News briefs
Retail
Staples shareholders hit the money button
FRAMINGHAM - Staples Inc. said it would buy back up to $1.5 billion of its common stock. The company's board of directors authorized the repurchase plan. It replaces a previous buy back plan, under which the company bought back $1.2 billion as of June 13. The new repurchase plan has no expiration date, and goes into effect during the present quarter. Staples executives said the company expects "significant opportunities for growth."
Executive shuffle at TJX
FRAMINGHAM - Discount retailer the TJX Cos. Inc. named Nirmal K. Tripathy executive vice president and chief financial officer. Tripathy, who is known as "Trip," takes over for Jeffrey Naylor, who was named the company's chief administrative and business development officer. Tripathy last worked at Macy's Florida Inc., a division of Macy's Inc., where he was president and chief operating officer. Naylor takes his new job from Don Campbell, who in September, was promoted to company vice chairman.
Biomedical
CytRx to join Russell Index
LOS ANGELES - CytRx Corp. of Los Angeles, majority owner of Worcester-based RXi Pharmaceuti-cals Corp., will join the Russell 3000A Index effective June 22. The move will increase the visibility of CytRx to potential investors, said Steven A. Kriegsman, the company's president and CEO.
Manufacturer expands
MARLBOROUGH - Xcellerex Inc. has expanded its corporate headquarters by 20,885 square feet. The company now occupies 60,885 square feet at 150-170 Lock Dr., and the 120,000-square-foot building is now completely occupied, according to Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC of Boston, the property's broker. The building is owned by Davis Marcus Partners.
High Tech
Micron makes less mortal munitions
FITCHBURG - Micron Products Inc. will make metal and plastic resin components used in making training ammunition for U.S. and NATO forces. The military currently uses live rounds during training. The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arrhythmia Research Technology Inc., agreed to a seven-year deal to make the components with Cyalume Technologies Inc. of West Springfield. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Acton co. gets $8M for new technology
ACTON - Mobile communications company Tatara Systems has raised $8 million in venture capital in order to increase its presence in an emerging market. According to the company, the money would be used "to fuel the company's growth in the rapidly emerging femtocell market." Femtocells are a new technology said to improve in-home mobile phone and internet coverage, and could be a way for mobile operators to expand network coverage and capacity. Tatara got the $8 million from Highland Capital Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners, two firms with experience investing in communications equipment, network infrastructure and software.
$400K customer for Cognex
NATICK - Cognex Corp., a vision sensor manufacturer, said it had received the largest order to date for its DataMan handheld ID readers. The $400,000 order was made by an unnamed provider of direct-part-marking equipment used to make identifying marks directly on the surfaces of products. The company intends to sell its part-marking equipment along with DataMan to companies in the semiconductor and electronics industries.
Mass. cos. scarce on top 100 list
FRAMINGHAM - Computer-world magazine has released its 14th annual list of the 100 best places to work in information technology, and Massachusetts companies had a hard time standing up to companies from the west coast, south and mid west. For the third year in a row, Quicken Loans Inc. of Livonia, Mich. topped the list. The highest-ranked Massachusetts company was Raytheon Co. of Waltham, which was 32nd on Computerworld's list. Raytheon was followed closely by Partners Health Care Systems Inc. of Wellesley, at 37th. Commonwealth Financial Network of Waltham came in 76th, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge came in 93rd. Computerworld surveyed more than 27,000 IT workers to compile the ranking. Job security, fair pay, opportunities for advancement and an enjoyable work environment were most important to respondents, Computerworld said.
Banking & Finance
AIM: Insurance law bold, onerous
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts says employers are eager to comply with the Commonwealth's new health insurance law, which goes into effect July 1. But employers are also anxious about the new law, AIM said. The Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act of 2006 requires individuals to purchase health insurance. Massachusetts is the first state to require residents to get health insurance coverage. The plan requires employers with more than 11 employees to offer the opportunity to purchase health insurance before taxes. The plan must be available whether or not the employees are eligible for employee-sponsored health insurance. Employers who do not abide by that provision are open to "severe" penalties, AIM said, in the form of surcharges and a requirement to pay for uncovered employee emergency room visits.
More car coverage for Commerce's Calif. co.
WEBSTER - The Commerce Group Inc. said its Pleasanton, Calif.-based subsidiary, Commerce West Insurance Co., reached a general agency agreement with Stonewood Insurance Services Inc. of Rancho Cordova, Calif. Under the agreement, Stonewood expects to place up to $170 million in California private automobile insurance policies with Commerce West over the next three years. Commerce expects to write $20 million in premiums during the first year of the new relationship, and $100 million in the third year. Stonewood would be responsible for the sale of certain Commerce West policies. Stonewood has a retail insurance network throughout California. Commerce also expects Stonewood to provide billing, customer service, policy processing and management services under the new agreement.
Banks commish says protection laws unclear
Steven L. Antonakes, Massachusetts commissioner of banks, told the U.S. House Financial Services Committee Wednesday that Congress must make it clearer how far state legislators and law enforcement agencies can go in enforcing consumer protection laws regarding federally chartered banks. Antonakes appeared on behalf of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, alongside federal banking regulators and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller at Wednesday's hearing on how to improve consumer protection in the financial industry. "Congress should clarify state enforcement authority and the limits of applicable state law for federally chartered institutions," Antonakes said. "State legislators and Attorneys General need a clear statement of their roles in protecting the citizens of their states. The current state of confusion is not acceptable."
Real Estate
Printing co. adds warehouse space
WEST BOYLSTON - Webster Fulfillment, a division of Hanson-based Webster Printing, has expanded its storage services to a 30,000-sqare-foot facility in West Boylston. The facility is at 100 Hartwell St. in the West Boylston Industrial Park, has 23-foot-high ceilings and can offer secure, scalable, "on-demand" storage, public warehousing and contract warehousing. The climate-controlled facility allows Webster clients to choose the amount of warehouse space they need, and for how long they need it. The new location also offers laser printing, conference room space, internet access and drop shipment service with Federal Express or UPS.
Realtors' association reports on members
The median gross income for a real estate sales agent in Massachusetts is $31,700, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Pay for the state's sales agents lags behind that of agents around the country. The median gross income for agents in the U.S. is more than $46,000, the association said. The median gross income for a real estate broker or agency owner is $71,900. Pay for realtors may seem even lower considering the median age of a Massachusetts realtor is 54, that 50 percent of Massachusetts realtors have a college degree and Massachusetts realtors have a median of 10 years experience in the field.
New briefs were compiled from staff and wire reports.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments