Celucci fires Big Dig’s director
BOSTON – Gov. Paul Celucci last week fired James J. Kerasiotes from his post as head of the Big Dig Project, amid charges that Kerasiotes “intentionally” concealed the project’s cost overrun, now projected to possibly reach $2 billion. The project, now projected to cost some $14 billion, will be under the direction of Andrew Natsios, Celucci’s administration and finance secretary. U.S. Transportation officials had insisted on a new management team, asserting that there had been a “breach of trust.” The Federal Highway Administration had concluded that Big Dig managers had covered up hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns for years. In spite of the problems, federal officials vowed that the 16-year-old project would continue.
Raytheon considers selling troubled unit
LEXINGTON – Raytheon Co. said last week it is negotiating to sell or spin off its troubled engineering and construction division, Raytheon, Engineers & Constructors, as a way to raise cash and pay down debt, the Boston Globe reported. Raytheon Engineers & Constructors last year had an operating loss of $61 million on revenue of $2.7 billion, the Globe said. Raytheon did not say with whom it was conducting talks, although the Globe speculated that it could be Morrison Knudsen Corp. of Boise, Idaho.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
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Proposals abound for Charles Street jail
BOSTON – Some 15 proposals, some from prominent Boston developers, were received to convert the former Charles Street jail into a hotel, the Boston Globe reported. The jail is owned by Mass. General, which did not specify the use when it asked developers to respond, although the Globe said it was widely believed that a hotel was the most logical use. Turning the jail over for commercial use is part of the hospital’s $180 million expansion plan, which would also include construction of a nine-story ambulatory care building, replacement of some older buildings on Fruit Street and a 600-car underground garage.
Woman charged in Internet scheme
WARE – The Massachusetts Securities Division has charged Frances A. Rahaim of selling investments in pay phone leases without a license in a Web scheme that raised $735,000, the Boston Globe reported. The securities division said the woman sold investment contracts in ETS Payphones through her Web site, www.moneymanual.com, which promises investors a 14.05 percent guaranteed annual return. She allegedly sold the contracts in $7,000 lots, with a minimum five-year holding period to eight Massachusetts residents and five other people. The state alleged that Rahaim received “unreasonable” commission of 12 percent, receiving $88,200. The securites division is seeking to revoke Rahaim’s investment advisor license. The Globe said the complaint charged she is not a registered broker and cannot legally sell securities in Massachusetts. Rahaim was last registered as a broker, the Globe said, from February 1996 through June 1999 with WMA Securities, Inc., a Georgia company that licenses thousands of independent securities sellers. The division is seeking to force Rahaim and her financial services company to stop selling the pay phone contracts, and to repay $406,000 invested by Massachusetts residents.
GenRad sees 1st-quarter earnings below estimates
WESTFORD (Bloomberg) — GenRad Inc., which manufactures computer and electronic testing equipment said first-quarter earnings will be about half of what analysts expected. The company said first-quarter earnings will be 6 cents to 8 cents a share, even though revenue is expected to rise 20 percent to about $64 million. GenRad said its analyst’s estimate was 15 cents a share, and said the lower earnings are because of higher system costs and delays in some contracts. The company earned 20 cents a year earlier.
FleetBoston Financial ‘Opening Day Blitz’
BOSTON — More than 1,800 calling officers from FleetBoston Financial fanned out across New England, New York and New Jersey today to meet with customers and prospects in what the company said was the largest one-day sales-calling effort on record.
Fleet sent out calling officers before to visit more than 8,000 businesses in seven states. Fleet, a national sponsor of Major League Baseball, timed the “Opening Day Blitz” to home-opener games at both Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.
FleetBoston expands executive offices in New York
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE) — FleetBoston Financial has announced establishment of executive offices for its Global Banking and Financial Services business in NewYork. Henrique de Campos Meirelles, President of Global Banking and Financial Services, will become Fleet’s senior executive in the New York-New Jersey market. He will maintain all his current responsibilities–which include Fleet’s Corporate & Investment Banking, Investment Services, Global Markets, and International Banking–and will also assume responsibility for leading Fleet’s strategic efforts in the New York metropolitan market.
