Regional Briefs
Mass. Businesses End Year With Little Confidence
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index ended 2007 at its lowest level since 2003.
The index fell a tenth of a point in December and finished the year at 53.5, the lowest it's been since October 2003. Employers in Massachusetts said they had mostly negative feelings about business conditions here, but said they did not expect further deterioration of business conditions in the first half of 2008.
The December decline was the index's fourth in the last five months. AIM said the steady drop "reflects a slowing economy overall as well as more serious problems in certain sectors." Despite reporting "mostly negative" feelings, AIM pointed out that 53.5 is still technically a "positive" reading on its 100-point scale. Also, business conditions in Massachusetts compared favorably to conditions nationwide. AIM said the Massachusetts index in the U.S. index of national conditions dropped by a half point in December, while the national index fell by 3.9 points.
Home Sales Up, But Still Awful, In November
Sales of existing homes rose slightly in November, to 5 million from 4.98 million in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. The figure is still 20 percent below the 6.25 million existing housing units sold in November 2006.
The National Association of Realtors only tracks sales that involved a registered Realtor.
In the Northeast, a total of 870,000 existing homes were sold in November, down from 1.08 million in 2006.
The national median existing home price also fell in November to $210,200, down 3 percent from $217,300 in November 2006, but up from the average price of $206,900 in October of this year.
Regionally, median prices stayed virtually the same in November, at $258,300 for an existing home in the Northeast, compared to $258,400 in October.
Online Spending Up 19 Percent
Americans spent more than $27.9 billion in online sales this holiday season, a 19 percent increase compared to 2006, according to a study conducted by online information provider comScore Inc.
The study defined the holiday shopping season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 27. In the same period last year, Americans spent $23.56 billion online.
The busiest period of the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, saw a 21 percent bump in online sales, from $14.82 billion last year to $17.98 billion this year.
In 2007, the day after Christmas saw online sales of $545 million, more than twice the amount spent in 2006, the report found.
CEOs Stock Up On Stock
No one ever said CEO's salaries are shabby, but a new report shows that they're barely a drop in the bucket of the total compensation packages of the highest executives in large private companies.
The report, by research firm The Conference Board, says the median CEO of the largest 10 percent of companies gets 80 times his or her salary in stock and stock options. In the smallest companies, the equivalent CEO gets 11 times his or her salary in that form.
The report suggests that this compensation system may align executives' interests with those of their companies' shareholders.
The report also finds that the highest median total compensation for CEOs, $3.9 million, is found in the utilities, food and tobacco, and insurance industries.
Credit Managers Say It's Harder To Collect
The Maryland-based National Association of Credit Management said its credit management index fell to a record low in December.
The index hit 52.4 percent in December, a drop of 0.7 percent compared to November.
December was the third consecutive month of declines for the index. The index is based on a survey that asks credit managers to rate the favorable and unfavorable factors in their monthly business cycle.
The index's manufacturing sector actually gained 0.8 percent in December, but that gain was overshadowed by a 2.3 percent drop in the service sector, the association said.
Travelers Agrees To Pay States $6M
Travelers Cos. Inc. agreed to pay eight states and the District of Columbia $6 million in a settlement stemming from an investigation into bid-rigging devised by insurance broker Marsh & McLennan.
The settlement was announced by Attorney General Martha Coakley. The Bay State's share of the deal is $1.3 million.
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