61 affordable units for senior citizens 
planned in Brighton

Sixty-one new affordable apartments for senior citizens — including seven for formerly homeless seniors and five for older adults with lifelong disabilities — will be built in Brighton under plans by Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly.

The Brighton nonprofit's estimated $20 million to $22 million project at 132 Chestnut Hill Ave. would be adjacent to its existing 700-apartment campus.

The non-sectarian housing units, 56 of which would be one-bedrooms, would help chip away at JCHE's three- to five-year waiting list and Mayor Martin J. Walsh's goal to create 53,000 new housing units by 2030.

"There's just an enormous need, and the need is growing for affordable housing," JCHE CEO Amy Schectman said. "We were a logical organization to develop it because we can … make very efficient use of a small site."

JCHE's existing Brighton campus is at the back of the Chestnut Hill Avenue parcel. Residents of the new apartments would have access, via an enclosed passageway, to the campus' fitness and computer centers, library, auditorium, art room, meeting rooms and lounge areas.

JCHE was the lone respondent to a 2013 request for proposals by the BRA, which acquired the 0.3-acre site in 2004.

"We feel like this is a strong proposal that would serve an important need for the community in that it would provide a significant amount of affordable housing for seniors," BRA spokesman Nick Martin said.

The JCHE has been building affordable housing since 1965 and has close to 1,500 independent seniors at its eight buildings in Brighton, Newton and Framingham. It hopes to start the new Brighton project next spring and complete it in 2017.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

IKEA stops online Russian magazine due to gay propaganda law

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Ikea, the world's largest furniture retailer, says it is halting its online magazine in Russia out of fears it violates the country's law banning promotion of same-sex gay values to minors.

The Swedish retailer says its magazine IKEA Family Live "demonstrates various aspects of home life regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation."

In a Russian language statement, IKEA said "we understand that some material in our magazine can be considered as propaganda," adding it had decided "to stop the publication of the magazine in Russia."

The law passed in 2013 bans promotion of "non-traditional sexual relations" to people under the age of 18.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Suffolk Law School behind anti-discrimination effort

Suffolk Law School's use of sting operations to crack down on housing discrimination in the Boston area was hailed by a top HUD official yesterday.

"They are very critical in the work they do to protect fair housing rights, help HUD advance our goals for fair and inclusive housing in the Boston area," HUD assistant secretary Gustavo Velasquez said, after speaking at Suffolk's Fair Housing Conference.

Using a HUD grant, Suffolk's Housing Discrimination Testing Program conducts undercover operations to expose housing discrimination. Posing as potential renters, one person will say they have children and another will not. If there are any differences in treatment, the case is referred to HUD.

"Nowadays it's very hard to prove discrimination in housing," Velasquez said. "Most of the discrimination happens in subtle ways, not the in-your-face discrimination we used to encounter."

Attorney General Maura Healey's office announced a $17,500 settlement with Coldwell Banker last month after a real-estate agent directed families with children away from landlords who did not want to pay to remove lead in their walls. Testing by Suffolk led to the judgment.

"The Housing Discrimination Testing Program has become an invaluable partner to the work of the Civil Rights Division in a relatively short period of time," Healey said at the conference.

In fiscal year 2014, HUD and HUD-funded agencies reported handling 200 new cases of housing discrimination in Massachusetts, and closed another 297 cases. Nearly half of the new cases were disability-related, while close to a quarter were racial discrimination.

Velasquez said his office also focuses on unintentional discrimination, including a recent town ordinance in Berlin, N.H., that gave landlords the right to evict anyone who had police come to their residence three times. The rule discriminated against domestic abuse victims, HUD said.

"This ordinance, neutral on its face, had a discriminatory effect," said Daniel Weaver, fair housing enforcement chief for HUD's Region 1, which includes Boston and New Hampshire. "A woman could have her home invaded by her previous boyfriend and decide she just can't call police."

The ordinance was changed to include an exception for domestic violence victims.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Size isn’t everything for Bay Village unit

Curbed.com recently called Bay Village "Boston's Monaco: tiny, charming and pricey," and this $1.1 million condominium at 34 Melrose St. is a perfect example.

Tucked in a quiet corner of the city's smallest neighborhood, it is one of two duplexes that recently were renovated and converted from apartments in a brownstone that dates to 1899. And it's something of a rarity in that it has three exposures and abuts a tiny city park. It's also a five-minute walk to the Public Garden, Boston Common, Back Bay, the South End and the Theatre District.

"It is 100 percent turn-key, mint-condition new construction in a perfect location," said broker P.T. Vineburgh of Charlesgate Realty Group.

The parlor level has a wide-open layout, with recessed lighting and Jacobean stained oak hardwood floors. The living area has a coat closet and a fireplace set up for gas. The dining area looks out onto the park. And the chef's kitchen has granite countertops, five-burner gas cooking, a microwave, a dishwasher, custom white Shaker cabinets and, just outside, a tiny deck perfect for a grill. The parlor level also has a half bath.

The downstairs landing has more closet space. And the garden level has two bedrooms, one of which has a small, private patio; two full, marble baths; closets; and a washer and dryer.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

3 Kansas hospital patients die of ice cream-related illness

DALLAS — The deaths of three people who developed a foodborne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products have prompted the Texas icon's first product recall in its 108-year history.

Five people, in all, developed listeriosis in Kansas after eating products from one production line at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA says listeria bacteria were found in samples of Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Country Cookies, Great Divide Bars, Sour Pop Green Apple Bars, Cotton Candy Bars, Scoops, Vanilla Stick Slices, Almond Bars and No Sugar Added Moo Bars.

Blue Bell says its regular Moo Bars were untainted, as were its half gallons, quarts, pints, cups, three-gallon ice cream and take-home frozen snack novelties.

According to a Friday statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all five of the people sickened were receiving treatment for unrelated health issues at the same Kansas hospital before developing listeriosis, "a finding that strongly suggests their infections (with listeria bacteria) were acquired in the hospital," the CDC said.

Of those five, information was available from four on what foods they had eaten in the month before the infection. All four had consumed milkshakes made with a single-serving Blue Bell ice cream product called "Scoops" while in the hospital, the CDC said.

"Scoops," as well as the other suspect Blue Bell items, are mostly food service items and not produced for retail, said Paul Kruse, CEO of the Brenham creamery.

The CDC said the listeria isolated from specimens taken from four of the five patients at Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita, Kansas, matched strains from Blue Bell products obtained this year in South Carolina and Texas.

The five patients became ill with listeriosis during their hospitalizations for unrelated causes between December 2013 and January 2015, said hospital spokeswoman Maria Loving.

"Via Christi was not aware of any listeria contamination in the Blue Bell Creameries ice cream products and immediately removed all Blue Bell Creameries products from all Via Christi locations once the potential contamination was discovered," Loving said in a statement Friday to The Associated Press.

Via Christi has eight hospitals in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Blue Bell handles all of its own distribution and customer service, Kruse said, so it moved to pull suspect products from shelves, as soon as it was alerted to the South Carolina contamination Feb. 13. Kruse did not suspect handling of those products after they left the Central Texas creamery.

"The only time it can be contaminated is at the time of production," he said. That contamination has been traced to a machine that extrudes the ice cream into forms and onto cookies, and that machine remains off line, he said.

All products now on store and institution shelves are safe, Kruse said.

However, "Contaminated ice cream products may still be in the freezers of consumers, institutions, and retailers, given that these products can have a shelf life of up to 2 years," the CDC statement said. CDC recommends that consumers do not eat products that Blue Bell Creameries removed from the market, and institutions and retailers should not serve or sell them.

Listeriosis is a life-threatening infection caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes, the CDC said. The disease primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults, and people with immune systems weakened by cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions.

A person with listeriosis usually has fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Almost everyone who is diagnosed with listeriosis has invasive infection, meaning the bacteria spread from their intestines to the blood, causing bloodstream infection, or to the central nervous system, causing meningitis. Although people can sometimes develop listeriosis up to two months after eating contaminated food, symptoms usually start within several days. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics, the CDC said.

___

Clayton contributed from Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington also contributed to this report.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

New blood for Health Connector

Two new appointments to the Health Connector board yesterday signal a new focus on transparency as the board moves forward to smooth out kinks in the program's troubled website, according to an analyst.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," said Joshua Archambault, a senior fellow for the Pioneer Institute, "The philosophy of people being appointed is very different from positions they've taken in the past. I suspect we'll see a lot more transparency and a much more robust discussion at public meetings."

Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday named insurance executive Mark Gaunya and business consultant Rina Vertes as the newest members of the Connector board, after the recent purge of four members.

"Mark is one of the most knowledgeable insurance brokers in the state," Archambault said. "He's been a huge advocate for transparency."

The meeting yesterday also revealed a proposal from the board to cap the number of plans each carrier can list on the website in an attempt to simplify the selection process. Currently 11 carriers offer 126 qualified health plans. The goal is to get below 100 by limiting each carrier to 14 plans.

Massachusetts Association of Health Plans spokesman Eric Linzer said his group will work with the Connector "to make sure there's still a broad range of options that meet consumers' needs."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Harsh winter hasn’t slowed home sales

Spring is typically a popular time to buy and sell homes, but local realtors say this season could be huge.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors released pending sales figures for February last week that could indicate a promising sales season.

"Historically, February is probably one of the slowest months in real estate for Realtors making contracts," said Corinne Fitzgerald, the association's president. "In this market, the buyer and seller markets were out despite the snow. Some will say, 'I'll take a month off,' but we didn't see it this year."

Pent-up demand — fewer homes listed, and a surplus of buyers — has altered the pattern. The Realtors' group found pending sales from last month were up 2.6 percent compared to last February.

"If there was such a thing as a crystal ball in real estate to know what the future is, that would be pending sales," said Fitzgerald, broker and owner of Fitzgerald Real Estate in Greenfield. "Basically, you are predicting the next couple of months of what is going to close. Not everyone is going to close, but the majority of them do."

At Hammond Residential Real Estate in Charlestown, 58 properties — single-family, condo and multi-family — had sales pending as of Wednesday, compared to 17 last year at the same time.

"That's a 241 percent increase," said Nora Moran, senior vice president and manager of Hammond's Charlestown office.

Low inventory has created a competitive buyer's market for the past two years, but other factors are contributing to the demand.

"Low interest rates continue to drive the buyer pool, and the high rental amounts to live here," said Tracy Shea, senior sales associate in Hammond's Charlestown office. "Job opportunities are coming into the city, and, coupled with the low inventory, you roll all that in and it's a perfect storm for sellers."

Last weekend, Shea hosted nearly 60 prospective buyers at 23 Prospect St. in Charlestown. By Monday, she had five offers, and the property was under agreement by Wednesday.

Anthony Giglio, a broker and owner of ReMax/Legacy in Woburn, said recent open houses have been packed. In Medford, one open house drew 69 interested parties and yielded 11 offers. All but one was over the asking price, Giglio said. Last weekend, a property in Tewksbury listed by Giglio's offce had 50 people visit and eight offers were received.

"If (the home) is in a decent location and priced right, you are going to have a feeding frenzy," Giglio said.

Realtor Kristin Buker of Keller Williams in Braintree has seen similar results.

"We've done better than we did last year," Buker said. "We are constantly increasing, even with the weather."

From last February to this year, Buker's office has seen a 14 percent increase in sales. In February, business was up 63.5 percent in her office; and year to date, January to February, was up 41 percent on closed sales volume.

"When (properties) come on, if they are priced properly and staged, they sell quickly," Buker said. "There are a lot more buyers out there right now."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Charlie Baker task force to focus on chronic unemployment

Gov. Charlie Baker wants to find new ways of addressing chronic unemployment problems for minorities, veterans and people with disabilities, and is forming a task force of top state officials and advocates to come up with ideas.

"There are still far too many people out there who want and need a job to sustain their families and build a life," Gov. Charlie Baker said. "In many of these communities, unemployment is nearly double the state average, which is unacceptable."

The task force, led by Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald Walker, will include other top Baker deputies as well as officials at local schools and nonprofits. Last month, Baker announced the creation of a task force focused on helping prospective employees get the skills that employers want.

"The key issue here is to make sure we identify the challenges these populations are facing (and) recommend strategies that can reduce barriers to employment," Baker said. "It's clear that doing what we've been doing doesn't really get us anywhere."

In 2014, the state's black population had an unemployment rate of 10.8 percent, while the Hispanic population saw an unemployment rate of 10.9 percent. The overall statewide rate was 5.8 percent.

Tito Jackson, a city councilor who represents Roxbury, said parts of his district have unemployment rates as high as four times the rest of the city.

"My hope is that the aim is really not about restating problems, the objective I believe here is to find solutions, solutions that actually end up with people getting a job and a career," Jackson said. "It's critical that we do an analysis of what is working and what isn't working."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

New life proposed for vacant Dorchester site

A Boston developer hopes to breathe new life into a vacant patch of Dorchester land with a new mixed-use residential and retail project.

"I think this is a game-changer in my neighborhood," said Catherine O'Neill, a real estate consultant and Savin Hill resident hired by Atlas Investment Group to handle the project's community and government relations. "This site has been dilapidated and decaying for over a decade. This is just going to pick up the entire neighborhood."

Atlas' plans call for 260 residential units, 40,000 square feet of retail space and a 400-space parking garage off Dorchester Avenue, according to a letter of intent filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority yesterday.

The targeted four acres — also bounded by Pleasant, Hancock and Greenmount streets — are part of an old industrial site that's just under a half-mile from the Savin Hill MBTA station.

Eileen Fenton, chairwoman of the Columbia Savin Hill Civic Association's Planning Committee, said, "In general terms, I think people are very excited about the project — excited about something happening there and adding some vitality. That area at night tends to be a little quieter, so I think with ... people living there and businesses, it will be a great addition."

Atlas has been "smart" about getting the word out early to the community and has been listening to abutters' issues and responding accordingly, according to Fenton.

Atlas, which has the four parcels under agreement, has a phased development plan. The first phase, on the northern portion of the site, would include 64 two-bedroom condos in eight four-story buildings along Pleasant and Greemount streets, and 50 condos or rental units in a five-story building.

"The architectural design is kind of fluid," O'Neill said.

The second phase of development, on the southern portion of the site, would include two, six-story mixed-use buildings with 145 residential units along Hancock Street and Dorchester Avenue, with a 20,000-square-foot landscaped roof deck for tenants. Other planned amenities include a pool and fitness facility.

"Because the retail component may change, there's nothing completely etched in stone," O'Neill said. "We will be going back out to the community when we get retail interest."

The retail space would be on the ground floors of the two buildings. Phase-two development also would include the four-level garage.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

At odds with Google, US seeks new rule on computer access

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is at odds with Google and privacy groups over the government's push to make it easier to locate and hack into computers in criminal investigations, a simmering conflict with constitutional and policy implications.

Federal prosecutors say better tools are needed to track down computer users who hide their locations while committing crimes on the Internet. But civil libertarians fear that the proposal, now under consideration by a federal advisory committee, would grant the government expansive new powers to reach into computers across the country.

The proposal would change existing rules of criminal procedure that, with limited exceptions, permit judges to approve warrants for property searches only in the districts where they serve. The government says those rules are outdated in an era when child pornographers, drug traffickers and others can mask their whereabouts on computer networks that offer anonymity. That technology can impede or thwart efforts to pinpoint a suspect's geographic location.

The Justice Department wants the rules changed so that judges in a district where "activities related to a crime" have occurred could approve warrants to search computers, even those outside their districts. The government says that flexibility is needed for cases in which the government can't figure out the location of a computer and needs a warrant to access it remotely, and for investigations involving botnets — networks of computers infected with a virus that spill across judicial districts.

There are 94 federal judicial districts in the country — at least one in every state, and as many as four in some.

"There is a substantial public interest in catching and prosecuting criminals who use anonymizing technologies, but locating them can be impossible for law enforcement absent the ability to conduct a remote search of the criminal's computer," Justice Department lawyers wrote in one memo.

The advisory committee considering the rule change is meeting this month.

The proposal has generated fierce pushback from privacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which say the rule change could violate a constitutional requirement that search warrant applications be specific about the property to be searched. They also say the proposal is unclear about exactly what type of information could be accessed by the government, and fails to guarantee the privacy of non-suspects who might have had access to the same computer as the target, or of innocent people who may themselves be victims of a botnet.

"What procedural protections are going to be in place when you do these types of searches? How are they going to be limited?" asked Alan Butler, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Among the critics is Google, which says the proposal "raises a number of monumental and highly complex constitutional, legal and geopolitical concerns that should be left for Congress to decide."

Privacy groups are also concerned that the proposal would lead to more frequent use by the FBI of surveillance technology that can be installed remotely on a computer to help pinpoint its location. Such tactics caught public attention last year when FBI Director James Comey acknowledged that in 2007 an agent posing as an Associated Press reporter had sent to a bomb-threat suspect a link to an article that, once opened, revealed to investigators the computer's location and Internet address.

"To the extent that the government has been prevented from doing lots of these kinds of searches because they didn't necessarily have a judge to go to, this rule change raises the risk that the government will start using these dubious techniques with more frequency," said Nathan Freed Wessler, an ACLU lawyer specializing in privacy and technology.

The Justice Department says such concerns are unfounded. It says the proposal simply makes sure that investigators have a judge to go to for a warrant in cases where they can't find a computer, and that the proposal would not provide the government with new technological authorities that it doesn't already have.

It's hard to quantify the scope of the problem. Justice Department lawyers acknowledge that in past cases they have successfully argued for search warrants that extend outside a judge's district.

But in one case from 2013, a magistrate judge in Texas rejected a request to search a computer that the government said was being used to commit bank fraud but whose location was unknown. Prosecutors sought authority to install software on the machine that would have extracted records and location information. The judge, Stephen Smith, said he lacked the authority to approve the search for a computer "whose location could be anywhere on the planet" but said "there may well be a good reason to update the territorial limits of that rule in light of advancing computer search technology."

The proposal is before a criminal procedure advisory committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States — a panel made up of judges and lawyers — that meets twice a year, including this month. If approved, it will then be forwarded to the Supreme Court and ultimately to Congress, which does not have to approve it but can block it. It would take effect in December 2016.

___

Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston-Cambridge biopharma ranked first in U.S.

The Boston-Cambridge biopharma cluster plays second fiddle to the San Francisco Bay area no more.

In a reversal of fortunes, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, or GEN, this week ranked Massachusetts' cluster first in the nation, above last year's favorite — the Bay Area — followed by New York/New Jersey; San Diego; Maryland/Metro Washington, D.C.; Greater Philadelphia; Seattle; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Los Angeles; and Chicago and its suburbs.

"It's always nice to get accolades, but we can't really be satisfied until we're accelerating more cures and getting more remedies to bedsides," said Peter Abair, director of economic and global affairs at the trade group MassBio.

GEN said the Boston-Cambridge cluster ranked first on three measures: 2014 venture capital ($1.82 billion in 110 deals), National Institutes of Health funding ($312.797 million) and lab space (21.2 million square feet).

The cluster's 5,002 patents were second only to the Bay Area. And its lowest ranking — third — was on the number of industry jobs — 57,642 — behind New York/New Jersey and L.A., though it had the highest number per capita, said Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the quasi-public organization charged with administering the 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative enacted by the Legislature in 2008.

What GEN also didn't include was the 17 Massachusetts biopharma IPOs last year, up from nine in 2013, and seven drug approvals, up from three the previous year, Abair said.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

MBTA tries to make amends with free day, May discount

The MBTA, desperate to win back the loyalty of straphangers and atone for winter's lost days, will let T riders through the gates for free for a day, and discount monthly passes by 15 percent for May.

"We're trying to strike a balance between acknowledging what people have gone through and expressing our gratitude to our customers and drawing our customers back and the fact that we can only spend so much on that so we have money to invest in the system," said Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, after the MassDOT board unanimously voted to approve the plan. "I want the riders to understand how much we appreciate what they went through."

The back-to-back snowstorms led to several days with no T service and weeks of delays and limited service.

Interim MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola said the free fare day will be on April 24, the Friday of school vacation.

The move will cost about $5 million.

Meanwhile, an audit of MassDOT's human resources departments found MassDOT and the MBTA are facing a buildup of unfilled positions and lack a cohesive human resources strategy.

"There is a significant backlog of open positions within the MBTA and MassDOT," said Steve Fuller, a senior manager at Ernst and Young. "That is really debilitating to the operations of the organization."

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the MBTA currently has 173 open positions. The audit said openings are generally filled in 90 days, compared to 20-30 days at similar agencies around the country.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health Connector scramble spikes calls

Calls from Bay Staters with problems enrolling in the Health Connector and MassHealth to an unrelated state health office have increased by 49 percent since December, according to independent state agency Health Policy Commission.

Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders attributes the spike to the 1.2 million MassHealth subscribers who need to reapply since the Connector crashed in 2012.

The calls cited in the commission's report are coming into its Office of Patient Protection, not the MassHealth or Health Connector call centers.

"We don't have any jurisdiction over MassHealth," said Jenifer Bosco of the OPP. "Hopefully this is something that will quiet down over time."

Sudders said at a commission meeting yesterday that she is "not surprised" by the higher numbers — up to 103 calls about MassHealth and the Health Connector as of March 9, from 11 in December and 12 in January.

"We have 1.2 million people who need to be redetermined by December," said Sudders. "As of this week we've added 100 staff to the call centers."

The phone calls came flooding in starting in February.

Sudders also said open enrollment, which was extended to Feb. 23 because of the snowstorm Feb. 15, likely contributed.

The OPP did not specify what portion of the calls were about MassHealth or the Health Connector.

Joshua Archambault, a senior fellow for the Pioneer Institute, said the increase is a "sign of the amount of frustration that people are dealing with a 'fixed' site."

Bosco suggested having the site direct calls elsewhere, but Archambault said "having a more efficient bureaucratic process won't fix the problem."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Charlie Baker cites increase in cyber attacks in Mass.

Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday called cybersecurity "one of the major challenges" Massachusetts faces, citing a recent 30 percent increase in attacks in the state.

"This isn't just about hackers," Baker said at a meeting of business, university and government leaders convened by Mass Insight Global Partnerships to shape a recommended growth agenda for the new administration. "It's about governments. It's about businesses."

The governor cited as one high-profile example the breach of Target's point-of-sale devices, which exposed approximately 40 million debit and credit card 
accounts in late 2013.

Such advanced threats underscore the need to create the "next generation of tools," in a state that ranks ninth in the number of cybersecurity jobs in the country, he said.

Yet the number of professionals in the field in Massachusetts is not enough to meet the demand, said Charlie Benway, executive director of the Advanced Cyber Security Center, a Bedford nonprofit consortium Mass Insight established in 2011.

Data from Boston-based labor analytics firm Burning Glass shows the number of cybersecurity job postings grew 74 percent from 2007 to 2013 — more than twice the growth rate of all IT jobs.

The center's proposal is a multi-university, cross-discipline, research and development consortium — funded by the industry and the state — bringing together graduate and postdoctoral students to work on research projects aligned with industry's interests, Benway said.

States such as New York and California are making such investments on a larger scale than Massachusetts, William Guenther, chairman and CEO of Mass Insight Global Partnerships, told the Herald.

"We can do better to compete," Guenther said.

Maryland, for example, has a cybersecurity cluster around Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the National Security Agency, while Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has long been a leader in the field, said former University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson, who is on the board of the Advanced Cyber Security Center.

"In the cybersecurity area, we are playing catch-up," Wilson told the Herald. "Shame on us. We have many more resources here, but less collective organization. We are still too fragmented."

In states such as Maryland, governors have taken an "activist" position, 
he said.

"We have not done that yet," Wilson said, "and frankly, that's why it's a huge opportunity for the governor ... The next big thing he could take credit for is the development of a cybersecurity cluster in Massachusetts."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Applications for US unemployment benefits fall sharply

WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, a sign that strong hiring will likely continue.

The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 289,000. The drop nearly reversed last month's large increase, which likely occurred because of cold weather and snowstorms.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell 3,750 to 302,250. The average has dropped nearly 9 percent in the past year.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. The decline indicates companies are confident enough to hold onto their staffs and hire more workers.

Weekly applications had risen by 40,000 last month. Economists blamed most of that rise on harsh winter weather that closed schools and shut down construction sites, causing temporary layoffs.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

European stocks rebound after Wall Street inspired sell-off

LONDON — European markets rebounded strongly Wednesday from a big sell-off when investors fretted over a looming U.S. interest rate hike.

KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 1.7 percent at 11,697 while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.8 percent to 4,971. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares underperformed its peers, trading only 0.1 percent higher at 6,708. Wall Street was poised for a solid opening, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent.

ANALYST TAKE: "Bargain hunters appear to be out in force, as once again corrections in equity markets are being viewed as buying opportunities," said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG. "Yesterday's triple-digit falls seen in European equity markets appear to have been quickly forgotten, with many viewing this as a buying opportunity rather than a precursor to tougher times."

FED FEARS: On Tuesday, stocks in Europe and the U.S. took a battering as investors worried about the prospect of the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in nine years. Those odds got a boost after recent data revealed a strengthening job market. Low interest rates and other monetary stimulus have supported stocks for several years but a rate hike from the Fed will foreshadow a return to more levels for credit costs.

EURO SLIDE: The euro has been one of the financial assets most affected by the prospect of higher U.S. rates. That's because the European Central Bank is embarking on a distinctly different path. On Monday, months after the Fed brought its last stimulus to an end the ECB started buying certain government bonds in the markets. The hope is the 18-month 1.1 trillion-euro ($1.12 trillion) monetary stimulus will shore up the economic recovery in the 19-country eurozone and get inflation back into the system. On Wednesday, it fell to $1.0560, its lowest level since April, 2003. "The next target sits at 1.0500 the March 2003 lows and it remains a very short hop from there to parity," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

CHINA FOCUS: Investors examined the latest batch of monthly economic data on China for clues on the state of the world's No. 2 economy. Industrial output for January and February rose 6.8 percent, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The number was less than analysts expected. Retail sales and fixed-asset investment also disappointed. China's economy is expected to slow further after growing 7.4 percent last year, the lowest growth rate in nearly a quarter-century. The government issues the figures for both months together to smooth out distortions from Lunar New Year, which can fall in either month.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 percent to close at 18,723.52, getting some relief from the regional down trend as the dollar strengthened against the yen. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.2 percent to 1,980.83 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.8 percent to 23,717.97. The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China swung between gains and losses before edging up 0.2 to close at 3,290.90.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose, climbing 18 cents to $48.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose 44 cents to $57.32 in London.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Suit: Scratch sales to minors

A public health advocacy group has sued Star Market, claiming the supermarket chain makes it easy for minors to buy scratch tickets, after a Cambridge youth was able to buy two tickets.

"Encouraging or facilitating youth gambling is oppressive and unconscionable, and in contrast to the legislature's and society's desire to debar them from gambling while they are of minor age," the complaint says. "Star Markets lacks effective controls to prevent the sale of lottery tickets from Lottery Ticket Vending Machines to minors."

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Craig Kelley of Cambridge and his son, Cooper, the Public Health Advocacy Institute claims the lottery machines are placed close to kid-friendly food and drink, including candy and soda. The suit claims Cooper Kelley was able to buy a Mega Millions ticket and a "$500 Frenzy" scratch ticket in two Star Market locations without supermarket workers intervening. The ultimate aim of the lawsuit is to change lottery machine practices beyond Star Market.

"The goal is ideally to get these vending ticket machines out of supermarkets, because they can't really be monitored there," said Andrew Rainer, a lawyer for the Public Health Advocacy Institute. "There is a surprising number of kids gambling, and gambling is not as bad as drug usage, but it is a problem, it is a societal problem."

The Public Health Advocacy Institute is seeking an order to require Star Market to verify the age of everyone purchasing a lottery ticket through the machine, as well as damages, citing Massachusetts' Consumer Protection Act.

The Lottery said its compliance unit does regular testing to ensure tickets are not sold to minors, and that automated machines can only be installed in locations within eyesight of a manager. A spokesman for Star Market declined to comment.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scammers target over-50 set

Impostor scams topped the list of consumer complaints in Massachusetts last year, and people 50 or older were among the most common victims, according to a new report.

Con artists posing as other people led the list, accounting for 5,250, or 14 percent, of the 37,422 complaints filed by consumers in the state. Scam complaints followed consumer gripes about telephone service; banks and lenders; vehicles; prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries; shop-at-home and catalog sales; Internet services; television and electronic media; and credit cards, according to the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

"Impostor scams — such as callers posing as IRS auditors, claiming you owe money — are the most prevalent," said Mike Festa, state director of AARP Massachusetts. "These are people who have no conscience and prey on vulnerable people, often with modest incomes, who may be isolated and like that conversation, and it leads to harsh results."

People in their 50s filed the most complaints — about one in five — followed by people in their 40s and 60s, and people 70 or older.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Study: Boston renter spending at $12.2 billion

Metro Boston's apartment industry has been a boon to the local economy, emerging as one of the strongest sectors to come out of the Great Recession, according to a new study.

"In the darkest depths of the downturn in 2007-08, a lot of developers knew Boston is still a desirable place to live," said Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. "It's smaller than New York, but becoming more cosmopolitan. It's not far from the beach and from great shopping. And it's easy to get around without a car."

Apartment construction and operations as well as renter spending contributed $17.7 billion locally and supported more than 147,000 jobs in the metro area in 2013, the most recent year for which statistics were available, according to research commissioned by the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association.

"It's the volume of what it means to the economy in terms of jobs and money that comes back into the community," Vasil said.

At $12.2 billion, renter spending accounted for the vast majority of the contribution to the local economy, followed by apartment operations at $2.8 billion and apartment construction at $2.7 billion, the study found.

Vasil summed up the driving force behind the rental boom in one word: demand. The city's positive features contributed to an influx of Millennials into the rental market, many of whom went to college here and decided to stay, he said.

And the rental boom has not been confined to the city.

Statewide, the apartment industry and renters contributed $21.4 billion to the economy and supported 189,500 jobs, the study found, while nationally, they contributed $1.3 trillion and supported 12.3 million jobs.

But in Boston, which a Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland study called the fastest-gentrifying city in the nation, many of the apartments being built are beyond the grasp of low- and middle-income people, said Kathy Brown, coordinator of the Boston Tenant Coalition.

"The overwhelming majority of apartments being built has been on the luxury side," Brown said. "So it's not low- and middle-income people who are benefiting from this boom. Instead, they're being pushed out of the communities they grew up in."

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bay State job growth hits fifth straight month

Massachusetts added 2,600 jobs in January, the fifth straight month the state has added more than 2,500 jobs — prompting optimism from economists.

"Finally we've reached escape velocity from the recession," said Robert Nakosteen, an economist and professor at UMass Amherst. "All systems seem to be go."

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said yesterday the economy added 2,600 jobs in January, with six of nine sectors seeing job growth. Some of the largest gains came in the trade, transportation, utilities, and construction sectors.

The last time the state lost jobs was in August, but even that decline was largely explained by economists as a ripple effect of the temporary Market Basket kerfuffle.

"The indications are that the trends are moving in the right direction," said Ronald Walker, secretary of the department. "There are indications that jobless residents who had given up are now feeling more confident about finding a job."

The labor force also grew in January, a sign that people are feeling more confident about their chances of getting a job. Still, Massachusetts has room for more improvement, Nakosteen said.

"We still have a ways to go before we have a real, healthy, tight labor market," he said. "If the trajectory we're on continues even through the rest of the year, and I think there's a good chance it will, I think you'll see that start to turn around."

The unemployment rate also fell 0.2, to 5.1 percent, the lowest the rate has been since May 2008.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Maine harness track sued by Massachusetts track for $180,000

PORTLAND, Maine — The Scarborough Downs harness racing track has been sued by the Suffolk Downs horse track in Massachusetts for allegedly failing to pay nearly $180,000 in simulcast bets placed at the Maine track.

The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1EPw5z9 ) reports that Suffolk Downs filed the breach of contract lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday.

Scarborough Downs entered a contract with Suffolk Downs in 2012 so bettors at the tracks could make wagers on races remotely.

The lawsuit says the agreement specified how the tracks would share profits from customers who lost their wagers.

Suffolk Downs closed last year, but continues to function as a broker, managing simulcast payments for other tracks.

An attorney for Scarborough Downs says the Maine track owes Suffolk Downs some money, but disputes the amount.

___

Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Report: Specialty drugs drive prescription spending jump

Prescription drugs spending jumped 13 percent last year, the biggest annual increase since 2003, according to the nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager.

Express Scripts Holding Co. said Tuesday that the jump was fueled in part by pricey specialty drugs that accounted for more than 31 cents of every dollar spent on prescriptions even though they represented only 1 percent of all U.S. prescriptions filled.

Specialty drugs are advanced medications that treat complex or chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis or certain forms of cancer. Many are seen as treatment breakthroughs, especially newer hepatitis C treatments like Sovaldi from Gilead Sciences Inc. But Sovaldi also can cost $84,000 for a course of treatment, and those prices have drawn criticism from patient groups, insurers and Express Scripts, which runs prescription coverage for insurers and employers across the country.

Drugmakers have said the higher cost of their drugs can be recouped over time because the treatments will reduce future health care costs. In Sovaldi's case, Gilead has said that means fewer patients suffering from liver failure or transplant complications.

Express Scripts said in its annual report that spending on specialty drugs rose 31 percent last year, and compound drug costs also affected overall spending growth. In contrast, spending on more traditional prescription drugs rose 6.4 percent.

The St. Louis company also said the trend on specialty drugs will slow to more sustainable levels in the next three years.

Express Scripts and other prescription bill payers have been negotiating preferred treatment agreements with some specialty drugmakers in an attempt to gain leverage over the cost of the drugs. Some also have started using management tools like limiting use of drugs like Sovaldi to the most serious forms of hepatitis C.

Express Scripts manages drug benefits for 85 million people and analyzed more than 750 million pharmacy claims from its customers for its report.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Secret Service testing drones, how to disrupt their flying

WASHINGTON — Mysterious, middle-of-the-night drone flights by the U.S. Secret Service during the next several weeks over parts of Washington — usually off-limits as a strict no-fly zone — are part of secret government testing intended to find ways to interfere with rogue drones or knock them out of the sky, The Associated Press has learned.

A U.S. official briefed on the plans said the Secret Service was testing drones for law enforcement or protection efforts and to look for ways, such as signal jamming, to thwart threats from civilian drones. The drones were being flown between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to publicly discuss the plans. The Secret Service has said details were classified.

Some consumer-level drones, which commonly carry video cameras, are powerful enough to carry small amounts of explosives or a grenade.

The challenge for the Secret Service is quickly detecting a rogue drone flying near the White House or the president's location, then within moments either hacking it to seize control over its flight or jamming its signal to send it off course or make it crash.

The Secret Service has said only that it will openly test drones over Washington, but it declined to provide details such as when it will fly, how many drones, over what parts of the city, for how long and for what purposes. It decided to tell the public in advance about the tests out of concern that people who saw the drones might be alarmed, particularly in the wake of the drones spotted recently over Paris at night. Flying overnight also diminishes the chances that radio jamming would accidentally affect nearby businesses, drivers, pedestrians and tourists.

It is illegal under the U.S. Communications Act to sell or use signal jammers except for narrow purposes by government agencies.

Depending on a drone's manufacturer and capabilities, its flight-control and video-broadcasting systems commonly use the same common radio frequencies as popular Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. Jamming by the Secret Service — depending on how powerfully or precisely it works — could disrupt nearby Internet networks or phone conversations until it's turned off. Testing in the real-world environment around the White House would reveal unexpected effects on jamming efforts from nearby buildings, monuments or tall trees.

Signals emanating from an inbound drone — such as coming from a video stream back to its pilot — could allow the Secret Service to detect and track it.

Federal agencies generally need approval to jam signals from the U.S. telecommunications advisory agency, the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. That agency declined to tell the AP whether the Secret Service sought permission because it said such requests are not routinely made public.

The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed it formally authorized the Secret Service to fly the drones and granted it a special waiver to fly them over Washington. The agency declined to provide specifics about the secret program.

In January, a wayward quadcopter drone, piloted by an off-duty U.S. intelligence employee, landed on the White House lawn. At the time, the Secret Service said the errant landing appeared to be accidental and was not considered a security threat.

The agency had been looking at security issues surrounding drones before the January crash, but the crash of that drone led the agency to focus more attention on security issues surrounding small, unmanned aircraft that can be hard to detect. Previously published reports have disclosed that the Secret Service already uses jammers in presidential and vice presidential motorcades to disrupt signals that might detonate hidden remotely triggered improvised explosive devices.

Researchers with the Homeland Security Department's science and technology directorate are working on strategies to interdict an unauthorized drone flying inside security areas. The research arm of DHS is trying to balance security concerns of the small, hard-to-detect devices, with the burgeoning commercial use and interests of hobbyists. Likewise, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said last week it's studying how the U.S. can resolve privacy risks with increasing use of drones.

The Homeland Security Department hosted a two-day meeting last month with industry officials, law enforcement and academics to discuss balancing security and commercial interests and establishing security practices. Days later, the Secret Service, which is part of the Homeland Security Department, distributed a three-sentence press release saying it will "conduct a series of exercises involving unmanned aircraft systems, in the coming days and weeks."

Trying to keep drones out of a secure area can be tricky.

There are basically three ways to stop a drone, said Jeremy Gillula, a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation: block the radio signals linking the drone to its controller, hack the aircraft's control signals and trick it into believing it is somewhere else, or physically disable it. Some drone manufacturers program a "geo fence" — location coordinates their drones treat as off-limits and refuse to fly past — into the drone's programming. Police could physically knock a drone out of the air with a projectile or use a net to catch it.

"If it were me that would actually be the first thing I would think about doing," Gillula said. "You would have to basically encase the White House in this net. It sure wouldn't look pretty, but in some ways it would be the most effective way."

___

Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap and Josh Lederman at www.twitter.com/joshledermanAP

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fed rate hike fears weigh on stocks as Greece dogs euro

LONDON — Global stock markets fell sharply while the dollar spiked further against the euro Tuesday as traders fretted about the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates. Renewed concerns over Greece further weighed on Europe's single currency.

KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, France's CAC 40 was down 1.1 percent at 4,884 while Germany's DAX fell 1.2 percent to shed 0.3 percent to 11,553. Britain's FTSE 100 was 1.4 percent lower at 6,779. U.S stocks were also poised for sharp falls at the bell, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures 0.9 percent.

FED WORRIES: Last Friday's forecast-busting U.S. jobs data for February continue to reverberate around markets as traders think it's now getting more likely that the U.S. Federal Reserve will bring forward the timing of its first interest rate hike since the 2008 global financial crisis to June. Ultra-low interest rates and other monetary stimulus have been a boon for stock markets for several years as investors sought higher returns. But a return to more normal levels for interest rates in the world's biggest economy might spell an end to the bull market for stocks.

ANALYST TAKE: "Regardless of whether the Fed hikes in June or September, it's coming and it's not very far away," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. "That makes the dollar very strong compared to its peers." On Tuesday, the euro fell 0.9 percent at a fresh near 12-year low of $1.0747. The dollar was flat against the yen at 112.35 yen.

GREEK FEARS BACK: The euro was further hampered by fears over the financial future of Greece. A meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday failed to yield much of a breakthrough on the country's reform plans, which have to be agreed to by creditors for Greece to get vital bailout cash. "The Greek government is pushing the envelope with its creditors and the market is scared by the prospect of another long drawn-out debt negotiation," said David Madden, market analyst at IG.

CREDIT SUISSE'S NEW BOSS: Shares in Credit Suisse surged after the Swiss bank sought to turn the page on a period of scandals and fines by replacing its CEO, Brady W. Dougan, with the head of British insurer Prudential, Tidjane Thiam. Credit Suisse shares were up 7.5 percent on the news at 24.90 francs per share.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent to 18,665.11 despite the yen weakening against the dollar, which usually helps export stocks. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.4 percent to 1,984.77. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.9 percent to 23,896.98. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added nearly 0.1 percent to 5,824.20. Southeast Asian markets were mixed and India's benchmark dropped.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 34 cents to $49.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, dropped 70 cents to $57.83 a barrel in London.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

EU nations get deal on rules for investment fund

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Tuesday took a major step toward a 315 billion euros ($356 billion) investment plan to encourage the private sector to launch higher risk projects like broadband and energy networks.

EU finance ministers reached agreement on the so-called European Fund for Strategic Investment, which is touted as Europe's big strategy to boost growth after half a dozen years of economic woes.

With the 28 EU nations in line, negotiations can now start with the European Parliament for a final agreement.

"We will be ready by the end of June, or July" to launch the fund, the EU's investment commissioner, Jyrki Katainen, said after finance ministers sealed the agreement.

With seed money of 21 billion euros, the fund is forecast to generate some 315 billion euros in investment loans between 2015 and 2017 by easing financing risks for the private sector.

The European Investment Bank has already begun vetting a list of some 2,000 potential projects, worth more than 1.3 trillion euros, which could be developed, including in research, education and transport.

As it was made public, Italy announced it would contribute eight billion euros towards projects, after Germany and France pledged to contribute the same amount. Spain has said it would put in 1.5 billion euros.

But while the eurozone's four major economic powers are ready to invest in projects, no country has been willing to put seed money directly into the fund.

EU economy and finance chief Pierre Moscovici called for quick movement on the plan, noting that the level of investment in Europe stands 15-20 percent lower than what it was before 2008.

"If we are not able to change that then in a few years Europe, which is the world's top economy along with the United States, will be a bit player on the international stage," he warned.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

McDonald's global sales drop in February

NEW YORK — McDonald's says global sales declined in February, including a 4 percent drop in the U.S. that the company blamed on "aggressive competitive activity."

The world's biggest hamburger chain says global sales fell 1.7 percent at established location. In the division including Asia, the Middle East and Africa, sales were down 4.4 percent. The figure edged up 0.7 percent in Europe.

McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois, is trying to reinvigorate its image amid shifting tastes and intensifying competition.

The company has promised changes are on the way to turn around its business, and earlier this year appointed chief brand officer Steve Easterbrook as its new CEO.

Easterbrook started in his new role last week, which coincided with a "Turnaround Summit" for U.S. franchisees in Las Vegas.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

GM plans $5B stock buyback, avoids showdown with hedge funds

DETROIT — General Motors has headed off a potentially divisive proxy fight by agreeing to buy back $5 billion in stock by the end of next year.

The move announced Monday is part of a deal with Harry Wilson, a former member of the government task force that restructured GM coming out of its 2009 bankruptcy. In exchange, Wilson agreed to withdraw his hostile candidacy for the Detroit automaker's board of directors.

Wilson had accused GM of hoarding cash to the detriment of shareholders and had sought an $8 billion buyback.

GM, which had $25.2 billion in cash at the end of last year, now says it will maintain a cash balance of $20 million and aim to keep its investment-grade status.

The share repurchase will begin immediately and finish before the end of 2016. Investors appeared to like the announcement. GM shares rose $1.01, or 2.7 percent, to $37.85 in premarket trading Monday.

Negotiations with Wilson's group had been going on for about two weeks and culminated during the weekend, CEO Mary Barra said Monday. She wouldn't say much about the talks or whether Wilson was resistant to a smaller stock buyback than initially demanded. The company also talked with other major shareholders, who agreed with the buyback, she said.

Barra indicated that the buyback might have come without Wilson's prodding. "We were on a path to do this anyway," she said Monday.

GM announced a 20 percent dividend increase when it released fourth-quarter and full-year numbers last month, and Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said further returns to shareholders were under consideration for the second half of the year. Combined, the two moves will cost the company $10 billion by the end of 2016.

Stevens said Monday that the $20 billion cash reserve is high enough for GM to withstand the costs of its ignition switch recall and any potential economic downturn. The company, he said, had always stated that it planned to keep a $20 billion to $25 billion reserve. Because of efficiencies and cost cuts, the company could look at drawing that down even further, he said.

He said he did not expect credit rating agencies to change their outlook on GM.

Also Monday, GM said it would return capital to shareholders each year and said it will announce those plans each January. It also reiterated plans to invest more than $9 billion in the company this year to roll out more new vehicles in the coming years.

Wilson, 43, filed notice of his board candidacy on Feb. 9 in a letter to Barra. He represents four hedge funds — Taconic Parties, Appaloosa Parties, HG Vora Parties and Hayman Parties — which own 34.4 million GM shares, about 2.1 percent of the company.

Under a deal with the funds, Wilson would get up to 4 percent of any profits they made on GM stock.

"We arrived at a win-win outcome that includes a thoughtful approach to critical capital allocation issues," Wilson said in a statement issued by GM.

In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Wilson said shareholders are frustrated with GM because it's an underperforming company with substantial cash that needs help reaching its potential. "They are not a very good steward of capital," Wilson said.

Before a jump in the stock price after raising the dividend in early February, GM "had not generated a dollar of net value for shareholders," Wilson said. GM shares were trading around $33, about the same price as its post-bankruptcy public offering in November of 2010, he said.

The company, he said, has not improved its profit margins appreciably, and is behind other automakers in working with parts supply companies to develop more models off fewer car and truck architectures.

GM restored its quarterly dividend in January of 2014 for the first time in six years. In early February the company announced it would raise the dividend 20 percent in the second quarter to 36 cents, pending board approval.

GM faces uncertainty in several areas that could drain its cash stockpile. The Justice Department is investigating the company for failing to disclose a deadly ignition switch problem in its small cars to government safety regulators. That penalty could be as much or more than the $1.2 billion that Toyota paid in a similar case. The switches are responsible for at least 57 deaths, and GM has committed to making payments to those injured and families of those who were killed. The company has set aside $400 million for the payments but says they could go as high as $600 million.

Like other Detroit automakers, GM also faces the financial uncertainty of contract talks with the United Auto Workers union later this year.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

APPLE WATCH ANTICIPATION: Features, functions unveiled

SAN FRANCISCO — The Apple Watch. CEO Tim Cook is expected to unveil the company's newest device and make the case for why it's a must-have gadget at a San Francisco event later Monday.

Apple teased the smartwatch in September but has given few details. Scheduled to hit the market in April, industry watchers are eager to see if Apple's version will be the tipping point for the sluggish smartwatch market. There was similar skepticism when Apple released the iPad in 2010, yet the company has successfully sold millions and its popularity has shaken up the PC market.

The stakes are high for a company that just dislodged AT&T as one of the 30 stocks comprising the venerable Dow Jones industrial average. The watch is the first brand-new device Apple has launched without Steve Jobs.

Apple's 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) event will likely begin with other product announcements. Here's a look at what's known so far and what to look for.

WHAT WILL IT DO?

— Show email, texts and phone calls, news, health readings and other notifications. They will be customized for the watch, so you won't simply see what's on the phone.

— An accelerometer will count steps you take, and an internal motor can signal you with a subtle "tap" on the wrist. There's also a heart monitor; it's not clear yet what heart rate readings you'll get during exercise and rest.

— NFC wireless technology will to allow you to pay-with-a-tap through Apple Pay at participating retail stores and restaurants.

NOTE: Although some features may work without your smartphone nearby, you will need an iPhone 5 or later model in close proximity for full functionality.

___

WHAT APPS ARE IN THE WORKS?

In September, Apple said several apps are in development. One would open your room at Starwood hotels. Another would help you find your BMW in a crowded parking lot.

It's not yet known what apps will be rolled out with the April launch. But the success of Apple Watch could ride on what apps are in store to extend the watch's functionality.

___

HOW LONG DOES THE BATTERY LAST?

The watch likely will need to be recharged nightly, just like the phone.

Some fitness trackers can last for days without a recharge, but full-featured smartwatches typically last a day or two at most. What's not known is how well Apple Watch will be able to last even a full day under heavy use.

___

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? WHEN CAN I BUY IT?

Apple has said the watch will start at $349 for the base model. There will be three different lines: aluminum for fitness enthusiasts, stainless steel for everyday wear and luxury 18-karat gold. Each line will come in two sizes and offer a variety of wristbands. The luxury edition might cost several thousand dollars, in line with other high-end jewelry. One question is whether Apple will let you keep the expensive casing and swap internal components as they are upgraded.

Apple will likely give a specific release date on Monday, along with a list of initial markets outside the U.S.

___

THE DIAL

One thing that sets Apple Watch apart is the control you'll get by turning the dial, known as the digital crown. Many rival smartwatches have buttons that do little more than turn on the screen and make menu selections. With Apple Watch, you'll be able to turn the crown to zoom in and out. You can get a closer view of a map that way, for instance. You'll probably still need to touch the screen to slide the map around.

___

HOW WELL WILL IT SELL?

On the low end, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster estimates 8 million Apple Watches sold in the first nine months they are available. Forrester Research has predicted 10 million and Strategy Analytics is calling for 15 million.

By comparison, only 5 million smartwatches, from all makers, were sold last year, according to Strategy Analytics.

Apple sold about 5 million iPhones and almost 15 million iPads in their first nine months on the market.

___

BEYOND THE WATCH

— There might be an update on Apple's plans to replace iPhoto with a photo app similar to what's found on iPhones and iPads.

— A new Apple TV streaming device? It's been years since the last hardware update, though there's speculation an announcement would instead involve Apple's role in a stand-alone subscription service from HBO.

— Apple got a streaming music service when it bought Beats last year. When will Apple integrate that into iTunes?

— Might announce additional features or car models with Apple's CarPlay, which lets drivers control iPhones with voice commands, a touch on the steering wheel or a swipe on a dashboard display.

— A larger-size iPad in the works?

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Major credit agencies agree to changes sought by advocates

NEW YORK — The three largest credit-reporting agencies will change the way they handle records in a major revamp long sought by consumer advocates.

People who contest items in their credit reports will receive additional information concerning those disputes, including instructions on what they can do if they don't like the answer they get. In a bid to increase accuracy, medical debts won't be reported until after a 180-day waiting period to allow time for insurance payments to be applied.

The agencies agreed to remove from credit reports previously reported medical collections that have been or are being paid by insurance companies.

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are also honing their focus to better handle disputes with consumers and to help victims of identity theft and fraud.

The three credit reporting agencies will jettison reports on debts that didn't arise from a contract or agreement with the consumer, such as tickets or fines.

Data collected by the agencies on hundreds of millions of people are used to create "credit scores" which can determine who gets a loan and how much interest is paid on that loan.

The changes are intended to provide people with more transparency and more simple navigation when dealing with the bureaus that hold their credit reports. The announcement Monday arrived after months of negotiations between Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

A working group will be formed under the agreement to regularly review consistency and to ensure that collected data is applied to consumers uniformly.

The changes will begin to be implemented over the next several months. Discussions with other attorneys general are ongoing and there remains the possibility for more agreements ahead.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alcoa to buy RTI Intl in $1.5B deal, expand aerospace push

Alcoa is taking another step to bolster its stake in the aerospace industry with a $1.5 billion deal to buy titanium supplier RTI International Metals.

The New York-based company said Monday that it will buy the specialty metal products company in an all-stock deal. Alcoa said the aerospace and defense industries accounted for 80 percent of Pittsburgh-based RTI's revenues last year.

Alcoa has been shifting from its traditional role of mining and smelting aluminum to becoming a more diversified maker of lightweight metal and alloy products for aerospace, autos and other industries. It has benefited from demand for aluminum and other lightweight materials used to make planes more fuel-efficient.

Last week, Alcoa said it completed its acquisition of the German titanium and aluminum structural castings company Tital. That company's titanium castings are used in aircraft engines and frames. It also completed in the fourth quarter the purchase of Firth Rixson, which makes alloy parts for jet engines.

For its latest deal, Alcoa plans to trade slightly more than 2.8 Alcoa shares for each RTI share. That equals a value of $41 per RTI share and represents a premium of 50 percent to RTI's Friday closing price of $27.28.

The $1.5 billion deal value includes $330 million in RTI cash and up to $517 million in the company's convertible notes.

Alcoa also said Friday that it will review 14 percent of its global smelting capacity and 16 percent of its refining capacity for possible curtailment or divestiture. The company has curtailed, closed or sold 31 percent of its smelting capacity since 2007.

Shares of RTI International Markets Inc. jumped 42 percent, or $11.41, to $38,69 in premarket trading about 20 minutes before the market open on Monday. Alcoa shares fell 55 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $13.93.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Repair shops unable to find source of van’s ‘clunk’

I have a nice '93 GMC conversion van that has been stored winters since new. There is a clunking sound when moving forward or backward while turning left or right, and it's getting worse. It has been in two shops with no results. One shop removed brake backing plates and lubricated parts, the other said they couldn't tell where the noise was coming from. I feel this needs to be repaired before something happens.

Without identifying which model van — full-size or mid-size — or from which end of the vehicle the clunking originates, troubleshooting is much more difficult. But here are several possibilities:

• If the noise is coming from the front, the most common source is a broken sway bar link. These tend to rust and when broken often generate a solid clunk. Other potential front-end culprits are worn ball joints, control-arm bushings, worn steering tie rods or drag link, a failed shock absorber, broken coil spring or loose steering box or rack. If the vehicle is equipped with a tilt steering wheel, the noise could also originate in the steering column due to a burr or wear in the upper bearing assembly. This noise is typically heard as the steering wheel returns to center.
• If the noise originates in the rear, possible culprits include a rear axle/bearing assembly, differential or spider gear problem, leaf-spring bushing, failed shock or loose exhaust.
• If the clunk originates in the brake system, it could be the brake pads moving back and forth in the calipers. If the issue is with the rear drum brakes, wear on the backing plate can cause the brake shoes to "catch" or clunk when applied.

...

I've been changing my own oil for nearly 50 years and I have some questions. Is there really a necessary difference between 5-20 and 5-30? Why do manufacturers have such odd capacities? My Escape needs 5.3 quarts, my Tacoma uses 5.5 and my son's Contour uses 5.8. Can't they just keep it in full-quart or half-quart amounts for ease of changing? If a car uses a blend can you top the odd amount with a regular oil, blend or full synthetic? Finally, when I first started to change oil I was told to put a bit of oil on the filter gasket to help it seat. Is this correct?

One of the easiest ways to improve fuel economy is to fill the engine with lighter weight oil. The less viscous the oil, the less power needed to pump it through the engine under pressure. I remember when car makers switched from 10W-30 to 5W-30, fuel economy improved by 1/10th of 1 mpg. Today's lubricants are so far superior in performance that we now see 0W-20 oil recommended for many new cars.

Regarding oil capacities, I suspect there are two main factors. First, adequate volume to continually lubricate and cool the engine's mechanical components while maintaining continuous flow during acceleration, braking and cornering. Secondly, design constraints for oil pan size, shape and location. And finally, some engines were designed to metric sizes, which are different than SAE measurements. The issue of partial quarts isn't much of a factor since today's oils come in resealable plastic bottles.

As long as the oil meets the car maker's specs, there is no harm in topping up with petro­leum, semi-­synthetic or full synthetic.

Not only is it a good idea to "wet" the rubber seal on an oil filter to help it seal, partially filling (if possible) the filter before installation helps the engine build oil pressure faster at first start-up.

...

Is it better for mileage or the car to cycle heating/cooling on and off or just leave them on?

Just leave the HVAC system on. Cabin heat is generated by waste heat from the engine in the coolant, so there's no significant cost or impact on the vehicle. The A/C compressor cycles on and off automatically to minimize cost, wear and tear.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrandstartribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lawyers predict claims for ice falls will be hard to prove

Massachusetts personal injury lawyers say they expect to see an influx of slip-and-fall claims stemming from this winter's record snowfall and ice, both of which have been so extreme that they may make such cases harder to win.

David White of Breakstone, White and Gluck in Boston said his firm has received at least 50 percent more claims this winter.

"We've never had as many phone calls as we've had this year," said White, former president of the Massachusetts Bar Association. "Some of them are slips and falls; others are people being hit by snow and ice falling off buildings."

Other attorneys, such as Frank Antonucci of Springfield, said he has yet to see a large increase in claims, but that doesn't surprise him.

"People with catastrophic injuries don't run to a lawyer; they go to the doctor," Antonucci said. "If there's an increase, I probably won't start to see it until around April. Hopefully, someone in the family was smart enough to take photos (of the scene and the injuries)."

Even with such evidence, he said, negligence may be hard to prove this year. In the past, Massachusetts property owners were 
liable only for injuries caused by "unnatural" accumulations of snow or ice, such as water pouring down the gutter of a house and freezing on the sidewalk, causing someone to slip and fall, White said.

But in 2010, the state's highest court held owners to a higher standard. Because of the availability of everything from salt and sand to shovels, snowblowers and plows, owners have a duty to take "reasonable care" to clear their property of snow and ice, the court ruled.

During most winters, that would make personal injury cases easier to win if someone failed to shovel his sidewalk or plow his driveway, said Robert Feinberg of Feinberg and Alban in Boston.

"It has definitely changed the landscape," he said, "because proving an unnatural accumulation was not always possible."

This year, however, the snow and ice have been so difficult to clear "that it could affect the calculus of what's reasonable," Feinberg said.

"In general, the more severe the injury is, the more likely a jury would be to give the plaintiff the benefit of the doubt" in the small percentage of cases that go to trial, said Scott Tucker, a defense attorney and partner in the Boston firm Tucker, Saltzman and Dyer.

"But in a year like this, everybody realizes sometimes your best efforts aren't enough," Tucker said. "I think jurors will be more likely to identify with the defendant who wasn't able to keep up with this winter's unrelenting storms because there's a good chance the jurors weren't able to, 
either. There's a whole lot of, 'There but for the grace of God go I.' "

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesla denies reports about gigafactory construction delay

RENO, Nev. — Electric-car maker Tesla Motors is denying reports that construction has been delayed on its gigafactory about 15 miles east of Reno.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), in an online job posting, says the project has been delayed at this time.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports (http://on.rgj.com/1EU6ZzG ) the delay is attributed to a change in design plans for the giant $5 billion factory that will produce lithium batteries for Tesla cars.

But Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson denies there's a delay, saying the company's plans are on schedule.

A representative of IBEW Local 401 declined comment, citing a non-disclosure agreement with Tesla.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk in September declared Nevada the winner of a high-stakes battle for the factory, which will mass-produce cheaper batteries for its next line of more-affordable electric cars.

___

Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wicked Good jars cupcake business

Something's cooking in Marshfield — good enough to get the attention of "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary.

The celebrity entrepreneur was in town for a promotional photo shoot with one of his most successful investments to date: Wicked Good Cupcakes, the retail and mail-order bakery headed by mother-daughter duo Tracey Noonan and Danielle Vilagie.

"They were doing $15,000 a month (in revenue) when I met them (in 2013)," O'Leary told the Boston Herald. "Now they're doing over $400,000 a month. We have all kinds of new products and plans for the year ahead."

Noonan and Vilagie opened their first retail location in Cohasset in 2011, achieving national notoriety for their cupcake-in-a-jar concept. Business exploded after their appearance on ABC's "Shark Tank" venture capital competition in April 2013, which the women described as "intimidating."

"You get only one shot in front of them and there are no retakes," Noonan said. "It's nerve-wracking on many levels."

O'Leary, the bottom-line businessman who admitted he has a weakness for cupcakes, invested $75,000, which was used to help build a commercial kitchen in Pennsylvania and a retail outlet at Faneuil Hall.

"That is one damn good jar of cake," O'Leary said during the broadcast.

"You go on the show to get the money," said Wicked Good Cupcakes COO Scott Noonan. "But the bigger impact was the media exposure and now having a partner in your camp like (O'Leary)."

He said Wicked Good Cupcakes' revenue grew 600 percent in 2013 thanks to that single appearance on "Shark Tank." Business rose 50 percent last year and is on pace to add another 45 percent this year. O'Leary made a wise choice: As part of the "Shark Tank" deal, he gets 45 cents of every cupcake sold.

Wicked Good Cupcakes won't yet share the nature of the new product that brought O'Leary to the Noonans' Marshfield home.

"But it was inspired by my 9-year-old niece Samantha (Wheeler)," Tracey Noonan said. "It's her product line. It's a yummy treat that's customizable and giftable."

The new product will launch this fall, in time for the big holiday rush.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Merkel deputy: Badawi case straining Saudi-German relations

BERLIN — German vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has criticized the sentence against Saudi blogger Raif Badawi shortly before meeting Sunday with Saudi King Salman in Riyadh.

The German news agency dpa quoted Gabriel as saying "the harshness of this sentence, especially the corporal punishment, is something unimaginable for us, and of course it weighs on our relations (with Saudi Arabia)."

Badawi was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison, a hefty fine and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam. He had urged Saudis to share opinions about the role of religion in the country on his Free Saudi Liberals website.

The case prompted harsh criticism from human rights groups.

Gabriel, who is Germany's economy minister, also met with three female human rights activists during his Saudi stop on a tour of Gulf states.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More