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Thu. May. 31, 2012 Dunkin’ gears up for National Donut Day In the culinary calendar, few moveable feasts are more high and holy than National Donut Day, and to celebrate, Dunkin’ Donuts said that participating restaurants nationwide will offer customers a free donut of their choice with the purchase of any beverage. National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday of June each year, Canton-based Dunkin’ noted. And that means that Dunkin’s National Donut Day special offer is scheduled for tomorrow --- at least for as long as supplies last.	Advertisement
Moderate growth, then slowdown, projected for Mass., New England economy Massachusetts’ economy, which has weathered the recession and its aftermath better than the nation, will continue to grow, but at a slow to moderate pace through 2016, according to a new forecast by the New England Economic Partnership. Employment will expand moderately over the next few years, but slow in 2016 as retiring baby boomers leave the labor force, according to the forecast. Massachusetts is projected to add 30,000 to 40,000 jobs a year in 2012 and 2013.
Fidelity urges restraint in money market reform Fidelity Investments, in comment letters to US and international regulators this week, urged any international reforms of money market funds to be “carefully considered” to avoid “imposing harmful, unintended consequences on financial markets or on the global economy.” The largest US manager of money market mutual funds, Boston-based Fidelity urged the International Organization of Securities Commissions to follow the US model of money market regulations and said the system has been working since the financial crisis.
Kamik taps Allen & Gerritsen as ad agency of record Allen & Gerritsen said it has been selected the advertising and public relations agency of record for Kamik, a Canadian footwear and clothing brand. Billings are not being disclosed, Watertown-based Allen & Gerritsen said. Marketing efforts will emphasize Kamik’s long history. For more than 100 years, Kamik has created shoes and boots that are weather-resistant as well as stylish, Allen & Gerritsen said.
A123 Systems falls on expected ‘significant’ loss A123 Systems Inc., a US maker of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, fell the most in more than three months after saying it expects “significant” losses and is pursuing options to raise cash. A123, based in Waltham, fell 19 percent to 93 cents at 10:09 a.m. in New York. Earlier it fell as much as 22 percent, the most intraday since Feb. 9. The company is replacing defective battery modules and packs at a cost of $51.6 million and taking an inventory charge of $15.2 million.
EMC buys Montreal-based Watch4Net Solutions EMC Corp., one of the world’s largest makers of data-storage computers, said Thursday that it had agreed to buy performance management software company Watch4Net Solutions Inc. Hopkinton-based EMC did not disclose the specific terms of the all-cash deal, which is not expected to significantly affect EMC’s fiscal 2012 earnings. Montreal-based Watch4net, which has partnered with EMC for the past seven years, makes software that provides real-time, historical, and projected visibility into network, data center, and cloud infrastructure performance.
TJX: May same-store sales rose 8 percent TJX Cos., the Framingham company that operates such off-price retail chains as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, said Thursday that its same-store sales rose 8 percent in May when compared to sales in the same month a year ago. Same-store sales are sales at stores open at least a year, and many retail analysts believe they are an important measure of a retailer’s performance.
Talbots to be acquired by Sycamore Partners Talbots Inc., a clothing brand known for classically styled apparel for middle-age women, has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of the private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Under the agreement, Sycamore Partners plans to will acquire all the outstanding common stock of Talbots for $2.75 per share in cash. A previous offer from Sycamore Partners had called for $3.05 a share. Including debt, the current transaction is valued at about $369 million.
RXi Pharmaceuticals gets FDA clearance to start clinical trial for a drug candidate designed to reduce scarring RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp., the Worcester biotechnology company that looks to build on the research of scientific founder and Nobel Laureate Craig Mello, said Thursday that it has received clearance for its investigational new drug application from the Food and Drug Administration. The company is gearing up to initiate clinical trials for a drug candidate designated as RXI-109. The hope is that the compound has the the potential to reduce dermal scarring in planned surgeries.
Bain Capital to buy Consolidated Container Consolidated Container Co. said it will be acquired by affiliates of Bain Capital Partners LLC, a private investment firm headquartered in Boston. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Based in Atlanta, Consolidated Container develops and manufactures rigid plastic packaging for customers in the dairy, water, beverage, food, household chemical, automotive, and industrial chemical markets.
WGBH, union reach contract agreement WGBH in Boston said Wednesday it has reached agreement with its largest union on a contract identical to one that managers imposed last year, after declaring that years-long negotiations had come to a standstill.
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