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Massport set to hike parking fees as payroll grows

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 22 Maret 2014 | 18.39

The cost of parking at Logan International Airport could soon soar by as much a $3 a day, Massport announced, just days after the Herald reported the agency's skyrocketing payroll topped the $100 million mark.

"They're not interested in losing one nickel on what they can squeeze out of people that park at Logan," said David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University. "They're going to drive those rates to the point they get as much money as they can. They're not in a million years going to look for a place to save money."

Central Parking could climb to $30 a day, while the so-called "economy lot" could cost drivers $21 per day, under the Massport proposal that would be effective July 1. Hourly rates could jump $2 to $3, though the first hour will stay at $6.

And that's just the beginning. Massport will also look at spiking the rates again effective 2016.

The parking pain comes just days after the Herald reported that Massport salaries ballooned to $100.8 million this year — nearly $7 million more than last year and much more than the $87.9 million the agency first projected.

Massport also announced a pilot shuttle bus between the Back Bay and Logan at a cost of $5 per rider, but it's unclear whether the agency will have to subsidize the service.

Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis said the agency froze positions and salaries for about three years during the recession and the number of workers has dropped by 45 since 2008.

Meanwhile, Logan passenger numbers increased 16 percent since then, putting more demand on parking facilities, he said. The agency will spend $60 million for 2,000 more spaces at Logan and $30 million for a garage at the Framingham Logan Express — something the increase could help fund, he said.

"We really are doing more with less," said Brelis.


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Southboro’s Globoforce cancels IPO

A Southboro tech company canceled its initial public offering hours before markets opened yesterday, a move experts said was a sign of low demand for shares of Globoforce, not a trend that will drag down other tech companies looking to go public soon.

Globoforce, which makes employee recognition software for businesses, said late Thursday night it had canceled the deal after initially scaling down the IPO earlier Thursday.

"Despite receiving overwhelming interest in our initial public offering, we have decided to postpone our offering until market conditions are more favorable for our company and our customers," said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce, in a statement.

Scott Johnson, managing partner of New Atlantic Ventures in Cambridge and an investor in Enernoc when it went public, said those "market conditions" were likely related to Globoforce, not the market in general.

"It's hard to conclude that this is the canary in the coal mine," Johnson said. "I would say the odds are this is a company-specific situation, where the investors' appetite for this particular offer was below the expectations of the company."

Matt Wong, an analyst with CB Insights, said one possible red flag was the company's distribution of revenue.

"Their 10 largest clients make up 70 percent of their revenue," Wong said.

A Globoforce spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the company's statement.


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'20s charm abounds in Belmont home

This classic colonial in Belmont has been updated but retains much of its woodwork and charming details, such as arched doorways.

Built in 1928, the five-bedroom home at 22 Adams St. lies in the town's high-end Presidential Estates subdivision. The gabled, hip-roofed house, with an attached two-car rear garage, has seen major kitchen and bathroom updates and new heating and central air systems. It's on the market for $1,395,000.

There's a custom stone wall-enclosed patio in the front yard, and a granite walkway leads up to the house, which has a brick exterior first floor and newly repainted light-blue clapboard above. There's a stone-floored entry with a coat closet to one side that opens into a large hardwood-floored foyer with a turning staircase.

To the left is a formal living room with hardwood floors, a beamed ceiling and sconce lighting. The sunny room has six windows and a wood-burning fireplace with a restored mantel.

A french door from the living room leads into a home office with built-in shelving. To the right of the foyer is a sitting room with hardwood floors and crown molding that leads through french doors into a formal dining room. This sunny room has five windows and restored maple floors.

It segues into an L-shaped recessed-lit kitchen that underwent a major renovation in 1997, including restored maple floors. There are over 40 custom hand-painted white cabinets in three distinct areas above and below black granite countertops. There's a dining area with two windows and six glass-fronted cabinets. The main preparation area has lots of drawers and shelves, and an adjacent pantry area has large cabinets. There's a stainless-steel Thermador gas stove and two black Thermador wall ovens, a stainless-steel LG dishwasher and Kitchen Aid compactor and a Maytag side-by-side refrigerator that was added last year.

There's a door from the pantry area out to a rear deck with cedar floors and mahogany railings that has stairs down to a small grass backyard. Back inside, at the back of the first floor, is a guest bedroom with two windows as well a full bathroom added in 1998 that has a blue tile floor, white-tiled walk-in shower and a white pedestal sink.

There are three bedrooms on the home's second floor reached via a turning staircase in the foyer.

The master bedroom suite underwent a major renovation in 1998 with restored hardwood floors and a custom walk-in closet with built-in drawers and cabinets. The en-suite bathroom has a beige marble floor and marble-topped double-sink vanity. There's a white-tiled double steam shower with a marble bench and a skylight above.

The second and third bedrooms are good-sized, and both have hardwood floors and alcoves with built-in desks on one side and dresser drawers on the other,

A second full bath was redone in 1998 with a white marble floor and marble-topped double sink vanity and a white-tiled walled whirlpool tub and shower.

The carpeted fifth bedroom is one floor above in a converted attic with a window.

The home's basement was remodeled in 2001. Stairs lead down to a ceramic-tiled laundry and storage room with a wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets and a full-size Maytag washer and dryer.

Off this room is a large, carpeted recessed-lit family room with a wood-burning fireplace.

A closet holds a heating and central air-conditioning system added in 2001, at which time new electrical,. plumbing and coaxial cable wiring were also upgraded.

There's also an attached two-car garage in the basement, with automated doors and parking for an additional vehicle under the deck and in a long driveway. But there's no direct access to the house from the garage.

There's not a lot of yard space, but the area around the home is nicely landscaped with birch trees and flowering bushes.


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Obama: Women still face outdated policies at work

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the U.S. economy hasn't caught up to the new reality that women now make up about half of the workforce.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says women still earn about 77 cents for every dollar men earn. He says women face outdated policies that hold them back in the workplace, which then hurts their families and the broader economy.

Obama says Congress must act to address those problems. He's calling for Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

Obama says, quote, "When women succeed, America succeeds."

In the Republican address, Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan says there's an economic comeback in states led by Republican governors. He says it can happen nationally if the country follows their lead.

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.youtube.com/user/gopweeklyaddress


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Sanctions not seen as damaging to U.S.

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 21 Maret 2014 | 18.38

Economic sanctions President Obama ordered yesterday against some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest associates will have little impact on the U.S. or global economies, unless they are expanded to restrict Russia's energy exports to Europe, experts said.

"In terms of the global economy, unless gas exports from Russia to Western Europe are part of the sanctions, the impacts will be very small," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.

In his latest round of sanctions over the crisis in Crimea, Obama targeted Putin's chief of staff and 19 others, as well as a major Russian bank that provides them with support.

But that alone will have little, if any, effect on the U.S. economy because Russia is not one of our major trading partners, said Doug Handler, IHS's chief U.S. economist. Russia retaliated, imposing entry bans on U.S. lawmakers and senior White House officials.

"Should there be a collapse in trade volume between the two countries, it would not have a major impact on U.S. economic growth," Handler said. "The greatest impact we'd see would be through Europe."

European Union leaders yesterday announced sanctions on 12 more people linked to Russia's annexation of Crimea. Obama said his administration has been working closely with Europe on more severe actions if Russia continues its incursions into Ukraine.

Yesterday, he signed an executive order giving the U.S. authority to impose sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy.

"This is not our preferred outcome," Obama said. "These sanctions would not only have a significant impact on the Russian economy, but could also be disruptive to the global economy."

Earlier this month, the showdown in Ukraine caused both U.S. and European markets to fall, as the crisis stoked fears of a tit-for-tat campaign of economic sanctions between Western powers and Russia — Massachusetts' 28th largest export market last year, accounting for less than $150 million of the state's exports.

"Russia is a promising market and a trade partner, but not a terribly important one for either the U.S. or Massachusetts," said Andre Mayer, senior vice president at Associated Industries of Massachusetts. "Sanctions should not be damaging to our industries, as long as they are carried out with Western European nations."

Herald wire services contributed to this report.


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Howard Johnson Inn to get ‘edgy’ redo

An "edgy" and "irreverent" 94-room boutique hotel paying homage to the Fenway's musical and artistic history will replace the shuttered and past-its-prime Howard Johnson Inn.

Samuels & Associates plans to open The Verb this summer after an 
$18.8 million-plus redevelopment that will include an interior gut-renovation of the Boylston Street property while preserving the 1959 building's mid-century facade and architecture.

It will be the first hotel for Samuels, which is credited with breathing new life into the Fenway with numerous residential, retail and office projects, including Fenway Triangle Trilogy, 1330 Boylston St. and the Van Ness Building. For this development, it is partnering with Weiner Ventures and Spot-On Ventures, developers of the Mandarin Oriental Boston.

"We're completely refurbishing the entire building," said Spot-On principal Robin Brown, a former 13-year general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. "It was a very high-quality building that lacked in love. We're more than tipping our hat to the original architects' design intent, making it authentic, but modern."

The team hired a London branding firm to brainstorm about the hotel's positioning, its style of service and attitude, and its name.

"Everything about the hotel will be a little bit irreverent," Brown said. "This is like me having a midlife crisis of hotels that's grounded with superb service and superb details, nailed with a huge sense of humor. This is not going to be a serious hotel."

The hotel's lobby will include a DJ spinning vinyl albums that will be on display. Boston music and pop-culture memorabilia ranging from historic Boston Phoenix covers to photos of musicians who performed in Boston or appeared on WFNX-FM radio also will decorate the public spaces.

"Once we really got to know the building, we saw that (it) really had great bones," said Leslie Cohen, Samuels' executive vice president of development. "We thought this was a great opportunity to create a spectacular new product in short order. Hotel rooms are in high demand."

Room rates are expected to start in the $200 range.

The hotel will include a heated outdoor pool and deck, along with a 4,000-square-foot, three-meal restaurant and bar.

"We're looking for (a chef) that fits in with the vibe of the Fenway — someone who is up-and-coming and consistent with our restaurateurs," Cohen said.


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Health Connector tab grows

The state could lose up to $90 million in federal funds because lingering problems with its disastrous Obama­care website have kept tens of thousands of people on health plans that were supposed to expire in January — forcing it to burn up cigarette tax funds to fill the gap — and that's only part of a fast-approaching hit on taxpayers, experts told the Herald.

"Ninety million extra is a floor for what the coming taxpayer bill will be," said Joshua Archambault, a health care expert at the Pioneer Institute. "Taxpayers will pay for all the pieces of this puzzle that they wouldn't be paying for if the site had worked."

The Health Connector is asking for an extension through Sept. 30 for more than 100,000 people on subsidized plans known as Commonwealth Care — who haven't been able to move to Obamacare-compliant plans because of the bad site, leaving the Bay State with an approximately $10 million a month penalty in federal funding.

"This is the impact of lost federal revenue, lost federal support, due to IT system challenges," Administration and Finance Secretary Glen Shor told the Herald yesterday. So the state will now tap a Connector trust fund used to subsidize health care costs — including cigarette tax revenue — to help fix the mess.

But the $90 million is just one of the costs piling up in the signature Democratic program that has become a headache for Gov. Deval Patrick. Optum, the company hired earlier this year to address technology issues, is charging $16.4 million just through March. Consulting group MITRE also reviewed the system and filed two different reports, though it's unclear how much they'll be paid.

Developer CGI has only been paid $15 million of its $69 million milestone-based contract, but it is unclear whether the state will have to shell out more. Then there is the cost of placing 84,000 Bay Staters on temporary Medicaid coverage — after the state was overwhelmed by the backlog of applications and couldn't process them before applicants' plans expired.

"The cost of temporary coverage will still need to unfold," Shor said. "There are a number of variables."

Stakeholders find the uncertainty unacceptable.

"It's concerning that the state remains unable to quantify the total cost of ownership for their utter failure to comply with the federal health care overhaul," said David A. Shore of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters. "Perhaps more concerning is their complete lack of transparency and accountability on these complex financial issues to residents of the commonwealth."

The experts say with temporary insurance, some new customers who are eligible for some subsidies are essentially getting a free ride now — avoiding hundreds of dollars in premiums and out-of-pocket costs — while the state figures out their eligibility. An unknown number of applicants may not be eligible at all.

"Literally anybody in the commonwealth could sign up right now and be put onto the program," Archambault said.

Exactly who pays for the expenses they rack up in the meantime is still unclear, but Shore predicted all of this will simply drive up health care costs in the end.

"History suggests that the administration will attempt to recoup these monies through assessments on health insurance premiums paid for by small businesses and individual consumers," Shore said. "This is something that all consumers should watch carefully."


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Putnam CEO picked to also run parent co.

Putnam Investments President and CEO Robert L. Reynolds has been tapped to also head the Boston firm's parent company as it combines its retirement businesses to serve the U.S. marketplace with greater breadth.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Winnipeg-based Great-West Lifeco, Inc., announced the appointment of Reynolds as president and CEO of Great-West Lifeco U.S., the company that owns Putnam Investments and Denver-based Great-West Financial. Reynolds also will assume those roles at Great-West Financial after its president and CEO retires in May, but he will continue to hold his positions at Putnam and remain based in Boston.

"Bob has been a driving force of innovation and industry progress in financial services for three decades — having led institutional and retail asset management, insurance and retirement services businesses over the course of his career," said Paul Mahon, president and CEO of Great-West Lifeco.

Under Reynolds' leadership, the retirement businesses of Putnam Investments and Great-West Financial will be combined and offer comprehensive retirement services to small-, mid- and large-sized corporate 401(k) clients, state and municipal employee retirement plans, and public education and nonprofit employee plans. Combined, the two companies have more than 5 million participants and oversee $220 billion in assets.

"We see a huge opportunity to see the businesses collaborate," Reynolds said. "Together we can grow faster than we can grow separately."


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Jury finds against Herald in libel suit

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 20 Maret 2014 | 18.39

A Suffolk Superior Court jury yesterday found the Boston Herald responsible for defamation in a case arising from a May 28, 2009 article regarding a prison visit involving Joanna Marinova at Old Colony Prison in Bridgewater earlier that month. The newspaper states that it expects to "ultimately prevail in this matter."

"The Herald has stated since its May 28, 2009 article on a major security breach at Old Colony Prison was published that its article was entirely correct, from its headline to its last line," the Herald said in a statement. "The article was meticulously researched, carefully written and extremely well-documented. We are proud of it, and of the journalist who wrote it."

The verdict, which came in after a 13-day trial and more than two days of deliberations, awarded Marinova $13,052 in compensatory damages and $550,000 on her claim that the Herald negligently caused her emotional distress.

The Herald said it will continue to defend its article and reporter Jessica Van Sack going forward.

"Lawsuits like the one filed here are serious threats not only to the rights of a free and robust press, but to the rights of the citizenry that expects, and depends upon, that free and robust press," the newspaper said. "The Herald fully expects to ultimately prevail in this matter."

The trial was overseen by Superior Court Judge James F. Lang.


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The Ticker

Toyota to pay $1.2B to settle criminal probe

Toyota agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle an investigation by the U.S. government, admitting that it hid information about defects that caused Toyota and Lexus vehicles to accelerate unexpectedly and resulted in injuries and deaths.

Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday that the penalty is the largest of its kind ever imposed on an auto company. The four-year criminal investigation focused on whether Toyota promptly reported the problems related to unintended acceleration.

N.Y. plant fined $12.5M for polluting

An industrial plant that knowingly released hundreds of tons of the carcinogen benzene into the air over a five-year span and improperly handled hazardous sludge on the ground was fined $12.5 million yesterday, and a manager was sentenced to a year in jail.

Tonawanda Coke Corp. and its former environmental manager, Mark Kamholz, were convicted of federal environmental crimes last year. The plant, along the Niagara River, burns coal to produce coke, used in steelmaking.

FAA: Boeing 787 jetliners are safe

Boeing's design and manufacture of its cutting-edge 787 jetliner is safe despite the many problems encountered since the plane's rollout, including a fire that forced a redesign of its batteries, according to a report issued jointly yesterday by the Federal Aviation Administration and the aircraft maker.

The yearlong review concluded "the aircraft was soundly designed, met its intended safety level, and that the manufacturer and the FAA had effective processes in place to identify and correct issues that emerged before and after certification," the agency said in a statement.

TODAY

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for February.

 Nike reports quarterly financial results after the market closes.

TOMORROW

 Tiffany reports quarterly financial results before the market opens.

THE SHUFFLE

NVNA Works, a nonprofit, private-pay home care agency, has named Ellen Allen to its board of directors. She is currently chairwoman of both the Plymouth County Advisory Board and the Norwell Board of Selectmen.

L Kristina Lupo has joined the 451 Marketing search marketing team as account director. With more than 12 years experience in advertising and radio, Lupo will be responsible for managing the development and execution of integrated search campaigns for 451 Marketing's clients.


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Business is crazy for March Madness

March Madness, once dreaded by businesses and managers as a productivity killer, is being accepted and even embraced as a morale booster despite some estimates that say the wildly popular tournament costs U.S. employers billions of dollars.

"I would be hard-pressed to think there are a lot of companies that are not doing something for March Madness," said Kelly Workman, Boston market manager for Robert Half International, a staffing firm. "You can fight it or you can go with it and try to make the most out of it."

Research by Challenger, Gray and Christmas estimates just filling out brackets will cost employers across the U.S. at least $1.9 billion for every hour employees spend on it. Still, the firm sees March Madness as a positive.

"We think it's a good buy for American companies," John Challenger said. "Companies are looking for ways, in this era, to bring their workers together and to build trust and to build relationships around them."

Challenger said the NCAA tournament is unlike any other event.

"It is such a quintessentially workplace event," he said.

In recent years, coverage of the tournament has shifted online, with the NCAA and CBS boasting that every game is available live. This can lead to IT problems, Challenger said, with basketball games eating up a company's valuable bandwidth. The response to this, he said, is to put televisions in break and lunch rooms, rather than completely shut off access to the games.

Workman said many of her clients are using the tournament for good, doing everything from projecting the games on a wall to donating proceeds from bracket pools to charity.

Hunter Perry, Boston lead at WeWork, said WeWork has organized a bracket pool — for prizes, not cash — across all 17 of its locations and 8,000 members.

"It helps connect people that probably would have never connected prior," Perry said. "It's a good way to bring together like-minded people or people who have similar interests."

Perry said he expects the private sports lounge in WeWork's Fort Point location to be in high demand.

Jordan Fliegel, CEO and founder of CoachUp, is taking a measured approach. He said he has no problem with employees keeping an eye on games, as long as they stay productive.

"We treat people like adults," he said. "Startups are a marathon, you have got to put some fun into it."


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Fed may end stimulus this fall

The Federal Reserve could end its bond-buying stimulus this fall, and interest rates could start to rise six months later, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said yesterday after leading the Federal Open Market Committee meeting for the first time.

U.S. stocks fell slightly on the news that the Fed's first rate hike could come as soon as April 2015, rather than the second half of 2015, if the Fed continues tapering its "quantitative easing" program. Yesterday, it reduced the monthly bond-buying pace by $10 billion, to $55 billion, as expected.

"The FOMC continues to see sufficient underlying strength in the economy to support ongoing improvements in the labor market," Yellen said.

The Fed now will look at a broader range of data to determine the economy's strength and when to raise rates instead of tying plans to keep them steady to "well past the time" when the unemployment rate drops below 6.5 percent. But, Yellen stressed, that "does not indicate any change in the committee's policy intentions." Its assessment will consider labor market, inflation and financial market indicators, the Fed said.

"They had attempted to offer forward guidance a little over a year ago in terms of the unemployment rate — that's become obsolete," said Jeffrey Frankel, an economist at Harvard's Kennedy School. "There's nothing to suggest in (yesterday's) news that they have yet to come up with a replacement."

The Fed is moving in the right direction with its stimulus reductions, but doing so too slowly, said Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economics professor. "Countries that have printed this much money to pay their bills get into trouble eventually with inflation," he said.


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Asian stocks mostly down ahead of Fed news

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 19 Maret 2014 | 18.38

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stock markets mostly drifted lower Wednesday ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve's first policy meeting under its new chief.

The Asian heavyweight index, Tokyo's Nikkei 225, was down 0.5 percent at 14,335.81 and China's Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.9 percent to 2,007.97.

Other Asian markets were also muted. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2 percent to 1,937.30 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2 percent to 21,549.49. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1 percent to 5,350.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to issue a statement and hold a press conference Wednesday after the end of its two-day policy meeting. It is the central bank's first policy meeting since Janet Yellen replaced Ben Bernanke as governor.

Most analysts expect the Fed to continue to reduce its monetary stimulus at the speed it has already set, trimming its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion. It is also expected to revise its economic forecasts.

In Europe and on Wall Street, stock markets were boosted Tuesday by relief over narrower-than-expected Western sanctions on Russia after its military intervention in Crimea and annexation of the Ukrainian region. Housing reports from the U.S. Commerce Department also underpinned investor sentiment.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13.42 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,872.25 on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 88.97 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,336.19. The Nasdaq composite climbed 53.36 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,333.31.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery declined 18 cents to $99.52 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.62 to $99.70 on Tuesday on expectations that the solid U.S. economic outlook would increase oil demand.

In currency markets, the euro fell to $1.3920 from $1.3933 late Tuesday. The dollar rose to 101.48 yen from 101.43 yen.


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Report: US, Toyota may reach settlement in probe

TOKYO — The Wall Street Journal is reporting the U.S. Justice Department may reach a $1 billion settlement with Toyota Motor Corp., ending a four-year criminal investigation into the Japanese automaker's disclosure of safety problems.

Toyota declined comment Wednesday on the report, which cited unnamed sources who said a settlement still could fall apart. Toyota said it is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's office. The U.S. Justice Department was not immediately available for comment.

The investigation focuses on whether Toyota was forthright in reporting quality problems related to unintended acceleration troubles.

Starting in 2009, Toyota issued massive recalls, mostly in the U.S., totaling more than 10 million vehicles for various problems including faulty brakes, gas pedals and floor mats.

From 2010 through 2012, Toyota Motor Corp. paid fines totaling more than $66 million for delays in reporting unintended acceleration problems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration never found defects in electronics or software in Toyota cars, which had been targeted as a possible cause by many, including some experts.

The Justice Department is now looking into whether U.S. automaker General Motors Co. was slow in recalling cars with a defect linked to 13 deaths.

Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said the timing of one investigation possibly closing versus another opening was interesting.

"The cases are similar because they both involve a long, established history of vehicle incidents that took years to identify and address," he said.

Toyota will likely be able to put the issue behind it by reaching a settlement, he said.

"GM is just getting started on its path to resolution and will probably be working to resolve the ignition switch recall for some time."


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London 'draining life' from rest of UK economy

LONDON — There's London. And then there's the rest of the U.K.

A tale of two Britains has increasingly emerged since the Great Recession. While the government trumpets the country's recovery from the financial crisis and its status as the world's fastest-growing developed economy, the rhetoric hides an increasing divide: One that pits London's boom against the malaise in cities such as Manchester and Birmingham that are struggling to remain vibrant in the 21st century.

Buoyed by foreign investment and a resurgent financial industry, the economy of London and the rest of Britain's South East region has expanded almost twice as fast as the rest of the country since the 2008 financial crisis. A chasm that began opening with the decline of Britain's textile and coal industries a century ago is widening as London's ability to attract jobs and investment leaves the rest of the country struggling.

Britain's economy is, by some calculations, the most dependent on a single urban area among the world's most industrialized nations.

"It's almost the definition of polarization," said Danny Dorling, a professor of geography at Oxford University. "It's pulling apart in a quite dramatic way."

Policymakers are considering a range of ideas to address the imbalance. Among them is building a 43 billion-pound ($71 billion) high-speed rail network to connect London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, helping the northern cities become viable alternatives for businesses to locate. Another idea is for Manchester and Liverpool to merge into a super-city that could better compete with London for investment.

The issue of economic inequality — how to get more people to share the fruits of the recovery — is of growing concern for governments around the world.

It is also central to the political fortunes of Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservatives are trying to broaden their base into traditional Labour Party strongholds outside southeastern Britain in hopes of winning next year's election. The Conservatives were forced to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats after failing to win a majority four years ago after 13 years of Labour governments.

A HOUSE DIVIDED

Measured in terms of geography, Britain's economic divide is among the widest of the seven most industrialized countries, according to figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. London and the rest of Britain's South East region account for about 35 percent of U.K. economic output. Only Tokyo and Paris and their surrounding regions rival London for the top spot. New York, the biggest economic center in the United States, generates just 7.3 percent of national gross domestic product. In the case of Britain and Japan, critics note the countries are smaller, making it easier for one metropolitan area to dominate.

When Mayor Boris Johnson recently suggested that London issue its own visas for international artists and technology wizards, critics only half-joked that London might take it a step further and become its own city state, like the Vatican.

That dominance translates into higher wages for workers in London as the city attracts those with skills in high demand. Londoners last year earned an average of 41,143 pounds ($68,297), 51 percent more than the national average.

The gap is even bigger in the housing market, where foreign buyers have snapped up London homes as investments rather than places to live. So vast is the demand for high-end homes that London's skyline is changing, with glass-and-steel apartment blocks sprouting along the banks of the Thames.

Home prices in the most expensive parts of London are now almost 25 times higher than Britain's cheapest homes, up from 10 times in 2007, according to research by the independent Smith Institute.

The capital's supporters note that London's strength benefits the rest of Britain by attracting investment that would otherwise go to New York or Hong Kong and creating wealth that spills into other parts of Britain.

London-based businesses are the biggest private-sector employers in each of the U.K.'s 62 cities, according to the Centre for Cities, a think tank focused on urban issues. And London generates roughly 99 billion pounds in taxes and receives 94 billion pounds in government spending in return — leaving a 5 billion pound subsidy for the rest of the country.

Yet that is not translating into new jobs.

The Centre for Cities found that the capital region, which has about a quarter of Britain's people, accounted for 80 percent of private-sector employment growth between 2010 and 2012. Northern cities like Bradford, Blackpool and Glasgow lost jobs in both the private and public sectors.

Many cities outside London are dependent on public employers. They are losing jobs as the government slashes spending to control a deficit swelled by bank bailouts.

"London is becoming a kind of giant suction machine, draining the life out of the rest of the country," Business Secretary Vince Cable told the BBC late last year. "More balance in that respect would be helpful."

REGIONAL SHIFTS

It wasn't always like this. Northern England used to be the heart of the British economy. The textile mills and coal mines fueled the Industrial Revolution and boomed with the affluence of the British Empire in Victorian times and well into the 20th century.

But globalization hit the aging industries hard. The deregulation of the financial markets in the mid-1980s touched off a boom in London that surpassed anything the others could muster. The city became one of the world's largest financial centers, with banks that reached across the globe.

There was hope that the Great Recession would bring more balance as the government tightened regulations on the London-dominated financial industry after providing tens of billions of pounds of bailouts.

But the financial sector bounced back relatively quickly. And the crisis only magnified London's allure as a safe place for foreigners to invest in property and an island of opportunity for professionals, entrepreneurs and artists from other European countries that are still in the economic doldrums.

Tony Travers, an expert on the capital at the London School of Economics, has likened London to a dark star — attracting all comers and swallowing investment.

"It would be better if there were other, smaller dark stars," he said. "It would be better to have a constellation of dark stars."

The high-speed rail project is one way to stimulate other economic centers. It could allow Northern cities to capitalize on their strengths while giving them access to the financial markets, entrepreneurs and cultural attractions of London. In anticipation of the project, Birmingham last month unveiled plans to build 350,000 square meters (3.8 million square feet) of office space and 2,000 homes near the city's main railway station.

BUILDING FOR SCALE

Jim O'Neill, a former Goldman Sachs economist, notes that Britain contrasts with China, Germany and the United States, all of which have many urban areas fueling their economies. To help counterbalance London's dominance, O'Neill, who is heading a commission on cities, has floated the idea that long-time rivals Manchester and Liverpool might be linked to create a supercity of the north — ManPool for short. The concentration of people, ideas and competition would help drive innovation and growth, O'Neill said.

Civic leaders in England say another way to rebalance the economy would be to give them more control over their own finances.

George Ferguson, mayor of the western port city of Bristol, complains that U.K. cities are allowed to retain only a small percentage of local tax revenue, making them unduly dependent on central government. Giving city leaders more control would help communities generate better ideas to solve their own problems and attract investors, he said.

With Scotland preparing to vote for independence, and Wales and Northern Ireland gaining increasing rights to govern their own affairs, it's inevitable that cities in the rest of the country should start wondering about whether they, too, should get more local control, said Paul Swinney, the senior economist of Centre for Cities.

Essentially, politicians in London need to be persuaded to give up power in the regions. That will require tact.

"Maybe England needs a lobby," said Neil Rami, the chief executive of Marketing Birmingham.

PLAY TO THE STRENGTHS

Perhaps the simplest suggestion is for smaller cities to stop obsessing about London and recognize that they can compete in different ways.

Take the arts, one of London's big selling points. The idea is that people love to have artists around, making run-down areas buzzy with pop-up exhibitions and hip coffee shops. The artists move in, and areas regenerate.

Mike Emmerich, chief executive of the Manchester think tank New Economy, acknowledged that his city can't compete with the sheer number of theater productions, fashion shows and other cultural happenings in London. But it can sell itself as the place where art is created, offering space to paint, sew or sculpt without having to pay sky-high London rents.

"We're a small country with a globally leading city," he said. "It's nonsensical in some way to say, 'We can be like London.' "

In other words, Manchester should be offering incentives to the young and gifted like Jenny Postle and Sam Leutton, who together form the luxury knitwear brand Leutton Postle.

Leutton, from greater Manchester, and Postle, from near Birmingham, bear no grudges against their hometowns. Their label works closely with their sponsor, yarn maker Lurex, which is based in Leicester in central England.

But as they describe their devotion to the capital— its cosmopolitan air, its excitement, its vibe — the struggle of smaller cities to keep the trailblazers is evident. Neither could really imagine being elsewhere.

"London is London," Leutton said.


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China, New Zealand begin direct currency trading

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — China on Wednesday allowed its currency to be directly traded with the New Zealand dollar in another step toward allowing greater international use of the yuan.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced the start of trading during a trip to China.

Previously, a company that needed to trade New Zealand dollars for Chinese yuan in China had to use a third currency, typically the U.S. dollar.

New Zealand allows open trading of its currency. China has strict capital controls which allow it to control the value of the yuan, an important economic and political tool in a developing country where tens of millions of jobs are tied to exporting.

China's government is gradually expanding opportunities for the yuan to be used outside its borders for trade and investment. It has previously allowed only five currencies to be directly traded with the yuan: the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar, the Russian ruble and the Malaysian ringgit.

China is New Zealand's largest export market. New Zealand in 2008 became the first developed nation to sign a free trade agreement with China.

Key said the move will make it easier for New Zealanders to do business in China and will stimulate trade and investment.


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Glitch disrupts Fidelity Web orders

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 18 Maret 2014 | 18.38

Fidelity Investments is working with an undisclosed number of brokerage clients whose online orders were delayed or accidentally duplicated yesterday, a spokesman said.

The malfunction, which began at about 9:45 a.m. and lasted for about a half-hour, stemmed from "technical difficulties routing orders to the market," said Fidelity spokesman Stephen Austin.

"Earlier this morning, some online trades were delayed or duplicated," Austin said in an email. "We took prompt steps to resolve this. The site is now operating normally. We are working with customers to address those trades that were affected. If a customer lost money due to this, we will make them whole."

Headed by Chairman and CEO Edward Johnson III, Fidelity oversees $4.5 trillion as a record-keeper for investors in retirement accounts, for financial advisers served by the firm and for individual customers of its online brokerage business. The Boston-based firm had 19.2 million brokerage accounts and processed an average of 407,400 "commissionable trades" every day during the fourth quarter of 2013, according to its website.

Herald wire services contributed to this report.


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Martha Coakley backs AGs’ call to snuff smokes

A group of 28 state attorneys general are calling on Wal-Mart and other retailers to follow the lead of CVS Caremark and stop selling tobacco products in their stores with pharmacies — a move Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley backs but has not yet signed.

The group's letters to Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Kroger and Safeway said there is a "contradiction in having these dangerous and devastating tobacco products on the shelves of a retail chain that services health care needs."

"The availability of such products in a retail store that also serves as a pharmacy normalizes tobacco use," the letters stated.

Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS said in February that it would stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its 7,600-plus stores by Oct. 1 — the first national drugstore chain to make the pledge.

Coakley didn't join her New England counterparts in signing the letters because her office didn't have the opportunity to fully review them before the deadline, said spokesman Christopher Loh, though he added, "We commended CVS Caremark for removing all tobacco products from its shelves, and we support this letter in urging these fellow retailers to voluntarily do the same."

Wal-Mart and Walgreens said they are reviewing the letters.

"We are always evaluating options and programs for our stores and our customers," Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower said.

Kroger and Safeway do not operate stores in Massachusetts.

U.S. cigarette sales totaled $91.5 billion last year, according to Euromonitor International.

The letters from the attorneys general did not mention electronic cigarettes, which contain nicotine liquid that creates an inhalable vapor when heated. E-cigarettes generated sales of nearly $2 billion last year and are sold by Wal-Mart, Walgreen, Kroger and Rite Aid.

Herald wire services contributed to this report.


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Wal-Mart to accept video game trade-ins in stores

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart plans to expand its video game trade-in program to its stores, offering store credit for thousands of video games.

The world's largest retailer plans to let video game owners trade in used video games online and in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores for store credit but not cash. Previously they offered trade-ins on a more limited basis online.

It will also offer refurbished used games in its stores for the first time. Wal-Mart has been seeking new ways to boost revenue as its low-income customers remain under pressure due to a weak jobs picture and shaky economy. In its most recent fourth quarter, net income dropped 21 percent, and the Bentonville, Ark.-based company gave a subdued forecast for the current year.

"Gaming continues to be an important business for us and we're actively taking aim at the $2 billion pre-owned video game opportunity," said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart U.S.

In a call with journalists, Wal-Mart executives said CE Exchange, the company that partnered with them on their trade-in program for smartphones and tablets launched in the fall, will also be in charge of the new video game program.

The value for each trade-in video game will vary by the title, console and age of the game. The amount will range from just a few dollars for older games to $35 and more for newer ones.

Amazon, Target, Best Buy, GameStop and others also offer video game trade-in programs that offer store credit or cash for video games.


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Asian stocks gain on US data, Russia sanctions

BEIJING — Asian stocks advanced Tuesday on stronger U.S. factory production and relief that sanctions imposed on Russia following the Crimea reference avoid its vital economic interests. European markets were down.

The Asian heavyweight index, Tokyo's Nikkei 225, rose 0.9 percent to 14,411.27 and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 2,025.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent to 21,583.50.

In Europe, Germany's DAX shed 0.4 percent to 19,139.24 and France's CAC-40 lost 0.1 percent to 4,268.46. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 6,553.50. Futures augured a pullback on Wall Street. Dow futures and S&P 500 futures were both down 0.2 percent.

Sentiment in Asia was buoyed by Federal Reserve data showing U.S. factory production in February rose at its fastest rate in six months. That reinforced expectations the Fed will go ahead with a third planned reduction of its stimulus, cutting monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion.

"U.S. industrial production rose at its fastest pace in 6 months, suggesting that activity is reverting to normal after being hampered by a period of cold weather," said Mizuho Bank in a report.

That added to relief that penalties imposed by Washington and Europe over the referendum in the Ukrainian region of Crimea avoided measures that might disrupt Russian economic activity.

Western governments imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 21 people from Russia and Crimea seen as playing key roles in organizing what they consider an unlawful vote.

"The West will likely keep to its stance of targeted sanctions on individuals instead of broad-based economic sanctions to avoid harming deep economic ties with Russia," said Mizuho.

Seoul's Kospi index added 0.7 percent to 1,940.21 and Taiwan's Taiex index rose 0.4 percent to 8,721.55.

Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 5,344.60. Markets in New Zealand, Malaysia and Manila also gained.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery added 13 cents to $98.21 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 81 cents to $98.08 on Monday as concern about possible disruption of supplies from Russia, the biggest exporter, eased.

In currency markets, the euro rose to $1.3934 from $1.3925 late Monday. The dollar fell to 101.79 yen from 101.84 yen.


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Toyota shuts 2 India plants in lockout over wages

Written By Unknown on Senin, 17 Maret 2014 | 18.38

MUMBAI, India — Toyota said Monday it has shut down production at its two auto-assembly plants in India, locking out 6,400 workers amid testy wage negotiations and allegations of threats against management.

A statement from the Indian unit of the world's largest automaker said that "under the instigation of the union, certain sections of the employees have resorted to deliberate stoppages of the production line, abuse and threatening of supervisors." It said the company had no other option but to declare a lockout "to ensure the safety" of workers and management.

The union could not immediately be reached for comment due to a public holiday in India.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Naoki Sumino in Tokyo said there have been no injuries or damage at its two plants.

In 2012, rioting workers at a New Delhi factory owned by India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, killed a company manager and injured dozens. That factory was closed for nearly a month, which analysts estimated cost the subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. about $18 million a day.

This week's Toyota lockout comes after negotiations that began in April last year and arbitration talks that failed earlier this year.

The two plants outside Bangalore produce 310,000 vehicles a year, including the Innova van, Fortuner sport-utility vehicle, Corolla subcompact and Etios models.

Toyota has been eager to expand in India with sales of its affordable models.

Toyota's Indian subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd., was set up in 1997 with the Japanese company owning an 89 percent share and its local partner, the Kirloskar Group conglomerate, owning 11 percent.

The company recently celebrated the sale of its millionth car in India.


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‘It’s Woodstock for payment geeks’

High-profile payment industry executives visit Boston this week to talk about the future of how we pay for things at an exclusive, 
invitation-only conference.

"It's really about bringing together the elite innovators in the payments and commerce space to have two days of discussion about where the payments and commerce system is going," said Karen Webster, president of pymnts.com.

The Innovation Project, a two-day conference at Harvard starting tomorrow, will be 48 hours of high-level executives from companies such as MasterCard to Boston-based LevelUp discussing bitcoin, payment security and everything in between.

Security will be a key topic this year, Webster said, in large part thanks to the high-profile Target breach. Also high on the agenda will be bitcoin and changing retail environments, including mobile wallets.

"Everyone has an interest in resolving the issues that we put forward," Webster said. "It's the opportunity to really put the collaboration hat on."

Webster said the combination of industry pillars, including PayPal and JP Morgan, and newer companies, including bitcoin startup Circle and mobile payments company Leaf, is beneficial.

"It's a way of stimulating new thinking, surfacing new ideas, and getting the dialogue to a different level," she said.

Because the payment industry requires companies — from banks to merchants to credit card firms — to work together, a chance to engage with everyone on the payment food chain is valuable. These giants and startups will also get together for a "thinkathon," teaming up to try to solve four of the industry's most pressing problems, including international payments and cybersecurity.

"We're getting together and hashing it out and making changes that hopefully will have far-reaching implications," said Will Graylin, CEO of Loop Payments in Burlington.

The conference is also a launching pad for small companies to show off their technology to industry giants.

"This is a preview of what's to come in the next one to two years," said Shaunt Sarkissian, CEO of Cortex MCP. Last year, Cortex unveiled its platform for mobile payments, and has grown significantly since then.

"This event was a great accelerator for us," he said.

Sarkissian said the payments industry is in the middle of a significant transition, but Innovation Project is how to address the issues.

"It's the most fragmented industry out there, and probably one in the most aggressive state of change," he said. "It's the Woodstock for payment geeks."


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Study to test 'chocolate' pills for heart health

UNDATED — Chocolate lovers might perk up at word that researchers will study the potential health benefits of the yummy treat, but it's not about eating candy bars.

A study of 18,000 men and women is being launched to see if pills containing the nutrients in dark chocolate can help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The pills are so packed with nutrients that a person couldn't eat enough candy bars to get the same dose -- and the pills won't have the sugar or the fat.

In smaller studies, cocoa flavanols improved blood pressure, cholesterol, the body's use of insulin, artery health and other heart-related factors.

The study will be sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Mars Inc., maker of M&M's and Snickers candy bars. The candy company has patented a way to extract flavanols from cocoa in high concentration and put them in capsules.


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World stock markets mostly shrug off Crimea vote

HONG KONG — World stocks drifted Monday as investors largely shrugged off a weekend vote in which Crimeans opted to leave Ukraine and join Russia.

Safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen got a boost after results showed an overwhelming number of voters in the Ukrainian region approved splitting off and joining Russia in Sunday's vote.

The U.S. has threatened Russia with sanctions should it annex Crimea. President Barack Obama and other top U.S. officials warned Moscow against making further military moves toward southern and eastern Ukraine.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX edged up less than 0.1 percent to 9,062.63 while France's CAC 40 added 0.2 percent to 4,224.13. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent to 6,537.59.

U.S. stocks were poised to rise. Dow futures and S&P 500 futures were both up 0.7 percent.

Asian markets ended the day mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent to close at 14,277.67 as the yen gained.

"If there are signs of Russian influence extending beyond Crimea, expect risk aversion to reverberate," said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in Singapore, adding that "safety bolts" such as yen, gold, Swiss francs and U.S. Treasurys will also gain.

The dollar, which has lost about 1.4 percent against the yen in the past week, was trading at 101.78 yen compared with 101.30 yen late Friday. A stronger yen makes goods from Japanese exporters such as Sony and Canon pricier overseas.

South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.4 percent to 1,927.53 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.3 percent to 21,473.95. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 5,317.60.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1 percent to 2,023.67 after officials announced on the weekend that exchange rate controls would be modestly eased. It was the latest step in an eventual plan to let the yuan float freely.

The dollar rose to 6.1773 yuan, up 0.4 percent from 6.1531 late Friday, and is at the highest since the end of June last year, according to FactSet data. The yuan has reversed course recently after strengthening steadily for years. Analysts believe the central bank is guiding the exchange rate lower against the dollar in an effort to discourage speculators from moving money into the country to profit from the yuan's rise.

Japanese internet company Softbank Corp. surged 5 percent after China's Alibaba, in which it owns a 37 percent stake, confirmed long-awaited plans to move forward with a U.S. stock listing that could value the e-commerce giant at more than $100 billion.

In currencies The euro dipped to $1.3893 from $1.3898.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 20 cents to $98.69 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 69 cents to settle at $98.20 on Friday.


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If brake account is accurate, dealer dropped the ball

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 16 Maret 2014 | 18.39

I have a 2003 Buick Rendezvous. After the dealer did a brake job, the red "Brake" warning light on the dash came on, along with an audible alarm. The dealer said they didn't cause it, don't know why it's doing it and don't know how to fix it. They said I could disconnect the wire to the radio speaker but they would not do this for me.

Really? Even without hearing both sides of the story, it's hard for me to believe an authorized dealer would suggest a car owner ignore a brake warning light and audible warning signal. Beyond this, how a dealer could tell you they don't know what or why the warning light is on without checking the car is just as questionable.

Typically, there are three reasons the red "Brake" warning light comes on: low brake fluid level in the reservoir, the parking brake still engaged or a problem with the hydraulic brake system.

The dealer should have checked fluid level in the brake master cylinder reservoir, checked that mechanical components of the parking brake or its electrical switch are not sticking and, most important, scanned for any brake system, ABS or TCS (traction control system) fault codes.

For the dealer to have serviced the brake system, then deny causing the brake warning light to illuminate without any investigation and to suggest that you ignore the light and disable the audible warning is, frankly, almost unbelievable.

My daughter has a 2004 Saturn Ion that has a problem starting when overnight temperatures drop to zero or below. She turns the key and it just goes "Click, click, click," or starts to turn over, then stops. She leaves it sit for 15-20 minutes and then it starts right away. During warm weather it starts fine. Can you help?

Check the battery terminals, connections and cables. The "Click, click, click" is typically a sign that the battery is weak or connections are so poor that not enough amperage reaches the starter motor to crank over the engine. The electrical resistance through poor connections during several starting attempts may actually warm up the connections and battery enough to enable an engine start.

Load-test the battery itself. An aged battery operating in subzero temperatures may well be the culprit.

My granddaughter has a 2008 Chevy Uplander with 65,500 miles. In early January during a nice spell of weather that exposed some of our famous potholes, I hit one. Shortly after that the "Service ABS System," "Service Traction System" and "Service Stability System" warning lights came on in a blinking rotation. Because the weather has been so bad recently, I'm hoping to get some advice on what to look for before crawling under the car. The brakes work fine and I'm still driving the car.

Have a shop plug in a scan tool and identify the specific C-series DTC fault codes relating to this issue. The most likely cause is a damaged wheel speed sensor or harness. The information gathered by these sensors and fed to the electronic brake control module determines if ABS or TCS function is appropriate. If the signal from one or more wheel-speed sensors is absent or inaccurate, a fault code is generated, the systems are disabled and warning lights illuminate.

You probably won't have to crawl under the car. The scan tool should identify which wheel speed sensors are at fault. You can access the sensors and their harnesses by removing the specific wheel in question.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Leave a daytime phone number.


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Silicon Valley billionaire buys record life policy

SAN FRANCISCO — An unnamed Silicon Valley billionaire has purchased the world's most valuable life insurance policy.

The man who cobbled the deal together said Saturday that it took seven months and 19 insurance companies to put together a deal that surpasses a $100 million policy sold to Hollywood mogul David Geffen in 1990.

"No one company can afford to take a $201 million hit," said Dovi Frances, the financial adviser who represents who he calls a "well-known billionaire."

The Guinness Book of World Records announced the surpassing of Geffen's record on Thursday. Guinness officials spent about three months reviewing records, Frances said.

"It was worse than any audit you can think of," he said.

Guinness credits Frances with the record for selling the policy, surpassing United Kingdom life insurance salesman Peter Rosengard who helped put together Geffen's policy.

Frances is president of Santa Barbara-based S.G. LLC. The firm has represented the billionaire since he responded to a direct mail solicitation in 2010.

Frances said the billionaire wants to remain anonymous for two reasons: privacy and keeping the news from his benefactors.

"He wants his next of kin to keep working hard," Frances said.

Frances said the billionaire purchased the insurance to help his heirs avoid paying a 45 percent inheritance tax upon his death. Frances also said, generally speaking, that many super-wealthy people are taking out big loans because interest rates are low. Those loans are to be paid in full immediately upon death, further cutting into a billionaire's cash holdings.

"Most billionaires have their value tied up in hard assets and maybe don't have so much cash immediately available for such a big hit," Frances said.

Frances said that the annual premium is in "the low, single digits of millions of dollars." He said the insurance companies benefit from the deal by immediately investing the premium, and their risk is if the billionaire dies too soon.

Frances wouldn't disclose the billionaire's age.

Several billionaires have connections to Frances' firm, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale. Frances declined to discuss identity of the policyholder. Elon Musk, the founder of Paypal, Tesla Motors and other startups, declined to discuss with the San Jose Mercury News whether he was the policyholder.

Forbes reports that California can lay claim to 111 billionaires, with about a third of them considered high-tech investors.


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Boston’s winning war vs. bedbugs

Boston seems to be slowly winning its battle against bedbugs more than a decade after the scourge broke out.

The number of complaints about the tiny, blood-sucking pests has dropped 16 percent, from 410 in 2012 to 344 last year, the Department of Inspectional Services said.

"A lot of the decrease in cases is due to education," said John Meaney, director of ISD's Environmental Services Unit. "A lot of companies now have bedbug specialties. A general pest-control company won't be able to do it."

Although now-banned pesticide DDT all but eliminated bedbugs by the end of World War II, they re-emerged more than 10 years ago with a vengeance.

"Bedbugs are equal-
opportunity pests," said Jack Tracy, principal health inspector at the Boston Public Health Commission. "They don't care if you're rich or poor. They don't transmit disease, but they're a public health nuisance."

One of the worst cases Tracy said he has ever seen was reported by a disabled veteran whose Mattapan home became infested last June after a relative with a severe case of bedbugs came to stay with her.

"I had lived in my house for 20 years and never had this problem before," said the 47-year-old woman, who asked that her name be withheld. "It got so bad, I didn't even want to lie in my bed. I was going to go to a shelter just so that I could get some sleep."

An exterminator told her it would cost at least $3,500 to get rid of the insects, which she couldn't afford.

So she found Tracy and Meaney, who contacted the New England Pest Control Association to see if any of its members would be willing to do the work for free.

Last week, HouseWorks in Newton took apart the woman's bed and emptied her drawers and closets. A Malden laundry service put her clothes and bed linens in industrial dryers. And Environmental Health Services in Norwood heated the home to as much as 148 degrees for up to six hours to kill the insects and eggs.

My Brother's Keeper, a Christian ministry in Easton and Dartmouth, donated new mattresses as well as new bed linens.

"We wanted to give back to someone who had given to our country," said George Williams, staff entomologist at Environmental Health Services.

The Inspectional Services Department estimates the work totaled more than $5,000, but cost the veteran nothing.

"It was just a blessing that God put all of these people in my life at a time when I was really in need," she said.


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Coders launch careers

A local training company is churning out a new crop of developers to help staff rapidly growing tech companies starving for talent.

"We take them from absolute novice to hireable junior developer," said Dan Pickett, co-founder of Launch Academy, a full-time, 10-week crash course in Web development.

"There's just such a strong demand for engineering talent in Boston."

Launch Academy, tucked in a nondescript Chinatown building, is in the middle of its fourth class of "launchers," people who have decided they want to go all-in and become software engineers.

"Our goal is to teach them every aspect of Web development," Pickett said.

Students, who pay $12,000 in tuition, tackle daily assignments and challenges to acquire the skills to become fully functioning Web developers.

Pickett said 94 percent of the summer and fall graduates have found jobs in software development, with an average salary of $65,000.

"They look at our program, that is expensive, but in relative comparison is a real savings, and has a real clear return on investment," Pickett said.

The average salary for a software engineer in Boston, according to job-tracking site Glassdoor.com, is $75,000.

"At the end of the day it's an investment," said Julissa Jansen, who gave up her job at a nonprofit to enroll in Launch Academy. "You're hoping once you graduate you get a job that will make up for all that I paid for."

Even with high starting wages, finding good talent is hard, employers said.

"It's been really, really tough to find talented individuals," said Jeremy Barron, a vice president for Cambridge-based 3PlayMedia.

"These are jobs that are available now and we companies can't find people to fill them."

Keith Webber, a former tech recruiter who is a current Launch Academy student, has already seen the demand for engineers.

"The demand for developers is so high that every single tech company is hiring, no matter what," Webber said.

At Launch Academy, students are gambling that they will land one of these prime jobs after graduating.

At the end of each 10-week session, Launch Academy holds a career day, inviting local companies to interview graduates.

Ryan Grimard, vice

president of engineering at AdHarmonics, said the company is about to offer a job to a Launch Academy grad for the sixth time.

"They basically just spent 12 hours a day, six-plus days a week, trying to learn as fast as they can and grasp as much engineering knowledge as possible," Grimard said.


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