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Wed. Jan. 11, 2012 Yellow Wood Partners raises $225m Boston investment firm Yellow Wood Partners LLC said it has raised $225 million of capital, exceeding its target of $200 million. The firm said its plan is to make investments ranging from $10 million to $80 million in companies in the consumer packaged-goods industry, an area where the firm has extensive experience. Yellow Wood has made previous investments in such brands as Meow Mix and Spic And Span.	Advertisement
Massachusetts officials consider DNA testing to prevent fish mislabeling State officials are considering using DNA testing to combat fish mislabeling and are launching a pilot program in partnership with Legal Sea Foods that would trace seafood using barcodes, according to testimony prepared today for a hearing held by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. These efforts follow a Globe report in October that uncovered widespread seafood misrepresentation at area restaurants and lax government oversight.
Boston Scientific is bullish on its plan to broaden its business The new leadership team at Boston Scientific Corp. sees a push to broaden its business base paying off in the next two years and is aiming for annual double-digit earnings increases over the next five years. That was the word from company executives who made their pitch to investors today at the 30th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Franciso. Investments in new products and new geographic markets should enable Boston Scientific to grow in the coming years.
Amtrak bringing faster locomotives for Northeast Amtrak this year having the first of 70 new locomotives built to eventually power the entire regional Northeast fleet. The electric locomotives, which will operate at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour between Washington and Boston -- up from 110 miles per hour on some trains -- will replace units that have been in operation for up to 30 years and traveled an average of 3.5 million miles.
Arnold ad about ‘Egg McMuffin of boyfriends’ inspires tweets and Facebook mentions Arnold Worldwide has created a new commercial for the Egg McMuffin that the Boston ad agency claims is creating a bit of hubbub on social media. The ad uses the phrase “Egg McMuffin” as a gold standard for excellence, as in, “You are the Egg McMuffin of boyfriends.” According to Arnold, the phrase is now showing up in tweets, Facebook mentions, and Craigslist posts for rental apartments. To view the ad, please click on “Full Entry.”
Vermont dairies scramble to find feed after Tropical Storm Irene Flooding from Tropical Storm Irene swept away some bales of hay Doug Turner grew to feed his dairy cows and ripped open others, contaminating them with muddy water. In most years, Turner grows all the hay and corn his 45 cows need, but like a number of Vermont farmers, he’s struggling to find feed this winter after the August storm damaged a third of his crops. The timing of the destruction couldn’t be worse. Feed prices have risen amid a hay shortage caused by drought in the Southwest.
BackBay Communications will do PR for Expect Miracles Foundation BackBay Communications, a Boston-based public relations firm with a focus on the financial-services industry, said it has been retained as public relations agency of record by Expect Miracles Foundation - Financial Services Against Cancer. Expect Miracles Foundation was formerly Mutual Funds Against Cancer. The BackBay Communications mandate includes ongoing promotion of the foundation’s recently established Miracle Maker Leadership Council and the council’s breakfast series to be held over the coming year in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.
Raytheon in talks to mount Javelin rocket on Tata combat vehicle Raytheon Co., the world’s largest missile maker, is in talks with Tata Motors Ltd. to mount the Javelin anti-tank weapon system on an infantry combat vehicle that India’s largest truckmaker may make. “This could be one of India’s solutions to covering the full spectrum of combat equipment challenges in the region,” Brad Barnard, senior manager for international business and strategy at Waltham-based Raytheon. Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. are expanding their military equipment units after India opened defense production to private players in 2001.
Rick Jakious is the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network’s new chief executive The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, the association that represents the Commonwealth’s nonprofit sector, said it has a new chief executive: Rick Jakious. The network, which refers to itself as MNN, seeks to raise the nonprofit sector’s visibility, engage members in public policy initiatives, and help individual nonprofits in the state. MNN currently includes nearly 500 members representing nonprofits in various parts of Massachusetts. Jakious comes to MNN from City Year Inc. He succeeds David Magnani, a former Massachusetts State Senator.
Bain Capital and private equity world jarred by attacks on Romney Bain Capital executives have been bracing since last summer for the inevitable downside to their old boss running for president: seeing their firm’s name dragged through the mud by Mitt Romney’s opponents. But the onslaught has come harder and faster than they or the industry expected, with Romney’s emergence as a frontrunner in the primaries. Republican rivals have painted Bain Capital and private equity firms like it as engaged in the wrong kind of capitalism, making money as corporate raiders and by cutting jobs.
Sanofi outlines cuts SAN FRANCISCO -- French drug maker Sanofi SA plans to wring $170 million in annual cost savings out of its operations after acquiring Cambridge biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. last year, the Sanofi chief executive said today, but many of the cuts will be at legacy Sanofi sites outside the Boston area. For instance, Sanofi is closing a New Jersey drug research lab because it has been less productive than Genzyme’s labs, which have developed treatments for rare diseases.