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Thu. May. 17, 2012 Keith Stokes resigns as R.I. economic development director Keith Stokes, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, has resigned in the middle of controversy over a $75 million loan guarantee gave to 38 Studios, a video game company owned by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. The company moved to Rhode Island from Massachusetts in 2010 after the state offered the financing, claiming the deal would create 450 jobs and increase tax revenue	Advertisement
Entergy, Utility Workers Union resume contract negotiations at Pilgrim nuclear plant Negotiations have resumed between union employees at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and the power plant’s owner, Entergy Corp., after both sides agreed to extend workers’ current contract until May 25, the company said.
Mass. unemployment rate falls to 6.3 percent in April; Employers add 2,500 jobs The Massachusetts unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent last month as employers added 2,500 jobs, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported Thursday.
Enterprise buys car-sharing service Mint Enterprise Holdings has acquired the car-sharing company Mint Cars On-Demand, which opened in Boston last year and has 8,000 members in Boston and New York.
Electric costs at six-year low in Mass. The size of the average ratepayer’s monthly electric bill in Massachusetts has shrunk to a six-year low, as utilities reduce rates because falling natural gas prices have made it cheaper to produce power, state energy officials said Thursday.
Northeast Utilities CEO seeks to overcome storms The new chief executive of Northeast Utilities said Wednesday that New England’s largest utility has its work cut out for it following two storms last year that damaged power lines and the company’s reputation. Thomas J. May told reporters he is reassuring customers and regulators that Northeast Utilities has learned from last year’s problems that resulted from a tropical storm in late August and a freak snow storm two months later. Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power for as long as 11 days after the October storm.
Big layoffs at rock station WFNX as it’s sold to Clear Channel Most of the staff at Boston alternative rock station WFNX 101.7 FM was laid off Wednesday as Stephen M. Mindich, founder of station owner Phoenix Media/Communications Group, revealed in a memo that it is being sold to radio giant Clear Channel Communications Inc.
Governor Deval Patrick breaks ground at UMass Dartmouth center for biomanufacturing Governor Deval Patrick joined UMass officials Wednesday to break ground on a new center that they say will be the first-in-the-nation to allow startups the ability to test their biomanufacturing methods and products during development, as well as access a wide-range of support. Patrick, University of Massachusetts president Robert Caret, and UMass Dartmouth chancellor Jean MacCormack spoke at the morning groundbreaking ceremony for the Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing. Patrick said the new UMass Dartmouth center will help Massachusetts strengthen its leadership in science.
Speaker Robert DeLeo to Mark Zuckerberg: Open a Facebook office in Massachusetts Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo is urging Facebook to consider opening an office in the Bay State, where the social media company has its roots. DeLeo made his plea in an open letter to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who cofounded Facebook in a Harvard University dorm room in 2004. Zuckerberg later moved the company to California, where Facebook became a phenomenon. DeLeo’s letter comes as Facebook is poised to issue an initial public stock offering.
Schilling asks R.I. for more money to help game company Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling asked Rhode Island officials for more money for his video game company 38 Studios LLC in a private meeting Wednesday morning, held to discuss whether its reported financial troubles threaten the state’s $75 million investment in the company. Rhode Island officials took no action on Schilling’s request Wednesday, and the amount he asked for was not disclosed.
State Street’s Jay Hooley says he favors stricter trading rules in wake of JPMorgan Chase loss State Street Corp. chief executive Jay Hooley is in favor of stricter trading rules in the wake of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s $2 billion derivatives loss during an annual shareholders meeting Wednesday that was interrupted several times by protesters. Hooley said he didn’t fully understand what went wrong at JPMorgan, but he sees such mistakes through the lens of “reputational impact.” Hooley said State Street, a Boston-based manager of pension assets and custodian for large investment funds, does not engage in the kind of proprietary trading that’s at issue.
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