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Mon. Apr. 23, 2012 Commission endorses review of state tax breaks The state’s Tax Expenditure Commission, assembled to review a $26 billion budget of tax breaks, deductions, and expenditures, unanimously approved recommendations on Monday calling for periodic reviews to assess the effectiveness of current tax expenditures and for certain breaks to sunset every five years. If the report’s recommendations are embraced by the Legislature and Governor Deval Patrick, state officials would work on a one-time review to identify specific policy purposes for each of the more than 200 tax expenditures now on the books.	Advertisement
Ray Tomlinson is inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame for inventing networked e-mail Raymond Tomlinson, now a principal engineer at a unit of Raytheon Co., is among technology pioneers being inducted to the Internet Hall of Fame, which has just been established by the nonprofit Internet Society. In a statement, the Internet Society said it thinks “it’s important to recognize innovators such as Ray Tomlinson for expanding the reach of the Internet by inventing networked e-mail. Forty years later, his contribution still plays a critical role in the way we communicate in our digital age.”
HFF arranges $48m loan for hotel near Fenway Park HFF, a provider of commercial real estate services, said Monday that it has arranged a $48 million construction loan for the development of a 175-room Residence Inn by Marriott near Fenway Park. HFF said it worked on behalf of Boylston Properties Co., the project’s developer, to secure construction financing through US Bank. Boylston Properties recently started construction of the $60 million hotel on Brookline Avenue. The hotel is scheduled to open in the summer of 2013.
Boston Scientific’s Cognis defibrillator may have flaw, analyst says Boston Scientific Corp.’s Cognis/Teligen defibrillator, used to shock a stopped heart back into a normal rhythm, may have a flaw that can cause the device to heat up and has been linked to one death, said Rick Wise, an analyst with Leerink Swann & Co. An electrical transformer has shown a “pattern of malfunction,” Wise said in a note to clients, citing Boston Scientific’s Product Performance Report.
Mass. gas prices drop 4 cents a gallon The average price for a gas in Massachusetts is $3.859 a gallon in the latest weekly survey from AAA, down 4 cents from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said Monday. Nationwide, the current average is $3.85 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average was $3.82 a gallon, AAA Southern New England said. AAA’s weekly surveys focus on self-serve, regular unleaded gas.
Mass. Office of Consumer Affairs: Data breaches since 2007 have affected 3.1m The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs said Monday that it has been notified of data breaches affecting nearly 3.12 million people since late 2007 and Sept. 30 of last year. The vast majority of those breaches involved the loss of electronic information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers, and one reason why such information was so vulnerable was that it was often not properly encrypted, the office said.
Hasbro posts 1Q loss, revenue declines Hasbro Inc. posted a first-quarter loss on Monday mostly on hefty severance costs as revenue declined. The results from the maker of Monopoly and Transformers missed Wall Street estimates. The nation’s second biggest toy company experienced soft sales in its games and girls’ products, but its preschool and boys’ segments experienced higher sales. The preschool category benefited from strong sales of Sesame Street and Playskool Rescue Heroes products, including the Transformers Rescue Bots.
Ironwood, Forest say FDA pushes back bowel drug review Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge and Forest Laboratories Inc. said US regulators extended the review of their linaclotide drug for irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation by three months. The Food and Drug Administration pushed back the deadline to September because it asked for an additional analysis of existing data on the relative effect of two doses of linaclotide. The FDA expects to make a decision in September, and the companies continue to plan to begin selling the drug this year,
NeuroMetrix to support study at the Joslin Diabetes Center NeuroMetrix Inc., a Waltham-based medical device company focused on diabetes, said Monday that that it will support a clinical study of 50 obese patients with diabetes at the Joslin Diabetes Center. The patients will participate in a weight and lifestyle management program as the study seeks to determine whether weight loss and improved diabetes management can impact the progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, or DPN. DPN affects more than 50 percent of people with diabetes and causes significant morbidity including pain and increased risk of falling.
Amag drug clears a regulatory hurdle in Europe Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington said that its iron deficiency treatment has gotten a positive review from a panel of European regulators, raising the possibility that the drug could go on the market in Europe later this year. Once the drug goes on the European market, Amag would receive a $30 million milestone payment from its licensing partner. The company would also be in line to receive royalties from sales. The drug is already available in the US.
Long-awaited plan for Roxbury site submitted The developers of a large swath of land across from Boston Police headquarters in Roxbury are moving forward with plans to build a complex that will include retail stores, offices, homes and a museum featuring African-American artists. If approved by Boston regulators, the Tremont Crossing development will fill about 8 acres of city-owned parking lots with seven new buildings. Its developers, a joint-venture that includes nonprofit Elma Lewis Partners and Feldco Development Corp., filed detailed plans with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on Friday.
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