Banking & Finance

The rail line stretching along the northern tier of Massachusetts to Greenfield and North Adams is a "strategic asset," state transportation officials said in a new report this week, but the benefits of restoring passenger service in the region -- with a price tag of up to $2.96 billion -- "may not offset the capital costs."

Now named the New Balance Performance Park, the campus contains the Capozzoli Athletic Center, which is under construction with an expected completion in 2025.

There are still no signs of firm agreements related to the sale of Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts, but the bankrupt company announced late Monday night that it has "entered into a definitive agreement" to sell its physicians network to a subsidiary of a New York-based private equity firm for $245 million in cash.

The fate of another Steward Health Care hospital in Massachusetts may be in jeopardy.

North Brookfield Savings Bank has promoted John Fearing to senior vice president and chief commercial loan officer.

Tuesday's bankruptcy court hearing on the sale of as many as five Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts has been postponed until Friday.

Further beautification efforts may soon be underway in Leominster as the City’s Façade Improvement Program has been awarded $12,000 from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp., the economic development branch of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre was on vacation two weeks ago when his company revealed that it planned to close two hospitals in Massachusetts, but he didn't have a hand in the decision or any say in the timing of the announcement, a spokesperson for the embattled executive said Thursday.

With frustrations mounting over the closure of Carney Hospital at the end of August, the Boston City Council adopted a resolution Wednesday calling for a public health emergency and applying new pressure on the state to protect patient care.

"Things are moving quickly I think right now in the bankruptcy court," Healey told reporters at the State House. "I'm cautiously optimistic but it's right now in the hands of the lenders."