To ensure you recieve your Boston.com e-mails, please add newsletters@boston.com to your address book. If you have trouble reading this e-mail, go to http://www.boston.com/business/ticker_headlines
Daily Business Update Get up-to-the-minute Business Updates More Business News »
Wed. Jan. 18, 2012 New Partners HealthCare, Tufts Health Plan pact lowers Partners’ reimbursements Partners HealthCare System Inc., the state’s largest hospital and physicians organization, this afternoon said it has torn up the last two years of its contract with insurer Tufts Health Plan, replacing it with a new four-year pact that will lower Partners’ reimbursements by more than $105 million from what they would have been under the former rate structure. The agreement with Tufts covers payments to all Partners doctors groups and hospitals, including the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals in Boston.	Advertisement
Internet protest spurs flood of tweets, calls to Congress Today’s online protest against legislation to fight Internet piracy has led to scores of calls to Congress and a steady outcry via Twitter, after some of the biggest names on the Web -- including Google Inc., Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Mozilla -- blacked out their sites or posted messages opposing the legislation.
Connecticut regulators will review NStar merger with Northeast Utilities The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority said in a statement that it is “legally obliged” to review the $17.5 billion deal to ensure that the combined utility would be able to provide “safe, adequate, reliable and reasonably priced services for Connecticut customers.” The agency indicated it would attempt to conclude its review by mid-April, when NStar and Northeast Utilities are required by the merger agreement to reassess their joining if all necessary regulatory approvals aren’t in place. The companies must now file a merger application with the state.
Report: Auto insurance premiums drop in Massachusetts Premiums for personal auto insurance in Massachusetts fell by nearly 13 percent between 2007 and 2009 after Massachusetts stopped setting auto insurance rates, according to a report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. According to the report, the average premium from the end of 2007 to the end of 2009 fell from $1,056 to $923, a drop of $133. Over the same time period, the national average premium decreased by 1.4 percent.
Boston fund manager arrested in FBI sweep on insider trading Former Boston hedge fund trader Todd Newman was among seven people charged today by federal authorities and charged with participating in an insider trading case that allegedly earned tens of millions of dollars in illegal profits on shares of computer giant Dell Inc.
Harvard Business School survey: US has a deepening competitiveness problem A survey of nearly 10,000 alumni of Harvard Business School found that 66 percent of respondents believe that the US is falling behind when it comes to competing in the global economy. Asked to evaluate how the trajectory of the US business environment compares with emerging markets, just 8 percent or respondents see the US pulling ahead. HBS professors Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin designed and conducted the survey in partnership with Abt SRBI, a public policy and market research organization.
Zipcar appoints president for Europe Car-sharing service Zipcar Inc. said that it named Frerk-Malte Feller as president of its European operations, where it has made acquisitions to expand. Feller will be responsible for putting in place and overseeing the Cambridge-based company’s growth strategy for Europe. Zipcar bought United Kingdom-based Streetcar Ltd. in 2010 and late last year said would take a majority stake in Spain’s Avancar.
RaNA Therapeutics completes $20.7m financing round RaNA Therapeutics Inc. said it has completed a $20.7 million round of financing co-led by Atlas Venture, SR One, and Monsanto, with participation of Partners Innovation Fund.
MassChallenge seeks entrepreneurs for its class of 2012 MassChallenge said it is launching its latest search for start-ups and new businesses that can create jobs and invigorate the economy. The nonprofit said the application process for its MassChallenge Class of 2012 will run from March through mid April. MassChallenge describes its mission as seeking to catalyze a start-up renaissance by providing support such as financing and four months of free office space to early-stage entrepreneurs. MassChallenge launched its first start-up competition and accelerator program in 2010.
Gillette product aims to tame and trim goatees and chin whiskers Gillette, the Boston grooming brand, has lined up some celebrity “brand ambassadors” to help unveil its Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler, a $19.99 product designed as a “precision styling tool for men with facial hair.” The brand ambassadors are André 3000 Benjamin, Gael GarcíaBernal, and Adrien Brody. Many men with facial hair rely on a variety of products to keep from looking wild and wooly. To devise an all-purpose tool for this purpose, researchers from both the Gillette and Braun brands were put on the case.
Hedge fund employees arrested in Boston, New York Two people are in custody in the US probe of insider trading at hedge funds and another two, including Level Global Investors LP co-founder Anthony Chiasson, are to surrender to authorities later today, according to a person familiar with the matter. Todd Newman of Diamondback Capital Management LLC was arrested in the Boston area today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the arrests haven’t been made public.