Mass. nixes hike in worker's compensation rates

BOSTON — The state insurance commissioner has approved a settlement eliminating a proposed increase in workers' compensation insurance rates.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's argued against the planning increase, which would have hiked rates by an average of 7.7 percent across the state.

Coakley called the proposed increase "totally unjustified" and said it would have hit small businesses hard at a time when the state is grappling with high unemployment.

Coakley, who is also a Democratic candidate for governor, said Friday's settlement will end up saving Massachusetts employers a total of $75 million.

Massachusetts businesses are required to purchase workers compensation insurance to provide coverage for expenses and lost wages of workers injured on the job.

Rates for workers compensation insurance are set at least every other year in an administrative rate hearing

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Southboro’s Globoforce cancels IPO

A Southboro tech company canceled its initial public offering hours before markets opened yesterday, a move experts said was a sign of low demand for shares of Globoforce, not a trend that will drag down other tech companies looking to go public soon.

Globoforce, which makes employee recognition software for businesses, said late Thursday night it had canceled the deal after initially scaling down the IPO earlier Thursday.

"Despite receiving overwhelming interest in our initial public offering, we have decided to postpone our offering until market conditions are more favorable for our company and our customers," said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce, in a statement.

Scott Johnson, managing partner of New Atlantic Ventures in Cambridge and an investor in Enernoc when it went public, said those "market conditions" were likely related to Globoforce, not the market in general.

"It's hard to conclude that this is the canary in the coal mine," Johnson said. "I would say the odds are this is a company-specific situation, where the investors' appetite for this particular offer was below the expectations of the company."

Matt Wong, an analyst with CB Insights, said one possible red flag was the company's distribution of revenue.

"Their 10 largest clients make up 70 percent of their revenue," Wong said.

A Globoforce spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the company's statement.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

'20s charm abounds in Belmont home

This classic colonial in Belmont has been updated but retains much of its woodwork and charming details, such as arched doorways.

Built in 1928, the five-bedroom home at 22 Adams St. lies in the town's high-end Presidential Estates subdivision. The gabled, hip-roofed house, with an attached two-car rear garage, has seen major kitchen and bathroom updates and new heating and central air systems. It's on the market for $1,395,000.

There's a custom stone wall-enclosed patio in the front yard, and a granite walkway leads up to the house, which has a brick exterior first floor and newly repainted light-blue clapboard above. There's a stone-floored entry with a coat closet to one side that opens into a large hardwood-floored foyer with a turning staircase.

To the left is a formal living room with hardwood floors, a beamed ceiling and sconce lighting. The sunny room has six windows and a wood-burning fireplace with a restored mantel.

A french door from the living room leads into a home office with built-in shelving. To the right of the foyer is a sitting room with hardwood floors and crown molding that leads through french doors into a formal dining room. This sunny room has five windows and restored maple floors.

It segues into an L-shaped recessed-lit kitchen that underwent a major renovation in 1997, including restored maple floors. There are over 40 custom hand-painted white cabinets in three distinct areas above and below black granite countertops. There's a dining area with two windows and six glass-fronted cabinets. The main preparation area has lots of drawers and shelves, and an adjacent pantry area has large cabinets. There's a stainless-steel Thermador gas stove and two black Thermador wall ovens, a stainless-steel LG dishwasher and Kitchen Aid compactor and a Maytag side-by-side refrigerator that was added last year.

There's a door from the pantry area out to a rear deck with cedar floors and mahogany railings that has stairs down to a small grass backyard. Back inside, at the back of the first floor, is a guest bedroom with two windows as well a full bathroom added in 1998 that has a blue tile floor, white-tiled walk-in shower and a white pedestal sink.

There are three bedrooms on the home's second floor reached via a turning staircase in the foyer.

The master bedroom suite underwent a major renovation in 1998 with restored hardwood floors and a custom walk-in closet with built-in drawers and cabinets. The en-suite bathroom has a beige marble floor and marble-topped double-sink vanity. There's a white-tiled double steam shower with a marble bench and a skylight above.

The second and third bedrooms are good-sized, and both have hardwood floors and alcoves with built-in desks on one side and dresser drawers on the other,

A second full bath was redone in 1998 with a white marble floor and marble-topped double sink vanity and a white-tiled walled whirlpool tub and shower.

The carpeted fifth bedroom is one floor above in a converted attic with a window.

The home's basement was remodeled in 2001. Stairs lead down to a ceramic-tiled laundry and storage room with a wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets and a full-size Maytag washer and dryer.

Off this room is a large, carpeted recessed-lit family room with a wood-burning fireplace.

A closet holds a heating and central air-conditioning system added in 2001, at which time new electrical,. plumbing and coaxial cable wiring were also upgraded.

There's also an attached two-car garage in the basement, with automated doors and parking for an additional vehicle under the deck and in a long driveway. But there's no direct access to the house from the garage.

There's not a lot of yard space, but the area around the home is nicely landscaped with birch trees and flowering bushes.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama: Women still face outdated policies at work

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the economy hasn't caught up to the new reality that women now make up about half of the workforce.

Obama says in his weekly radio and Internet address that women earn about 77 cents for every dollar men earn. He says women face outdated policies that hold them back, and that hurts their families and the broader economy.

Obama is calling in Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

In the GOP address, Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan says there's an economic comeback in states led by Republican governors. He says it can happen nationally if the country follows their lead.

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.youtube.com/user/gopweeklyaddress

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Are tougher penalties against Russia to come?

WASHINGTON — U.S. penalties against a Russian bank and the Kremlin's inner circle have pinched Moscow, but their effectiveness is in doubt if the goal is to get President Vladimir Putin to roll back his forces from Crimea or prevent more land grabs.

Putin has mocked the punitive steps President Barack Obama has taken so far.

He made jokes of Obama's decision to freeze the assets of businessmen with close ties to Putin, as well as Bank Rossiya, which provides them support. Putin retaliated with travel restrictions on nine U.S. officials and lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain. "I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off," said McCain, R-Ariz.

For now, Putin says there is no need for further Russian moves, even as his Foreign Ministry said Moscow would "respond harshly."

Putin claims to have no plans for further incursions into Ukraine or elsewhere in the region. But he's not planning to reverse Russia's annexation of Crimea, either.

The U.S. and Europe are left to consider the possibility of tougher measures on Russia's energy and banking sectors. That could backfire if Moscow seized American or other foreign assets or cut exports of natural gas to Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russia for energy.

"If Russia doesn't do anything other than what they've done so far with Crimea, I think the Obama administration will probably stand pat with the sanctions that it has already imposed," said Richard Fontaine, president of the Washington-based Center for a New American Security.

"I think they are waiting to see if this is the end of the Russian adventurism, or if there is more to come, and then they will react with more sanctions accordingly."

By taking a step-by-step approach, the U.S. is giving Russia a chance to resolve the crisis, Fontaine said. "The problem with that is that Putin has shown absolutely no appetite to take any off-ramp," he said.

Just the threat of harsher penalties has dimmed the outlook for the fragile Russian economy. Russian stocks were under pressure Friday as a second credit rating agency put the country on notice of a possible downgrade. Visa and MasterCard stopped serving two Russian banks, including Bank Rossiya.

The Russian stock market has lost more than 10 percent this month.

Also Friday, Russia said it might scrap plans to tap international markets for money this year.

The European Union imposed penalties against 12 more people Friday, bringing its list of those facing visa bans and asset freezes to more than 30. They include one of Russia's deputy prime ministers, two Putin advisers and the speakers of both houses of parliament.

But it still is short of the top-tier list of Putin associates punished by the United States, and evidence that Europe is not as eager to punish its energy supplier and trade partner.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who went to Ukraine with McCain last week, urged Obama to rally U.S. allies. "To do it alone is very limited. To do it with our allies can have some impact on Putin," he said.

McCain also said cracking down on Russian lawmakers and Putin's inner circle won't get Putin's attention. He said the U.S. should provide financial aid to Ukraine, immediately send defensive weapons to the country, resume work on the missile defense system in Poland and develop a long-term plan to get energy to Europe and Ukraine.

"The higher price that Putin thinks he has to pay for further aggression, the more likely that he doesn't act," said McCain.

Fifty former U.S. government officials and foreign policy experts wrote Obama on Friday urging him to strengthen Ukraine's democratic transition and impose "real costs" on Putin.

They said Obama should go after Putin, and expand the sanctions to isolate Russian financial institutions and businesses that are complicit in Russia's incursion into Crimea or support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The group praised the deployment of U.S. fighter aircraft to Poland and the Baltic states but said the U.S. should send additional ground forces, missile defenses or other assets to former Warsaw Pact members of NATO, work to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas and expand U.S. military rotations to Georgia, which is seeking membership in NATO.

Experts on Russia and Europe caution against looking at the Crimea problem too narrowly. Putin's move into Crimea can be seen as part of a broader strategy of stopping NATO enlargement, or at least keeping neighboring countries off balance so they can't be further integrated into the alliance or have closer ties with the West.

"We don't have anything against cooperation with NATO, nothing at all," Putin said in a speech earlier this week. "We are against having the (NATO) military alliance ... behaving as the master of the house outside our fence, next to our home or on our historical territory."

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata in Washington and Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama enlists DeGeneres, other celebrities in final health care push

WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama teased Ellen DeGeneres about the selfie she took at the Oscars and confessed to leaving his socks and shoes lying around while the first lady is out of town, but before the end of his Thursday appearance on the talk show he got to put in a plug for the Affordable Care Act.

That's Obama's deal with popular media these days as the president enlists help in his effort to boost health care sign-up numbers before the March 31 enrollment deadline.

In recent days, Obama has filled out his March Madness brackets on ESPN, joked around with comedian Zach Galifianakis on "Between Two Ferns" and defended his "mom jeans" on-air with radio host Ryan Seacrest — all with the agreement that he'd get a moment to pitch his health care plan.

The White House is aiming to bring young consumers into the fold, and not just because they represent roughly 40 percent of the uninsured population.

Young participants are more likely to pay into the system without drawing heavily on its benefits and are seen as key to ensuring the president's healthcare reform is economically viable.

Administration officials estimate they have signed up more than 5 million of the 6 million people they hope to enroll by the deadline — a downward revision from the 7 million target they named before all the trouble with the rollout of the sign-up website, HealthCare.gov.

As health care experts predicted, young people are taking their time getting on board. Now, the White House is going after them through every media outlet and opinion leader they can mobilize. "Validators," aides call them.

"In order to reach them," said White House press secretary Jay Carney, "we have to, you know, be creative."

While the White House pushes that message, Republicans continue to argue that the reform law is fatally flawed and will harm the other end of the age spectrum. As Obama traveled to Orlando on Thursday, the office of House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said that, while in Florida, the president should answer questions about the reform law from seniors.

"The president has focused plenty of time and energy of late on young people," Boehner's office said in an afternoon news release. "Isn't it time he directly address older Americans who are bearing the brunt of his health care law? He shouldn't leave Florida today without doing so."

In his remarks on the road, Obama planned to focus on his economic agenda — and, always, where health care reform fits into it. As he participates in a roundtable and delivers remarks, however, his staff and pitch people keep a tight focus on the health care push.

Sports media and stars have played a major role in the final push. This week, NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant did an interview on Dan Patrick's radio sports show in which he encouraged people to get coverage before the 2014 sign-up period ends. Former NBA All-Star Grant Hill called in to sports radio shows Wednesday in Miami, Dallas and Houston.

Miami Heat player Shane Battier promoted the health care plan in a conference call the other day with reporters. As he spoke, the administration released a report showing that nearly 2 million people went to emergency rooms each year because of sports-related injuries.

On Thursday, the White House ran a social media campaign trying to drive traffic to GamePlan4Me.com, a website promoting the sports benefits of having health insurance and featuring athletes such as Bryant, New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.

Of course, some of the pitch men and women are not as famous.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday traveled to New Orleans and Fort Worth to highlight local efforts to help people enroll.

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough recently called in to a sports talk radio show in Cleveland to talk up GamePlan4Me.com.

Carney said the White House is "comfortable" with the pace of enrollment but thinks it can round up more young people before the deadline.

When Massachusetts ran its first enrollment, he said, "the demographic breakdown at the various stages of enrollment in the open-enrollment period is mirrored by what we've seen in our figures."

"I don't think anyone would argue that Massachusetts did not get, in the end, either sufficient numbers or the sufficient demographic breakdown that it needed to function effectively," Carney said. "So we feel confident that we'll do the same."

———

©2014 Tribune Co.

Visit Tribune Co. at www.latimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Howard Johnson Inn to get ‘edgy’ redo

An "edgy" and "irreverent" 94-room boutique hotel paying homage to the Fenway's musical and artistic history will replace the shuttered and past-its-prime Howard Johnson Inn.

Samuels & Associates plans to open The Verb this summer after an 
$18.8 million-plus redevelopment that will include an interior gut-renovation of the Boylston Street property while preserving the 1959 building's mid-century facade and architecture.

It will be the first hotel for Samuels, which is credited with breathing new life into the Fenway with numerous residential, retail and office projects, including Fenway Triangle Trilogy, 1330 Boylston St. and the Van Ness Building. For this development, it is partnering with Weiner Ventures and Spot-On Ventures, developers of the Mandarin Oriental Boston.

"We're completely refurbishing the entire building," said Spot-On principal Robin Brown, a former 13-year general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. "It was a very high-quality building that lacked in love. We're more than tipping our hat to the original architects' design intent, making it authentic, but modern."

The team hired a London branding firm to brainstorm about the hotel's positioning, its style of service and attitude, and its name.

"Everything about the hotel will be a little bit irreverent," Brown said. "This is like me having a midlife crisis of hotels that's grounded with superb service and superb details, nailed with a huge sense of humor. This is not going to be a serious hotel."

The hotel's lobby will include a DJ spinning vinyl albums that will be on display. Boston music and pop-culture memorabilia ranging from historic Boston Phoenix covers to photos of musicians who performed in Boston or appeared on WFNX-FM radio also will decorate the public spaces.

"Once we really got to know the building, we saw that (it) really had great bones," said Leslie Cohen, Samuels' executive vice president of development. "We thought this was a great opportunity to create a spectacular new product in short order. Hotel rooms are in high demand."

Room rates are expected to start in the $200 range.

The hotel will include a heated outdoor pool and deck, along with a 4,000-square-foot, three-meal restaurant and bar.

"We're looking for (a chef) that fits in with the vibe of the Fenway — someone who is up-and-coming and consistent with our restaurateurs," Cohen said.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Expert: $90M in Connector penalties just the begining

The state could lose up to $90 million in federal funds because lingering problems with its disastrous Obama­care website have kept tens of thousands of people on health plans that were supposed to expire in January — forcing it to burn up cigarette tax funds to fill the gap — and that's only part of a fast-approaching hit on taxpayers, experts told the Herald.

"Ninety million extra is a floor for what the coming taxpayer bill will be," said Joshua Archambault, a health care expert at the Pioneer Institute. "Taxpayers will pay for all the pieces of this puzzle that they wouldn't be paying for if the site had worked."

The Health Connector is asking for an extension through Sept. 30 for more than 100,000 people on subsidized plans known as Commonwealth Care — who haven't been able to move to Obamacare-compliant plans because of the bad site, leaving the Bay State with an approximately $10 million a month penalty in federal funding.

"This is the impact of lost federal revenue, lost federal support, due to IT system challenges," Administration and Finance Secretary Glen Shor told the Herald yesterday. So the state will now tap a Connector trust fund used to subsidize health care costs — including cigarette tax revenue — to help fix the mess.

But the $90 million is just one of the costs piling up in the signature Democratic program that has become a headache for Gov. Deval Patrick. Optum, the company hired earlier this year to address technology issues, is charging $16.4 million just through March. Consulting group MITRE also reviewed the system and filed two different reports, though it's unclear how much they'll be paid.

Developer CGI has only been paid $15 million of its $69 million milestone-based contract, but it is unclear whether the state will have to shell out more. Then there is the cost of placing 84,000 Bay Staters on temporary Medicaid coverage — after the state was overwhelmed by the backlog of applications and couldn't process them before applicants' plans expired.

"The cost of temporary coverage will still need to unfold," Shor said. "There are a number of variables."

Stakeholders find the uncertainty unacceptable.

"It's concerning that the state remains unable to quantify the total cost of ownership for their utter failure to comply with the federal health care overhaul," said David A. Shore of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters. "Perhaps more concerning is their complete lack of transparency and accountability on these complex financial issues to residents of the commonwealth."

The experts say with temporary insurance, some new customers who are eligible for some subsidies are essentially getting a free ride now — avoiding hundreds of dollars in premiums and out-of-pocket costs — while the state figures out their eligibility. An unknown number of applicants may not be eligible at all.

"Literally anybody in the commonwealth could sign up right now and be put onto the program," Archambault said.

Exactly who pays for the expenses they rack up in the meantime is still unclear, but Shore predicted all of this will simply drive up health care costs in the end.

"History suggests that the administration will attempt to recoup these monies through assessments on health insurance premiums paid for by small businesses and individual consumers," Shore said. "This is something that all consumers should watch carefully."

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Putnam CEO picked to also run parent co.

Putnam Investments President and CEO Robert L. Reynolds has been tapped to also head the Boston firm's parent company as it combines its retirement businesses to serve the U.S. marketplace with greater breadth.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Winnipeg-based Great-West Lifeco, Inc., announced the appointment of Reynolds as president and CEO of Great-West Lifeco U.S., the company that owns Putnam Investments and Denver-based Great-West Financial. Reynolds also will assume those roles at Great-West Financial after its president and CEO retires in May, but he will continue to hold his positions at Putnam and remain based in Boston.

"Bob has been a driving force of innovation and industry progress in financial services for three decades — having led institutional and retail asset management, insurance and retirement services businesses over the course of his career," said Paul Mahon, president and CEO of Great-West Lifeco.

Under Reynolds' leadership, the retirement businesses of Putnam Investments and Great-West Financial will be combined and offer comprehensive retirement services to small-, mid- and large-sized corporate 401(k) clients, state and municipal employee retirement plans, and public education and nonprofit employee plans. Combined, the two companies have more than 5 million participants and oversee $220 billion in assets.

"We see a huge opportunity to see the businesses collaborate," Reynolds said. "Together we can grow faster than we can grow separately."

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sanctions not seen as damaging to U.S.

Economic sanctions President Obama ordered yesterday against some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest associates will have little impact on the U.S. or global economies, unless they are expanded to restrict Russia's energy exports to Europe, experts said.

"In terms of the global economy, unless gas exports from Russia to Western Europe are part of the sanctions, the impacts will be very small," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.

In his latest round of sanctions over the crisis in Crimea, Obama targeted Putin's chief of staff and 19 others, as well as a major Russian bank that provides them with support.

But that alone will have little, if any, effect on the U.S. economy because Russia is not one of our major trading partners, said Doug Handler, IHS's chief U.S. economist. Russia retaliated, imposing entry bans on U.S. lawmakers and senior White House officials.

"Should there be a collapse in trade volume between the two countries, it would not have a major impact on U.S. economic growth," Handler said. "The greatest impact we'd see would be through Europe."

European Union leaders yesterday announced sanctions on 12 more people linked to Russia's annexation of Crimea. Obama said his administration has been working closely with Europe on more severe actions if Russia continues its incursions into Ukraine.

Yesterday, he signed an executive order giving the U.S. authority to impose sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy.

"This is not our preferred outcome," Obama said. "These sanctions would not only have a significant impact on the Russian economy, but could also be disruptive to the global economy."

Earlier this month, the showdown in Ukraine caused both U.S. and European markets to fall, as the crisis stoked fears of a tit-for-tat campaign of economic sanctions between Western powers and Russia — Massachusetts' 28th largest export market last year, accounting for less than $150 million of the state's exports.

"Russia is a promising market and a trade partner, but not a terribly important one for either the U.S. or Massachusetts," said Andre Mayer, senior vice president at Associated Industries of Massachusetts. "Sanctions should not be damaging to our industries, as long as they are carried out with Western European nations."

Herald wire services contributed to this report.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Acetylon expands with cancer drug

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and MassBio President and CEO Robert K. Coughlin today will mark the expansion of Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a blood-cancer drug, in Boston's Innovation District.

The company, which moved to a 10,000-square-foot space at 70 Fargo St. — also the home of the Boston Herald — with a dozen employees two years ago, has expanded to 13,500 square feet of lab and office space in the same building and expects the number of its employees to reach about 36 by the end of the year, said President and CEO Walter Ogier.

The company's growth will support additional clinical trials of its lead drug, ricolinostat, for multiple myeloma and lymphoma, as well as a pipeline of drug candidates for neurological diseases and sickle cell anemia, Ogier said.

"Acetylon and the path they've taken to get where they are today is a case study in how companies have changed to bring new products to patients," Coughlin said. "They've done it in a very local way."

Ricolinostat's development stems from discoveries made at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and the Broad Institute in Cambridge.

Acetylon has been funded through a combination of nontraditional sources, including $35 million from a group of "super angel investors" such as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and $5 million from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Ogier said. Last July, Acetylon signed a collaboration with Celgene Corp. that included an exclusive option for the future acquisition of Acetylon and $100 million in up-front cash.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jury finds against Herald in libel suit

A Suffolk Superior Court jury yesterday found the Boston Herald responsible for defamation in a case arising from a May 28, 2009 article regarding a prison visit involving Joanna Marinova at Old Colony Prison in Bridgewater earlier that month. The newspaper states that it expects to "ultimately prevail in this matter."

"The Herald has stated since its May 28, 2009 article on a major security breach at Old Colony Prison was published that its article was entirely correct, from its headline to its last line," the Herald said in a statement. "The article was meticulously researched, carefully written and extremely well-documented. We are proud of it, and of the journalist who wrote it."

The verdict, which came in after a 13-day trial and more than two days of deliberations, awarded Marinova $13,052 in compensatory damages and $550,000 on her claim that the Herald negligently caused her emotional distress.

The Herald said it will continue to defend its article and reporter Jessica Van Sack going forward.

"Lawsuits like the one filed here are serious threats not only to the rights of a free and robust press, but to the rights of the citizenry that expects, and depends upon, that free and robust press," the newspaper said. "The Herald fully expects to ultimately prevail in this matter."

The trial was overseen by Superior Court Judge James F. Lang.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fed may end stimulus this fall

The Federal Reserve could end its bond-buying stimulus this fall, and interest rates could start to rise six months later, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said yesterday after leading the Federal Open Market Committee meeting for the first time.

U.S. stocks fell slightly on the news that the Fed's first rate hike could come as soon as April 2015, rather than the second half of 2015, if the Fed continues tapering its "quantitative easing" program. Yesterday, it reduced the monthly bond-buying pace by $10 billion, to $55 billion, as expected.

"The FOMC continues to see sufficient underlying strength in the economy to support ongoing improvements in the labor market," Yellen said.

The Fed now will look at a broader range of data to determine the economy's strength and when to raise rates instead of tying plans to keep them steady to "well past the time" when the unemployment rate drops below 6.5 percent. But, Yellen stressed, that "does not indicate any change in the committee's policy intentions." Its assessment will consider labor market, inflation and financial market indicators, the Fed said.

"They had attempted to offer forward guidance a little over a year ago in terms of the unemployment rate — that's become obsolete," said Jeffrey Frankel, an economist at Harvard's Kennedy School. "There's nothing to suggest in (yesterday's) news that they have yet to come up with a replacement."

The Fed is moving in the right direction with its stimulus reductions, but doing so too slowly, said Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economics professor. "Countries that have printed this much money to pay their bills get into trouble eventually with inflation," he said.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Ticker

Toyota to pay $1.2B to settle criminal probe

Toyota agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle an investigation by the U.S. government, admitting that it hid information about defects that caused Toyota and Lexus vehicles to accelerate unexpectedly and resulted in injuries and deaths.

Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday that the penalty is the largest of its kind ever imposed on an auto company. The four-year criminal investigation focused on whether Toyota promptly reported the problems related to unintended acceleration.

N.Y. plant fined $12.5M for polluting

An industrial plant that knowingly released hundreds of tons of the carcinogen benzene into the air over a five-year span and improperly handled hazardous sludge on the ground was fined $12.5 million yesterday, and a manager was sentenced to a year in jail.

Tonawanda Coke Corp. and its former environmental manager, Mark Kamholz, were convicted of federal environmental crimes last year. The plant, along the Niagara River, burns coal to produce coke, used in steelmaking.

FAA: Boeing 787 jetliners are safe

Boeing's design and manufacture of its cutting-edge 787 jetliner is safe despite the many problems encountered since the plane's rollout, including a fire that forced a redesign of its batteries, according to a report issued jointly yesterday by the Federal Aviation Administration and the aircraft maker.

The yearlong review concluded "the aircraft was soundly designed, met its intended safety level, and that the manufacturer and the FAA had effective processes in place to identify and correct issues that emerged before and after certification," the agency said in a statement.

TODAY

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for February.

 Nike reports quarterly financial results after the market closes.

TOMORROW

 Tiffany reports quarterly financial results before the market opens.

THE SHUFFLE

NVNA Works, a nonprofit, private-pay home care agency, has named Ellen Allen to its board of directors. She is currently chairwoman of both the Plymouth County Advisory Board and the Norwell Board of Selectmen.

L Kristina Lupo has joined the 451 Marketing search marketing team as account director. With more than 12 years experience in advertising and radio, Lupo will be responsible for managing the development and execution of integrated search campaigns for 451 Marketing's clients.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Partners delays acquisition of South Shore Hospital as AG investigates

Partners HealthCare is holding off on its proposed acquisition of South Shore Hospital in Weymouth as the attorney general's office continues to investigate the deal.The delay also applies to the doctors group Harbor Medical Associates. In a joint statement, Partners and Attorney General Martha Coakley's office said they "are engaged in discussions concerning the transactions. While that process is ongoing, Partners has agreed not to close either transaction."

Last month the Health Policy Commission voted to refer the South Shore deal to Coakley's office, citing concerns the merger would lead to higher health care costs and would not benefit consumers.

Partners, the largest health-care provider in the state, has argued the deal will allow it to streamline operations and cut costs over time by shifting to a more patient-centered care model. Partners includes Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's among its hospitals,

Partners and Coakley's office declined to comment beyond the statement yesterday.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

FedEx profit up, but misses expectations

DALLAS — FedEx Corp. says its latest quarterly profit rose 5 percent from a year ago despite storms that raised the company's costs, but the results were below analysts' expectations.

The company's ground-shipping segment is doing better, but the express-delivery business is flat and customers continue to shift to slower, cheaper services for international shipments.

The package-delivery giant said Wednesday that net income in the quarter that ended Feb. 28 rose to $378 million, or $1.23 per share, from $361 million, or $1.13 per share, a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $1.45 per share.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $11.30 billion from $11 billion, missing Wall Street's forecast of $11.43 billion.

The weak results drove FedEx to lower its forecast of full-year earnings. However, FedEx expects fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of between $2.25 and $2.50 per share, which leaves room to beat analysts' prediction of $2.34 per share.

FedEx said that weather reduced operating income by $125 million in the December-to-February third quarter. Snow, ice and freezing temperatures slowed the company's trucks and planes and raised costs for everything from de-icing to overtime. Shipments dropped off during storms because some retail shippers in the East and Midwest closed.

Rival United Parcel Service Co. struggled to keep up with peak volumes just before Christmas — traffic was heavier and later in the season than UPS expected.

FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith said that his company handled December loads but will be careful in managing residential e-commerce shipments.

"The biggest challenge is the fact that so much of the business comes in such a short period of time, and obviously it is not possible to make these enormous capital investments for two or three weeks out of the year," Smith said on a conference call with analysts. "You can clearly go broke trying to deliver non-compensatory packages into people's homes."

Customers are limiting spending on higher-priced services. FedEx said that it was continuing to see a shift toward less profitable international services — the volume of international economy-class shipments rose 8 percent.

The Memphis, Tenn.-based company is still buying back its own stock, which reduced the number of shares by 3 percent from a year ago and boosted earnings per share.

Helane Becker, an analyst at Cowen and Co., said that investors would "give the company some slack" for the disappointing third quarter because of the slightly upbeat forecast for the May quarter and FedEx's moves to boost profit in its big express operations.

FedEx shares rose 56 cents to $139.13 in morning trading Wednesday. They began the day down 3.6 percent for this year after gaining 57 percent in 2013.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rough winter hurts General Mills 3Q sales

MINNEAPOLIS — Rough winter weather took a bite out of General Mills' fiscal third-quarter sales, and the cereal maker's results missed Wall Street expectations.

The maker of Cheerios, Yoplait and Betty Crocker products said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter net income rose 3 percent, free of a charge that hurt its results a year earlier.

For the three months that ended Feb. 23, the company earned $410.6 million, or 64 cents per share. That's up from $398.4 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier.

Last year's third quarter included a $6.1 million charge.

Removing certain items, earnings were 62 cents per share. Analysts expected 64 cents per share, according to a FactSet survey.

Revenue dipped 1 percent to $4.38 billion from $4.43 billion, hindered by bad winter weather, lower volumes and unfavorable foreign currency translation.

Wall Street was calling for $4.41 billion in revenue.

U.S. retail sales declined 2 percent as the company dealt with higher dairy costs and increased marketing and merchandising costs for its domestic yogurt business.

The yogurt business has been challenged by upstart competitors such as Chobani selling Greek yogurt.

Sales for the conveniences stores and food-service unit dropped 7 percent due to the winter weather and lower prices on some product lines.

Sales improved in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, which offset weakness in Latin America and Canada.

General Mills Inc. maintained its forecast for strong double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter. The Minneapolis company also reaffirmed its fiscal 2014 guidance for adjusted earnings between $2.87 and $2.90 per share.

Analysts predict full-year earnings of $2.87 per share.

Shares of General Mills rose 30 cents to $51.01 in morning trading.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

IBM's Watson to help sequence cancer DNA

NEW YORK — IBM and its Watson cloud computing system are partnering with the New York Genome Center to help it sequence DNA for the treatment of brain cancer.

New York Genome will use IBM's "Jeopardy!" champion system to sequence the DNA of cancer tumors at much faster rate than would be possible if done by a human being.

Dr. Robert Darnell, the Genome Center's president, CEO and scientific director, says that once doctors know a tumor's genetic makeup, they can determine the best course of treatment for a particular patient.

Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. already has a partnership with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where Watson is also used to help treat cancer.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

French court upholds prison for rogue trader

PARIS — France's highest court upheld Wednesday a prison sentence for one-time rogue trader Jerome Kerviel but threw out the 4.9 billion euros ($7 billion) in civil damages he'd been ordered to pay back.

Kerviel was convicted in 2010 of carrying out one of the biggest trading frauds in history that almost took down his bank, Societe Generale, with 4.9 billion euros in losses. He sees himself as a victim of a system that turned a blind eye to his illegal trades as long as they made money for the bank.

Kerviel had appealed the sentence of three years in prison, which had already been upheld once before by a lower appeals court.

In a statement, the high court said Wednesday that the lower court decision had not taken into account faults committed by Kerviel's former employer, French bank Societe Generale, when it ordered ordered Kerviel to repay the bank's entire losses in the fraud.

Kerviel is currently in Italy, walking back to Paris on a pilgrimage after meeting the pope. Television images showed him wearing a red jacket and red backpack, walking swiftly and trying to ignore the numerous journalists trailing him. He made no statement.

Outside the courtroom in Paris, Kerviel's lawyers claimed a partial victory.

"The errors of Societe Generale were at the heart of the concerns expressed by the judicial system, and it appears at the least surprising to lock up Jerome Kerviel when the existence of significant errors on behalf of his employer — and the consequences of these errors on events attributed to him — were affirmed," said Patrice Spinosi.

The high court ordered the civil damages to be retried by an appeals court in Versailles.

The bank's lawyer Jean Veil said that in the new trial the bank will explain that they knew "from the moment that these events were discovered, that there were errors in our system, which we've repaired and spent hundreds of millions to be able to change our control system."

The appeals court had upheld the October 2010 conviction of Kerviel for forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer use for covering up bets worth nearly 50 billion euros — more than the market value of the entire bank. It sentenced him to a five-year prison term — with two years suspended — and ordered he pay 4.9 billion euros in damages.

An internal report by the bank, however, found managers failed to follow up on 74 different alarms about Kerviel's activities.

Banned for life from working in the financial industry, Kerviel was making 2,300 euros a month ($3,150 at the time) as a computer consultant after leaving the bank. Societe Generale had paid him less than 100,000 euros a year ($155,700) with bonuses, a modest sum for the 1.4 billion euros in profits he earned for the bank in 2007.

A few of the bank's executives resigned in the scandal's aftermath, including longtime Chairman Daniel Bouton. Kerviel's superiors were questioned in the probe, but none of them faced charges.

___

Follow Greg Keller on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Greg_Keller

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks barely higher ahead of Fed decision

NEW YORK — Stocks inched higher early Wednesday as investors awaited the results of the Federal Reserve's first policy meeting under its new chair, Janet Yellen. Technology stocks struggled after Oracle reported earnings and revenue that fell short of what investors were expecting.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,351 as of 10 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose a point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,873.53 and the Nasdaq composite was essentially unchanged at 4,333.

YELLEN'S DEBUT: Investors will be watching closely for any hints of how Yellen will differ from her predecessor, Ben Bernanke. The central bank is expected to announce a further reduction of its economic stimulus program, reducing its monthly bond purchases from $65 billion a month to $55 billion. Yellen also will preside over her first news conference as Fed chair this afternoon.

HOMEBUILDERS: KB Homes, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, jumped $1.44, or 8 percent, to $19.12 after the company reported much higher profits than investors were expecting. KB earned 12 cents a share, four cents more than analysts had forecast. The company also said the average selling price of a new home rose 12 percent from last year. Other homebuilders also rose. D.R. Horton, PulteGroup and Toll Brothers gained 2 percent or more.

ORACLE LAGS: Technology giant Oracle fell $1.07, or 3 percent, to $37.78. The database software maker reported a slight rise in revenue and profits from a year ago, but the results came in short of analysts' predictions. Oracle's results dragged down IBM, SAP and Microsoft.

BONDS AND COMMODITIES: Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.69 percent from 2.67 percent late Tuesday. The price of oil edged up 10 cents to $98.98 a barrel. Gold fell $15 to $1,343 an ounce.

EUROPEAN AND ASIA: Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent and France's CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was trading around the breakeven mark. In Japan, the Nikkei rose 0.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2 percent.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wal-Mart to accept video game trade-ins in stores

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart plans to expand its video game trade-in program to its stores, offering store credit for thousands of video games.

The world's largest retailer plans to let video game owners trade in used video games online and in Wal-Mart stores for store credit but not cash. The credit can be used in both Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. Previously they offered trade-ins on a more limited basis online.

It will also offer refurbished used games in its stores for the first time. Wal-Mart has been seeking new ways to boost revenue as its low-income customers remain under pressure due to a weak jobs picture and shaky economy. In its most recent fourth quarter, net income dropped 21 percent, and the Bentonville, Ark.-based company gave a subdued forecast for the current year.

"Gaming continues to be an important business for us and we're actively taking aim at the $2 billion pre-owned video game opportunity," said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart U.S.

In a call with journalists, Wal-Mart executives said CE Exchange, the company that Wal-Mart works with on its trade-in program for smartphones and tablets launched in the fall, will also be in charge of the new video game program.

The value for each trade-in video game will vary by the title, console and age of the game. The amount will range from just a few dollars for older games to $35 and more for newer ones.

Retailers from Amazon to Best Buy offer used video trade in programs, but the Wal-Mart's new program is the biggest threat to GameStop, which has the largest and most well-established video game trade-in program.

Wal-Mart made a point of saying that credit offered for video games can be used on anything from groceries to a new bike, rather than just other video games.

GameStop shares fell $1.84, or 4.6 percent, to $37.89 in morning trading. The stock had been down 19 percent since the beginning of the year.

But one analyst said the new program isn't necessarily a death knell for GameStop. Other retailers have tried to take business in the used game market with "modest" success, said Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian. In contrast, GameStop has consolidated its market share of video game retail sales and has loyalty among video game customers and a broad inventory of new and used video games.

"History suggests the competition is unlikely to capture meaningful share," he wrote in a client note.

Wal-Mart shares rose 23 cents to $74.92 in morning trading.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Irish company to build sandwich factory at Quonset

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An Irish company says it plans to hire 370 people and build a new sandwich-making factory at Rhode Island's Quonset Business Park.

Greencore Group said Tuesday that it will close facilities in Newbury and Brockton, Mass., and move operations to Quonset.

The Dublin-based company is a leading manufacturer of convenience foods in the United Kingdom and the United States. It employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.

The company says the new factory will better enable it to grow and serve existing markets in New England, as well as develop opportunities in New York.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee calls the news "a good day for Rhode Island," which has had one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation for years.

The factory is scheduled to open in spring 2015.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cambridge start-up Zulip aquired by Dropbox

Who needs name recognition when you've got Dropbox?

Zulip, a stealthy enterprise messaging company that is still in private beta, has been acquired by the cloud giant, according to TechCrunch. Zulip, which makes a suite of messaging apps, was founded by four MIT grads and MassChallenge alums. Zulip's product is still closed to the public, but is designed to change how people work together at companies.

The Cambridge-based company is "brand brand new," according to investor Paul English, who spoke to reporters in Boston after an event this morning. He said Zulip was started around 6 months ago.

"In some ways I'm disappointed, I wanted to see them go forward on their own, but I also love Dropbox the company, so I'm waiting to see what they do there," English said.

He said he invested "maybe $50 thousand" in Zulip, calling it a "good deal" for him. English first met Zulip's founding team, including CEO Jeff Arnold, as a judge for MassChallenge when the team was working on Ksplice, a company that was aquired by Oracle in 2011.

"I fell in love with the team, they had a really good dynamic between them," English said. He said he is not sure whether the Zulip team will stay in Cambridge or move to Dropbox headquarters in San Francisco.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kanye West pleads no contest in battery case

LOS ANGELES — Kanye West pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery against a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport in a special plea in which he maintains his innocence.

West entered the plea Monday through his attorney and did not attend the court hearing. He was sentenced to two years of probation, 24 anger management therapy sessions and 250 hours of community service.

The rapper did not reach a civil settlement with the paparazzo, and his plea cannot be used against him in a civil lawsuit.

West was charged with misdemeanor counts of battery and grand theft after an altercation at LAX with photographer Daniel Ramos in July.

Ramos claimed West punched him in an unprovoked attack and wrestled his camera to the ground during the scuffle.

Ramos told the court that West should be in jail. He said he was still taking medication for the injuries he suffered.

"If I did what he did to me, I'd be behind bars," he said. "I was doing my job and he broke the law."

The photographer said he is fearful of retaliation because of comments West made on the "Jimmy Kimmel" show in October. When asked about paparazzi, West said, "It's not safe for you in this zoo. Never think that I'm not from Chicago for one second."

Ramos is suing West and attended Monday's hearing accompanied by his lawyer, Gloria Allred.

Prosecutors declined to file felony charges against West, but city prosecutors decided to pursue misdemeanor charges. Each count carried a penalty of up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

West was arrested in September 2008 after another scuffle with photographers inside a terminal at LAX, but the cases were dismissed after he completed anger management treatment and agreed to pay the photographers for broken equipment.

Earlier this year, West reached a civil settlement with a man he was accused of assaulting in a Beverly Hills medical office. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office declined to file charges, citing conflicting witness statements and the civil settlement.

The Jan. 13 altercation occurred after the 18-year-old man used a racial slur in an argument with West's fiancee, Kim Kardashian, according to a document prepared by a prosecutor. The reality starlet called West and told him about the incident and the rapper came to the building and attacked the man in a chiropractor's office, the document stated.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks gain after reports on economy, Ukraine

NEW YORK — The stock market rose Tuesday after some encouraging news on the economy and signs that Russia is seeking to ease tensions with the West on Ukraine.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose nine points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,867 as of 11:05 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 84 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,331. The Nasdaq composite climbed 31 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,312.

UKRAINE CRISIS: In a speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Russian Parliament not to believe those who say that Russia will look to take over other areas of Ukraine. On Sunday, a majority of voters in Ukraine's region of Crimea voted to break from that country and join Russia. Stocks fell last week as tensions rose between Russia and the U.S. and the European Union over the Ukraine.

"As long as Putin seems to be satisfied with what he has, that's the key," said Joe Quinlan, chief market strategist for U.S. Trust. "It gives the markets less to worry about in terms of an escalation of the crisis."

BOUNCE BACK: The stock market is recovering this week after logging its biggest weekly drop in almost two months. The S&P 500 has gained 1.5 percent so far this week, after dropping almost 2 percent last week on concerns about slowing growth in China and tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

HOUSING: Home builders rose after the Commerce Department said that applications for building permits reached their highest level in four months. Beazer Homes USA rose 63 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $20.68 and Ryland Group rose 96 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $41.17.

PRICE WATCH: The government reported that cheaper oil and gas kept U.S. consumer prices in check last month, despite a big rise in the cost of food. It was the latest sign of weak inflation. The Labor Department says the consumer price index increased 0.1 percent in February. In the past 12 months, prices have risen just 1.1 percent, down from 1.6 percent in January and the smallest in five months.

FED MEETING: The Federal Reserve will start its second meeting of the year on Tuesday. The meeting will end Wednesday and will be followed by an early afternoon press conference by Fed Chair Janet Chairman. Most analysts expect the Fed to continue to reduce its economic stimulus by cutting back on its bond purchases.

GAME STOPPED: GameStop fell $1.86, or 4.7 percent, to $37.88 after Wal-Mart said it plans to expand its video game trade-in program to its stores. The world's largest retailer plans to let video game owners trade in used video games online and in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores for store credit but not cash. Previously they offered trade-ins on a more limited basis online.

BONDS AND COMMODITIES: In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged from Monday at 2.69 percent. The price of oil rose 94 cents, or 1 percent, to $99.02 a barrel. Gold fell $16.50, or 1.2 percent, to $1,356.40 an ounce.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Online food service Just Eat to float in London

LONDON — Just Eat, an online food ordering service, has announced plans to float its shares on the London Stock Exchange.

The company, which lets customers order takeout food from local restaurants, plans to raise 100 million pounds ($166 million) in an initial public offering to expand its service.

The firm, which was founded in 2001 in Denmark, operates in 13 countries including Britain, France, Canada, Ireland and Spain. It has been based in London since 2006.

Just Eat generated revenue of 96.8 million pounds in 2013, up 62 percent compared with 2012.

The company estimates that the global food delivery market is worth 58 billion pounds globally, with online activity growing quickly.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Unemployment rates drop in 43 US states in January

WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates fell in 43 U.S. states in January as more Americans began looking for work and most quickly found jobs.

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose in just one state — Iowa — where the rate increased to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent. That's far below the national rate of 6.6 percent that month.

Twenty-three states reported more hiring in January, while 27 said that the number of jobs fell. Harsh winter weather weighed on hiring nationwide, with employers adding just 129,000 jobs that month, below the average monthly gain of about 180,000 in the previous two years.

Rhode Island had the highest unemployment rate, at 9.2 percent, while North Dakota had the lowest rate, at 2.6 percent.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

US homebuilder confidence edges higher in March

U.S. homebuilders' confidence in the housing market edged higher this month, reflecting improved demand for new homes as the traditional spring home-selling season ramps up.

But the outlook for sales of single-family homes over the next six months dimmed slightly as builders continue to grapple with a shortage of skilled workers, ready-to-build land and rising building materials costs.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday rose to 47. That's up from February's reading of 46.

Readings below 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as poor rather than good.

The overall index had been above 50 from June through January, reflecting a strengthening housing market. The latest reading, based on responses from 296 builders, comes as the spring home-selling season gets going. The season typically sets the pattern for residential hiring and building construction in the ensuing months.

A surprisingly strong pace of new-home sales in January boosted hopes that the spring buying season will be solid enough to lift the overall economy. Sales jumped 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000. That's the fastest pace in more than five years.

The strength in purchases followed a slowdown that had been linked to higher mortgage rates and severe winter weather.

Despite the sharp increase in sales of new homes in January, many builders are having trouble finding skilled workers and land parcels cleared for new construction.

"A number of factors are raising builder concerns over meeting demand for the spring buying season," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist. "These include a shortage of buildable lots and skilled workers, rising materials prices and an extremely low inventory of new homes for sale."

Those factors and the lingering impact of severe winter weather weighed on a survey of builders' expectations for sales over the next six months. The March reading fell one point to 53, the lowest level since May.

Even so, builders' view of current sales conditions for single-family homes rose one point this month to 52, while a measure of traffic by prospective buyers increased two points to 33.

Housing, while still a long way from the boom of several years ago, has been recovering over the past two years. Residential construction has grown at double-digit rates over the past two years and contributed about one-third of a percentage point to overall economic growth last year.

Many economists predict that sales of both new and existing homes will rise in 2014, lifted by an improving economy and steady job growth.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the homebuilders association.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Microsoft releases OneNote for Macs, makes it free

LOS ANGELES — Microsoft Corp. on Monday released a version of its OneNote note-taking software for Macs and added new features and a free tier for all of the software's users in moves clearly targeted at up-and-coming productivity software rival Evernote.

The moves offer more consumers a taste of its Office 365 suite of software, which normally costs $99 a year. The free version of OneNote keeps some functions that give it an edge over the free tier of Evernote, including offline access to notes and the ability for multiple people to work on the same note simultaneously.

New Microsoft users also get 7 gigabytes of free online storage through its OneDrive cloud storage service. Free Evernote users are limited to uploading 60 megabytes of data per month. Evernote's premium users, who pay $45 a year, can upload 1 GB of data per month.

Some new features play catch-up to what Evernote offered already, including a OneNote Clipper button for Web browsers that saves Web pages as notes, and a universal email address me@onenote.com that gives users a single destination to email documents to themselves for saving as notes. Evernote has its own clipper and an individualized email address for sending notes to oneself.

People who purchase a full Office 365 Home Premium subscription — which includes the Outlook email program, Excel spreadsheet software and PowerPoint presentation tool — will be able to use OneNote functions that are better integrated with other Office programs and get 20 GB of cloud storage. Business users who pay to subscribe will have access to change history and tools that protect sensitive information.

The moves are part of a push by Microsoft to open up the company to working with other software platforms beyond Windows and to emphasize its cloud offerings. While the changes were in place before new CEO Satya Nadella took over in February, he fully supported the moves, said David Rasmussen, group program manager for OneNote.

"We want to actually remove all barriers for people to adopt this," Rasmussen said.

Microsoft didn't completely open up its latest software developments to other platforms, however.

One new function, which it calls Office Lens, allows users to take pictures of documents or whiteboards. The program squares up and cleans up the image before saving it as a note, making words recognizable and searchable through character recognition software. The feature comes as a free app only available for Windows Phone.

The premium tier of Evernote has a similar feature that allows users to take photos of business cards. The app automatically saves the information as a contact entry.

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama announces sanctions on Russian officials

WASHINGTON — In the most comprehensive sanctions against Russia since the end of the Cold War, President Barack Obama on Monday froze the U.S. assets of seven Russian officials, including top advisers to President Vladimir Putin, for their support of Crimea's vote to secede from Ukraine.

Obama said he was moving to "increase the cost" to Russia, and he warned that more people could face financial punishment.

"If Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions," Obama said. He added in a brief statement from the White House that he still believes there could be a diplomatic resolution to the crisis and that the sanctions can be calibrated based on whether Russia escalates or pulls back in its involvement.

The Treasury Department also is imposing sanctions on four Ukrainians — including former President Viktor Yanukovych and others who have supported Crimea's separation — under existing authority under a previous Obama order.

"We are imposing sanctions on specific individuals responsible for undermining the sovereignty, territorial integrity and government of Ukraine. We're making it clear that there are consequences for their actions," Obama said.

Senior administration officials also said they are developing evidence against individuals in the arms industry and those they described as "Russian government cronies" to target their assets.

The administration officials said Putin wasn't sanctioned despite his support of the Crimean referendum because the U.S. doesn't usually begin with heads of state. But the officials, speaking to reporters on a conference call on the condition they not be quoted by name, say those sanctioned are very close to Putin and that the sanctions are "designed to hit close to home."

The U.S. announcement came shortly after the European Union announced travel bans and asset freezes on 21 people they have linked to the unrest in Crimea. Obama administration officials say there is some overlap between the U.S. and European list, which wasn't immediately made public. Biden was heading to Europe Monday and Obama plans to go next week. The president said that demonstrating a "solemn commitment to our collective defense" as NATO allies will be at the top of the agenda.

The sanctions were expected after residents in Crimea voted overwhelmingly Sunday in favor of the split. Crimea's parliament on Monday declared the region an independent state. The administration officials say there is some concrete evidence that some ballots for the referendum arrived pre-marked in many cities and "there are massive anomalies in the vote." The officials did not say what that evidence was.

The United States, European Union and others say the action violates the Ukrainian constitution and international law and took place in the strategic peninsula under duress of Russian military intervention. Putin maintained that the vote was legal and consistent with the right of self-determination, according to the Kremlin.

The administration officials said they will be looking at additional sanctions if Russia moves to annex Crimea or takes other action. Those targeted will have all U.S. assets frozen and no one in the United States can do business with them under Obama's order.

"Today's actions send a strong message to the Russian government that there are consequences for their actions that violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including their actions supporting the illegal referendum for Crimean separation," the White House said in a statement.

"Today's actions also serve as notice to Russia that unless it abides by its international obligations and returns its military forces to their original bases and respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the United States is prepared to take additional steps to impose further political and economic costs," the statement said.

Administration officials say those Obama targeted also are key political players in Russia also responsible for the country's tightening of human rights and civil liberties in the country. Obama's order targets were:

— Vladislav Surkov, a Putin aide

— Sergey Glazyev, a Putin adviser

— Leonid Slutsky, a state Duma deputy

— Andrei Klishas, member of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

— Valentina Matviyenko, head of the Federation Council

— Dmitry Rogozin, deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation.

— Yelena Mizulina, a state Duma deputy

The four newly targeted by the Treasury Department are:

— Yanukovych, who fled Ukraine for Russia and has supported the dispatch of Russian troops into Ukraine

— Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of Crimea separatist group Ukrainian Choice and a close friend of Putin

— Sergey Aksyonov, prime minister of Crimea's regional government

— Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the Crimean parliament

___

Associated Press writer Nancy Benac contributed to this report.

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More