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US job market faces hurdles even with 5.5 pct. unemployment

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 07 Maret 2015 | 18.38

WASHINGTON — Unemployment in the U.S. has dropped to a seven-year low of 5.5 percent — a level normally considered the mark of a healthy job market. Yet that number isn't as encouraging as it might sound.

While U.S. employers added a solid 295,000 jobs in February, and the jobless rate fell from 5.7 percent, it went down mostly because many people gave up looking for work and were no longer officially counted as unemployed, the government reported Friday. What's more, wage gains remained sluggish.

Those trends suggest that the job market, while improving rapidly, isn't quite as healthy as it looks.

That complicates the Federal Reserve's task of figuring out when the economy has strengthened enough to withstand higher interest rates. The Fed is considering a rate increase as early as June.

With Friday's report, employers have now produced 12 straight monthly job gains above 200,000. It's the longest such stretch since 1994-95.

The U.S. is easily outshining most other major economies. For example, the unemployment rate in the 19 countries that share the euro is 11.2 percent, or twice the U.S. rate.

The robust U.S. job gains appear to have convinced many investors that the Fed will soon raise the short-term interest rate it controls. Investors on Friday sold ultra-safe U.S. Treasurys, a sign that many anticipate a rate increase. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.24 percent from 2.11 percent.

And they dumped stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 276 points in afternoon trading.

A 5.5 percent unemployment rate is typically consistent with what economists call "full employment" — when the proportion of unemployed people has fallen so low that employers must raise pay to find enough qualified workers.

Companies then raise prices to pay for the higher wages. And the Fed usually follows suit by raising its benchmark short-term rate to cool growth and ward off inflation.

But the scars of the Great Recession have made the process hazier and more complicated.

"5.5 percent doesn't mean what it once did," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. Full employment "is always a moving target, and it has moved down."

Since the recession ended in June 2009, the percentage of adults working or looking for work has fallen to a 37-year low of 62.8 percent. It has hovered around the mark for most of the past year.

Economists calculate that about half that decline reflects the aging of the population as the baby boom generation retires.

But another factor is that many Americans have become discouraged about their job prospects and have given up looking. Those out of work aren't counted as unemployed unless they are actively looking for jobs.

That has helped artificially lowered the rate since its peak of 10 percent in October 2009.

Many economists also argue the economy can't be near full employment if wages aren't growing. And average hourly earnings rose just 3 cents to $24.78 in February from the previous month.

Megan Greene, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services, noted that hourly pay fell in February from January in the construction and mining industries. Such figures will outweigh the falling unemployment rate in Fed chair Janet Yellen's mind, she said, and perhaps discourage a rate increase soon.

Yet many other economists expect the Fed will put a rate increase into effect in June or September.

The short-term interest rate is usually at 3 percent or 4 percent when the economy is at full employment. It is now at a record low of zero, and inflation is practically nonexistent.

Tim Hopper, chief economist at TIAA-CREF, said that if unemployment keeps falling and inflation starts to pick up later this year, "the Fed will be behind the curve if they haven't already started raising rates."

Nearly 3.3 million more Americans are earning paychecks than 12 months ago. That has boosted U.S. consumer spending and the broader global economy. Many leading exporters, particularly China, Germany and Japan, depend on Americans' spending for a chunk of their growth.

February's hiring gains were broad-based. Some of the industries with the biggest gains include mostly low-paid work: Hotels and restaurants added 60,000 jobs, retailers 32,000.

But higher-paying fields also added jobs: Professional and business services, which include accountants, engineers and lawyers, gained 51,000, construction 29,000 and financial services 10,000.

Growth slowed in the final three months of last year to an annual rate of 2.2 percent after roaring ahead at nearly 5 percent last spring and summer. But consumer spending rose, a sign demand remains strong.

Dave Long, chief executive of Orangetheory Fitness, said the improving economy has given a boost to his fast-growing exercise studio business. He opened the first location five years ago in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company now has nearly 200 sites in the U.S.

"As people have a little extra money ... it opens up their minds to spending a little more on a product like ours," he said.


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Stately living at Beacon Hill brownstone

A pristine renovation of an 1890 single-family brownstone at 14 Charles River Square on the flat of Beacon Hill awaits a buyer with deep pockets and a taste for Old World charm and modern amenities.

Nestled in a cul-de-sac off Storrow Drive, this $3.85 million townhouse comes with a deeded parking space and spans 3,020 feet on five levels, with four bedrooms, four baths and a private deck with Charles River views.

"It's an unbelievable blend of convenience and privacy," said broker P.T. Vineburgh of Charlesgate Realty Group. "You're smack in the middle of Beacon Hill and yet on this private cul-de-sac. It's your own private oasis in the city. And the true rarity is it's totally newly renovated, turnkey, ready to go."

The entry level has a gas fireplace and the flexibility of family living or formal dining, with an eat-in chef's kitchen with its own recessed gas fireplace, custom white Shaker cabinetry, white granite countertops and high-end appliances, including a six-burner Thermador gas range, built-in refrigerator, pot filler and large pantry. Classic detail and millwork complement the Jacobean-stained maple hardwood flooring.

The second level has a living room, which overlooks the square out to the river and boasts a maple wet bar and a gas fireplace with a classic mantel. A guest bedroom has a closet and a marble full bath.

The master level has a bedroom with a gas fireplace, two closets and flex space that could be used as a nursery, an office or a walk-in closet. The master bathroom has a cherry double vanity, a tiled carrara marble soaking tub and a marble, subway-tiled shower with frameless glass.

The penthouse level can house a fourth bedroom or a den. It has a fireplace, a full bath, a wet bar and access to a 300-square-foot private roof deck with Charles River views.

The lower level — ideal for an au pair or guest suite — has a bedroom, family room or play room, and a full bathroom. It also includes a walk-though mudroom with custom built-ins and has direct access to a private parking space.

Home Showcase

  • Address: 14 Charles River Square
  • Bedrooms: Four
  • Bathrooms: Four
  • List price: $3.85 million
  • Square feet: 3,020
  • Price per square foot: $1,274.83
  • Annual taxes: $17,371
  • Fees: $1,000 annually for landscaping and snow removal
  • Location: On private cul-de-sac, one block from shopping and a three- minute walk to the Red Line
  • Built in: 1890, completely renovated in 2015
  • Broker: P.T. Vineburgh of Charlesgate Realty Group at 857-383-3111

Pros:

  • Deeded parking space
  • Surround sound throughout with iHome technology
  • Tankless hot-water heaters and five-zone HVAC with Nest thermostats

Cons:

  • The building has no elevator
  • Rear windows face a narrow, brick-lined alley

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Charger’s performance matches racy look

With menacing looks and an intimidating front grille, the 2015 Dodge Charger SXT Rallye AWD is an exhilarating vehicle to drive.

Scalloped body sides and a chiseled front end with LED fog lights and high-intensity discharge wrap-around headlamps, coupled with seamless racetrack taillights, make it exhilarating to look at, too.

Its style and features make competitors like the Chevy Impala and Ford Taurus seem, well, not as exciting.

All new for 2015, the Dodge Charger is quiet and relatively fuel efficient (18 mpg city/27 highway) as equipped with a robust 300-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 24-valve engine. The Charger packs plenty of punch even if it doesn't have the optional 6.2-liter 707-horsepower Hellcat supercharged V8 engine — though it's easy to imagine what the Hellcat engine could do in this car.

The Charger's all-wheel-drive system handles both dry and wet roads like a champion and it even excels in snow. The 19-inch polished aluminum wheels and all-season tires keep this car in touch with the road. Other safety features like blind spot and cross path detection, lane departure warning, and advanced braking assistance help ensure safe arrival at your destination.

Dodge redesigned the interior of its Charger for 2015. The cockpit has a clean look with a 7-inch customizable gauge cluster. A new electronic shifter compliments the heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, which has stereo, phone and cruise controls.

The 8.4-inch touchscreen GPS and stereo controller connects with the 552-watt stereo to pump great sound through its 10 Beats speakers located throughout the cabin. The stereo receives satellite, Bluetooth audio, AM/FM and HD radio signals. The Garmin-based GPS maps are simple and easy to read. The voice guidance system is also top-notch. As any $40,580 car should, the Dodge Charger SXT has keyless entry.

Dodge's UConnect system makes it easy to establish a connection with your phone, and the speakerphone performed clearly. SiriusXM's travel link shows current gas prices, weather alerts, sports, and movie information.

Seating is incredibly comfortable in the Charger. The driver and passenger seats are eight-way adjustable with power controls. The Nappa leather sport seats are heated and ventilated, and have metallic leather accents with tungsten-accent stitching.

The cabin is roomy and has plenty of space in both the front and back seats. A power sunroof enhances the roominess. The trunk provides ample storage and has a pass through to the main cabin for oversized items.

The bottom line is that this Dodge will put a charge into any mundane driving task, yielding a thrilling driving experience.


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3 reasons Apple's watch will _ or won't _ change the game

SAN FRANCISCO — No one can argue that Apple has changed the way people live their lives. The company's iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iPad have shaken up music, phone and computer markets worldwide. Is the Apple Watch going to be able to do the same?

The stakes are big for Apple CEO Tim Cook: the watch is the first brand-new Apple product to be launched without legendary co-founder Steve Jobs. But the market is awash in smartwatches that have gained little traction. Here are three reasons the Apple Watch will finally move the needle in the smartwatch industry — and three reasons it might not.

WHY IT WILL CHANGE THE GAME

MORE FEATURES THAN RIVALS: Along with email, texts and phone calls, Apple says its watch will present news, health readings and other notifications in creative ways that can be read at a glance. It will have a heart rate monitor and accelerometer, and an internal motor that can signal the wearer with a subtle "tap" on the wrist. And Siri and Apple Pay will be built in. Apple is working with outside companies to create more apps; Cook has talked about using the watch as an electronic "key" for hotel doors or even cars.

A POWERFUL BRAND: The world's biggest tech company has a reputation for quality and a direct conduit to customers — it operates more than 400 retail stores around the world. And it has deep pockets to spend on advertising — it is showcasing the watch this month with a sleek, 12-page insert in Vogue and other fashion magazines.

APPLE'S TRACK RECORD: This wouldn't be the first Apple product that revolutionized a market where rivals had struggled to break through. Other companies made digital music players before the iPod, smartphones before the iPhone and even tablets before the iPad. Most of those products failed to catch on until Apple made devices so appealing they set new standards and created new demand, said Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder.

OR NOT

WHAT'S THE NEED?: Most smartwatches — including Apple's — only work with a smartphone nearby, so you can't swap one expensive gadget for the other. "What we've seen is that it's not obvious why people would want a smartwatch," says Gownder. A recent Forrester survey found some respondents didn't see a reason to buy one because they already owned a less-expensive fitness band or a full-featured smartphone (although it also found Apple fans ready to buy the new watch).

CONSUMERS NOT EXCITED: You can already buy smartwatches made by giant tech companies like Samsung, Sony or LG, or from a tech startup like Pebble, that track your heart rate, show you email and deliver other online services to your wrist. None of them have really caught on. Only about 5 million smartwatches were sold worldwide last year, according to market researchers at Strategy Analytics. By comparison, Apple sold 74.6 million iPhones in just the last quarter.

PRICE AND OBSOLESCENCE: Many of today's smartwatches sell for $200 or less. Apple plans to sell three models, starting at $349, but Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster predicts the average buyer will pay $550 for a watch and extra, interchangeable bands. Apple's high-fashion "Edition" model, made with 18-karat gold, is expected to cost thousands. While affluent consumers might pay that for a watch they can wear for years, or even hand down to their children, it's a lot of money for something that could become outdated if Apple releases a new model every year or so — as it does with smartphones.

Cook will make his case for the Apple Watch at a press event Monday, where he's expected to show off more features and apps. Expectations are high.

But even the iPhone didn't become a mainstream blockbuster in its first year, notes Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin. Of the Apple Watch, he says, "people need to understand more about what this product is, and what it does, and I think that will evolve over time."


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The Ticker

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 06 Maret 2015 | 18.38

Largest banks pass 'stress test'

All of the nation's 31 largest banks are adequately fortified to withstand a severe U.S. and global recession and keep lending, the Federal Reserve said yesterday.

Results of the Fed's annual "stress tests" show that as a group, the 31 banks are stronger than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis struck, thanks to a steadily recovering economy. The results build on positive outcomes from last year's stress tests.

Industry analysts say the most critical tests for the industry will come next week. That's when the Fed will announce whether it's approved each bank's request, if one has been made, to raise dividends or repurchase shares.

Mandarin Oriental says hotels hacked

High-end hotel chain Mandarin Oriental said yesterday that the credit card systems at some of its hotels in the U.S. and Europe were hacked.

The company, however, did not say which of its hotels were affected. It also did not give details on the extent of the hack or how many customers reported fraudulent charges on their credit cards as a result.

Mandarin Oriental operates about 30 hotels in cities across the world including Back Bay in Boston, Paris, London, Geneva, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas as well as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau.


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Small businesses seek help to dig out

Small businesses that took a big hit to their bottom lines from a string of recent snowstorms are hoping for government help to recover as they struggle to make ends meet.

A survey released yesterday revealed an average 24 percent sales slump during the Jan. 26 to Feb. 22 snowstorms for 1,600-plus Massachusetts small businesses that responded, while payroll costs declined only 7 percent. The impact was more severe for retailers and restaurants: Their sales plummeted 49 percent, while payroll expenses were down just 14 percent.

"Some ... are going to have trouble paying the next rent, making payroll and purchasing their spring inventory," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, which spearheaded the survey by statewide business associations and local chambers of commerce.

The data will arm the Baker administration as it seeks federal help, including low-interest loans, Hurst said.

Seventy-seven percent of the respondent companies have annual sales of $5 million or less; 61 percent have 20 or fewer employees.

"We're hoping that they can all find a way — whether through governmental assistance or their banks — to get through the rough patch, and hope consumers understand it's been a rough time and come back in and make an early spring of it," Hurst said.

Businesses suggested government could help them with sales and payroll tax holidays, delayed tax filings, low-interest loans and Main Streets promotional campaigns.

Some help already is available. The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. last week announced a $1 million loan fund for small businesses.

"It certainly was a step in the right direction, but ... given the sheer level of the losses, there is a potential for more Small Business Administration-type assistance," Hurst said.

American Express and ARF Financial are making short-term loans with attractive interest rates available to Bay State restaurants, according to Massachusetts Restaurant Association CEO Bob Luz.

Boston restaurants launched a #DigOutDineOut promotional campaign through April and hope that Dine Out Boston (formerly Restaurant Week), which continues today and Sunday through next Friday, will boost sales.

"Restaurants are on very, very thin margins to begin with, so to be able to survive through a four-week period like that is going to be very difficult for some," Luz said. "We fully expect that there's going to be some restaurants that don't make it through."


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AG hits defunct parenting biz with $260G penalty

Isis Parenting, the Needham-based prenatal and parenting retailer that abruptly shut down last year — leaving many parents and expectant parents in the lurch — will pay a $260,000 penalty for failing to provide services and refunds to its customers after its abrupt closing.

The settlement reached with state Attorney General Maura Healey's Office provides for refunds to eligible Massachusetts customers who had prepaid for merchandise and services, including classes, and received no refunds, according to documents filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court.

Customers can go through a claims office to receive restitution. The attorney general's office urges consumers with questions to contact its consumer hotline at 617-727-8400.

"Massachusetts companies have an obligation to treat customers fairly and deliver on the promises they make," Healey said in a statement. "When Isis Parenting went out of business, it left many new and expecting parents without the prenatal and parenting courses they paid for and were depending on. We are pleased that this settlement will provide restitution to these consumers."

The settlement comes after an investigation of Isis by the attorney general's office after it received numerous complaints from customers of Isis' alleged unfair business practices.

"The commonwealth alleges that while attempting to sell its business operations as a going concern, Isis Parenting marketed and sold goods and services when it knew or should have known it had insufficient reserves to ensure it would be able to provide (them)," the court documents state. "Isis Parenting failed to provide such goods and services or provide refunds."

Isis cancelled all of its ongoing and future classes when it closed, including prenatal education, early parenting groups and child development classes.

Isis Parenting's going-out-of-business sales at its four stores in Boston, Needham, Arlington and Hanover violated state law on termination sales, which requires companies to file a bond, pay a fee and provide advanced notice and an inventory list to the attorney general's office and towns or cities where the business is located, according to the court documents.

The company also violated the state's Consumer Protection Act regarding unfair competition and unfair or deceptive business practices, the court documents state.

The $260,000 penalty will be paid on behalf of Isis by its insurer.


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Off-street parking 
drives sales

The blizzard of 2015 — and the storms that followed — were enough to make most Bostonians rethink their parking situations, and Hub home buyers have plenty of options when it comes to properties with off-street spots for cars.

Those more desirable properties come with premiums, of course, the extra cost of which depends on the neighborhood.

"(Parking) always has a value no matter what the snow situation is," said Janet Deegan, a Realtor at Coldwell Banker in Jamaica Plain. "But it will have higher value right now when we have so much snow on the ground — and probably into the spring market because of the abundance. My guess is it won't go out of people's consciousness for a while."

The MLS Property Information Network lists 250 condos and single-family and multi-family homes for sale in Boston that come with parking — driveways, deeded spaces in alleys, parking lots, garages and rented spaces.

For a Jamaica Plain home worth $300,000 to $400,000, parking can add about $20,000 to the list price, according to Deegan. "If it was garage parking, it would be more valuable than if it was just a parking spot in a driveway," she said.

Many Dorchester homes have off-street parking — most of it outdoors, according to Realtor Craig Galvin, of the Galvin Group, who estimates it can add $25,000-plus to the cost of a property.

Galvin recently sold two similar condos in triple-deckers near Adams Village. A 985-square-foot condo with off-street parking listed at $319,000 and sold for $314,000. A larger 1,050-square-foot condo without parking listed for $315,000 and was put under agreement for $295,000.

"Just like any other area, if you have parking, it makes your life a lot easier," Galvin said.

A loft-style, five-room condo at The Foundry in South Boston – a neighborhood where 44 percent of the condos sold last year offered parking — went on the market this week with deeded, uncovered parking in a gated lot. It was listed for $549,000 on Tuesday morning, and there were 13 showing requests within four hours.

"The parking has been why these have sold so quickly," said Nick Hanneman, an agent with The Hanneman + Gonzales Team at Robert Paul Properties.

Even Boston condos with transferable rented parking — meaning the parking is an extra annual cost — typically have higher median sales prices than condos without rental spots, said David Bates, a broker at William Raveis Real Estate.

"If you can secure a rental spot that you can give to the buyer — even though you may not have the rights to the spot — more often you'll get a better price," he said.

Midtown — the area from Downtown Crossing to Tremont Street — had the highest percentage of condos for sale last year that came with rented, assigned or deeded parking at 82 percent, followed by Dochester at 64 percent, according to a report by Bates. Only 19 percent of Beacon Hill condos had off-street parking.

In the Back Bay, parking always has held a premium, according to Michael Carucci, president of Group Boston Real Estate.

"The situation has only got worse with the closing of the Danker Donahue Garage on Newbury Street, which is being converted to retail space," he said. "It's the convenience of having it. Would you pay $3 million to have your wife drive around the block with a car full of groceries looking for a place to park?"

Carucci who deals in high-end properties, said his clients always are looking for off-street parking.

"In some cases, even if they don't need it, they want it for resale value," he said.


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Charlie Baker prescribes cuts to MassHealth

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 05 Maret 2015 | 18.38

Gov. Charlie Baker's $38 billion budget plan would slash the budget-busting Medicaid program and cut spending throughout state government, setting up months of wrangling with Democratic lawmakers over who will feel the most pain — and who won't.

"This is the first chess move with the Legislature," said Josh Archambault of the Pioneer Institute, who has studied the growing impact of MassHealth spending on state coffers. "We're going to be talking about this for at least the next two years. Given how MassHealth has been eating up education or cops or transportation spending, there needs to be discussion to get this program on a sustainable path."

The Swampscott Republican needs to plug a pro­jected $1.8 billion budget gap created by growing costs, lagging revenues and what Baker called the "spending problem" he inherited.

To help close it, the governor wants to ax $761 million from MassHealth, the mammoth state Medicaid program, including reviewing the eligibility of more than 1.2 million subscribers, which his budget team estimates will save $210 million. His plan doesn't call for changes to what makes people eligible, but Baker called the program "one of the most generous" in the country, making it ripe for a so-called "re-determination process."

"If we're trying to close the structural deficit over time, it's something we're going to have to focus on," said Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, "and I would say not just MassHealth but health care in general."

Baker aides said they also killed all earmarks dear to lawmakers. But most of the plan stuck to broad strokes, and several top lawmakers said they're still reviewing the details.

Both the governor and the House have made addressing MassHealth costs a priority, and like Baker, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has pledged no new taxes.

The governor said he's already getting some guff from the Legislature, including over his proposal to ditch the state's film tax credit to help bankroll a boost to the state's earned-income tax credit. Law­makers have also slammed his plan to give the embattled MBTA an extra $64 million in state aid before identifying the problems behind the agency's widespread collapse this winter.

"We're going to have a big debate with the Legislature about our priorities," Baker said. "I believe the proposal we made is a reasonable one, given the financial circumstances that we inherited. ... Most people will see some belt-tightening but not wholesale changes in existing services."

But some advocates were already howling, in­cluding trial court officials, who said Baker's proposal could force them to cut 550 staffers and make it hard for courts to stay open. Court officials were seeking $642 million, but Baker gave them $603 million.


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Jerry Remy’s locations thrive...outside Fenway ’hood

The namesake Boston restaurant of Red Sox Nation president and NESN color analyst Jerry Remy abruptly closed Tuesday — a month before baseball season opens — but other­ locations appear to be thriving.

Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill debuted in the shadow of Fenway Park in March 2010 after a $5 million build-out and later added a large roof deck.

The Fenway location is co-owned by Remy and John O'Rourke. Remy declined comment yesterday, and O'Rourke did not return calls.

The other Remy's restaurants in Boston's Seaport District, at Logan International Airport and in Fall River, have different owners­ and operate under licensing agreements. They remained open yesterday, and all three owners said they're doing well.

"I was just told they closed the (Boston) restaurant and would revamp it for two weeks to modernize," said Anthony Cordeiro, co-owner of Remy's in Fall River.

NESV Real Estate LLC, a sister company of the Red Sox, owns the Boylston Street property where the Fenway Remy's is located and is its landlord.

"Our understanding is that the current operators have ceased operations," Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said, "and we cannot speculate on their plans or future uses of the site."

But the restaurant's website, Facebook and Twitter accounts gave no indication that the restaurant had closed, and the website was still allowing customers to make reservations.

Neither Remy nor O'Rourke were restaurateurs. Their managing partner, John Mascia, had the restaurant experience but left in August.

The eatery, Mascia said, was challenged by a decline in business in the Red Sox off-season. Even veteran chef/restaurateur Michael Schlow failed to make a go of it in the Fenway, where his Barrio Cantina closed in 2014 after replacing his Happy's Bar + Kitchen, which opened in 2012.

August was also when Cordeiro and co-owner Larry Couto took over day-to-day operations of the Fall River Remy's, in which the former Sox second-baseman and O'Rourke still are partners, Cordeiro said.

"Let's just say it was time for us to control our own future," he said. "It's in our building, and we have our vision, and we plan on keeping Jerry Remy's in Fall River."

Jon Cronin, of the Cronin Group LLC, was an original investor in the Fenway Remy's and has 100 percent ownership of the Remy's in the Seaport District, which he says is thriving.

"Business is up 10 percent year-over-year," Cronin said. "Even with this bad winter, we've had great business."


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Credit card agreements may stall Boston taxi app

Boston's options for a unified taxi dispatch and payment smartphone app could be limited because of exclusive contracts cab companies have signed with two credit card processing companies, according to industry insiders.

Boston cab companies have signed contracts with one of two com­panies — Verifone or CMT — which require drivers to only use that service to process credit card transactions.

"It complicates things if you have a contract in your vehicle to be used for credit card processing and the vehicle isn't using it," said Chris English, chairman of the city's Taxi Advisory Committee.

The Herald reported yesterday that dispatch companies are banding to come up with a single smartphone app all taxis could use to better compete with rivals such as Uber and Lyft and make it easier for people to hail cabs. Any app that the city or the taxi industry puts in place that allows people to pay for a ride would need to take into account those contracts with Verifone and CMT.

"If you stop using their credit card machine ... then they don't get a percentage and they start to lose," said Capt. Jim Gaughan of the Boston Police Hackney Unit. "If they start losing their percentage, there's going to be a problem."

CMT and Verifone also provide the equipment Boston police use to track and monitor taxi trips and fares.

Both companies have created apps and mobile payment systems — Verifone has an app that's being used in New York City and will launch soon in Philadelphia. Neither CMT nor Verifone responded to multiple requests for comment.


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Apps drive gaming growth

Tens of thousands of video game developers and fans decked out as their favorite characters will descend on the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center tomorrow for the start of a sold-out, three-day convention to celebrate an industry that has seen its audience expand and diversify with the growth of mobile games.

"Games are one of the fastest-moving industries around; wait five minutes and something new and interesting is gaining ground," said Timothy Loew, executive director of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute, or MassDiGI. "Today, we're seeing more and more spectacular looking mobile games, esports (competitive gaming) are rising and virtual reality is as hot it gets."

To Jon Radoff, founder and CEO of Framingham-based Disruptor Beam, which will be showcasing "Game of Thrones Ascent" and the company's newest game, "Star Trek Timelines," the real innovation in games is happening around ones designed for mobile phones and tablets.

"If you go back a decade, there were tens of millions of gamers; now there's a billion," he said, because rather than having to play at home on a console or a desktop, people today can play virtually anywhere.

Mobile devices also have made it easier to get access to new games such as "Star Trek Timelines," said Elicia Basoli, a spokeswoman for Disruptor Beam.

"Anyone can submit an app to Apple to get it into their App Store or to Google to get it into their Play Store," Basoli said. "So the barriers to making a mobile game available to the public are lower."

And because all of the new players who now have access to those games have different tastes and interests, another trend has developed: a growing diversity in both the people who play games and the people who develop them.

"If you have a staff that includes women, I think it leads to more creativity and comes through in your product," said Basoli, one of 10 women on Disruptor Beam's team of 40.

Other women, such as Kristen Mukai, a producer at Cambridge-based Proletariat, said that outside the companies they work for, sexism still exists in the industry.

"One of the things that happens all the time is if I'm representing Proletariat at an event and talking about more technical details, someone will say, 'Wait, do you actually work for this company?'" Mukai said. "There have been a couple of times when people have interrupted me and told me flat out that I don't know what I'm talking about."


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Australia clamps down on illegal foreign housing investment

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 04 Maret 2015 | 18.38

CANBERRA, Australia — Australian authorities are clamping down on wealthy foreigners illegally buying real estate, ordering a Chinese billionaire to sell a Sydney mansion he recently bought for $30 million, a minister said on Wednesday.

The billionaire, Hui Ka Yan, 56, is chairman of Hong Kong-listed real estate developer Evergrande Real Estate Group, which is based in Guangzhou, China. He is listed by Forbes as China's 15 wealthiest person with a fortune of $6.4 billion.

The government on Tuesday ordered Evergrande subsidiary Golden Fast Foods to sell a Sydney Habor-front mansion known as Villa del Mare within 90 days. The company bought the Mediterranean-style property in the exclusive Potts Point suburb in November.

The government said the acquisition was illegal because Golden Fast Foods, which is owned by Evergrande through a series of shelf companies in Australia, Hong Kong and the British Virgin islands, did not inform the Foreign Investment Review Board it intended to buy it.

"It is hugely important that we have integrity in our foreign investment regime," Treasurer Joe Hockey said Wednesday. "Wherever people believe that there has been unlawful behavior in relation to foreign investment, we want to know about it."

It is the first such divestment order issued in Australia in at least seven years and is attempt by the government to negate anger over sky high real estate prices in Sydney, some of which is due to foreign investment. The company could face prosecution.

"If it's sold at a profit, the owner gets to keep the profit," Hockey said of the forced sale. "If it's sold at a loss, it sounds as the though the owner has the capacity to absorb some of it."

Hockey said that other properties were under investigation. Phones at the regulator, the Foreign Investment Review Board, were running hot with tips on Wednesday in response to the Villa del Mare order, Hockey said.

The regulator's resources were being beefed up to cope with the extra workload, he said.

Foreigners are allowed to buy new homes, but generally aren't allowed to compete with locals in the market for existing homes unless they are Australian residents.

But wealthy investors, many from China, are accused of sidestepping these restrictions by buying through Australian lawyers or shelf companies.

The regulator has shown little interest in investigating such accusations in recent years. But an extraordinary increase in real estate prices in Sydney has put political pressure on the government to remove the competition.

"We're not going on a witch hunt," said Hockey. "We definitely don't want to create an atmosphere of xenophobia."


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Europe stocks gain, Asia mixed as data, China target awaited

BEIJING — European stocks gained while Asian markets faltered Wednesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. economic data and China's announcement of its annual growth target.

KEEPING SCORE: In early trading, France's CAC-40 added 0.5 percent to 4,893.52 points and Germany's DAX gained 0.3 percent to 11,314.80. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent to 6,899.09. Wall Street looked set for further declines. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 down 0.1 percent.

U.S. OUTLOOK: Investors were looking ahead to Wednesday's release of data on employment by ADP, a payroll processing company, and manufacturing data from the Institute for Supply Management. Those provide hints for the Labor Department's release of monthly jobs data Friday; the report is an important influence on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions and scrutinized by financial markets.

CHINA TARGET: China's Premier Li Keqiang is expected to lower this year's official growth target to 7 percent from last year's 7.5 percent when he makes an annual appearance before the national legislature Thursday to announce government economic plans. The lower target after a decade of double-digit expansion is part of the ruling Communist Party's marathon effort to reduce China's reliance on trade and investment and nurture more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption and service industries.

ANALYST'S TAKE: The U.S. economy appears strong despite data this week showing declines in construction spending and vehicle sales, according to Jim O'Sullivan of High-Frequency Economics. "We expect another fairly strong rise in payrolls and a drop in the unemployment rate in the February employment report on Friday," said O'Sullivan in a report.

ASIA'S DAY: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.6 percent to 18,703.60 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1 percent to 24,465.38. Seoul's Kospi fell 0.2 percent to 1,998.29. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5 percent to 3,279.53. India's Sensex gained 0.8 percent to 29,823.02 after the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates. Jakarta, Sydney and New Zealand also declined while Taipei and Singapore gained.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 8 cents to $50.66 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 93 cents on Tuesday to close at $40.42. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 44 cents to $60.58 after surging $1.48 to $61.02 on Tuesday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar was little changed at 119.72 yen from the previous session's 119.66 yen. The euro fell to $1.1144 from $1.1180.


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Sony PlayStation 4 surpasses 20 million sales milestone

Sony has sold 20.2 million PlayStation 4 videogame consoles, the company said Tuesday, making the device the fastest-selling PlayStation system in the company's history.

The March 1 figure is the latest sales update of the PS4 after Sony announced 18.5 million units in early January.

The PS4 has been one of the rare bright spots for Sony, with the console far outpacing PlayStation 3 sales and even those of the Xbox 360, from Microsoft.

But Microsoft's Xbox One also has been selling briskly, with next-generation consoles selling 60% faster in the U.S. than the previous versions of the system, according to research firm the NPD Group.

"We are so grateful for the enormous support from PlayStation® fans worldwide, and we are truly humbled that gamers around the globe have continued to select PS4 as the best place to play," said Andrew House, president and global CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver unique and interactive entertainment experiences powered by the network and the PS4 system's deep social capabilities."

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC


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Can Guy Fieri sell greek yogurt? Scripps Networks taps data to boost 'upfront' sales

Scripps Networks wants to push TV advertisers get beyond the traditional ad-sales process, helping instead to identify which audiences of which specific programs are more likely to buy particular products.

As part of its pitch for TV's coming "upfront" market, the operator of Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel will offer sponsors more granular data from the Nielsen Catalina Solutions unit of Nielsen that can suggest what shows are most likely to draw potential buyers of, say, Greek yogurt (the answer: Food Network's weekend-morning lineup, which includes "Guy's Big Bite" on Sundays). The research draws upon viewing patterns found in set-top box data as well as purchase patterns spotlighted by loyalty cards from various retailers. The data will let Scripps make better recommendations to advertisers about which of its programs will serve them best, said Jon Steinlauf, president of national ad sales at Scripps, in an interview held at the company's New York offices.

Madison Avenue has for decades looked to TV to provide the greatest number of viewers in a single swoop. Now, with audiences splintered by the rise of new viewing behaviors tied to streaming video and mobile devices, they are not always pressing for the most viewers, but the most of a particularly kind of couch potato, whether that be a first-time car buyer or a person more likely to purchase a bag of nuts.

"TV has to answer the data question and it has pushed us to be more aggressive in our positioning," said Steinlauf.

Scripps is among the first this year to nod publicly to a new wrinkle in the annual "upfront," when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their ad inventory for the coming programming season. Ad buyers and TV executives interviewed in recent weeks both acknowledged the underlying argument in the 2015 haggle will focus on an exchange of data for advertising commitments. TV companies that can make consumer data available to marketers seeking a particular set of customers are likely to capture a greater share of advertising commitments, these executives said.

NBCUniversal in January unveiled a new service for advertisers it called an "Audience Targeting Platform" that uses set-top box data and other sources to identify the best ad space for certain categories of advertisers.

"There is a growing and deafening demand and push for more insight as it relates to television investment," said Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships at NBU, in January.

The sales executives likely won't suggest the idea in public, but many media outlets hope their efforts to carve out expectant mothers, teenage soda drinkers, seekers of retirement planning and the like will help them command higher prices from potential sponsors and even sell a greater share of ad inventory than if they simply sold in more traditional fashion.

For its part, Scripps thinks its offering will result in "more brands buying shows as opposed to parent companies buying networks and dayparts," said Steinlauf. In other words, where advertisers once used TV in a blunter manner, lobbing ads across TV-network schedules to blast messages to the masses, they are likely in some cases to attempt to be more precise.

Other offerings will be at play. Scripps will offer a "roadblock" to advertisers that would allow them to run a commercial across multiple Scripps networks, all at the same time. The initiative would let the sponsor get a message in front of a large number of upscale female viewers who watch Food Network, HGTV, DIY and other outlets owned by the company.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC


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Body-camera maker has financial ties to police chiefs

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 03 Maret 2015 | 18.38

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Taser International, the stun-gun maker emerging as a leading supplier of body cameras for police, has cultivated financial ties to police chiefs whose departments have bought the recording devices, raising a host of conflict-of-interest questions.

A review of records and interviews by The Associated Press show Taser is covering airfare and hotel stays for police chiefs who speak at promotional conferences. It is also hiring recently retired chiefs as consultants, sometimes just months after their cities signed contracts with Taser.

Over the past 18 months, Taser has reached consulting agreements with two such chiefs weeks after they retired, and it is in talks with a third who also backed the purchase of its products, the AP has learned. Taser is planning to send two of them to speak at luxury hotels in Australia and the United Arab Emirates in March at events where they will address other law enforcement officers considering body cameras.

The relationships raise questions of whether chiefs are acting in the best interests of the taxpayers in their dealings with Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taser, whose contracts for cameras and storage systems for the video can run into the millions of dollars.

As the police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, successfully pushed for the signing of a major contract with Taser before a company quarterly sales deadline, he wrote a Taser representative in an email, "Someone should give me a raise."

The market for wearable cameras that can record arrests, shootings and other encounters has been growing fast since the killing last August of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. President Barack Obama has proposed a $75 million program for departments to buy the cameras to reduce tensions between officers and the communities they serve.

City officials and rival companies are raising concerns about police chiefs' ties to Taser, not only in Fort Worth but in such cities as Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Salt Lake City.

"Department heads need to be very careful to avoid that type of appearance of an endorsement in a for-profit setting," said Charlie Luke, a Salt Lake City councilman. "It opens up the opportunity for competitors of these companies to essentially do what we're seeing here — complaining about that public process."

He said he was surprised when he learned last year that the city's police department had purchased Taser cameras using surplus money, bypassing the standard bidding process and City Council approval. The department declined to say how much it has spent acquiring 295 body cameras and Taser's Evidence.com video storage program and hasn't responded to a month-old public records request.

The city's police chief, Chris Burbank, said that his relationship with Taser, which includes company-paid travel to Taser-sponsored conferences, is appropriate. He recently recorded at the company's request a promotional video in which he praised Evidence.com.

Burbank said he does not receive speaking fees and believes he hasn't violated a city code prohibiting paid product endorsements on public time. He said he accepts Taser's speaking invitations to promote the best ways of using body cameras. But Luke, the city councilman, questioned what value Salt Lake City gets from Burbank's trips.

A Taser spokesman said the company has no control over how cities decide to award contracts. Taser says early adopters of technology are the best ones to discuss its benefits and drawbacks and share their experiences with colleagues.

"This is a pretty normal practice for police chiefs and other recently retired individuals to speak on behalf of the industry," Taser chief marketing officer Luke Larson said.

Taser's competitors say its cozy relationships are hurting their ability to seek contracts. They complain they have been shut out by cities awarding no-bid contracts to Taser and are being put at a disadvantage by requests for proposals that appear tailored to Taser's products.

"Every time I do a presentation, as I'm standing there looking through the room, I wonder, 'Who is tainted by Taser?'" said Peter Onruang, president of Wolfcom Enterprises, a California body camera maker.

Taser reported Thursday that orders for body cameras and Evidence.com soared to $24.6 million in the final three months of 2014 — a nearly fivefold increase from the same quarter in 2013. The company said it had contracts with 13 major cities and is in discussions or trials with 28 more.

A no-bid contract in Albuquerque and Taser's relationship with the police chief prompted an investigation by the city's inspector general.

City Council members demanded the inquiry after learning that Chief Ray Schultz, who had supported the $1.9 million contract for Taser cameras and storage, became a company consultant shortly after stepping down. A U.S. Justice Department investigation last year blasted Albuquerque's rollout of the body cameras, saying it had been so hasty that officers had not been properly trained.

Today, Schultz speaks in an online promotional video about Albuquerque's experience with Evidence.com. Although he has recently been hired as assistant chief in the Houston suburb of Memorial Villages, Schultz said he will be paid by Taser to speak at the international conferences in March.

Former New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas confirmed he signed a Taser consulting agreement after he stepped down in August and has spoken at company-sponsored events in Canada and Arizona. Less than a year earlier, in December 2013, the city agreed to a $1.4 million contract with Taser for 420 cameras and storage.

In an interview with the AP, Serpas declined to detail how the consulting deal came about but said it did not violate a state ethics law because he is not lobbying his former employer. He also said he was not on the committee that recommended Taser for the contract.

Serpas said his role is to speak about how technology affects policing and not to promote products. Taser marketing materials reviewed by AP, however, quote him as calling the company's Axon cameras and Evidence.com "a game changer for police departments here and around the world."

In Fort Worth, emails obtained by the AP under Texas' open records law show that then-Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead was seeking 400 more body cameras for officers last year and that Taser promised a discount if the deal could be approved before the end of the company's sales quarter.

"Close of the month? I do not wear a cape or have x-ray vision you know," Halstead wrote a Taser representative.

But over the next three weeks, Halstead successfully pushed the city to approve a no-bid contract worth up to $2.7 million. He kept Taser representatives aware of his progress, adding at one point that he deserved a raise.

In the following months, Taser had Halstead speak at events in Phoenix, Miami and Boston, covering his airfare and lodging, records show. The four-day Boston trip for Halstead and a companion cost Taser $2,445.

Halstead said he reached an oral agreement during the contract negotiations to travel to three other cities at Fort Worth's expense to talk about his experience with Taser cameras. In one email, he told a Taser representative he believed he could persuade San Antonio to buy its cameras, "but my fee is not cheap! LOL."

Halstead, who retired from the department in January, said he hopes to become an official consultant before he travels to speak at overseas events in March. He said he discussed such an arrangement during the end of his city employment, but had nothing promised.

He defended his ties to Taser as a "good business relationship" with a company that supports law enforcement.

Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke said he does not believe Halstead violated rules that prohibit employees from accepting job offers or other benefits that might influence the performance of their official duties. But he said the episode might reveal "gaps that we need to fill" in the code.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Don Thompson in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.


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Gasoline prices creep up

Massachusetts gas prices climbed 10 cents in the past week and are likely to keep going up before leveling off this spring or summer — but they are likely to stay below the $3 mark, analysts say.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas yesterday was $2.37, according to gasbuddy.com, and will continue to rise for the next month or two as refineries do maintenance, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at gasbuddy.com.

"A portion of those refineries have to temporarily go offline, which limits the amount of gas they're producing," DeHaan said. "Less gas being supplied equals higher prices."

Gas stations also are beginning to transition to the cleaner-burning, more expensive kind of gas mandated in the spring and summer under the 1993 Clean Air Act, he said. Massachusetts prices are still lower, however, than the national average of $2.43 for a gallon of regular gasoline.

Even prices here, however, could increase by another 20 to 35 cents in the weeks ahead, he said, although it's unlikely that they'll go as high as $3 per gallon because the price of crude oil is about $50 per barrel, compared with $103 per barrel a year ago.

"That's why prices this summer should be relatively cheap," DeHaan said. "The Saudis last fall began undercutting the price of oil to regain market share due to the rise in U.S. oil production, so the price of crude suddenly plummeted."

"Much of the increase in the national average is because prices in the West Coast and Great Lakes have rebounded significantly in the last month, pulling the national average up, while Boston prices remain soft," DeHaan said. "The staggering winter season you've had has muted gasoline demand, and increases haven't hit as quickly because the level of gasoline inventories remains healthy there."

Meanwhile, consumer spending bounced back in January after taking into account sharply lower gas and energy prices, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Overall spending actually fell for the second straight month, the first time that's happened since the Great Recession. But economists said the decline was misleading because it was caused by the steep decline in energy prices. When adjusted for inflation, which has been low as oil prices have plunged, consumer spending actually rose 0.3 percent in January.


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Shake Shack escalates burger battle

Opening a restaurant in a city still dealing with lingering snow piles may not be great timing, but yesterday's Boston debut of Shake Shack on Newbury Street, while devoid of its famous long lines, fired 
another shot across the bow in the battle against burger giants.

"People still love burgers, shakes and fries, but they don't want to eat fast food anymore," said Randy Garutti, CEO of the cult-favorite New York City-based burger chain, in town for the Newbury opening, as well as Sunday's launch at Legacy Place in Dedham. They're the third and fourth Greater Boston outlets for the "fast casual" eatery. The others are in Chestnut Hill and Harvard Square.

The back-to-back openings come at a time of dramatic changes in the American fast-food market. Major international chains such as McDonald's still dwarf newcomer national outlets such as Shake Shack, Five Guys and BurgerFi, not to mention local entries such as Tasty Burger, UBurger and Wahlburgers.

But these nouveau burger joints, slightly more upscale with generally higher prices, are thriving while the big boys are rapidly losing market share. McDonald's Corp. CEO Don Thompson stepped down this week after just three years on the job, defined mostly by declining American sales. The fast-food giant reported a sales drop of 2.1 percent last year, the biggest decline since 2001.

"We like to think we're a very democratic place," Garutti said. "You can come here on a date, bring your kids, meet your buddies for a beer or even watch the game."


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Venture capitalist to take stand in Silicon Valley lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO — A prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist who helped direct early investments in Google and Amazon.com is set to take the stand Tuesday in a high-profile sex discrimination lawsuit that has sparked debate over the treatment of women in the high-tech and venture capitalist arenas.

John Doerr is scheduled to testify in San Francisco Superior Court in a lawsuit against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The plaintiff, Ellen Pao, says she was denied a promotion in the male-dominated culture of Kleiner Perkins because she is a woman and was then fired in 2012 after she complained.

The firm has denied wrongdoing and says Pao, 45, was a poor performer who didn't get along with her colleagues.

Venture capital firms provide much of the startup funds for tech companies and have a reputation as being even more insular and male-dominated than the companies they help launch.

Women hold 15 to 20 percent of the technology jobs at tech giants Google, Apple, Facebook and Yahoo, according to disclosures by the companies.

The firms acknowledge needing to do more to hire female engineers but largely attribute the problem to cultural issues that discourage girls and young women from taking classes needed to pursue careers in computer coding and website design.

Venture capital firms are even more slanted toward men. A study released last year by Babson College in Massachusetts found that women filled just 6 percent of the partner-level positions at 139 venture capital firms in 2013, down from 10 percent in 1999.

Pao initially worked as Doerr's chief of staff at Kleiner Perkins before becoming a junior partner with full-time investment duties. During opening statements, Pao's attorney, Alan Exelrod, said Pao wrote many of Doerr's letters and speeches and had received a glowing review from him when she was contacted about another job opportunity. Exelrod also said Doerr wanted to fire one of Pao's married male colleagues after learning he and Pao had had an affair, and that Doerr was aware that Pao had received from a senior partner at the firm a book of erotic poetry that she found inappropriate.

Kleiner Perkins' attorney, Lynne Hermle, said Pao did not indicate at the time she received the poetry book that she thought it was inappropriate, and the book had been purchased by the partner's wife.

Pao is seeking $16 million in damages. The firm is seeking to limit any possible damages by arguing that Pao is well-compensated in her current position as interim CEO of the popular social media company Reddit and hasn't suffered financially since leaving Kleiner after filing her lawsuit.


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Inspector Gadget: Dance with our robot overlords

Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Maret 2015 | 18.38

WowWee MiP ($89.99 & up, various retailers)

What do you get for the person who has everything? Fun dancing robots! As opposed to actually helpful robots like Roomba or the upcoming Jibo family assistant, just-for-fun robots can be a good way to get kids interested in robotics. Enter the WowWee MiP, billed as a fun little toy that does tricks and even balances objects on a little tray.

The good: Powered by 4 AA batteries, this cute toy is a fun way to wile away the hours. He dances, makes gestures and can even hold another MiP.

The bad: MiP is like a toddler: don't let him near the stairs, and be prepared for an occasional fall.

The bottom line: Anything that can balance a cup of coffee and bring it to me is just plain cool. Now, if only MiP could shovel snow …


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Chucks to get All-Star treatment

Converse is celebrating its Chuck Taylor All Stars and the people who've helped build their iconic status in its biggest marketing campaign ever for the sneakers.

Boston figures prominently in the North Andover company's global "Made by you" campaign that starts today with sneaker portrait "takeovers" at South Station, North Station, and the MBTA's Harvard Square and Massachusetts Avenue stations.

The Hub rollout will coincide with portraits events in 41 cities on four continents, including street exhibitions of the portraits in large light boxes in New York, London and Beijing.

"We figured it was a great time to be celebrating all of the love that we have from our fans and our customers for Chuck Taylor," said Ian Stewart, Converse's vice president of global marketing. "We haven't done it before in a big way. This is a multi-season, multi-year campaign, so this will roll for some time and integrate everything in it."

That will include the 100th anniversary of the Chuck Taylor, introduced as the All Star basketball shoe in 1917. It was later renamed after Converse hired former basketball player Chuck Taylor as a salesman in 1921, and he made suggestions for key design improvements and became an evangelist for the sneaker. Converse has sold more than 1 billion pairs of "Chucks," its best-selling sneaker.

It collected 200 pairs from around the world for the sneaker portraits that take the form of everything from lenticulars to wall murals to tell the stories of their "transformation from blank canvas to self-portrait" of their owners. They include celebrities such as Patti Smith and Andy Warhol, other artists, skaterboarders, fashionistas and everyday wearers, including Converse employees.

"They are pairs that we discovered out on the streets around the world — some from the friends or the families of the brand and a handful of high-level celebrities," Stewart said. "The original insight was that every 
sneaker was a work of art for them, and every pair has a story to tell. We borrowed them for a few days and then took them back, so their journey continues."

Local people whose kicks are featured in the campaign include artists Caleb Neelon, Dana Woulfe, Kenji 
Nakayama and skateboarder Eli Reed.

Portraits also will be displayed at Converse's retail partner locations, including the Orchard Skateshop in Allston and Concepts in Cambridge, and Converse's Newbury Street store in Boston, where fans will be able to get their own Chuck Taylors photographed for "Made by you" portraits.

"We're taking over all sorts of neighborhood streets in and around downtown Boston and around our new office," Stewart said, referring to Converse's headquarters move to Boston's Lovejoy Wharf scheduled for sometime in April or May.

Social media, where Chuck Taylors average 13,000 daily mentions, also plays a big role in the campaign. Converse will launch a new Chuck Taylor Tumblr, and a "Made by you" short film will debut on its social media channels.


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Booting Up: Restaurant app has promise

The global restaurant industry hasn't seen innovation since the Diners Club charge card was born in 1950. Now, a kid from Worcester is among those trying to change that.

Bentley College grad Nick Belsito founded BeeLine (beelinenow.com), a dining concierge mobile app that aims to secure hard-to-get reservations for reliable, well-heeled customers and supply restaurants with an individual profile on those diners — whether they like their wine decanted, prefer a specific drink, etc.

BeeLine recently launched in Boston and San Francisco, one of a handful of new apps aiming to put a fresh twist on restaurant reservations and disrupt the long-stagnant business of wining and dining.

"As your private concierge, we form relationships so you don't have to," said Belsito, 28, formerly a financial analyst at Raytheon.

Belsito's team, funded by a group of individual angel investors in Boston and Silicon Valley, claims that its services are a win-win for customers and restaurants alike: BeeLine users spend 30 percent more than the average patron and have a 99 percent arrival rate. That, said Belsito, helps solve a giant problem for restaurants, which lose hundreds of thousands of dollars each year holding tables for no-shows. For nightclubs and lounges, that no-show rate is usually worse, which is why Belsito's decision to integrate nightlife reservations is so savvy. Belsito says his calculations put the industry's combined losses due to no-shows at up to $27 billion annually.

"This is a very large and hot market," Belsito said. "There are other competitors out there such as OpenTable, which is frustrating to use as a consumer because they are often sold out during prime time."

The restaurant reservation system is ripe for disruption, and OpenTable — the biggest online reservation system — has missed a golden opportunity to lead the way. It simply took an offline system and brought it online, with very few incentives for spending and dining in off-peak hours.

With BeeLine, which does offer those incentives, pricing ranges from free with perks (like a surprise item from the chef) to a $5 premium for prime-time access. Still, the new app faces some competition, with startups such as Reserve and Table 8 both circling the same space with varied business models.

I suspect in the next year or two you'll see more startups follow suit: Some will allow restaurants to bid on certain VIP patrons, automate incentives for new customers or give discounts to patrons willing to keep their meals short and not linger at a table all night.

Uber has launched an interesting experiment in surge pricing, but perhaps it is restaurants that could use that model best. With apologies to fans of salad and appetizers, why shouldn't someone who spends big on fancy food get to skip to the front of the line?


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World stock markets mostly higher following China rate cut

TOKYO — World stock markets were mostly higher Monday as a weekend interest rate cut by the Chinese central bank lifted sentiment following a lower estimate of U.S. economic growth last quarter.

KEEPING SCORE: Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent to 6,964.66 and Germany's DAX climbed 0.3 percent to 11,428.83. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent to 4,940.62. Wall Street looked set for an upbeat start to the week. Dow futures were up 0.2 percent and S&P futures added 0.1 percent. Hopes for stronger growth in China boosted mining companies and other resource-related shares, such as miner BHP Billiton, which rose 0.4 percent and Glencore Plc, which added 1.8 percent.

CHINA RATE CUT: The People's Bank of China cut interest rates for the second time in three months Saturday, reducing the rate for one-year loans by commercial banks by 0.25 percentage point to 5.35 percent. The interest rate paid on a one-year deposit was lowered by 0.25 point to 2.50 percent. The latest round of cuts follow tax reductions and other measures meant to prop up growth. The government cut business taxes last week and has announced a pay hike for civil servants.

THE QUOTE: "News of China's rate cut should help buyer mood ... compensating for a weak lead from the US market," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC in Sydney. "However, while news of lower borrowing costs will help support equity valuations and be seen as a positive for commodity demand, market response may be limited. In some senses this rate cut is a technical response to the fact that lower inflation is making real borrowing costs more expensive in China. "

US PROSPECTS: U.S. GDP growth in the fourth quarter was revised down to 2.2 percent from an earlier estimate of 2.6 percent. The revised pace is on a par with the average of the past five years and indicative of a less robust recovery than some analysts had believed. That news countered upbeat data on housing and consumer confidence.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 percent to 18,826.88 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,996.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent to 24,887.44 and the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 3,336.28. Australia's S&P ASX/200 jumped 0.5 percent to 5,958.90. Southeast Asian markets were mixed.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil was down 55 cents to $49.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained $1.59 on Friday to $49.76 a barrel. Brent crude, a key indicator for global oil prices, fell 60 cents to $61.98 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 119.93 yen from 119.63 late Friday. The euro gained to $1.1208 from $1.1199.


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