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Tue. Jul. 31, 2012 Secretary of State William F. Galvin charges Foxborough man for allegedly defrauding seniorsA Foxborough man is being charged with fraud for offering retirees nonexistent investments, then using the money for various personal expenses, the office of Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin said Tuesday. According to an administrative complaint, John A. Picini took custody of at least $2 million from about 35 clients over a two-year period as part of an effort to “maintain his lifestyle.” Picini’s attorney said his client planned to fight the charges vigorously. | | ||
Cole Real Estate Investments completes $93.5m purchase of Bedford office complexAn affiliate of Cole Real Estate Investments has completed its $93.5 million purchase of a two-building Bedford office complex that serves as the headquarters for RSA Security, said a broker involved in the transaction. The broker is Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Real Estate Capital Partners USA Capital Trust, and procured the buyer. RSA Security, a unit of data storage giant EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, makes software used by many businesses and government agencies to protect data. | |||
Home values in the Boston area increased modestly in May, says Case-ShillerBoston area housing values increased by 2.4 percent in May compared with April, according to data released Tuesday by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. That marked the second consecutive month of increasing values in the region following eight months of slight declines, according to the index. S&P/Case Shiller is considered by real estate specialists to be one of the most accurate measures of home values because it’s based on repeat sales of properties. | |||
Athleta gears up for Newbury Street store openingAthleta, a California-based retail chain that focuses on women’s athletic apparel, has scheduled an Aug. 15 grand opening for its new store in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The store will feature a broad assortment of apparel for running, yoga, gym training, swimming, hiking “and everything in between, said Athleta, which is run by Gap Inc. According to Athleta, its gear is both hard working and fashionable. | |||
Smart Lunches buys Smart SnaxSmart Lunches, a Boston-based online meal service that seeks to provide nutritious lunches to school children, said Tuesday that it has acquired Smart Snax, a vending-machine business operating in Greater Boston. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Smart Snax’s dual-temperature vending machines are currently stocked with natural and organic snacks and drinks in public and private schools and YMCAs in Greater Boston. Acquiring Smart Snax gives Smart Lunches another option when it seeks to persuade a school to participate in its program. | |||
Mersana Therapeutics raises $27mMersana Therapeutics Inc., a Cambridge biopharmaceutical company, said Tuesday that it has closed a $27 million Series A-1 financing led by new investor New Enterprise Associates. Participation in the round also included new investor Pfizer Venture Investments and existing investors Fidelity Biosciences, ProQuest Investments, Rho Ventures, and Harris+Harris Group, the company said. New Enterprise Associates general partner David Mott will become chairman of Mersana’s board of directors. | |||
HFF arranges $20m financing for Newton Wellesley Executive Office ParkHFF, a firm that provides commercial real estate and capital markets services, said that it has arranged $20 million in financing for Newton Wellesley Executive Office Park, a four-building suburban office park in Wellesley. HFF said it worked exclusively on behalf of Newton Wellesley Executive Office Park LLC, an affiliate of the Nelson Cos., to secure the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Principal Global Investors. With about 130,000 square feet of space, Newton Wellesley Executive Office Park is 100 percent leased to 25 tenants. | |||
Supreme Judicial Court upheld lower court dismissal of lawsuit against Citizens BankThe Supreme Judicial Court on Monday ruled that Citizens Bank had no responsibility in a fraud committed more than a decade ago by former Boston defense attorney Morris M. Goldings. | |||
Tapjoy adds Viximo team to create Boston studioTapjoy, Inc., a mobile advertising and publishing platform, on Monday announced a transaction which includes the addition of the core team from Viximo, a Cambridge-based provider of cross-platform distribution for social games and apps. The Viximo team will provide the basis for a Tapjoy studio in Boston, enabling the San Francisco-based Tapjoy to expand its product offerings and services. | |||
NE governors, Canadian counterparts talk energyNew England governors and their eastern Canadian counterparts, who are eager to export a growing overabundance of hydroelectric and wind power, promised Monday to work together to increase the use of clean energy throughout the region. During their 36th annual meeting, governors, eastern Canadian provincial leaders and their representatives talked about the need to share energy resources across state, provincial and international boundaries. | |||
AFL-CIO trust invests $90 million in two Boston housing developmentsThe AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust announced Monday that it is providing $90 million towards rehabilitating and preserving the Blackstone Apartments and Franklin Square House Apartments in Boston. Work on the two important affordable housing options for elderly and handicapped residents will generate approximately 150 union construction jobs. | |||
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
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Mon. Jul. 30, 2012 AFL-CIO trust invests $90 million in two Boston housing developmentsThe AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust announced Monday that it is providing $90 million towards rehabilitating and preserving the Blackstone Apartments and Franklin Square House Apartments in Boston. Work on the two important affordable housing options for elderly and handicapped residents will generate approximately 150 union construction jobs. | | ||
Two federally-chartered banks convert to Massachusetts state chartersTwo Massachusetts banks have converted to state charters, putting the banks under the regulation of the Masschusetts Division of Banks. Brookline Bank has converted from a federally-chartered savings bank to a state-chartered savings bank. The First National Bank of Ipswich has converted from a national bank to a Massachusetts-chartered trust company. These are the first conversions of this type since 2001. | |||
Mass. gas prices down a pennyBOSTON (AP) — The average price of a gallon of gas in Massachusetts has dropped a penny in the past week. | |||
Sequoia Capital leads new investment in Bit9 security firmBit9, an Internet security firm based in Waltham, announced Monday that it recently closed $34.5 million in funding, led by new investment partner Sequoia Capital. Existing investors Atlas Venture, Highland Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and .406 Ventures also participated in the round. Bit9 will use this capital to fund new product development efforts and expand sales and marketing capabilities to address the demand for endpoint and server security technology. | |||
Alnylam earns milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKlineAlnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Cambridge-based RNAi therapeutics company, announced Monday that it has earned a development milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline totaling $3.2 million. The milestone payment is related to progress in the companies’ collaboration on the use of VaxiRNA technology for the production of GSK influenza vaccine. | |||
Bain said to be in advanced talks for $1.6 billion Genpact stakeBain Capital Partners LLC is in advanced talks to buy a $1.6 billion stake in Genpact Ltd. from General Atlantic LLC and Oak Hill Capital Partners LP, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Bain Capital, the private-equity firm that manages nearly $65 billion, may announce an agreement for the 40 percent stake as soon as this week. | |||
Babson Capital launches lending groupBabson Capital Management LLC, an investment manager with $149 billion in assets under management that is based in Boston, Springfield, and Charlotte, N.C., today announced it has formed a new Chicago-based Middle Market Lending Group to provide senior secured financing solutions to middle-market companies. | |||
Eastern Bank will merge with Brockton-based Community BankEastern Bank of Boston and the Community Bank of Brockton said Friday that they plan to merge by year’s end. Eastern Bank is a mutual bank and the Community Bank is a cooperative bank, and no premium was paid. With only five branches, the Community Bank said the merger will help it to better serve the needs of its customers. With 94 branches, Eastern Bank said the merger will help it to better serve Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. | |||
General Dynamics Taunton plant spared budget cutA General Dynamics military plant in Taunton dodged a huge bullet when the Pentagon this week backed off a plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from a communications projects being developed there. The Defense Department’s proposal to cut $334.6 million from the project--a mobile communications system for military units in the field--met with stiff opposition in Congress, particularly from Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). General Dynamics had said the cut would have led to layoffs at the Taunton plant. | |||
Mass Insight: Consumer confidence drops a bit in the Bay StateA Massachusetts consumer confidence index posted a slight drop in its latest quarterly reading, as consumers fret about the job market and uncertain economic conditions. The index is maintained by Mass Insight Global Partnerships. The index is scaled to a 1985 base of 100, with a reading of less than 100 indicating a negative outlook. The index reading for the third quarter was 81, down from the previous quarter’s reading of 85. | |||
Charter airline that stranded Worcester passengers gets hit with $180k fineA carrier that operated public charter flights for Direct Air, the sole airline with scheduled service at Worcester Regional Airport until Direct Air shut down in March, has been fined $180,000 by the US Department of Transportation. World Atlantic Airlines, based in Miami, stopped flying for Direct Air a week after Direct Air stopped paying the carrier, leaving many passengers stranded. The parent company of Direct Air declared bankruptcy a few days later, leaving Worcester without scheduled service. | |||
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Sunday, July 29, 2012
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Saturday, July 28, 2012
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Friday, July 27, 2012
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Fri. Jul. 27, 2012 Mass Insight: Consumer confidence drops a bit in the Bay StateA Massachusetts consumer confidence index posted a slight drop in its latest quarterly reading, as consumers fret about the job market and uncertain economic conditions. The index is maintained by Mass Insight Global Partnerships. The index is scaled to a 1985 base of 100, with a reading of less than 100 indicating a negative outlook. The index reading for the third quarter was 81, down from the previous quarter’s reading of 85. | | ||
Charter airline that stranded Worcester passengers gets hit with $180k fineA carrier that operated public charter flights for Direct Air, the sole airline with scheduled service at Worcester Regional Airport until Direct Air shut down in March, has been fined $180,000 by the US Department of Transportation. World Atlantic Airlines, based in Miami, stopped flying for Direct Air a week after Direct Air stopped paying the carrier, leaving many passengers stranded. The parent company of Direct Air declared bankruptcy a few days later, leaving Worcester without scheduled service. | |||
Martin Romitti to leave UMass Donahue InstituteLess than a year-and-a-half after he started, Martin Romitti, the director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts, has announced his departure. Romitti said in an email that he will be leaving UMass to start a new job in Washington D.C. as senior vice president for the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, an independent non-profit that assists policy makers on devising regional job-creation strategies. | |||
State economy grows faster than US, but slowdown coming, UMass reportsMassachusetts’ economy continued to grow at faster rate than the nation’s largely due to the strength of the state’s technology companies, but national and international developments are expected to slow the pace to the state’s recovery, according to a quarterly analysis released Friday by the University of Massachusetts. The state economy grew at an annual rate of 4 percent between April and June, more than double the national rate, according to UMass | |||
Vertex cystic fibrosis drug gets OK from European regulatorsVertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that European regulators have approved its new drug Kalydeco to treat cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis drugs already on the market treat symptoms of the inherited disease, which causes mucus to thicken and block the passage of air to the lungs. Kalydeco, in contrast, is designed to target the underlying cause of the disease. Cambridge-based Vertex received approval to market Kalydeco in the United States earlier this year. | |||
Eastern Bank will merge with Brockton-based Community BankEastern Bank of Boston and the Community Bank of Brockton said Friday that they plan to merge by year’s end. Eastern Bank is a mutual bank and the Community Bank is a cooperative bank, and no premium was paid. With only five branches, the Community Bank said the merger will help it to better serve the needs of its customers. With 94 branches, Eastern Bank said the merger will help it to better serve Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. | |||
Liberty Mutual Insurance is launching new ads during the OlympicsLiberty Mutual Insurance said it will debut new ads during the Olympics. The campaign is titled “Humans,” and it begins with a 60-second and a 30-second TV spot. The creative for the campaign was developed by Hill Holliday of Boston, Liberty Mutual’s advertising agency of record. The TV spots feature “vignettes that illustrate everyday moments when people show their imperfections - and when there is a need for responsibility and insurance,” Boston-based Liberty Mutual said. | |||
Parexel steps up efforts to woo smaller drug companiesParexel International Corp., which provides such services as helping pharmaceutical companies get their experimental drugs to market, is creating a special unit that will focus on small and mid-sized companies. Waltham-based Parexel has long gotten a big chunk of its revenues from large drug companies from all over the world. But now with much of the industry’s innovation coming from smaller companies, Parexel wants those companies to know that it has considerable experience in helping firms that aren’t industry giants. | |||
Stop & Shop debuts new Hyannis storeThe Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. said it opened the doors early Friday to its new Hyannis store at 1220 Iyannough Rd. The new 65,000 square-foot store replaces the existing Stop & Shop store just a quarter of a mile away on Independence Road. The new Hyannis store features an expanded selection of food offerings including a full-service meat and seafood department and more selections in deli, fresh produce, and natural and organic goods. | |||
WGBH strikes deal to acquire Public Radio InternationalWGBH, long a national powerhouse in public television, took a step this week to becoming a national force in public radio as well. The Boston public media station announced Thursday that it has acquired Public Radio International, the Minneapolis company that distributes some of the best known public radio programs, including “This American Life,” “Here & Now” and “The Tavis Smiley Show,” to 880 affiliates across the country and satellite radio, reaching more than 16 million listeners. | |||
Brookline Bank prepares for $4.2 million loss on loans related to Curt Schilling’s 38 StudiosA Massachusetts community bank is another casualty Curt Schilling's failed video game company in Providence. Brookline Bancorp, Inc., the parent of Brookline Bank, said Thursday it set aside $4.2 million to cover potential losses from two short-term business loans made by its subidiary, Bank Rhode Island, shortly after Brookline Bank bought the Providence bank in January | |||
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
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