The Ticker

Manufacturing in Mass. redux

Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki will join Lt. Gov. Tim Murray to address the first-year accomplishments of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, as well as new goals moving forward on Tuesday.

Dow tops 13,000

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 172.79 points, or 1.4 percent, to close at 13,009.68, the first time since Election Day the Dow has closed above 13,000. The stock market rose sharply as shoppers braved the annual post-Thanksgiving rush, while traders were encouraged by positive economic news from Germany and China.

Buildings bought

Private real estate investment firm Divco-West, which has offices in San Francisco and Boston, has purchased four office buildings, totaling 373,000 square feet, in Boston's Fort Port Channel area. The converted warehouse buildings previously owned by Boston Wharf Co. were acquired for DivcoWest Fund III, an $870 million fund raised last year. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

TODAY

L Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills attends a "Small Business Saturday" event and tree-lighting ceremony at Adams Park in Roslindale.

L Needham Bank has named Paul M. Totino of Dedham as executive vice president of commercial lending and finance.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Built for entertaining, just blocks from BU

This gracious, renovated Colonial in the Cottage Farm area of Brookline near Boston University is made for grand-scale entertaining, with its large reception hall off of which is a series of elegant connected rooms and a showpiece grand staircase.

Built in 1890, the seven-bedroom house at 131 Carlton St. has 6,305 square feet of space and is filled with restored woodwork and paneled wainscoting, large windows and glass doors out to patios.

The beige stucco exterior has white trim and black shutters, hip and gable roofs, dormers and a colonnaded front entrance. The 11,000-square-foot lot has a large yard enclosed by a metal fence, screened by bushes and containing many old trees as well as a brick driveway.

The home, which has a renovated kitchen, bathrooms and master bedroom suite and original hardwood floors, is on the market for $2,795,000. The current owners also added new lighting, re-carpeted the hallways and stairways and repainted the entire interior.

You enter into a large reception hall with a grand staircase, a restored wood beam ceiling and coat closets on either side. To the left is a library with lots of windows, built-ins and a fireplace. Adjacent is a sunken mahogany-paneled study/office.

To the right is a large living room with two walls of windows, a fireplace and glass doors out to a bluestone-floored side porch. Off the living room is a track-lit sunroom with brick flooring.

To the left of the sunroom, and accessible from the reception hall through French doors, is a large formal dining room with a large built-in hutch and fireplace. There are glass doors from this room out to a bluestone patio.

The house's renovated kitchen can be entered through a butler's pantry redone in 2007 with new cabinets and built-in hutch, granite counters and a wine cooler.

The large eat-in, recessed-lit kitchen, also done over in 2007, has granite counters, a green-concrete island breakfast bar with pendant lights, and high-end appliances including Thermador wall ovens. There's a sunny eat-in area with a fireplace and window seats as well as glass doors leading out to the patio.

Behind the kitchen is a recently added a half bath with glass mosaic tile.

The showpiece newly carpeted grand staircase features a multilevel landing with a set of bay windows and window seats. Up a few steps there's a laundry room with a full-size washer and dryer and a sink.

There are three bedrooms off a carpeted hallway, including a master suite with a large hardwood-floored bedroom with a seating area and a fireplace. The redone en-suite master bathroom with white Carrara marble floors and walls has a walk-in shower, double marble-topped vanities and a whirlpool tub. A large, redone carpeted master closet features walls of built-in wardrobes and storage areas.

The second and third bedrooms also have hardwood floors and roomy closets and are served by a full bath with white ceramic tile floors and a white subway-tiled tub and shower.

There are four additional bedrooms on the third floor, all with original hardwood floors and closets, along with another white-ceramic tile full bathroom.

There's an additional 450 square feet of space in the partially finished basement, a second laundry room and a full bathroom.

The home is conveniently located about two blocks over the Mass Pike to Boston University's main campus and nor far from the BU Bridge to Cambridge.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pay limits tore at TARP bailout

The executive pay limits that came with the bank bailouts of the 2008-2009 financial crisis may have had the unintended benefit of reducing the bailouts' scope, a new study has found.

A report in the Journal of Banking, Finance and Accounting finds that the pay provisions discouraged some banks from participating in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which ultimately paid out $400 billion of the $700 billion the government budgeted to shore up the U.S. financial system.

"We do know that some high-profile bankers complained that the pay restrictions were onerous. (But) our study suggests that TARP may have been better designed than bankers would have you believe," said Mary Ellen Carter, a Boston College professor of accounting and one of the study's authors. "The restrictions gave financial incentives for bank executives to think carefully about participating and, if they did participate, to get out from underneath the program as quickly as possible."

The researchers studied 263 publicly traded banks that were approved for TARP and found that 35 rejected the funds and that this decision was related to higher levels of CEO pay. However, these banks fared just as well as banks that took TARP money.

So the pay restrictions may have deterred banks that didn't really need the money from taking it, Carter said.

Banks that did take TARP funds saw higher executive turnover than their peers, she said, but the performance of those banks also didn't suffer.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Addicted to Black Friday

Despite economic worries and Thursday night openings in neighboring states, consumers rewarded Massachusetts retailers and malls for opening earlier than ever yesterday, showing that Black Friday shopping has become as much of a tradition as turkey on Thanksgiving.

And elsewhere across the country — without the Bay State's blue laws to keep the holiday sacrosanct — crowds rushing the stores on Thanksgiving is becoming as common as gridiron tilts for millions, said the National Retail Federation, which expects holiday sales to climb 4.1 percent to $586 billion this year.

"I had no intention of buying a TV, but when I saw the deal it was too good to pass up," said Steve Abellard of Quincy, strapping a 60-inch Vizio to the top of his car early yesterday morning, along with his brother, who also purchased a TV.

Black Friday got off to a busy start at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, where a traditional 12:01 a.m. opening, which overcame a challenge by town police this year, had traffic backed up for miles as usual. The trend was self-gifting, with many standing in lines for hours to buy a coveted item for themselves.

"This year the discounts are better than last year," said Ravish Jain, 28, a software engineer from Rhode Island who was shopping for a PlayStation 3 at the Sony store and was among the first in line.

Black Friday shopping is a family tradition for Jeanne Dennis and her daughter — and it started in the womb. Dennis had a Nov. 29 due date for the now 31-year-old Heather Braccialarghe. "That was Thanksgiving weekend, and I was at Filene's Basement," she said. "Fortunately, she was two weeks late."

The two were among the throngs mid-morning yesterday at the Burlington Mall, which had lines at every entrance for its first-ever 12:30 a.m. opening. They were on their fourth stop, after a 5 a.m. start from Mashpee to shop at Braintree's South Shore Plaza, and Kohl's and Crate & Barrel in Burlington.

But Carlos Rodrigues opted to return home after arriving at midnight at Target in Dorchester's South Bay Center, where the line snaked around the corner.

"It was too crazy," he said, after returning in the afternoon. "I gave up quickly. Any deals the first people in line are going to get — not everybody."

Walmart boasted of its best Black Friday ever and downplayed demonstrations and planned employee walkouts at its stores in support of a campaign led by a United Food and Commercial Workers International Union-tied group.

"We are aware of a few dozen protests at our stores," spokesman David Tovar said yesterday. "The number of associates that have missed their scheduled shift today is more than 60 percent less than ... last year."

But groups of two to 30 demonstrated at all 48 Walmarts in Massachusetts yesterday, said Russ Davis of Massachusetts Jobs with Justice. "It's preposterous," he said of Walmart's response.

At Walmart in Quincy, throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles just after the 1 a.m. opening and carts were filled with big-ticket items.

Foot traffic was a bit more muted in downtown Boston later in the morning.

West Roxbury's Gina Huber and Patrick McDonough started shopping at 7:30 a.m., visiting Copley Place and the Shops at Prudential Center. Given the sluggish economy, they didn't plan to go overboard on big-ticket items this year.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Revved up over Jaguar XJ

The 2013 Jaguar XJ with a 3-liter, V6 engine was a tough sell — at first.

My initial reaction was that the smaller engine would diminish the prestige of the luxury sedan that I'd always known to have an abundance of brawn under the hood.

However, when I laid eyes on the elegant sedan painted up in "British Racing" green with a bold mesh chrome grille, my reaction was anything but dissatisfaction.

While the XJ's exterior dazzles, the interior takes luxury to another level. Well-appointed leather with conspicuous stitching adorned the interior surfaces. Dark walnut wood paneling contrasted the cashew-colored seats.

Our test model included an optional $1,400 comfort package with a front-seat massage feature that is truly a "you gotta check this out" feature. The massage function has three levels of intensity. In addition, the front seats electronically adjust in 12 different ways. Both the front and rear seats were heated and ventilated as part of an optional four-zone climate control system.

The XJ's supercharged V6 engine produces 340 horsepower and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The combination gives the luxury sedan the performance personality of a V8 with the benefit of respectable gas mileage. The XJ's EPA gas mileage rating is 18 city/28 highway. But for those who can't live without the extra two cylinders, the XJ has three other V8 engine options ranging in horsepower from 385 to 510.

The XJ also has an idle-reducing feature that shuts the engine down when the sedan comes to a stop and restarts in less time than it takes the driver's foot to move from the brake pedal to the accelerator. The default feature, which is showing up on many other manufacturers' 2013 models, increases fuel efficiency in urban driving situations. Drivers unaware of the feature might be fooled into thinking their new car just stalled out. Although I eventually got used to the feature, it's easy to override.

Our test XJ had three driving modes: normal, dynamic and winter. The normal mode delivers a comfortable and leisurely character. Switching to dynamic mode and shifting through the eight speeds using the steering wheel transformed the sedan's character to aggressive and responsive. Regardless of mode or conditions, the sedan was smooth in braking and in handling and felt like a much smaller car as the XJ held its line through corners.

I found it easy to get wrapped up and even a little overwhelmed by the luxury features packed into the 2013 XJ. What intrigued me most about the XJ was what Jaguar was able to accomplish with its six-cylinder engine: a powerful, yet reasonably fuel-efficient luxury sedan.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nokia's True Cars map the world

Nokia Corp. is making a giant push for its navigation technology, showing off its so-called True Car mapping vehicle in the Hub and rolling out a new brand called "Here."

"One of the things that distinguishes Nokia is navigation," Aaron Dannenbring, vice president of product management and field operations for Nokia, told the Herald this week.

With $250,000 of equipment on its roof, the True Car captures information about buildings, street signs and roadways on its route, and then puts that information into its maps, which are used by Microsoft's Bing, Windows Phones and cars throughout the world.

Apple learned the hard way how difficult it is to map the world when it botched the rollout of its new navigation app. But Nokia has been working on this for 30 years, and now the mobile tech giant is rebranding its mapping mobile site as Here.com. It can be used by anyone with a data connection. Little-known fact: Nokia is the world's largest private employer of geographers, with more than 2,000 mapping professionals in 60 countries.

Most of the data is collected by one of 15 True Cars around the world. A spinning cylinder with 64 lasers captures the distance to nearby objects, creating a 3-D representation of the world.

Atop the cylinder is a panoramic camera that records street-level imagery, which is integrated with the information captured by the lasers to make a realistic model of the world around.

Lower down, cameras are angled to record street signs, which are then extracted by software to inform the turn-by-turn navigation.

Boston is an important center for Nokia maps, with its search analytic and other data-crunching conducted at its Burlington office.

"At the height of the Big Dig we would have to drive that sucker weekly," Dannenbring quipped.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Home buyers see few price reductions

Today kicks off the holiday shopping season, which can mean big sales for most shoppers.

But while the retail world is offering deals and slashing prices, many home buyers aren't seeing the same price reductions they were getting in the recent past.

In Boston, the number of price cuts for single-family homes and condos is down 42 percent compared to last year with 1,924 listings reduced compared to 3,995 listings reduced last year, according to information provided from Multiple Listing Service Property Information Network.

Statewide, the number of price reductions for single-family homes and condos also tumbled, down 25 percent compared to last year with 36,248 listings reduced compared to 48,656 listings reduced.

Several factors are contributing to the decreased number of price reductions, including low housing inventory and brokers and sellers pricing property to move quickly.

"In some areas, such as Boston, homes are selling at the asking price at the first open house," said Ed Elkins, principal of Elkins Appraisal Services. "Buyers have a lot less to choose from. We are at about a two-month supply of homes on the market, with more buyers in the market than available properties."

Current inventory of single-family homes and condos is down 44 percent in Boston and down 20 percent statewide compared to last year, according to information provided from the MLS Property Informaion Network.

"Days on market are also lower and these low inventory levels are bringing a faster turnaround for today's sellers," Elkin said.

In Boston, the average days on market is down 38 percent — from 118 days to 73 days. In Massachusetts, the decline in days on market is 31 percent — from 158 days to 108 days.

What is also happening with sellers is they are more realistic about their home value and pricing their properties accordingly. What is guiding these sellers is the fact that they now have some "comparable sales" to judge a suitable listing price unlike the past couple of years, when sellers had only a few sales to support the value of their homes.

Jonathan and Hillary, a couple recently selling their condo in South Boston, sat down with a broker who presented them with a significant number of recent transactions in the neighborhood that made them feel comfortable with their initial listing price of $429,000.

"We had a slew of comparable properties to support the value and listing price of our just 1,000-plus square foot condominium on the east side," said Jonathan. The two-bedroom duplex, converted in 2006 and without parking, sold in just over a week.

With an adequate number of comparable sales and more buyers in the market than available listings, "this balance is helping to sustain price growth, and homes that are correctly priced tend to sell quickly, while those that aren't often languish on the market," Elkin said.

Median home prices for both condos and single-family homes in Boston are up 10 percent from $402,500 to $449,000 and up 3 percent in Massachusetts from $300,000 to $309,000, according to information obtained from MLS Property Information Network.

Jennifer Athas is a licensed real estate broker and can be reached by email at heraldhotproperty@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenAthas.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Small biz big on Saturday

Small Business Saturday is quickly becoming the little shopping holiday that could.

Despite being sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, local brick-and-mortar retailers say they're happy to fling their doors open tomorrow to lure sales and visibility away from big-box stores.

"The first year it really didn't do much for the store, but as they've been better about marketing and getting people excited about the idea a month or so beforehand it really helps," said Marie Corcoran, owner of Gifted, a jewelry and assorted gifts store in the South End. "We are open every Saturday anyway, but it's just an extra little boost to remind people that small people are out there, too."

Conceived by American Express, Small Business Saturday is designed to help local businesses stay economically viable, while preserving neighborhoods nationwide. This year, 67 percent of Americans surveyed by the corporation and the National Federation of Independent Business plan to "shop small" at local businesses tomorrow, compared to 44 percent last year.

"It's taking on a life of its own," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. "This will probably be ... the biggest day for small Main Street businesses for this season. If it's not the biggest, it will be a strong number two behind the Saturday before Christmas."

Small businesses will see "well over half" of the projected $14 billion in retail sector sales the state will see in November and December, Hurst added. Small Business Administration head Karen Mills is also expected to visit Roslindale tomorrow to discuss the holiday's importance.

Patrons at Gifted will get half off the price of one scarf if they buy another tomorrow, Corcoran said.

Taylor's Stationery in Needham is offering 20 percent off boxes of Christmas cards.

"We love Small Business Saturday because it's just a big influence for people to really remember the little guys that support local towns," said store owner Jack McQuillan. "It's a big push for us and just a great thing."

Nearly 100 merchants in Salem have joined the Small Business Saturday bandwagon this year, city officials said, and holiday weekend parking will be free at municipal lots and garages.

"For some folks, they're not aware of the retailers we have, from toy stores to bookstores, women's clothing apparel and gift items," said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll.

"There's a fair amount of shopping you can get done without having to leave town."

Yet Rinus Oosthoek, executive director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, said it will still take time for the holiday to be ingrained in the public consciousness.

"It's the same as if you organize a festival," he said. "It takes a number of years to build it up so it fulfills its mission in a sense."

Concord Cheese Shop owner Peter Lovis said the intentions behind the holiday are noble, but added it would not dramatically alter his business.

"We have a clientele that always shops here and is always aware of the importance of supporting small independent businesses," he said.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Markets subdued as Black Friday dawns in US

LONDON — Markets were subdued Friday as Wall Street readied to return following the Thanksgiving holiday and as the U.S. shopping season begins in earnest.

The day after Thanksgiving is dubbed "Black Friday" because it is when U.S. retailers traditionally turn their first profit of the year as millions of Americans rush out to stores in search of gifts for Christmas and other seasonal holidays.

A strong holiday shopping season will be used to help predict the momentum of the U.S. economy, the world's biggest. Anecdotal evidence and footfall figures over the coming days will be closely monitored.

"With much of the northeast still struggling in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, holiday shopping has the potential to disappoint," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.1 percent at 5,797 while Germany's DAX fell the same rate to 7,238. The CAC-40 in France was 0.1 percent lower too at 3,493.

Wall Street was poised for a fairly unspectacular return from Thanksgiving, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.1 percent. Trading is expected to remain subdued especially as it's only a half day in U.S. markets.

"Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday always means quieter markets and this year is no different," said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG.

Though trading levels are clearly down, investors will be monitoring developments in Brussels as European Union leaders try to cobble together a budget deal. The prevailing view in the markets is that nothing will be achieved Friday and that another meeting will be needed.

Cyprus is also in focus amid signs that the country, one of the 17 EU countries that use the euro, is close to agreeing a financial bailout deal with representatives from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Cyprus stocks were up nearly 10 percent Friday, a clear indicator of an expected deal.

Over the rest of the year, the focus will likely remain on whether the White House can come to a deal with Congress on the budget and whether Greece will get its next batch of bailout cash.

The expectation in the markets is that both will be dealt with positively. A deal to give Greece more money is expected to be achieved at a euro finance ministers meeting on Monday.

Hopes that Greece will avoid an imminent bankruptcy have lain behind the euro's recent advance. That held Friday, with Europe's single currency up a further 0.2 percent at $1.2897.

Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.8 percent to 21,913.98 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,911.33. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

In the oil markets, benchmark oil for January delivery was down 13 cents to $87.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shoppers pack stores for Black Friday deals

Black Friday got off to a raucous start at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, where traffic was backed up for miles and shoppers lined up at high-end stores for deep discounts.The trend was self-gifting, with many people standing for hours in line at stores to purchase one coveted item for themselves.

"This year the discounts are better than last year," said Ravish Jain, 28, a software engineer from Woonsocket, R.I. He was shopping for a Playstation 3 at the Sony store, and was among the first in line.

People around him were buying HD camcorders, laptops and televisions.

Nicole Kniffen, 20, of Medfield, is a Black Friday veteran of the last five years and was guiding her boyfriend toward a television purchase.

"We haven't even decided on the size," she said. "It really depends on the deals."

Karla Valentino, 44, of Hyde Park, was shopping with her twin brother at the Nautica store, where virtually everything was half-off.

Asked whether she planned to spend more this year than last, she replied, "Hell yeah. I think the sales are much better this year."

Lines snaked down the sidewalk at high-end handbag havens Kate Spade and Coach.

Joyce Zheng, a 20-year-old Cornell University student from China, drove up with her friend, fellow student Simon Sun, 22, from Ithaca, N.Y.

"My budget is roughly $200," she said of her impending handbag and shoe purchases at Kate Spade. Having spent two hours in line, she said she felt entitled to go all-out.

The same was true for Donna Lussier, a Woonsocket mom who was planning to buy herself an item she could otherwise not afford: a Coach bag.

"I'm going to be very frugal this year," she said. "It's because of the way the times are."At Walmart, throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles and shopping carts were filled with big-ticket items. One man ran back in for a second trip after he filled the trunk of his car.

Some had not initially planned on spending money.

"I had no intention of buying a TV, but when I saw the deal it was too good to pass up," said Steve Abellard of Quincy, strapping a 60-inch Vizio to the top of his car, along with his brother, who also purchased a TV.

Desirae White of Dorchester spent more than she planned as well. She waited for five hours in line for a doorbuster deal on a HDTV, and then ended up filling her shopping cart with towels, pillows and a mixer. "It was packed," she said.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More