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Thu. Apr. 19, 2012 Cape filmmaker gets jail time for abusing state tax credits Filmmaker Daniel Adams pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding the state to obtain $4.7 million in tax credits he used to finance two films he shot on Cape Cod. Adams was sentenced to serve two to three years in prison and 10 years of probation by Suffolk Superior Court judge Carol Ball after admitting to 10 counts of larceny and filing false claims with the state for his use of the tax credits.	Advertisement
Harvard housing center: Home improvement spending is on the rise Home remodeling activity is expected to pick up later this year after “two years of bouncing around a bottom,” thanks to stronger pending home sales and continuing low interest rates, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University said Thursday. An unusually mild winter in many parts of the country also contibuted to the pick-up, said the center, which projects that annual spending on home improvements will see “healthy growth” in 2012, ending the year up 5.9 percent.
Boston Scientific 1Q profit jumps despite dip in sales Natick-based medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. said Thursday its net income leaped in the first quarter against a year-earlier period, when the company’s performance was bogged down by impairment and restructuring costs. The company said its net income more than doubled to $113 million, or 8 cents per share, from $46 million, or 3 cents per share. The company’s profit grew despite a 3 percent drop in sales, particularly of the company’s best-selling products: implantable defibrillators and stents.
EMC 1Q earnings climb on storage sales, VMware EMC Corp., the world’s biggest maker of storage computers, said first-quarter profit rose 23 percent as companies housed increasing volumes of data and purchased more software from majority-owned VMware Inc. Net income advanced to $586.8 million, or 27 cents a share, from $477.1 million, or 21 cents, a year earlier, the Hopkinton-based company said. Excluding some items, profit was 37 cents, compared with the 36-cent average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
New York Times profit increases sevenfold after asset sales New York Times Co., publisher of the namesake newspaper and of The Boston Globe, reported a more than sevenfold rise in first-quarter profit after reaping gains on the sale of regional publications. Net income rose to $42.1 million, or 28 cents a share, from $5.42 million, or 4 cents, a year earlier, the New York based company said today in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was 8 cents a share, beating the 2-cent average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales declined 0.3 percent to $499.4 million.
Friendly’s taps John M. Maguire to be its new CEO Friendly’s Ice Cream LLC, the Wilbraham-based company that operates the Friendly’s restaurant chain, named John Maguire to be its new CEO. Previously an executive with the Panera Bread restaurant chain, he succeeds Harsha Agadi, who resigned as Friendly’s CEO in February. Friendly’s was once an ice cream icon in much of New England. But it spent several months in bankruptcy, before exiting from bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
MIT professor wins award celebrating women in computing Nancy Lynch, a long-time Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer science professor, was named Tuesday the Athena Lecturer, an annual award for pioneering female researchers who work in computer science. Lynch, an MIT professor since 1981, is the seventh recipient of the award from the Association for Computing Machinery’s Council on Women in Computing. The prize comes with a $10,000 check from Google Inc., which has supported efforts to boost the number of women who work in computing.
Metabolix opens office in Europe Metabolix Inc., a Cambridge biotechnology company that makes biodegradable plastics and chemicals, announced Wednesday the opening of its first office in Europe. The office is located in a life sciences park in Cologne, Germany, Metabolix said; the office marks the company’s first expansion outside of the United States. Metabolix neighbors in the Cologne park include Bayer HealthCare and Sanofi SA, the French drug maker that recently bought Genzyme Corp. of Cambridge.
How’s this for a print-out? A mini 3D replica of Fenway Park Objet Ltd., a company specializing in 3D printing, has unveiled a 100th birthday present to Fenway Park: A 3D print-out of the famous ballpark. Objet, which has offices in Billerica, has everything from machinery that can help create visual effects for Hollywood movies such as “Iron Man” to printers that can be used to make rapid prototypes of new products.
KPMG survey: New tax could hit medical device companies hard Executives in the medical device manufacturing industry predict that a new excise tax and the burden of its related compliance costs will hurt their companies’ bottom lines, according to a survey conducted by KPMG LLP, an audit, tax, and advisory firm. According to the survey of 190 financial executives from the medical device manufacturing industry, 40 percent of respondents said their companies are already contemplating actions such as price increases and cost reductions, including possible layoffs, as a way to stay competitive.
Shaw’s launches ‘From Deli to Dugout Sweepstakes’ on Red Sox Radio Network Radio station operator Entercom Communications and Shaw’s Supermarkets are launching a “From Deli to Dugout Sweepstakes” promotion as part of the ongoing relationship between Shaw’s and Entercom’s WEEI Sports Radio and the Red Sox Radio Network. The sweepstakes will reward one customer each week for buying specific Dietz & Watson deli items with their Shaw’s Rewards Card. Prizes include an opportunity to watch batting practice on-field.
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