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Mon. Mar. 19, 2012 Ohio fires BNY Mellon, State Street The state of Ohio today fired Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Boston-based State Street Corp. as custodian banks for $41 billion in the state’s public pension funds, in the wake of allegations that both firms have overcharged clients for foreign exchange services. BNY Mellon said in a statement, “We’re disappointed by the treasurer’s actions because we believe we have provided the state with valuable services at competitive prices.”	Advertisement
Mullen’s mediahub lands account for National Geographic TV channels Boston ad agency Mullen said its media-buying unit, known as mediahub, has been awarded the business of National Geographic TV channels after winning an agency review. Financial details of the new account were not included in mediahub’s press release. The budget for the work that mediahub will handle is estimated at around $40 million. According to mediahub, it will be responsible for media planning and buying across all traditional and digital media platforms as National Geographic looks to grow its viewership with ads that it mostly created on its own.
Verizon wins in $7.5m tax dispute with Boston, Newton A Massachusetts appeals court ruled on Monday that the cities of Boston and Newton should refund $7.5 million in property taxes collected from telecom company Verizon New England Inc. The court vacated a 2008 order by the state’s Appellate Tax Board which allowed cities to levy taxes on telephone poles and cables that pass over publicly-owned land. The court also ruled that Boston and Newton acted prematurely in levying the taxes on Verizon while the tax board’s order was under appeal.
US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is set to visit Cambridge start-up Sun Catalytix US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is scheduled to meet with executives from Massachusetts clean energy companies Monday afternoon, the office of US Senator John Kerry said. One stop on Chu’s local itinerary is Sun Catalytix, a Cambridge start-up. Focused on energy storage and renewable fuels technology, the company looks to commercialize the scientific discoveries of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology research lab headed by professor Daniel Nocera.
Local gas prices rise 2 cents a gallon The average price for gas in Massachusetts is $3.739 a gallon in the latest weekly survey from AAA, up 2 cents a gallon from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said Monday. The current average is 13 cents higher than the average from a month ago. Nationwide, the current average price for gas is $3.84 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.47 a gallon.
Mets owners, Madoff trustee settle before $303 million trial The New York Mets owners agreed to pay $162 million to settle a $303 million lawsuit by the liquidator of Bernard Madoff’s firm, just before they were due to go to trial for allegedly ignoring the fraud. Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz and related defendants reached the settlement with the liquidator, trustee Irving Picard, March 16, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said today.
Genzyme renews a Cambridge lease Genzyme Corp., the Cambridge biotechnology company that was recently acquired by the French drug maker Sanofi SA, has renewed its lease at Cambridge Parkway, said a broker involved in the real estate transaction. The broker is Cassidy Turley FHO, which represented Genzyme in lease negotiations with the building’s landlord, Invesco. Lincoln Property Co. represented Invesco. The nine-story building at 55 Cambridge Parkway is located near the Charles River, and Genzyme’s lease renewal there is for 82,490 square feet of space.
Cellceutix enters into a collaborative agreement with Beth Israel Deaconess Cellceutix Corp., a Beverly biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat unmet medical conditions, plans to collaborate with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on a research project that will explore the potential of a Cellceutix drug candidate for treating certain types of cancer. According to Cellceutix, Beth Israel wants to look into the the nuclear and mitochondrial pro-apoptotic function of p53 in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, two types of cancer that are particularly resistant to therapy.
Appeals court: Marine Polymer’s patent damages award of more than $29 million will stand Marine Polymer Technologies Inc.’s patent damages award of more than $29 million will stand, according to a March 15 ruling from a federal appeals court. The Danvers-based company sued HemCon Medical Technologies Inc. in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire, for patent infringement in March 2006, alleging infringement of its patent 6,864,245. Both companies make products such as bandages and dressings to control bleeding resulting from trauma or surgery.
Direct Air parent files for bankruptcy protection Just three days after abruptly stopping service and leaving travelers stranded, the parent of discount airline Direct Air has filed for bankruptcy protection. Southern Sky Air & Tours LLC late Thursday filed for Chapter 11 protection in Worcester. Court documents show the company has between $10 million and $50 million in debt and just $500,000 to $1 million in assets. Worcester is one of the destinations the airline serves.
Cubist officially opens expanded R&D facility Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that it has officially opened its expanded research and development facility at its headquarters in Lexington. The 104,000 square-foot expansion includes state-of-the art laboratory space for R&D around antibiotics and other acute care products, a molecular modeling room, office space, and conference rooms. Cubist makes a drug called Cubicin, which treats skin and bloodstream infections. The company had revenue of $754 million last year.
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