National Amusements sells 32 theaters
Rave has already closed on an initial group of 29 theaters.The transaction, which is not expected to include any complexes in New England, is part of an effort by media mogul Sumner Redstone to help pay off roughly $1.46 billion in debt.
National Amusements could not immediately be reached for comment. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Rave Cinemas is also buying the business operations of four theaters from Rave Reviews Cinemas, which is owned by Boston Ventures. Rave expects to own or manage 65 theaters
with about 1,000 screens located in 20 states across the country.
(by Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)
Quincy, Mass. project gets $8.1m in stimulus funds
Gov. Deval Patrick and Congressman Bill Delahunt announced today a grant that will help the second phase of a project meant to make improvements on Revere Road, an east-west connector road that will tie together the Quincy downtown area.
The project includes the reconstruction and realignment of 1,900 feet of roadway and the demolition of a city-owned building. The roadway will eventually connect a bridge to provide motorist and pedestrian access over the rail corridor.
The Quincy downtown area has long been separated by a north-south rail corridor.
Patrick said in a statement the project will "unlock economic development opportunities." (AP)
Mass. gas prices down another penny
The cost of a gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts continues to trickle down as drivers prepare for holiday travel.
AAA Southern New England reports today that a gallon of self-serve regular has dropped a penny from last week to an average of $2.58. That's one cent below the national average and 93 cents higher than at this time last year.
The range in prices in the latest AAA survey for unleaded regular is 56 cents, from a low of $2.33 to a high of $2.89
Oil prices hovered above $73 a barrel on the international market today ahead of an OPEC meeting where investors expect the cartel to keep production levels unchanged.
Harvard Business Review hires editorial director
At Time, Fox wrote a weekly column and occasional longer articles; he also penned the "Curious Capitalist" blog. Before joining Time in 2007, he worked for more than a decade at Fortune, where he served as the magazine's London-based Europe editor, did several tours of duty as editor of the front-of-the-book 'First' section, and wrote dozens of major feature stories.
Both the Harvard Business Review, and the group's website, www.hbr.org, have recently been redesigned and relaunched under Review editor in chief Adi Ignatius.
Agios Pharmaceuticals lands funding
ABC2's funding will enable new research investigating IDH1 gene mutations in brain cancer, with the goal of supplementing Agios's ongoing research into the development of new IDH1 therapeutics and diagnostics. The company did not reveal the amount of the funding.
Recent research by Agios scientists published in the journal Nature established that the mutated form of the enzyme IDH1 produces a metabolite which may contribute to the formation and malignant progression of gliomas, the most common type of brain cancer.
A glioma is a type of cancer that starts in the brain or spine. High grade gliomas currently cannot be cured and the prognosis for patients is generally poor; of the 20,000 Americans affected each year, more than half die within eighteen months of diagnosis.
Agios Pharmaceuticals is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Aspen Technology reports revenue loss
The company reported total revenue of $39.8 million, a decrease compared to $86.4 million in the first quarter of the prior year.
In a release, Aspen Technology said the losses are related to a transition to a new subscription model.
Mark Fusco, chief executive, said the company has also completed the process of bringing the company's financial statements current. As a result, Fusco said "we are continuing with our plan to begin the process of seeking a relisting of our common stock on a major U.S. stock exchange during the first calendar quarter of 2010."
Aspen Technology is based in Cambridge, Mass.
Dynamics Research Corp. lands $7.4m contract
WSMIS is an end-to-end software system that enables Air Force personnel globally to track the lifecycle of aircraft parts and weaponry. The program provides real-time data on aircraft parts, weapons status and operability, allowing for the immediate assessment of the numbers and locations of mission-ready aircraft.
Dynamics Research Corporation, founded in 1955, maintains more than 25 offices nationwide with major offices in Andover, Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C. region.
NFL partners with BU brain center
The league now plans to encourage current and former NFL players to agree to donate their brains to the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which has said it found links between repeated head trauma and brain damage in boxers, football players and, most recently, a former NHL player.
"It's huge that the NFL actively gets behind this research," said Robert Cantu, a co-director of the BU center who has spoken negatively about the league in the past. "It forwards the research. It allows players to realize the NFL is concerned about the possibility that they could have this problem, and that the NFL is doing everything it can to find out about the risks and the preventive strategies that can be implemented."
Full entry
Mass. pushing energy efficient neighborhoods
The "whole-neighborhood" approach to energy efficiency sounds simple enough, even mundane -- from weather-stripping to improved insulation.
But in New England with its bitter winters and drafty, aging housing stock, that challenge can be more daunting than in balmier parts of the country. It can also produce more dramatic fuel savings.
The goal of the federal "Retrofit Ramp-Up" program is to demonstrate that economical energy upgrades can be created for a large portion of residential, commercial and public buildings in specific communities.
The state has teamed with the City of Boston to seek the $60 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to show that significantly upgrading energy efficiency in an older, urban neighborhood is possible.
Full entry
Westgate Mall fetches about $51m at auction
Lenders for the struggling Westgate Mall in
Westgate Brockton Limited Partnership made the top offer out of a handful of bidders vying for the enclosed mall, according to Jeffrey Mann, a senior vice president at auctioneers Paul E. Saperstein Co. Babcock & Brown defaulted on the mortgage for the mall, which was purchased for about $58.5 million in 2004. Westgate Mall general manager Luciano Villani said, "Operations will continue as they have in the past. The long-term objective is to identify a mall operator to purchase the mall from the bank."
The 532,135-square-foot mall is located on about 50 acres and anchored by Macy's and Sears department stores. Earlier this year, the shopping center indefinitely postponed plans to add a movie theater to replace a Filene's department store that closed several years ago.
A marathon run for WBZ
WBZ-TV (Channel 4) will continue to be the official broadcasting home of the Boston Marathon.
The station said today that it renewed its partnership with the Boston Athletic Assocation through 2012. WBZ has had the exclusive local, live broadcasting rights for the marathon for 27 years.
“The Boston Marathon is a world class sporting event, and a favorite of the people of New England,” said Ed Piette, general manager of Boston’s WBZ-TV and TV38 (WSBK) in a statement. The station also streams the race live on its website: www.wbztv.com.
“We are delighted to continue to be the sole local broadcaster of the Marathon," said Piette.
The next marathon, which will be the 114th event, is April 19, 2010.
Marblehead lawyer charged in mortgage scheme
Marblehead lawyer Leon Gelfgatt is scheduled to be arraigned today in Cambridge District Court in Medford in connection with an alleged million-dollar mortgage hijacking scheme.
Gelfgatt was arrested yesterday by State Police as he attempted to retrieve more than $1.3 million in mortgage funds linked to a "sophisticated mortgage fraud scheme," according to the state Office of the Attorney General. He is being charged with attempted larceny and uttering.
In the alleged scheme, the state said, Gelfgatt identified properties scheduled for sale and recorded false documents in the Registry of Deeds to make it appear that his invented company was the new holder of any mortgages on the properties. He allegedly aimed to have mortgage funds sent to his company rather than to the true mortgage holders when the properties were sold.
Gelfgatt could not be reached for comment.
Boston wins tax fight against National Grid
Boston tax officials have won a seven-year tax fight against National Grid after a state panel rejected the utility's claim that it was owed about $16 million in refunds because the city had overvalued its property holdings.
The decision by the state's Appellate Tax Board could have broad cost implications for the power company and other utilities because it validates Boston's method of assessing National Grid's property at a higher market rate. National Grid had argued its property should be valued at a lower rate, based on the price it paid when it first made the purchase.
"This is a significant victory for the city, not only for the fact that no refund was given, but also because it endorsed our assessment methodology," said Ron Rakow, Boston's chief of assessing.
Many other communities in Massachusetts currently assess National Grid's property at the lower value favored by the utility, and could be emboldened to increase the firm's tax bills as a result of the decision. Had it lost the case, Boston would have been forced to refund about $16 million to National Grid, based on claims the utility made from fiscal years 2004 through 2010.
A spokeswoman for National Grid had no immediate comment today.
Cisco closes $2.9 billion deal for Starent
Cisco, the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, paid $35 per share in cash, for Starent, a company based in Tewksbury, Mass. that makes equipment used by telecommunications carriers to tie their wireless networks to the Internet.
Shares of Cisco, which is based in San Jose, Calif. were up 5 cents to $23.23 in premarket trading.
Today in Globe Business
New CEO inheriting heavy load at bank
With his new job as head of the nation’s largest bank, Brian Moynihan would seem to have the weight of the US economy on his shoulders.
Tapped Wednesday to be the next chief executive of Bank of America Corp., the 50-year-old Wellesley resident faces a host of challenges, from cleaning up billions of dollars in troubled loans to mollifying politicians upset about the company’s receipt of taxpayer money and its controversial purchase of investment bank Merrill Lynch.
But perhaps his most challenging task is answering different camps in Washington, D.C., that are pushing the bank in opposite directions. President Obama and members of Congress are pressuring Bank of America and other institutions to help propel the economy into recovery by increasing lending to businesses. Meanwhile, regulators want banks to avoid the kind of reckless lending that got the industry into so much trouble, by being more prudent about who they loan money to.
To read the full story, please click here.
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Boston Capital: For Gifford, a clear choice
Chad Gifford is well aware of the stories about his home-town loyalties.
Gifford, the chief executive who sold Boston’s FleetBoston Financial Corp. to Bank of America five years ago, was widely seen as a Moynihan fan. He was one of three New Englanders, along with NStar chief Tom May and CVS Corp. chief executive Thomas Ryan, on the search committee. When it came down to Moynihan and another internal candidate, the Boston executive came away with the job.
“People kept saying I wanted him because he was from Boston,’’ Gifford said yesterday. “That is such bloody nonsense. I wanted the best person."
To read the full story, please click here.
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Mass. jobless rate drops to 8.8%
The Massachusetts unemployment rate fell in November for the second straight month, adding to evidence that the state’s economy has begun a recovery and the struggling job market is nearing a bottom, analysts said.
The state’s jobless rate slipped to 8.8 percent, following a sharp drop in October, when it plunged nearly a half-point to 8.9 percent, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported yesterday. The national unemployment rate fell to 10 percent in November from 10.2 percent in October.
The state’s job market, however, remains weak. Massachusetts employers sliced payrolls by another 1,700 jobs in November, with the heaviest toll in retail, personal services, real estate, and government. Still, two sectors that increasingly drive the state’s economy posted strong gains. Education and health services added 3,100 jobs, while professional and business services, which include technology, scientific, and research firms, added 1,200 jobs.
To read the full story, please click here.
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At Logan, things are looking up
More people are taking to the skies above Boston, despite the sinking fortunes of the air travel industry, thanks largely to increased competition and four carriers that started flying out of Logan International Airport this year.
The turnaround at Logan started in July, after passenger numbers fell in all but one of the previous 20 months. Traffic crept up 0.2 percent over the previous July; by November, it had risen 7.3 percent over 2008 levels.
But across the country, traffic continues to fall, and the airline industry is projected to lose upward of $5 billion this year. Nationwide, air travel has decreased by an average of 6.8 percent since February, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group.
To read the full story, please click here.
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Biogen pulls its bid for Facet
Biogen Idec Inc. came up empty-handed yesterday as it formally ended its three-month pursuit of Facet Biotech Corp.
With Facet’s board insisting Biogen Idec’s $17.50-a-share tender offer undervalued the Redwood City, Calif., company and raising hopes for a sale at a higher price, its stockowners - led by institutional investors from Boston and San Francisco - withheld the majority of their shares from the Cambridge suitor.
“Our shareholders certainly recognize the value of the company and its programs,’’ Facet chief executive Faheem Hasnain said. “They weren’t prepared to accept a $17.50 offer.’’
To read the full story, please click here.
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Extended unemployment checks are on the way
More than 26,000 Massachusetts residents who qualified for the recently approved extension of federal unemployment benefits will soon receive their first checks, state labor officials said.
The checks, totalling nearly $41 million, were mailed this week as part of interim measures put in place by the state as it reprograms the unemployment computer system to incorporate the new extension, a process that won't be completed until mid-January. The state will issue another round of interim checks on Jan. 5 before resuming regular weekly checks later in the month.
The extension was approved by Congress last month, affecting unemployed workers whose benefits have expired over the past several months. For some, the extension check represents the first payment since August, state labor officials said.
Aveo expects to raise $86.3 million in IPO
Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday it plans on raising about $86.3 million in an initial public stock offering.
The Cambridge biotech company has not yet disclosed how many shares it plans on offering or set a pricing range. Aveo plans to list on Nasdaq under the "AVEO" ticker.
The joint book-running managers of the proposed offering will be J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc.
The company's lead product candidate is Tivozanib, which is now in last-stage development as a renal cell cancer treatment.
Putnam survey: People more upbeat about economy
Many Americans expect improvements in the economy and their personal finances, but are planning to rein in holiday spending this year and step up saving next year, according to an online survey of 1,000 adults commissioned by Putnam Investments.
Americans are focused more on their financial health than on their physical health, with “saving more” the number-one New Year’s resolution for 2010, cited by 36 percent, said Putnam, a Boston-based mutual funds company.
In a press release about the survey, Putnam said: "Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63 percent) think that stock prices will go up in 2010 and just over half are expecting improvements in the housing market,consumer confidence, consumer spending, and unemployment. However, caution prevails, with 57 percent expecting that consumers will still spend less next year than they did this year and only 40 percent expecting that the US economy will be 'much healthier' in 2010."
Mass. unemployment rate drops 2d straight month
The Massachusetts unemployment rate fell in November for the second month in row, suggesting that the state's struggling job market might be nearing a bottom.
The jobless rate slipped another tenth point in November, to 8.8 percent, following a four-tenths percentage point plunge in October, to 8.9 percent, said the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
In November, the national unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent in October.
The state's job market, however, remains weak. Massachusetts employers sliced payrolls by another 1,700 jobs in November, led by steep losses in retail, personal services, financial services and government.
Still, two sectors that increasingly drive the state's economy posted strong gains. Education and health services added 3,100 jobs, while professional and business services, which includes a variety of technology, scientific and research firms, added 1,200 jobs.
Two industries hardest hit in recession also posted job gains. Manufacturing, which has lost 23,000 jobs, or 8 percent of employment, since the recession began here in March 2008, gained 900 jobs. Construction, which has lost one in five jobs since the beginning of recession, added 200 jobs, the second consecutive monthly gain.
The unemployment and payroll jobs reports can diverge at times because they are based on separate surveys by the US Labor Department. The unemployment rate is estimated from a survey of households, while payroll employment data comes from a survey of businesses.
To read today's press release from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, please click here.
To read a recent Globe story on the US unemployment rate, please click here.
To read the Globe story on Massachusetts unemployment numbers for October, please click here.
Polaroid property might sit for years
There are so many obstacles to developing the 120 acres in Waltham formerly owned by the Polaroid Corp. that one real estate expert said the property on Route 128 could sit idle for 10 years.
In addition to facing a weak commercial real estate market, the new owners also have to deal with legal issues that the city says have to be resolved by Dec. 28, and a still-unfinished agreement with the city that has been years in the making.
The new owner, Germany-based Helaba Bank, had held the first mortgage on the property, which was being developed through a joint venture by Polaroid and the Related Companies, a developer based in New York.
Helaba forced a foreclosure auction in October, but ended up buying the property for $42.5 million after no acceptable bids came in. “They’re going to sit on it,’’ said Vincent Valvo, editor of Banker & Tradesman, an industry publication put out by the Boston-based Warren Group. “It’s a wonderful location that will be a prime development parcel in 10 years. . . There is next to no money out there right now for major commercial developments.’’
But another analyst predicts the land will sell within about a year. “I think they will try to position this property for a sale in the immediate future,’’ said David Begelfer, chief executive officer of NAIOP Massachusetts, the local chapter of a national commercial real estate development association.
The Polaroid and Related joint venture, named Watch City Development, had been working on a complex involving 1.7 million square feet of office and retail space for about three years.
Helaba announced this month that it is scrapping the plan, without indicating what its new direction would be. Helaba representatives did not return calls seeking comment. Despite the hurdles, Valvo said, a combination office and retail development remains the “highest and best’’ use of the property.
He said there’s no real incentive to divide the property and sell it off in smaller parcels: “Even if you cut up the site, you are cutting up your chances of making it a real destination.’’
A more immediate issue concerns the permitting process. Last month, a lawyer representing Helaba asked that the project’s application for a special permit be withdrawn without prejudice, which would allow the application to be refiled later.
That could be a problem, according to City Councilor Ed Tarallo, chairman of the council’s Ordinances and Rules Committee, which was reviewing the permit. The immediate question is whether the bank can take any action on the application, he said, since Helaba was not involved in filing it.
“The Law Department has been uncomfortable with the responses we’ve received,’’ Tarallo said. “We need the cooperation of all the original parties and the bank, and I’m not sure we have that at this moment.’’
The matter has to be resolved by Dec. 28, Tarallo said, noting that if the City Council denies the permit, Helaba could be limited in the kind of application it can submit later. Helaba told the city it expects to return early in the new year with some indication of its plans for the property, said Tarallo.
“They believe the world has changed significantly since their last application,’’ he said. “The reality is the development may be of a different scope or type.’’
The concern then will be what that looks like, because the city had already made significant progress toward mitigation on open space and traffic that officials would be reluctant to give up.
The agreement with the former developers included traffic improvements, preservation of the 20-acre Berry Farm, establishment of a recreational rail trail, and a land easement that could allow a direct link between the site and Route 128/Interstate 95.
“The city is unified on the issues that are necessary to protect the neighborhoods,’’ said Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, who wants to see the agreements honored. “This was a lot of work to get to this point, and I don’t think it’s advisable for the new owner to start from scratch, but if that’s what they want to do, that’s what we’ll do.’’
It would also would involve the city renewing its environmental concerns with the state, she said.
“I think that the bank is trying to see if they can have another developer who gives them a better deal,’’ said McCarthy. “They didn’t like the terms of this deal and they’re shopping for another developer.’’
The former Polaroid headquarters is a hot property, Begelfer said. He said he believes Helaba is reviewing the potential for the site in order to market it better, but expects the bank to proceed without getting involved in a new permitting process. “There are going to be a lot of interested parties in this property.’’
