Robert Deleo to Mohegan: Play fair

House Speaker Robert DeLeo — a Suffolk Downs supporter — is now calling on Mohegan Sun to play nice in mitigation negotiations with his native Winthrop, after angry town officials gave state gaming commissioners an earful over what they claim was a breach of confidentiality by the casino developer.

"Speaker DeLeo believes the initial mitigation offer made by the proponents of the Suffolk Downs casino is unacceptable," DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell said. "He calls on Mohegan Sun to go back to the table with Winthrop."

Winthrop is negotiating a surrounding community deal with Mohegan. Four Winthrop town councilors and the town's lawyer appeared before the commission last night to complain Mohegan is not addressing traffic problems its casino would create. They said Mohegan acted in bad faith when the developer cc'd DeLeo and other officials on a letter denying the town's request for $5 million in "unspecified annual mitigation."

"When Mohegan Sun made public a private negotiation, an egregious violation of the Gaming Act, they spit in your face, commissioners," Winthrop councilor Richard Boyajian said. Criticizing the decision to allow a second vote on a Suffolk Downs casino after East Boston rejected it, he added, "This would be called bullying except that Mohegan appears to be the teacher's pet."

Boyajian said the town is "looking into what legal options we have about them violating regulations."

Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess said negotiations with Winthrop have been "very tough," but insisted the company did not commit a breach.

"We were able to negotiate eight surrounding community agreements ... their demands for their mitigation exceeded the sum of all of the other totals," Etess said. "I certainly don't want them to feel embarrassed that their demands were out there, but we didn't violate any confidentiality."

Mohegan officials said Winthrop originally sought a $16 million impact payment from the casino, and that the company recently offered the town $745,000.

Commissioner James McHugh said the commission needs to investigate Winthrop's complaints.

The commission also heard from Mohegan supporters touting its jobs potential, and Eastie voters who object to the second Revere vote that kept the proposal alive.

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Oculus Rift just put Facebook in the movie business

Just as the movie industry gathered this week at CinemaCon to discuss its future, Facebook came along and changed it without even bothering to show up in Las Vegas.

The surprise $2 billion acquisition of virtual-reality headset maker Oculus Rift by a social network company might seem to have nothing to do with movie theaters or films. But in the long term, this kind of technology is going to have a place in the entertainment business. It's just a matter of time.

While Cinemacon-ites grapple with how best to keep people coming to movie theaters, Oculus Rift will be part of the first wave of innovation capable of bringing an incredible visual environment to people wherever they choose. But this probably won't require people congregating in theaters for an optimal experience the way 3D does.

Virtual reality is thought of primarily as a vehicle for gaming, but there are applications in the works that utilize the technology for storytelling. There's already a production company, Condition One, out with a trailer for a documentary, "Zero Point" (see video above), about VR, told through VR. Media companies are just starting to get their hands on how to use VR, which to date has been for marketing stunts like one HBO did at SXSW for "Game of Thrones." One developer even recreated the apartment from "Seinfeld."

If you don't think the logical extension here is for narrative, think again; it's already got a buzzword to call its own, "immersive entertainment."

Sony knows all too well what shape the future is taking. It has its own solution to the VR space in Project Morpheus, which will be compatible with its own Playstation 4. Keep in mind Sony doesn't just think of its console as a videogame platform, as the company indicated last week with an announcement for more original series programming.

The example of Sony bridging the worlds of content and platform is one that will eventually be asked of Facebook itself. The social networking giant has always struck an agnostic pose, preferring to position itself as a platform where others can publish their content instead of sticking their beak in that game, too. But few expect Facebook stay on the sidelines for long as the scale of its video platform grows. Maybe CEO Mark Zuckerberg will stay that way in video or VR somewhere down the line, or maybe not.

All this is far from prime motivation for plunking down $2 billion for a company that has bigger implications for its core social-networking competency. But keep in mind Oculus Rift is really just a screen, albeit one strapped to a headset that fits around your eyeballs. While Facebook's entry into the hardware business may make it no different than Apple with its iPad, there's also a comparison to be made with exhibitors like AMC or Regal.

Don't go selling their stocks just yet; it's going to take a long time for VR to reach the kind of maturity that will threaten the theater business. But having Facebook's funding will no doubt accelerate that future.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Stimulus hopes boost world stock markets

SEOUL, South Korea — World stock markets gained Wednesday as investors anticipated further stimulus measures from Europe and China while U.S. economic data reinforced recovery hopes in the world's largest economy.

Germany's DAX was up 1.1 percent at 9,443.09 and France's CAC 40 jumped 0.9 percent to 4,381.54. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent to 6,636.54.

Wall Street was set to gain with S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent at 1,862.90. Dow futures rose 0.2 percent to 16,335.

Japan's Nikkei 225, Asia's heavyweight index added 0.4 percent to 14,477.16. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7 percent to 21,887.75 and South Korea's Kospi rose 1.2 percent to 1,964.31. Australia's S&P ASX/200 added 0.8 percent to 5,376.80.

Investors welcomed European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's speech on Tuesday in Paris that monetary policy should support the economies of countries that use the euro.

"This is a clear sign that the ECB will continue to hold its finger over the rates button," IG strategist Evan Lucas said in a market commentary.

"The bank is looking to find a way to chase out funds locked up in wealth products that will then be redirected to areas of the economy that are looking for growth funding."

Some investors are also banking that China's leaders will introduce pro-growth measures to prop up a slowing economy. A preliminary reading of China's manufacturing, released Monday, showed activity at an 8- month low in March.

Reports showing strength in the U.S. economy also underpinned investor sentiment. The Conference Board said its measure of consumer confidence rose last month to its highest since January 2008. Another release showed U.S. home prices edged down in January for a third month, but were at a high level compared with a year earlier.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. oil for May delivery was up 3 cents at $99.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 41 cents to settle at $99.19 on Tuesday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3798 from $1.3823 late Tuesday. The dollar gained to 102.32 yen from 102.26 yen.

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North Adams hospital, affiliates to shut down

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — More than 500 people are without a job and patients across northern Berkshire County are looking for answers following the announced closure of North Adams Regional Hospital and its affiliates.

Northern Berkshire Healthcare, which owns the hospital, a visiting nurse and hospice group, and three medical practices, announced Tuesday that it will shut down Friday.

The group's trustees approved the closure in response to a "worsening financial status."

The board said in a statement that "given our finances and the daunting challenges that small rural community hospitals are facing in this health care environment, we can no longer continue."

Local lawmakers say they are working with the state authorities on a bailout package to keep the hospital running as it sought a more stable partner for a merger.

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Hub hosts fest on music tech

Artists, researchers and hackers are getting together in Cambridge this weekend to promote and advance music technology.

"The Music Tech Fest is a festival of music ideas," said Michaela Maga, one of the festival's organizers. "We gather the whole music technology ecosystem under one roof."

The festival draws a wide range of participants, from small startups to academics to corporate giants.

"What was exciting about this event was the ability to bring the hacking community and the artistic community and the scholarly community together," said Nancy Baym, a researcher at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Microsoft New England's NERD Center.

That combination is the point of music tech, said Peter Torpey, who works in the MIT Media Lab, in the Opera of the Future group. Torpey is focused on developing technology for the future of performance and composition, among other things. Torpey has worked on creating a symphony composed by an entire city.

"Music technology is just part of the tool set we use to create the works, to reach out to people and to tell stories," he said.

The festival will finish with a hackathon, teaming up artists and techies.

"A beatboxer will come to a hacker and say, 'I'd love for this to be able to do this precise thing to aid my performance'," Maga said. "We are very hands on and we allow people to show off their idea, demo it, perform it, invite other people to collaborate with them."

Last year, the winning hack was a teaching guitar with an iPad modified to work as a key and motion-based synthesizer.

The Music Tech Festival will be in seven cities around the world this year, but Boston is the only stop in the United States.

Maga said many cities, including New York and Los Angeles, are clamoring for the festival to come, but they chose Boston because of the combination of research institutions, entrepreneurs and arts.

Baym said the combination of music and entrepreneurship in Boston creates a unique environment.

"You've got this incredible array of music that happens here," she said. "There's both a really healthy music community and a really healthy technology community."

Earlier this month, streaming giant Spotify bought music intelligence company the Echo Nest, based in Somerville. 
Spotify has said it will keep the company in Somerville, and it will operate as 
Spotify's research and development office.

Key investors and Boston entrepreneurs have said the move will significantly increase the number and stature of Boston's music tech engineering talent.

"I imagine The Echo Nest will be expanding over time," said Paul 
Lamere, director of developer platform for the Echo Nest. "Lots of people who are passionate about music and technology will have a place in or near Davis Square."

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Rescuing data from ransom

A cloud backup firm is flourishing thanks to a malicious software capable of wiping out all of a government agency's, business' or PC user's data in one fell swoop unless the victim pays a ransom.

Intronis this year plans to add 45 employees to the 80 it has in Chelmsford and is eyeing undisclosed competitors to acquire as CryptoLocker and copycat "ransomware" wreak havoc, infecting more than 12,000 computers in the space of a single week alone, according to security software maker Bitdefender Labs.

"It's a diabolical twist on an old scam," said Intronis CEO Rick Faulk. "All your files are frozen. If you pay the ransom, they tell you you'll get a key to unlock your files. If you don't pay, all your files are destroyed. You might as well take your computer and drop it off a bridge."

Intronis protects against such "gremlins," which often are unleashed when people click on a link or an attachment from someone they don't know, Faulk said.

"We copy all of your data to our servers, located off site, so you can get your data back," he said.

The 11-year-old company charges by the gigabyte, an amount that can total "between the low hundreds and low thousands of dollars per year" — "very inexpensive insurance for what you're getting," Faulk said.

Last November, Swansea police ponied up $750 online for an encryption key to unlock their files after CryptoLocker ransomware installed a timer on their computers, giving them 100 hours to pay.

"CryptoLocker is prolific; the FBI has come across numerous cases in the United States and around the world," Jennifer Shearer, an FBI spokeswoman, said in an email. "No one has been prosecuted to date."

Because each circumstance is different, Shearer declined to advise people whether they should pay the ransom.

"Ideally, everyone would back up his computer files; that's just good cyber hygiene," she said. "If a user will lose files of great personal or professional value and does not have any other way to recover that information, he should consider the time it would take to recreate those files and whether or not it's worth paying a ransom."

Even paying one, however, is no guarantee that people will get their files back, said Eric Kuznitz, vice president of Wizard Computer Services, a Canton company that provides Intronis' backup solution to its clients.

"We had a client pay a ransom before they called us, so they lost their money and their files," he said.

Besides never clicking on links or attachments from people you don't know, Kuznitz recommended making sure your computers and servers are updated regularly and your important data is backed up, ideally both on and off site, in case of a break-in or fire.

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Hope for mortgage forgiveness tax relief, extenders

WASHINGTON — Here's some good news for 
homeowners worried that Congress will fail again to renew popular tax benefits for use in 2014 — especially those allowing for mortgage debt forgiveness, write-offs for energy-saving improvements and mortgage insurance premiums.

Though there has been no formal announcement, the Senate Finance Committee under new Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), expects to take up a so-called "extenders" package within weeks, sometime this spring. "This is high on 'Wyden's' priority list," according to a source with direct knowledge of the committee's plans. That's an important change from last December, when then-Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is now ambassador to China, let 50-plus corporate and individual tax benefits expire. The House also took no action to extend.

As a result, several key tax code housing provisions lapsed into a legislative coma. Without reauthorization retroactive to Jan. 1, they could disappear from the code and not be available for transactions this year. Both Baucus and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) focused on wholesale rewrites of the tax code last year rather than spending time on extending special-interest tax provisions.

But now there are signs that at least some of the expired housing benefits could be back on Congress' to-do list. What are these "extenders," as they are called on Capitol Hill?

Tops on the list is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, a law that has saved large numbers of 
homeowners from hefty tax bills — close to an estimated 100,000 taxpayers in 2011, the latest year for which IRS estimates are available. First enacted in 2007 with menacing clouds of the housing bust on the horizon, the law carved out a special exception to the general rule in the tax code: When you are relieved of a debt burden by a creditor, the amount forgiven is treated as income subject to taxation at ordinary rates.

For qualified homeowners whose mortgage debt was reduced or written off by lenders in connection with loan modifications and short sales, the law said, the forgiven amounts would not be taxable. However, the 2007 carve-out for mortgages was temporary. Congress was required to extend it periodically — which it failed to do last Dec. 31. At least one state has a partial remedy for congressional inaction, however: California owners who sell homes through short sales are not subject to taxation on the amounts forgiven, a legal interpretation confirmed by the IRS.

Also part of the housing benefits that Congress failed to extend last December: A $2,000 tax credit for construction of energy-efficient new homes, deductions for home improvements that conserve energy, and write-offs for the mortgage insurance premiums that many borrowers pay in connection with low-downpayment loans.

Though Wyden is planning to take up an extenders bill soon, that does not guarantee that any specific tax law provision will be part of the bill the Finance Committee ultimately considers. Most tax analysts expect that a final bill will include some form of renewal.

The home energy conservation tax programs also are likely to be included in the Senate bill.

Meanwhile, in the House, Camp has not indicated when he plans to take up the extenders. He recently unveiled a comprehensive tax reform plan that would lower tax brackets, increase standard deductions and eliminate or sharply curtail most longtime housing tax benefits — including mortgage interest and property tax write-offs. Camp's bill did not mention reauthorization of the now-expired housing extender items, but he asked colleagues for their views on what might be retained in a large bill.

If, as expected, the Senate Finance Committee approves and the full Senate passes some form of extender package — including two or three of the housing provisions — election-year pressure on Camp to pass some version will be intense, despite his preference for comprehensive tax reform, which has no chance of passage in 2014.

Bottom line: Though there are hurdles ahead, the outlook for renewal of mortgage forgiveness debt relief — and possibly other housing benefits — looks more promising now than it has in months.

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Driver wonders if antilock brakes all that effective

I have two cars with ABS — a 1999 Buick Regal and 2013 Toyota Corolla. I am wondering if ABS is really the best way for stopping on an icy road. This past week I had several occasions where I tried to stop as I approached a stop sign, but when applying and maintaining brake pressure the ABS engaged but did little to stop the car as I kept sliding. Then I did the old-fashioned pumping of the brakes with much better results! The ABS seemed to not work well on icy roads compared to the pumping technique. Is this only my experience or am I using ABS incorrectly?

Considering that antilock braking systems are capable of recognizing wheel lockup and modulating/releasing hydraulic pressure to restore rotation of the wheel many times per second — much, much faster than the human foot can accomplish — ABS should be more effective than pumping the brakes in slippery conditions.

But there may be mitigating factors. First, if the anxiety of not stopping as quickly as the situation warrants causes the driver to continue to press harder and harder on the brake pedal, the ABS tends to cycle more slowly because of the much larger releases of hydraulic pressure required to restore wheel rotation. These much deeper modulations will increase stopping distance measurably.

Recognize what provides the "best" stopping traction on ice — it's that moment just before and as the wheel/tire begins to lock up. At that instant the tread blocks on the tire surface are at the edge of their maximum traction, just before sliding. Since the ABS system can recognize and release hydraulic pressure at that precise moment much faster than the human foot, ABS should stop better on ice.

Is it possible the pumping action can be more effective? Not in my experience, but perhaps in a scenario where the locked wheel/tire is actually melting the ice under the tread. This is entirely speculative on my part — just trying to envision a scenario where pumping the brakes might be more effective.

But here's the bottom line. Neither ABS nor pumping the brakes can overcome the laws of physics. Experiencing either action is confirmation of going too fast and/or braking too late for existing conditions. On glare ice, I still want an ABS system to minimize the consequences of my mistake.

I have a 2014 Hyundai Sonata. Since I purchased it the catalytic converter makes a ticking noise when it gets hot. I had a previous 2012 Sonata that never had this issue — any thoughts?

The ticking sound from the exhaust as it cools down is completely normal. The sound is generated by the extraordinarily hot metal in the forward sections of the exhaust, including the converter and its heat shield, contracting as it cools. No worries. And I think you'll find that this ticking during cooldown will fade as you accumulate more miles on the vehicle.

How does really cold weather affect hybrid vehicles? I am thinking of buying one but not if they don't work well in really cold weather. Also, what if I go south in the winter — can my hybrid just sit in the garage for several weeks without any problem?

With a gas/electric vehicle, expect to see more "gas" operation in cold weather. More energy is needed to operate the vehicle and warm its interior. So the car likely will rely more heavily on its internal combustion engine and use more fuel. But even with the lower efficiency and reduced "hybrid benefits," the vehicle still will "work" reliably. And parking a hybrid for weeks, even months, won't be any more of an issue than with a conventional vehicle.

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

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Massport set to hike parking fees as payroll grows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Southboro’s Globoforce cancels IPO

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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