Nonstop flights connect Boston, China

The first nonstop air service between Boston and Beijing will be announced next week, the Herald has learned — and it promises to dramatically boost business between a leading world technology and research zone here in the Hub and China's massive emerging market.

Massport, after years of pushing for the globe-shrinking flights, is due to announce next week that China's Hainan Airlines will launch nonstop service in June, initially four times per week, according to sources briefed on the plans. The airline filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation on Nov. 12 that's expected to be approved early next week, the sources told the Herald.

"China is a huge market opportunity," said Christopher Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council. "This is obviously very welcome. It not only helps our economy gain easier access to another market — direct service to anywhere opens up access for that location to our innovation assets."

While Anderson acknowledged that U.S. business has ongoing intellectual property protection concerns in China — the world's second largest economy — he cited huge opportunities for Massachusetts-developed technologies unrelated to security concerns, including health care and energy.

"China is increasing energy consumption as their economy expands rapidly, and as they (do), they also need to increase their energy generation capa­city," Anderson said. "They have a focus on clean energy technologies. A number of those technologies are served by innovations that are located here."

Boston-Beijing flights also will be a boon for New England tourism. Chinese visitors to Boston were second only to those from the United Kingdom last year, and they've jumped 287 percent to 147,000 annually since 2008. Those numbers could as much as double in the next five years once nonstop service is added, said Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau chief Pat Moscaritolo.

"It's going to mean hundreds of millions of dollars in new visitor spending for Boston, Massachusetts and New England," Moscaritolo said.

Retail is among the sectors that will benefit most significantly, said Moscaritolo, who also expects to see new tourism-­related businesses catering to Chinese visitors.

Massport wouldn't confirm the pending announcement yesterday.

"We talk to airlines all the time," spokesman Richard Walsh said. "When and if there's an announcement, we'll make it."

The DOT did not return Herald calls, and Joel Chusid, Hainan's U.S. executive director, said he "can't confirm anything yet."

By August, the 20-year-old Hainan Airlines plans to average 30 to 31 flights between Boston and Beijing per month, and carry 5,200 to 6,200 passengers on Boeing 787s, according to its DOT application. It launched its first nonstop U.S. service to Beijing from Seattle in 2008 and started Chicago flights on Sept. 3.

"We have a very kind of upscale business class," Chusid said, noting the airline offers flat-bed seats and amenities such as pajamas and slippers in first class. In economy class, Hainan "doesn't charge for all the extras that other guys do," he said.

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World of differences

With Hainan Airlines due to connect Boston and Beijing as never before, the Freedom Trail and the Great Wall of China — as well as Kendall Square and China's factories — have never been closer. Here's a look at the soon-to-be linked economic and cultural powerhouses:

• Distance: Boston and Beijing are 6740 miles apart.

• Time Difference: The sun comes up 13 hours earlier there.

• Latitude: Boston, 42 degrees; Beijing 39.9 degrees

• Population: Boston, 636,479; Beijing- 20,693,000

• Founded: Boston, 1630 A.D. Beijing, as the city of Ji, 1045 B.C.

• Known for: Boston — the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution, the Big Dig, two centuries of American literature, leading educational institutions, top-notch medical research and high tech innovation; Beijing — several millenia of Chinese art and literature, the Boxer rebellion, the Cultural revolution, booming financial and hi-tech manufacturing industries

• Attractions: Boston — The Freedom Trail, Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, Fenway Park, Swan Boats, the Old North Church, the Museum of Fine Arts, autumn foliage; Beijing — Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Ming tombs

• Weather: Boston — hot, rainy, humid summers, cold, snowy winters; Beijing — dry and humid summers, cold and windy winters, dust storms

• Delicacies: Boston — clam chowder, lobster, North End cuisine. Beijing — Peking Duck, noodles, hot and sour soup

• Sports: Boston — Three World Series, three Superbowls, one NBA title and one Stanley cup in the last decade. Beijing — 2008 Summer Olympics, several professional soccer and basketball teams.

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Safety first for Black Friday frenzy

Massachusetts stores will be beefing up security, staggering lines and handing out first-come, first-served tickets for hot Black Friday sale items to avoid the kind of stampede that killed a Wal-Mart employee five years ago in New York.

"The busy shopping season should not put retail workers at risk of being injured or killed," said David Michaels, the nation's assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.

In response to letters the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent out last week, many retailers plan to follow OSHA guidelines, including having trained security or police on hand, placing barricades away from the front of the store's entrance and not allowing more customers to enter once the store reaches its maximum occupancy.

"We continually look for ways to raise the bar on safety for our customers and our employees; their safety is and always has been our highest priority," said Alyssa Peera, a spokeswoman for Toys "R" Us, whose seven Bay State stores will be opening at 1 a.m. "Each year, we evaluate and strengthen our crowd control policies, procedures and store operations right up to Black Friday."

Senior members of the chain's store management teams, including security, will be monitoring crowds waiting outside to identify potential problems before they happen, Peera said.

The chain has tried to ensure it has enough inventory of the most popular toys, she said, But in cases where the demand exceeds the supply, staff will issue tickets to customers for the product on a first-come, first-served basis.

Wal-Mart, whose 47 Massachusetts stores will open on Friday at 1 a.m., will allow customers to line up to get wristbands reserving the item they want, then leave the line to do the rest of their shopping and pick up the item within a two-four period before they leave the store, said Alex Serra, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.

Best Buy, which will be opening at 1 a.m., also will be giving out tickets reserving items for people in line, as well as distributing store maps so that people will know in advance where to find them, said John Garrasi, who manages the chain's Watertown store.

Wrentham police will have as many as 46 officers working "midnight madness" at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets and a dedicated frequency they'll be able to communicate over, Chief James Anderson said.

There also will be message boards posted on Interstate 495 and Route 1A, telling motorists how much of a wait they can expect to reach the mall.

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Casino gambles on Revere

Mohegan Sun and its New York-based investor would be the sole owners of a $1 billion Revere casino — not Suffolk Downs — under a new eleventh-hour agreement finalized just days before the two sides could learn whether they're legally free to build a gaming palace just over the East Boston line.

The deal, announced yesterday after a week of whirlwind negotiations, could breathe new life into two battered gaming partners, whose prospects appeared dead just weeks ago after voters in Palmer spiked a Mohegan Sun proposal and Eastie voters shot down Suffolk Downs' pitch.

But in a major shift from Suffolk Downs' last gaming agreement, the struggling racetrack would lease 42 of its 52 acres of land in Revere to Mohegan Sun and $15 billion-backer Brigade Capital Management, which together would own the casino.

Caesars Entertainment, the track's first partner, bounced amid questions over debt and purported mob ties, would have held just a 4.2 percent stake in the original proposal as the developer and operator.

Mohegan Sun has already passed its Gaming Commission background check.

"It's more akin to our agreement with Palmer," said Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, referring to the 99-year lease Mohegan Sun had signed to build in the western Massachusetts town, though he declined to detail the Revere terms.

"I think in this case, given the extremely short time frame we needed to get this done, this probably was more executable if our existing arrangements with Brigade and the structure were maintained," Etess said. But he disputed the notion that Suffolk Downs would be simply a "landlord."

"We're really partnering with them," he said.

A Suffolk Downs spokesman declined to comment, referring comment on the deal's structure to Mohegan Sun.

It remains uncertain whether the new partners will be allowed to compete with Wynn Resorts and Everett for the eastern region casino license.

The Gaming Commission is due to meet Tuesday, when its legal team will brief members on whether Suffolk Downs can legally operate a Revere-only casino without another referendum vote. When Revere voters approved a casino on Nov. 5, it was part of the city-line-crossing plan that East Boston rejected.

Celeste Myers of No Eastie Casino, an East Boston-based group that is considering suing to stop the Revere-only deal, immediately blasted Mohegan Sun for "shopping wherever they can."

Mohegan Sun, Myers noted, has faced layoffs of more than 300 workers last year, the refinancing of $715 million in debt and a two-thirds plunge in its fourth-quarter profits just this month.

"They have had all kinds of financial issues," she said. "And now they're joining in the last-ditch cash grab in the commonwealth."

But Etess countered that Mohegan Sun's refinancing will save $16 million in interest costs a year. He touted Brigade's backing "as the strongest platform of any participant in the entire process."

Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo said, "I think it would be unrealistic to think because Mohegan Sun fell on some hard times, that should be indicative of any casino never being built (by them) again."

And Rizzo added, "We can definitely use the jobs."

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Stores ‘discounting like it’s 2009’ on Black Friday

Shoppers venturing out the day after Thanksgiving can expect the biggest Black Friday promotions since at least 2009.

They won't see the fire sales of 2008 — when 75-percent-off tags were all over the mall amid the fallout of the Great Recession — but retailers already are discounting like its 2009, when the economy still was touch-and-go, according to Ken Perkins, analyst at Swampscott-based Retail Metrics Inc.

"Our sense is they're going to continue to keep the deals flowing all the way up through the new year, primarily because the spending pie has not been growing outside of the upper income bracket," he said.

Retailers selling electronics at deep discounts stand to win.

"TVs, gadgets and smart phones are still going to be the primary lever — particularly for big box retailers — to get people into the stores," Perkins said.

Somerville consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky, who runs the ConsumerWorld.org website, already has hunted down what he considers to be the better "door-busters": a 55-inch LG HDTV for $499.99 at Best Buy; a 25-cubic-foot Whirlpool stainless refrigerator for $999.99 at Lowe's, Sears, Best Buy and Home Depot; and a Samsung Galaxy S4 smart phone for 99 cents or less at Best Buy, Staples and Sam's.

"Some of the stores have 64-page ads this coming Thursday," Dworsky said. "They're not all wonderful deals, you have to do your homework."

He believes consumers are feeling some degree of Black Friday "burnout."

"Retailers ... are ruining their own big shopping day by making it earlier and earlier," he said. "It gets watered down. Pretty soon, we're going to be celebrating Black Friday in August."

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John Henry tossing Worcester paper

A Springfield media mogul and losing bidder for the Boston Globe says he won't buy the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, but John J. Gormally Jr. predicts there will be plenty of local players interested, including media chain GateHouse Media.

"If I were to buy a newspaper, it would be my local newspaper," said Gormally, owner of two Springfield television stations and BusinessWest Magazine, who bid on the New England Media Group in competition with John Henry.

Henry, who bought the Boston Globe and the Telegram and their websites a month ago for $70 million, told his Worcester staffers yesterday he was putting their paper on the block.

"My preference is to a local owner," Henry told the staff, according to the Telegram & Gazette.

Gormally said, "Strategically, GateHouse is probably the leading candidate." GateHouse Media, owns more than 300 daily and weekly newspapers, including the Patriot Ledger and the Brockton Enterprise, and recently acquired the Dow Jones Media Group, which includes the Cape Cod Times and the New Bedford Standard Times.

The Fletcher family, long-rooted in Worcester, could be good candidates to buy the paper, Gormally said. Another possible bidder could be Ralph D. Crowley Jr., CEO of Polar Beverages, who tried to buy the paper in 2009. City Manager Michael O'Brien has said the local business community might be interested in mounting a bid.

The fate of the newspaper — in a time when many are struggling and staffs are being cut — won't be clear until potential bidders express interest, industry insiders and analysts said.

"I wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing for the Telegram & Gazette," said Tom Fiedler, dean of the College of Communications at Boston University. "Depending obviously on whether responsible local ownership steps forward."

John Hill, president of the Rhode Island Newspaper Guild — which includes staff at the Telegram & Gazette, said, "We'll see who he sells it to. Then we'll know if it's a good or a bad thing."

Analysts and industry insiders said local bidders most likely to draw Henry's eye would be those that see the paper as a civic investment rather than a financial venture.

"If he can find a good local buyer who for a relatively small amount of money could take on a good civic responsibility, that's a good thing," said Joshua Benton, director of the Neiman Journalism Lab at Harvard University.

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The Ticker

U.S. residential building permits top a million

Permits for future U.S. home construction rose to their highest in nearly 5-1⁄2 years in October and prices for single-family homes notched big gains in September, suggesting a run-up in mortgage interest rates has not derailed the housing recovery.

Building permits jumped 6.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units, the highest since June 2008 and beating economists' expectations for a 930,000-unit rate.

The data released yesterday were the latest signs of strength in the economy, despite headwinds from last month's budget fight, which led to a partial government shutdown, and rising mortgage rates.

Nasdaq closes above 4,000

The Nasdaq composite index closed above 4,000 yesterday for the first time since 2000, while the Dow and S&P ended barely changed.

Retailers and home builders were among the best performing sectors, responding to stronger-than-expected earnings and robust housing market data.

Big-cap technology stocks helped the Nasdaq to finish above 4,000 for the first time since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000.

Consumer confidence at 7-month low

Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly declined in November to a seven-month low as Americans grew more pessimistic about the labor-market outlook.

The Conference Board's index fell to 70.4 from a revised 72.4 a month earlier that was stronger than initially estimated, the New York-based private research group said yesterday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 78 economists called for a November reading of 72.6.

Today

 Commerce Department releases durable goods for October.

 Commerce Department releases personal income and spending for October.

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates.

 Acentech Inc., a multi-disciplinary acoustics, audiovisual systems design, and vibration consulting firm, announced that Colleen Anderson, left, has been promoted to the role of marketing coordinator. In her new position, she will be responsible for supporting Acentech's marketing, communications, and proposal preparation activities for the firm.

 Agrivida, Inc., a biotechnology company, announced the appointment of Dan Meagher as chief executive officer. Meagher joins Agrivida from Novus International.

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World stocks post gains ahead of US holiday

MANILA, Philippines — World stock markets eked out modest gains Wednesday as Wall Street looked set to add to a string of milestones ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Nasdaq composite closed above 4,000 for the first time in 13 years Tuesday. That followed two other round-number moments last week. The Standard & Poor's 500 closed above 1,800 for the first time and the Dow Jones industrial average finished above 16,000.

Dow and S&P futures were both up 0.1 percent.

Francis Lun of GE Oriental Financial Group in Hong Kong said some funds from Asia are being invested in the U.S. and Germany, where stock indexes are setting record highs.

"Fund managers are switching money out of Asia into Europe and America," he said. "That's why the Asian markets are underperforming."

In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent at 6,652.22. Germany's DAX climbed 0.2 percent to 9,310.08 and France's CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent to 4,287.73.

Asian markets gained with the exception of Japan, Australia and Singapore.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.4 percent at 15,449.63. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.5 percent to 23,806.35 and China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.8 percent to 2,201.07. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.3 percent at 2,028.81.

Thailand's stock index climbed 0.9 percent after the central bank unexpectedly cut its policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point as escalating protests to topple the government add to pressure on the economy.

In energy markets, benchmark crude for January delivery was down 31 cents at $93.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 41 cents to close at $93.68 on Tuesday.

The euro rose to $1.3585 from $1.3567 late Tuesday. The dollar rose to 101.68 yen from 101.30 yen.

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Judge orders limited use of Falmouth wind turbines

BARNSTABLE, Mass. — The town of Falmouth was ordered by a judge on Friday to limit the hours two town-owned wind turbines operate after neighbors blamed them for a series of health problems.

Effective immediately, the energy-generating turbines at the Cape Cod town's wastewater treatment facility are only allowed to operate from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on every day of the week except Sunday, and are not allowed to operate at all on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, Superior Court Judge Christopher Muse wrote in the decision.

Neil and Elizabeth Andersen, who live about a quarter of a mile from the turbines, said they caused "continuous insomnia, headaches, psychological disturbances, dental injuries, and other forms of malaise" they had not suffered prior to the turbines' construction.

"The court finds the Andersens claims that they did not experience such symptoms prior to the construction and operation of the turbines, and that that each day of operation produces further injury, to be credible," the judge wrote.

Continued operation of the turbines at previous levels put residents at risk of "irreparable physical and psychological harm," he judge wrote.

The environmental group Wind Wise Massachusetts called it a landmark decision.

"This is believed to be the first time that a court in the U.S. has ruled that there is sufficient evidence that wind turbines near residential areas are a health hazard to families living nearby," said Virginia Irvine, president of Wind Wise Massachusetts.

The decision has repercussions in other Massachusetts towns where wind turbines are being blamed for health problems, Neil Andersen said.

"It's torture," he said of the turbines' noise and pressure effects. "But this decision is a victory. It gives us some relief."

The 1.65 megawatt turbines were erected about 3½ years ago to power the treatment plant and to create revenue for the town by selling electricity back to the grid.

They ran 24/7 at first, but more recently have been running from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily, he said.

Each turbine is almost 400 feet tall from the ground to the tip of the blade at its highest point.

They have been the subject of disagreements and lawsuits between town boards and townwide votes on whether to dismantle them entirely.

The town argued against restricting the hours of operation, saying shorter hours would reduce revenue from sales of energy back to the grid. The judge rejected that argument.

The town's lawyer was not immediately available to comment on the judge's decision.

The judge told the sides to work on a mitigation plan and submit it to the court in 75 days.

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Mohegan shifts bet to Revere

Four days before a recount it requested, Mohegan Sun has abandoned plans to build a casino in Palmer and is one of the companies in talks with Suffolk Downs to build one in Revere.

Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said yesterday it will explore non-gaming projects for the 152-acre Palmer site where it had proposed building a $1 billion casino.

"The site off Exit 8 in Palmer remains an excellent opportunity for commercial development," Etess said in a statement, "and we look forward to coordinating efforts with Palmer so that it is developed for maximum benefit to the community."

Northeast Realty Associates, which owns the site, said Mohegan Sun notified the realty company this week that it is seeking to immediately terminate its exclusivity agreement, while at the same time continuing to lease the land.

"Northeast maintains that this is a violation of its agreement with Mohegan," the company said in a statement. "It is unfortunate that Mohegan Sun is abandoning the people of Palmer just days before the recount of the recent referendum, so that it can continue to negotiate a possible deal in another locale in Massachusetts."

Chip Tuttle, Suffolk Downs' chief operating officer, on Thursday said Mohegan Sun is among several companies that have discussed partnering with the racetrack to shift the site of its proposed casino to its land in Revere, where residents voted in favor of a casino. Voters on the East Boston side rejected it, and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is consulting its lawyers to determine whether Suffolk Downs can proceed with the switch.

A spokesman for Mohegan Sun yesterday refused to say when its talks with Suffolk Downs began or who initiated them.

Although Mohegan Sun had requested the recount, which is set for Tuesday, Etess yesterday said their analysis of the results caused them to conclude the town "made a definitive statement on Nov. 5th," when the casino proposal lost by 93 votes. "The recount will not change this fact," Etess said.

Town Supervisor Charlie Blanchard said: "If they really concluded that, it would be wise to call it off and not have everyone go through all that."

Yet, a Mohegan Sun spokesman said he expects the recount of all 5,221 votes, which the town clerk's office said will be done by hand and take about five hours, will proceed anyway.

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