Ex-Celtic Pierce selling Boston-area home

LINCOLN, Mass. — Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce is following Kevin Garnett's lead and selling his Boston-area home.

Pierce, who along with Garnett was traded in June to the Brooklyn Nets, has put his Lincoln home on the market for almost $2.65 million.

That's a bargain compared to Garnett's former Concord home, which was put up for sale last month for $5.85 million.

The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/1gD3KkQ) reports that Pierce's 7,300-square-foot house has five bedrooms and bathrooms, custom cabinetry, a gourmet kitchen, and windows overlooking a large private backyard.

The listing says the "gracious, architect-designed contemporary combines sleek design with traditional attention to detail, such as the beautiful use of woods and quality craftsmanship."

The pair helped lead the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com

22.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Transocean agrees to deal with Icahn

NEW YORK — Oil driller Transocean has agreed to a deal with billionaire investor Carl Icahn after a months-long proxy fight.

The company said Monday that it has agreed to support a dividend of $3 per share and reduce the size of its board. It is also looking to boost margins by $800 million through cost-cutting efforts and other measures. The stock climbed in premarket trading.

Icahn, a minority shareholder in Transocean Ltd., had previously pushed for a $4 per share dividend but Transocean's shareholders rejected it. Icahn, known for shaking up companies in which he invests, had also wanted several board changes.

Transocean Ltd. said it agreed to support the re-election of Samuel Merksamer and election of Vincent Intrieri, both Icahn staffers. Merksamer was elected to Transocean's board at its 2013 annual meeting.

The company also agreed to reduce its board to 11 directors from 14. It previously proposed trimming the board's size at its 2011 annual meeting but it didn't meet the quorum requirements and the proposal wasn't voted on. Transocean said if the quorum requirement isn't met at the 2014 meeting, it plans to leave three board seats vacant.

Transocean said it will also pursue converting the company to a master limited partnership, saying that move could provide more financial flexibility. It anticipates an initial public offering of a master limited partnership being completed around the middle of next year. The offering needs the approval of Transocean's board.

Transocean said that as part of the deal with Icahn, the Icahn Group has agreed to vote in favor of the company's board nominees and certain other proposals it may recommend at the 2014 meeting.

In May Transocean's shareholders voted out Chairman J. Michael Talbert. He had been Transocean's CEO from 1994 to 2002 and served three terms as chairman before his ouster.

Transocean, based in Switzerland, owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, triggering a massive offshore oil spill. The company agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with the Justice Department for its role in the disaster.

Transocean's stock added $1.18, or 2.2 percent, to $54.63 in premarket trading about three hours before the market open.

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Markets remain solid despite Fed tapering talk

LONDON — Upbeat U.S. economic figures shored up global markets Monday even though there are growing expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin to reduce its monetary stimulus next month. Shares in the Philippines fell after a devastating typhoon.

Last week, a round of U.S. economic data, including Friday's better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report, ratcheted up expectations that the Fed will soon start "tapering" its $85 billion worth of asset purchases.

Some analysts think that the positive response in markets may indicate that the fear of the tapering — dominant for much of this year — has reduced and investors are now more willing to view strong economic news as a reason to buy stocks. After all, a growing U.S. economy will help corporate profits.

"Equities are not selling off as they have previously," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari. "Maybe the 'good news is bad news' scenario is finally becoming a thing of the past."

Following strong gains in much of Asia outside the typhoon-stricken Philippines, trading in Europe was solid. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.2 percent at 6,722 while Germany's DAX rose the same rate to 9,099. The CAC-40 in France was 0.3 percent higher at 4,275.

Wall Street was set for a solid opening, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures 0.1 percent higher. However, trading is expected to be light as much of the country is on holiday for Veteran's Day — bond markets are closed, for example.

Earlier, in Asia, the focus was on the Philippines after a typhoon devastated the eastern Philippines, killing thousands of people. Manila's main exchange, the PSE Composite, dropped 1.4 percent to 6,265.23 as the country grappled with the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. Authorities estimated that up to 10,000 people may have died. But the government, stunned by the scale of the disaster, has not given an official death toll yet.

Elsewhere, investors were also waiting to see if China's communist leaders, who started a four-day meeting in Beijing on Saturday, would announce reform plans to bolster the world's No. 2 economy as it comes under pressure from industrial overcapacity, high debt and surging house prices.

China's Shanghai Composite rebounded from earlier losses to gain 0.2 percent at 2,109.47. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.3 percent to 14,269.34 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.4 percent to 23,059.98 However, Seoul's Kospi dropped 0.4 percent to 1,977.30 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3 percent to 5,387.10.

Trading was lackluster in other financial markets. Among currencies, the euro was up 0.3 percent at $1.3395 while the dollar fell 0.1 percent to 99.15 yen.

In commodities, the benchmark New York rate for crude oil was down 30 cents at $94.30 a barrel.

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Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to this report.

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Stocks open lower following Dow's record last week

NEW YORK — Stocks are retreating from record highs in early trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15 points to 15,746 in early trading Monday. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell two points to 1,769. The Nasdaq composite fell nine points to 3,910.

Investors this week will look for evidence that Americans are ready to start spending for the holidays. Macy's, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom and Kohl's report quarterly results.

Macy's on Wednesday will be the first major retailer to announce its quarterly results.

Last week, encouraging news about U.S. hiring lifted the Dow to an all-time high.

Bond markets are closed Monday for the Veterans Day holiday.

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Venezuela to toughen price controls, set profits

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is extending price controls and will place limits on profits as he extends attempts to curb the galloping inflation that is eroding support for his rule.

Maduro made the announcement in a late-night television address Sunday in which he also vowed to step up inspections of businesses selling shoes, clothing, automobiles and other goods to make sure they aren't gouging consumers.

"We can't just close the businesses; the owners have to go to jail," Maduro said in an impassioned speech in which he cited Jewish, Muslim and Christian texts to harangue businessmen he accuses of usury. "We can't allow our hard currency to be used to rob people through the sale of these goods."

Huge crowds of government loyalists and opponents formed outside appliance stores over the weekend after Maduro ordered the military to occupy the Daka chain of electronic stores and slash by more than half prices for washing machines, televisions and other white goods.

While soldiers with assault rifles were deployed to keep bargain hunters in check, at least one Daka store, in the country's third largest city of Valencia, was looted by unruly crowds, according to photos and videos posted online.

Maduro Sunday night urged Venezuelans to remain calm, saying that he won't allow the "parasitic bourgeoisie" to overcharge consumers ever again.

To that end, he vowed to place percentage limits on profit margins if congress approves a bill granting him special powers.

Free-market economists say such a move would exacerbate shortages that reached a record in October, according to the central bank. They say that to stabilize the economy, and shore up a currency whose black market value is a ninth of the official rate, the government needs to lift capital controls put in place a decade ago by former President Hugo Chavez and devalue the bolivar.

That's a notion Maduro rejects.

The president argues that Venezuela's inflation, which is running at 54 percent, is the result of hoarding and speculation by his opponents in Venezuela and in the U.S., and that South America's biggest oil producer has more than enough dollars to pay for imports. If not for the "economic war" being waged by his opponents, inflation should be running around 16 to 18 percent, he said Sunday night.

If Maduro does yield, he's unlikely to do so before next month's municipal elections, which the opposition is trying to turn into a referendum on his seven-month administration.

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Housing 100 vets in 100 days

As the country honors its servicemen and servicewomen tomorrow, Navy veteran Tim Pollard will be able to mark the holiday this year in the comfort of his own home.

The 62-year-old is settling into a Boston apartment thanks to a public/private initiative to find homes for 100 of the city's homeless vets in 100 days.

After the death of his brother, for whom he had been an in-home caregiver, Pollard found himself homeless in 2011. He turned to the New England Center for Homeless Veterans, where he had been living until landing his apartment a month ago with rental assistance through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program.

"It's a beautiful apartment — a second-floor walkup, one bedroom," he said. "I can't beat the location. Awesome is the closest word I can describe."

Pollard had bunked dormitory-style for nearly 2 1⁄2 years at the Court Street center, where he now works part-time in security and operations. "I just wanted to get back on my feet, get reoriented again, try to get some kind of steady employment and get housing," he said. "It's been rough, but if it wasn't for (the center), I don't know what I would have done."

The city's Department of Neighborhood Development is leading the "Home of the Brave" initiative to house 100 vets as part of the federal government's goal to end homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015. It's joined by the New England Center for Homeless Veterans, the Pine Street Inn and HomeStart.

The agencies created a registry of homeless vets looking for housing. Twenty-six got housing through VASH vouchers, 28 moved in with family or friends, 19 are renting private apartments, and the rest are in homes through subsidy programs such as Section 8. Each gets support services to ensure they're able to remain housed.

Though the goal is to help 100 homeless vets, the city will sustain the effort, said Elizabeth Doyle, Boston's deputy director for supportive housing. "We've uncovered some places where we can improve," she said. "We can coordinate better. We can make sure the right resources are getting to the right veterans. We're hoping to attract some landlords also."

An annual city census of homeless vets conducted last December documented 457 in Boston.

"One is too many," said Andy McCawley, CEO of the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. "We see veterans in their 20s and veterans in their 80s. We have been serving an increasing number ... from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan."

To make vets' transition into housing easier, the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance is soliciting funds and items such as furniture, new mattresses and basic household items.

Pollard, meanwhile, is trying to get his apartment furnished before the holidays. "I'm keeping everything minimized because settling in, you do have to watch your pennies," he said.

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Cos. left to their own devices

Venture capital funding for one of the Bay State's key industries — medical device companies — is drying up, forcing startups to adapt and become mature quicker than in the past, according to industry insiders.

"In terms of VC funding, we're really in a lull," said Debbie Paul, CEO Americas of EvaluatePharma USA, which presented a state of the industry report to investors and others last week.

Funding for medical device companies dropped in 2012 for the first time in years, and seems to be on track to finish this year at the same level, Paul said.

Paul said investors are looking for a clear path to return on investment from a company before putting money in, a definite shift in mentality. She said companies now have to have more than just a great idea to get the funding they need.

"It's not just a business plan, it's not just having a thoughtful exit strategy, it's really thinking about who's your key target market," she said. "You have to be a sure bet to get the funding unless you've got really innovative technology."

Paul said another thing startups have to consider now is how their devices will be reimbursable by insurance companies.

Donna Brezinski, founder and CEO of Little Sparrows Technologies, said her focus as she looks for investors is the specifics of her product, a low-cost tent that addresses neo-natal jaundice.

It's "really identifying the market, identifying the customer," she said.

Still, there are options for those who can't find venture capital funding.

"If you're a startup and you can't get VC money, I think you'd know you need to talk to more angel investors," Paul said. "They may be filling a gap traditional venture financing may be opening."

Still, Brezinski is confident about her early-stage company and is optimistic about getting funding.

"Massachusetts in and of itself is an incredibly supportive and rich environment for early start startups," she said. "I don't think it's impossible."

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Here’s a primer on continuously variable transmissions

I read your column with interest each Saturday in a local newspaper and was wondering if you would be willing to comment on the pros and cons of continuously variable transmissions (CVT) and multi-geared transmissions.

Absolutely! So that everyone is on the same page, let's identify what a CVT transmission is. It's important to recognize that the purpose of any automotive transmission is twofold — transmit engine power to the drive wheels and to optimize vehicle performance at any and all speeds by keeping the engine in its most efficient RPM range as much as possible.

Multi-gear transmissions have historically been the transmission of choice for this purpose. Either manually — the driver selects each gear with a lever — or automatically selecting individual gear ratios based on road speed and load, these transmissions do a reasonably efficient job of keeping the engine in its "power band" at varying road speeds.

But, of course, road speed is infinitely variable, and these transmissions have only a fixed number of gear ratios. Remember the original GM Dynaflow and Powerglide transmissions? They had only two forward gears, coupled to a torque converter to multiply engine torque. Today's electronically controlled automatic transmissions feature up to eight forward speeds to help optimize efficiency and performance.

CVTs feature a drive belt riding between variable pulleys. The pulleys change diameter in proportion to speed and load by varying the distance between the inner and outer tapered "sheaves." When starting from a stop or under heavy load, the engine-driven pulley is smaller and the driveline pulley is proportionally larger so that engine RPM is higher, providing more torque to the drive pulley. As vehicle speed rises, the engine pulley gets larger in diameter while the driveline pulley gets proportionally smaller, meaning the engine is turning lower RPM as it drives the vehicle at a higher speed.

The fundamental advantage of CVTs is their ability to keep the engine in a very narrow, highly efficient RPM range to maximize performance, efficiency and fuel mileage.

Snowmobiles, ATVs and some motorcycles have had CVTs for decades, and they have been used in cars since at least the early 1960s. In fact, the very first vehicle I ever drove — in 1960 at age 11 on a long, looping private driveway — was a very small Dutch-built DAF with a belt-driven, variable-ratio CVT.

While engineers and carmakers have known the advantages of CVTs for decades, it wasn't until relatively recently that technology has provided a drive belt for them that could handle the much higher horsepower and torque of today's engines. The belts are no longer fabric and rubber; they are steel and provide the strength and durability necessary for modern automobiles.

Driving a CVT-equipped vehicle is a somewhat peculiar experience. Under acceleration, engine speed rapidly climbs into its optimum RPM range, which tends to create a sense of slippage although none is occurring, and the vehicle speed "catches up" to engine speed. When slowing, engine speed falls until re-accelerating when RPM jumps back up and vehicle speed starts "catching up" again. The engine, under load, is always operating in its most efficient RPM range, maximizing performance and fuel economy.

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. We cannot provide personal replies.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health law's troubles give GOP a much-needed boost

WASHINGTON — The health care law's seemingly endless problems are giving congressional Republicans a much-needed boost by helping them move past the government shutdown debacle and focus on a theme for the 2014 elections.

Republicans' approval ratings plunged during last month's partial shutdown and worrisome talk of a possible U.S. debt default.

Now the GOP is back on offense.

Republicans pillory administration officials at congressional hearings.

They note that millions of people are losing their medical insurance despite President Barack Obama's promise that it wouldn't happen.

And they point to the program's flawed enrollment process.

Conservative groups are pouring money into ad campaigns reminding voters that many Democrats had promised that Americans could keep their current insurance policies.

These groups are especially targeting Democratic senators facing tough races next year.

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Mass. activists push for domestic worker rights

BOSTON — Employment rights activists are going to the Massachusetts Statehouse to call for stronger protections for domestic workers.

They'll be pressing a legislative committee on Tuesday to pass a bill that would require employers of domestic workers to provide a maximum of 40 hours of earned sick time a year.

Employers also would be barred from monitoring a domestic worker's private communications and could not force workers to pay for food or lodging unless the worker voluntarily and freely chooses to accept.

Activists say domestic workers are often the target of exploitation and are more vulnerable than employees in other workplaces.

A hearing before the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Statehouse.

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