Mass. Gov. to head trade mission to Mexico, Panama

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick is planning another trade mission, this time to Panama and Mexico.

The governor said in a statement on Monday that he would lead a delegation of state officials and business leaders on the March 17-22 trip to Panama City and Mexico City.

Patrick said the goal of the visits is to strengthen current relationships and build new ones in the emerging economies of the two countries.

The governor has embarked on a series of international trade missions in recent years, the most recent one in December to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The visits have been paid for by a combination of private and public money.

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Black Twitter growing into online force

WASHINGTON — The hashtag gave it away.

When a Florida jury convicted Michael Dunn of attempted murder, but not actual murder, in the shooting death of black teenager Jordan Davis, the hashtag #dangerousblackkids popped up on Twitter. Users posted photos of black babies and toddlers, spoofing the fear that Dunn testified he felt before opening fire on a car full of teens at a convenience store.

That hashtag was the calling card of Black Twitter, a small corner of the social media giant where an unabashedly black spin on life gets served up in 140-character installments.

Black Twitter holds court on pretty much everything from President Barack Obama to the latest TV reality show antics. But Black Twitter can also turn activist quickly. When it does, things happen — like the cancellation of a book deal for a juror in the George Zimmerman trial, or the demise of Zimmerman's subsequent attempt to star at celebrity boxing.

Catchy hashtags are a hallmark and give clues that the tweeting in question is a Black Twitter thing.

"It's kind of like the black table in the lunchroom, sort of, where people with like interests and experiences, and ways of talking and communication, lump together and talk among themselves," said Tracy Clayton, a blogger and editor at Buzzfeed known on Twitter as @brokeymcpoverty.

Black Twitter is not a special website or a smartphone app. The hashtag #blacktwitter itself won't necessarily lead you to it. It doesn't exactly stick out among the trending topics on Twitter, even though it's been known to cause a topic or two to trend. It is not exclusively black — there are blacks who don't participate in it, and people of other races who do.

"Black Twitter brings the fullness of black humanity into the social network and that is why it has become so fascinating," said Kimberly C. Ellis, who has a doctorate in American and Africana Studies, tweets as @drgoddess and is studying Black Twitter for her upcoming book, "The Bombastic Brilliance of Black Twitter."

According to a Pew Research Center report, while similar numbers of blacks and whites use the Internet — 80 percent and 87 percent, respectively — 22 percent of those blacks who were online used Twitter in 2013, compared with 16 percent of online whites.

Meredith Clark, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who is writing her dissertation on Black Twitter, likened it to "Freedom's Journal," the first African-American newspaper in the United States. On that publication's first front page in 1827, it declared: "We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us."

"If you are from a particularly marginalized community or one where others have spoken for you, but you have not had the agency to really speak for yourself or make your truth known, then it is absolutely necessary that in any instance you can take on that agency that you do so," said Clark, who tweets from @meredithclark. "And so that is what you see happening in Black Twitter."

Mainstream U.S. media first took serious notice of Black Twitter last year, when it abruptly rose up to scuttle a book deal for a juror in the trial of Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. That was the first time that blacks used Twitter "in a very powerful and political way," said Houston black social media consultant Crystal Washington.

Most recently, Black Twitter reared its head through hashtags like #stopthefight, to protest a proposed celebrity boxing match supposedly between Zimmerman and rapper DMX. The promoter quickly canceled after a flood of Twitter complaints.

Such death-by-Twitter activism could very well be the harbinger of a new civil rights strategy, Ellis said. She noted that a short amount of time elapsed between the moment Black Twitter noticed the juror's book deal and the moment it was called off. The same was true of the Zimmerman boxing match.

"Ask the NAACP how long it would have taken had that been one of their initiatives," Ellis said.

The NAACP employed the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt for its unsuccessful attempt to halt the execution of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, and the hashtag #OscarGrant on tweets about its activism over the police killing of black teenager Oscar Grant, whose life was later documented in the movie "Fruitvale Station."

"We realized more than anyone that we had to go in that direction and we've done it," NAACP interim President Lorraine Miller said of the NAACP's social media use during a recent appearance on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program.

Black Twitter arguably had its biggest field day last year with embattled celebrity cook Paula Deen, whose admission that she used racial slurs in the past inspired the #paulasbestdishes hashtag, featuring recipe titles such as "Massa-Roni and Cheese" and "We Shall Over-Crumb Cake."

Washington said Black Twitter's playful take on the Deen controversy may have been a dry run to the Zimmerman juror takedown.

"I'm not sure that Twitter users, especially African-Americans, would have zeroed in on the juror's book deal had it not been for the aftermath of #paulasbestdishes just weeks before," Washington said.

___

Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland

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Sbarro again files for Ch. 11 reorganization

NEW YORK — Sbarro said Monday that it is filing for Chapter 11 reorganization, the struggling pizza chain's second trip through bankruptcy court in less than three years.

The filing comes after the company shuttered 155 of its U.S. locations last month. Sbarro had cited declining traffic in the mall food courts where it does much of its business for the closures. The company did not immediately provide details on whether any marketing or in-store changes were planned to help update its image and boost sales.

It says it still has more than 800 locations worldwide.

Sbarro also filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2011 and emerged a few months later, saying that it significantly cut its debt and received a capital infusion. A new CEO then led a push to revitalize the chain's image by touting new recipes and ovens. But the efforts apparently didn't take hold.

Sbarro, based in Melville, N.Y., says its strategy of store closings and balance sheet restructuring will improve its profitability and reduce outstanding debt by more than 80 percent. It said its filing is designed to "allow for a quick exit from bankruptcy" as it executes a broader plan developed by the new management team.

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World has new top banana as Chiquita, Fyffes merge

DUBLIN — Yes, they have more bananas.

Fruit supply companies Chiquita of the United States and Fyffes of Ireland said Monday they had agreed to merge to create the world's biggest banana supplier.

The all-shares agreement means the two companies will become ChiquitaFyffes PLC, be traded on the New York Stock Exchange and be headquartered in Dublin, a more tax-efficient corporate base.

The companies said the deal, which requires shareholder and regulatory approval in Ireland and the United States, would generate $40 million in pre-tax savings through more efficient operations.

Current Fyffes and Chiquita shareholders each would own half of a combined operation expected to generate $4.6 billion in annual sales.

The two companies said the merger would create a banana behemoth that ships more than 160 million crates worldwide, about a quarter more than either of their main rivals, Dole and Del Monte. ChiquitaFyffes also would become the world's No. 3 distributor of pineapples and melons.

Shares in both companies surged, particularly Dublin-based Fyffes, because Monday's deal valued Fyffes shares at 1.22 euros ($1.66).

Fyffes rose 46 percent to 1.30 euros ($1.80) on the Irish Stock Exchange. Chiquita rose nearly 13 percent to $12.20 in New York.

Fyffes is Europe's biggest banana importer and the oldest industry brand, dating to 1929; Irish wits have long cited the company's presence here as proof that Ireland really is a banana republic. The company enjoys exclusive export rights for the Central American country of Belize.

David McCann, Fyffes' chairman, will become chief executive officer of the combined company, while the chief executive of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Chiquita, Ed Lonergan, will become its chairman.

Lonergan said their "natural strategic partnership" would "provide customers with a more diverse product mix and choice."

However, shoppers used to seeing bananas bearing the bold blue stickers of Chiquita or Fyffes aren't expected to notice any difference there. The two brands are staying separate.

___

Online:

Chiquita-Fyffes statement, http://bit.ly/1kaxkxy

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Stocks down on discouraging news from Asia

A dash of discouraging economic news from China and Japan put a damper on the U.S. stock market Monday, adding to concerns that global growth could be slowing.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,867 at 11:03 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 113 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,339. The Nasdaq composite lost 25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,311.

CHINA WORRIES: China's exports slumped 18 percent in February, reinforcing fears about the outlook for the world's second-largest economy after the United States. China's official 2014 economic growth target of 7.5 percent, announced last week by Premier Li Keqiang, assumes trade also will grow by 7.5 percent. But customs data show combined imports and exports so far this year have shrunk by 4.8 percent.

THE QUOTE: "The driver this morning has been the economic numbers coming out of China. Their trade numbers were quite disappointing and that's driving the market lower," said David Chalupnik, head of equities for Nuveen Asset Management.

JAPAN TOO: Meanwhile, Japan, the world's third-largest economy, reported a record current account deficit for January and lowered its economic growth estimate for the October-December quarter to 0.7 percent from 1 percent.

IN THE RED: The downbeat economic report from China was hurting several industry sectors heavily reliant on Chinese economic growth, in particular: materials, mining equipment, energy and industrials, which led the decline in the 10 sectors of the S&P 500 index.

TOP BANANA: Chiquita agreed to combine with Dublin-based Fyffes to become the world's top banana company. The stock-for-stock transaction announced Monday creates a global banana and fresh produce company with $4.6 billion in annual revenues. Chiquita rose $1.33, or 12.2 percent, to $12.15.

SEPARATE WAYS: Chemical company FMC plans to separate into two publicly traded companies. The "New FMC" will include the agricultural and health and nutrition businesses, while "FMC Minerals" will include the current minerals segment that houses the alkali chemicals and lithium businesses. FMC rose $3.81, or 4.9 percent, to $81.68.

FROZEN ARCHES: McDonald's fell 46 cents to $95.04. The company said that a key sales metric dropped 1.4 percent in the U.S. last month, which McDonald's attributed to severe winter weather. The world's largest hamburger chain was also hindered by difficult winter weather conditions in January.

EUROPE: The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was barely changed. Germany's DAX fell 0.3 percent. The CAC-40 in France edged up 0.5 percent.

ASIAN MARKETS: Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite plunged 2.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.8 percent. A notable mover was Malaysia Airlines, which fell sharply following the disappearance of one its jets en route to Beijing.

BOND WATCH: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.78 percent from 2.79 percent as investors moved money into bonds. The yield, which affects rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, has been rising steadily this month from a low of 2.60 percent on March 3.

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Device aids weight loss

Doctors at three Massachusetts hospitals are recruiting people battling Type 2 diabetes and obesity for a clinical trial of a medical device that has been approved in other countries to reduce blood sugar and body weight without the need for the kind of weight-loss surgery that more than 200,000 Americans undergo each year.

Made by Lexington-based GI Dynamics, the EndoBarrier is a thin, flexible, tube-shaped liner placed via the mouth during a brief endoscopic procedure and inserted in the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine, just beyond the stomach, said Dr. Lee M. Kaplan, the trial's lead investigator and director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Nutrition Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"The food you eat goes down the middle of the tube," Kaplan said, "but the tube blocks interactions between the food and hormone secretions," which can affect insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism, satiety and food intake.

In commercial use outside the U.S., the device has been shown to achieve as much as a 30 percent reduction in glucose levels within the first week and a 10 percent to 20 percent body-weight loss within the 12-month period for which it has been approved for use in countries including England, France, Germany and Australia, said Stuart Randle, GI Dynamics' president and CEO.

"No one yet knows why, when you bypass the first section of the intestine, these hormones change so dramatically and so immediately," Randle said.

The U.S. trial, which currently is enrolling people at 22 sites, including MGH, Boston Medical Center and UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, will end in two years and, if it shows that the EndoBarrier is safe and effective, the Food and Drug Administration could approve the device in about a year.

If it does, the EndoBarrier could offer new hope to the 26 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes in this country, including approximately 360,000 adults in Massachusetts, where the disease each week causes an average of 22 deaths, 38 lower-leg amputations, 13 new cases of end-stage renal disease and five new 
cases of blindness, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

"Obesity and diabetes are twin epidemics that remain out of control, and while we have good medical therapies for diabetes and some good therapies for obesity, they don't always work," Kaplan said. "For those patients who need additional therapy, this device may provide a valuable new option. But testing it is critical."

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Buick is showing classic symptoms of vapor lock

Here is a problem that I have fought for almost two years. My 2001 Buick Regal will not start after a shutdown and heat soak. The car has 128,000 miles, never shuts down while driving, starts and runs perfectly in the morning. When it won't restart, you can crank it until the battery runs down, but the car won't start. After shutting the engine off it will start immediately — if you don't wait too long! Engine operating temperature is normal, it never overheats and has a new thermostat and ECT sensor. There are no intake manifold leaks, either vacuum or coolant. Fuel pressure is normal, but a new regulator was installed along with a new MAF sensor. In a no-start condition the spark will jump a gap of at least one inch at the coil.

In the summer I carry a jug of water in the trunk (in winter I use snow) and in a no-start condition I pour about a quart of water on the intake plenum. The car will start right away and will run perfectly until the next no-start condition.

I can't recall a better description of vapor lock. The proper term is fuel percolation, which describes residual engine heat boiling the ready fuel supply in the fuel rails near the plenum/intake manifold. When this occurs, fuel pressure fades due to the aerated fuel disrupting fuel delivery from the injectors. Even though fuel pressure may be "normal" when tested with the engine running, I suspect fuel pressure drops quickly after shutdown due to percolation.

Using water to cool the intake stops the percolation. The first few injector pulses bleed air from the rail and, as fuel pressure returns, the engine starts.

But how to eliminate the problem? Start with three simple steps. Idle the engine for 30 seconds before shutdown to allow coolant to carry residual combustion heat from the cylinder heads into the radiator. Pop the hood open to the safety catch position to allow hot air to escape from under the hood. And try different brands of fuel, looking for a fuel with a vapor pressure less prone to this issue.

In addition, make sure airflow through the A/C condenser and radiator is clear and unobstructed. If the cooling system hasn't been serviced recently a power flush may lower coolant and underhood temperatures measurably.

And to cover all the bases turn the ignition to the "on" position and listen for the fuel pump to run for two seconds and then stop, confirming that the fuel pump relay and fuel pump are operating properly. I'd also test for injector pulse widths from the PCM to confirm that the fuel injectors are being commanded to open/close on a hot restart.

I have a well-maintained 2003 Acura 3.2L TL-S model with 114,000 miles. My Goodyear dealer has continued to propose replacement of the timing belt and water pump. He said the belt should have been replaced at the seven-year mark or 100,000 miles. I can't seem to find any definitive recommendations from Acura or on the Internet about this repair. I want to maintain the car and continue to drive it for a number of years and would value your opinion on this repair.

Acura's service recommendation for this vehicle and engine, as outlined in my Alldata automotive database, calls for timing belt replacement at 105,000 miles/84 months under normal operating conditions. Under severe service conditions — operation at ambient temperatures under minus-20 degrees or above 110 — replacement is recommended every 60,000 miles.

With this engine, a timing belt failure could allow contact between pistons and valves, resulting in catastrophic engine failure, so a new timing belt makes perfect sense. Include pre-emptive replacement of the water pump.

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

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Casinos’ projections trump panel’s

The annual gaming revenue projected by the competing Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts casino proposals exceed a new state Gaming Commission study, which factors in competition from the slots parlor the commission green-lighted to open at the harness racetrack in Plainville.

The commission's study, released late last month by the firm HLT, projects the Boston-area casino will generate $749 million in gross gaming revenue with a slots parlor open in Plainville, with $606.9 million coming from Massachusetts and $142 million from neighboring states. The state will take 25 percent of that revenue in taxes.

Mohegan Sun projects $857 million in gross gaming revenues in its first year for a casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere, while Wynn projects $804 million for its Everett site.

Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said the board will study the discrepancies.

"We'll be looking at their projections, looking at their assumptions and giving them a good scrub," Crosby said.

Clyde Barrow, a University of Massachusetts Dartmouth professor and gaming expert, said his independent studies have projected well north of $800 million, particularly for a Suffolk Downs casino, because it's in such a dense population area.

"They're high," Barrow said, "but I came out in the same space as they did."

Wynn says it's been conservative in its estimates, and supporters of the Everett casino say the Las Vegas company has the economic strength to deliver on promises.

"The hastily devised Mohegan Sun casino proposed in Revere at the last minute will not attract visitors from outside our region or even take away any business from Mohegan Sun's main operation in Connecticut," Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said in a statement. "Wynn Resorts has a proven track record of attracting international customers to their facilities — that's the type of operator Massachusetts needs."

Gary Luderitz, Mohegan Sun's vice president of operations and development, stuck by the projections, saying the company is better positioned to tap customers in the region due to its existing database and that the commission's estimate that the average adult will leave $375 at the Boston-area casino per visit '"sounds a little low to me."

"We're starting from a very strong position in the Northeast," Luderitz said. "Our data analysis consultants used figures that had held up in other work that they've done. We feel pretty good about it."

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Behind jet's passenger list is rich human tapestry

BANGKOK — Numbered 1 to 227, the passenger manifest for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet is an outwardly unremarkable document.

But behind the columns of capitalized names, nationalities and ages are 227 unique stories, part of a rich human tapestry that assembles every time a flight departs. There were middle-aged Australians with wanderlust, an acclaimed Chinese calligrapher, a young Indonesian man heading to begin a new career, and two people traveling on stolen passports.

More than a day and a half has passed since the Boeing 777 disappeared from radar screens in the first hour of a six-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. From France to Australia and China, families and friends are enduring an agonizing wait for news about Flight MH370.

The flight had a crew of 12, all from Malaysia, a melting pot nation of ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indians. Passengers on the popular business and tourist route were mostly from China and Malaysia, along with smatterings of people from other corners of the world: Americans, Australians, Indians, French, Indonesians, Ukrainians and other nationalities.

Some traveled alone, some in groups. They were young sweethearts and wrinkled older couples. Some had business in mind, others thought of art. Seventy-four years separates the youngest, 2-year-old Moheng Wang, and the oldest, 76-year-old Rusheng Liu.

"I can only pray for a miracle," said Daniel Liau, the organizer of a calligraphic and painting exhibition in Malaysia attended by acclaimed Chinese calligrapher Meng Gaosheng, who boarded the flight with 18 other artists plus six family members and four staff.

"I feel very sad. Even though I knew them for a short time, they have become my friends," Liau said.

Also traveling as a group were eight Chinese and 12 Malaysian employees of Austin, Texas, semiconductor company Freescale, which said it was assembling "around-the-clock support" for their families.

Each day more than 80,000 flights take off and land around the world without incident. For seasoned Australian travelers Robert Lawton, 58, and his wife, Catherine, 54, the seemingly routine takeoff of flight MH370 was the beginning of another adventure.

"They mentioned in passing they were going on another big trip and they were really excited," Caroline Daintith, a neighbor, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television of the couple described as doting grandparents.

Sharing their adventure was another 50-something Australian couple, Rodney and Mary Burrows. Neighbor Don Stokes said the trip was intended as the beginning of the "next step in their life."

Among the family groups on board were teenage sweethearts Hadrien Wattrelos, 17, and Zhao Yan, 18, students at a French school in Beijing who were returning from the Malaysian leg of a two-week holiday along with Hadrien's mother and younger sister.

In December, Zhao changed her Facebook profile photo to one of her and Hadrien. He had commented: "Je t'aime," followed by a heart, and she had "liked" his comment.

Some boarded the plane with more serious purposes in mind.

Colleagues of Chandrika Sharma said the 50-year-old director of the Chennai chapter of an organization that works with fishermen was on her way from the southern Indian city to Mongolia for a Food and Agriculture Organization conference.

"There must still be hope," said a colleague, Venogupal, who like many in India goes by one name.

He seemed, however, to be bracing for the worst. "She was friendly and very loveable, very industrious and astute. We will miss her."

For 24-year-old Firman Chandra Siregar from Medan, Indonesia, the flight was a new chapter. In Beijing, he was to start a three-year contract with Schlumberger, an oilfield services company.

Dozens of relatives and neighbors gathered at his family's home, some tearful, praying or watching news of the search and rescue operation. Like Sharma's colleagues, they were forced to let hope ebb away.

A team from the Indonesian police's Disaster Victim Identification unit collected DNA samples and medical records from Firman's family and photographed pictures of Firman that hung on the walls of the family home.

The motivation of some on board is murky. Two passengers were traveling with stolen EU passports — fueling speculation that the plane's disappearance was not an accident.

Yet the documents are just two of at least 39 million lost and stolen passports around the world. Last year, there were more than 29.3 million flights worldwide. By chance, many of those flights would have a passenger traveling on a stolen passport. They may be criminals, people seeking a better life, or something else.

Also by chance: Liu Hongwei was not on Flight MH370.

The Beijing-based head of an investment company and friend of the calligrapher Meng said that he was invited to the exhibition and cultural exchange in Malaysia as a sponsor, but that business commitments kept him from going.

"That could have been me on that plane," he said. "We're all very worried."

___

McGuirk reported from Canberra, Australia. Researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai, Associated Press video journalist Isolda Morillo in Beijing and AP writers Gillian Wong in Beijing, Katy Daigle in New Delhi, Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

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No consensus on notifying victims of data breaches

WASHINGTON — The data breach at Target has refocused attention on the patchwork of state consumer notification laws — and it's renewed a push for a national standard.

Most states have laws requiring retailers to disclose data breaches, but those laws vary.

Consumers in one state might immediately be told that their personal information has been exposed. But that might not happen elsewhere.

Requirements for businesses depend on where companies are located.

Attorney General Eric Holder has joined the call for a nationwide notification standard.

Consumer groups don't want to weaken existing protections.

Retailers want laws that are easier to comply with and say that too much notification isn't necessarily the best way.

Congress is exploring how a federal standard should be enforced and what the threshold should be for notification.

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