Monday, April 30, 2012

Daily Business Update

To ensure you receive your Boston.com e-mails, please add newsletters@boston.com to your address book.
If you have trouble reading this e-mail, go to http://www.boston.com/business/ticker_headlines

Daily Business Update

Get up-to-the-minute Business Updates More Business News »
Mon. Apr. 30, 2012

Blackstone feeds ETF frenzy expanding to loans: credit markets

Exchange-traded funds, after amassing $28 billion of junk bonds in five years, are expanding into leveraged loans as demand rises for investments that protect against inflation. Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest private-equity firm, is partnering with Boston-based State Street Corp. to create an ETF for speculative-grade loans, according to a regulatory filing. Invesco Ltd., which attracted $158 million to its 14-month-old loan ETF in the first quarter, started its second fund in Canada this month, a separate filing shows.
Advertisement

Liberty Mutual leaps to 2nd in JD Power auto insurance poll

Liberty Mutual improved dramatically in a nationwide customer satisfaction survey released Monday. The Boston insurance giant finished second among major auto insurers in the J.D. Power and Associates survey, up from fifth in 2011. The J.D. Power survey also found that only one in four customers shopped for a new auto insurer in the past 12 months, the lowest shopping rate in five years.

AAA: Mass. gas prices drop another 3 cents a gallon

Massachusetts gas prices averaged $3.829 a gallon in the latest weekly survey from AAA, down 3 cents a gallon from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said today. The current national average for gas is $3.81 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.94 a gallon. AAA’s weekly surveys focus on self-serve, regular unleaded gas.

Hood adds new flavors to its ice cream line-ups

Hood, the regional dairy brand headquartered in Lynnfield, is unveiling new ice cream flavors, including Peanut Butter Cup and Down East Double Fudge Brownie, as the weather heats up and ice cream season looms. Besides Red Sox Novelties, Hood markets two ice cream lines --- Hood Classic and New England Creamery. Both lines are sold in major grocery stores across the region.

First Republic Bank opens office in Boston’s Post Office Square

First Republic Bank, a bank that caters to a wealthy clientele, announced Monday the opening of an office at One Post Office Square in Downtown Boston. First Republic said its Post Office Square location will provide lending, deposit, and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, foundations, and nonprofits. First Republic added that its new location is part of a broader expansion. In May, First Republic plans to open a new office in Wellesley.

Former football star Doug Flutie will help Eastern Bank salute local nonprofits

Plans call for former football star Doug Flutie to be on hand for an Eastern Bank event Monday that will honor Massachusetts nonprofits. During the event at Cambridge College in Cambridge, Flutie and Eastern Bank chairman and chief executive Richard Holbrook will play host to 98 community-based organizations that earned grants totaling more than $1.1 million from the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation.

Hologic agrees to buy Gen-Probe for $3.7b

Bedford-based Hologic Inc., a developer and maker of diagnostic products and medical imaging systems designed primarily for women, has agreed to buy Gen-Probe Inc. for $3.7 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed later this year. The agreement calls for Hologic to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Gen-Probe for $82.75 per share, which represents a roughly 20 percent premium to Friday’s closing price. In late Monday morning trading, Hologic shares were down about 9 percent.

MIT’s Amy Finkelstein wins John Bates Clark Medal in Economics

Amy Finkelstein, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the winner of the John Bates Clark Medal awarded annually to an economist under the age of 40, the American Economic Association said in a statement today.

Liberty Mutual’s Edmund F. “Ted” Kelly says “accounting issue” overstated his annual earnings

Liberty Mutual chairman Edmund F. “Ted” Kelly, under fire for receiving $50 million a year from the Boston insurance giant, said Friday that an “accounting issue” made his compensation appear larger than it is.

Even with steep pay cut, TJX Cos. chief executive earned $11 million for 2012 fiscal year

TJX Cos. chief executive Carol Meyrowitz’s compensation dropped by more than 50 percent in fiscal year 2012, to $11 million. The decline of nearly $12 million was due to significantly smaller stock and option awards, according to documents filed by the Framingham retail discounter with securities regulators. Meyrowitz, who runs the T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods chains, earned $708,954 in stock option awards in 2012, compared with about $13.5 million in stock in 2011.

Developer pleads guilty to mortgage scam involving Massachusetts condo sales

A developer pleaded guilty in US District Court for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme related to multiple condominiums sales in Massachusetts. Robert H. Odimegwu, 43, was convicted Thursday in federal court after admitting to 17 counts of wire fraud and money laundering related to the scheme, the US Attorney’s Office said. He faces decades in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud and money laundering, the US Attorneys office said. His sentencing is scheduled for July 26.

ADVERTISEMENT
Looking to catch the next big game in town? Search from a wide range of Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots seats in our exclusive ticket section powered by Ace Ticket. For the best seats to any sporting event in Boston, go to Boston.com Tickets.

Posted by at No comments:

Daily Headlines

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Daily Headlines

Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Daily Headlines

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, April 27, 2012

Daily Business Update

To ensure you receive your Boston.com e-mails, please add newsletters@boston.com to your address book.
If you have trouble reading this e-mail, go to http://www.boston.com/business/ticker_headlines

Daily Business Update

Get up-to-the-minute Business Updates More Business News »
Fri. Apr. 27, 2012

Eastern Bank wins Environmental League of Mass. award

The Environmental League of Massachusetts said it will bestow its Green Star Award to Eastern Bank at the league’s Earth Night gala May 5. According to the league, an environmental advocacy group, Eastern Bank has more LEED certified branches than any other retail bank in Massachusetts. The league also cited Eastern Bank for its recent announcement that 100 percent of its energy will come from renewable energy sources as a result of an agreement with Constellation Energy.
Advertisement

ImmunoGen fiscal 3Q loss widens as expenses rise

ImmunoGen Inc.’s fiscal third-quarter loss widened, as operating expenses rose and the cancer treatment developer took in a smaller amount of research and development support fees. The Waltham company said Friday it lost $18.7 million, or 24 cents per share, in the three months that ended March 31. That compares with a loss of $15 million, or 22 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue fell to $3.3 million from $5.2 million.

Mass. economy grows strongly in first quarter, doubling US pace

After a slowdown at the end of 2011, the Massachusetts economy gained steam in the first three months of this year and is expected to steadily strengthen throughout 2012. The University of Massachusetts and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reported Friday that Massachusetts’ economy continued to outperform the nation’s. It found consumer confidence, consumer spending , and sales in Massachusetts’ important high-tech sector were all on the rise. Forecasters noted in particular a revival in semiconductor sales, a bellwether for Massachusetts technology driven economy.

Jordan’s Furniture to donate baseball gear to Red Sox Foundation youth program at Fenway Park

Jordan’s Furniture is set to deliver a truck full of baseball and softball equipment to Fenway Park Saturday as the chain looks to help the Red Sox Foundation provide gear to inner city youth programs. As part of the “Double Play Youth Baseball Program,” Taunton-based Jordan’s collected “gently used baseball and softball equipment” from customers at its stores. To encourage donations, Jordan’s held a contest for collecting the most gear. The winners? Hingham High School and Natick Little League.

Saucony unveils Kinvara 3 running shoe

Saucony, the Lexington-based athletic footwear brand, is supporting the launch of its Kinvara 3 running shoe with aggressive marketing that taps into the brand’s mantra of “Find Your Strong” and makes big use of social media. Saucony describes the marketing roll-out as its largest launch effort to date. Weighing in at less than 8 ounces, the Kinvara 3 has a design that aims to position a runner’s foot in a way that creates a greater range of motion, Saucony claims.

Report: 58 Mass. workers killed on the job in 2011

Fifty-eight workers across Massachusetts were killed on the job in 2011, including 10 firefighters who died from work-related cancer and heart disease. That’s according to an annual report released by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupation Safety and Health. The report estimates that far more workers died from occupational diseases or were diagnosed with cancers caused by workplace exposures.

Jones Lang LaSalle hires Frank Petz

Jones Lang LaSalle, a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate, has hired industry veteran Frank Petz to lead its overall capital markets business for New England. The hiring is part of Jones Lang LaSalle’s commitment to build a broad capital markets presence throughout New England with a focus on debt finance, equity placement, and investment sales.

Upgrades will close a Logan runway for the summer

A runway at Logan International Airport will be closed for the summer to undergo $93 million worth of improvements. The safety project will increase the existing concrete material area at the end of the runway from 188 feet to 600 feet, extending into Boston Harbor on a concrete deck supported by concrete pilings. The airport only operates three of its six runways at one time in the best wind and weather conditions.

City Year taps Allen & Gerritsen as its ad agency

Allen & Gerritsen has been chosen to be the ad agency of record for City Year, a Boston-based group that looks to lower the school dropout rate by recruiting a corps of young people who serve as mentors and tutors in after-school programs. This year, more than 2,000 City Year corps members are expected to serve in 189 schools around the country. Billings for the account are not being disclosed. Allen & Gerritsen has offices in Watertown.

TD Bank Chief Ed Clark outlines plans to add branches in US, Massachusetts

TD Bank Group, already one of the biggest banks on the East Coast, plans to keep growing, the bank’s top executive said Thursday in Boston.

Liberty Mutual says profits up 26 percent for first quarter of 2012

Liberty Mutual Holding Co. of Boston reported today it earned $459 million for the first quarter, up 26 percent from the same period a year earlier.

ADVERTISEMENT
Looking to catch the next big game in town? Search from a wide range of Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots seats in our exclusive ticket section powered by Ace Ticket. For the best seats to any sporting event in Boston, go to Boston.com Tickets.

Posted by at No comments:

Daily Headlines

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Daily Business Update

To ensure you receive your Boston.com e-mails, please add newsletters@boston.com to your address book.
If you have trouble reading this e-mail, go to http://www.boston.com/business/ticker_headlines

Daily Business Update

Get up-to-the-minute Business Updates More Business News »
Thu. Apr. 26, 2012

City Year taps Allen & Gerritsen as its ad agency

Allen & Gerritsen has been chosen to be the ad agency of record for City Year, a Boston-based group that looks to lower the school dropout rate by recruiting a corps of young people who serve as mentors and tutors in after-school programs. This year, more than 2,000 City Year corps members are expected to serve in 189 schools around the country. Billings for the account are not being disclosed. Allen & Gerritsen has offices in Watertown.
Advertisement

TD Bank Chief Ed Clark outlines plans to add branches in US, Massachusetts

TD Bank Group, already one of the biggest banks on the East Coast, plans to keep growing, the bank’s top executive said Thursday in Boston.

Liberty Mutual says profits up 26 percent for first quarter of 2012

Liberty Mutual Holding Co. of Boston reported today it earned $459 million for the first quarter, up 26 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Repligen says FDA may seek more data on pancreatic imaging drug

Repligen Corp., a Waltham-based biotechnology company developing treatments for rare conditions, said it expects the US Food and Drug Administration to ask for more information about its pancreatic imaging treatment. The shares plunged the most in eight years. The FDA, which was scheduled to decide whether to approve the drug by June 21, canceled a May meeting of advisers to review the compound, RG1068, Repligen said in a statement

Dassault Systèmes agrees to buy Canadian firm for $360m in US dollars

Dassault Systèmes, a French company with a big presence in Massachusetts, said Thursday that it has agreed to buy Gemcom Software International for $360 million in US dollars. Dassault Systèmes specializes in 3D design and product lifecycle management software. Based in Vancouver, Gemcom makes software for the mining industry. Last year, Dassault Systèmes consolidated much of its local operations at a campus in Waltham. The company employs about 900 people in Massachusetts.

Flor opens Hub store

Flor Inc., a chain of stores specializing in modular floor-covering, is opening a 2,400-square foot store in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Essentially, what Flor customers do is buy small squares of “carpet tiles” that can be assembled like a puzzle to create a customized floor design. For someone who wants to shrink his or her carbon footprint, a Flor floor is a more environmentally responsible option than buying typical carpeting, the company claims.

Raytheon raises forecast after quarter’s profit increases 17 percent

Raytheon Co., the world’s largest missile maker, raised its full-year profit forecast after first- quarter net income increased 17 percent aided by improved performance at its missile and integrated-systems units. Profit from continuing operations will be $5 to $5.15 a share for the year compared with an earlier forecast of $4.90 to $5.05, the Waltham-based company said.

Foreclosure activity in Massachusetts rose sharply in March

Foreclosure petitions, the first step in a property seizure, jumped nearly 55 percent in Massachusetts last month when compared to the same month a year ago, the Warren Group reported Thursday. Foreclosure deeds, which represent finished foreclosures, increased 36.5 percent. In early 2011, there was a lull in foreclosure activity prompted by nationwide scrutiny into lenders’ home-seizure practices. But in more recent months, many major lenders have accelerated their efforts to rid their books of long-delinquent mortgage loans.

Dunkin’ Donuts 1Q same-store sales rose 7.2%

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., the Canton-based parent company of the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins chains, said Thursday that same-store sales at its Dunkin’ Donuts stores in the United States rose 7.2 percent during the first quarter as customers gobbled up the chain’s sandwich offerings as well as its coffee and doughnuts. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are widely regarded as an important measure of a retail chain’s performance.

CEO Paul Sagan to leave Akamai

Paul Sagan, the long-time CEO of Akamai Technologies Inc., the giant Internet infrastructure company based in Cambridge, will leave his post by the end of next year, according to a statement from the company Wednesday.

Citizens Bank to pay $137.5m to settle overdraft suit

Citizens Bank customers hit with questionable overdraft fees could receive refunds under a settlement announced Wednesday in which the bank agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle charges it manipulated customers’ debit card and ATM transactions. The bank was accused of processing the transactions in a way that made overdrafts more likely, boosting the income it collected from customers forced to pay overdraft fees.

ADVERTISEMENT
Looking to catch the next big game in town? Search from a wide range of Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots seats in our exclusive ticket section powered by Ace Ticket. For the best seats to any sporting event in Boston, go to Boston.com Tickets.

Posted by at No comments:

Daily Headlines

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Daily Business Update

To ensure you receive your Boston.com e-mails, please add newsletters@boston.com to your address book.
If you have trouble reading this e-mail, go to http://www.boston.com/business/ticker_headlines

Daily Business Update

Get up-to-the-minute Business Updates More Business News »
Wed. Apr. 25, 2012

U. of Washington taps Fidelity to manage its retirement plans

Fidelity Investments said Wednesday that it has been hired to be the master administrator of retirement benefits for two retirement programs at the University of Washington. Those plans are available to more than 27,000 university employees and retirees, said Boston-based Fidelity, a financial services company whose products include workplace retirement plans for tax-exempt entities such as colleges and universities.
Advertisement

Governor Deval Patrick establishes Council for Innovation

Governor Deval Patrick is establishing a Council for Innovation as part of an ongoing effort to use new technologies to find cost efficiencies in the delivery of government services. To form the council, Patrick has recruited venture capitalists, academics, and the founders of start-up companies. The council’s mandate is to advise the governor on how innovation and new technology can be used to streamline the delivery of government services and cut expenses at a time when the state government’s workforce is shrinking.

Tidy Cats offers free gas at Hub station as part of a kitty litter promotion

Gas prices “stink,” but your cat’s litterbox won’t if you use its new kitty litter formula. So reasons Tidy Cats. To promote its Tidy Cats Scoop, a litter with state-of-the-art “Odor Eraser” properties, Tidy Cats is giving away free gas and gas discount cards Wednesday at the Shell gas station at 1241 Boylston St. in Boston. The promo is set to end at 2 p.m. --- or after 300 customers show up at the station.

Dassault, DMT, Immunetics to be feted with AIM Global Trade Awards

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a trade group representing hundreds of businesses in the Bay State, is planning to honor Dassault Systèmes, Diamond Machining Technology, and Immunetics Inc. with its annual Global Trade Awards. The awards are bestowed on local firms, institutions, and public agencies of all sizes that have demonstrated excellence in international trade, said the association, which is also known as AIM. The awards are scheduled to be presented at AIM’s annual meeting May 11 at the Waltham Westin Hotel.

Staples launches managed print services offering for businesses

Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of office supply giant Staples Inc., said it is launching new print services for its business customers. Framingham-based Staples described its Staples Technology Solutions Managed Print Services as a way to help businesses to better control their print networks, achieve savings, and improve IT staff productivity.

Progress Software unveils strategic plan that includes layoffs of 10 to 15% of workforce

Progress Software Corp., a Bedford-base maker of business software, unveiled a restructuring that includes layoffs as the company looks to evolve to a shift toward cloud computing. Progress is looking to become a leaner company by divesting non-core product lines and by workforce reductions. Plans call for the company’s global workforce to be reduced by 10 percent to 15 percent. A stock repurchase program is also part of the new strategic plan.

In rare public appearance, Fidelity chairman accepts ‘Distinguished Bostonians’ award

In a rare public appearance, Fidelity Investments chairman Edward C Johnson 3d and his family accepted a Distinguished Bostonians award before an estimated crowd of 1,600 at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce annual dinner.

Attorney general expected to detail program for Mass. homeowners threatened with foreclosure

A new program to help prevent unnecessary home foreclosures, paid for with a $25 billion multistate morgage loan settlement with five major US lenders, is expected to be unveiled Wednesday by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. The program, HomeCorps, will offer $24 million in grants for borrowers facing foreclosure as well as aid to neighborhoods. The attorney general’s office said the program could benefit all Massachusetts borrowers facing foreclosure by offering them an evaluation of their financial situation and assistance from a loan modification specialist.

Luxury jeweler Shreve, Crump & Low gets ready to move to Newbury Street

Shreve, Crump & Low, a luxury jeweler with a long local heritage, is now poised to open a three-level “flagship store” on Boston’s fashionable Newbury Street early next month. David Walker, who has owned Shreve since 2006, is “committed to opening the finest jewelry store in Boston, one with its own personality,” said Michael Groffenberger, vice president of operations for Shreve, Crump & Low. The new location will replace an existing store on Boylston Street that is set to close at the end of the month.

Samuel Adams is going national with its ‘Brewing the American Dream’ program

The Boston Beer Co., which is best known for its Samuel Adams brand, is going national with an initiative that started out by seeking to help local small businesses. In 2008, Boston Beer debuted what it calls the “Brewing the American Dream” program, which works with microlender Accion in looking to help small businesses with mentoring support as well as with loans that generally run in the range of $1,000 to $20,000. In its early years, the program was limited to small businesses in New England.

Carney gets new president

Steward Health Care System, parent company of Carney Hospital in Dorchester, named a new president for the hospital Tuesday: Andrew Davis, the former chief executive of the Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville, N.C. Davis will start at Carney on May 7.

ADVERTISEMENT
Looking to catch the next big game in town? Search from a wide range of Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots seats in our exclusive ticket section powered by Ace Ticket. For the best seats to any sporting event in Boston, go to Boston.com Tickets.

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)