Harmonix Music Systems, the Cambridge company that launched the music videogame craze with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, is developing a new game that will allow players to control the tone and tempo of popular tunes. Nearly 11,000 former homeowners in Massachusetts who lost their properties to foreclosure will soon receive checks for about $1,480 apiece as part of a national mortgage settlement, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said Tuesday. Want to watch local businessmen with no organized fighting experience enter the octagon to pummel each other in mixed martial arts fights? You’ll get your chance Saturday, June 22, at the Revere Hotel as 18 volunteers faceoff in mixed martial arts bouts as part of Office to Octagon, a nonprofit organization working to end childhood obesity. Founded by Brendan McKee and Brett Maloley, Office to Octagon grew out of an idea McKee – who worked in the finance industry — had when studying martial arts. “The interest in this was tremendous,” said Maloley. “People are clearly a little crazy to want to do this, but we have managed to create a community of people willing to put themselves through this in order to raise money to fight childhood obesity.” Banyan Partners LLC said it has agreed to acquire Silver Bridge Advisors LLC, a boutique wealth management firm based in Boston and San Francisco. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Banyan Partners said in a press release. Headquartered in Florida, Banyan Partners is a national, independent investment advisor. At the close of the transaction, Banyan will have eight offices located around the US and 70 employees. Silver Bridge chief executive R. Thomas Manning Jr. will assume the role of chief investment officer for the combined organization, which will be known as Banyan Partners. “The acquisition of Silver Bridge presents an attractive opportunity for us to broaden our wealth management and family office capabilities while expanding our national footprint,” Peter J. Raimondi, founder and CEO of Banyan Partners, said. CAMBRIDGE — A Massachusetts Institute of Technology materials chemist has been named winner of the annual $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize for mid-career inventors who develop products that improve the world. Angela Belcher, a world leader in nanotechnology, says she takes inspiration from nature to create environmentally friendly materials for human use. Belcher’s processes have been used to create eco-friendly batteries and high-efficiency solar cells and are now being used to create clean fuel. Her latest work is focused on methods to use nanotechnology to image early stage cancers and improve outcomes following surgery. She believes if organic and inorganic materials can combine in nature to produce exquisite structures, similar processes can be used to create useful products in the lab. A local business confidence index posted a 52.1 reading in May, up 1.6 percent from the previous month’s reading, as Bay State employers got a lift from a strong stock market, the recovery in the housing market, and slightly better news on the employment front. It was the third consecutive monthly increase and the highest monthly reading since August. Still, May 2013’s reading is down 4.7 points from that of May 2012. The index, which uses a 100-point scale, is maintained by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, or AIM, a group made up of employers in the state. Raymond G. Torto, the chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors, said, “We are seeing signs of strength in the stock market, in real estate markets, in consumer confidence, and to some extent in employment.” Local drivers may not be just rude and susceptible to road rage; many of them also may be guilty of TWD --- texting while driving. In 2010, the Commonwealth enacted the Massachusetts Safe Driving Law, which restricts the use of mobile devices by drivers. But a new Distracted Driving Survey by Plymouth Rock Assurance notes that while 80 percent of the survey’s respondents said that they were aware of the law, nearly 40 percent said that they still send text messages while driving. “It’s a compelling statistic to see that nearly all drivers refrain from texting and driving when their children are riding along with them,” Chris Olie, CEO of Plymouth Rock Assurance, said in a statement. “Those drivers should be making the same safe driving decisions when they’re riding alone.” |
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