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Fri. Jan. 04, 2013 Lord’s Department Store, longtime fixture in Medfield, will close next month Lord’s Department Store, the longtime retail anchor of Main Street in Medfield, is shutting down in February after 73 years in business. Tom Kelly, who runs the 10,000-square-foot store with his sister, Nancy Kelly-Lavin, said the format -- featuring an old-fashioned soda counter, and small departments with toys, sporting goods, clothing, hardware, and candy -- was still profitable, but they were ready to move on..	Advertisement
It’s official: Giant Glass is now owned by Safelite Safelite Group Inc. said Friday it has purchased North Andover-based Giant Glass Co. Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The sale, rumored for more than a week, was completed Monday, ending 34 years of local ownership by Dennis Drinkwater and Lance Cramer. “I am proud of the company that my business partner, Lance, and I have built,” Drinkwater said in a statement. “We have a strong customer base and excellent employees, and we wanted both of them to be well taken care of in the future. We trust that Safelite will take care of them both.”
iRobot rolls out new machines Bedford-based iRobot Corp. is diving into the deep end, with a new machine that automatically cleans swimming pools. Among the new products being introduced by the robot-maker is a submersible named The Mirra 530, priced at $1,299, that automatically calculates the size and shape of a pool, then scour its floor and sides to remove algae and bacteria.
Biogen Idec seeks approval for hemophilia B drug Weston-based Biogen Idec Inc. has applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a new therapy to treat hemophilia B, the biotechnology company said Friday. Hemophilia B is a rare inherited disease that impairs patients’ blood from clotting and can cause bleeding, joint damage and life-threatening hemorrhages. Biogen Idec said it submitted its biologics license application to the FDA late in the fourth quarter and expects a decision some time in 2013
US jobless rate holds at 7.8 percent The US economy made slow progress in December as employers continued to hire cautiously while political leaders brought the nation to the edge of the fiscal cliff. Employers added a modest 155,000 workers last month, but not enough to lower the unemployment rate,which held at 7.8 percent, about where it has been since September, according to the US Labor Department reported Friday. Employers added an average of about about 153,000 jobs a month throughout 2012, about the same pace of job growth in 2011.
Judge rejects lawyer’s plan to buy four Upper Crust restaurants A lawyer representing former Upper Crust workers lost a last-ditch effort to buy four of the company’s pizzerias and block their sale to a private equity firm with ties to the chain’s ousted founder. On behalf of ex-employees who accuse the company of seizing wages, Shannon Liss-Riordan submitted a plan late Wednesday night to the bankruptcy court judge that offered $855,000 for leases at the South End, Watertown, Wellesley, and Lexington locations. That’s $200,000 more than the proposed sale amount of these restaurants to UC Acquisition, an affiliate of investment firm Ditmars Ltd.
Macy’s to close Belmont store, five others across US Macy’s Inc. said Thursday it plans to close its Belmont store, along with five others, laying off 101 local workers. The Belmont store opened in 1978 as a Filene’s and became a Macy’s in 2006, when Macy’s Inc. bought May Department Stores, Filene’s parent company. The other stores being shuttered include the Bloomingdale’s Fashion Home Store in Las Vegas and Macy’s locations in Pasadena, Calif.; Honolulu, Hawaii; St. Paul, Minn.; and Houston. A total of 634 workers will be laid off, though the Cincinnati-based company said some may be offered positions at other stores.
Biogen Idec gives up on experimental drug to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease Biogen Idec Inc. said Thursday it is halting efforts to develop dexpramipexole, an experimental drug to treat ALS, the progressive neurodegenerative disorder, after the drug candidate proved ineffective in clinical trials. The move was a blow to efforts to advance treatments amyotrophis lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gerhig’s disease, for which there is currently no cure. It was also a setback to the Weston-based biotechnology company, which had invested in the high-risk development program.
Research and data specialist The 451 Group buys Boston’s Yankee Group Yankee Group Research Inc., the Boston mobile strategy firm, has been acquired by a New York technology research company, 451 Group LLC, the companies said Thursday. Terms of the deal with Yankee Group’s prior owner, Boston private equity firm Alta Communications, were not disclosed. Yankee Group, Boston’s oldest technology forecasting firm, analyzes mobile communications trends and advises business about how to capitalize on them
Massachusetts foreclosure activity drops in November Massachusetts foreclosure activity fell in November as fewer struggling homeowners went into foreclosure and lost properties to lenders, according to new data released Wednesday. There were 295 completed foreclosure filed in November, 2012, a decline of almost 60 percent from November 2011. Between January and November, there were 7,158 homeowners who lost their properties to foreclosure -- a nearly 8 percent drop compared to the first 11 months of 2011
Newton-based BigBelly Solar names new chief executive Compacting trash and recycling can maker BigBelly Solar Inc. said Wednesday it has hired former Infinite Power Solutions chief executive Jim Norrod to the same position. The Newton-based company said it picked Norrod because the veteran chief executive has a record of growing companies, leading some toward profitable mergers and acquisitions.
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