Massachusetts

Mass. business owners feeling more upbeat – The Boston Globe

Published

1 year ago

August 7, 2023

Press Room

Mass. business owners feeling more upbeat – The Boston Globe

PAYMENTS

PayPal to accept digital currency

PayPal is rolling out a stablecoin, the first by a large financial company and a potentially significant boost to the sluggish adoption of digital tokens for payments. PayPal USD (PYUSD) is issued by Paxos Trust Co. and fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries, and similar cash equivalents, the San Jose, Calif.-based payments company said on Monday. It’s pegged to the dollar and will be gradually available to PayPal’s customers in the United States. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

HOUSEWARES

Owner of Rubbermaid to close eight distribution centers

Rubbermaid-owner Newell Brands Inc. is planning to close eight of its North American distribution centers by the end of 2024, which will result in roughly 500 job cuts. The layoffs represent about 2 percent of the company’s total workforce, according to chief executive Chris Peterson, who took the helm in May. Newell, which also owns the Graco baby gear and Sharpie marker brands, will continue investing in training and automation at its roughly 20 remaining warehouses. Newell saw a pandemic-driven demand boom in 2021, but that’s abated as consumers pull back spending amid high levels of inflation. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

A BioNTech SE logo on the entrance to the company’s COVID-19 vaccine production laboratory in Marburg, Germany, on March 27, 2021. Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg

BIOTECH

BioNTech shares plummet after reporting first loss in three years

BioNTech stock plunged more than 7.5 percent in US trading after the German biotech reported its first loss since 2020 due to lower demand for the COVID-19 shots it makes with Pfizer. Pfizer’s write-offs of unused vaccine inventory cut into BioNTech’s share of the profit in the second quarter. BioNTech is pumping its pandemic-era profit into a broad pipeline of experimental drugs for other infectious diseases and hard-to-treat cancers. Until those projects reach fruition, however, the COVID vaccine remains its only marketed product. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

POULTRY

Tyson to close four chicken processing plants

Tyson Foods Inc. is closing four chicken processing plants as it looks to lower costs. The company said Monday that the plants being closed are located in North Little Rock, Ark.; Corydon, Ind.; Dexter, Mo., and Noel, Mo. Tyson said that it will shift production to other facilities and halt operations at the four plants in the first two quarters of fiscal 2024. The company currently estimates having $300 million to $400 million in total charges, based on a preliminary analysis. Tyson launched a plan in fiscal 2022 where it targeted $1 billion in productivity savings by the end of fiscal 2024. In May, Tyson posted a surprise loss in its second quarter and cut its sales forecast due to the cost of plant closures and layoffs. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

REMOTE WORK

Even Zoom wants workers back in the office

Zoom Video Communications Inc., a one-time darling of the work-from-home era, is calling workers back to the office. Employees who live near a Zoom location must be on-site two days a week, a company spokesperson said. A “hybrid approach” is most effective for Zoom, she said, because it will be in “a better position to use our own technologies, continue to innovate and support our global customers.” The company’s eponymous video-conferencing software was a breakout hit of the pandemic as entire industries were forced to communicate virtually. Even now, many offices remain lightly used, and there are signs that some roles may remain remote. Offices in the Northeast were only at peak capacity 24 percent of the time in the first half of the year, according to data from Basking.io, a workplace-occupancy analytics company. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Jars of Rao's sauces are displayed along a grocery store's shelves on Aug. 7, 2023 in New York City. — Jars of Rao’s sauces are displayed along a grocery store’s shelves on Aug. 7, 2023 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty

FOOD

Campbell’s to buy owner of Rao pasta sauce

Campbell Soup Co. agreed to buy Sovos Brands Inc. in a deal valued at $2.7 billion, expanding the soupmaker’s presence in frozen meals and giving it a foothold in the pasta sauce market. The acquisition of Sovos, best known for the Rao’s pasta sauce brand, extends Campbell’s presence in key food categories. Rao’s accounted for 69 percent of adjusted net sales last year for Sovos, which went public in 2021. The transaction is expected to close by the end of December. It’s Campbell’s biggest deal since 2017 when it acquired snackmaker Snyder’s Lance for about $6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

ELECTRONICS

Toshiba takes steps to go private

Toshiba announced a 2 trillion yen ($14 billion) tender offer on Monday in a move that would take it private, as the scandal-tarnished Japanese electronics and energy giant seeks to turn itself around. The tender offer led by a buyout fund of major Japanese banks and companies called Japan Industrial Partners starts Tuesday and is priced at 4,620 yen ($32) a share. Chairperson Akihiro Watanabe asked shareholders to back the proposal, saying it is the only option for Toshiba Corp. to return to its former strength. Tokyo-based Toshiba also reported a 25 billion yen ($176 million) loss for the April-June quarter on 704 billion yen ($5 billion) in sales, down nearly 5 percent from the previous year. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

CYBERSECURITY

Amazon to offer schools grants to fight cyberattacks

Amazon’s web services division is offering $20 million in cybersecurity grants to K-12 schools as part of a new White House initiative designed to help shield the nation’s elementary, middle, and high schools from attacks targeting school records and operations. Amazon will also provide free security training and assistance for school districts experiencing cyber attacks, while Cloudflare Inc. will provide smaller school districts with internet browsing and email security software. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

BILLIONAIRES

Is the cage match of the century in jeopardy?

Elon Musk was to receive an MRI of his neck and upper back on Monday and may require surgery, the 52-year-old said in a post on his X platform, formerly known as Twitter. The world’s richest person said he will know this week whether surgery will be required, ahead of his proposed cage fight with Meta Platforms Inc. cofounder Mark Zuckerberg. He previously said he “might need an operation to strengthen the titanium plate holding my C5/C6 vertebrae together.” Zuckerberg posted Sunday on Threads that he suggested Aug. 26 for the match and he’s still awaiting confirmation. “I’m ready today,” he said. “Not holding my breath.” — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Elon Musk, billionaire and chief executive officer of Tesla, at the Viva Tech fair in Paris, France, on June 16, 2023. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

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Massachusetts

Disciplinary hearing for suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor continued to 2nd day

Published

2 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Disciplinary hearing for suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor continued to 2nd day

Suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor’s Trial Board disciplinary proceedings will go on to a second day.

Proctor’s trouble publicly began when he testified during the murder trial of Karen Read last summer. During a tense examination by the prosecution and even more intense cross examination, Proctor admitted to inappropriate private texts that he made as the case officer investigating Read.

“She’s a whack job (expletive),” Proctor read from compilations of text messages he sent to friends as he looked at Read’s phone. The last word was a derogatory term for women that he at first tried to spell out before Judge Beverly Cannone told him to read it the way he wrote it.

“Yes she’s a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No (butt),” he continued under oath on June 10, 2024.

He also texted them “no nudes so far” as an update on the search through her phone. He also testified that he told his sister that he hoped that Read would kill herself.

On Wednesday, Proctor sat through a full day of trial board proceedings at MSP general headquarters in Framingham. When that concluded in the late afternoon, the board decided to continue for a second day on Feb. 10. Neither Wednesday’s proceeding nor the second day is open to the public.

Proctor was relieved of duty on July 1 of last year, which was the day the Read trial concluded in mistrial. He was suspended without pay a week later. The State Police finished its internal affairs investigation last week and convened the trial board to determine the next step in the disciplinary process.

The trial board makes disciplinary recommendations to the superintendent, who determines the final outcome.

“A State Police Trial Board shall hear cases regarding violations of Rules, Regulations, Policies, Procedures, Orders, or Directives,” states the Department’s Rules and Regulations.

“In the event that the Trial Board finds guilt by a preponderance of the evidence on one or more of the charges, the Trial Board shall consider the evidence presented by the Department prosecutor pertaining to the accused member’s prior offenses/disciplinary history, and shall make recommendations for administrative action,” the rules and regulations state.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and leaving the scene of a collision causing the death of O’Keefe, a 16-year Boston Police officer when he died at age 46 on Jan. 29, 2022. Read’s second trial is scheduled to begin April 16.

Originally Published: January 15, 2025 at 6:56 PM EST

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Massachusetts

Local startups recovering from the burst tech funding bubble – The Boston Globe

Published

10 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Local startups recovering from the burst tech funding bubble – The Boston Globe

Tech startups based in Massachusetts finished 2024 with a buzz of activity in venture capital fundraising.

In the fourth quarter, 191 startups raised a total of $4.1 billion, 20 percent more than startups raised in the same period a year earlier, according to a report from research firm Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. For the full year, local startups raised $15.7 billion, about the same as in 2023.

The stability ended two years of sharp declines from the peak of startup fundraising in 2021. Slowing e-commerce sales, volatility in tech stock prices, and higher interest rates combined to slam the brakes on startup VC activity over the past three years. The 2024 total is less half the $34.7 billion Massachusetts startups raised in 2021.

But local startup investors have expressed optimism that VC backing will continue to pick up in 2025.

The fourth quarter’s activity was led by battery maker Form Energy’s $455 million deal and biotech obesity drugmaker Kailera Therapeutics’ $400 million deal, both in October, and MIT spinoff Liquid AI’s $250 million deal last month. Two more biotech VC deals in October rounded out the top five. Seaport Therapeutics, working on new antidepressants, raised $226 million and Alpha-9 Oncology, developing new treatments for cancer patients, raised $175 million.

Massachusetts ranked third in the country in VC activity in the quarter. Startups based in California raised $49.9 billion and New York-based companies raised $5.3 billion.

Venture capital firms, however, had an even harder time raising money in 2024 compared to earlier years. Massachusetts firms raised $5.9 billion, down 7 percent from 2023 and the lowest total since 2018. That mirrored the national trend, as VC firms across the country raised $76.1 billion, down 22 percent from 2023 and the lowest since 2019.

Only one Massachusetts-based VC firm raised more than $1 billion in 2024, a more common occurrence in prior years, according to the report: Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge raised $2.6 billion in July for its eighth investment fund plus another $1 billion for smaller funds. The firm, founded by biotech entrepreneur Noubar Afeyan, helps develop scientific research for startups in addition to providing funding.

The next largest deals were Cambridge-based Atlas Ventures’ $450 million biotech-focused fund announced last month and Engine Ventures $400 million fund investing in climate tech startups announced in June.

The decline comes as VC firms have had trouble getting a return on their investments, because so few startups have been able to go public. Just six biotech companies based in Massachusetts and no tech companies went public last year.

Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.

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Massachusetts

Mass. gives noncompliant towns more time to meet MBTA zoning regulations

Published

19 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Mass. gives noncompliant towns more time to meet MBTA zoning regulations

The Healey administration filed emergency regulations late Tuesday afternoon to implement the controversial law meant to spur greater housing production, after Massachusetts’ highest court struck down the last pass at drafting those rules.

The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the MBTA Communities Act as a constitutional law last week, but said it was “ineffective” until the governor’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities promulgated new guidelines. The court said EOHLC did not follow state law when creating the regulations the first time around, rendering them “presently unenforceable.”

The emergency regulations filed Tuesday are in effect for 90 days. Over the next three months, EOHLC intends to adopt permanent guidelines following a public comment period, before the expiration of the temporary procedures, a release from the office said.

“The emergency regulations do not substantively change the law’s zoning requirements and do not affect any determinations of compliance that have been already issued by EOHLC. The regulations do provide additional time for MBTA communities that failed to meet prior deadlines to come into compliance with the law,” the press release said.

Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state’s attorney general has the power to enforce the MBTA Communities Law, which requires communities near MBTA services to zone for more multifamily housing, but it also ruled that existing guidelines aren’t enforceable.

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The MBTA Communities Act requires 177 municipalities that host or are adjacent to MBTA service to zone for multifamily housing by right in at least one district.

Cities and towns are classified in one of four categories, and there were different compliance deadlines in the original regulations promulgated by EOHLC: host to rapid transit service (deadline of Dec. 31, 2023), host to commuter rail service (deadline of Dec. 31, 2024), adjacent community (deadline of Dec. 31, 2024) and adjacent small town (deadline of Dec. 31, 2025).

Under the emergency regulations, communities that did not meet prior deadlines must submit a new action plan to the state with a plan to comply with the law by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2025. These communities will then have until July 14, 2025, to submit a district compliance application to the state.

Communities designated as adjacent small towns still face the Dec. 31, 2025 deadline to adopt compliant zoning.

The town of Needham voted Tuesday on a special referendum over whether to re-zone the town for 3,000 more units of housing under Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities law.

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Like the old version of the guidelines, the new emergency regulations gives EOHLC the right to determine whether a city or town’s zoning provisions to allow for multi-family housing as of right are consistent with certain affordability requirements, and to determine what is a “reasonable size” for the multi-family zoning district.

The filing of emergency regulations comes six days after the SJC decision — though later than the governor’s office originally projected. Healey originally said her team would move to craft new regulations by the end of last week to plug the gap opened up by the ruling.

“These regulations will allow us to continue moving forward with implementation of the MBTA Communities Law, which will increase housing production and lower costs across the state,” Healey said in a statement Tuesday. “These regulations allow communities more time to come into compliance with the law, and we are committed to working with them to advance zoning plans that fit their unique needs.”

A total of 116 communities out of the 177 subject to the law have already adopted multi-family zoning districts to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, according to EOHLC.

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