Cambridge mayor makes new appeal to Hyatt
Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons sent a letter to the president of Hyatt Hotels Corp. yesterday, reiterating her dismay over the dismissal of 98 local housekeepers and stating that the City of Cambridge would no longer do business at the Hyatt unless the workers were reinstated.
"This is the season for charity and neighborliness," she wrote to president Mark Hoplamazian, "and it is not too late for the Hyatt Corporation to do the right thing."
The three local Hyatts - in Cambridge, downtown Boston, and at Logan International Airport
- fired their entire housekeeping staffs Aug. 31 and immediately replaced them with outsourced workers who made half as much money.
Numerous local organizations have boycotted and picketed the hotels, including groups of rabbis, politicians, lawyers, and school children. Hyatt responded to the outcry by offering to hire back the housekeepers through its outsourcing firm, United Service Cos., with their old wage rate guaranteed until the end of next year and health care benefits extended through March. Only six of the workers have accepted the offer.
Hyatt responded to the mayor's letter in a statement: "A boycott will only further threaten the jobs of our associates working in Hyatt properties during the worst economic period in decades."
The Cambridge and Boston city councils have both passed resolutions condemning Hyatt's actions, and Governor Deval Patrick has threatened a state boycott if the housekeepers aren't rehired.
The City of Cambridge doesn't do a lot of business at the Hyatt, Simmons said in an interview, but she is encouraging residents and other groups to boycott the chain. Simmons held her own wedding reception at the Cambridge Hyatt the day before the housekeepers were fired.
"I feel very betrayed," she said. "Had I known I would have pulled it."
State hands out $25 million in life science tax breaks
The board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center awarded $25 million in tax incentives to 28 life sciences companies that commited to creating a total of 918 new jobs in the coming year. The tax breaks were established under the Patrick administration's 10-year, $1 billion life sciences initiative.
A mix of large companies and start-ups in the biotechnology and medical device industries received the incentives.
They include:
Anylum Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, Biogen Idec Inc. of Cambridge, Constellation Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington, Dyax Corp. of Cambridge, Facet Solutions of Hopkinton, FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge.
Genzyme Corp. of Cambridge and Framingham, GTC Biotherapeutics Inc. of Framingham, Hologic Inc. of Bedford, Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, InfraReDx Inc. of Burlington, Interlace Medical inc. of Framingham, Lightlab Imaging Inc. of Westford, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge. Morgan Advanced Ceremics Inc. of New Bedford, NeuroMetrix Inc. of Waltham, Nova Biomedical Corp. of Waltham, OmniGuide Inc. of Cambridge, Organogenesis of Canton, Pharmasphere LLC of Worcester, Sepracor Inc. of Marlboro, Shire Human Genetic Therapies Inc. of Lexington, STD Med Inc. of Stoughton, Still River Systems Inc. of Littleton, TEI Biosciences Inc. of South Boston, Tolerx Inc. of Cambridge, and Zoll Medical Corp. of Chelmsford.
Cambridge joins Hyatt boycott
"This is the season for charity and neighborliness," she wrote to president Mark Hoplamazian, "and it is not too late for the Hyatt Corporation to do the right thing."
The three local full-service Hyatts -- in Cambridge, downtown Boston, and at Logan International Airport -- fired their entire housekeeping staffs Aug. 31 and immediately replaced them with outsourced workers who made half as much money.
The Cambridge and Boston city councils both passed resolutions condemning the Hyatt's actions, and Governor Deval Patrick threatened a state boycott if the housekeepers weren't rehired. Numerous local organizations have joined the boycott, including groups of rabbis, state legislators, lawyers, and school children.
Hyatt responded to the outcry by offering to hire back the housekeepers through its outsourcing firm, United Service Cos., with their old wage rate guaranteed until the end of next year. Only a handful of the workers have accepted the offer, which Simmons called "an insult."
Hyatt did not immediately comment on the letter.
The City of Cambridge doesn't do a lot of business at the Hyatt, Simmons said, but she is encouraging citizens and groups such as the Chamber of Commerce to boycott the hotel chain as well. Simmons herself held her wedding reception at the Cambridge Hyatt the day before the housekeepers were fired on Aug. 31. "I feel very betrayed," she said. "Had I known I would have pulled it."
(by Katie Johnston Chase, Globe staff)
3Com posts 55 percent jump in profit
For the three months ended Nov. 27, the company earned $20 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with profit of $12.9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the corresponding period a year ago. There were 2 percent more shares outstanding in the recent quarter.
3Com recorded a $10.8 million favorable tax adjustment. That was partly offset by $4.6 million in transaction costs related to the company's pending acquisition by Hewlett-Packard Co. The $2.7 billion deal was announced last month. Excluding these items, adjusted profit in the latest quarter totaled 9 cents per share.
Revenue slid 9 percent to $322.2 million, compared with $354.6 million a year ago.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 7 cents per share, on revenue of $299.7 million.
Operating expenses fell 8 percent from the year-ago quarter. The company repaid $88 million in debt during the period, including $40 million ahead of schedule.
While revenue was down on a year-over-year basis, 3Com noted sales rose 11 percent from the fiscal first quarter. Sales were up in Latin America, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and China.
3Com rose 3 cents to $7.51 in morning trading. (AP)
Psivida says Iluvien meets key study goals
Psivida and its partner Alimera are developing Iluvien for diabetic macular edema treatment. The condition is a disease of the retina that affects individuals with diabetes and can lead to blindness.
The drug met key goals for corrected vision in the late-stage studies. Privately held Alimera expects to seek regulatory approval of the drug candidate in the second quarter.
Shares of Psivida skyrocketed $1.92, or 55 percent, to $5.44 in morning trading. (AP)
Reebok gearing up for NHL Winter Classic
If you're planning to attend the upcoming NHL Winter Classic, which is taking place in the open air in Fenway Park on January 1, you're going to need some extra layers. Reebok, the official outfitter of the NHL, has been gearing up to provide them. And the Mass.-based company is reporting that Winter Classic merchandise is selling briskly.
The most popular items are Bruins Player Name and Number Tees (Milan Lucic's #17 is the most popular), Center Ice Player and Goalie Knit Hats, and Bruins Jerseys (above).
One possible reason for the strong sales, according to the company: the items feature the "spoked B" that was last worn in 1940. Another distinguishing characteristic: the gold, brown and antique white colors that the new merchandise features.
But it may just be that local hockey fans feel they need more clothing of any kind to enjoy hockey in frigid Fenway.
GT Solar names GFI Energy executive to board
R. Chad Van Sweden is vice president of the GFI Energy Group of Oaktree Capital Management LP. He previously worked as an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston and at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. At DLJ, he worked on mergers and acquisitions in the energy and power industries.
Van Sweden will replace Richard K. Landers, who is stepping down.
Shares of GT Solar, based in Merrimack, N.H., fell 6 cents to $5.88 on Tuesday. (AP)
RI picks Chevron for Narragansett wind project
Chevron's proposal beat out bids from three other firms. It plans to finance the site work and turbine construction without funding from the town or state, Carcieri's office said.
Current plans call for the turbines to be built on four sites owned by either the town or the state. The first turbine could be finished by the end of next year, said Department of Environmental Management director W. Michael Sullivan.
Full entry
Raytheon unit wins $57.4M contract from Air Force
The contract is for the 750 Paveway III GBU-24A/B laser-guided bomb conversation kit, which will be used with a MK-84 warhead. The equipment is for Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
The Defense Department said the entire value of the contract has been committed.
Raytheon Missile Systems Co. is based in Tucson, Ariz. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Co., which is based in Waltham, Mass.
Raytheon's shares fell 41 cents to $52.55 on Tuesday. (AP)
Atlantic Tele-Network declares 20-cent dividend
The telecommunications company, which is based in Salem, Mass., said the dividend is payable on Jan. 11 to stockholders of record at Dec. 31. (AP)
GI Dynamics device wins European approval
Lexington medical device company GI Dynamics said today it won approval in Europe for a gastrointestinal liner it hopes to eventually sell in the United states to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
The product, called the EndoBarrier, is implanted in patients via the mouth in an outpatient endoscopic procedure that is considered an alternative to gastric bypass surgery. It creates a barrier between food and the wall of the small intestine, to control how food moves through the digestive system.
GI Dynamics is targeting a market of about 21 million Americans and 200 million people worldwide who suffer from type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
The six-year-old company is backed by venture capital firms, including Advanced Technology Ventures, Catalyst Health Ventures, Cutlass Capital, Domain Associates, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., and Polaris Venture Partners.
Patriot Place to use solar panels from Evergreen
MARLBORO --
The company said more than 2,800 of the panels will be used. The company did not put a value on the contract.
Mr. Vader goes to Wall Street
Dario Cantatore/Getty Images
From the Death Star to Wall Street?
"Star Wars" bad guy Darth Vader was flanked by Storm Troopers as he rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. No, he wasn't testing out a new planet detonation device. The characters were on hand to represent Lucasfilms Ltd. and the timeless appeal of its most famous movie franchise. Everyone's favorite garbage can-shaped robot - R2-D2 - was also on hand, rolling along the trading floor.
No word yet on whether Vader used the force to influence the markets.
Watch video of the event below.
Six accused in Mass. mortgage scam
Three real estate investors, two mortgage brokers and a former attorney were indicted in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving $12.5 million in loans and at least 26 distressed properties in the Boston area, the state attorney general's office said today.
In indictments returned by a Suffolk County grand jury, the six defendants face multiple counts of larceny and other charges related to a scheme that prosecutors allege gained them about $2 million in profits. Officials say they used false documents to defraud the homeowners and more than a dozen lenders.
Those charged include real estate investors Joshua Brown, 29, of Brockton; Brian Frank, 32, of New Hartford, NY; and John Sweetland, 28, of Yorba Linda, Calif; mortgage brokers Linda Defeo, 28, of Springfield, Brian Arrington, 39, of Boston; and former attorney Bruce Namenson, 47, of Walpole who has been disbarred and already is in jail on unrelated charges.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said Brown, Frank and Sweetland – connected with a company called Boston Equity Investments -- allegedly targeted owners of properties that had been on the market for a long time, persuading them to give the company an “option” to sell the homes at lower prices. They then allegedly found buyers to buy the properties as investments, promising to help "renovate, rent and resell” them, Coakley said.
They also conspired with the mortgage brokers and Namenson to help the buyers obtain loans by using false documentation, according to the state. The money borrowed exceeded the selling prices, however, allowing Boston Equity to pocket the difference, according to prosecutors. In the end, almost all of the homes were foreclosed upon at significant loss to the buyers and lenders, the state said
“It created a Ponzi scheme of real estate,’’ Coakley said at a press conference.
Brown was arrested yesterday and released on $75,000 bail; Frank was arrested Saturday in New York, authorities said. Defeo, Arrington and Namenson have been summoned to appear in Suffolk Superior Court next month. In 2008, Namenson was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty in a scam to inflate medical bills submitted to insurance companies. There is a warrant out for Sweetland’s arrest.
None of the defendants could be reached for comment.
Scallopers ask NOAA head to restore some cuts
The industry called the cuts "rapid and unnecessary" in a letter delivered Saturday to NOAA head Jane Lubchenco.
The booming scallop industry has made New Bedford the nation's highest revenue port. But in November, regulators cut annual fishing days for scallopers from 37 to 29, which lowered the projected catch by 11 million pounds. The move to protect stocks came after scallopers overshot last year's projected catch.
In the letter, industry members said restoring 6 million pounds to the catch would bring $40 million to the industry and prevent loss of market share without hurting stocks. (AP)
Shire seeks approval to treat Fabry disease
If approved by the FDA next year, Replagal, currently available to Fabry disease patients in the United States under an FDA-approved treatment protocol, would compete with Fabrazyme, a drug produced by Cambridge-based biotechnology company Genzyme Corp.
Shire, which operates its human genetic therapies division out of Lexington, worked with the FDA to set up an early access program for Replagal earlier this year in response to Fabrazyme shortages.
The shortages have been caused by the temporary shutdown last summer of Genzyme's Allston Landing manufacturing plant, where the company discovered a virus in a bioreactor in June.
Replagal already is approved for use in 45 countries. Shire has also applied for FDA approval of another drug, velaglucerase alfa, that would compete with Cerezyme, the Genzyme treatment for Gaucher disease, another enzyme deficiency disorder.
(By Robert Weisman, Globe staff)
KPN announces new iBasis leadership team
The new team will be led by John van Vianen as CEO of iBasis. Paul Floyd, formerly Sr. VP of Products, Operations, and Network, has been named Chief Operating Officer; Edwin van Ierland, formerly Sr. VP of Global Sales and Purchase, has been named Global Sales Officer. Chief Financial Officer Dick Tennant, Chief Legal Officer Mark Flynn, and Vice President of Global Human Resources Tamah Rosker remain in their current roles.
In addition, the iBasis Board of Directors has been changed as a result of the merger and iBasis' becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of KPN. The Board consists of Eelco Blok, chairman, Joost Farwerck, director and John van Vianen, director. Blok and Farwerck were members of the iBasis Board of Directors since the completion of the original transaction between iBasis and KPN in October 2007.
KPN reiterated its commitment to keeping iBasis' operations intact as a separate entity and to remaining headquartered in Burlington, Mass.
(Globe staff)
New Balance will clear Charles River pathways
The partnership is designed to allow those seeking to get into shape, train for the Boston Marathon, or take a leisurely winter stroll, the option of doing so outside.
Under the agreement, New Balance, which is based in Boston, has pledged to provide funding to support snow removal efforts along the 17-plus mile Charles River path spanning from the Museum of Science area in Cambridge to the Galen Street Bridge in Watertown.
The snow removal will be performed by DCR within 24 hours of the completion of a storm. Because the route runs in close proximity to the river bank, there is limited salting and sanding that can be performed, so the DCR and New Balance urge runners to continue to use caution.
New Balance will host consumer events along the path during the winter where the company will showcase new products, provide giveaways, and interact with area athletes.
The New Balance sponsored clearing will begin with the next snowstorm this winter.
(Globe staff)
Boston Properties declares quarterly dividend
The real estate investment trust, which owns a portfolio of office properties, said the dividend is payable on Jan. 29 to shareholders of record at Dec. 31. (AP)
Progress Software issues upbeat earnings report
During the fourth quarter, which ended November 30, operating income increased 202 percent to $25.8 million from $8.5 million during the same period in fiscal 2008. Net income increased 158 percent to $16.7 million from $6.5 million in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter was $136.8 million, down 2 percent from $139.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.
Progress, which makes business software, announced major jobs cuts earlier this month, saying it would cut its work force by 12% to 14% by early in 2010.
Richard D. Reidy, president and chief executive officer, attributed the strong quarter to "excellent customer wins along with well-managed expense management, despite the difficult economic environment."
Reidy also said he expects "our newer product lines to continue on their significant growth path in 2010 achieving a greater than 20 percent increase in revenue; we also anticipate strong earnings overall for the year."
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