Property of Hub Ponzi schemers will be sold off

The property of a convicted West Roxbury Ponzi schemer and his wife will be sold to recoup some of their $9.77 million in debt, the majority of which is owed to swindled clients.

Steven Palladino is at MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole after being sentenced in January to 10 to 12 years. He, his wife and son were ordered to pay restitution for convincing at least 33 people to loan Viking Financial Group millions of dollars with the promise of high returns that were never delivered.

Palladino and his wife, Lori, filed for bankruptcy last month, and Viking Financial followed suit last week. The Palladinos listed $1.15 million in assets and $9.77 million in debt.

"Anything having to do with the financial condition and the history of the financial dealings will be investigated by us," said Mark G. DeGiacomo, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the cases. The Palladinos' lawyer could not be reached for comment.

It's "way too early" to say whether defrauded clients will recoup any money, he said. Secured claims typically are first in line for distributions and total at least $304,929.

The Palladinos' cars likely will be auctioned next month. Court documents in the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission case against Steven Palladino and Viking Financial list a 2012 Mercedes, 2011 BMW, 2013 Audi, 2012 Range Rover, 1992 Chevy Corvette and 2004 F350 truck.

The Palladinos own homes in Roslindale and West Roxbury and a vacant West Roxbury lot assessed at a combined $1.09 million, and two time shares valued at $25,000, according to court documents.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in April charged Steven Palladino with 25 counts of criminal contempt for allegedly flouting an asset freeze and other court orders. He is accused of "lavish spending" and incurring thousands of dollars in credit card charges.

The Palladinos owe tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt in addition to $1,627 to Best Buy, $1,300 to Bloomingdales and $1,364 to Neiman Marcus, court documents state.

The couple claimed $70,000 in jewelry, and just $25 in cash and $150 in a checking account, but $613,379 has been held in a bank account with the Boston Police listed as trustee.

Palladino participated in the first meeting of his creditors by telephone from prison. "Some of the investors that were at the meeting had some questions," DeGiacomo said. "Not the 'why?' (or) 'how could you do this?' It was more ... just trying to figure out where the money went and where the assets are."

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Pats’ goal: Get fans to use app while at Gillette

The New England Patriots are rolling out new digital features in a bid to entice fans who now sit on the couch at home to come sit in the stands at Gillette Stadium.

"It's incumbent on us who own teams and own stadiums to make sure we're keeping it a compelling experience," said Jonathan Kraft, president of the Patriots and the Kraft Group. "We have to innovate."

Speaking yesterday at the annual meeting of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Kraft said those innovations will include being able to order and pay for food from a seat using the Gillette Stadium app and be notified when it is ready for pickup — all in the name of spending less time in line and more time watching the game.

He said the service will be rolled out stadium-wide in the next year or two.

"If you come to a Patriots game, you can sit in your seat, and do things you can't do at home," Kraft said.

Other convenience features in the app include being able to find the 
restroom with the shortest waiting time, and exclusive on-demand replays available only to fans in the stands.

Using technology to enhance the fan experience is growing in popularity, especially in Boston.
 At the beginning of the baseball season, Major League Baseball announced an update to its At The Ballpark app, which includes the ability to check in at the park, interactive maps and video highlights.

TD Garden, home of the Bruins and Celtics, is in the process of installing Wi-Fi throughout the arena.

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Southie’s D St. to have big outdoor arts space

A no-man's-land stretch of D Street in South Boston will be transformed into an interim outdoor space that could be used for art installations, concerts, pop-up restaurants — even Major League Bocce — under a $1.1 million plan the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority has approved.

The so-called "D Street Laboratory" will open in late July or early August on approximately two acres across from the Aloft and Element hotels, which are scheduled to open by the end of next year, said Terence Burke, an authority spokesman.

"This is an eyes-wide-open experiment," Howard Davis, director of capital projects, said at an MCCA board meeting yesterday.

The authority is paying HR&A Advisors $200,000 for the concept and the design, and Chris Wangro, another New York consultant, $50,000 to develop programming for the space.

Potential local partners include the Institute of Contemporary Art, Major League Bocce, Artists for Humanity, Make Music Boston and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Wangro said.

The building of the "Lab" will fulfill a commitment to South Boston left over from the construction of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Burke said in an email.

The space will be a walkable connection to and from the BCEC, D Street and the hotels, as required under an agreement the MCCA has with their developer, he said.

The lab also will provide convention center users and the broader Boston community with the chance to try some outdoor concepts that might be integrated into the final design of the BCEC's proposed $1 billion expansion, Burke said.

"The plan is to operate the space for 18 to 24 months, try some things ... and then make some decisions about how to make it permanent as part of the expansion program," which the Legislature has yet to vote on, he said.

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Republicans highlight jobs bills in weekly address

WASHINGTON — House Republicans say President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats should match their focus on bills designed to promote jobs.

In the weekly Republican radio and Internet address, House Republicans list more than a dozen bills that have passed the GOP-controlled House with the goal of improving the economy.

The bills they cite include those changing welfare regulations, offering more job training and education, curtailing patent litigation, scaling back regulations for small-business owners and building the Keystone XL pipeline.

The chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, congressman John Kline of Minnesota, says more legislation is in the works.

___

Online:

Republican address: http://www.speaker.gov/

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Global stocks lifted by China trade, Yellen stance

SEOUL, South Korea — Global stock markets were mostly higher Thursday after China's trade improved and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen vowed low interest rates would continue until the U.S. job market is healthy.

European shares opened higher, with Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.5 percent to 6,831.15. Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent to 9,577.13 and the CAC-40 in France climbed 0.6 percent to 4,473.75.

Wall Street appeared to set for a steady opening with Dow Jones futures and S&P futures both up 0.1 percent.

Yellen told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. job market is "far from satisfactory." She said the Fed will begin increasing interest rates only when there is enough progress in restoring full employment and when inflation is back up to its target of 2 percent.

Yellen's comments appeared to ease concerns that the Fed might move too quickly to raise interest rates.

Adding to the upbeat sentiment was China's April trade data that showed an improvement in exports. Exports rose 0.9 percent from the previous year, compared with a 6.6 percent decline in March. Imports also grew after a contraction in March but at a subdued level.

"While the data didn't shoot the lights out, it showed signs of a recovery and that's been enough to encourage some buying today," Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG, said in a commentary.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's softening tone in the confrontation with the West over Ukraine also lifted investor sentiment. Putin endorsed plans for fresh elections in Ukraine following the ouster earlier this year of its pro-Russian leader and called on pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine to delay referendums on autonomy.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index, the region's heavyweight, closed up 0.9 percent at 14,163.78 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,950.60.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 percent to 21,837.12 and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.3 percent to 2,015.27.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 percent to 5,476.80 after employers added more jobs than expected last month.

Stocks in Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines also rose. But shares in Thailand were down one day after the country's Constitutional Court forced Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra out of office by ruling she had abused her powers.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for June delivery was down 37 cents to $100.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.27 to close at $100.77 on Wednesday.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3945 from $1.3912 late Wednesday. The dollar fell to 101.79 yen from 101.88 yen.

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State to detail plan to overhaul health website

BOSTON — Massachusetts health officials are set to offer more details on a plan to overhaul the state's hobbled health insurance website.

On Monday, officials said they'll adopt a "dual-track" approach that calls for purchasing software powering health exchanges in other states while at the same time laying the groundwork for a temporary switchover to the federal government's health care exchange if needed.

The plan follows the disastrous rollout of a state website that dramatically slowed the transition from Massachusetts' first-in-the-nation universal health care program to the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday said the state doesn't have the time or money to start over and build another website from scratch.

The state's plan will be detailed at a meeting of the state's health connector board Thursday.

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Government says no need to park recalled GM cars

DETROIT — There's no need to tell owners of recalled General Motors small cars to stop driving them, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

In a written response to two senators who asked for such an order, Foxx said engineers with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have determined it's not necessary.

GM is recalling 2.6 million small cars worldwide to replace ignition switches that suddenly can slip out of the run position and shut off the engine. That can knock out power-assisted steering and cause drivers to lose control and crash. It also disables the air bags. GM says at least 13 people have died in crashes linked to the problem. The company has admitted knowing about the problem for at least a decade, yet failing to recall the cars until this year.

The company has told owners to remove everything from their key chains, and the reduced weight will stop the switches from slipping into the "accessory" or "off" positions.

Foxx, responding to a letter from Democratic Sens. Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, said NHTSA engineers have examined the geometry and physics of the key, ignition switch and steering column of the GM vehicles, and they have reviewed GM's testing data.

"NHTSA is satisfied that for now, until the permanent remedy is applied, the safety risk posed by the defect in affected vehicles is sufficiently mitigated by GM's recommended action," the letter says.

The safety agency, which is part of Foxx's department, has taken measures above and beyond normal procedures in the GM case, Foxx wrote.

The recalled cars include mainly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions that are no longer being made. GM is in the process of shipping parts to dealers but has said it won't be done with that until October. The company is offering loaner cars to any owners with safety concerns and so far has provided about 45,000.

But Blumenthal and Markey disagree and say all the cars should be parked until the switches are replaced.

"We remain extremely concerned that GM and NHTSA are not doing enough to convey the seriousness of this defect to owners of the affected cars, unnecessarily putting more lives at risk," the senators said in a statement Wednesday.

They also questioned why GM's initial recall notice to car owners said the ignition switches could malfunction while driving over rough terrain "regardless of additional weight on the key ring."

Both senators are members of a subcommittee that is looking into GM's actions involving the switches. NHTSA and the Justice Department are also investigating, and criminal charges are possible.

GM has said it has done 80 different tests at high speeds and on rough roads, and that with just the key in the ignition, the switches don't move out of the run position.

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NBC extends Olympic deal through 2032 for $7.75B

The Olympics are staying on NBC in the United States through 2032 in a record $7.75 billion deal that cut out rival networks and seals the long-term financial security of the IOC.

In a stunning, pre-emptive deal negotiated secretly over six months, the International Olympic Committee awarded the exclusive U.S. broadcast rights to NBC on Wednesday for an additional six games.

NBC already holds the rights through the 2020 Olympics in a four-games deal signed in 2011 for a then-record $4.38 billion.

The new agreement, which covers three Summer Olympics and three Winter Games, solidifies NBC's long-running hold on one of the world's most lucrative sports properties and offers a potential boost for a U.S. bid for the 2024 Olympics.

"We know that, with this long-term agreement, the Olympic Games and the Olympic values are in good hands with a partner we trust ... because of the long-time experience we have with NBC," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

While NBC outbid Fox and ESPN in 2011 for the previous rights, with all three networks making presentations and submitting sealed bids to the IOC, there was no auction or open bidding this time as Bach conducted hush-hush talks with NBC executives.

Bach said he first floated the idea of a new long-term deal with NBC at a dinner in New York in November. He held further talks with network executives during the Sochi Winter Games in February and continued the negotiations under wraps, with only his closest aides informed.

"The last touch was given to the deal this afternoon," Bach said Wednesday in a conference call from IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the contract was signed.

Bach said he saw no reason to open up bids to other networks.

"We wanted to build on this long-term partnership with NBC," he said. "We didn't see any reason to take any risk with regards to broadcast and presentation of the Olympic Games in the United States."

The new agreement goes into effect from 2021 and covers the Summer Olympics of 2024, 2028 and 2032 and the Winter Games of 2022, 2026 and 2030. The host cities for all those games have yet to be chosen.

The deal covers all media platforms, including free television, subscription TV, Internet and mobile rights. The deal is valued at $7.65 billion, plus an extra $100 million signing bonus for promotion of the Olympics between 2015 and 2020.

According to the IOC, the new deal breaks down this way: $2.5 billion for the Olympics of 2022 and 2024, $2.55 billion for 2026-2028 and $2.60 billion for 2030-2032. It represents a 15 percent increase on average per games over the previous deal.

"This agreement is excellent news for the entire Olympic Movement as it helps to ensure its financial security in the long term," Bach said.

By 2032, NBC will have covered a total of 23 editions of the Olympics going back to the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo. The network has broadcast every Summer Olympics since 1988 and every Winter Games since 2002 — all the games since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, NBC's parent company, said the network was driven to make a new deal because of the profits and strong ratings generated by the 2012 London Olympics and Sochi Games.

"Even though we may not know what the world will look like, we feel confident that the Olympics will still be the Olympics," Roberts said.

NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke said the deal marked "one of the most important days in the history" of the network and called the Olympics "massively popular and profitable programming."

NBC and Comcast executives said rapidly-changing broadcast technology was a big motivation behind the pursuit of a new long-term deal.

Slightly more than half the viewers who watched the Sochi Olympics on NBC also used a computer, tablet or smartphone to get information about the games while the TV was on, according to the network.

The agreement could benefit a potential U.S. bid to host the Olympics. The U.S. hasn't held the Summer Games since Atlanta in 1996. The U.S. Olympic Committee is currently considering cities for a possible bid for the 2024 Olympics, which will be awarded in 2017.

The IOC and NBC said the deal was made without any guarantees of where the games will be held.

"The allocation or the election of the host city is not about money," Bach said. "There are many more factors to be considered. We were signing this agreement even before the procedure for the 2024 has started.

"Having said this, a strong bid from the United States would be very much welcome, would be a very strong competitor."

USOC chairman Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun were present at the signing. The USOC will receive a 12.75 percent share of the total deal, plus or minus a margin related to inflation.

The agreement marks a big victory for Bach, who was elected IOC president in September, taking over from Jacques Rogge after 12 years in office.

It also comes as a boost as the IOC faces chronic delays threatening the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and an uncertain field for the 2022 Winter Games, whose candidates are Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo.

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Tech jitters, Ukraine weigh on world stocks

TOKYO — Jitters over the valuations of technology companies pulled stock prices lower from Tokyo to London on Wednesday.

European shares got off to lackluster start, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.3 percent to 6,776.65. Germany's DAX edged down 0.1 percent to 9,458.63 and the CAC-40 in France slipped 0.1 percent to 4,422.77.

U.S. markets were poised for a slow start after sharp declines the day before, with both Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures little changed.

Sinking Internet company shares, led by an 18 percent plunge in Twitter's share price Tuesday, added to negative sentiment from tensions in Ukraine, where pro-Russian militants are clashing with military forces in the country's unstable east.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 stock index sank 2.9 percent to 14,033.45 as the U.S. dollar's relative weakness against the Japanese yen hit exporter shares. It was the first day of trading in Japan after a long weekend.

Softbank tumbled 5.1 percent in Tokyo after Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba released some details of a planned U.S. initial public offering that analysts say could raise up to $20 billion. Softbank owns 36.7 percent of Alibaba.

Though the IPO is expected to net Softbank handsome returns, the recent slump in technology shares has shaken confidence.

"Whether the market reaction and the IPO valuation will be high or not is still the major concern," said Linus Yip, a strategist for First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. "The listing of Alibaba right now, may not be such good timing."

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi lost 1 percent to 1,939.88 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.1 percent to 21,746.26.

Shares in Australia, Singapore, China, India and Taiwan fell while Indonesian and New Zealand shares edged higher.

In other markets, benchmark U.S. crude for June delivery was up 95 cents to $100.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents to close at $99.50 on Tuesday.

In currency trading, the euro slipped to $1.3919 versus $1.3928 late Wednesday. The dollar fell to 101.55 yen from 101.68 yen.

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Adidas may jettison Rockport

Germany's Adidas Group is entertaining walking orders for The Rockport Co.

The athletic footwear company acknowledged yesterday that it has hired Guggenheim Partners to explore a possible sale of the 43-year-old, Canton-based shoe brand known for merging style with comfort and "walkability."

"Rockport is not the strategic asset for us in the group," CEO Herbert Hainer said in an analyst call. "Nevertheless, we worked hard to improve the products, improve the distribution and, therefore, we are growing the Rockport business last year by 6 percent. It will grow again this year, and I think this is one of the most attractive brands out there."

Rockport was founded in Marlboro in 1971 as a walking shoe company and bought by Reebok International for $118.5 million in 1986. Adidas purchased Reebok in 2006.

Rockport produced
 8 million pairs of shoes in 2013 and had net sales of $402.48 million, according to Adidas Group's annual report.

The brand has about 120 employees in Canton — its global and North American headquarters — and more than 700 globally. All general functions of running the business, including men's and women's product development, design, sourcing, sales, operations, marketing and finance, are based in Canton, spokeswoman Janet Ries said.

Rockport, since it lacks an athletic focus, has never fit into the Adidas stable of brands, said analyst Matt Powell of Princeton Retail Analysis. "If, as (Adidas) says, there are interested parties, it is the right time to explore options," he said. "Given the company's struggles elsewhere, it makes sense to sell."

The dress/casual footwear segment has suffered with the dominance of athletic shoes, according to Powell, and Rockport's performance has been in the middle of the pack.

"I would assume that the most likely buyer would be strategic, with an eye to taking the brand down-market," Powell said.

Rockport's first-quarter revenue, reported yesterday by Adidas, fell 12 percent to $73.8 million.

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Two top NECN news managers out

New England Cable News said two top news managers left the station yesterday.

No details were provided about why news director Nannette Hobson and assistant news director Bob Keating will no longer be employed there.

"We will immediately begin a nationwide search for a new news director for NECN," general manager Michael St. Peters said in an email to employees.

He said "other news managers" would fill in until replacements are hired.

A statement yesterday from NBC Universal, which owns NECN, said Hobson and Keating were "leaving NECN effective today.

"We are grateful for their contributions to the station and wish them all the best in their future endeavors."

Keating joined NECN in 2001 and became assistant news director in 2008. Hobson was hired by NECN in 2012. Hobson and Keating could not be reached for comment.

WBZ-TV fired news director John Virrelli in March, reportedly over poor ratings. NECN's ratings were not available last night.

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Siemens CEO shakes up company to raise profits

FRANKFURT, Germany — German industrial equipment maker Siemens AG is launching a sweeping restructuring to raise profits and better compete with peers such as General Electric.

CEO Joe Kaeser is eliminating the sprawling company's four broad sectors overseeing its businesses, and will trim those business divisions from 16 to nine. Each division will get a profit margin target as Siemens aims to focus on fields where it can grow and earn the most.

Cutting out the sector level of management will reduce bureaucracy, cut costs and speed up decisions, the company says. Kaeser took over last year after previous CEO Peter Loescher missed several profit targets.

The revamp comes as Siemens is considering making an offer for the power generating business of France's Alstom, which has already received an offer from General Electric.

Kaeser was to lay out details Wednesday at a news conference in Berlin.

The restructuring announcement comes along with the release of what the company called a mixed earnings performance in the first three months of the year, the company's fiscal second quarter. Net profit rose 12 percent to 1.153 billion euros ($1.61 billion). But revenues fell 2 percent to 17.78 billion euros, and new orders slipped 13 percent to 18.43 billion euros. New orders are key to the company's future profits as it delivers large projects with long lead times.

Siemens, based in Munich, makes heavy machinery such as gas- and wind-powered turbines, trains, and medical imaging devices. Other businesses include factory automation and security equipment. It has 359,000 employees, 243,000 of them outside its German base.

The shakeup included a slew of other measures, including the acquisition of Rolls-Royce's gas turbine and compressor business for 950 million euros ($1.32 billion) as the company focuses on what it hopes will be a profitable sector. Siemens also announced it was forming a joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide plants, products and services for the iron, steel and aluminum industries.

And it will also hold a stock-market offering for its hearing-aid business.

The company said it plans to increase the number of employee shareholders by 50 percent to over 200,000 to create what Kaeser called "a sustainable ownership culture" at the company.

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The Ticker

Staples to buy PNI

Framingham, Mass.-based Staples said yesterday it will pay roughly $67.5 million for Canada's PNI Digital Media, giving it control of the software maker that powers in-store kiosks to print photographs, calendars and wedding invitations. Staples is paying $1.70 Canadian for each share in PNI, a premium of 32 percent to PNI's close on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.

Coca-Cola to remove drink ingredient

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest beverage maker, plans to remove brominated vegetable oil from all its U.S. drinks by the end of this year, abandoning an ingredient that has been targeted by food activists.

The additive, known as BVO, will be taken out of both ready-to-drink beverages and fountain-machine formulas, Coca-Cola spokesman Josh Gold said in a statement. BVO is used as a stabilizer in drinks like Powerade, helping prevent ingredients from separating. PepsiCo Inc., after removing BVO from Gatorade last year, said yesterday that it too is replacing the additive in the rest of its lineup.

Comcast opening 200-person center

Comcast is expected to employ about 200 people at a new customer service center by the end of the year in Hudson, N.H. The center, located at the former home of Presstek, a printing equipment company, can employ up to 600 agents. Employees will provide support for a region serving 1.6 million customers in New Hampshire, Maine and eastern Massachusetts. Comcast will start advertising and posting new positions this month.

Stocks higher, with Apple over $600

U.S. stocks ended slightly higher as data showed strength in the services sector and Apple shares rose above $600 for the first time since late 2012. The Institute for Supply Management's services sector index hit the fastest pace in eight months in April, topping expectations. It was the latest report to offer upbeat news on the economy after an unusually harsh winter.

TODAY

 Commerce Department releases international trade data for March.

TOMORROW

 Labor Department releases first-quarter productivity data.

 Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for March.

THE SHUFFLE

Michael R. Hicks has been named senior vice president and chief operating officer of Comprehensive Benefit Administrators, a full-service integrated employee benefits management company in Norwell. Hicks is responsible for the strategic direction and tactical execution of the company, with the primary objective of profitably growing the organization.

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Bowman: Business cards say lot about you

We all meet and exchange cards at meetings, in restaurants, attending industry functions, traveling, at social events. But absently handing someone a card is a missed opportunity.

The everyday practice of business card exchange is time-honored, and honing this demonstrates respect, portrays you as professional and will help set you apart.

The business card itself casts an important "first impression." Consider your business card your ticket in the door and discard any thoughts that the paper card may be becoming obsolete in an increasingly paperless world: The traditional business card is timeless.

Business cards — called "meishi" in Japanese which literally translated means "face" — represents one's "life." Therefore, the quality of paper stock is important, as well as how the card is presented, received, acknowledged and ultimately placed.

The most formal way of presenting a card is by holding it with a thumb on either corner, readable side up or one thumb on one corner. Receive it the same way. Most importantly, acknowledge the card — look at the card, read it, study it, caress it! Look back at the other person and acknowledge their card, title, life.

Place the card someplace respectful — your inner breast pocket or portfolio; do not discard.

If you are serious about doing business in your target country, the same information should be printed in their native language, presented readable side up.

Exchange cards before the meeting as you introduce yourself and shake hands. Align subtly, yet strategically around your portfolio to coincide with seating to access names as you address individuals; using names in conversation is powerful.

As for the look of the card, make sure colors and font are consistent with your firm's mission.

Here are some tips on what not to do:

•    Don't ask a very senior executive for their business card; they won't have one. You should know how to find them and follow up.

•    Don't assume someone wants your card. Ask, "May I offer you my card?" "May I ask for your card?"

•     Never write on a business card in the presence of that person; you are defacing their "life." Ask, "May I write that on the back of your card?"

And if anyone ever asks for your card — even though this is your last card and it is bent, frayed or damaged in any way, toss it. (This suggests you are, too!)

Judith Bowman is an author and president of her own consulting company.

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Target CEO ouster tied to data breach, sales

Target Corp. removed 35-year company veteran Gregg Steinhafel as its CEO yesterday in the wake of last year's disastrous data breach that hit as many as 110 million customers.

Analysts say the abrupt move likely also was triggered by Target's bungled expansion into Canada, soft U.S. sales and poor e‑commerce results. Steinhafel had been CEO since 2008.

Target is the second-largest U.S. discounter behind Wal-Mart, with $71.3 billion in annual sales last year. Its net income dropped 46 percent in the fourth-quarter that included the crucial holiday season after its Dec. 19 breach announcement heavily cut into sales.

"The data breach is a pretty public thing, but Canada was not executed well last year ... and, also, the general U.S. merchandising in the stores hasn't been as crisp or exciting," said Joseph Feldman, a Telsey Advisory Group analyst.

Target posted a $1 billion loss in Canada last year on sales of $1.3 billion.

"On a positive note, this is something that I think investors have been looking for — a change in the top that might help reinvigorate the business," Feldman said.

Target CFO John Mulligan will be interim CEO.

Steinhafel's replacement will need to identify Target's flaws in merchandising, marketing and e-commerce, said Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder. Target's core business has been lackluster for several quarters, he said, and "The latest data … suggests that even if the U.S. business has stabilized post-credit card data breach, the bigger picture for Target isn't seeing an acceptable rate of change."

The timing of Target's announcement suggests the board perhaps had received an unfavorable first-quarter update, according to William Blair analyst Mark Miller. Those results are due to be publicly reported May 21.

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China tightens controls on imports of baby formula

BEIJING — China has tightened controls on imports of infant formula in a move an industry official in New Zealand, a major supplier, said might block some products.

The announcement coincides with an effort by Beijing to build up its dairy industry following a 2008 tainted milk scandal that killed at least six babies and prompted many parents to switch to imported formula.

Only milk products from foreign sources that are registered with the government can be imported, the Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its website. A list issued by the government showed foreign brands including European units of Abbot Laboratories, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. and Nestle Group have registered.

An industry group in New Zealand said only six of the country's 13 suppliers were approved. The chairman of the New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association said that might result in some shipments to China being blocked.

"We lost a whole lot of ground this morning," said Michael Barnett at a news conference, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Demand for imported milk soared after the 2008 scandal in which some Chinese supplies were found to contain melamine, a chemical that can cause kidney damage and other injuries. Some suppliers added it to fool protein tests on watered-down supplies.

Suppliers from New Zealand, Australia, Europe and elsewhere took market share from Chinese competitors, setting back the communist government's efforts to build a domestic dairy industry.

The brand at the center of the 2008 scandal, Sanlu, was broken up and tighter quality standards imposed on the industry. However, that has failed to restore the confidence of Chinese parents. Imported brands have such a strong reputation for quality that customers pay up to three times the price of local brands in supermarkets.

In August, regulators fined five foreign milk suppliers and one from Hong Kong a total of $108 million on charges they violated China's anti-monopoly law by setting minimum retail prices for stores.

In the latest effort to build a domestic industry, the city government of Beijing will give 10.8 million yuan ($1.7 million) to a major local brand, Sanyuan Group, to develop "safe and healthy infant milk powder," the newspaper Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Demand for imported formula is so strong that smugglers bring supplies from Hong Kong, Australia and elsewhere. That has prompted Hong Kong and some other markets to limit purchases to ensure local customers have adequate supplies.

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Vietnam protests Chinese oil rig in disputed sea

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has protested China's decision to send an oil drilling platform to a disputed area of the South China Sea.

The move by Beijing is the latest in a series of provocative actions in the waters that have raised tensions with Southeast Asian countries and drawn the attention of the United States.

According to the China Maritime Safety Administration, the deep see rig CNOOC 981 would be drilling in the South China Sea from May 4 to Aug. 15, and that entering a 3 mile (4.8 kilometers) radius around the area is prohibited.

Vietnam's foreign ministry on Monday said the area was well within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and China's act was "illegal."

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Startup targets music genre void

A local startup is hoping to break into the lucrative world of hip-hop with its new online portal, KillerBoomBox.com.

The site is run by KillerBoomBox Media Group, a plucky new company that recently won a coveted spot in the Smarter in the City startup accelerator in Dudley Square.

The brainchild of local digital product manager Darius McCroey and veteran music journalist Gregory Valentino Ball, the company now faces the hurdle of convincing investors that enough advertising dollars will come from their business model, which involves producing articles and video documentaries on their website. They also organize and film concerts that highlight urban music. That content — a sampling of which is available on the company's sleekly designed website — is to be repackaged and resold in a variety of different ways, including a forthcoming mobile app, another potential revenue generator.

"The whole idea is to cover urban music, hip-hop and R&B from an intelligent perspective," said Ball, who lives in Dorchester. "We have a passion and that puts us in a better place than some of the competition."

The company already has been selected as runner-up in the Roxbury Innovation Challenge Business Pitch Contest and was a member of the Future Boston Alliance's 
Accelerate Boston Class of 2013, a six-month educational program for entrepreneurs.

Their competition includes Revolt TV, an online magazine and network owned by hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who just last week predicted that his network would become the ESPN of hip-hop music. These new platforms recognize the vacuum left by MTV and VH1's near-total abandonment of music news coverage — and an estimated 45 million hip-hop consumers nationwide who are waiting for another music media renaissance. There's plenty of room for competition within the $10 billion-a-year hip-hop industry.

Yet corporate America largely has ignored the purchasing power of the hip-hop culture that business empires have sprung from. Moguls such as Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and Diddy are potentially on their way to becoming billionaires in the next decade.

Ball and McCroey say Boston's role in urban music often lives in the shadow of New York City, but there are many up-and-coming artists who originated here and have a fan base ready and waiting. In fact, McCroey envisions being able to use Boston as a test market for new artists.

"Boston is a world-class college town," he said. "So when we take new music to that market, we're testing it for people all over the world."

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China manufacturing shrinks for 4th month

HONG KONG — China's manufacturing contracted in April for the fourth straight month but the pace of decline was less severe, suggesting the downturn in the world's No. 2 economy is bottoming out.

HSBC's purchasing managers' index released Monday ticked up to 48.1 from 48.0 in March on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

The reading is slightly lower than 48.3 in a preliminary version of the report last month. But it's the first time the index has risen since it started falling from 50.9 in October.

The report said new export orders contracted in April although the decrease was slight and outpaced by a faster decline in new orders overall, indicating that weak domestic demand was mainly to blame for weakness in manufacturing. Employment at factories declined for the sixth month in a row.

"The latest data implied that domestic demand contracted at a slower pace, but remained sluggish," said HSBC's chief China economist, Qu Hongbin. The numbers "indicate that the manufacturing sector, and the broader economy as a whole, continues to lose momentum."

HSBC's report was more pessimistic than a manufacturing index released last week by the state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which hovered above the no-change level at 50.4. The official survey gives more weight to China's big state companies while HSBC's focuses more on small private enterprises, and the difference indicates the latter are under more pressure amid the slowdown.

Economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent over a year earlier in the first quarter, with weak trade and manufacturing fuelling concern about a possible rise in politically volatile job losses.

Chinese leaders are trying to shift the economy to growth based on domestic consumption instead of exports and investment.

In the past few years, Beijing has rolled out mini-stimulus efforts when growth appeared to be cooling too sharply, but Qu said "bolder actions" will be required to ensure growth regains momentum.

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China refuses Vietnam's call to stop oil drilling

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam demanded China stop oil drilling operations in a disputed patch of the South China Sea, saying on Monday that Beijing's decision to deploy a deep sea rig over the weekend was illegal.

China dismissed the objections, saying the activity was being carried out in its territorial waters.

Beijing's increasingly assertive territorial claims to the waters, which are thought to have large oil and gas deposits beneath them, have angered Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants. The region is widely seen as a potential area of conflict.

Last week, President Barack Obama signed a new defense pact with the Philippines aimed at reassuring Asian allies of American backing as they wrangle with Beijing's growing economic and military might.

The China Maritime Safety Administration posted a navigational warning on its website advising that the CNOOC 981 rig would be drilling in the South China Sea from May 4 to Aug. 15, in an area close to the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by China but Vietnam claims as its own.

China's maritime administration also said that ships entering a 3-mile (4.8-kilometers) radius around the area are prohibited.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said the area where the rig was stationed lay within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined by the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"All foreign activities in Vietnam's seas without Vietnam's permission are illegal and invalid," the ministry said in a statement. "Vietnam resolutely protests them."

Vietnam's state-owned oil company, PetroVietnam, demanded that China National Offshore Oil Corporation "immediately stop all the illegal activities and withdraw the rig from Vietnamese waters."

Asked about Vietnam's objections, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the drilling was taking place in Chinese waters.

Many analysts believe China is embarking on a strategy of gradually pressing its claims in the water by seeing what it can get away with, believing that its much smaller neighbors will be unable or unwilling to stop them. Vietnam has accused Chinese ships of cutting cables to its exploration vessels and harassing fishermen, as has the Philippines.

Chinese assertiveness puts Vietnam's authoritarian government in difficult position domestically because anger at China, an ideological ally, runs deep in the country. This is exploited by dissident movements, who accuse the government of being unwilling to speak out against Beijing.

Tran Cong Truc, the former head of a government committee overseeing the country's border issues, said the latest Chinese move was especially provocative.

"This act by China is much more dangerous than previous actions such as cutting the exploration cable or fishing bans," he said.

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Associated Press news assistant Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.

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'Orange Is the New Black' wins GLAAD Media Award

NEW YORK — GLAAD celebrates "Orange Is the New Black."

The Netflix show set in a women's prison was named outstanding comedy series at the 25th annual GLAAD Media Awards' New York ceremony.

Cast members — including Laverne Cox, who won her own GLAAD honor at the organization's Los Angeles awards ceremony last month — accepted the award Saturday at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

George Takei received the Vito Russo award, presented to an openly gay media professional for promoting equality for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Other winners Saturday included the films "Concussion" and "Philomena" and Oprah Winfrey's interview with openly gay professional basketball player Jason Collins.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize fair, accurate and inclusive representation in media of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.

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Thousands descend on Omaha to hear Buffett speak

OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett shrugged off concerns about his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, which has trailed the overall market, and told shareholders Saturday to remain optimistic about his company, as well as the American economy.

More than 30,000 people descended on the annual gathering to listen to Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who faced tough questions about Berkshire's prospects for growth and acquisitions, and also how Buffett came to handle a vote on pay packages crafted for Coca-Cola executives, a company in which Berkshire holds a major stake.

Buffett abstained from voting Berkshire's 400 million shares against the compensation plan last week, though he has long advocated against exorbitant executive pay, and after he described Coca-Cola's package as excessive.

"I thought this was the most effective way of behaving at Berkshire," Buffett said Saturday.

Buffett said he told Coke's CEO privately that he opposed the compensation plan, but didn't want to criticize the company publicly or join another Coke investor's very public campaign to curtail that pay.

"We made a clear statement about the excessiveness of the plan, but we didn't go to war with Coke in any way," Buffett said.

Shareholder Jake Kamm said the explanation Buffett offered initially for not voting against the pay package was not convincing.

"It's a little bit of spin," said Kamm, who teaches finance at Baldwin Wallace University near Cleveland, Ohio.

Buffett said the true test will come when Coke reveals its pay packages over the next year.

Buffett's son, Howard Buffett, serves on Coke's board and supported the compensation plan, which raised some hackles among Berkshire shareholders because he is on the shortlist to take a powerful position at the company on Buffett's departure. But Buffett said Berkshire shareholders shouldn't worry about his preference that his son one day become Berkshire's chairman.

Buffett also defended joining with investment firm 3G Capital last year to buy H.J. Heinz Co. That $23.3 billion deal represents a shift in Buffett's investing style because Berkshire usually operates alone and leaves the companies it acquires largely unchanged.

"I do think 3G does a magnificent job running a business," Buffett said.

Since the acquisition, 3G has announced plans to eliminate roughly 2,000 jobs and close three manufacturing plants to improve efficiency. Buffett said he doesn't expect Berkshire to use 3G's approach, but the two may pair up on future deals and he expects Heinz profits to improve significantly.

Inevitably, there were rumblings about Berkshire's failure to beat the stock market in four of the past five years. Buffett said investors shouldn't have been surprised that Berkshire's results trailed the S&P 500 last year.

"We will underperform in very strong up years," Buffett said.

Shareholder Jack Lewis, from Holt, Missouri, said he's happy with Berkshire.

"Berkshire is the kind of stock that's not going to be a super growth stock," Lewis said. "It's going to be a stock that will continue to grow."

Buffett and Munger have said for several years that the massive size of Berkshire makes it impossible to match the investment gains that the company delivered decades ago.

"It's not a tragedy that you succeed so much that future returns go down," Munger said. "That's success."

Berkshire will keep looking for possible acquisitions, preferably large ones, to boost profits and use some of its roughly $49 billion in cash. Buffett reiterated Saturday that he'd be willing to sell stocks or even take on more debt if he needed more resources for a quality acquisition.

"If we see a really good $50 billion acquisition, we'll find a way to do it," Buffett said.

American businesses are doing great, Buffett said, and he doesn't see signs that a bubble is forming in bonds or any other assets even after years of interest rates near zero.

Retired salesman Robert Brillante made his first trip to the annual meeting from Washington D.C. this year to listen to Buffett and to experience the spectacle.

"He's always been my hero, so I figured I had to make the pilgrimage," said Brillante, as he stood a few feet away from a mob of admirers trying to get a glimpse of Buffett as he toured an exhibit featuring products from the companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

At one point, a pack of shareholders six-people deep followed Buffett throughout the exhibition hall while supermodel Kathy Ireland, the former Sports Illustrated model who sells products at Berkshire's Nebraska Furniture Mart, attracted a handful of fans a few feet away.

Roughly 97 percent of Berkshire Hathaway Class A and Class B shareholders rejected a proposal that would have encouraged the conglomerate to pay a dividend.

Buffett and the board had opposed the idea because they believe shareholders gain more if the cash is reinvested.

Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company's net income. It also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

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Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

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Online:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: www.berkshirehathaway.com

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Westfield State U. agog over new Google technology

WESTFIELD, Mass. — It was a futuristic sight, as about a dozen students, faculty, and community members gathered around a cluster of screens on the second floor of the Ely Library at Westfield State University late last month to behold a wonder of modern technology.

The wonder that lay before them, projected onto seven screens standing seven feet tall, is Liquid Galaxy, a revolutionary product developed by Google which utilizes the company's Google Earth component to take users almost anywhere in seconds, on Earth or elsewhere.

"It sends Mars data, too," said Tom Raffensperger, the dean of Academic Information Services at Westfield State. "There's a rover up there taking pictures and mapping."

Capable of showing off the red planet just as adeptly as taking users to Fenway Park, Liquid Galaxy's potential is seemingly limitless, and Raffensperger says it will be available to the greater Westfield community during open lab times, after being made available to professors and students first.

As the jaws of students and faculty alike dropped to the floor at the startling realism and accuracy of Google Earth's mapping, professors in the school's geography department took the opportunity to speak about the project, it's humble beginnings, and what it means for the institution.

"It all started when Tim (LeDoux) and I were invited to attend the geospatial technology and higher education workshop at Google in California last summer," said Dr. Carsten Braun, a professor of Geography and Regional Planning at the University. "When we saw the Liquid Galaxy we said 'wow, this is cool, but not just cool — a great teaching tool.' So when we came back, we launched an idea to (Dr.) Liz Preston and Tom Raffensperger saying 'Hey, is this something we could get?'"

Various university departments collectively paid $25,000 to use the program.

"It was really a collaborative effort," said Raffensperger. "It was a lot of departments getting together. The library, we worked hard to make this space available, and the people at IT, academic information services, academic affairs, just a lot of different departments seeing how this would benefit the university as a whole."

Raffensperger added that professors such as LeDoux will be using the program for introductory and advanced global imaging systems (GIS) courses to take students to distant cities.

"As a geographer and planner, I talk a lot about different cities and the issues they're facing, such as Detroit with its bankruptcy," LeDoux said. "I can talk a lot about the legacy — the racism, the disinvestment issues — and that helps students paint a picture, but to take them on the ground and walk through the neighborhoods of Detroit using this, they see it, the abandoned buildings, and it brings home the visual element to them."

"I will be using this in my physical geography class, which is about landforms — glaciers, rivers, mountains, beaches — all kinds of stuff that. With this immersive program, you can experience beach erosion, experience sea level rise, much better than a static picture," Braun said. "We can do labs and say 'let's go to the Grand Canyon, let's look at what goes on at the intersection of land and ocean.'"

"(We'll be) working with the folks from the Art Department, or any other interested people to create content experiences that they can use in their classes," he added. "That's what we're going to be working on in the next few months. 'You teach English Literature, you teach Art, let's see how we can create activities that let students experience this in a special sense.'"

"This can be applied to all the different disciplines at the University," LeDoux added. "Whether you're trying to ground literature for students, poetry that a poet is writing about a landscape, it's a very vivid image, but actually seeing what they're writing about is very powerful."

When asked about the prevalence of this technology, Braun was proud to admit that Liquid Galaxy is so far only available in museums and large research-based institutions, none of which are the size of Westfield State.

"I'd be super happy to talk to anybody about how to make this useful," Braun said. "In a perfect world, we want to help everybody get this. But first, let's take this off the campus and bring it into the community, working in the local schools and make this a tool or experience that we share with the entire community."

"We are very excited to be able to provide this," said Westfield State University President Dr. Elizabeth Preston during the demo. "Part of the reason we decided to invest in the technology is because it's very clear that it has applications for all kinds of disciplines beyond the obvious. So we're very excited to have the technology on campus."

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Buffett says US firms prosper as economy improves

OMAHA, Neb. — Investor Warren Buffett says the U.S. economy continues to improve gradually, and he doesn't think any price "bubbles" are developing.

Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders at the company's annual meeting Saturday that American businesses are thriving as is evident in their profit reports.

The fact that interest rates have remained near zero for several years has some investors worried about bubbles forming in prices.

Buffett doesn't see signs that a bubble is forming in bonds or any other assets. But he says it's unusual that rates have remained low this long.

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