Maersk-Sealand to extend Boston link
BOSTON – Maersk-Sealand has changed its mind and will continue to provide service to the Port of Boston at least through October, the Boston Globe reported. The shipping company had indicated it would terminate service to Boston when its vessel-sharing agreement concluded this month. The Globe reported that a key to the continuation of service was a commitment by Boston based importers and exporters to use Maersk on other shipping routes as well. Containerized cargo totaling 1.1 million tons was reported shipped through the Port of Boston last year, and half of that was under the shared vessel agreement, the Globe reported. Of that amount, Maersk-Sealand was responsible for 50 percent, the Globe said. In October, Maersk-Sealand plans to begin service from Asia through the Panama Canal to the East Coast and on to Europe. Because Boston importers and exporters reportedly control seven times the content of shipping on other routes that they do through Boston, they hope to be able to leverage their influence on Maersk in retaining Boston service.
Boston Scientific plans layoffs
NATICK – Boston Scientific Corp. announced it would close four plants in Watertown and lay off 850 workers as part of its nationwide staff reduction that will affect nearly 2,000 employees. The cutbacks are part of Boston Scientific’s efforts to keep pace with its competitors, the company said in its announcement. The company added that the layoffs would be partially offset by its plans to add about 800 jobs in Ireland and another 100 in Miami.
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Corning plans expansion in Bay State
is based here, Corning said it hadn’t decided where in Massachusetts it would build its new factory, but that it was studying several sites in the Greater Boston area. A Corning general manager said the additional plant would increase the company’s Lasertron capacity six-fold by 2002 and create 1,150 new jobs. Corning had previously announced a $45 million expansion of its facilities here to double its capacity to manufacture lasers for transmitting voice and data calls over fiber optic lines.
Boston ad agency acquires new media agency
BOSTON – Partners & Simons advertising agency has acquired Eymer Design, an interactive new media agency, also located in Boston. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Partners & Simons reports $90 million in annual sales.
Ground broken for tourney quality golf course
NORTON – Developers of the Tournament Players Club of Boston have broken ground for a tournament quality golf course here, with a completion date scheduled for 2002. The course is being developed on a 400-acre tract and will be designed by the Palmer Course Design Company, associated with the championship golfer, Arnold Palmer. Along with the course tract, two acres are being set aside for a headquarters building that will house the governing bodies of Massachusetts amateur golf and a new Massachusetts golf hall of fame. One of the developers of the project, FleetBoston Financial is donating 86 acres of land adjacent to the course site to the Land Preservation Society of Norton and 61 acres in Mansfield, Mass., to the Natural Resources Trust of Mansfield, along with a conservation restriction along Great Brook. The TPC of Boston offers corporate memberships ranging from $75,000 to $135,000, depending on the number of designees, allowing members to send unaccompanied guests or customers to the TPC of Boston as well as any of the 24 TPC courses throughout the nation.
Fleet’s profits rise 10 percent
BOSTON (Bloomberg) — FleetBoston Financial Corp.’s second-quarter profit rose 10 percent, as the eighth- largest U.S. bank posted higher trading fees, principal investing and discount brokerage commissions. Profit from operations rose to $772 million, or 83 cents a share, from $700 million, or 72 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 7.5 percent to $3.73 billion. FleetBoston, created in October when Boston-based rivals Fleet Financial Group Inc. merged with BankBoston Corp., reported revenue from capital-markets activities, including equity and bond trading and sales, rose 62 percent from the year-earlier quarter. That’s down 23 percent from the first quarter when the bank made a record $1.06 billion.
PictureTel reporting losses
ANDOVER (Bloomberg) — PictureTel Corp., a maker of videoconferencing systems, said it will report a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss after customers delayed orders and waited for the company’s new product line. The shares of PictureTel have dropped 52 percent so far this year. PictureTel, which has lost money for the past three years, said it lost about 73 cents to 83 cents a share for the quarter, including a provision of 10 cents to 15 cents a share for excess and obsolete inventory. Revenue was $58 million to $61 million. The company also said it’s evaluating some intangible assets valued at $11.4 million acquired in conjunction with its purchase of Starlight Networks Inc. in 1998. The evaluation may result in an additional charge for the quarter. PictureTel said it has agreements for new investments in the company totaling $22 million.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic.)
