Accounting firms agree to merge
WESTWOOD – The accounting firms of Gray, Gray and Gray LLP, of this community, and Kenneth D. Elgart & Company of Brookline, have announced their merger. The merged firms, which operate now under the Gray, Gray and Gray LLP, will have its headquarters in the Westwood office. All employees will be retained in the merger, according to the announcement. Elgart & Company [partners, Kenneth Elgart and Mark Kashgegian are now partners in Gray, Gray and Gray. GG&G was founded in 1945 in Boston and moved to Westwood in 1990. Elgart was founded in 1960 in Brookline.
Bull Electronics bought by Toronto firm
LOWELL – Bull Electronics, Inc., a subsidiary of Bull SA of France has been purchased by Celestica, Inc., described by Bloomberg News as the third largest contract maker of electronics. Terms were not disclosed. According to Bloomberg, Celestica bought Bull, based in Lowell, in order to increase its printed circuit board making capacity in the Northeast. Bull Electronics, based here, was part of Bull HN Information Services, Inc., a unit of Bull SA. Bull HN develops online banking services and information networks. By acquiring Bull Electronics, Celestica, based in Toronto, adds 200 employees and 130,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
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FleetBoston to work with Singapore bank
BOSTON – FleetBoston Financial Corp. announced that it was sharing advice on investments with United Overseas Bank Ltd. of Singapore. The banks will share information on fund investments in Asia and the Americas, according to the report. Bloomberg News said Fleet Investment Advisors and Columbia Management Co., a unit of FleetBoston, will advise UOB on its Singapore equity fund. Meanwhile Fleet Investment Management will start an Asian equity mutual fund for sale in the United States with advice from UOB Global Capital, the bank/lender’s global asset management subsidiary.
Fleet reports divestiture to Rockland Bank
BOSTON – FleetBoston Financial has completed its divestiture of 16 branch offices and related assets to Rockland Bank & Trust, the company announced. This completes the Massachusetts divestitures arising from the Fleet, Bank Boston merger. Still to be divested are three banks in Connecticut to community banks in that state, Chad Gifford, president and chief operating officer of FleetBoston Financial said in a statement issued by the bank. The Rockland Bank transaction represents about 50,000 accounts, with balances totaling $325 million and loans totaling $135 million. FleetBoston retains 350 branches and more than 1,400 ATMs.
Beth Israel to close psychiatric unit
BOSTON – Facing increasing losses from its psychiatric care for the mentally ill poor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard affiliated hospital, announced that it was closing one of its three psychiatric units. The 17-bed unit will be closed within the next three months, the hospital reported. A hospital spokesperson said most of the 20 doctors, nurses and other employees who work in the unit being closed would be reassigned to the other two units or elsewhere in the hospital. Officials at Medicaid, the state operated medical insurance program for the poor and hospital officials in the state, including those at Beth Israel Deaconess dispute the adequacy of Medicaid reimbursement for hospital care.
State increases lead removal funds
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency has increased funds for its “Get the Lead Out” program to $6 million from $4.5 million. The increase was induced in the recently approved state budget. Eligibility for participation in the lead-removal fund varies by region. The maximum loan is $20,000 for a single-family house. It increases by $5,000 as the house size increases by family. The MHFA reports that it has loaned $31.1 million to help 1,693 families de-lead their homes.
Housing market cools in Massachusetts
WALTHAM – Higher mortgage rates, a downturn in financial markets, and a dwindling supply of homes has cooled the Massachusetts home-buying market, particularly with first-time buyers, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR). The association reported that 12,949 single family homes were sold in Massachusetts during the second quarter, a decline of 11.1 percent from the same period a year ago. Condominium sales dropped 6.6 percent, the Realtors’ said. For the first half of the year, MAR said single family home sales were down 11.5 percent and condominium sales down 5.6 percent. However, the numbers were measured against last year, the busiest second quarter in single family home and condo sales in the state’s history. The second quarter this year ranks as the third busiest, MAR said. Sale prices, however, continued to rise. During the second quarter the average cost of a single family home rose to $287,493, some 20.1 percent higher than a year ago.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic.)
