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Fri. Jul. 27, 2012 Mass Insight: Consumer confidence drops a bit in the Bay State A Massachusetts consumer confidence index posted a slight drop in its latest quarterly reading, as consumers fret about the job market and uncertain economic conditions. The index is maintained by Mass Insight Global Partnerships. The index is scaled to a 1985 base of 100, with a reading of less than 100 indicating a negative outlook. The index reading for the third quarter was 81, down from the previous quarter’s reading of 85.	Advertisement
Charter airline that stranded Worcester passengers gets hit with $180k fine A carrier that operated public charter flights for Direct Air, the sole airline with scheduled service at Worcester Regional Airport until Direct Air shut down in March, has been fined $180,000 by the US Department of Transportation. World Atlantic Airlines, based in Miami, stopped flying for Direct Air a week after Direct Air stopped paying the carrier, leaving many passengers stranded. The parent company of Direct Air declared bankruptcy a few days later, leaving Worcester without scheduled service.
Martin Romitti to leave UMass Donahue Institute Less than a year-and-a-half after he started, Martin Romitti, the director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts, has announced his departure. Romitti said in an email that he will be leaving UMass to start a new job in Washington D.C. as senior vice president for the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, an independent non-profit that assists policy makers on devising regional job-creation strategies.
State economy grows faster than US, but slowdown coming, UMass reports Massachusetts’ economy continued to grow at faster rate than the nation’s largely due to the strength of the state’s technology companies, but national and international developments are expected to slow the pace to the state’s recovery, according to a quarterly analysis released Friday by the University of Massachusetts. The state economy grew at an annual rate of 4 percent between April and June, more than double the national rate, according to UMass
Vertex cystic fibrosis drug gets OK from European regulators Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that European regulators have approved its new drug Kalydeco to treat cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis drugs already on the market treat symptoms of the inherited disease, which causes mucus to thicken and block the passage of air to the lungs. Kalydeco, in contrast, is designed to target the underlying cause of the disease. Cambridge-based Vertex received approval to market Kalydeco in the United States earlier this year.
Eastern Bank will merge with Brockton-based Community Bank Eastern Bank of Boston and the Community Bank of Brockton said Friday that they plan to merge by year’s end. Eastern Bank is a mutual bank and the Community Bank is a cooperative bank, and no premium was paid. With only five branches, the Community Bank said the merger will help it to better serve the needs of its customers. With 94 branches, Eastern Bank said the merger will help it to better serve Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.
Liberty Mutual Insurance is launching new ads during the Olympics Liberty Mutual Insurance said it will debut new ads during the Olympics. The campaign is titled “Humans,” and it begins with a 60-second and a 30-second TV spot. The creative for the campaign was developed by Hill Holliday of Boston, Liberty Mutual’s advertising agency of record. The TV spots feature “vignettes that illustrate everyday moments when people show their imperfections - and when there is a need for responsibility and insurance,” Boston-based Liberty Mutual said.
Parexel steps up efforts to woo smaller drug companies Parexel International Corp., which provides such services as helping pharmaceutical companies get their experimental drugs to market, is creating a special unit that will focus on small and mid-sized companies. Waltham-based Parexel has long gotten a big chunk of its revenues from large drug companies from all over the world. But now with much of the industry’s innovation coming from smaller companies, Parexel wants those companies to know that it has considerable experience in helping firms that aren’t industry giants.
Stop & Shop debuts new Hyannis store The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. said it opened the doors early Friday to its new Hyannis store at 1220 Iyannough Rd. The new 65,000 square-foot store replaces the existing Stop & Shop store just a quarter of a mile away on Independence Road. The new Hyannis store features an expanded selection of food offerings including a full-service meat and seafood department and more selections in deli, fresh produce, and natural and organic goods.
WGBH strikes deal to acquire Public Radio International WGBH, long a national powerhouse in public television, took a step this week to becoming a national force in public radio as well. The Boston public media station announced Thursday that it has acquired Public Radio International, the Minneapolis company that distributes some of the best known public radio programs, including “This American Life,” “Here & Now” and “The Tavis Smiley Show,” to 880 affiliates across the country and satellite radio, reaching more than 16 million listeners.
Brookline Bank prepares for $4.2 million loss on loans related to Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios A Massachusetts community bank is another casualty Curt Schilling's failed video game company in Providence. Brookline Bancorp, Inc., the parent of Brookline Bank, said Thursday it set aside $4.2 million to cover potential losses from two short-term business loans made by its subidiary, Bank Rhode Island, shortly after Brookline Bank bought the Providence bank in January
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