Contemporary offers space, style

This custom-built contemporary in Georgetown is shaped like a barn — with an attached silo — and has a huge garage ideal for car collectors.

The three-bedroom home at 282 Andover St., built in 2003, sits on almost two acres of land behind the 10th hole of the Black Swan Country Club golf course.

This unique 4,660-square-foot home, with a green metal roof, light-colored vinyl siding and an attached silo that holds the kitchen, a billiards/game room and an elevator, is on the market for $850,000.

Its ground level has a 2,300-square-foot garage with four overhead access doors that has room for nine vehicles. It may not be for everyone, but if you like buying and fixing up cars, the garage gives you ample space to restore and to store them — and a bathroom with a shower stall to clean up.

Most of the living space is on the second level, which has radiant heated floors, central vacuum and handicapped accessibility fixtures and handles as well as an elevator. Almost all rooms on this level, including the great room, kitchen and master bedroom, open out onto a multi-tiered outdoor deck with great views of the golf course.

The showpiece space on the second level is a great room with oak floors, a wall of side windows and 30-foot vaulted ceilings. This space serves as an open living/dining/family room with a full-wall media center built-in at one end and a dining area with a gas fireplace at the other. There's also a wood-topped wet bar with a sink.

Behind the great room, in the five-sided silo bumpout, sits the home's expansive kitchen with custom wood cabinets, commercial grade appliances including an oversized Sub-Zero refrigerator, two dishwashers and two ovens. There are four windows, track lighting, a ceramic tile floor with patterned wood inlays, and a large dark granite-topped pendant-lit island with a six-burner gas cooktop that can seat at least a half dozen diners.

Also on this floor is the home's expansive master bedroom suite, with Pergo floors, a wrought-iron chandelier, a gas fireplace, a walk-in closet and a large three-part Palladian window. The en-suite bathroom features dual pedestal sinks, a custom built-in linen cabinet, a whirlpool tub plus a large beige marble walk-in shower.

There's a second bedroom on this level with its own ceramic tile bathroom, as well as a pocket-doored home office/study with dentil crown molding, two built-in desks and a built-in bookcase/cabinet. A laundry room holds a side-by-side washer, storage cabinets and dryer and a sink.

Off the third-floor landing above the great room sits a vaulted-ceiling loft bedroom as well as a full and a half bathroom. In the silo bumpout sits a custom billiards/gaming room (table included) with wood-paneled wainscoting and Pergo floors. The game room also has sliding doors out to a third-floor deck.

The large driveway with a circular stone planter in the center can hold an additional 20 vehicles.

Home Showcase

• Address: 292 Andover St., Georgetown
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Four full, two half
• List price: $850,000
• Square feet: 4,660
• Price per square foot: $182
• Annual taxes: $11,167
• Location: A mile to Georgetown Shopping Center including 
a Crosby's supermarket
• Built in: 2003
• Broker: Gail Tyrrell of ReMax Advantage Real Estate at 781-760-0670

Pros:

• Open living dining/family great room with 30-foot vaulted ceilings, wall of windows
• Large kitchen with custom cabinetry, large island and commercial grade appliances
• Master bedroom suite with three-part Palladian window, large marble walk-in shower
• Multi-tiered wide deck with views of golf course

Cons:

•  Huge garage with multiple overhead doors may not fit with potential buyer's lifestyle

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Utility wants to charge 29 percent more on Jan. 1

NStar is seeking to hike its electricity rates by 
29 percent beginning Jan. 1, citing constraints in the pipelines that bring natural gas to regional generating companies.

The utility filed the rate increase request with state regulators yesterday. If the Department of Public Utilities approves the proposal, the average customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity would see a $28 monthly bill increase to $123.41, said Mike Durand, an NStar spokesman.

"This change we've filed represents the exact price we pay for the electricity we buy from generators on behalf of our customers," Durand said.

That price has increased, he said, because more than half of New England's electricity is now produced using natural gas. And although gas remains an abundant and inexpensive fuel, regional pipelines are not equipped to meet the growing dependence on gas to produce electricity, Durand said.

Mary-Leah Assad, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the Patrick administration and the Department of Public Utilities are working with all of the state's electric utilities to ensure residents and businesses are aware of the programs available to help manage energy costs this winter.

"The basic-service rate increases underscore the importance of continued aggressive investments in energy efficiency and a diverse energy mix to stabilize prices and secure our energy future," Assad said.

National Grid, Massachusetts' other major electric utility, proposed a 
37 percent rate hike earlier this fall, prompting Attorney General Martha Coakley's office to request that the company's winter electricity rates be recalculated to spread the impact over a 12-month period. But the Department of Public Utilities denied the request, saying it would be contrary to department precedent and disrupt the competitive market, potentially resulting in higher future prices.

Yesterday, Jillian Fennimore, a spokeswoman for Coakley, said: "Our office remains very concerned about these increases in electricity bills, and we will continue to advocate for ways to mitigate rate hikes this winter season and in the future. We have encouraged the DPU to educate and protect consumers considering alternatives offered by competitive suppliers, and examine additional solutions to help reduce this impact on ratepayers in Massachusetts."

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Volvo V60 no ordinary wagon

A brilliant red paint job on my Volvo tester dismissed any notion that the V60 was an ordinary wagon.

This, of course, was validated by a turbocharged, 6-cylinder engine that yielded 325 horsepower. Our test model, which topped out at just under $50,000, had Volvo's R-Design trim package that gave the wagon a sporty edge with an upmarket interior.

Low-profile summer tires mounted on 19-inch wheels combined with shallow ground clearance and sport-tuned suspension gave the V60 impressive handling. While the blend made the wagon exhilarating to drive, the downside was a harsh ride, especially in the city and over bridge expansion joints on the highway.

A silky, six-speed automatic transmission produced brisk acceleration. Aluminum paddle shifters, tucked behind the steering wheel, were ready at the finger- tips to wind out those gears. All-wheel-drive certainly makes the V60 an attractive choice for the New England driver, but a second set of all-weather tires is a must. My V60 tester did 19 miles per gallon in the city and 28 on the highway in fuel economy.

An understated interior, finished in flat black, blended comfort and luxury. Brushed aluminum highlights on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, center console and doors broke up the darkness. Leather seats were supportive and fatigue-reducing.

Volvo's climate package takes heated components to another level.

In addition to heated front and rear seats, the V60 had a heated steering wheel, windshield, windshield nozzles, and mirrors.

Rear seating was decent, but lacked footroom with two adults in the front. Three children across the back was a squeeze. While our tester had an opening over the cockpit, a panoramic moonroof would help to brighten the backseat environment and provide better light for the deep, rear storage compartment.

Volvo includes an abundance of safety and security features as standard equipment on the V60's base model. Our tester also had a $900 exterior sensor technology package that included blind spot warning, cross traffic alert, lane change merge, and parking assist.

Volvo also offers a smartphone app that not only provides a remote starter, but also provides access to the V60's dashboard to check fuel levels and maintenance warnings, and provides a journal of where the wagon has been. I liked the fact that I could tap my iPhone to confirm if the doors where locked before I went to bed.

I looked forward to every opportunity to get behind the wheel of the V60 as the combination of modest power and sharp handling made the wagon entertaining to drive. An entry level V60 starts at just under $36,000 and Volvo offers 4- and 5-cylinder engine options.

I recommend taking a close look at the sport wagon segment to anyone considering a compact SUV. Other wagons to consider are the Audi Allroad, Subaru Outback, or the Volkswagen Jetta. The Volvo V60 is a sports car disguised as a wagon.

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New chapel set to rise up in Seaport

Construction will start this month on Our Lady of Good Voyage in the South Boston Seaport District — a new chapel to replace the original built by the Archdiocese of Boston in 1952 to serve seamen and other waterfront workers.

Seaport Square developers Boston Global Investors and Morgan Stanley will break ground on the new one-story chapel Nov. 21 at 51 Seaport Boulevard, near the intersection of Sleeper Street on what's now a parking lot. The new chapel, at the foot of the Evelyn Moakley Bridge, will be fronted by a public square.

The existing one-story, red brick chapel on Northern Avenue — dwarfed in an area with new and under-construction high-rises — will be demolished.

Boston Global Investors and Morgan Stanley struck a deal with the Archdiocese of Boston for the new church to make way for an office tower as part of the $3.5 billion, 23-acre, mixed-use Seaport Square project.

Built as a "worker chapel" on land donated by a New Haven Railroad president, the chapel often is referred to as the "Fish Pier chapel."

It's part of South Boston's St. Vincent de Paul parish. The chapel is included in the Massachusetts Historical Commission's inventory of historic and archaeological assets, but not listed on state or national registers of historic places.

The new one-story church, which will sit on a 5,000-square-foot lot, is slated to be finished by Christmas 2015. When completed, Boston Global Investors and Morgan Stanley will sell it to the Archdiocese of Boston for a nominal fee.

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China trade growth decelerates

BEIJING — China's trade growth decelerated in October but still was relatively robust as Chinese leaders try to reverse a deepening economic slowdown.

Exports rose 11.6 percent to $206.9 billion, down from September's 18-month high of 15.3 percent growth, trade data showed Saturday. Imports rose 4.6 percent to $161.5 billion, below forecasts.

Weaker trade represents a new source of possible risk after economic growth slipped to a five-year low of 7.3 percent in the quarter ending in September.

In an apparent effort to shore up growth, Chinese leaders have approved tens of billions of dollars of spending in recent weeks on building new railway lines and airports.

The Communist Party leadership is trying to nurture growth based on domestic consumption and reduce reliance on trade and investment. But trade-driven manufacturing employs millions of Chinese, and the government's reform plans depend on preserving those jobs.

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Good things come in small packages at North Point

A new AvalonBay Communities' apartment complex features micro-unit and larger studios carved out of a former hot dog factory in East Cambridge, with access to first-class amenities at its luxury rental tower across the street.

The Avalon North Point Lofts have 103 units in the six-story former Maple Leaf Franks building. AvalonBay purchased the rights to redevelop the building as part of a deal with Archstone to buy the adjacent North Point luxury apartment complex with 426 units that was built in 2008.

The lofts are a different type of apartment for Avalon­Bay, whose local portfolio includes traditional luxury apartments and its tech-­focused AVA brand geared to millennials.

"We did a complete gut rehab of the factory and added a lot more windows to make unique loft spaces," said Michael Roberts, vice president for development at AvalonBay. "The rents are also lower than our luxury or AVA apartments."

The loft rents, which range between $1,850 and $2,400, include free use of Avalon North Point's extensive amenities, including an indoor pool, gym, yoga and massage studio, hospitality room with kitchen and movie theater. Parking at the garage runs an extra $175 a month.

"People like the price point and efficient use of space, and we're getting a mix of grad students and professionals who work nearby," said property manager Sarita Gonzales, who said that 57 percent of the lofts have been rented after just a few months on the market.

Ranging in size from 329 square feet to 700 square feet, some studios have separate living and sleeping areas, while others are open-plan lofts. The apartments have ceilings over 11 feet high, and most have floor-to-ceiling windows.

The LEED Silver building emphasizes its factory origins, with polished concrete floors, large columns and exposed ductwork.

We took a look at two model units. Unit 105, a 450-square-foot micro studio with separate living and sleeping areas that's renting for $1,900, makes efficient use of space with a kitchen area with white quartz counters, about a half-dozen cabinets, a G.E. refrigerator and an electric cooktop with a microwave above. The adjacent living room is divided from a sleeping area by a three-quarter wall. There's a full bathroom with ceramic tile shower as well as an in-unit washer and dryer.

Unit 103, a 379-square-foot corner micro-unit, has a full kitchen with quartz counters, and an open plan living and sleeping area for $1,850 a month.

AvalonBay also is planning a six-story 300-unit apartment building in the NorthPoint neighborhood scheduled to break ground next year.

"We think NorthPoint has its momentum back," said Roberts. "There's still a lot of pent-up apartment demand and the long-term prospects for this area are good."

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Foxwoods sees new mall as competition for visitors

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — Foxwoods Resort Casino says the mall it's building will ratchet up the competition for gamblers and shoppers being lured by Massachusetts.

Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council that runs Foxwoods in eastern Connecticut, said the $120 million Tanger Outlets will set Foxwoods apart. He says casinos planned in Massachusetts will be "spectacular," but will not offer shopping.

Mashantucket and Foxwoods officials offered a tour of the mall construction site Thursday. They estimate the outlet center will draw 3 million to 4 million more people a year.

The opening is set for May 21, 2015.

Stores will include Nike, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store and several others.

Massachusetts awarded the first resort casino licenses Thursday to Wynn Resorts in Everett and MGM Resorts International in Springfield.

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AG probes hospital closure plan

The Attorney General's Office is investigating whether Steward Health Care System violated the terms of a 2011 agreement when it announced yesterday that Quincy Medical Center will shut down operations by the end of the year, a spokesman said.

"We have just been notified about this decision and are currently reviewing it in the context of Steward's legal obligations," said Brad Puffer, a spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley.

When Steward bought the 196-bed Quincy hospital in a bankruptcy auction in 2011, it signed an agreement with Coakley that included a 10-year "No Close Period" requiring that it "maintain an acute care hospital in Quincy providing at least the same scope of services as Quincy Medical Center currently provides."

Steward could close Quincy Medical in the last three-and-a-half years of that 10-year period if it could show the hospital "experienced two consecutive fiscal years of negative operating margins" and provide the state's Department of Public Health with "at least 18 months prior written notice of its intent to close," according to the agreement.

A Steward spokeswoman declined to comment when asked about the no-close clause last night.

The Quincy hospital, which has 680 employees, reported a $19.7 million loss last year and has projected a $20 million loss for 2014.

"This positions us to be stronger," said Dr. Mark Girard, president of Steward Hospitals. "Quincy Medical Center has been losing about $20 million (annually) and ... that $20 million comes from the other hospitals in diversion of resources. So, to the extent that we're not diverting those resources, we're allowed to reinvest in our other locations."

Quincy Medical Center's financial losses, Girard said, forced Steward Hospitals to delay the development of an emergency room at Morton Hospital in Taunton and stalled construction projects at Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley in Haverhill.

"Health care has evolved ... technology allows you to do a lot of things that historically required inpatient care or extended inpatient care that now you can do either in one day or out of the hospital altogether," Girard said. "That's one big trend that we're all facing and certainly one that has been part of the issue for Quincy Medical Center."

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State eyes fee hikes on beaches, rinks, parks

It's going to get more expensive to hit the beach, rent ice time and camp on state property in Massachusetts under proposed fee changes that also include new charges for other activities.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation hasn't raised its fees since 2008 for day-use areas such as state parks, 2007 for ice rinks and 2003 for campgrounds, according to spokesman Bill Hickey. It's holding public hearings this month on the proposed changes, which would take effect next year.

"Even with these proposed modest increases, Massachusetts will be on the lower end of the median when compared to other New England state park fees," Hickey said.

MassParks Passes, which cover parking for a year at DCR properties including beaches, would jump from $35 to $60 for residents and from $45 to $85 for nonresidents.

Nonresidents using DCR properties also face new charges that are higher than those proposed for Bay Staters. DCR cabin rentals in state forests, for example, would rise from $30 per day for a one-room cabin for all campers to $50 for residents and $55 for nonresidents.

Daily coastal campsite fees, meanwhile, would increase from $15 to $22 for residents, and from $17 to $27 for nonresidents. Electric and water hookups would double to $6 and $4 per day.

Ice rink rentals would jump between $15 and $25 in peak season, to $200 to $250 per 50 minutes.

Among the proposed new fees are $50 per day for group picnic areas, $250 to $2,000 per day for outdoor venue rentals for company events at a DCR property, and $250 per day for commercial film productions.

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Aereo lays off staff in Boston, New York

Aereo, which put its service on hold after it lost a Supreme Court ruling in June, is laying off a majority of its staff, including employees in New York and Boston, although the company says that it is continuing to "chart our path forward."

Several media outlets reported that the company informed employees in Boston that it was closing its office there and laying off 43 employees as of Nov. 12.

Virginia Lam, a spokeswoman for the company, said that "in an effort to reduce costs, we made the difficult decision to lay off some of our staff in Boston and New York. We are continuing to conserve resources while we chart our path forward. We are grateful to our employees for their loyalty, hard work and dedication. This was a difficult, but necessary step in order to preserve the company."

A small executive team of about a dozen people will remain.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that Aereo's service -- which offered digital broadcast streams to subscribers via dime-sized antennas -- violated the Copyright Act. The company has so far been unsuccessful in pursuing another approach in the courts, that because it resembles a cable service it should be entitled to transmit broadcast programming.

The FCC, meanwhile, is mulling a proposal in which Internet TV providers, including Aereo, would receive the same classification as a cable or satellite company, something that would give over-the-top services access to broadcast channels. But it is likely that Aereo would still have to pay restransmission fees to local stations.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Repeal dead, Walsh ready to deal with Wynn Resorts

With casinos now here to stay, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he is ready to talk turkey with Wynn Resorts on improvements to Boston roadways leading to its $1.6 billion gambling palace just over the city line in Everett.

"We have a lot of outstanding questions that we have to figure out when it comes to traffic, and I think they have their own questions with the land over there and some of the environmental issues around the land," Walsh said yesterday. "As far as Boston goes, I'm going to talk about Sullivan Square, Rutherford Ave., benefits for the people of Charlestown. The people of Charlestown are going to be the most impacted by this casino, so I'm going to go back to work now and see what I can do."

All seven of Charlestown's precincts voted to repeal expanded gaming Tuesday, the only neighborhood in the city to skew so anti-casino. Statewide, the ballot question failed by a 60-to-40 margin.

Walsh had his first face-to-face meeting with Vegas gaming titan Steve Wynn two weeks ago in a low-key affair at the Parkman House, which the mayor described as "mostly small talk" because the repeal vote was in the offing.

"We really didn't get into much of a conversation about the benefits, although he said, 'You can work with me, I'm a person you can work with,'" Walsh said. "So I take him at his word, and I look forward to seeing if we can hammer out some type of agreements here for the city of Boston."

Wynn's project, which will receive its formal license award today from the state Gaming Commission, is expected to generate 31,000 new vehicle trips on an average day. Wynn executives expressed confidence that tensions with Walsh and any other permitting and legal hurdles will be smoothed over.

"Anything that comes along I think can be dealt with," said Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Mass LLC.

Wynn needs permits from Boston for road alterations, and pledged to submit Sullivan Square fixes to the city's Public Improvements Commission within 90 days after the referendum.

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Schools, industry plan security consortium for cybersecurity

University, private industry and governmental support is being corralled for a New England research consortium to tackle cybersecurity issues confronting the financial services industry, become a regional force in vying for large federal grants and create a cyber­security talent pipeline.

Organizers of the New England Cyber Security Research Consortium have a $2 million commitment from an undisclosed industry source toward the estimated $8 million to $10 million needed for the first four years of operation, according to William Guenther, founder and CEO of Boston consulting and research firm Mass Insight Global Partnerships.

Mass Insight and the 3-year-old nonprofit Advanced Cyber Security Center plan a formal launch of the consortium next year. They so far have letters of support from the Univer­sity of Massachusetts, Northeastern University, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, State Street Corp., the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, .406 Ventures and the city of Boston.

The consortium would have university faculty and students working alongside industry researchers on projects such as developing automated, real-time, threat-sharing networks to aid in cyberattack defense and building the security of mobile payments. It would serve as an incubator for emerging businesses.

"This is outsourcing from industries to univer­sities," Guenther said.

The effort will enable New England universities to access large-scale government funding, said Jack Wilson, UMass president emeritus and professor of higher education, emerging technologies and innovation. State and federal governments give preference to regions with strong industry/university partnerships when awarding grants in the $30 million to $70 million range, according to Guenther.

The consortium would take a multidisciplinary approach to cybersecurity, tapping sources in information technology, social and behavioral sciences, economics, law and policy. Developing a "new breed" of talent with well-rounded skills is important, as is collaboration with industry partners sharing the same problems, said John McKenna, Liberty Mutual Group's chief information security officer. "We can't solve these things alone," he said.

A search is underway for a downtown Boston location for the consortium, but much of the work will be done virtually, via connections to partner universities.

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City ramps up housing inspections

Boston's Inspectional Services Department is finding chronic code violations as its inspectors begin to fan out to rental units across the city to enforce an ordinance — given new teeth last year — that will prompt 90,000 apartment inspections over the next five years.

Since beginning the inspections in early October, ISD has hit 43 units and found chronic issues that need addressing, such as water stains, rodents and unsanitary kitchen equipment including sinks and ovens, said Dave Rini, assistant director of rental housing inspections, who was hired to coordinate enforcement of the rental ordinance. Citations aren't yet being written under a grace period that gives landlords 30 days to correct problems.

"We're finding in general that a good number of the properties are not passing their initial inspections," Rini said, "but the program is set up to allow landlords to correct any violations."

The City Council and former Mayor Thomas M. Menino strengthened a decades-old rental housing inspection ordinance last year. It now compels landlords to report how many units they own and where to the ISD, which creates a data­base to ensure they are inspected on a five-year cycle. Previously, the ordinance called on landlords to report to the city when units turned over, which was hardly ever happening, ISD said.

"We're really trying to stay on top of it and make this a standard part of ISD's responsibilities," ISD Commissioner William "Buddy" Christopher said. "It lets us be very proactive if we see deteriorating conditions or deferred maintenance that is not taking place the way it should be."

This year, ISD is focusing on units with a recent history of code violations and a high number of housing court cases, as well as foreclosed properties.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh said his administration "is committed to continuously improving our efforts to educate owners and tenants alike about their rights and responsibilities, and these inspection requirements will protect tenants and promote safe housing."

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Governments push for more Facebook data

Government requests for Facebook data jumped sharply in the first half of this year, according to the social media giant — the second company in recent months to say such inquiries have increased.

Requests for data from Facebook rose 24 percent, to 34,946 between January and June, compared to the last six months of last year, according to the company. The U.S. government was responsible for a little less than half those requests.

"We continue to work with our industry and civil society partners to push governments for additional transparency and to reform surveillance practices necessary to rebuild people's trust in the Internet," Facebook deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said in a statement.

Facebook gave data to governments in roughly 80 percent of the requests.

Sonderby said Facebook is fighting back against the requests when possible, including a request for "nearly all data from the accounts of nearly 400 people" that will be heard later this year by a New York appeals court. Sonderby called the request "unprecedented."

"We scrutinize every government request we receive for legal sufficiency under our terms and the strict letter of the law, and push back hard when we find deficiencies or are served with overly broad requests," Sonderby said.

In September, Google said government requests for data had increased 15 percent in the first half of this year.

Facebook began re­leasing transparency reports in June 2013, after details of the National Security Agency's secret Internet surveillance program, Prism, emerged.

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The Ticker

Feds shut down 
Maine shrimp season

Federal regulators shut down the commercial fishing season for northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine for a second straight year yesterday, citing concerns about the declining population and warmer ocean temperatures.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Northern Shrimp Section voted to cancel the up­coming season, a year after the section closed this year's season for the first time in more than 30 years.

The "depleted condition of the resource and poor prospects for the near future" warrant another closure, the committee reported, adding that "long term trends in environmental conditions" for the little pink shrimp are unfavorable. The amount of the shrimp's population that can be fished is at an all-time low, regulators said.

Wanderu raises $5.6 million

Boston startup Wanderu has raised $5.6 million in venture financing, the company announced yesterday.

Wanderu has created a way to find the cheapest bus tickets — similar to Orbitz or Kayak — in one place. The company said it will use the money to continue its expansion around the country.

The round of funding was led by Metamorphic Ventures and included Craig Lentzsch, former Greyhound CEO.

Celtics, Sun Life team up for diabetes

The Boston Celtics and Sun Life Financial are teaming up to promote diabetes prevention.

Sun Life will donate $1,000 to the YMCA dia­betes prevention program for every dunk by the Celtics this month. The company will also donate $1 for every tweet that uses the hashtag #SunLifeDunkFor Diabetes.­

TODAY

• Labor Department releases third-quarter productivity data, weekly jobless claims.
• Selected chain retailers release October sales.

TOMORROW

• Labor Department releases employment data for October.
• ROI Corp., a leading business brokerage firm in the Greater Boston area, announced the appointment of Julia Rayberg of Rockland as senior marketing associate. She will coordinate the growing firm's internal and external marketing efforts.
• BIND Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage nanomedicine platform company developing targeted and programmable therapeutics called Accurins, announced the appointment of Hagop Youssoufian, M.Sc., M.D., as chief medical officer. Youssoufian will be responsible for overseeing the clinical development and operations of BIND's internal pipeline.

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Boston Globe near sale of HQ to Concord co.

The Boston Globe is close to reaching an agreement to sell its Morrissey Boulevard headquarters to a Concord commercial real estate firm, the newspaper said.

CEO Mike Sheehan said the Globe is in the process of completing a purchase-and-sale agreement with Winstanley Enterprises, which has plans for mixed uses on the 16.5-acre site in Dorchester.

"We had a number of bids. We pared it down to three," Sheehan said. "We should have a (purchase and sale agreement) in a couple of weeks."

Winstanley currently owns and operates 43 buildings totaling about 5.5 million square feet throughout New England, according to its website.

The Globe had hired commercial real estate firm Colliers International to identify potential buyers. Sheehan declined to say how much the property will be sold for, but real estate experts have estimated it could be worth as much as 
$75 million.

Sheehan said the three offers were chosen as finalists in part because of price, but also because of what the bidders planned to do with the property.

"If I lived in this neighborhood, that's exactly what I'd want here," Sheehan said.

In a memo to employees, Sheehan said the Globe is likely to move out of its 815,000-square-foot headquarters at the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017.

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HoJo seeks stars of ’60s ads

The Howard Johnson hotel chain is hunting for a former Quincy High School student, who came to the aid of a sailor on leave while training to be an apprentice cook in the former Dorchester HoJo's restaurant in the 1960s.

A nationwide search is underway for Ronald J. Brodeur, then a 17-year-old Quincy High junior, and 13 other former HoJo hotel and restaurant employees featured in the brand's "Spotlight on You" advertising campaign in the '60s.

As part of its 60th anniversary, HoJo's will reward the workers with five-night hotel stays and possibly invitations to appear in another ad campaign.

Founded in Quincy in 1925 as a drugstore with a soda fountain, HoJo's is now a chain of 432 hotels based in Parsippany, N.J., under Wyndham Hotel Group.

Brodeur assisted a sailor en route to visit his fiancee in Attleboro after returning from sea to Boston. The sailor had pulled up in front of the Dorchester HoJo's in a borrowed car, and Brodeur ended up helping him remount a wheel so he could make it to a garage. The good deed earned Brodeur a cash reward and a starring role in a HoJo ad.

"We chose to focus on the ads from the 'Spotlight on You' campaign because they speak not only to a very special time in the Howard Johnson brand's history — a time when the brand was growing and expanding by leaps and bounds across the interstates with hotels and restaurants, but also because they highlight an unwavering commitment to hospitality and great customer service," said Rui Barros, Wyndham Hotel Group's president and managing director of North American franchise operations.

The chain has launched its nationwide search through classified ads in newspapers, Facebook and other social media channels, and its own websites.

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New school music to charter’s ears

A music-oriented Boston charter school stands to be part of Roxbury's revival after signing a purchase-and-sale agreement for land to build a permanent facility about a quarter-mile from Dudley Square.

The 16-year-old Conservatory Lab Charter School plans to consolidate two temporary Brighton and Dorchester locations into a new school for about 450 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students. The land is part of the planned $140 million mixed-use Bartlett Place development.

"We're very excited to be where we are right now in terms of the process," Head of School Diana Lam said. "Most of our students come from Roxbury and the surrounding area, and we feel that also it is right at the center of the city."

The Conservatory Lab is "music-infused," with a focus on project-based learning and daily music instruction. All students play an instrument, and the school has 10 orchestras.

Plans call for a 70,000- to 72,000-square-foot school.

"We are engaged in trying to get the money together," Lam said. "The building may cost anywhere from $30 (million) to $35 million, but we don't need to raise all of that because we will have a stream of revenue."

The school receives tuition-reimbursement funds from the state to the tune of about 
$5.8 million this year.

The 1.6-acre building site is in the former 8.5-acre MBTA Bartlett bus yard bought in 2010 by Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp. and Dorchester's Windale Developers. Their Bartlett Place plans include 323 mixed-income apartments and owner-occupied homes, 55,000 square feet of retail and commercial space — including a 12,000-square-foot Harvest Co-op Market — in addition to the school.

"We have three buildings that could go into construction next year, which is exciting for Roxbury," said David Price, Nuestra Comunidad's executive director. The charter school could be the first, because it needs to open by mid-2016, he added.

The school would be open to the community at night and weekends for classes, workshops and music lessons.

"We're very excited to expand the services that we can provide to community members in Roxbury and to students that may not attend our school, but who live in Roxbury," Lam said.

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CVS earnings soar on sales of specialty drugs

CVS Health Corp.'s third-quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations, as growing sales of specialty drugs helped offset the loss of tobacco products, which the company stopped selling in September.

The nation's second-
largest drugstore chain's net income fell to $948 million, or 81 cents per share, from
$1.25 billion, or $1.02 per share a year earlier.

Adjusted to extinguish debt and for amortization costs, earnings were $1.15 per share, topping the $1.14 per share that was the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue also surpassed expectations, rising to $35.02 billion, compared to the $34.65 billion analysts had forecast, according to Zacks.

Revenue from the Woonsocket, R.I.-based company's pharmacy benefits management, or PBM, side increased 16 percent, and operating profit from that segment grew 7.3 percent, helped by new business and the growth of expensive specialty drugs for complex chronic health conditions.

"PBM revenue growth and profitability were above our estimates, boosted by net new business and growth in specialty pharmacy, including ... contributions from Specialty Connect," a new program that allows CVS customers with these prescriptions to either pick them up or get them through the mail, according to Meredith Adler, a Barclays Capital analyst.

CVS said revenue from its retail pharmacy business increased 3 percent, but the loss of tobacco sales hurt earnings by 3 cents per share. The full-year impact of missing tobacco products will reduce earnings by 7 to 8 cents per share, the company said.

"As expected, the tobacco exit negatively impacted," Peter Costa, a Wells Fargo Securities analyst, said in a note. "We expect this impact may nearly double in Q4."

Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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Report: State foreclosures spike again

The number of foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts grew for the seventh straight month in September, but one expert says the numbers are not an accurate reflection of what is happening in the housing industry right now.

Foreclosure petitions rose 68 percent from September 2013, while foreclosure deeds — finalized foreclosures — rose 5 percent from a year before, according to a report from The Warren Group. Petitions rose to 734 across the state and deeds rose to 294.

The spike is not concerning, said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group.

"Most of what is happening right now is people clearing out their backlogs of what they didn't do," Murphy said. "It's not much to write home about."

The increase is because of an artificially suppressed foreclosure market last year while lenders waited for new legislation to be passed.

"(Lenders) were waiting to hear what they needed to do," Murphy said. "We were not seeing them do (foreclosures) at a normal rate."

Murphy said even the inflated number of foreclosure deeds pales in comparison to the height of the housing crash.

"There were thousands of foreclosures a month, now we're down to a couple hundred," she said.

She said the backlog of foreclosures that has been building up while lenders wait for legislative guidance may not be cleared until late next year.

"Things will be bouncing around a little bit," she said.

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Softbank quarterly profit up despite Sprint woes

TOKYO — Softbank's quarterly profit nearly tripled as gains from the IPO of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba offset losses at U.S. mobile carrier Sprint.

The Japanese telecommunications and Internet-services company reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of 483.1 billion yen ($4.3 billion), up from 165.8 billion yen a year earlier. Quarterly sales surged 23 percent to 2.11 trillion yen ($18.7 billion).

Softbank, the first to sell the iPhone in Japan, has widespread global investments including Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, which listed in New York earlier this year after a record-busting stock sale. Softbank said it gained 599 billion yen ($5 billion) from the listing.

One sore spot is Sprint, which Softbank bought a majority stake in earlier this year. It said costs from layoffs at Sprint will total 17 billion yen ($150 million). Sprint is eliminating 2,000 jobs, or about 5 percent of its staff, to cut $1.5 billion in annual spending.

Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint, which announced a separate round of job cuts in early October, reported a $765 million loss for the quarter. But Softbank is eyeing Sprint as a long-term investment.

"We are heading toward a turnaround," said Softbank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son. Sprint's new chief executive, Marcelo Claure, tapped from cellphone distributor and Softbank unit Brightstar, was making progress, he said.

Son said Alibaba is reporting solid growth in profits, rising from its humble beginnings when he invested in it about 14 years ago to become one of the biggest companies in the world by market capitalization.

He compared his investment approach to valuing, instead of killing, the goose that lays golden eggs, but warned that patience was needed.

"I've long said that whoever rules China will rule the world," he said. China has overtaken Japan as the world's second biggest economy and will in the future grow bigger than the American economy, Son said.

But he said the place to watch next is India, where the population is young, English-speaking and boasts excellent software engineers, praising Snapdeal as India's equivalent of Alibaba.

The Tokyo-based company, which also owns the Softbank Hawks baseball team, recently invested in two Indian technology companies, Snapdeal, the nation's largest digital marketplace, and Ola Cabs, which runs the technology to connect consumers with cab drivers in India.

Another company in which Softbank is a stakeholder, Yahoo Japan, has switched its electronic commerce style to more like Alibaba's, a move that has proved a success, he said.

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Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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Google expands reach of Disney Movies Anywhere streaming service on Android devices

After launching Disney Movies Anywhere on Apple devices in February, Walt Disney Studios has partnered with Google to make the streaming service available on platforms that run on Android.

The deal should significantly expand the reach of DMA in the United States, given that Android powers the majority of the world's mobile devices -- from smartphones to tablets, as well as some smart TVs and set top boxes.

Through the Google deal, the DMA website and app will now also be accessible on the Google Chromecast stick and eventually through the next iteration of Android called Lollipop, which is designed to run the infotainment systems found inside cars -- a potential boon for Disney as parents turn to mobile screens to keep their kids occupied on the road.

While the Google deal will help expand the appeal of purchasing Disney, Pixar and Marvel-branded movies, it will also boost the profile of the Google Play store, which has recently made a more aggressive push to increase sales and rentals primarily through partnerships with Hollywood studios.

Google Play also sells songs, TV shows, apps, games and books.

The Google partnership will kick off with the homevideo releases of "Maleficent" and "Planes: Fire & Rescue" on digital and physical formats. Disney is promoting the expansion with a free digital copy of "Wreck-It Ralph" to consumers who connect their DMA accounts to their Google or iTunes accounts.

The service launched with the exclusive availability of "Frozen" three weeks before its DVD and Blu-ray Disc release, and a free digital copy of "The Incredibles."

Disney Movies Anywhere provides access to a library of over 450 titles. Until now, those only were through digital copies of films found on DVD and Blu-ray purchases, and titles bought through Apple's iTunes store.

While Disney says DMA has been successful since its launch in February, it was hard to ignore the fact that "the Android platform is clearly the most widely distributed platform in the world," said Jamie Voris, chief technology officer of the Walt Disney Studios. "It was important to make something so they didn't feel like secondclass citizens."

Disney sees DMA as a way to increase the digital sale of movies, as DVD and Blu-ray disc sales decline and more consumers turn to their mobile devices to view content, especially family fare.

Google should make Disney's app more attractive, at least.

Android is expected to have an 80% marketshare by the end of the year, followed by Apple's iOS with 15%, according to IDC.

Yet that giant gap comes with a caveat. Apple's devices accounted for 48.5% of mobile video viewing last year, according to Opera Mediaworks.

DMA provides more than just a way to sell more movies through the homevideo window.

It also is a platform to promote upcoming films and distribute short-form videos and other content, and as an incentive, offers consumers Disney Movie Reward points with purchases.
DMA is currently promoting "Big Hero 6," which bows on Friday, and will offer pre-orders of the film on homevideo upon its release in theaters.

Either way, Disney is counting on DMA being available on more devices to increase digital sales of its movies as the viewing of digital entertainment spiked 53% over the past year, according to Nielsen.

"We want to make it easy for movie fans to enjoy all of their past and future digital purchases across all of their devices. Our partnership with Disney now gives Google Play users the ability to conveniently watch all of their Disney, Marvel and Pixar digital movies that have been purchased from any Disney Movies Anywhere participating retailer," said Jonathan Zepp, head of Google Play Movies partnerships.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Warner Bros. layoffs to begin today

Layoffs at Warner Bros. will begin Tuesday, according to individuals with knowledge of the cutbacks.

The film and television studio will cut approximately 1,000 jobs globally as part of a company-wide belt-tightening. The layoffs amount to more than 10% of the studio's roughly 8,000-person workforce. Variety first reported last month that as many as 1,000 people could lose their jobs.

Severance packages for staff will likely include three weeks of pay for every year of service at the company. It is expected to tap out at two years of pay, according to an individual with knowledge of the plans. Sources stressed however that the packages will vary depending on an employee's term of service.

The cuts across the film and TV divisions are expected to take place in two waves, with roughly half beginning this week. The remaining layoffs will be finished by the end of the calendar year. Among those areas expected to be most impacted are real estate, home entertainment, information and technology and finance.

Warner Bros. is not the only Time Warner division making staffing reductions. Turner Broadcasting and HBO are also laying off hundreds of people as part of an effort to reduce overhead expenditures.

Warner Bros. last instituted studio-wide layoffs in 2009 when it cut 800 jobs. The studio's television division has fielded a number of hits such as "Mike & Molly," "The Big Bang Theory" and this year's new series "Gotham." The Burbank studio's film operation, however, has struggled, with box office misfires such as "Blended," "Edge of Tomorrow," "Transcendence" and most recently "The Judge," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. The poor reception of those pictures has threatened to overshadow profitable hits like "Annabelle" and "The Lego Movie."

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Venezuela's president orders 15pct wage increase

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolas Maduro is boosting Venezuela's minimum wage to protect workers' salaries from inflation running at nearly 60 percent a year.

Maduro said Monday that the 15 percent increase will take effect in December. It follows a 30 percent boost in April and a 10 percent hike in January.

The socialist president said the raise was necessary to defend workers' earnings from inflation that he blames on an economic war his enemies are waging on the country.

Critics say the government is essentially printing too much money. Venezuela has the highest inflation in the world, by some estimates

The move comes a week after Maduro boosted military salaries by 45 percent, drawing criticism from the opposition, and some grumbling from workers who hadn't gotten a raise. The military has seen a wage increase of about 500 percent since the start of Venezuela's socialist revolution in 1999.

The increase takes Venezuela's minimum wage to 4,889 bolivars a month. That's $776 at the official exchange rate but less than $50 at the black market rate widely used to set many prices.

Economists say raising wages can feed an inflationary spiral.

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Pace of US home price growth slows in September

WASHINGTON — The U.S. housing market cooled off in September, as home prices rose at an ever slowing pace.

Prices increased 5.6 percent in September compared to a year ago, real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday. That's down from annual gains of 6.4 percent in August and 6.8 percent in July.

Home prices had been climbing by as much as 12 percent annually toward the end of last year. But the acceleration out of the housing crash that triggered the Great Recession has become unsustainable. Wages have barely budged after inflation and lending standards remain relatively strict. This makes it difficult for families to pay the higher home prices.

CoreLogic forecasts that the slowdown will continue, with annual home price growth slipping below 5 percent by September 2015. This should help bolster home sales for first-time buyers with adequate incomes and down payment savings, yet there are few signs that younger Americans are buying real estate.

The share of homes bought by first-timers fell to 33 percent this year from 38 percent in 2013, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors. That share of sales was the lowest since 1987 and significantly below the historic average of 40 percent.

Higher rents, meager incomes and student debt have minimized how much money millennials can save. A typical first-time buyer earned $68,300 and purchased a 1,570 square-foot home worth $169,000.

Part of the problem is that fewer households are forming since the recession struck in late 2007. Nearly a third of adults are living with roommates or family, compared to 27.4 percent in 2006, according to the real estate firm Zillow.

As a result, the United States contains 5.4 million fewer households than it otherwise would. The individuals living in a doubled-up household have median incomes of $29,000, less than half of what a median first-time homebuyer earns.

Every state registered a price gain in September, according to CoreLogic. Prices reached new peaks in Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas, while prices are within 10 percent of their previous highs in 28 other states.

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Microsoft band is one to watch

Oh, how the tables of technology have turned now that Microsoft appears poised to have Apple playing catch-up in the smartwatch wars.

In a surprise debut, the Redmond, Wash.,-based software giant launched its first health-and-fitness wearable, the Microsoft Band, late last week, sending Windows fans into a tizzy. The band quickly sold out online and in stores, appearing to set the stage for a successful holiday sales season.

With a combination of strategic design, pricing and timing, Microsoft has a clever plan to grab a chunk of the would-be Apple Watch crowd. Apple's highly anticipated wearable won't launch until after the holidays, a rare exercise in poor timing by the Cupertino, Calif., trendsetters that Redmond has successfully exploited with the early launch.

The Microsoft Band is part of a large, ambitious vision for Microsoft to dominate the digital health landscape. Part of the new Microsoft Health Platform, the device features a GPS, a UV monitor to keep track of potential sun exposure, sleep sensors that detect the quality of your nightly rest and integration with popular fitness apps such as RunKeeper.

The emphasis on health tracking comes in addition to text message, email and other alerts that you'd expect from a smartphone-compatible band.

Priced at a reasonable $199, not only is the Microsoft Band $150 cheaper than the upcoming Apple Watch (which starts at $350 and up), it is also a cross-platform device: it works with Android, iPhones and of course Windows Phone, meaning that non-Windows Phone users are likely to get a taste of the software with this band. While the Apple Watch won't include a GPS or a UV monitor, it does offer the increasingly popular Apple Pay digital wallet platform, some cool new ways to communicate (it reportedly "taps" you to get your attention) and lots of sports and health-tracking functionality.

The Microsoft Band isn't a watch. That's key in understanding how it contrasts with Apple's wearable. With a variety of band options and styles, Apple's fitness-and-health device is meant to replace the watch you already wear (even though so few of us do), and also to be worn all the time. It doesn't look weird to wear the Microsoft Band at the same time as a watch, but you're not going to to be able to wear it to a formal event.

I'll have a more detailed review after wearing my new Microsoft Band this week, but at first blush it looks like Apple has some competition.

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Skip check-in; latest hotel room key is your phone

NEW YORK — Hotels don't want guests to have to linger at the front desk — or even stop by at all.

New programs are helping speed up the check-in process for busy travelers, or in at least one case, letting them go straight to their rooms by using their smartphone to unlock doors.

The innovations are still being tweaked as hotels scramble to catch up to airlines. Fliers today use their phones to check in, select seats and as a boarding pass. Hotels envision a similar relationship, with guests ultimately ordering poolside drinks via an app.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts on Monday became the first chain to let guests unlock doors with their phones. The feature is available at only 10 Aloft, Element and W hotels but will expand to 140 more properties in those brands by the middle of next year.

Hilton Worldwide is the only other hotel chain to publicly acknowledge plans for mobile room keys — which it plans to roll out at the end of 2015 at some U.S. properties. Hilton won't say how many hotels will be included, except that the service will be available at four of its brands, Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad and Canopy.

"Guests want this because it makes their lives simpler," says Mark Vondrasek, who oversees the loyalty program and digital initiatives for Starwood. "The ability to go right to your room, gives them back time."

Other hotel companies are finding other ways to streamline the arrival process.

Marriott International launched the ability to check in through its app at 330 North American hotels last year. By the end of this year, the program will be live at all 4,000 hotels worldwide. When a room becomes available, a message is sent to the guest's phone. Traditional room keys are pre-programmed and waiting at the front desk. A special express line allows guests to bypass crowds, flash their IDs and get keys.

At Hilton, all 4,000 properties worldwide will have a similar check-in by the end of the year. The one added feature: Guests can use maps on the app to select a specific room.

InterContinental Hotels Group is testing express check-in at 60 hotels.

The services are geared toward road warriors who don't want to slow down, even for a second. Guests who like personal interaction can still opt for a more leisurely check-in, and hotel companies say the move isn't about cutting jobs.

"If you're at the end of a long day, you might want a little less of a chatty experience. But if you're showing up at a new resort, you may want to know what the pool hours are," says Brett Cowell, vice president of information technology for Hyatt, which is testing permanent keys for frequent guests at six hotels.

The push isn't just about avoiding frustrating check-in lines. Hotels are trying to get more travelers comfortable using their mobile apps to interact. In some cases, that means using an iPad to request a wakeup call. But ultimately hotels would like to see people purchasing suite upgrades, spa treatments and room service though their phones and tablets — and at some point wearable devices like smartwatches.

Marriott guests made $1.25 billion in bookings last year through its mobile app, according to George Corbin, senior vice president of digital for the company.

Switching to smartphone room keys won't be easy. Starwood's app communicates using a Bluetooth data connection. Each hotel room needs to have a new lock that can communicate with phones.

The top 15 hotel companies have more than 42,000 properties worldwide with a combined 5.2 million rooms, according to travel research firms STR and STR Global. Many hotels have made updates over the past few years, but they remain the minority.

Then there is the issue of security. If there is knock on the door late at night and a guest goes to the peephole to see who is there, nobody wants the phone in their pocket to accidently unlock the door. That's why Starwood requires the phone to actually touch a pad on the outside of the door to open it.

Finally, only one phone can be linked to a room at a time. So if two people are staying in the room, they still need to get a traditional key for the second traveler.

Marriott says it is holding off on smartphone keys until all the potential bugs can be resolved.

"If there was ever a moment that matters," Corbin says, "it's the moment when you go up to your door and the key doesn't work."

But for the frequent business traveler, this might just be the time-saver they are looking for.

Bruce Craven spends about 100 nights a year on the road, traveling between his California home and New York where he does executive training programs and teaches at Columbia Business School. He's been testing Starwood's smartphone room key since March.

"If you're traveling all the time, little things can take on a symbolic importance," Craven says. "This is one less thing that I need to think about."

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Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

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Council to consider hiking relocation fees

The City Council will debate whether to further protect displaced renters whose units are being converted to high-priced condominiums or cooperatives by doubling the relocation fees that property owners are required to pay them.

Fees would increase from $5,000 to $10,000 for elderly, disabled and low-income tenants, and from $3,000 to $6,000 for others, to bring them in line with increased housing costs since their adoption in 2004, according to City Councilor Josh Zakim.

"It's really to protect long-term renters when a building is converted from rentals, which is happening more and more," Zakim said. "They haven't been raised in 10 years, and I think it's pretty clear that not only have housing costs in Boston risen dramatically in those last 10 years, but they've exceeded the rate of inflation."

One large Boston residential property owner, City Realty Group, says the proposed increases go too far. The company owns more than 600 residential units.

"The relocation fees have remained the same for a long time, and we feel that a moderate increase would be appropriate," said Matt Whitermore of City Realty. "Doubling the relocation fees does seem a bit excessive."

Zakim said the fees are not a "significant" cost for landlords, and the city wants to create housing opportunities for all residents — including those who have lived in units for years and can't pay $500,000 or more for a condo.

"The reason why the state Legislature authorized cities and towns to put (the fees) in is there is a crisis of affordable housing — that's clear," Zakim said. "We saw that from the mayor's release of his housing task force report and just what we hear from constituents and advocates every day."

Still, he said, the fees are only a small solution.

"Solving the housing crisis in Boston is going to take a lot more than this," Zakim said."

The ordinance, which exceeds state regulations, applies to properties with four or more units, and outlines the required notice to tenants. Adopted in 1999, it requires reauthorization by the Council every five years.

"The current legislation expires on Dec. 31, so if it's not reauthorized by then, these tenant protections will go away," Zakim said.

The council's Committee on Government Operations will hold a hearing on the issue on Thursday.

"There continues to be a need for this, because we continue to see clients that are faced with displacement — both with new situations that happen as well as people who were supposed to be protected by the law but had owners who were trying to get around the law," said Mac 
McCreight, a senior attorney in the housing unit at Greater Boston Legal Services, which worked with city councilors on the proposed revisions.

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Asia stocks muted after China factory growth eases

BEIJING — Asian stock markets were muted Monday after unexpected weakness in Chinese manufacturing tempered enthusiasm for Japan's surprise central bank stimulus.

KEEPING SCORE: China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 2,423.27 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.1 percent to 23,973.99. Tokyo was closed for a holiday but the dollar was trading at a seven-year high against the yen in the wake of the Bank of Japan's announcement Friday. Seoul shed 0.4 percent to 1,955.85. Taiwan and Singapore rose while Jakarta and Sydney declined.

CHINA FACTORIES: A gauge of Chinese manufacturing released by a government-sanctioned industry group declined by 0.3 points to 50.8 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show an expansion. The market consensus had called for an increase to 51.2 points. The unexpected weakness fed concern growth in the world's second-largest economy will decline further.

JAPAN STIMULUS: Japan's central bank delighted investors with its announcement Friday it will step up bond purchases in hopes of stimulating spending in the world's third-largest economy. The Bank of Japan said it will increase its purchases by 10 trillion yen to 20 trillion yen ($91 billion to $181 billion) to about 80 trillion yen ($725 billion) a year. That boosted sentiment after the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last week to end its stimulus through its quantitative easing strategy of massive bond purchases.

THE QUOTE: "The moves from the BOJ were huge and the fact the central bank worked in such cohesion with the government shows why being long Japanese equities is the right trade for now," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne. "It's not often you get such a clear sign that authorities want a higher equity market to generate monetary velocity, but that's exactly what we are seeing."

WALL STREET: U.S. market benchmarks ended October at record highs, rebounding from their worse slump in two years. On Friday, the Dow rose 221.11 points, or 1.3 percent, to 17,195.42. The S&P 500 rose 12.35 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,994.65. The Nasdaq composite rose 16.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,566.14.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 21 cents to $80.33 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 58 cents on Friday to $80.54. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was off 12 cents at $85.74.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.74 yen from 112.33 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.2482 from $1.2524.

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Apple iPad Air 2 broadens offerings

Apple iPad Air 2 ($499 & up, Apple Store)

The thinnest iPad yet is out, and it comes in gold, silver and space gray metal tones.

With a new processor, the 9.4-inch iPad with 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution features improved cameras and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

The good: Apple continues to refine the design and performance of the iPad, which is still the gold standard for tablets.

The bad: Battery life and sound quality could be better for the price.

The bottom line: Apple now has a full slate of its most groundbreaking device, starting with the iPad Mini on the low end at $249 and ending with this new offering on the high end.

There's something for everyone.

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Surviving spaceship pilot described as 'alert'

MOJAVE, Calif. — The injured test pilot who survived the destruction of Virgin Galactic's prototype space tourism rocket is described as alert and talking with his family and doctors.

Word about the condition of Peter Siebold came Saturday in a statement from his employer, Scale Composites, the Mojave, California, company developing SpaceShipTwo for Virgin Galactic.

Scaled Composites says Siebold, its director of flight operations, was serving as pilot during Friday's ill-fated test flight high over the Mojave Desert.

Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident.

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Branson vows to find out cause of spacecraft crash

MOJAVE, Calif. — Billionaire Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, saluting the bravery of test pilots, vowed Saturday to find out what caused the crash of his prototype space tourism rocket, killing one crew member and injuring another.

In grim remarks at the Mojave Air and Space Port where the craft was under development, Branson gave no details of Friday's accident and deferred to the National Transportation Safety Board, whose team had just arrived.

"We are determined to find out what went wrong," he said, asserting that safety has always been the top priority of the program that envisions taking wealthy tourists to the edge of space for a brief experience of weightlessness and a view of Earth below.

More than a dozen investigators in a range of specialties were forming teams to examine the crash site, collect data and interview witnesses, NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart told a press conference at Mojave Air and Space Port, where the winged spacecraft was under development.

Hart said the investigation will have similarities to a typical NTSB probe as well as some differences.

"This will be the first time we have been in the lead of a space launch (accident) that involved persons onboard," said Hart, noting that the NTSB did participate in investigations of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.

Hart said he did not immediately know the answers to such questions as whether the spaceship had flight recorders or the altitude of the accident, but noted that test flights are usually well documented.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo blew apart about 20 miles from the Mojave airport after being released from a carrier aircraft Friday. It was the second fiery setback for commercial space travel in less than a week.

Branson has been the front-runner in the fledgling race to give large numbers of paying civilians a suborbital ride that would let them experience weightlessness at the edge of space.

The NTSB investigators were expected to head to an area about 20 miles from the Mojave airfield where debris from the spaceship fell over a wide area of uninhabited desert.

The spacecraft broke up after being released from a carrier aircraft at high altitude, according to Ken Brown, a photographer who witnessed the plane breaking apart.

One pilot was found dead inside the spacecraft and another parachuted out and was flown by helicopter to a hospital, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

The accident occurred just as it seemed commercial space flights were near, after a period of development that lasted far longer than hundreds of prospective passengers had expected.

Branson once envisioned operating flights by 2007. Last month, he talked about the first flight being next spring with his son.

"It's a real setback to the idea that lots of people are going to be taking joyrides into the fringes of outer space any time soon," said John Logsdon, retired space policy director at George Washington University.

Friday's flight marked the 55th for SpaceShipTwo, which was intended to be the first of a fleet of craft. This was only the fourth flight to include a brief rocket firing. The rockets fire after the spacecraft is released from the underside of a larger carrying plane. During other flights, the craft either was not released from its mothership or functioned as a glider after release.

At 60 feet long, SpaceShipTwo featured two large windows for each of up to six passengers, one on the side and one overhead.

The accident's cause was not immediately known, nor was the altitude at which the blast occurred. The first rocket-powered test flight peaked at about 10 miles above Earth. Commercial flights would go 62 miles or higher.

The problem happened about 50 minutes after takeoff and within minutes of the spaceship's release from its mothership, said Stuart Witt, CEO of the Mojave Air and Space Port.

Virgin Galactic — owned by Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS of Abu Dhabi — sells seats on each prospective journey for $250,000. The company says that "future astronauts," as it calls customers, include Stephen Hawking, Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher and Russell Brand. The company reports receiving $90 million from about 700 prospective passengers.

Ken Baxter was one of those who had signed up to be among the first to make the flight.

Despite the disaster, Las Vegas resident Baxter said he was confident that the flight will happen one day.

"It's very sad for the test pilots, but I'm ready to go into space with Richard Branson," he said.

Friday's accident was the second this week involving private space flight. On Tuesday, an unmanned commercial supply rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded moments after liftoff in Virginia.

SpaceShipTwo is based on aerospace design maverick Burt Rutan's award-winning SpaceShipOne prototype, which became the first privately financed manned rocket to reach space in 2004.

"It's an enormously sad day for a company," Rutan told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his home in Idaho, where he has lived since retiring.

Friday's death was not the first associated with the program. Three people died during a blast at the Mojave Air and Space Port in 2007 during testing work on a rocket motor of SpaceShipTwo.

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Pritchard reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Seth Borenstein in Washington, and John Antczak, Christopher Weber, Tami Abdollah and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles also contributed to this report.

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Take your reputation with you to next job

A Boston company has launched a new social media site that allows users to review and recommend individual lawyers, hair stylists and other professionals — combining the popular elements of services such as Yelp and LinkedIn.

Dunwello, founded early this year, gives customers a chance to review specific employees, instead of the companies for which they work

"There's no clear place (right now) you can go and see what individual professionals are really great at," said Matt Lauzon, co-founder of Dunwello.

When people start a new job, Lauzon said, they have to start from scratch with online reviews while the old employer keeps the good ratings. With Dunwello, recommendations follow the employee, not the company.

"The individual's livelihood is based on their reputation, (but) when they're moving place to place, those reviews don't follow them," he said. "You don't have a portable reputation."

Lauzon said an increasing number of employees go from job to job, and are forced to carve out loyal customers from the beginning.

Dunwello users rate how likely they are to recommend the person to others, which adds up to an overall score. Only positive reviews show up, although every review is sent to the professional.

"We don't believe in public shaming," Lauzon said, adding that anyone can see a pro's overall score.

Dunwello is focusing on a few professions to start, including lawyers, hair stylists and personal trainers.

Dunwello has raised 
$1.4 million in venture financing. Lauzon also founded Gemvara, a company that offers custom jewelry online.

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Boston eyes next-gen networks

Boston is teaming up with more than two dozen other cities across the country to tackle one of the most complex infrastructure questions of the century: how to ensure the next-generation Internet connectivity that will be crucial for civic success.

"Where we stand today does not represent a network that is going to carry us and our many industries ... into the next few decades of the century," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, chief information officer for the city of Boston.

Next Century Cities, a group of 31 cities across the country that are in the process of upgrading their internet infrastructure, is a collaborative organization that will meet regularly to discuss challenges and progress.

"The goal is to help a number of cities that already have interesting initiatives have better access and collaborate and learn from each other," said Chris Mitchell, policy director for Next Century Cities. "Having them all together makes it easier."

The networks of the future will need to be so-called gigabit networks, capable of speeds dramatically higher than a majority of today's networks.

"Twenty years from now, people are going to need gigabit connectivity," Franklin-Hodge said.

There is no specific plan in place to improve Boston's internet infrastructure, but the city is working to put one in place, he said.

"We're working hard to identify what options we have, there's a sense of urgency about this," he said. "There are so many different models, and there are people trying things all over the country that may be the right fit for Boston."

The Next Century Cities collaboration is intended to help guide Boston.

The city has been plagued by slow internet access for years — blamed in part on Verizon's refusal to build its FiOS network in the city as well as the infrastructure challenges that any old city faces.

The problems have been especially pronounced in the Innovation District.

And Boston's specialized industries require a high-quality network more than many cities, said Blair Levin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy program and a former chief of staff for former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.

"Boston has enormous strength in institutions of higher education, healthcare, and finance, and technology," he said. "Those are all going to require huge bandwidth."

But any network built by the city or a private company will have to take into account some unique qualities when designing its next-generation network, he said.

"The great disadvantage for Boston is that it's an old city, which increases the cost of construction," he said. "The advantage that Boston has is that it has a number of institutions ... if those folks all aggregate their buying power ... they can change the economics of deployment."

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Cos. step up to help displaced homeless

At 5 a.m. on Oct. 9, Mariann Bucina Roca checked her email and found an urgent plea for help from Boston Public Health Commission Homeless Services: The previous day, the Long Island bridge had been shut down for safety reasons, forcing the evacuation of about 700 homeless people, recovering addicts and troubled teens, who left, literally, with only the clothes on their backs.

"All we knew was this really traumatic thing had just happened to hundreds of people," said Bucina Roca, executive director of Friends of Boston's Homeless. "Clean underwear, socks, toothbrushes — all that was left behind. So we were like, OK, we've got to get moving."

And that is when the Boston business community began stepping up.

Friends' staff of two immediately began making calls to their longtime donors, businesses including Charles River Apparel in Sharon, which began packing 75 boxes with about $25,000 worth of outerwear, sweatshirts, polo shirts and other clothes.

"As a family, we very much want to give back, and this was an emergency," said Deb Lipsett, the company's director of community partnerships. "To think that these people were being displaced again, without any notice, and couldn't return — it's heartbreaking."

Goodwin Graphics in Cohasset donated more than 200 pairs of socks.

"For the last few years, we've gone to the fundraiser the Friends of Boston's Homeless holds every year on Long Island, but when we found out the bridge was closed, I was thinking: I've got to do something more impactful," said owner Ron Goodwin. "For every homeless person, there's a story that goes with them. Any one of us could be that person on the street."

TD Garden, Liberty Mutual and Eastern Bank each gave money. Stacy's Pita Chip Co. donated healthy snacks. And Dependable Cleaners has been doing laundry weekly for about 50 people who were in transitional programs on Long Island.

"I've never seen a community come together in such a united way," said Beth Grand, bureau director for Boston Public Health Commission Homeless Services. "And to see the impact on our clients — they are very appreciative of what everyone's done to help them through this."

The agency has managed to find temporary shelter for all of the people who were displaced and is working with Mayor Martin J. Walsh to find more permanent housing.

"These are people who've earned the right to move into permanent housing," said John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of Friends of Boston's Homeless.

Other critical needs remain, including toiletries, coats and underwear; new men's sweatshirts and hoodies; new hats, gloves, scarves and socks; duffel bags and backpacks; packaged food such as Ensure for the elderly and granola bars, as well as decks of cards, dominoes, and museum or movie passes.

"A lot of it," Bucina Roca said, "is just providing comfort at a time of incredible stress."

To help, visit the Friends' Web site at www.fobh.org, or call (617) 942-8671.

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