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Thu. Jun. 21, 2012 Green Mountain lowering coffee prices, SymphonyIRI data show Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., maker of Keurig single-cup capsules and brewers, has recently lowered coffee prices in some grocery stores, according to data released today from SymphonyIRI Group. Green Mountain single-cup coffee was 1.1 percent less expensive in the four weeks ended June 10 at food, drug and mass retailers excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc., compared with a year earlier, data from the Chicago-based researcher show. Packaged coffee prices for the overall category were up 4.9 percent in the four-week period.	Advertisement
Massport sets fiscal 2013 operating budget at $380.4m, down 1 percent from 2012 The Massachusetts Port Authority set its fiscal 2013 operating budget at $380.4 million, a 1 percent decrease from this year’s budget. The reduction reflects lower expenses due to the loss of Suez Canal shipping service at Conley Terminal and the discontinuation of commercial airline service at Worcester Airport. The Massachusetts Port Authority, or Massport, is the independent public authority that owns and operates Boston-Logan International Airport, L.G. Hanscom Field, the Tobin Memorial Bridge, and certain facilities within the Port of Boston.
Massachusetts economy faring well in world of economic hazards, UMass journal reports The Massachusetts economy is growing steadily despite a disappointing national recovery, but developments beyond state borders pose threats to what has been a relatively strong expansion, a group of leading local economists said in report released Thursday. The economists, from several local universities, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and other organizations, noted the Massachusetts economy has expanded faster than the nation’s and the unemployment rate, 6 percent in May, is more than 2 percentage points below the national rate of 8.2 percent.
Developers to hold ground-breaking ceremony for Longwood Center A ground-breaking ceremony is set for Thursday for Longwood Center, a long-stalled laboratory building in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area. The planned 11-story facility will have about 414,000 square feet of rentable space at what is now a vacant lot at Brookline and Longwood avenues. The project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2014. Longwood Center is being developed by a joint venture of Newton-based National Development, Charles River Realty Investors, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., and Clarion Partners LLC.
American International Group has paid Mass. $3.44m under workers’ comp settlement American International Group has paid the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $3.44 million after admitting that it had undereported workers’ compensation premiums over several years, Massachusetts Division of Insurance commissioner Joseph G. Murphy said Thursday. According to Murphy’s office, Massachusetts was one of eight states that led an investigation into AIG’s practices. Under the settlement agreement, AIG has agreed that its previous financial reports were inaccurate with regard to its workers’ compensation insurance line, underreporting workers’ compensation premium dollars by $2.1 billion nationwide.
Massachusetts foreclosure activity rose in May The number of Massachusetts foreclosures started in May more than doubled from the same month a year ago, and the number of Bay State foreclosures last month rose more than 32 percent, the Warren Group said Thursday. The increase in activity was a result of banks resuming foreclosure activity following a mortgage abuse settlement reached earlier this year, said the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks real estate data. The Warren Group expects foreclosures in Massachusetts to rise throughout 2012.
Liberty Mutual to sponsor free public school field trips to USS Constitution Museum Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance will sponsor all public school visits to the USS Constitution Museum from Sept. 2012 to June 2015, thus allowing for free field trips for students of all ages, in and outside of Massachusetts. The USS Constitution Museum recently opened an interactive exhibit called the “Old Ironsides 1812 Discovery Center,” which features computer activities simulating shipboard life, interactive lessons about the War of 1812 and its major events, and a feedback wall that enables visitors to deliver their own messages.
Cabot buying Norit for $1.1b Chemical and specialty products maker Cabot Corp. is buying Norit NV for $1.1 billion in order to strengthen its specialty chemicals portfolio. Norit specializes in activated carbon products, which are used in environmental protection, air and water purification, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and catalysts. It has manufacturing operations in Europe and the Americas. Boston-based Cabot is buying Norit from affiliates of Doughty Hanson & Co. Managers Ltd. and Euroland Investments BV.
Boston Semi Equipment names Bryan J. Banish president and chief executive Boston Semi Equipment LLC, which provides services for the semiconductor industry, said Thursday that Bryan J. Banish has been appointed president and chief executive, effective immediately, replacing Douglas Elder. Banish has held the position of chief operating officer since the company’s founding in 2010. Headquartered in Burlington, Boston Semi Equipment provides solutions to semiconductor front-end manufacturing and back-end assembly and test through leasing, rental, and re-sale of equipment.
Union workers at Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth reject tentative contract Union workers at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth voted 137-89 against accepting a new contract Wednesday, shattering a tentative deal reached by union leaders with the plant’s owners earlier this week. It’s unclear when or whether negotiations will resume. Members of the Utility Workers Union of America, Local 369, have been locked out of their jobs for about two weeks, ever since contract talks broke down, but negotiators for the union and Entergy Corp., which owns the plant, had reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract early Tuesday.
Governor Patrick signs life science collaboration agreements with Catalonia and Medicon Valley Orchestrating two more trans-Atlantic collaboration agreements, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed memorandums of understanding Wednesday to work on life sciences, renewable energy, and information technology research with Catalonia, Spain and the Medicon Valley in Denmark and Sweden. The agreements were signed at the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s annual convention in Boston, where Massachusetts officials unveiled a string of deals and investments this week.
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