Boston Herald - Boston Herald

Asia stocks fall ahead of Fed statements

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:15:00 -0400

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets fell Tuesday as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve to telegraph what it plans to do next with its economic stimulus program.

The Fed is conducting its third round of massive bond purchases known as quantitative easing to help drive down interest rates and spur lending. But recently improving data on the U.S. economy has led to speculation that the Fed might consider scaling back the program or winding it down earlier than expected.

The Ticker

Staff, Wire Reports — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Synageva drug dubbed ‘breakthrough’ by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy designation to a drug from Lexington-based Synageva BioPharma Corp. called sebelipase alfa that treats early onset lysosomal acid lipase deficiency, also known as Wolman disease.

Boston-New York train service woes could create holiday nightmare

Donna Goodison — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Tourism and convention officials expect business as usual this week as travelers seek alternate transportation to cope with interrupted train service between Boston and New York following Friday’s derailment and collision in Connecticut.

But additional drivers on the road could lead to massive Memorial Day bottlenecks if the rail service isn’t restored in time for the already heavily trafficked weekend.

Title fight for J.P. Morgan CEO

Ira Kantor — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Global financial giant J.P. Morgan Chase could face an “erosion” in investor confidence if a crucial shareholder vote allows Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon to keep both job titles, according to experts.

“It comes down to a trust issue. Jamie Dimon’s stellar reputation has been tarnished with the entire ‘London whale’ debacle,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based securities attorney. “It makes it look like the company is Jamie Dimon’s to do with what he wants, and that’s not what you want in today’s market.”

Analysts: Yahoo better not mess with Tumblr’s success

Marie Szaniszlo — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

For Tumblr fans, the best part of Yahoo’s $1.1 billion takeover is that the Internet dinosaur has vowed to leave the microblogging site alone.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer promised to let Tumblr operate independently, saying, “We promise not to screw it up.”

“Sending that message is super important,” said Todd Van Hoosear, a principal of Fresh Ground, a Cambridge-based social media consulting firm. “Yahoo has guaranteed ... that they’re not going to break this baby.”

Asia stocks muted ahead of Fed meeting

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:06:39 -0400

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets struggled to post gains Tuesday as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve to telegraph what it plans to do next with its economic stimulus program.

The Fed is currently conducting the third round of massive bond purchases known as quantitative easing to help drive down interest rates and spur lending. But recently improving data on the U.S. economy has led to speculation that the Fed might consider scaling back the program or winding it down earlier than expected.

Warren Buffett gives young entrepreneurs 10 shares

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:50:01 -0400

OMAHA, Neb. — Meeting Warren Buffett was exciting, but 10-year-old Matthew Meyer said winning $5,000 and 10 shares of stock in Buffett's company made Monday the best day of his life.

Matthew said he never expected to make the finals in Omaha, much less win the entrepreneurial contest tied to "The Secret Millionaire's Club" cartoon that drew nearly 4,000 entries online. The Cincinnati boy said his winnings make him "rich-ish" because $5,000 is quite a lot.

Actavis buying Warner Chilcott in $8.5B deal

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:33:20 -0400

NEW YORK — Actavis is buying Warner Chilcott in an all-stock deal valued at about $8.5 billion that would create the third-biggest specialty pharmaceutical company in the U.S. market.

The announcement Monday comes after the companies said earlier this month that they were in talks about a possible pairing of one of the world's largest generic drugmakers, Actavis Inc., with an Irish company that has a portfolio of established, branded drugs.

Retailer LL Bean keeping it in the family

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:22:02 -0400

FREEPORT, Maine — L.L. Bean's grandson Leon Gorman is retiring as chairman of the outdoors retailer after more than a half-century as the company's chairman or CEO, but the privately held firm is keeping the position in the family.

The Maine-based outdoors retailer informed its 5,000 full- and part-time workers Monday that Bean's great-grandson Shawn Gorman is the latest family member to serve as chairman, underscoring a commitment to family ownership in an era in which most large retailers are publicly traded.

Schweitzer elected chairman of Stillwater board

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:35:58 -0400

HELENA, Mont. — Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Monday that he is "focused like a laser" on improving the Stillwater Mining Co. after being elected chairman of the board — but he also isn't ruling out a potential U.S. Senate run.

The Democrat told The Associated Press in an interview that he has always been good at "keeping a couple of balls in the air."

Rates mixed at weekly US Treasury bill auction

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:47:50 -0400

WASHINGTON — Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction with rates on three-month bills unchanged while rates on six-month bills rose to the highest level in five weeks.

The Treasury Department auctioned $30 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.045 percent. That's unchanged from last week. Another $25 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.085 percent, up from 0.080 percent last week.

The six-month rate was the highest since these bills averaged 0.090 percent on April 15.

United restarts 787 flights after grounding

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:43:11 -0400

United Airlines put its 787 back in the air on Monday, with both the airline and Boeing hoping to put the plane's four-month grounding behind them.

The flight from Houston to Chicago was just the kind of 787 flight that airlines are hoping for: uneventful.

Smoldering batteries on two 787s owned by other airlines prompted authorities to ground the planes in January. The failure of Boeing's newest, flashiest and most important plane embarrassed the company and its customers.

ATM maker to pay $50G for not posting fees

Donna Goodison — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:08:19 -0400

An ATM provider has been brought to task for failing to post fee notices on some of its machines.

Merrimak ATM Group, whose ATMs can be found in convenience stores, restaurants and other retail businesses, will pay $50,000 to settle allegations that it failed to post the state-required disclosures that inform consumers how much they are being charged to use the machines prior to making debit or credit card transactions.

Feds again delay San Onofre nuke restart decision

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:38:28 -0400

LOS ANGELES — Federal regulators have indefinitely delayed a decision on the proposed restart of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, raising new questions Monday about whether the twin reactors will produce electricity again.

The seaside plant between San Diego and Los Angeles has been dark since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of unusual damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water.

United 787 takes to the skies

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:06:48 -0400

HOUSTON — United Airlines has one of its 787 aircraft back in the air.

A 787 Dreamliner took off today as scheduled at 11 a.m., Central time, from Houston for Chicago.

The Boeing 787s were grounded for four months because of smoldering batteries. The incidents included an emergency landing of one plane, and a fire on another.

Federal authorities lifted the grounding order a month ago, but it has taken Boeing and the airlines a few more weeks to fix most of the planes.

Judge gives final approval to A123 bankruptcy plan

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:56:13 -0400

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware bankruptcy judge has given final approval to the reorganization plan of failed battery maker A123 Systems Inc., which was the recipient of a $249 million Department of Energy grant.

Monday's court hearing resolved minor outstanding issues following the sale of most of the company's assets to the U.S. arm of Chinese auto parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group Corp. for nearly $257 million.

Blackstone group offers to take Pactera private

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:23:13 -0400

Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, along with Pactera's CEO and other managers, have offered to take Pactera private in a deal that values the Chinese technology consulting and outsourcing firm at $680.4 million.

Shares rose 31 percent Monday. Through Friday's close, before news of the offer, Pactera's stock had lost about two-thirds of its value over the past year.

Adelphic appoints Michael Collins as new CEO

Ira Kantor — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:14:24 -0400

Adelphic Inc., a Boston-based creator of a platform for targeted mobile advertising, said today it has appointed Michael Collins as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Collins joins Adelphic from Joule, a mobile marketing agency that is part of WPP, where he was the global CEO. Collins joined WPP in 2007 to create and launch Joule.

Los Angeles jeweler pleads guilty in KPMG case

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:07:23 -0400

LOS ANGELES — The owner of a Los Angeles jewelry store pleaded guilty Monday for his role in an insider-trading case involving a former senior partner at accounting firm KPMG.

Bryan Shaw, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 16 when he faces a maximum of five years in prison.

"In this guilty plea, Mr. Shaw continued his path to fully accepting responsibility for his actions and doing the right thing," said Shaw's attorney Nathan Hochman.

Oil rises on higher US stocks, falling dollar

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:00:11 -0400

NEW YORK — The price of oil rose Monday, taking its cue from the stock market and the dollar.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 86 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $96.88 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil moved higher as U.S. stock markets reversed early losses. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average showed a gain of 19.82, or 0.1 percent.