Framingham

Framingham-based office supply retailer Staples Inc. will open a development center in Seattle to boost its ecommerce efforts, the company announced today.

The wired world is tipping increasingly toward tablets and smartphones and away from desktop and laptop personal computers, according to Framingham-based IDC.

An analysis by Framingham-based International Data Corp. (IDC) showed revenue for the worldwide data storage software market grew 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to 2012, to nearly $3.5 billion.

Cities and towns in Massachusetts control more of their economic fate today, especially with less support from the federal and state governments, about 100 MetroWest business and government leaders were told this morning.

GateHouse Media, which owns dozens of weekly papers and some dailies in eastern Massachusetts – including the MetroWest Daily News – is entering bankruptcy, attempting to restructure $1.2 billion in debt, as its principal debt-holder has purchased other Bay State papers, including the New Bedford Standard Times, Cape Cod Times, the Inquirer and Mirror of Nantucket and weeklies in the South Coast area, including the Fall River Spirit.

Worldwide shipments of personal computers are expected to fall nearly 10 percent this year as technology buyers move more toward mobile device options such as tablets and smartphones, according to Framingham-based technology research firm IDC.

TJX Cos. has alluded to a planned launch of a new e-commerce site for its off-price retail brands, including Marshalls, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, a number of times over the last year. But it seems the Framingham-based company, which raked in higher-than-expected revenue in its most recent quarter, is taking a measured approach.

With its purchase by Tenet Healthcare Corp. pending, Vanguard Health Systems, the parent company of Saint Vincent Hospital and MetroWest Medical Center, reported a slight drop in net income for its recently completed fourth quarter, but a jump for the fiscal year.

Minuteman Health, the state's only member-governed health insurance plan, received its license to operate from the Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) and had its premium rates approved so it can sell plans in 2014.

In an earnings report today, Framingham-based Staples Inc. attributed a 2-percent decrease in total company sales in its second quarter to the closure of 103 stores in North America and Europe over the last 12 months.