Framingham

The law firm of Fletcher Tilton, with offices in Worcester and Framingham, began the new year by absorbing Hudson-based Yates Law Offices into its operations.

Office products retailer Staples of Framingham has reached agreement on a multi-year contract extension with CommerceHub of Albany, N.Y., which helps companies deliver their orders, according to a statement from Staples.

In an update on a data security breach that occurred late this summer, Framingham-based office supply retailer Staples Inc. announced Friday that up to 1.16 million payment cards may have been impacted, with some of the transactions occurring at the Shrewsbury store at 571 Boston Turnpike.

More jobs, new space, and beer in cans are on tap at the Jack's Abby brewery in Framingham.

Federal prosecutors have charged two former pharmacists with second-degree murder for allegedly allowing dirty conditions at a Framingham pharmacy that produced contaminated steroids that killed dozens of people around the country.

The TJX Companies has announced a quarterly dividend on its common stock of $0.175 per share.

A number of Massachusetts cities and towns with separate property tax rates for homes and businesses are pursuing or recently adopted rates that close the gap between the two groups, if not one rate for everyone. Framingham is among them, but MetroWest's largest town faces a long haul. Robert Halpin, the town manager hired in 2012, has recognized the town's large tax disparity between businesses as a major hindrance to economic development. He and the town finance department have pushed a three-year plan to cap the tax burden on businesses at 40 percent of the total tax base. As the commercial tax base grows, that will lower the factor, the amount of the burden shifted to commercial property owners. After a tax classification hearing last week, the factor is 1.71, down from 1.74 last year.

Framingham biotech firm Boston Heart Diagnostics will be purchased by Eurofins Scientific of Luxembourg for $140 million, the company announced Monday.

While it maintained its split real estate tax rate, the Framingham Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday night to shift some of the tax burden off commercial and industrial property owners in a bid to make the town appear more business-friendly.

Framingham-based Staples Inc. reported third-quarter earnings Wednesday that met analysts' expectations. Still, it's back to the drawing board for the office-supply company after sales declined during the important back-to-school period (the quarter ended Nov.1). The company said it will close 170 stores in North America this year, up from the 140 it said in August it had planned, the Wall Street Journal reported.