BOSTON – Boston Beer Co. will temporarily pull television commercials after
critics accused the beer brewer of running spots that depict underage drinking,
the Associated Press reported. The move came the same day the company ran ads
in two major Boston newspapers apologizing for sponsoring a contest on New York
radio station two weeks ago in which a couple allegedly had sex in St. Patrick’s
Cathedral to win a trip to Boston, AP said. Boston Beer, whose brands include
Samuel Adams, pulled a television spot entitled “Noise”’ that has run for about
a year. The ad shows young people hiding their beers when police arrive in response
to complaints about noise, the AP said. The National Liquor Law Enforcement
Association had argued that the drinkers wouldn’t hide their beers if they were
of legal drinking age, AP said. The group persuaded the American Medical Association,
Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups to write letters protesting the
campaign. (Bloomberg News)
Fidelity Brokerage closes
stock research unit
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
BOSTON – Fidelity Capital Markets, the institutional brokerage of the largest
U.S. mutual fund company, said it is closing its two-year-old stock research
unit. In a memo to clients, Fidelity said its Vestigo Associates will stop providing
equity research effective immediately. Marvin Loh, the unit’s founder, signed
the note. The decision comes as federal and state regulators probe conflicts
of interest involving stock research at securities firms. Fidelity’s Vestigo
issued research reports on companies in which the mutual fund firm held large
stakes. Boston-based Fidelity, which manages $800 billion, started the research
group in 1995. Until now, it provided equity and fixed-income reports to institutional
and professional investors. Fidelity spokesman James Griffin said its seven-year-old
bond analysis unit will continue. Vestigo analysts covered 22 stocks, including
BEA Systems Inc., a maker of software for running Internet-based programs. (Bloomberg
News)
Charles River Associates
hire utility restructuring specialist
BOSTON – Charles River Associates Incorporated, a leader in providing economic,
financial and management consulting services, has announced that Larry E. Ruff,
an internationally recognized expert on restructuring electric and gas utilities
and on competitive energy markets, has joined CRA as a senior adviser with the
Energy and Environment practice. As an authority on restructuring corporations
in power markets, Ruff frequently advises governments and utilities in the U.S.,
Canada, Latin America and the Asian-Pacific region on their paths to strategic
growth. He has also consulted Great Britain, Europe, the former Soviet Union,
Australia, New Zealand and the Indian subcontinent on electricity restructuring.
General Dynamics acquires
Command System Inc.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – General Dynamics recently announced its acquisition of
privately held Command System Incorporated of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Terms of
the transaction were withheld. CSI provides command and control software and
hardware to the United States and international military markets and has 34
employees. CSI will become part of the Taunton-based General Dynamics C4 Systems.
CSI has sold more than 300,000 licenses in eight countries for its off-the-shelf
command and control suites, specializing in rapid deployment and development
of those systems. It is also a participant in the Army Future Combat Systems
program and its products are vital parts of the Army’s Objective Force Warrior,
the UK’s BOWMAN and Digitization programs. General Dynamics C4 Systems provides
secure command, computing, control, information solutions and communication
that integrate custom developed and commercial products for military and commercial
markets.
Raytheon reorganizing
corporate structure
LEXINGTON – The Raytheon Co. announced plans to reorganize its structure into
seven business units, asserting that it would reduce costs and give the company
more managerial flexibility. William Swanson, the company’s president, said
the seven new units would include a missile and naval warfare division in Tewksbury
and homeland defense units in the Washington, D.C. area. The Boston Globe predicted
the reorganization would lead to more layoffs (Raytheon has laid off 700 employees
in Massachusetts in the last year). The Globe cited the planned closing of headquarters
in Marlborough, Mass. and El Segundo, Calif. for several defunct businesses
as reasons for some of the predicted layoffs. The reorganization is said by
several unidentified analysts quoted by the Globe to concentrate more control
of the corporation in Swanson’s hands and clarify the finances of its various
defense and surveillance businesses.
Trip Advisor marks profitability,
passes 1.3 million monthly visitors
NEEDHAM – TripAdvisor (www.TripAdvisor.com) has reached over 1.3 million visitors
in the month of August, making it one of the Web’s top travel sites. Additionally,
the company announced that it has reached profitability. While other companies
have struggled to identify a viable business model on the Web, TripAdvisor has
thrived in the burgeoning online travel market by delivering two unmet needs:
travel specific web search results for consumers and performance based marketing
services for travel suppliers and agencies. (Bloomberg News) (Compiled from
news reports and releases.)
