, along with egg-bearing females.

Having an ecolabel certification would allow the industry to promote those harvest practices.

If given the choice between an Australian lobster with an MSC seal or a Maine lobster without, consumers might go for the certified product, said Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council. And chefs at upscale restaurants could be more inclined to put certified seafood products on their menu.

"As people become more aware, there will be more demand for seafood that is certified," he said.

Other fisheries have seen an uptick in demand after being certified. A small North Pacific albacore tuna fishery has expanded its markets in the U.S. and Europe since being certified in December, said Natalie Webster of the American Albacore Fishing Association in San Diego.

Certification has been a lifeline for the 25 or so families on the West coast that are involved in the fishery, Webster said.

"Now our fishery's future is so much brighter," she said.

Maine lobster could also benefit, MSC spokeswoman Kerry Coughlin said from the group's Seattle office.

"Maine lobster is such an iconic seafood," Coughlin said. "If they're able to achieve certification ... it'll be important to seafood buyers around the world."

Lapointe, the DMR commissioner, said many lobstermen see the program as a way to boost demand -- and prices -- for their product. Others, though, see it as a potential source of more paperwork.

"I think it's a smart thing looking forward," Lapointe said. "If a train's leaving the station that you think's important, try to pay attention to it." (AP)

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

Women's Bar Association taps Cook

Kathy Jo Cook, a litigator at the Taunton personal injury law firm Keches & Mallen, has been named president of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts.

Cook, who works in the firm's Boston office, took the helm of the 1,500-member organization this week.

During her yearlong presidency, Cook said that she intends to help women advance in law firms, encourage female business leaders to refer work to female lawyers, and expand the association's statewide presence.

Cook (right), who graduated from Suffolk University Law School and the University of Houston, succeeds Julia Huston, a partner at the Boston intellectual property law firm Bromberg & Sunstein.
(By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe staff)

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

Judge: No misconduct in Foxwoods labor union vote

HARTFORD, Conn. - A federal judge here has upheld a vote by Foxwoods Resort Casino dealers to unionize, ruling that there was no misconduct by the United Auto Workers before the election in November.

Administrative Law Judge Raymond P. Green concluded that Foxwoods did not prove union organizers intimidated casino workers to get them to vote in favor of joining the UAW.

Green threw out Foxwoods' complaint to the National Labor Relations Board's regional office and ordered the election results certified.

"To a large extent, the evidence presented by the employer related to statements and conduct by unidentified people or unidentified employees," Green wrote in a decision dated Tuesday and released today.

"And in the case of the alleged threat to cause deportations, this was based on unadorned hearsay allegedly heard by an unidentified friend who told the witness that she was told this by some other unidentified person," the judge added.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns the casino, said in a statement today that it will ask officials at the National Labor Relations Board's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to review the ruling.

"We are pursuing these objections to ensure that our employees are given the right to cast their vote using a ballot that they understand, and to do so in an atmosphere free from intimidation and harassment," the tribe said.

Foxwoods, one of the world's largest casinos in southeastern Connecticut, filed the complaint after dealers voted 1,289 to 852 in favor of unionizing. About 2,700 dealers work at the six casinos at Foxwoods, which is also opening a new gambling venue, MGM Grand at Foxwoods, this year.

Jack Edwards, a casino dealer and member of the union organizing committee, said the union expected to win the labor case and he was "excited" by the ruling.

"Now that we've got the ruling, I'm hoping management comes to the table now ... and not try any more appeals or delays," he said. "Let's get a good deal down."

Tribal officials had argued that the tribe and Foxwoods were not subject to the labor board's jurisdiction, but a federal court ruled in February that federal labor law applies to Indian tribes and their gambling businesses.

They also accused union officials of intimidating workers by telling them they were keeping lists of dealers, whether they voted and how they voted, and threatening to get them fired if they did not support the union. They alleged union representatives harassed and threatened to harm dealers who did not support unionization.

Foxwoods also claimed ballots were only available in English despite the large number of workers who speak other languages.

The casino asked Green to set aside the election results.

"There is no basis for crediting the employer's witnesses over the union's witnesses," the judge wrote. "I must find that these allegations lack merit." (AP)

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

Hydra Biosciences raises $34m in venture capital

Hydra Biosciences Inc., a Cambridge biotech company, confirmed reports it raised $34 million in its third round of venture capital, led by Advanced Technology Ventures. To date, the company has raised $63 million in funding from several investors, including Biogen Idec New Ventures, Lilly Ventures, and Polaris Venture Partners.

The company, which has 36 employees, is in the early stages of developing potential treatments for pain management and hopes to begin clinical testing on at least one of them next year.

Hydra's chief executive, Russell Herndon, previously worked at Genzyme Corp. and Antigenics Inc.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

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

Bay State firms could get boost from cancer drugs

A study that reported earlier this week that US drug sales grew at their slowest pace since 1961 may have a silver lining for Massachusetts life sciences companies.

While sales of medications rose a modest 3.8 percent in 2007 to $286.5 billion, sales for cancer drugs grew 14 percent and biotech product sales grew 9 percent, said IMS Health Inc., the health research firm that issued the report.

About a year ago, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council took a snap-shot of the local life sciences companies that make up its membership.

According to the council, 28 percent of the 1,769 drugs and medical devices in the pipeline of Bay State biotech and pharmaceuticals companies targeted cancer; of the 235 Massachusetts companies involved in developing drugs and medical devices, 92 are active in oncology.

The council also noted that companies headquartered in Massachusetts had 15 cancer drugs approved for marketing.

Just yesterday, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge reported promising preliminary results from tests of a drug cocktail that includes Velcade, the blood cancer drug it has co-developed with New Jersey drug maker Johnson & Johnson.

Velcade has already been approved in the United States as a treatment for multiple myeloma patients who have received at least one prior therapy; Millennium is also seeking approval for using Velcade in front-line treatments for multiple myeloma.

Also yesterday, ArQule Inc. of Woburn and Novelos Therapeutics Inc. of Newton made announcements regarding potential treatments for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

.
In an e-mailed statement to the Globe, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council president Robert Coughlin (left) noted that one reason for the local industry's focus on cancer drugs is the presence of major academic institutions and healthcare systems.

"There is no area of investigation that has received greater attention among Massachusetts biotechnology companies than cancer research," Coughlin wrote.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)

Carvel will shut down Marlborough facility

The maker of the iconic Carvel ice cream cakes Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale plans to close its Marlborough plant in May, putting 90 people out of work.

Celebration Foods Inc. informed employees yesterday that production is being moved to a facility in New Britain, Conn.

The company's president, Tim Shanley, told the MetroWest Daily News that it didn't make sense to have two plants so close. He said the move will save money.

The laid off workers will get severance based on years of service and union contract terms if they work until the plant's last day.

Carvel cakes are sold in about 570 franchised shops in 25 states and overseas as well as in supermarkets nationwide.

Celebration Foods is a division of Atlanta-based Focus Brands Inc. (AP)

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

Union seeks to represent tech workers at Fox 25

IBEW Local 1228 of Norwood said that a majority of technical workers at the Fox 25 television station has asked the union to be their bargaining representative.

IBEW Local 1228 said it sent and faxed a letter dated March 10 to station general manager Gregg Kelly asking the station to "voluntarily recognize" the union as the workers' bargaining representative but has received no reply.

Fox 25 said in a statement, "We have received the letter, and we are reviewing it. We are and will continue to follow the National Labor Relations Board rules pertaining to the subject."

IBEW Local 1228 said it has also filed a petition for representation with National Labor Relations Board.

The union added that it seeks to represent about 90 technical employees at Fox 25 who are responsible for shooting, editing, production, and engineering local news and programming as well as the maintenance of the station's equipment.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)

Friendly's plans switch to trans fat-free oil

Friendly Ice Cream Corp., once an iconic New England venue for family restaurant meals heavy on burgers and sundaes, could become the latest restaurant chain to switch over to using trans fat-free oil.

Friendly's, a Wilbraham-based chain of about 500 restaurants, said it expects the change-over to be completed by the fall.

Trans fat has been linked to heart disease in humans and to diabetes in experiments with animals.

Although Friendly's said it has been working on the initiative for over a year, the chain came under fire yesterday from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group that crusades on behalf of such issues as nutrition.

According to CSPI, "a 5.5-ounce serving of French fries from Friendly's has a decidedly unfriendly two grams of trans fat - an entire day's worth."

In chiding Friendly's, CSPI noted that such chains as McDonald's Corp., Legal Sea Foods, and Uno Chicago Grill have started using healthful oils for deep-frying, even as cities such as New York and Philadelphia have required restaurants to stop serving foods with significant amounts of artificial trans fats.

Just yesterday, Boston's health board gave final approval to a ban on trans fat in dishes made in restaurants and grocery stores, joining other communities including Brookline that restrict the substance.

In a statement, Friendly's said: "Friendly's realizes this is an important initiative and has been working on the elimination of trans fat for the past year. We are currently using trans fat-free oil in 55 restaurants and by July will have all our food products trans fat-free. We will complete implementing the change to the new trans fat-free oil in the remainder of our restaurants by this fall."

During a phone conversation this morning, Jeff Cronin, spokesman for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, "If Friendly's is committed to making its French fries and other foods with trans fat-free oil, that's welcome news."

Friendly was founded in 1934 by two brothers, Curtis and Prestley Blake (left), and it seemed a perfect place for family dining for much of the 1950s and 1960s when folks didn't fret about childhood obesity; indeed, during that era, a Friendly's was often a main stay of Main Street in many a New England community and suburb.

But times - and diets - have changed, with the suburban restaurant scene moving from Main Street to the mall.

As a result, Friendly's began to struggle with competition from national chains such as Chili's Grill & Bar, which might find greater favor with a dad who sees a Chili's El Nino Margarita as a far grander thing than a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae from Friendly's.

Last year, Friendly's agreed to be sold for $337.2 million to a division of Sun Capital Partners Inc., a Florida private equity firm with a good track record for turning around beleaguered restaurant brands, including Bruegger's Bagels.

That sales agreement headed off a proxy battle over the company and ended a bitter lawsuit filed by company cofounder Prestley Blake that accused Friendly's chairman of mismanagement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

March 13, 2008

Profits steady at Global Partners, but costs expected to rise

Global Partners LP of Waltham said rising costs bit into fourth-quarter profit and warned that weak demand and high prices for refined products will have a "significant negative impact" on results this quarter.

The company, which distributes refined petroleum products and natural gas, said its net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 slipped less than 1 percent to $11 million.

Revenue climbed to $2.2 billion from $1.1 billion.

Shares of Global Partners fell $3.80, or 14.5 percent, to $22.50.

Chief Executive Eric Slifka nonetheless labeled it a "solid quarter," in which Global Partners shifted focus toward transportation fuels and other "non-weather related products." The company also expanded by acquiring four storage terminals from Exxon Mobil Corp.

However, Slifka said the company is seeing higher costs for petroleum products in the current quarter, as well as waning demand because of high energy prices and warmer weather.

"This higher price environment is prompting meaningful energy conservation and reducing the number of fixed-price sales," Slifka said. He added that those factors will have "a significant negative impact" first-quarter results.
(AP)

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

Ban on credit scores may hinder auto insurance reforms, analyst says

A financial ratings firm says the state's ban on using credit scores and socio-economic factors to make auto insurance decisions could hamper the shift to a more competitive market.

Fitch Ratings issued a report today on the move in Massachusetts away from heavily regulated auto insurance.

The state prohibits insurers from using factors such as credit history and marital status to decide whether to insure a driver and in setting rates.

Fitch Ratings says those restrictions will discourage national insurers from entering Massachusetts.

As the new market is phased in, Massachusetts still has 19 auto insurers, the same as last year.

Progressive Insurance said last month it plans to enter the market, and state officials say others have expressed interest.
(AP)

Read the Globe's coverage of the changes coming to the state's auto insurance system here.

Posted by globebusiness at 3:26 PM | Comments (0)

Hull man charged with fraud

A Hull man was arrested yesterday on charges that he misrepresented himself as a stockbroker to steal money from a neighbor who entrusted him to invest more than $187,000, Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

Jeffrey Gruber, 44, pleaded not guilty to charges of larceny and securities fraud at an arraignment yesterday in Brockton Superior Court, Coakley's office said.

The complaint against Gruber alleged that from October 2005 through March 2006, he misrepresented himself to the neighbor as a certified financial planner and a stockbroker.

According to Coakley's office, Gruber persuaded the neighbor to invest money with him that he spent for his personal use.

Gruber was arrested at his father's Hull residence by Massachusetts state troopers assigned to the attorney general.

Gruber is being held on $500,000 cash bail and is scheduled to be in court April 11 for a pre-trial conference.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

State Street to sponsor coverage of Red Sox trip to Japan

State Street Corp. said today it is partnering with NESN, the regional sports cable TV channel, as the premier sponsor of NESN's coverage of the upcoming Red Sox road trip to Japan.

The Red Sox are scheduled to open the 2008 baseball season with a game against the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo March 25.

In January, State Street, a Boston company that provides financial services to institutional investors, announced that it will sponsor what is being called "Major League Baseball's Ricoh Japan Opening Series 2008," which includes a two-game series between the Red Sox and the A's as well as two earlier exhibition games that pits the Sox against Japanese teams.

Part of what makes that sponsorship attractive to State Street is the fact that it employs more than 400 professionals in Japan, where it has operated a range of businesses since 1988.

During the Red Sox road trip to Japan, NESN will deliver State Street-sponsored reports on NESN SportsDesk, live coverage of the two games against the A's, and a program called "NESN Presents: The Red Sox Go Global," a half hour special on March 29 that will recap the Sox's season opening trip, State Street said.

State Street's partnership builds on a 2006 partnership with the Red Sox, an arrangement through which State Street received naming rights to a section of Fenway Park called the State Street Pavilion.

The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, holds a 17 percent stake in the entity that owns the Red Sox and NESN.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:54 PM | Comments (0)

Patrick signs gift card law

Governor Deval Patrick today signed legislation that would prohibit gift certificate sellers from charging latency or administrative fees, imposing a fine of up to $300.

The bill allows consumers with value-adjustable cards to exchange them for cash when $5 or less is remaining. Cards to which value cannot be added could be exchanged for cash when 90 percent of their original values have been expended.
(State House News Service)

For previous Globe coverage of gift cards, click here.

Posted by globebusiness at 1:42 PM | Comments (1)

City offers free legal help to struggling homeowners

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said today the city will offer free legal help to homeowners facing foreclosure.

The city's Department of Neighborhood Development will refer homeowners threatened with foreclosure and tenants facing eviction to attorneys with the Boston Real Estate Bar Association. The attorneys, who have agreed to work pro bono to help city residents whose incomes are 80 percent of the median income or lower, will then help them sue lenders, refinance their loans, file bankruptcy, or take other legal action.

The offer of free legal help comes after Menino earlier this year convened a team of city departments to assess the impact of foreclosed properties on Boston neighborhoods. The Foreclosure Intervention Team is buying up some abandoned properties and working to clean up neighborhoods blighted by foreclosures.

Menino also announced an agreement with the Dorchester office of nonprofit mortgage broker Acorn Housing Corp. to provide counseling services to area homeowners facing foreclosure.

Menino's remarks came at a Beacon Hill reception honoring author Nicolas Retsinas, whose book "Our Communities, Our Homes," praises Boston's housing efforts. Retsinas is director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard.
(By John C. Drake, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:32 PM | Comments (0)

Crimson chowdown -- Harvard Square eatery sets burrito mark

For one night, at least, fans of the humble burrito overwhelmed the pear-and-endive-salad crowd in trendy Harvard Square.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., the fast-food chain spun off by McDonald's Corp., gave away free burritos yesterday to celebrate the opening of its newest location in Cambridge. And while the appearance of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni attracted a gaggle of protesters at the nearby Kennedy School of Government, the real action was at the burrito counter, where about 4,000 customers wolfed down a free burrito and beverage.

"It was awesome," said Chipotle apprentice manager James Burton. "We blew away the Northeast record. It was like a party all day long." Not that the Guinness Book of World Records was there to document the event. Burton says the old franchise record of 2,760 was set in New York City.

McDonald's invested in the company in 1998 and became its majority shareholder in 2001, Chipotle's corporate spokesman Chris Arnold said. By late 2006, McDonald's had totally divested itself of Chipotle shares. On the New York Stock Exchange, Chipotle shares were down $2.92 to $96.16 this morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

Most customers came clad in Crimson apparel, but at least a few decided to dress up for the occasion. One customer came clad as Spider-Man, one as the Boston College Eagle, and at least three showed up in a burrito costume. Burton was not surprised at the human burritos; though; the company holds an annual "boo-rito" promotion every Halloween.

"At Halloween," Burton said, "if you dress up like a burrito, we give you a free one."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Did you take pictures at the Chipotle opening last night? Send your images to photos@boston.com. Include "Chipotle" in the subject line, as well as your name, town, and contact information (for confirmation purposes only).

Read the Globe restaurant review of Chipotle here.

Posted by globebusiness at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)

Foreclosure filings slow last month in Mass.

One out of every 689 households in Massachusetts received a foreclosure filing in February, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of California, ranking the state 16th nationally in terms of foreclosure activity.

Nationwide, foreclosure filings in February fell 4 percent from the previous month, and Massachusetts foreclosure filings fell 51 percent, according to RealtyTrac. In Massachusetts, there were 3,906 filings in February, down from 7,966 in January; February 2008 filings were up 56 percent when compared with February 2007 filings, RealtyTrac said.

RealtyTrac's numbers include properties in all stages of the foreclosure process, from initial default notices to auction sale notices to and bank repossessions.

In a statement, RealtyTrac chief executive James J. Saccacio cautioned that "We have still not reached the peak of foreclosure activity in this cycle."

Nevada continued to report the highest foreclosure rate among states, with one in every 165 households there receiving a foreclosure notice in February. California, Florida, Arizona, and Colorado round out the top five states. Nationally, one out of every 557 households received a foreclosure filing last month.

In January, the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks New England real estate, reported that mortgage companies foreclosed on 7,653 Massachusetts homes last year, about nine times the number in 2005, when the housing boom peaked, and about triple the number in 2006.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Millennium reports promising results for blood cancer drug

Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge today reported promising preliminary results from tests of a drug cocktail that includes the Velcade blood cancer drug it has co-developed with New Jersey drug maker Johnson & Johnson.

In a clinical trial, a combination of Velcade, melphalan, and prednisone was used to treat patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who were ineligible for stem-cell transplantation.

According to the company, results of the trial included one of the highest reported complete remission rates and the highest three-year survival rate reported in a non-transplant setting.

Multiple myeloma is common hematological malignancy. In the United States, more than 55,000 people, many of them elderly, have the disease, and about 20,000 new cases are diagnosed per year.

Velcade, which some Wall Street analysts believe has the potential to be a blockbuster drug, has won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy.

In December, Millennium said it was asking the FDA to approve Velcade for treating patients with newly diagnosed cases of multiple myeloma.

Last month, Millennium said its fourth-quarter profit rose almost five-fold on revenue from Velcade, its only product, and lower expenses.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

March 12, 2008

Governor seeks 'zero net energy' buildings

Governor Deval Patrick (left) is calling for government and industry to develop construction standards that would combine energy efficiency and on-site renewable power generation so new buildings would not add to the state's overall energy demand.

Speaking before Northeast Sustainable Energy Association in Boston, Patrick said he will establish a task force of building industry officials to develop "zero net energy" standards that could go into effect for private construction by 2030. He also called for recommendations to allow the state to bid a "zero net energy" public building by 2010.

Patrick has made energy-efficient, environmentally friendly building a key goal. An executive order issued last year requires state agencies to cut energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 and 25 percent respectively by 2012. The order also requires agencies to get 15 percent of energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, by 2012.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

Boston businesses vie for Inner City 100 title

Seven Boston businesses will be among those considered for inclusion on the 10th annual Inner City 100, a national competition that seeks to find and rank fast-growing companies in the nation's inner cities.

The competition is sponsored by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a Boston-based nonprofit focused on fostering healthy urban economies, and Inc., a magazine that reports on growing companies and entrepreneurs.

The Boston companies that are candidates to make this year's list are the multicultural marketing firm Argus; the food-service company City Fresh Foods; Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation, whose client list for limousine service includes the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops; and the Dancing Deer Baking Co. (above)

Rounding out the list of local candidates are Roxbury Technology, which manufactures and recycles printer cartridges; Suffolk Construction; and Tech Networks of Boston, which sells used personal computers and offers technology consulting and training services.

The Boston companies were honored at a City Hall event today attended by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and sponsored by the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The Inner City 100 rankings, including the company that ranks first, will be announced May 1st at a ceremony at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

The company that topped last year's list was TerraHealth, a consulting firm based in San Antonio, that helps healthcare delivery systems get the services of contract medical professionals in 32 states.

To qualify for the award, companies are required to have at least 51 percent of their operations in an economically distressed urban area, have a five-year sales history, and fifth-year sales of at least $1 million; a factor in ranking companies is total revenue growth over a five-year period.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City was founded by Michael E. Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Task force to examine underground economy

A state panel will examine the so-called underground economy in Massachusetts, considered to be work done by people who are paid under the table.

Governor Deval Patrick today signed an order creating the Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employment Misclassification.

The panel will consider steps to expand enforcement against employers who misclassify workers as contractors to evade taxes and skirt labor and licensing laws. In some cases, workers are paid only in cash.

Patrick says such practices are unfair to businesses that obey the law.
(AP)

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

EyeGate sees $15 million in new funding

EyeGate Pharmaceuticals Inc., a small speciality drug company in Waltham, said today that it raised $15 million in a new round of venture capital, bringing its total venture funding to $31 million.

Investors in the company include Medicis Capital, Ventech, Innoven Partenaires and the Nexus Group. Eyegate said it plans to use the latest funds to launch two mid-stage clinical trials for a steroid treatment for eye inflammation and dry eye.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:24 PM | Comments (0)

Union membership falls in Massachusetts

Union membership in Massachusetts has fallen sharply at a time when union ranks are growing nationally.

Federal data released today show the number of union members fell 8 percent last year, or by 35,000. The state total now stands at 379,000 workers.

Nationally, the ranks of union members grew by 311,000 last year, to 15.7 million. That’s 12 percent of all workers, compared with 13.2 percent in Massachusetts. The state has the nation’s 12th-highest union membership rate.

Massachusetts’ union membership total is the lowest since the government began collecting such data in 1989. Membership peaked in 1990, when nearly 18 percent of workers in the state were union members.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:54 PM | Comments (0)

Spire signs solar contract in Portugal

Spire Corp. said today it has received a contract to provide equipment for a factory designed to manufacture solar panels in Portugal.

For competitive reasons, the financial details of contract are not being disclosed, said a spokesman for Spire, a Bedford company that supplies equipment to the solar power industry.

Solar panels, such as the ones that will be made in Portugal, can be mounted on roofs or the sides of buildings to augment the electricity that the owner of a building or a home gets from the power grid. Spire panels are installed at the McDonald's Cycle Center at Chicago's Millennium Park (right), a parking, sharing, and showering facility for cyclists.

Spire said its Portugal contract is with Fluitecnik S.A., a Spanish renewable energy company.

Spire said it previously sold Fluitecnik equipment for a factory in the Dominican Republic.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

RXI triples in first day of trading

RXI Pharmaceuticals Corp., one of several companies using RNA interference to develop new drugs, began trading this morning as an independent company on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Worcester company, formerly a subsidiary of CytRx Corp., opened at $6.01 a share, and traded as high as $23.95 at mid-morning. At noon, it was trading at $18.90, which would value the company at approximately $200 million. RNAi promises to let companies develop new treatments that block genes linked to diseases. RXI was founded by Craig Mello (right), a University of Massachusetts professor who shared the Nobel Prize for his work on the technology.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

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

Wage growth in Mass. outpaced nation in second quarter

Weekly wages in Massachusetts rose nearly 5 percent in the second quarter of 2007 from a year earlier, slightly above the national average, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The state's average weekly wage of $1,008 ranked fourth nationally, behind Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and New York.

Among other New England states, Connecticut's average weekly wages rose 6.4 percent to $1,033; New Hampshire's rose 6.3 percent to $823; Vermont, 5 percent to $698; Maine, 4.1 percent to $658; and Rhode Island, 2.5 percent to $722. Nationally, weekly wages rose 4.6 percent to $820.

In Massachusetts, wages grew fastest in Middlesex County, rising 6 percent to $1,179 in the three month period from April to June compared to a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Suffolk County had that state's highest average weekly wage at $1,284, up 4.7 percent. Among the state's most populous counties, average week wages and year-over-year growth in the second quarter were: Norfolk, $986, up 1.2 percent; Essex, $879, up 4.5 percent; Worcester, $843, up 3.7 percent; Plymouth, $803, up 3.6 percent; Bristol, $758, up 3.7; Hampden, $748, up 3.7 percent; and Barnstable, $708, up 3.7 percent.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)

Hospital expansion project starts in Needham

Suffolk Construction said it has begun work on a $30-million expansion of the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham.

Plans call for the construction of a two-story addition of 44,000 square feet to the hospital, Boston-based Suffolk said.

When the project is completed, something scheduled to happen in the fall of 2009, the hospital will have a new emergency room, a state-of-the-art MRI suite, and 24 additional in-patient beds, Suffolk said; the hospital currently has 41 beds.

The project also calls for renovations to the existing hospital and the creation of a new front entrance, said Suffolk, which added that it is working on the project with Steffian Bradley Architects, a firm with offices in Boston.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Talbots posts loss after J. Jill writedown, weak sales

Talbots Inc. of Hingham reported a loss in the fourth quarter as same-store sales fell and the apparel retailer took a hefty charge related to problems at its J. Jill women's clothing stores.

For the fourth quarter, Talbots lost of $171.4 million, compared with net income of $17,000, in the prior year.

The fourth-quarter loss included a preliminary charge of $144 million to write down the value of J. Jill, which was acquired in May 2006.

Quarterly same-store sales fell 6 percent due to weak performance in November and December. Same-store sales in January increased in the low single digits.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

"2007 was a difficult year for Talbots," Chief Executive Trudy F. Sullivan said in a statement. "However, we feel very good about the progress we have made, and believe we are well-positioned to succeed in 2008. Despite the challenges of a weak economic environment, we identified and implemented a number of key initiatives to drive improved short- and long-term performance."

In January, Talbots said it will close its 78 children's and men's apparel stores to focus on its core middle-aged female customer, a move that will affect 800 employees.

For the full fiscal year, Talbots lost of $188.8 million, compared with earnings of $31.6 million, in the prior-year period.

Full-year same-store sales declined 5.5 percent.

For previous Globe coverage of the struggles at Talbots, click here.
(AP)

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

March 11, 2008

BioShock sequel won't be developed in Mass.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. has begun developing a sequel to its hit video game BioShock, which was developed at its 2K Boston facility in Quincy.

The new game, BioShock 2, will be designed by a team in California.

2K Boston’s general manager, Ken Levine, refused to comment.

BioShock has sold over 2 million copies since its release in August. The sequel is due in late 2009.
(Hiawatha Bray)

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

Boston Beer's profit: something to toast

Boston Beer Co.’s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled: It sold more beer by the barrel, and consumers increasingly chose its Samuel Adams brews.

Net income jumped to $6.8 million, or 46 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected just 35 cents per share.

The gain came despite a 21 percent rise in the cost of goods. Brewers have all been hit hard by higher prices for barley, hops, and malt — key ingredients.

Boston Beer also said it sold about 20 percent more barrels in the quarter.

And drinkers are trading up to craft beers like Samuel Adams, the company said.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:07 PM | Comments (0)

Harvard president urges more money for research

Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust says the government needs to give more money to the National Institutes of Health to make sure research that could lead to disease cures or prevention stays on track.

Faust today told a Senate panel that five consecutive years of flat funding for NIH is deterring young researchers at premier academic research institutions. As labs are downsized, research that could produce lifesaving advances is being threatened, she said.

Faust presented a report produced by seven academic research institutions titled ‘‘A Broken Pipeline? Flat Funding of the NIH Puts a Generation of Science at Risk.’’
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:28 PM | Comments (0)

BBN is awarded $13 million for language project

BBN Technologies said today that it has been awarded $13 million in additional Defense Department funding for an ongoing project that looks to help US intelligence analysts by rapidly processing information in foreign languages.

BBN is a Cambridge company that developed much of the early technology for the Internet. The funding is from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, and it is for a project called GALE, which stands for Global Autonomous Language Exploitation.

GALE's goal, BBN said, is to develop and apply software technologies to transcribe speech and translate both speech and text in multiple languages with better than 90 percent accuracy.

"Such a capability would help US analysts recognize critical information in foreign languages quickly," BBN said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Patriots reach out to high school football teams

The New England Patriots said they are launching a new website that aims to celebrate the exploits of the more than 640 high school football teams in New England.

The website, at www.newenglandfootball.com, is part of the Patriots' effort to expand their football community outreach, the team said.

Plans call for NewEnglandFootball.com to be part of what's accessible on touch-screen kiosks at the New England Football exhibit at the Hall at Patriot Place, a shopping mall complex next to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, the team said.

So fans coming to Gillette Stadium to see Tom Brady (right) play might also be able to check out the football history of their favorite local high school team if they visit the Hall at Patriot Place next door.

Once a high school registers with NewEnglandFootball.com, it will be provided with its own password-protected page, and it can then create content with the ability to upload photos, records, and event information of interest to fans, the Patriots said.

On its special page, a high school team could post a big event, such as the team retiring a player's jersey, something that happened to local pigskin icon Doug Flutie. (left)

"We think it will be a great resource for high school football fans and a way for schools to share the histories of their programs," Bryan Morry, executive director of the Hall at Patriot Place, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Coakley challenges property insurance rate increase

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is challenging steep rate increases proposed by the state's home insurer of last resort.

Coakley has asked the state insurance commissioner to reject annual increases of 25 percent for homeowners in coastal areas such as Cape Cod, New Bedford and Fall River. Statewide, this year's increases would average 13.6 percent.

The rate increase would follow a 25 percent jump last year on Cape Cod, where fears of hurricane damage have led insurance companies to pull out.

The so-called FAIR plan is a state-created insurer for cases where private insurers decline coverage. More than 150,000 homeowners participate.

Coakley says this year's proposed rates aren't justified and will leave many homeowners unable to afford coverage. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

National Grid chooses Mullen as ad agency

Wenham ad agency Mullen said today that it is the new agency of record for National Grid plc, the British energy giant that delivers natural gas and electricity to many customers in New England.

National Grid came to the United States in 2000 when it acquired New England Electric System, the parent company of Massachusetts Electric. Last year, it completed its $7.3 billion acquisition of Brooklyn-based KeySpan Corp., which took over Boston Gas Co. in 2000.

Media budgets will be determined as part of a strategic development process, Mullen said.

Other Mullen clients include the financial-services company Wachovia Corp.; the T.J. Maxx off-price retail chain, and the casual dining chain Panera Bread Co.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)

Times Co. chief says sale of Globe, Red Sox stake unlikely

The chief executive of The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe and boston.com, told a conference of Wall Street investors today that a sale of the Globe is unlikely given the lack of demand for daily newspapers, Bloomberg News reported.

Chief executive Janet Robinson added that the company has no plans to sell its regional newspapers or its stake in the Boston Red Sox, Bloomberg said.

Robinson made her remarks at a New York conference sponsored by Bear Stearns Cos., a New York-based financial services firm.

A large Times shareholder, Harbinger Capital Partners, has been pressing the company to sell noncore assets and invest more heavily in its Web businesses.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)

Prince-ly deals: Milwaukee in springtime

Need to catch the Brewers home opener April 4? Or sample some of the beers that made Milwaukee famous? Then Midwest Airlines may have a deal for you.

Through Friday, the airline is offering some discount fares for future travel, including some flights between Boston and Milwaukee. So for travelers who want to get a good look at Brewers slugger Prince Fielder (right), this may be an opportunity to check out.

The special fares cover some Midwest Airlines flights from April 1 through June 11, and one-way fares based on round trip purchase include such starting sample prices as Milwaukee to Boston for $79, Midwest said.

For locals interested in cricket and a different kind of royalty than Prince Fielder, British Airways is offering a summer sale that includes round trip fares from Boston starting at $769. Ticket purchases must be made by the end of Thursday, and the summertime rate is available for travel from May 26 through Sept. 3, the airline said.

As always, conditions apply to both Midwest Airlines and British Airways offers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Eastern buys Massbank for $170 million

Eastern Bank Corp. of Boston said it has agreed to buy MassBank Corp. of Reading for $170 million in cash.

The proposed acquisition will be Eastern's third in a four years -- in 2005, Eastern expanded south of Boston when it acquired Plymouth Bancorp Inc. -- as Eastern pursues a strategy of expanding its presence throughout eastern Massachusetts.

A merger between Eastern and MassBank will create a $7.6 billion bank that will serve more than 400,000 customers in Eastern Massachusetts, Eastern Bank said, and customers will have access to nearly 90 branches and more than 100 ATMs.

MassBank currently operates 15 branches in such communities as Reading, Medford, and Wilmington.

When the transaction closes in the second half of the year, Eastern will begin converting MassBank branches to the Eastern Bank nameplate.

Eastern is an independent, mutually-owned commercial banking franchise, and MassBank is a Massachusetts chartered savings bank. In morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, shares were up 50 cents to $38.50. Eastern's offer values Massbank at $40 a share.

MassBank is under pressure from a New Jersey investor named Lawrence Seidman, who filed a proxy to put up a slate of directors and hire an investment banker to determine the value of the company in a sale and to consider whether it made more sense to sell the company or remain independent.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Altus Pharmaceuticals swings to 4th-quarter profit

Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said today that that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit on a sizable payment from former partner Genentech Inc. after that company pulled out of a development deal.

The company earned $5.4 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a loss of $14.5 million, or 63 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Revenue surged to $26.8 million from $1.1 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 69 cents per share on revenue of $1.5 million.

The revenue included $25.1 million associated with the former ALTU-238 partnership. Genentech left the collaboration in December. ALTU-238 is a human growth hormone under development.

Altus also reported a $4 million gain from a termination fee paid by Genentech..

For the full year, the company lost $63.5 million, or $2.23 per share, compared with a loss of $57 million, or $2.75 per share, in 2006. Revenue rose to $28.5 million from $5.1 million.

Altus had $138.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of Dec. 31. The company expects to use between $85 million and $95 million in cash for operating activities in 2008. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:23 AM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2008

Minehan to head governor's economic advisers

Governor Deval Patrick has appointed his own council of economic advisers to help him sort through the state’s financial and economic challenges.

Its chairwoman, Cathy Minehan, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, says the eight-member committee will act as a nonpartisan source of economic information and advice.

Patrick unveiled the new council during his State of the State address. It met for the first time today. It includes both economists and the heads of key businesses.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:00 PM | Comments (0)

Eaton Vance to redeem closed-end fund shares

Eaton Vance Corp. today said it is redeeming nearly a third of the preferred shares issued by its closed-end funds, offering relief to owners of the shares who have been unable to sell them because of the credit crisis.

Boston-based Eaton Vance said three of its closed-end equity funds would redeem preferred shares. The funds have secured about $1.6 billion in financing for the purpose.

Eaton Vance has 29 closed-end funds that have about $5 billion of preferred shares outstanding. Overall, the firm has about $31 billion in closed-end fund assets.

Closed-end funds, which issue a fixed number of common shares and trade like stocks, have for about two decades issued preferred shares to boost returns. US closed-end funds have about $64 billion in preferred shares outstanding.

These shares trade at par and their dividends are reset in auctions held every seven to 35 days. However, over the past month, the auctions have failed to attract investors, due to growing concern about the credit markets.
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)

Gas prices in Mass. highest since 2005

Gasoline prices have soared to their highest level in Massachusetts since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The latest weekly survey by AAA Southern New England found self-serve regular averaging $3.08 per gallon, a penny higher than the previous week.

Gas prices have increased four consecutive weeks and are higher than they have been since September 2005, when the average post-Katrina price reached $3.23 per gallon in Massachusetts.

AAA says Massachusetts remains 14 cents below the current national average price of $3.22 per gallon for regular unleaded.

According to BostonGasPrices.com, the cheapest gas in the area is available at King Petroleum in Woburn -- $2.97 a gallon for regular (cash only).
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:08 PM | Comments (0)

Axcelis considering higher offer from Sumitomo

Axcelis Technologies Inc. said today that its board of directors will evaluate a new unsolicited takeover proposal from Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. that values Axcelis at $630 million.

A previous offer from Sumitomo made last month valued Axcelis, a Beverly company that provides equipment to the semiconductor industry, at $544 million.

The new offer proposes to buy all Axcelis common stock for $6 per share, up from $5.20 per share in the earlier offer.

In mid-day trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Axcelis shares were trading at $5.53, up 16 cents.

Axcelis's board rejected the earlier offer on the grounds that it valued Axcelis too cheaply.

Axcelis said the new offer from Sumitomo included language that said that Sumitomo does not intend to increase its price again.

About 25 years ago, Sumitomo, a conglomerate that sells everything from machine tools to mortgages, and Axcelis formed a joint venture called SEN Corp. to sell in Japan ion-implantation gear used in the making of computer chips.

When Sumitomo made its offer last month, a Sumitomo executive expressed concern about Axcelis's "inability to keep pace with its competitors."

That inability to keep pace, an analyst said then, was causing SEN to lose some Japanese customers.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:52 PM | Comments (0)

Here comes the bus

Greyhound Lines Inc. plans to start offering its low-cost BoltBus service on runs between Boston and New York City starting next month, a spokesman said today.

Greyhound has already begun selling tickets for as little as $1 on BoltBus runs between Washington, D.C. and New York planned to start March 27, with other fares as high as $25 depending on demand.

In the other cities BoltBus runs will drop off and pick up passengers at curbside locations. But in Boston BoltBus will run to South Station, said Greyhound spokesman Dustin Clark, like regular Greyhound buses and competing lower-cost services such as Fung Wah Bus Transportation Inc.

Curbside pickups reduce fees that lines must pay to terminal operators. BoltBus also will have lower costs because tickets can only be purchased online or on a walk-up basis when seats are available.

Exact schedules and ticket costs between Boston and New York are still being worked out, Clark said, but prices will start at $1.

Aimed at students, commuters and travelers seeking express service between the large cities, BoltBus coaches will have extra legroom by having 51 seats per vehicle, Clark said, compared to the industry average of 54 seats, and will have WiFi access and bathrooms.

The market for lower-cost bus travel in the Northeast Corridor has heated up in recent years with the arrival of Fung Wah, Lucky Star, and the newest entrant, Vamoose. Vamoose, which operates between New York and Washington, attempted to add Cambridge to its list of destinations, but ran afoul of local regulations.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

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

Globe names new newsroom leadership team

The Boston Globe disclosed major changes in its newsroom leadership today, including the departures of award-winning business columnist Steve Bailey, executive editor Helen Donovan, and deputy managing editor Michael Larkin, each of whom have been at the newspaper since the 1970s, as well as the elevation of page-one editor Caleb Solomon to the Globe's number-two editing position.

(From left) Donovan, Solomon, Larkin, Clegg, Morrow, and Bailey

Ellen Clegg, currently deputy managing editor of the Sunday paper, will replace Larkin as deputy managing editor in charge of news operations. Mark Morrow, a deputy managing editor who oversees the newspaper's special projects and Spotlight Team, will take over Clegg's Sunday role and retain his oversight of projects and the investigative group.

Bailey, who in his three decades at the Globe has earned a reputation as one of its most dogged reporters and widely read columnists, will move to Europe to join Bloomberg News as a senior enterprise editor in London, "finally yielding to his wife's wish" that his family live closer to her home country of France, according to an internal memo by Editor Martin Baron announcing the staff changes.

Solomon will succeed Donovan, assuming the role of managing editor/news and retaining his duties as the editor responsible for page-one stories. In his new position, Solomon, a former Globe business editor and reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal, will "help lead an inevitable transformation of our newsroom ... in today's radically altered media environment," Baron's memo said.

Donovan has been at the Globe for 32 years, serving as executive editor since 1993. In his memo, Baron described her as "a truly remarkable person" who "envisions the big picture but also is a master of detail" and "an inspired editor who never wavers in her insistence on the highest standards."

The management changes come at a time of great upheaval for the newspaper industry, which has suffered financially as readers and advertisers migrate rapidly to the Internet. Last month, the newspaper's publisher, Steve Ainsley, said the newspaper is looking to cut 60 positions through voluntary buyouts as part of a broader cost-cutting effort at the company.

Read the full text of Baron's letter to the staff here.
(By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:14 PM | Comments (0)

Mandarin fire's effect on construction schedule unclear

Construction officials say it is too early to determine whether this morning's fire at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Boylston Street will delay the scheduled July opening of the luxury complex of hotel rooms, apartments, condominiums, and restaurants.

At this point, we need our team at Suffolk to assess the schedule and any potential impacts," said Kim Steimle, a spokeswoman for Suffolk Construction Co. Inc., the primary builder on the $240 million project.

The four-alarm fire broke out at 7:43 a.m. at the 14-story structure in three rooms on the fourth floor containing construction materials, including cabinetry being built for the hotel. The Boston Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.

A preliminary inspection of the area, however, indicated the fire largely occurred on the fourth floor, though there may be water damage on lower floors, said deputy fire chief Richard DiBenedetto, who was at the scene. The fire started in the fitness center, which will be used by hotel residents, condo owners, and apartment dwellers in the Mandarin complex, which is part of the Prudential Center.

Steimle said she did not know whether fire damage occurred on the fifth or higher floors.

The Mandarin has created a buzz around town because the condominiums -- priced from $2 million to $12 million -- are among the city's most expensive and are part of a complex being operated by one of the world's most expensive hotel chains. Well-known business leaders who have purchased condos in the project include auto dealer Herb Chambers and Bank of America Corp. chairman emeritus Chad Gifford.

. Steimle said condos are on the ninth floor and above.

"We believe at this point it [the fire] was limited to the hotel portion of the building," she said. "It did not impact the condo area."

For previous Globe coverage of the Mandarin Oriental project, click here.

(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)

Javelin wins OK to sell pain medication in Scotland

Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said today that it has gotten approval to market its pain medication Dyloject in Scotland.

Javelin won similar approval for Dyloject in the United Kingdom in October.

Dyloject is an injectable form of diclofenac sodium, a widely used anti-inflammatory medicine for postoperative pain that is administered by slow infusion.

According to Javelin, Dyloject is more cost-effective and can be administered more quickly than medication delivered by slow infusion.

The company hopes to win approval for Dyloject in the United States next year.

In morning trading on the American Stock Exchange, shares of Javelin were unchanged at $2.90.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

EMC maintains lead in storage market

EMC Corp. of Hopkinton led the $2.9 billion global market for storage software products with a 26 percent revenue share during the fourth quarter of 2007, IDC reported today, but its lead over its competitors shrank.

A year earlier, EMC commanded 27.5 percent of the storage software market.

Behind EMC was Symantec Corp. of California with a 17.9 percent share of the storage software market and IBM Corp. of New York with a 12.5 percent revenue share, IDC said. Symantec's share grew from 0.8 percentage points from 2006, and IBM's share was up 0.6 percentage points.

Overall, the storage software market grew 11.2 percent from the previous year's fourth quarter as companies spent more on data protection and data archiving to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements, according to IDC, a Framingham market research firm.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

Dunkin' serves up scores with the morning scones

For years, Dunkin' Donuts has been bringing people their morning coffee; now Dunkin' wants to bring folks their morning news and sports as well.

Dunkin' Donuts, a Canton-based chain of coffee-and- baked goods cafes, today announced a partnership with California Internet company Yahoo Inc. that will result in Dunkin'-branded video programming that will feature the latest news and sports on Yahoo websites.

Web users have been able to view sports news here since Feb. 25, a Dunkin' spokesman said, and plans call for a Dunkin'-branded video news round-up to launch April 9. A "Dunkin' Lounge" social community is also in the works.

This morning's sports video, which an announcer notes is "powered by Dunkin' Donuts," features a set chock-a-block with Dunkin' imagery surrounded by Dunkin' ads. After her introduction, viewers saw mostly basketball highlights.

"'Yahoo! Sports Minute' airs every morning and will be highlighted as a core editorial feature on the Yahoo! Sports home page from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. EDT," Dunkin's press release stated.

As for the "Good Morning Yahoo!" news programming, it will run weekdays and "include a daily package of videos selected by Yahoo! news editors to include a mix of overnight news and fun features, such as 'water cooler stories,'" Dunkin' said.

Dunkin' Donuts is part of Dunkin' Brands Inc. Two years ago, the company was purchased by new owners. Following the sale, Dunkin' Donuts said it planned to triple its number of US stores to 15,000 by 2020.

As it looks to expand beyond its traditional stronghold in the Northeast, Dunkin' has taken a number of steps to appeal to a national audience such as hiring celebrity chef and TV personality Rachael Ray as a spokeswoman.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:24 AM | Comments (0)

Wyeth ends collaboration with Curis

Cambridge biotechnology company Curis Inc. said today that drug giant Wyeth has decided to end a collaboration on a drug research program that began in 2004.

Curis added that it is now seeking a new partner to work on the project, which focuses on the development of small molecule and protein Hedgehog agonists, which offer promise in potential treatments for strokes and cardiovascular disease.

"Our speculation is that Wyeth has decided to re-prioritize," a Curis spokesman said of Wyeth's decision to conclude the collaboration.

Curis has repositioned itself since signing the agreement with Wyeth four years ago, he added; Curis is now focused on developing cancer treatments.

When Curis and Wyeth announced their agreement in 2004, Curis received a $3 million up-front payment and said the agreement could be worth more than $170 million if two experimental drugs were brought to market.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)

March 7, 2008

PETA accuses Covidien of animal abuse

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights group, has accused Mansfield-based Covidien Ltd, which makes health products, of abusing dogs and pigs at its New Haven, Conn. facility.

In a complaint filed with the US Department of Agriculture, PETA said a former Covidien employee reported that dogs and pigs were accidentally killed by poorly trained workers. In another case, a respirator was allegedly forced down the throat of a dog without giving the animal anesthesia. PETA said the worker was fired after complaining about the abuse.

Covidien spokesman David Young said the company isn't aware of the allegations in the complaint, but uses laboratory animals only when necessary, treats them humanely and is in compliance with all regulations governing their use.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:36 PM | Comments (0)

Allegro gets $4 million in venture financing

Allegro Diagnostics announced today the completion of $4 million in Series A financing.

The Boston company is using intellectual property that originated from the Pulmonary Center at the Boston University School of Medicine in its efforts to develop products that can detect lung cancer earlier than current diagnostic tests on the market.

Kodiak Venture Partners of Waltham led the round and was joined by Catalyst Health Ventures of Newton and BU, the company said.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 200,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States.

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

Red Sox snub StubHub for ticket resales

The Boston Red Sox have inked a deal with Ace Ticket to serve as the official "offline" ticket resale agency for season ticket holders.

Previously, the Sox operated the "Replay" system on redsox.com which allowed season ticket holders to directly resell their tickets for games they were unable to attend. But a deal signed last fall between Major League Baseball and StubHub Inc. to handle all of the league's online ticket resales bars clubs who do not participate from reselling tickets online.

So the Red Sox's snub of StubHub means that season ticket holders no longer have an official way to resell tickets online.

"We have reached the conclusion that it is incumbent upon us to identify and endorse a secure and reputable secondary market option for our customers. This decision is reflective of an irreversible marketplace shift and came only after careful thought and deliberation," Sam Kennedy, the Red Sox's chief sales and marketing officer, wrote in a March 7 letter that is being mailed today to season ticket holders.

Under the Replay system, subject to the Massachusetts antiscalping law, resale prices were limited to $2 above face value plus some business and service charges, including a 24 percent fee for handling the resale. There is currently proposed legislation the Massachusetts State House that would change the antiscalping law.

With Ace, as with other ticket resellers such as StubHub, season ticket holders are free to sell the tickets for whatever the buyer will pay. Though such sales are technically illegal in Massachusetts, the law is rarely enforced.
(By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)

Mortgage limit raised to $523,750 in Boston area

The federal government today released new, higher limits for conforming mortgages that can be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In the Boston area, the limit has been increased to $523,750 for a single-family home, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The previous limit was $417,000. The new limits, which vary by geographic area, are pegged to area's median income.

By raising the limits, Congress hoped to boost the nation's slumping housing market, particularly in high-cost cities such as Boston where a large portion of all home purchases exceeded the prior limit.

Interest rates for jumbo mortgages -- those that exceeded the $417,000 limit -- have surged to near 7 percent during the credit crunch. That is a full percentage point higher than rates for conforming mortgages that fell under the old limit.

The new limit is $670,500 for two-family properties; $810,450 for three-families; and $1,007,200 million for four-unit properties.
(By Kimberly Blanton)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)

Alkermes says Eli Lilly to drop support for inhalable insulin

Cambridge biotech company Alkermes Inc. said today that it expects Eli Lilly and Co. to end their collaboration on developing an inhalable form of insulin for diabetes.

Alkermes said it expects Lilly to make a decision to discontinue the program next week and added that it is not aware of any safety, efficacy, or manufacturing issues that have arisen regarding the product, AIR Insulin, since Lilly's last public update on the program.

Pfizer Inc. and Novo Nordisk A/S of Denmark, recently scrapped work on similar products; Pfizer said too few patients preferred inhalable insulin to its injectable form.

Last month, Alkermes said fiscal third-quarter profit surged on a hefty gain from the sale of its stake in heart drug specialist Reliant Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Earnings were $168.9 million, or $1.63 per share, compared with a profit of $2.9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding the gain, the company said it earned 3 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of a penny per share.

Alkermes stock is down 60 cents, or 4.8 percent, in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Creganna expands its Marlborough presence

Creganna, an Irish company that makes components for medical devices, is doubling the size of its manufacturing facility in Marlborough.

Based in Galway, Creganna estimates that a third of the units it produces are shipped to US manufacturers that make minimally invasive medical devices.

So in early 2007, the company decided to open a 10,000-square-foot facility in Marlborough; that facility is now growing and its workforce is expected to grow from 30 to 50 by the end of the year, Creganna spokeswoman Maura Leahy said.

Why come to Massachusetts, where the cost of doing business is high?

One reason is that both Massachusetts and the west of Ireland are "hubs of the medical-device industry," Leahy said.

Two big local players in the industry, Boston Scientific Corp. of Natick and a unit of Covidien Ltd., headquartered in Mansfield, have facilities in and around Galway, Leahy said.

One forte of Creganna is making components of specialty needles used in conjunction with advanced imaging systems such as ultrasound and MRI.

Needles to draw blood or give flu shots can be mass-produced in South Korea or China, but the needle components that Creganna makes on behalf medical device companies contain a high level of intellectual property and require an advanced level of engineering to manufacture, Leahy said.

And so it makes sense for Creganna, a company that mostly makes comparatively low-volume high-value products, to have a facility near where medical-device companies are doing much of their research, she said.

Leahy added, "We view Massachusetts as a beachhead for expanding in the United States."

As a private company, Creganna does not disclose revenue and other detailed financial information, and because of confidentiality agreements, it does not identify the companies that use its components to make medical devices.

Creganna takes its name from the home town of the company's founder, Leahy said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)

A new gig for Berklee

Scores of great musicians have passed through the halls of Berklee College of Music through the years, from Steely Dan's Donald Fagen (right) to "Tonight Show" bandleader Kevin Eubanks to guitar god John Mayer. Now, Berklee wants to give its up-and-coming performers a chance to show their stuff.

This week, Berklee officially unveils its Cafe 939, a student-run coffee house at 939 Boylston St. in Boston that will showcase student talent as well as that of local artists and national acts seeking a more intimate venue.

Cafe 939 aims to embrace a wide range of styles, including rock, jazz, folk, bluegrass, hip-hop, and avant-garde.

Booking also will include bands featuring local chief executives. The first such session, booked for April 17, features the Loomers, a band that includes Tom Simons of the Boston ad agency Partners & Simons. Even accordion players are welcome, says Cafe 939 event manager Jacqueline Indrisano.

A concerts series titled Marsalis Berklee Jams is scheduled to kick off April 2 with saxophone player and Berklee grad Miguel Zenon topping the bill, Berklee said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

March 6, 2008

Genzyme launches its latest kidney drug

The Cambridge biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. has launched its kidney disease treatment Renvela.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in October. It’s a new version of the kidney disease drug Renagel, in use since 1998.

Renvela is approved to control serum phosphorus in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis. The body uses the chemical to get energy from food.

Genzyme is also seeking approval for Renvela in Europe and for US patients who are not going through dialysis treatment.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:07 PM | Comments (0)

Garden signs two new sponsorship deals

Heineken USA, a unit of the Dutch brewmeister, and AT&T Inc., the telecommunications firm, have signed naming-rights deals to sections of TD Banknorth Garden.

Financial terms were not disclosed by the garden's owner, Delaware North Cos.

A section of the Premium Club, two levels of luxury seating at the west end of the Garden, will now be branded with Heineken signage, and the area with occupancy for about 220 will be known as the Heineken Boardroom, Delaware North said. Membership in The Heineken Boardroom offers guaranteed access to all Garden events and starts at $16,500 a year.

A section of the Premium Club opposite to the Heineken Boardroom on the arena's east end will now be known as the AT&T SportsDeck. It also accommodates about 220 fans. That area of the Premium Club was previously known as just the SportsDeck, Delaware North said. Access to the AT&T SportsDeck is available in packages of 10 or 20 games, starting at $2,000.

The AT&T SportsDeck and the Heineken Boardroom signs will be in place this month, Delaware North said.

The garden's capacity for a Bruins hockey game is 17,565 and 18,624 for a Celtics basketball game.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Most executives in survey expect a recession

The majority of top US business executives who responded to a survey think the country is either already in recession or heading for one in the next six months, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

After interviewing 101 senior managers at companies with at least $500 million in annual revenue, BCG found that about 53 percent believe a recession is inevitable.

Many said slower growth was already pinching their bottom line.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said their companies have taken steps to brace for a slump, although BCG said many could be deceiving themselves.

‘‘Many of these companies are probably less prepared than they believe, and headed for a recession trap,’’ said Hal Sirkin, head of BCG’s Operations practice, which conducted the research.
(Reuters)

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

Asian grocer coming to Burlington

H Mart, a chain of Korean and Asian supermarkets with a devoted following, plans to enter the region with a 51,000-square-foot superstore in Burlington, near Route 128 and the Burlington Mall.

Known for its well-stocked shelves of Korean and pan-Asian products and its sleekly designed stores, H Mart operates about 30 supermarkets in the United States and Canada, with six more in development, though the nearest outpost currently is in New York.

The chain is so popular that after its proposal was posted for tonight's Burlington Planning Board agenda, the town received several phone calls from people outside Burlington expressing support for H Mart.

"That doesn't happen often," said D. Anthony Fields, Burlington's planning director.

That H Mart picked Burlington over Chinatown, Allston, Quincy, or any of the other more urban locales where Asian food markets have concentrated is a sign of the growing population of Koreans and other Asians in the suburbs as well as of the appeal H Mart expects to have with consumers of all backgrounds, say several familiar with either the Boston-area Asian community or the H Mart proposal.

"It sounds like an interesting concept, and it's pretty popular from what I understand in some areas of the country," said Thomas F. Murphy Jr., a lawyer with Shea, Murphy & Gulde, who is representing H Mart's application. "Clearly there's a market out there for it."

To read more on this story, click here.

(By Eric Moskowitz, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 3:20 PM | Comments (0)

AG: Archdiocese should give up control of hospitals

The Archdiocese of Boston must cede control of the Caritas Christi Health Care System if the Catholic hospital chain is to survive, according to a report issued today by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

The report also recommends that St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton abandon its role as an academic medical center competing with the teaching hospitals of the Longwood Medical District and Boston and instead become a community hospital with a teaching role. Carney Hospital in Dorchester should give up its traditional role as an acute care hospital to focus on psychiatric services, perhaps with some emergency services continuing.

The report by a healthcare consulting firm -- which can be downloaded here -- amounts to a stern indictment of the archdiocese's management of its hospital chain, and warns that Caritas will continue to deteriorate if it does not implement changes quickly.

Tops on the list is the need to hire a talented chief executive. The chain's efforts to recruit a leader have failed, with the one top contender rejecting Caritas for a post in Pittsburgh. In the meantime, Caritas plans to refinance its debt load to lower payments, and is revamping its board to make it independent from Church leadership.

For previous Globe coverage of Caritas Christi and Carney Hospital, click here.
(By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:40 PM | Comments (0)

Colon cancer test maker's shares soar

Shares of a Marlborough company that makes a colon cancer screening test that doesn’t involve a colonoscopy have soared since the American Cancer Society recommended the test.

Shares of Exact Sciences Corp. were up 65 percent to $3.44 in midday trading today.

Exact Sciences makes a noninvasive test in which a patient collects a stool sample at home and ships it to a lab that analyzes the DNA to look for mutations that could indicate colon cancer.

After the markets closed Wednesday, the American Cancer Society recommended that the test join the arsenal of screening mechanisms for colon cancer.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:58 PM | Comments (0)

Arnold catches Posada for ESPN ad campaign

Mix soap opera stars and Major League Baseball players in volatile videos, and what have you got? A new ad campaign for the ESPN sports network created by Boston ad agency Arnold Worldwide.

The campaign is titled "Endless Drama," and its first ad features the dreaded Yankee Jorge Posada in the demanding role of a barroom bouncer trying to police some famous and unruly patrons.

That ad began airing on ESPN earlier this week, said Arnold executive creative director Roger Baldacci, who noted that the campaign also features the likes of baseball stars Chase Utley along with ABC soap opera stars such as Bree Williamson and Rebecca Budig. (ESPN and ABC share a corporate parent in Walt Disney Co.)

According to Baldacci, ESPN sees the potential of generating additional revenue by encouraging sports TV viewers to sign up to play free fantasy baseball, fantasy football, and other fantasy sports on its websites.

Arnold is one of several ad agencies that ESPN uses, and Arnold's responsibilities include Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Football, and other ESPN online properities.

Part of Arnold's job is to drive traffic to those websites. Higher traffic, of course, makes those websites more attractive to companies that want to advertise on them.

The Posada ad not only introduces the campaign, but it also urges the ESPN viewers who see it on TV to check out subsequent episodes of this pot-boiling saga online at endlessdrama.com; unlike a TV ad, online episodes can run as long as two minutes.

Fantasy baseball isn't as popular as fantasy football, Baldacci said. A 16-game National Football League regular season can seem manageable to the same fantasy fan who might be daunted by baseball's 162-game schedule.

The "Endless Drama" campaign aims to convey the notion that a fantasy fan's Major League season can be as fraught with excitement, deception, and action as a steamy soap opera, Baldacci said.

Arnold is charged with doing all advertising of ESPN's fantasy offerings, Baldacci said, and the hope is that fantasy will evolve into a big business. Already there is fantasy basketball and fantasy hockey, he said, "There's even fantasy fishing."

So far, ESPN and Arnold aren't contemplating ads for fantasy fishing just yet.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:14 PM | Comments (0)

Bentley names new business dean

Bentley College in Waltham this morning said it has tapped an educator from the Netherlands as its new dean of business.

The new dean, Michael J. Page, was chosen after a worldwide search in which recruiters considered more than 200 candidates, Bentley said. Page will oversee undergraduate business programs at Bentley and lead its McCallum Graduate School.

Page, a native of South Africa, had been serving as dean of post-experience programs at RSM Erasmus University and as executive director of its Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands.

At Bentley, he'll be part of the cabinet of Gloria Cordes Larson, who was appointed the seventh president of the business-oriented college last year. Larson will formally be inaugurated as president on March 28.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Fed chief critical of mortgage rating system

Eric Rosengren, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said this morning that fundamental changes may be needed to the Wall Street ratings system that gave investors the confidence that mortgages were safe investments.

The mortgage boom was fueled by the willingness of investors to give money to mortgage companies in exchange for a share of the future cash flow as borrowers repaid their mortgage loans. Investors specifically invested in large pools of loans called mortgage-backed securities. Ratings agencies told investors which pools were the safest investments by assigning letter grades such as AAA.

Rosengren said the ratings may have inspired false confidence because bonds comprised of loans to home owners were rated on the same scale as bonds comprised of loans to corporations. That fostered the misleading impression that mortgage bonds and corporate bonds that received the same rating were equally likely to repay investors. We now know mortgage bonds were much riskier.

The conclusion?

"Maybe we shouldn't use the same ratings system for each of these different kinds of securities," Rosengren said.

He spoke at the South Shore Chamber of Commerce Economic Breakfast in Quincy, known as the "7:44" because that's when it starts.
(By Binyamin Appelbaum, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

Bus wars!

And then there were four? Fung Wah used to be The Way for low-cost bus service to New York (never mind the mechanical problems, loose wheels, crashes, and that unpleasantness with the visually-impaired passenger). And then there was Lucky Star. Yes, these buses were sometimes funky but you could usually get on. And cheap.

Then last year Vamoose arrived. It promised guaranteed seats (the Chinatown lines sold tickets, regardless of whether they could provide a seat for everybody) and WiFi (yes!). All this for only $22, a mere $7 more than the Bus Kings.

But the devil, they say, resides in the details. And it turned out Vamoose ran afoul of regulations in Cambridge and Boston. Cue the sound of screeching brakes.

Turns out there could be a fourth option in the offing.

Newsweek’s travel blog has this piece about BoltBus launching service between New York and D.C. BoltBus, a division of Greyhound, specializes in lower-cost fares (they start at $1 one way and go up as seats fill until they hit regular rates), and they offer WiFi and power outlets.

The New York-DC route is a heavily traveled one, and BoltBus is going head-to-head here with a few carriers, including Vamoose.

Like New York-DC, Boston-New York is a heavily traveled route and would be attractive for BoltBus: We have, after all, many legions of the Backpack Army, seeking cheap transport and loving WiFi. Greyhound already has an eye on the market here. Its fares are competitive, and in December it started offering guaranteed seating for a price.

And, unlike Vamoose, Greyhound is already here and has terminals, which presumably would give it a leg up.

BoltBus spokesman Dustin Clark said he wasn’t sure about when or whether the company would be moving into Boston, but had been told that the company was planning to announce expansion plans around the end of the month.

Stay tuned.
(By Paul Makishima, Globe staff)

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

Beacon Hill broker settles discrimination claim

The office of Attorney General Martha Coakley said it obtained a judgment against Beacon Hill real estate broker Thomas Dooley III and his company, which does business as Louisburg Properties, that resolves claims of discrimination.

According to a complaint filed in late 2006, Dooley allegedly rejected a prospective tenant who responded to an ad for a Beacon Hill apartment because he held a Section 8 housing voucher; under state law, it is illegal to discriminate against housing applicants because they receive public assistance, Coakley's office said.

A judgment entered earlier this week by Judge Bruce R. Henry in Suffolk Superior Court requires Dooley and Louisburg Properties to pay $5,919 in damages and also requires Dooley and all Louisburg Properties employees engaged in renting apartments to attend training on fair housing and anti-discrimination law, Coakley's office said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

Volcker joins board of Littleton firm

Federal Reserve chairman from 1979 to 1987. Honorary chairman of the Trilateral Commission. And now, director of Still River Systems Inc.

Paul A. Volcker, who as Fed chairman was credited with ending the country's stagflation by creating a deep recession that drove interest rates up to nearly 20 percent in the early 1980s, has joined the board of the Littleton firm, the company said yesterday.

According to a Still River spokesman, company chairman Robert Wilson became friendly with the 79-year-old Volcker and learned of Volcker's interest in sitting on the board of a medical technology company.

Still River is developing a product called the Monarch250, which it describes as an "affordable and compact proton therapy system for cancer treatment."

Proton beams can be used to zap cancerous tumors, but conventional proton therapy systems occupy large amounts of space and can cost $140 million or more to install. The spokesman said Still River is using licensed MIT technology licensed to develop a system that costs about $20 million and that can fit into a regular sized room. American Shared Hospital Services of San Francisco made a $2 million investment in Still River in 2006 to help develop the smaller, more affordable proton therapy systems.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Analogic buys Canton firm, reports earnings

Baggage goes through an Analogic Cobra automatic explosive detection system at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. (AP photo)

Analogic Corp. of Peabody said today it has agreed to buy privately held Copley Controls Corp. of Canton for about $69 million.

Separately, an Associated Press story noted that Analogic also reported today that its second-quarter profit rose 32 percent on higher demand for its products.

Analogic is high-tech medical equipment company that makes health and security imaging products; it estimates its power supplies are used by about half the magnetic resonance imaging systems operating in the world today. Analogic reported employing 1,500 people and taking in revenue of $341 million for its most recent fiscal year. Copley Controls, with estimated revenue in 2007 of $83 million, is a supplier of gradient amplifiers for MRI and precision-motion control systems.

The transaction is expected to close in early April. Analogic will pay up to an additional $1.8 million to reimburse Copley shareholders for the tax consequences of the transaction.

According to the AP story, Analogic earned $7.1 million, or 54 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Jan. 31, compared with $5.4 million, or 39 cents per share, for the same period in fiscal 2007.

Revenue rose 13 percent to $99.4 million from $88.4 million in the year-ago period; analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 53 cents per share on $95.9 million in revenue, the AP said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

March 5, 2008

Licenses sought for Mass.' first 10 MinuteClinics

A unit of CVS Caremark Corp. has applied for licenses to open retail medical clinics at its first 10 sites in Massachusetts.

The state recently adopted regulations to cover such clinics.

MinuteClinics said it hopes to open up to 30 clinics in the state by the end of the year.

The first 10 sites are in Ashland, Beverly, Bridgewater, Danvers, Medford, Medway, Stoughton, Taunton, Tewksbury, and Westford.

The clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained to provide customers with quick and inexpensive care for common illnesses.

Critics say the clinics could pose a conflict of interest, putting profits ahead of patients’ health. But supporters say they will help ease conditions at crowded emergency rooms.
(AP)

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

Fidelity to pay $8 million to settle charges of accepting improper gifts

Fidelity Investments agreed today to pay an $8 million fine to settle charges that its stock traders improperly received gifts and entertainment, including private jet travel to golf and gambling outings and illegal drugs, from brokers seeking the firm's business.

Among those named in the US Securities and Exchange Commission's three-year investigation is Fidelity vice chairman and former star fund manager Peter S. Lynch (right), who used the firm's traders to obtain nearly $16,000 worth of free tickets to prize entertainment events, including Ryder Cup golf matches and concerts such as U2 and Santana.

The SEC said Fidelity traders failed to seek the best deals on behalf of its mutual fund customers because their choice of brokers for making trades was influenced by the kinds of gifts and other goodies those brokers gave them (read the press release here). The government said the traders and Fidelity employees improperly accepted $1.6 million in gifts and entertainment from outsider brokers from 2002 to October 2004.

"The broker selection process on Fidelity's equity trading desk was compromised when gifts and lavish entertainment swayed the flow of brokerage business," said Walter Ricciardi, the SEC's deputy director of enforcement and former head of its Boston office, said today. "This misconduct created a serious risk of investor harm and violated Fidelity's duty of allegiance and loyalty to investors."

Fidelity agreed to settle the government's case today without admitting or denying guilt. The nation's largest mutual fund manager had previously refunded its retail customers $42 million after an internal report found the company had failed to adequately supervise these traders. In today's settlement, the SEC disclosed Fidelity had agreed to refund another $10 million to its institutional clients.

In a statement, Fidelity acknowledged "the seriousness of the misconduct found by the SEC," but noted the government made no finding its shareholders or funds were harmed by the activity.

The firm noted that it had previously taken numerous steps to fix the problems, including dismissing or disciplining some of the traders involved, tightening the company's gift policies and adding more oversight to its trading operation. All of the 10 traders involved in the investigation no longer work on the firm's trading desk, and most don't work at Fidelity any more, the company said.

The full text of the ruling is here; the ruling on Lynch can be read here, as well as the attorney's report.

Read previous Globe coverage of the Fidelity investigation here.

(By Andrew Caffrey, Ross Kerber, and Beth Healy, Globe staff)

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

Growth slowed in early '08, Fed regional reports say

Federal Reserve districts — including Boston’s, headed by Eric Rosengren, right — all saw decelerating economic growth in early 2008, even as prices pressed upward, the central bank’s ‘‘Beige Book’’ report said today.

The report was compiled with information collected through Feb. 25. Click here for the Boston report.

The survey found service industries slowing in most districts, while manufacturing was sluggish in half of the Fed’s 12 regions. Residential real estate markets were generally weak, and reports on retail spending were downbeat.

At the same time, upward pressure on prices from rising materials and energy costs showed up in almost all the district reports. Businesses in many regions said they had only mixed success in raising their prices to recoup increased costs.
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)

BJ's Wholesale quadruples its quarterly profit

BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit quadrupled, beating Wall Street expectations, as the nation’s third-biggest warehouse club benefited from a retail environment that is favoring discount stores.

Natick-based BJ’s also raised its earnings outlook for the full year, in part because inflation could boost business at discounters as shoppers look for bargains.

The company's shares were up more than 6 percent to $35.32 at 2:15 this afternoon.

BJ’s said that strong January sales, higher profit margins and gasoline sales, and lower-than-expected expenses lifted fourth-quarter net income to $50.2 million, or 80 cents per share. That’s up from $11.9 million, or 18 cents, in the year-earlier.

The latest quarter’s profit beat the consensus forecast of 74 cents a share by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Quarterly revenue rose 2 percent to $2.48 billion.

BJ’s operates 177 warehouse clubs in 16 Eastern states.

BJ’s raised the guidance it offered in November that predicted fiscal 2008 earnings of about $1.90 per share. It now expects $1.98 to $2.08 per share, or about $118 million to $123 million.

The company expects total sales to rise 6.5 to 8.5 percent this year.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:43 PM | Comments (0)

Mullen to pitch exotic trips for Disney

Mullen, an advertising agency based in Wenham, said today that it has been named the creative ad agency of record for Adventures by Disney, a travel business aimed at families looking for exotic vacations.

The amount of money that Adventures by Disney plans to spend on marketing is not being disclosed.

Adventures by Disney is a unit of Walt Disney Co., the California-based entertainment and media company that has had success with the Disney Cruise Line and that now seeks to broaden its family vacation offerings to destinations as varied as the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Peru, and Yellowstone National Park.

Other Mullen clients include T.J. Maxx, the apparel-and-home fashion retail chain; the Panera Bread Co. casual restaurant chain; and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., a satellite radio company.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:10 PM | Comments (0)

Monster affiliates with Hispanic website

Job search and recruitment website Monster.com said its services and help-wanted ads will now also be available on iHispano, a website for Hispanic and bilingual professionals.

Much of Monster's operations are based in Maynard, even though Monster's parent company, Monster Worldwide Inc., is headquartered in New York.

The alliance with iHispano means that companies looking to hire new workers can reach a deeper talent pool, Monster said.

Over the last two years, Monster has broadened its reach by forging agreements with media companies representing more than 200 publications, including The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe and Boston.com.

Monster has been pursuing a similar strategy with websites, including social networking sites, focused on professionals of various ethnic groups such as African-Americans and Asian-Americans, including BlackPlanet.com and AsianAve.com, a Monster spokesman said.

As a result of those alliances, Monster can sell ads to an employer looking to recruit workers not only on its own website but also on newspaper websites and on the websites of these professional groups, the spokesman said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)

TV technology makes inroads in Mexico, Asia

Luminus Devices Inc. of Billerica said today it has signed a distribution agreement that should make one of its flagship products, the Luminus PhlatLight, more widely available in Mexico and several countries in Asia.

According to Luminus, the PhlatLight can give a high-definition TV set or a digital projection system a brighter picture while using less energy. Currently, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics use Luminus technology in some of their large-screen and digital-projection televisions.

Under the agreement with Toyota Tsusho America Inc., Luminus said that Toyota Tsusho America will distribute PlatLight products and provide technical support for customers in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Mexico, Luminus said.

Toyota Motor Corp. owns a minority stake in its Japanese parent company.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Raytheon awarded $115 million for Patriot missile work

Defense contractor Raytheon Co. of Waltham said Wednesday it received a US Army contract modification worth $115 million to provide engineering services for the Patriot defense program.

The engineering services will support the US Army and foreign military sales cases for Germany, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Israel, Kuwait, Spain, Taiwan and Greece, Raytheon said.

The work will be performed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems at facilities in Andover, Mass.; Huntsville, Ala.; and White Sands, N.M., the company said.

Raytheon shares rose $1.02 cents to $65.69 in morning trading. (AP)

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

Fidelity: Retirees need more for medical expenses

A 65-year-old couple retiring this year will need $225,000 to cover their medical costs in retirement, according to a new estimate from Fidelity Investments, the Boston mutual funds company that sells retirement investment products.

That figure is a 4.7 percent above the 2007 estimate of $215,000, said Fidelity, which noted that since the estimate was first calculated in 2002, the number has risen 41 percent, with an average annual increase of 5.8 percent.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

NoblePeak Vision raises funding

NoblePeak Vision Corp., a Wakefield technology company in the night-vision market, said today that it has raised $12 million in Series B equity financing.

The funding round was led by Chart Venture Partners, a New York investment firm focused on the homeland defense and security sectors.

According to Chart Venture, NoblePeak's technology platform is well suited to "achieving low-cost high-performance night-vision imaging."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Chelsea apartments for rent ... on YouTube

Home sellers have posted video tours of their properties on the websites of real estate brokers, and now a local developer has posted a video on YouTube.com extolling the virtues of a new green-friendly apartment complex in Chelsea.

YouTube, of course, is a website where Internet visitors post, share, and view videos, and developer John M. Corcoran & Co. of Braintree and its public relations firm, Harron & Associates of Boston, figured the site is popular with the same demographic that is likely to want to rent apartments at Corcoran's new project Parkside Commons.

"We're looking for young professionals and recent college graduates who want to live close to the city but not pay Boston rents," Corcoran associate Peter Mahoney said.
There will be 238 apartments at the complex, and rents for one- and two-bedrooms range roughly from $1,345 to $1,590, he added.

Something else could make Parkside Commons attractive to young consumers: Corcoran is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, green building certification for the complex, which was constructed with some recycled materials and with energy-saving roof-top solar panels, according to Corcoran.

And it's Parkside Commons' environmentally friendly features that the video posted on YouTube focuses on.

In November, Corcoran invited a class of Chelsea sixth-grader to watch the installation of solar panels as a production company hired by Corcoran, Cici Clark Video Productions of Watertown, taped the proceedings.

The video was posted on YouTube earlier this week as marketing ramps up for Parkside Commons, said Mahoney, who added that the first tenants can move in April 1.

As marketing promotions go, it's pretty soft sell with no overt sales pitches, though some footage subtly notes the complex's proximity to Boston's skyline and Logan International Airport.

The video on YouTube clocks in at just under three-and-a-half minutes.

"That's about as long as you can go without pushing the attention span," Mahoney said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Internet atlas EveryScape lands funding

EveryScape Inc., the Waltham company that in January helped unveil an online interactive 3D replica of Cambridge, said today that it has secured $7 million in venture capital funding.

Using camera-equipped cars to photograph cities, EveryScape said it seeks to create what it calls "The Real World Online" through "a visual platform for local search that creates a virtual experience of all metropolitan, suburban, and rural areas; EveryScape will ultimately let users share their stories and opinions about real-life daily experiences against a backdrop ranging from streets and cities, communities, restaurants, schools, real estate, and the like."

Cambridge isn't the only community to get the EveryScape treatment; Aspen, Boston, Miami, and New York are currently online at its website, company said.

EveryScape is hardly alone in attempting to be an interactive atlas of the Internet; in December, online search giant Google Inc.'s Street View feature, which offers 360-degree, street-level images of urban life, was set to make its Boston debut, reported the Globe, which noted that the Google venture had drawn howls of protests from privacy advocates when it was launched last May in San Francisco..

That story also noted that Povo Inc. of Boston was making products for the so-called drive-by image space.

EveryScape, meanwhile, said that the funding round it announced today was led by Dace Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm in Waltham.

EveryScape has said that it thinks that local businesses that appear in an online street scape might be willing to advertise on the site or pay for a sponsored link.

The company was once known as Mok3 Inc., which sold technology and services to resort hotels so they could create virtual online experiences for potential customers who wanted to get a sense of what a stay at the hotel might be like.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Becker will run Reebok

BERLIN - Reebok's chief marketing officer, Uli Becker, has been chosen to become the sportswear maker's new president and chief executive.

Adidas AG, the German company that owns Canton-based Reebok, made the announcement today. Starting in April, Becker will take over from Paul Harrington, who has been with Reebok for nearly 12 years, including the last two years as chief executive.

Adidas bought Reebok International Ltd. in 2006 in a deal that has helped make the company a major rival to Nike Inc.

Adidas also said today that its fourth-quarter profit rose 62 percent, helped by lower purchasing costs resulting from its acquisition of Reebok in 2006.

Adidas earned the US equivalent of $31.9 million in the October-December period, while sales rose to $3.7 billion.

For the year, the company earned $837.9 million, up 14 percent from the previous year. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:03 AM | Comments (0)

March 4, 2008

Javelin names a new chief executive

The Cambridge drug developer Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has appointed Martin J. Driscoll as chief executive.

He previously was CEO of Pear Tree Pharmaceuticals Inc., a private company focused on developing prescription products for women.

Javelin also said Daniel B. Carr will become vice chairman of the board. He will continue to serve as chief medical officer.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 6:52 PM | Comments (0)

At Fidelity, a tale of two funds

Fidelity Investments’ biggest stock fund, the $72.8 billion Contrafund, raised its exposure to beaten-down financial firms in January.

But Boston-based Fidelity’s best-known fund, Magellan, cut exposure to the sector, new data show.

And this divergence is encapsulated by the opposing bets made by those two funds on the world’s biggest institutional asset manager, State Street Corp., according to data posted on Fidelity’s website March 1.

Magellan’s exposure to State Street, which is embroiled in lawsuits tied to losses on mortgage market investments, dropped 86 percent, to $105.5 million, at the end of January from a month earlier. It was a top-10 holding last year of the $39.4 billion fund, run by manager Harry Lange.

Contrafund, however, raised its State Street holding to $174.3 million at the end of January, from just $771,400 at the end of December. Contrafund is run by Will Danoff.

Despite the lawsuits, Boston-based State Street has weathered the credit crisis well, relative to many peers. Its stock rose 19 percent in the last quarter of 2007 and in January rose 1.1 percent.
A Fidelity spokesman said the fund managers would not comment.

‘‘It’s not unusual to see two different Fidelity managers doing two different things,’’ said Dan Lefkovitz, an analyst at Morningstar. Although Fidelity has centralized research, he said, ‘‘managers also contribute a lot of their own insights and analysis.’’

Both Contrafund and Magellan are feeling the stock slump. Returns from both are down about 10 percent in 2008.
(Reuters)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)

Study raises questions about virus in Tysabri users

A new study of the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri shows some patients developed the virus associated with a potentially deadly brain infection, although not the infection itself, according to an analyst’s report.

Citing a summary of a presentation to be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology, Corey Davis, an analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder, said an examination of 175 patients treated at one center found two cases of JC virus — one in the cerebrospinal fluid and one in the plasma.

But he noted that none of the cases showed any signs of progression to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, the potentially deadly brain infection.

‘‘We do not know the reliability, sensitivity, nor specificity of the assay being used by this one group to detect the presence of the virus, and hence are hesitant to draw too many conclusions,’’ Davis said.

Tysabri, made by Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge and Elan Corp. PLC, of Ireland, was temporarily suspended from the market in 2005 after several patients developed the disease, but allowed back in 2006 with certain restrictions after US regulators decided MS patients were willing to accept the risks in return for the potential benefits.

A spokeswoman for Biogen was not immediately available for comment.
(Reuters)

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

Four honored as "Distinguished Bostonians"

Business leaders Micho Spring, Ted Cutler, Lawrence K. Fish, and Peter Meade will be inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Bostonians at a May ceremony, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce said today.

Spring, who was chief of staff for former Boston Mayor Kevin White and deputy mayor, heads the New England office of Weber Shandwick, a public relations firm.

Cutler, president of GWV Vacations of Needham, is a noted philanthropist who currently serves as chairman of Hebrew College and has served as chairman for Emerson College, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and other organizations.

Fish is chairman of the Citizens Financial Group, a Providence company that operates Citizens Bank. Under his leadership, Citizens has grown into one of the largest banking operations in the country. Fish serves as a director of Citizens' parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, as a member of the MIT Corp., and as an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Meade currently serves as chairman of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, which manages the parks created as a result of the Big Dig construction project. He is a former executive vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health insurer and, prior to that, hosted a talk show on WBZ-AM radio for a decade.

The chamber created the academy in 1983. Since then, 79 members have been inducted, ranging from sports figures such as Celtics greats Arnold "Red" Auerbach and Bill Russell to politicians such as US Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Paul E. Tsongas to business leaders such as business leaders such as Digital Equipment Corp. founder Kenneth Olsen.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)

Business confidence falls to its lowest level in four years

The Massachusetts business confidence index in February fell to its lowest reading since October 2003, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts said today.

The index fell to a reading of 50.2 last month, down from a January reading of 50.6.

A majority of the employers who responded to the monthly survey by the employer group based said that either a recession is likely or already underway, AIM said.

February's drop marked the sixth decline in the index in seven months, and the index is down 9 percentage points since February 2006, AIM said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

Energy company moves into boating business

American Superconductor Corp. of Harvard, an energy technology company that makes systems that help manage power grids, is getting into the boating industry.

The company said today it has received its first orders from the commercial marine market; specifically, it said it has received orders for its PowerModule-based electrical systems that will be used aboard "three mega-yachts and one river cruiser being built in Europe."

American Superconductor said it has sold "thousands" of the PowerModule systems for such applications as wind turbines and hydro-electric generators. The systems control power flows, regulate voltage, and monitor performance of the ships' propulsion motors, diesel generators, and power distribution system to maximize energy efficiency.

American Superconductor also said it recently received an order from a Canadian firm that plans to use PowerModule converters to interface with batteries used to power tugboats.

For "competitive reasons," the company is not identifying the maritime customers that placed the orders or disclosing the dollar amounts of the orders.

American Superconductor has its headquarters on the site of the former Fort Devens military base in Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

iRobot makes a splash with new pool cleaners

With temperatures in the 50s, and spring around the corner, a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of ... swimming pools.

Just in time for spring, iRobot Corp. of Burlington today revealed an expanded lineup of home robots designed to clean pools of leaves, dirt, and other debris.

This season's lineup of Verro pool-cleaning robots include the Verro 100, designed to clean above-ground pools, and the Verro 500 for in-ground pools.

Suggested prices for the Verro line range from $399 to $999, iRobot said.

In addition to making robots that vacuum your floors or clear your roof gutters of foliage, iRobot designs robots for the military services; its PackBots can scout battlefields and detect explosive devices, and yesterday iRobot said it is working on a communications robot that will provide communications infrastructure to troops operating in dense urban areas.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)

Off-price Nordstrom Rack to open in Danvers

Fashion retailer Nordstrom Inc. said today it plans to open its first Boston-area Nordstrom Rack store this fall at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers.

Seattle-based Nordstrom is famous for its upscale sensibility, with cocktail pianists tinkling away in many of its stores. While Nordstrom stocks a full range of department store merchandise; it is particularly well known for its extensive lineup of women's shoes.

Nordstrom Rack is the company's off-price retail division, which sells overstock and clearance items from Nordstrom stores, as well as its own special purchase items.

The company operates 50 Nordstrom Rack stores in 18 states. The store at the Liberty Tree Mall, whose anchor tenants include Marshalls and Target, will open in space once partly occupied by a Stop & Shop supermarket, the company said.

Nordstrom opened its first Massachusetts full-line department store at the Natick Collection mall last year and plans to open its second later this month at the Burlington Mall, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Online directory settles scamming allegations

Attorney General Martha Coakley has reached a $16,000 settlement with Florida-based Directory Billings LLC to resolve allegations it scammed customers.

According to the allegations, Direct Billing, which does business as USDirectory.com, mailed businesses so-called live activation checks; these checks were for small amounts, usually $3.50, and on the back of the checks in fine print, was language stating that by depositing the check, the recipient agreed to purchase advertising in Directory Billing's online yellow pages directory, Coakley's office said.

The allegations stem from an investigation by Massachusetts and 25 other states, and Directory Billing agreed to pay a total of $400,000 to resolve allegations that it engaged in deceptive business practices. The Massachusetts share of the settlement is $16,000.

Part of the $400,000 will be used for restitution to former Directory Billing customers that did not understand the consequences of depositing the activation checks.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 8:42 AM | Comments (1)

Boston web analysis firm sold

A British media information company has agreed to buy Compete Inc., a Boston firm that tracks and analyzes Web traffic.

The British company, Taylor Nelson Sofres plc, said that it will initially pay $75 million for Compete and that Compete could qualify for an additional $75 million in deferred payments if it achieves performance targets spelled out in the sales agreement.

Analyzing Internet clickstream information, Compete seeks to provide corporate customers with insights about the online behavior of their customers.

For example, Compete worked with Carlson Hotels Worldwide, whose brands include Regent Hotels & Resorts and Radisson Hotels & Resorts.

The focus of that project was to determine when in the booking process, online visitors abandoned their real-world reservations; Compete advised Carlson to tweak its website, and 56 percent more of Carlson's online visitors become real-world guests over a two-year period.

TNS said the acquisition of Compete will combine Compete's digital intelligence products with its own strengths in global market information; the combination will provide corporate clients with new insights on how online behavior affects purchasing decisions, TNS added.

Founded in 2000, Compete lost $4.5 million on 2007 revenue of $14.9 million as it invested in building its technology and expertise, TNS said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Staples' fourth-quarter profit drops

Staples Inc. of Framingham said its fourth-quarter profit fell 1 percent amid a tough retail environment.

The world's largest office products supplier reported today that it earned $331 million in the three months ended Feb. 2. That compares with a profit of nearly $337 million in the fourth quarter a year earlier.

The latest quarter's profit matched the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Sales rose 1 percent to $5.32 billion, from $5.29 billion in the previous year's fourth quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations for sales of $5.37 billion in the latest period.

Staples said sales at North American retail stores decreased 4 percent, while North American delivery sales rose 4 percent. International sales rose 13 percent. (AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 7:31 AM | Comments (0)

March 3, 2008

Indevus CEO to retire by Sept. 1

Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that chief executive and chairman Glenn L. Cooper plans to retire on or before Sept. 1.

After 15 years at the helm of the Lexington company, Cooper, 55, who is also a medical doctor, said in a statement that the ‘‘time is right for me to retire.’’

Indevus said it has begun efforts to ‘‘evaluate and retain a successor chief executive officer.’’

Indevus makes such drugs as Sanctura, for overactive bladder, Vantas, for advanced prostate cancer, and Delatestryl, for male hypogonadism.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:49 PM | Comments (0)

Red Sox unveil new "Coca-Cola Corner" at Fenway

The Boston Red Sox and the Coca-Cola Co. unveiled the "Coca-Cola Corner," a new section of 412 seats in Fenway Park that will be topped with a large illuminated sign above the new section.

The "family friendly" section, which will include picnic tables, will be located on the State Street Pavilion upper level, near where the left-field foul line meets the Green Monster, the Red Sox said. The seats will be available at $75 each.

The section will also include space for 100 standing-room patrons at $25 per ticket.

The Coca-Cola Corner was previously occupied by luxury suites that were built for the 1999 All-Star Game, said Sam Kennedy, Red Sox executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer.

Luxury suites in both that area and in other parts of the park are being removed from Fenway as part of efforts to offer more seats that cost under $100 this season, Kennedy said.

Collectively, those luxury suites could accommodate about 120 people; by removing those suites as well as by other measures, Kennedy said the Red Sox will be able to offer about 960 additional tickets this season when standing room space is included.

Fenway's capacity for night games this season will be 38,888 versus 37,925 last season, Kennedy said.

Last month, meanwhile, three 25-foot Coke bottles were removed from the left-field light tower as part of an effort to restore the light towers to their original appearance, the Red Sox said. The bottles were first installed at Fenway in 1997.

With those bottles gone, the Coca-Cola Corner will be topped with a sign nearly 43 feet long and just over 12 feet high, the Red Sox said; the sign will feature 1,059 light-emitting diodes, or LED lights, that will "scroll through the iconic Coca-Cola logo," reminiscent of a sign that stood along Storrow Drive for more than 40 years.

The sign will be installed before Opening Day 2008, the Sox said. The Coca-Cola Corner is part of an extended and expanded sponsor relationship with Coca-Cola, an Atlanta-based beverage company.

Additional improvements planned for the ballpark this year include scoreboards on the EMC Club level to help fans with limited views of the center-field and left-field scoreboards; a new Bleacher Bar & Grill, a year-round restaurant in center field, eight new private suites, waterproofing in the bleachers area, and structural upgrades.

The New York Times Co., parent of The Boston Globe and Boston.com, holds a 17 percent stake in the company that owns the Red Sox.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 5:07 PM | Comments (0)

Bank predicts more N.E. real estate price declines

Alicia Sasser, senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, predicted that home prices in Massachusetts and New England would decline for the second year in a row in 2008.

The region's prices fell 1.1 percent in 2007, compared with a year earlier, she said, while prices in Massachusetts declined 1.9 percent for the same time period. A recent report from the Warren Group pegged the price of a single-family home in Massachusetts at $325,000, down from $340,000 a year ago.

But a turnaround may come late in the year -- and before a national housing turnaround sometime in 2009. One reason is that the region went into a slump earlier than the rest of the country. Also, there was less building locally than in the South and West, where the population is expanding rapidly.

With a smaller supply of housing for sale, there is less downward pressure on prices.

"Our oversupply is not as dire as the rest of the country," said Sasser, who shared her predictions with real estate agents at a conference in Cambridge.

But, she added, "It's still going to take time to work through that inventory."

When local markets do recover, she said, the boom-time price gains of 10 percent or more a year won't return. House prices, she said, will rise only about 2.1 percent annually. She said that because Massachusetts had such a steep run-up in prices, its recovery may somewhat lag the rest of the region's.

Massachusetts, along with Rhode Island, she said, "will have the slowest growth in housing prices through 2011."
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)

Novartis chided for athlete's foot ad

An industry group that reviews advertising said it has recommended that a unit of Novartis AG modify ad claims for Lamisil AT Gel Advanced, an athlete's foot treatment.

The Swiss drug maker, which employs 2,000 workers in Massachusetts, claims in ads that Lamisil "revolutionary cooling gel penetrates faster."

The recommendation to Novartis to modify its ads was made by the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, which advocates "accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self regulation."

The division recommended that Lamisil's claim be modified to "avoid conveying the message that consumers will experience more rapid relief with more rapid absorption."

Lamisil's ad claims were challenged by Schering-Plough Corp., a rival drug maker marketing athlete's foot treatments.

The division said Novartis disagreed with its conclusion but agreed to modify future ads.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Raytheon's ratings likely to be upgraded

Fitch Ratings affirmed Raytheon Co.’s investment-grade ratings and said it may upgrade the Waltham defense contractor’s levels in the next year.

Fitch reiterated its BBB+ rating and bumped the outlook to ‘‘positive,’’ which means an increase is likely in the next eight to 12 months.

Ratings indicate a company’s creditworthiness and are used to determine its costs of borrowing.
The agency based the move on Raytheon’s ‘‘strong credit metrics, conservative financial policies, significant financial flexibility, and Fitch’s expectations for continued financial improvement in 2008.’’

The investment-grade rating reflects the high military spending in the United States and international revenue growth.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:50 PM | Comments (0)

Bill would mandate electronic medical records

Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray is pushing a bill that would require the state to adopt electronic medical records and ban pharmaceutical marketing gifts.

The bill would set aside $25 million to help create a statewide system of electronic medical records by 2015. Doctors would have to show competency in the technology for medical board registration.

Also, Massachusetts would be the first state to ban pharmaceutical marketing gifts. The bill would bar representatives of pharmaceutical companies from offering them and ban physicians from accepting gifts of any kind. The ban would extend to physicians’ staffs and family members.

Distribution of drug samples to doctors would be allowed, however.

Murray unveiled the bill today at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 2:45 PM | Comments (1)

Citizens replaces its chief executive

Citizens Financial Group Inc. chief executive Stephen D. Steinour will step down as head of New England's second-largest bank next week, the company said today.

Steinour's role will be taken on by Ellen Alemany, adding to her duties as head of the Royal Bank of Scotland's North American operations. James G. Connolly, currently head of Citizens' business banking unit, has been promoted to president.

Alemany, a former top executive at Citigroup Inc., took over as head of the Royal Bank's American operations a year ago.

The changes cap a series of reorganizations at the Rhode Island parent of Citizens Bank, which expanded its reach across the Northeast and Midwest in the last 15 years under the leadership of Lawrence K. Fish. Fish stepped down from an active role in running the bank last year, but he remains nonexecutive chairman of Royal Bank's American division.

Steinour, who has held his current post since 2005, is leaving by March 11 "to pursue other business interests that will enable him to spend more time with his family,'' Citizens said in a statement today.

(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff)

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

Pan Am clips its wings

Let us bow our heads. The venerable old Pan Am airline brand may finally have breathed its last. New Hampshire-based Boston-Maine Airways Corp., which was the most recent airline to resurrect the brand name of the renowned carrier after its collapse in 1991, suspended flights as of Friday, according to a message on the airline's website. Last one out, please hit the lights.

For most airline customers, this is not such a big deal: Pan Am had scheduled service only to Hanscom in Bedford, Portsmouth, N.H., and Trenton, N.J. And, frankly, not even so much of that.

Newspapers in Trenton, N.J., and Portsmouth, N.H., traced the financial and management problems the carrier has faced over the years, culminating in a Feb. 1 notice from the Feds that they were looking to pull the plug on the carrier's flight certificate. The company has until March 3 to file a reply.

How the mighty have fallen. They used to be a real player. Kind of like the Yankees... Know what I mean?
(Paul Makishima, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 1:10 PM | Comments (0)

Gas prices hit $3.08 a gallon in Massachusetts

Gas prices are up an average of 2 cents per gallon in Massachusetts, the third consecutive weekly increase.

The latest statewide survey by AAA of Southern New England found an average price of $3.08 per gallon of regular, self-serve gas. That's up from $3.05 last week, and is 14 cents higher than three weeks ago.

The average in Massachusetts remains 9 cents below the nation's $3.17 average.

Prices at the pump have risen in response to a surge in crude oil prices that recently broke the $100-per-barrel mark.
(AP)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)

TradeStone names president

TradeStone Software said today it has named Brian Marsden as president.

The Gloucester company provides merchandise lifecycle management software that enables retailers to bring private label products to market quickly.

Before joining TradeStone, Marsden was chief executive of Wesupply.com, a British supply-chain management company, TradeStone said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

Mzinga acquires Littleton social networking firm

Mzinga said today that it has acquired Prospero Technologies, a Littleton company that supports websites tied to such TV shows as "American Idol" and "Lost."

The purchase price was not disclosed

Burlington-based Mzinga, which also announced that it has secured $32.5 million in new financing, says its name means "beehive" in Swahili, and it is a sort of Facebook.com for businesses.

Just as the social networking website Facebook lets online users connect with friends, Mzinga uses social networking technology that enables a company's employees and partners to share information on topics such as research, product launches, and brand-building.

Prospero, meanwhile, uses social-networking technology to support interactive websites from television networks that let fans of network shows connect.

The Prospero acquisition will mean that Mzinga can broaden its product offerings, the company said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Retailers to see less green for St. Patrick's Day

US consumers are expected to spend less this St. Patrick's Day because March 17 falls six days before Easter this year, the National Retail Federation said.

Consumers are estimated to spend $3.6 billion in St. Patrick's Day-related purchases in 2008, down from last year's $3.7 billion, according to the federation, a trade group of merchants.

The federation says the average person will spend slightly more on St. Patrick's Day knick-knacks than last year, but expects fewer people to celebrate. St. Patrick's Day falls during Holy Week this year for the first time since 1940. The conflict will not occur again until the year 2160.

Many cities, such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Worcester, have moved their parades to March 9 to avoid a conflict. Organizers of the big South Boston parade have chosen to host the event on the afternoon of Sunday, March 16, a day when many Christian denominations celebrate Palm Sunday.

"With the holiday just six days before Easter, many retailers are finding that they don't have enough space on their shelves to promote shamrocks and Easter bunnies at the same time," federation president and chief executive Tracy Mullin said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

Sprint Nextel added 159 cell sites in 2007

Sprint Nextel Corp. said it added 159 new cell sites to its wireless Nationwide Sprint Network and Nextel National Network in Massachusetts during 2007.

Massachusetts Sprint customers should be able to take advantage of network enhancements in locations that include Arlington, Beverly, Boston, Braintree, Framingham, Leominster, Marlborough, Nantucket, and Waltham, said Sprint Nextel, a Virginia-based communications company.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)

Procter & Gamble renews effort to bring light-based hair removal to the home

Consumer giant Procter & Gamble Co. has signed a new deal with Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. of Burlington to allow Procter & Gamble to bring to market light-based hair-removal systems for women.

Palomar produces laser and pulsed-light systems to remove hair, acne, blemishes, and tattoos. To date, all of its products are used by medical professionals, but it plans to introduce home treatments by 2009.

Palomar said the new agreement replaces a 2003 agreement with the Gillette Co., the Boston shaving giant that was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005 for $57 billion.

Under the new agreement, Procter & Gamble will initially pay Palomar $1.25 million per quarter; after a commercial product is launched, that payment formula will be replaced by a confidential formula based on product sales, the companies said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

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

Jeweler chooses Netezza server

Netezza Corp., a Framingham firm focused on data-warehouse and analytic appliances, said today that Helzberg Diamonds has chosen a Netezza server for its enterprise data warehouse platform.

Headquartered in Kansas City and part of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company of billionaire investor Warren Buffett , Helzberg operates more than 260 stores nationwide that sell diamonds, precious gems, and wristwatches.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

iRobot to develop communications robot for military

iRobot Corp. of Burlington said today it will develop new portable communications relay robots for the Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

The robots will be developed under DARPA's LANdroids program. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

According to iRobot, the goal of the DARPA LANdroids program is to develop technologies that will enable US troops operating in dense urban environments to rapidly deploy and maintain a communications infrastructure.

IRobot makes PackBots, robots designed to patrol battlefields as well as household robots such as the Roomba, which can perform cleaning tasks such as vacuuming.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:35 AM | Comments (0)

Bottomline acquires Georgia software firm

Bottomline Technologies Inc. said today that it has agreed to buy Optio Software Inc. for $44.9 million.

Bottomline, of Portsmouth, N.H., is a provider of payment and invoice automation software for the financial services industry, and Optio of Georgia provides technology solutions for improving the efficiency of document-intensive processes.

Bottomline says it has more than 9,000 customers, including 3,000 that access the company's payment and invoice automation capabilities through subscription-based services.

Optio serves about 5,500 customers worldwide with offices in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Germany, Bottomline said.

Bottomline trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market. On Friday, it closed at $12.84 a share. Optio trades on the over-the-counter market. The deal is expected to close in June.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Posted by globebusiness at 9:24 AM | Comments (0)