Stately living at Beacon Hill brownstone

A pristine renovation of an 1890 single-family brownstone at 14 Charles River Square on the flat of Beacon Hill awaits a buyer with deep pockets and a taste for Old World charm and modern amenities.

Nestled in a cul-de-sac off Storrow Drive, this $3.85 million townhouse comes with a deeded parking space and spans 3,020 feet on five levels, with four bedrooms, four baths and a private deck with Charles River views.

"It's an unbelievable blend of convenience and privacy," said broker P.T. Vineburgh of Charlesgate Realty Group. "You're smack in the middle of Beacon Hill and yet on this private cul-de-sac. It's your own private oasis in the city. And the true rarity is it's totally newly renovated, turnkey, ready to go."

The entry level has a gas fireplace and the flexibility of family living or formal dining, with an eat-in chef's kitchen with its own recessed gas fireplace, custom white Shaker cabinetry, white granite countertops and high-end appliances, including a six-burner Thermador gas range, built-in refrigerator, pot filler and large pantry. Classic detail and millwork complement the Jacobean-stained maple hardwood flooring.

The second level has a living room, which overlooks the square out to the river and boasts a maple wet bar and a gas fireplace with a classic mantel. A guest bedroom has a closet and a marble full bath.

The master level has a bedroom with a gas fireplace, two closets and flex space that could be used as a nursery, an office or a walk-in closet. The master bathroom has a cherry double vanity, a tiled carrara marble soaking tub and a marble, subway-tiled shower with frameless glass.

The penthouse level can house a fourth bedroom or a den. It has a fireplace, a full bath, a wet bar and access to a 300-square-foot private roof deck with Charles River views.

The lower level — ideal for an au pair or guest suite — has a bedroom, family room or play room, and a full bathroom. It also includes a walk-though mudroom with custom built-ins and has direct access to a private parking space.

Home Showcase

• Address: 14 Charles River Square
• Bedrooms: Four
• Bathrooms: Four
• List price: $3.85 million
• Square feet: 3,020
• Price per square foot: $1,274.83
• Annual taxes: $17,371
• Fees: $1,000 annually for landscaping and snow removal
• Location: On private cul-de-sac, one block from shopping and a three- minute walk to the Red Line
• Built in: 1890, completely renovated in 2015
• Broker: P.T. Vineburgh of Charlesgate Realty Group at 857-383-3111

Pros:

• Deeded parking space
• Surround sound throughout with iHome technology
• Tankless hot-water heaters and five-zone HVAC with Nest thermostats

Cons:

• The building has no elevator
• Rear windows face a narrow, brick-lined alley

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Staples sales slide again

Staples Inc.'s sales dropped for the eighth consecutive quarter, but its profit beat analysts' estimates, as the No. 1 office supplies chain said it is pleased with progress toward its proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of No. 2 Office Depot Inc.

"We've met with the rating agencies and our lenders, and we're in the process of syndicating the debt financing," CEO Ronald Sargent said.

Staples has kicked off its integration planning, and Sargent said he has even greater confidence that it can reach $1 billion-plus in net savings by the end of the third year after the merger.

"This target is net of investments in pricing to provide increased value to our customers," he said.

Staples' fourth-quarter sales of $5.7 billion were down 4 percent from the same period last year; analysts expected $5.76 billion in sales. The company posted a net loss of 
$260 million, compared to net income of $212 million in the prior year.

Sargent also commented on the move this week by shareholder Starboard Value to push for Staples to "improve the composition" of its board. Staples will add two members of Office Depot's board, and lead independent director Robert Nakasone will be replaced by Paul-Henri Ferrand, Google's vice president of U.S. sales and operations, in June.

"We think he's going to be a terrific addition … as we kind of move from the big-box revolution of 10 to 15 years ago to the digital revolution," Sargent said.

"Certainly I'm not going to apologize for our board, because I think it's been a terrific board for a long time," he said. "It is composed of great diversity in terms of background and experience."

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3 reasons Apple's watch will _ or won't _ change the game

SAN FRANCISCO — No one can argue that Apple has changed the way people live their lives. The company's iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iPad have shaken up music, phone and computer markets worldwide. Is the Apple Watch going to be able to do the same?

The stakes are big for Apple CEO Tim Cook: the watch is the first brand-new Apple product to be launched without legendary co-founder Steve Jobs. But the market is awash in smartwatches that have gained little traction. Here are three reasons the Apple Watch will finally move the needle in the smartwatch industry — and three reasons it might not.

WHY IT WILL CHANGE THE GAME

MORE FEATURES THAN RIVALS: Along with email, texts and phone calls, Apple says its watch will present news, health readings and other notifications in creative ways that can be read at a glance. It will have a heart rate monitor and accelerometer, and an internal motor that can signal the wearer with a subtle "tap" on the wrist. And Siri and Apple Pay will be built in. Apple is working with outside companies to create more apps; Cook has talked about using the watch as an electronic "key" for hotel doors or even cars.

A POWERFUL BRAND: The world's biggest tech company has a reputation for quality and a direct conduit to customers — it operates more than 400 retail stores around the world. And it has deep pockets to spend on advertising — it is showcasing the watch this month with a sleek, 12-page insert in Vogue and other fashion magazines.

APPLE'S TRACK RECORD: This wouldn't be the first Apple product that revolutionized a market where rivals had struggled to break through. Other companies made digital music players before the iPod, smartphones before the iPhone and even tablets before the iPad. Most of those products failed to catch on until Apple made devices so appealing they set new standards and created new demand, said Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder.

OR NOT

WHAT'S THE NEED?: Most smartwatches — including Apple's — only work with a smartphone nearby, so you can't swap one expensive gadget for the other. "What we've seen is that it's not obvious why people would want a smartwatch," says Gownder. A recent Forrester survey found some respondents didn't see a reason to buy one because they already owned a less-expensive fitness band or a full-featured smartphone (although it also found Apple fans ready to buy the new watch).

CONSUMERS NOT EXCITED: You can already buy smartwatches made by giant tech companies like Samsung, Sony or LG, or from a tech startup like Pebble, that track your heart rate, show you email and deliver other online services to your wrist. None of them have really caught on. Only about 5 million smartwatches were sold worldwide last year, according to market researchers at Strategy Analytics. By comparison, Apple sold 74.6 million iPhones in just the last quarter.

PRICE AND OBSOLESCENCE: Many of today's smartwatches sell for $200 or less. Apple plans to sell three models, starting at $349, but Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts the average buyer will pay $550 for a watch and extra, interchangeable bands. Apple's high-fashion "Edition" model, made with 18-karat gold, is expected to cost thousands. While affluent consumers might pay that for a watch they can wear for years, or even hand down to their children, it's a lot of money for something that could become outdated if Apple releases a new model every year or so — as it does with smartphones.

Cook will make his case for the Apple Watch at a press event Monday, where he's expected to show off more features and apps. Expectations are high.

But even the iPhone didn't become a mainstream blockbuster in its first year, notes Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin. Of the Apple Watch, he says, "people need to understand more about what this product is, and what it does, and I think that will evolve over time."

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US job market faces hurdles even with 5.5 pct. unemployment

WASHINGTON — Unemployment in the U.S. has dropped to a seven-year low of 5.5 percent — a level normally considered the mark of a healthy job market. Yet that number isn't as encouraging as it might sound.

While U.S. employers added a solid 295,000 jobs in February, and the jobless rate fell from 5.7 percent, it went down mostly because many people gave up looking for work and were no longer officially counted as unemployed, the government reported Friday. What's more, wage gains remained sluggish.

Those trends suggest that the job market, while improving rapidly, isn't quite as healthy as it looks.

That complicates the Federal Reserve's task of figuring out when the economy has strengthened enough to withstand higher interest rates. The Fed is considering a rate increase as early as June.

With Friday's report, employers have now produced 12 straight monthly job gains above 200,000. It's the longest such stretch since 1994-95.

The U.S. is easily outshining most other major economies. For example, the unemployment rate in the 19 countries that share the euro is 11.2 percent, or twice the U.S. rate.

The robust U.S. job gains appear to have convinced many investors that the Fed will soon raise the short-term interest rate it controls. Investors on Friday sold ultra-safe U.S. Treasurys, a sign that many anticipate a rate increase. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.24 percent from 2.11 percent.

And they dumped stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 276 points in afternoon trading.

A 5.5 percent unemployment rate is typically consistent with what economists call "full employment" — when the proportion of unemployed people has fallen so low that employers must raise pay to find enough qualified workers.

Companies then raise prices to pay for the higher wages. And the Fed usually follows suit by raising its benchmark short-term rate to cool growth and ward off inflation.

But the scars of the Great Recession have made the process hazier and more complicated.

"5.5 percent doesn't mean what it once did," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. Full employment "is always a moving target, and it has moved down."

Since the recession ended in June 2009, the percentage of adults working or looking for work has fallen to a 37-year low of 62.8 percent. It has hovered around the mark for most of the past year.

Economists calculate that about half that decline reflects the aging of the population as the baby boom generation retires.

But another factor is that many Americans have become discouraged about their job prospects and have given up looking. Those out of work aren't counted as unemployed unless they are actively looking for jobs.

That has helped artificially lowered the rate since its peak of 10 percent in October 2009.

Many economists also argue the economy can't be near full employment if wages aren't growing. And average hourly earnings rose just 3 cents to $24.78 in February from the previous month.

Megan Greene, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services, noted that hourly pay fell in February from January in the construction and mining industries. Such figures will outweigh the falling unemployment rate in Fed chair Janet Yellen's mind, she said, and perhaps discourage a rate increase soon.

Yet many other economists expect the Fed will put a rate increase into effect in June or September.

The short-term interest rate is usually at 3 percent or 4 percent when the economy is at full employment. It is now at a record low of zero, and inflation is practically nonexistent.

Tim Hopper, chief economist at TIAA-CREF, said that if unemployment keeps falling and inflation starts to pick up later this year, "the Fed will be behind the curve if they haven't already started raising rates."

Nearly 3.3 million more Americans are earning paychecks than 12 months ago. That has boosted U.S. consumer spending and the broader global economy. Many leading exporters, particularly China, Germany and Japan, depend on Americans' spending for a chunk of their growth.

February's hiring gains were broad-based. Some of the industries with the biggest gains include mostly low-paid work: Hotels and restaurants added 60,000 jobs, retailers 32,000.

But higher-paying fields also added jobs: Professional and business services, which include accountants, engineers and lawyers, gained 51,000, construction 29,000 and financial services 10,000.

Growth slowed in the final three months of last year to an annual rate of 2.2 percent after roaring ahead at nearly 5 percent last spring and summer. But consumer spending rose, a sign demand remains strong.

Dave Long, chief executive of Orangetheory Fitness, said the improving economy has given a boost to his fast-growing exercise studio business. He opened the first location five years ago in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company now has nearly 200 sites in the U.S.

"As people have a little extra money ... it opens up their minds to spending a little more on a product like ours," he said.

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Charger’s performance matches racy look

With menacing looks and an intimidating front grille, the 2015 Dodge Charger SXT Rallye AWD is an exhilarating vehicle to drive.

Scalloped body sides and a chiseled front end with LED fog lights and high-intensity discharge wrap-around headlamps, coupled with seamless racetrack taillights, make it exhilarating to look at, too.

Its style and features make competitors like the Chevy Impala and Ford Taurus seem, well, not as exciting.

All new for 2015, the Dodge Charger is quiet and relatively fuel efficient (18 mpg city/27 highway) as equipped with a robust 300-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 24-valve engine. The Charger packs plenty of punch even if it doesn't have the optional 6.2-liter 707-horsepower Hellcat supercharged V8 engine — though it's easy to imagine what the Hellcat engine could do in this car.

The Charger's all-wheel-drive system handles both dry and wet roads like a champion and it even excels in snow. The 19-inch polished aluminum wheels and all-season tires keep this car in touch with the road. Other safety features like blind spot and cross path detection, lane departure warning, and advanced braking assistance help ensure safe arrival at your destination.

Dodge redesigned the interior of its Charger for 2015. The cockpit has a clean look with a 7-inch customizable gauge cluster. A new electronic shifter compliments the heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, which has stereo, phone and cruise controls.

The 8.4-inch touchscreen GPS and stereo controller connects with the 552-watt stereo to pump great sound through its 10 Beats speakers located throughout the cabin. The stereo receives satellite, Bluetooth audio, AM/FM and HD radio signals. The Garmin-based GPS maps are simple and easy to read. The voice guidance system is also top-notch. As any $40,580 car should, the Dodge Charger SXT has keyless entry.

Dodge's UConnect system makes it easy to establish a connection with your phone, and the speakerphone performed clearly. SiriusXM's travel link shows current gas prices, weather alerts, sports, and movie information.

Seating is incredibly comfortable in the Charger. The driver and passenger seats are eight-way adjustable with power controls. The Nappa leather sport seats are heated and ventilated, and have metallic leather accents with tungsten-accent stitching.

The cabin is roomy and has plenty of space in both the front and back seats. A power sunroof enhances the roominess. The trunk provides ample storage and has a pass through to the main cabin for oversized items.

The bottom line is that this Dodge will put a charge into any mundane driving task, yielding a thrilling driving experience.

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AG hits defunct parenting biz with $260G penalty

Isis Parenting, the Needham-based prenatal and parenting retailer that abruptly shut down last year — leaving many parents and expectant parents in the lurch — will pay a $260,000 penalty for failing to provide services and refunds to its customers after its abrupt closing.

The settlement reached with state Attorney General Maura Healey's Office provides for refunds to eligible Massachusetts customers who had prepaid for merchandise and services, including classes, and received no refunds, according to documents filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court.

Customers can go through a claims office to receive restitution. The attorney general's office urges consumers with questions to contact its consumer hotline at 617-727-8400.

"Massachusetts companies have an obligation to treat customers fairly and deliver on the promises they make," Healey said in a statement. "When Isis Parenting went out of business, it left many new and expecting parents without the prenatal and parenting courses they paid for and were depending on. We are pleased that this settlement will provide restitution to these consumers."

The settlement comes after an investigation of Isis by the attorney general's office after it received numerous complaints from customers of Isis' alleged unfair business practices.

"The commonwealth alleges that while attempting to sell its business operations as a going concern, Isis Parenting marketed and sold goods and services when it knew or should have known it had insufficient reserves to ensure it would be able to provide (them)," the court documents state. "Isis Parenting failed to provide such goods and services or provide refunds."

Isis cancelled all of its ongoing and future classes when it closed, including prenatal education, early parenting groups and child development classes.

Isis Parenting's going-out-of-business sales at its four stores in Boston, Needham, Arlington and Hanover violated state law on termination sales, which requires companies to file a bond, pay a fee and provide advanced notice and an inventory list to the attorney general's office and towns or cities where the business is located, according to the court documents.

The company also violated the state's Consumer Protection Act regarding unfair competition and unfair or deceptive business practices, the court documents state.

The $260,000 penalty will be paid on behalf of Isis by its insurer.

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3 reasons Apple's watch will _ or won't _ change the game

SAN FRANCISCO — No one can argue that many Apple devices have changed the way people live their lives. The company's iTunes, iPhone and iPad have shaken up music, phone and computer markets worldwide. Is the Apple Watch going to be able to do the same?

The stakes are big for Apple CEO Tim Cook: the watch is the first brand-new Apple product to be launched without legendary co-founder Steve Jobs. But the market is awash in smartwatches that have gained little traction. Here are three reasons the Apple Watch will finally move the needle in the smartwatch industry — and three reasons it might not.

WHY IT WILL CHANGE THE GAME

MORE FEATURES THAN RIVALS: Along with email, texts and phone calls, Apple says its watch will present news, health readings and other notifications in creative ways that can be read at a glance. It will have a heart rate monitor and accelerometer, and an internal motor that can signal the wearer with a subtle "tap" on the wrist. And Siri and Apple Pay will be built in. Apple is working with outside companies to create more apps; Cook has talked about using the watch as an electronic "key" for hotel doors or even cars.

A POWERFUL BRAND: The world's biggest tech company has a reputation for quality and a direct conduit to customers — it operates more than 400 retail stores around the world. And it has deep pockets to spend on advertising — it is showcasing the watch this month with a sleek, 12-page insert in Vogue and other fashion magazines.

APPLE'S TRACK RECORD: This wouldn't be the first Apple product that revolutionized a market where rivals had struggled to break through. Other companies made digital music players before the iPod, smartphones before the iPhone and even tablets before the iPad. Most of those products failed to catch on until Apple made devices so appealing they set new standards and created new demand, said Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder.

OR NOT

WHAT'S THE NEED?: Most smartwatches — including Apple's — only work with a smartphone nearby, so you can't swap one expensive gadget for the other. "What we've seen is that it's not obvious why people would want a smartwatch," says Gownder. A recent Forrester survey found some respondents didn't see a reason to buy one because they already owned a less-expensive fitness band or a full-featured smartphone (although it also found Apple fans ready to buy the new watch).

CONSUMERS NOT EXCITED: You can already buy smartwatches made by giant tech companies like Samsung, Sony or LG, or from a tech startup like Pebble, that track your heart rate, show you email and deliver other online services to your wrist. None of them have really caught on. Only about 5 million smartwatches were sold worldwide last year, according to market researchers at Strategy Analytics. By comparison, Apple sold 74.6 million iPhones in just the last quarter.

PRICE AND OBSOLESCENCE: Many of today's smartwatches sell for $200 or less. Apple plans to sell three models, starting at $349, but Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts the average buyer will pay $550 for a watch and extra, interchangeable bands. Apple's high-fashion "Edition" model, made with 18-karat gold, is expected to cost thousands. While affluent consumers might pay that for a watch they can wear for years, or even hand down to their children, it's a lot of money for something that could become outdated if Apple releases a new model every year or so — as it does with smartphones.

Cook will make his case for the Apple Watch at a press event Monday, where he's expected to show off more features and apps. Expectations are high.

But even the iPhone didn't become a mainstream blockbuster in its first year, notes Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin. Of the Apple Watch, he says, "people need to understand more about what this product is, and what it does, and I think that will evolve over time."

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Off-street parking 
drives Boston home sales

The blizzard of 2015 — and the storms that followed — were enough to make most Bostonians rethink their parking situations, and Hub home buyers have plenty of options when it comes to properties with off-street spots for cars.

Those more desirable properties come with premiums, of course, the extra cost of which depends on the neighborhood.

"(Parking) always has a value no matter what the snow situation is," said Janet Deegan, a Realtor at Coldwell Banker in Jamaica Plain. "But it will have higher value right now when we have so much snow on the ground — and probably into the spring market because of the abundance. My guess is it won't go out of people's consciousness for a while."

The MLS Property Information Network lists 250 condos and single-family and multi-family homes for sale in Boston that come with parking — driveways, deeded spaces in alleys, parking lots, garages and rented spaces.

For a Jamaica Plain home worth $300,000 to $400,000, parking can add about $20,000 to the list price, according to Deegan. "If it was garage parking, it would be more valuable than if it was just a parking spot in a driveway," she said.

Many Dorchester homes have off-street parking — most of it outdoors, according to Realtor Craig Galvin, of the Galvin Group, who estimates it can add $25,000-plus to the cost of a property.

Galvin recently sold two similar condos in triple-deckers near Adams Village. A 985-square-foot condo with off-street parking listed at $319,000 and sold for $314,000. A larger 1,050-square-foot condo without parking listed for $315,000 and was put under agreement for $295,000.

"Just like any other area, if you have parking, it makes your life a lot easier," Galvin said.

A loft-style, five-room condo at The Foundry in South Boston – a neighborhood where 44 percent of the condos sold last year offered parking — went on the market this week with deeded, uncovered parking in a gated lot. It was listed for $549,000 on Tuesday morning, and there were 13 showing requests within four hours.

"The parking has been why these have sold so quickly," said Nick Hanneman, an agent with The Hanneman + Gonzales Team at Robert Paul Properties.

Even Boston condos with transferable rented parking — meaning the parking is an extra annual cost — typically have higher median sales prices than condos without rental spots, said David Bates, a broker at William Raveis Real Estate.

"If you can secure a rental spot that you can give to the buyer — even though you may not have the rights to the spot — more often you'll get a better price," he said.

Midtown — the area from Downtown Crossing to Tremont Street — had the highest percentage of condos for sale last year that came with rented, assigned or deeded parking at 82 percent, followed by Dochester at 64 percent, according to a report by Bates. Only 19 percent of Beacon Hill condos had off-street parking.

In the Back Bay, parking always has held a premium, according to Michael Carucci, president of Group Boston Real Estate.

"The situation has only got worse with the closing of the Danker Donahue Garage on Newbury Street, which is being converted to retail space," he said. "It's the convenience of having it. Would you pay $3 million to have your wife drive around the block with a car full of groceries looking for a place to park?"

Carucci who deals in high-end properties, said his clients always are looking for off-street parking.

"In some cases, even if they don't need it, they want it for resale value," he said.

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Staples tops 4Q profit projections; strong dollar hits sales

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples slid to a loss in the fourth quarter as the company booked restructuring charges ahead of a huge merger and the strong dollar pressured sales, but it topped Wall Street's expectations for net income and shares rose in premarket trading Friday.

Staples, the nation's largest big box office supply chain, announced last month that it would spend about $6 billion to buy rival Office Depot Inc. It closed 169 stores in North America last year and plans to close a total of 225 locations by the end of 2015 as it ties up with Office Depot.

For the period ended Jan. 31, Staples lost $260.4 million, or 41 cents per share. A year earlier it earned $212.4 million, or 33 cents per share.

Staples said Friday that the current quarter included $410 million in impairment charges related to its Australia, China and South America businesses. The period also included $74 million in restructuring and other charges.

Excluding the charges and other items, per-share earnings were 31 cents.

That's a penny better than industry analysts had projected for the quarter, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

The Framingham, Massachusetts, company posted revenue of $5.66 billion, which fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.75 billion.

The strong dollar negatively impacted sales by about 2 percent during the quarter, the company said Friday.

Quarterly sales grew one percent excluding the impact of store closings over the past year and the strong dollar.

For the year, Staples Inc. had a profit of $134.5 million, or 21 cents per share. Its adjusted earnings from continuing operations were 96 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $22.49 billion.

The company expects adjusted earnings in a range of 16 to 18 cents per share during the first quarter of this year. Analysts polled by FactSet predict earnings of 17 cents per share. The company said it also anticipates sales to decline when compared with the prior-year period.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SPLS at http://www.zacks.com/ap/SPLS

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Keywords: Staples, Earnings Report

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Hudson hardware store sold after 128 years in family

HUDSON  — A Hudson lumber and hardware store that's been owned by the same family for 128 years has been sold.

Lamson Lumber announced that it has been sold to Koopman Lumber, another family-owned business based in Northbridge with seven locations. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Co-owner Lona Lamson tells The MetroWest Daily News that the business was started by her great-grandfather in 1887. It originally sold ice.

Lamson says the business is thriving, with sales up 20 percent last year, but she and her sister are getting older and none of their children want to take over.

Koopman co-owner Tony Brookhouse says Lamson will stay in the same location with the same employees, but he plans on adding more services.

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