Nokia Lumia 920 brightest light for Windows phones

The masterfully botched launch of Windows 8 phones brought zero lines of eager consumers to wireless retailers across the nation. But here we have Microsoft's last chance to show its smartphone gambit is for real. The Windows 8 platform has been refined...

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Crowd-funding finds way to real estate financing

Crowd-funding has transformed the startup landscape, but can the insular world of real estate benefit from this model as well? It's being tried in different forms, mostly centered on commercial real estate. The Boston startup Collaperty, for instance,...

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J.C. Penney CEO tries to change the way we shop

NEW YORK — J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson seems unfazed that the department store chain's mounting losses and sales declines have led to growing criticism of his plan to change the way we shop. Perhaps that's because this isn't the first time during Johnson's...

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J.C. Penney's journey from 1 store to 1,100

NEW YORK — A look at J.C. Penney's milestones: —1902: James Cash Penney, son of a Baptist preacher and farmer, opens The Golden Rule, a dry goods and clothing store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The name was based on his guiding principle of building a business...

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Old is new again at historic Lewis Wharf

This duplex condo on the top two floors of Lewis Wharf has been rehabbed into a contemporary-looking condo that works well in this historic brick-and-beam 1830s building. Unit 517-617 combines two units, with the lower floor opened up to create a large...

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Bay State logs in super servers

Amid a worldwide push to make energy-eating data centers more efficient, a new environmentally friendly computing facility backed by the state officially opens for business today. The Massachustts Green High Performance Computing Center is a 90,000-square-foot,...

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Oil prices steady as traders eye Mideast conflict

The price of oil swung between slight gains and losses above $85 a barrel on Friday as investors monitored fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza and its potential impact on supplies, which so far remain ample. By early afternoon in Europe,...

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AG pushes energy reform at retail confab

State Attorney General Martha Coakley would like to see the state tackle energy in the same way it's approaching health care reform. Energy, like health care, is a major cost-driver for small businesses, Coakley said in a keynote address at the Retailers...

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Ikea regrets use of forced labor in East Germany

BERLIN — Swedish furniture giant Ikea expressed regret Friday that it benefited from the use of forced prison labor by some of its suppliers in communist East Germany more than two decades ago. The company released an independent report showing that...

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US industrial production drops 0.4 percent

WASHINGTON — Superstorm Sandy depressed U.S. industrial output in October, while production of machinery and equipment declined sharply, reflecting a more cautious outlook among businesses. The Federal Reserve says industrial output fell 0.4 percent...

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Post office reports record loss of $15.9B for year

WASHINGTON — The struggling U.S. Postal Service is reporting a record annual loss of $15.9 billion. The financial losses for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 were nearly $11 billion more than the previous year. The numbers cap a tumultuous financial...

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RIM offers free voice calls over Wi-Fi with BBM

TORONTO — BlackBerry users will be able to make free voice calls over a Wi-Fi network using the popular BBM messaging service. Research In Motion Ltd. announced Wednesday that it's adding the feature to BBM. Users will be able to switch back and forth...

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Massachusetts adds 7,900 jobs in October; unemployment rises to 6.6 percent

Massachusetts added 7,900 jobs in October even as the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.6 percent, a slight increase from September's 6.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly labor report also included a revised gain of 2,700...

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McDonald's replaces head of US operations

NEW YORK — McDonald's Corp. is replacing the head of its U.S. operations after the world's biggest hamburger chain reported its first monthly sales decline in nearly a decade. The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., says its global chief restaurant...

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Source: Chrysler to add jobs at Detroit plants

DETROIT — A person briefed on the matter says Chrysler plans to add 1,250 jobs at three Detroit-area factories in the near future. The person says the company plans to invest $238 million at engine plants in Detroit and suburban Trenton, and at a...

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In latest intrusion, Facebook creates relationship profile

The nicest thing you can do for your spouse or significant other right now is to dump them. On Facebook. The latest sputtering strategy from the post-IPO social network is to treat couples like people. Now not only do users have a profile page, so does...

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New owners for health IT firm Arcadia Solutions

Burlington-based Arcadia Solutions LLC, a provider of data-driven health information technology services, said today it will be acquired by private-equity firm Ferrer Freeman & Co. LLC and Arcadia's senior management team. Terms of the deal were...

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People magazine says Channing Tatum is sexiest man

NEW YORK — Channing Tatum is People magazine's "sexiest man alive" for 2012. The 32-year-old actor says his first thought on hearing the news was: "'Y'all are messing with me.'" Tatum's film roles include "Magic Mike" and the upcoming "Foxcatcher."...

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AAA: More expected to travel by car this Thanksgiving weekend

A whopping 43.6 million Americans are projected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a 0.7 percent increase from last year and the fourth consecutive annual uptick, according to AAA Southern New England. While...

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Pending Massachusetts home sales jump in October

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said today that pending home sales in October had their second biggest year-over-year increase since the organization began tracking this data. The number of single-family homes put under agreement last month...

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BP, AAR settle all disputes from TNK-BP

LONDON — British oil company BP and its Russian partner AAR say they have settled all disputes between them as both prepare to sell their stakes in their lucrative but contentious joint venture, TNK-BP. Both have agreed to sell their positions to...

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German investor confidence drops unexpectedly

BERLIN — German investor confidence slipped unexpectedly this month over worries Europe's largest economy will cool over the next six months, a survey showed Tuesday. The ZEW institute said its monthly confidence index fell to minus 15.7 points in...

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Wilmington lighting plant to close

WILMINGTON -- Company officials say a Wilmington plant that makes fluorescent light fixtures is scheduled to close within the next six to nine months. Workers at the Lightolier plant were informed of the closure Friday. Lightolier is a subsidiary...

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Ahead of the Bell: Microsoft shakeup drags stock

NEW YORK — Microsoft shares slid more than 4 percent before the opening bell Tuesday after the software company revealed that Steven Sinofsky, who oversaw its Windows operations, was leaving. Sinofsky's departure comes just weeks after Microsoft launched...

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Home Depot 3Q results edge up, beat Street's view

ATLANTA — A boost from the gradually recovering housing market helped boost Home Depot's net income in its fiscal third quarter. Home improvement companies have long been under pressure due to the weak housing market, as consumers cut back on large-scale...

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Stocks higher after bruising week

NEW YORK — Stocks are opening higher on this Veterans Day. Just after the start of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up eight points at 12,823. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up two at 1,382. And the Nasdaq composite index is up...

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Signature brands make comebacks

Automakers are always looking for ways to be original when unveiling new models. In certain instances, this means shifting gears and storing vintage nameplates in the garage. "There just aren't that many that survive from the old days," said Scott Oldham,...

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Fiat Industrial announces new management structure

MILAN — Capital goods maker Fiat Industrial on Monday announced a new management structure aimed at making it easier to merge with its U.S. subsidiary CNH Global N.V., the agriculture equipment maker. Fiat Industrial, which makes trucks, agriculture...

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Our experts see great returns

Our StoxSmart experts continue to soar. Of 7,867 U.S. stock funds tracked by Morningstar, the best performer this year is Fairholme, which has returned 32 percent. John Fish's 42 percent return blows that out of the water and Frank Quaratiello's 22...

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Elmo puppeteer accused of underage relationship

NEW YORK — The puppeteer who performs as Elmo on "Sesame Street" is taking a leave of absence from the popular kids' show following allegations that he had a relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Sesame Workshop says puppeteer Kevin Clash denies the...

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The Ticker

Hydroid's sub station Robotic mini-sub maker Hydroid Inc. will break ground later this week on a new research and manufacturing facility in Pocasset on Cape Cod. The subsidiary of Norway-based Kongsberg Maritime makes autonomous underwater vehicles...

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Extended warranties: Value is a matter of personal choice

I would like to comment on your recent column on whether it is worthwhile to buy an extended warranty for a car. Extended warranties are provided by companies that need to earn a profit. In order to do this, they have to collect more money from their...

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Using their heads to combat cancer

A hair-raising presidential election and Hurricane Sandy didn't stop Small Army's Be Bold, Be Bald! campaign from achieving its highest participation numbers to date. The 4-year-old initiative, spearheaded by the Hub advertising agency in the wake of...

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Microsoft hopes to 'break barriers' with translator

Reason No. 2,347 why Microsoft is making the world more like Star Trek: its latest voice translation project. In an astonishing video that's making its way around the web, the company's chief research officer Rick Rashid speaks before an audience in...

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Texas firm takes on 2 apartment complexes

A Houston-based developer will break ground on two major apartment projects — one in Boston, the other in Cambridge — by the end of the year as the rental market heats up in the Hub. Hanover Co. recently finalized a $25.6 million purchase of a 4-acre...

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