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Fri. Feb. 24, 2012 Brockton retirement board confirms probe by AG Martha Coakley The head of the Brockton Retirement Board confirmed that Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office has been looking into the pension fund’s investment in an Oppenheimer private equity fund since last fall. Harold Hanna, executive director of the $311 million Brockton Retirement Board, said Coakley’s office requested a number of documents from him, including Oppenheimer’s response to a request for proposal and various investment reports the group has received since committing $5 million to the Oppenheimer Global Resource Private Equity Fund in March 2010.	Advertisement
FDIC: OneUnited Bank agrees to pay $4k civil penalty OneUnited Bank has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $4,000 in a consent agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the regulator announced today. The Boston bank, one of the largest minority-owned institutions in the country, was accused of violations of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. OneUnited has been struggling since incurring large investment losses in the financial crisis and still owes the government $12 million in federal bailout funds.
Start-up developing new battery technology nets $12k in MIT contest SolidEnergy, a start-up focused on battery technology, won $12,000 in prizes after beating out 28 teams of semi-finalists during the inaugural MIT ACCELERATE Contest. SolidEnergy’s strong performance was based on its concept for a battery that would be superior to a regular lithium-ion battery. SolidEnergy’s prototype has potential applications for use in electric vehicles, biomedical devices, and oil-drilling equipment. SolidEnergy won the $10,000 Daniel M. Lewis Grand Prize along with a $2,000 Audience Choice Award.
Study: Many Mass. households spend more than half their income on housing Nearly a quarter of working households in Massachusetts spend more than half their income on housing, according to a study released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Housing Policy. That is equal to the national average, according to the report based on the latest Census data. Nationwide, housing costs grew between 2008 and 2010 largely because of falling incomes and rising rental costs, the center said.
BAE Systems wins $23m Army contract BAE Systems, a defense contractor with operations in such states as Massachusetts and New Hampshire, said that it has been awarded a $23 million contract to provide the US Army with handheld Laser Target Locator Modules. Work for the contract will be performed at BAE facilities in Lexington; Nashua, N.H.; and Austin, Texas. Each module weighs just under 5.5 pounds, and it incorporates such features as a night-vision camera, a laser range finder, a digital compass, and a GPS receiver.
In a depressed housing market, renters abound The housing market remains a potent drag on the economy as home prices continue to slip, foreclosed homes fill some neighborhoods, and millions of construction workers scramble for jobs. But one group is sitting pretty: landlords. Unlike home prices, rents have been rising, up 2.4 percent in January from a year earlier, according to recent data, not adjusted for inflation, released by the Labor Department. Nationwide, the apartment vacancy rate is down to 5.2 percent, its lowest level in more than a decade,
Hydroid unveils the Remus 100-S, a new automated underwater vehicle Hydroid Inc., a Bourne-based manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, has unveiled a new version of its Remus 100 AUV, the vehicle’s first major upgrade in more than five years. Navies use the Remus 100 to detect underwater mines and improvised explosive devices in areas where the water is shallow. Scientists can also configure the Remus 100 to do research projects. Painted yellow, the Remus 100-S is an evolution of the “man-portable” Remus 100 system that is configured specifically for hydrographic and offshore surveys.
Senator John Kerry urges Congress to act on Internet privacy US Senator John Kerry called President Obama’s proposed online privacy principles “an important statement of priorities” and urged Congress to take action on “common sense rules” that protect consumers. Earlier this week, the Obama administration outlined a set of principles designed to help consumers control the use of their personal data that is gathered during Internet searches. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said that Obama’s proposal is “wholly consistent” with legislation that he and US Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, have been promoting.
US Postal Service plan: Big Boston facility will stay open The US Postal Service’s massive Boston mail processing facility will stay open at its current location under a new plan released today that saves the plant from closure, but affects other centers in Wareham, Waltham, and Shrewsbury. The Boston plant may eventually relocate to elsewhere in the city to make way for the planned expansion of South Station, but no final decisions have been made. Under the plan, the postal service will consolidate operations from central and northwest Massachusetts into the Boston facility, which will gain employees.
Lynch calls it “premature” to tap oil reserve to tamp down gas prices Splitting with some of his Democratic colleagues, US Representative Stephen Lynch said today that he doesn’t favor releasing oil crude from the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to drive down gas prices. In addition, Lynch joined the chorus of Republicans and Democrats who called for overhauling the tax system, but said it might be difficult to broker a deal between Republicans and Democrats, partly because it’s an election year.
Katherine Bowdish is the new president of Permeon Biologics Permeon Biologics Inc. announced the appointment of Katherine S. Bowdish to the positions of president and chief scientific officer. The top managment positions at the Cambridge company are president and executive chairman, and Bowdish has assumed the day-to-date duties of leading Permeon. She has also been appointed to the company’s board. John Edwards is the company’s executive chairman. Permeon is looking to leverage its understanding of intracellular protein biologics to develop new treatments for diseases.
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