Cost of electricity going up for many in Bay State
BOSTON – An increase of up to 40 percent starting December 1 is predicted for many so-called default customers of electric companies around the state, the Boston Globe reported. Default customers are those who opened an account after March 1, 1998. Utilities began notifying those customers that starting December 1 they will be charged market rates for their power. The rate of increase will vary from utility to utility, the Globe reported. The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy approved the increases October 19 without public announcement, the Globe said. More than 500,000 customers at the various utilities are expected to be affected by the increases, the Globe reported.
Environmental review ordered for Weymouth plan
SOUTH WEYMOUTH – The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has ordered a wide-ranging environmental review of the proposed development of the former Naval Air Station here. The review includes traffic, water, rare turtles, archeological resources, agricultural and open space considerations. The proposal for the site includes a large enclosed shopping mall. South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp. is the principal developer, assisted by Mills Corp. of Arlington, Va.
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Staples plans communications center in Belgium
FRAMINGHAM – Staples, Inc. announced it will open a communications and distribution center in Belgium late next year to serve as an e-commerce infrastructure for the company’s European office supply operations. Last year, Staples reported, European sales amounted to 6 percent of the company’s overall sales, or $484 million of the company’s total of $8,8 billion. Staples has about 150 stores in Europe, compared with its nearly 1,300 total.
Maxwell Shoe buying Joan & David stores
BOSTON – Maxwell Shoe Co. has completed its purchase of the Joan & David chain of 21 shoe stores. Maxwell has contracted with the Ozer Group of Needham, Mass., to conduct going-out-of-business sales for the stores, the Boston Globe reported. The Globe reported Maxwell is paying $16.8 million for the chain, which it will liquidate. However, the Joan & David shoe line will be incorporated into the Maxwell products, the Globe reported.
Seacoast Financial Services third quarter earnings
NEW BEDFORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Seacoast Financial ServicesCorporation, holding company for CompassBank, announced consolidated net income of $6,095,000, or $.26 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, compared to consolidated net income of $6,945,000, or $.27 per share, for the same period a year ago. The quarter ended September 30, 1999. For the nine months ended September 30, 2000, consolidated net income was $17,522,000, or $.74 per share, compared to consolidated net income of $18,367,000, or $.72 per share, for the same period last year.
Boston’s 2nd largest hotel, Marriott Copley, for sale
BOSTON (Bloomberg) — The Marriott Copley Place, the second largest hotel in Boston, has been put up for sale, the Boston Business Journal said, citing industry sources. The 1,147-room, 38-story hotel in Back Bay, which is connected by covered walkway to the city convention center, could be sold for as much as $270 million, or $235,000 per room, the paper said. The owner, Overseas Partners Capital Corp. of Atlanta, have retained Hodges Ward Elliott of Atlanta as its broker. Built in 1984, the hotel is second only to the 1,214-room Sheraton Boston Hotel, which is also linked to the convention center. Overseas Partners is a subsidiary of Bermuda-based Overseas Partners Ltd., a reinsurance company that was spun off in 1984 from United Parcel Service Inc.
Fleet, others provide trainmaker Lionel credit
(Bloomberg) — FleetBoston Financial Corp.’s Fleet Capital Corp. and two others will provide $45 million in credit to Lionel LLC to refinance debt and add to working capital. Closely held Lionel, based in Chesterfield, Michigan, produces model trains for children and collectors. Fleet Capital will provide $25.2 million. Siemens AG unit Siemens Financial Services Inc. and Debis Financial Services Inc., a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, will provide $9.9 million each.
U.S. office vacancies unchanged as tech firms cut back
BOSTON (Bloomberg) — The national U.S. office vacancy rate was unchanged in the third quarter as a slumping stock market prompted many small technology-related companies to cut back on their expansion plans, according to a new study. At the end of September, the national office vacancy rate was 8.1 percent, the same as in the prior quarter, according to Torto Wheaton Research, a unit of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc., the U.S.’s largest property manager and broker. It was the first time since the first quarter of 1999 rates didn’t fall. The Nasdaq Composite Index is down 14 percent this year and Internet, computer and other technology related companies are finding it harder to sell stock to grow. With cash running out, many of these companies are laying off employees. San Jose again recorded the lowest vacancy rate of the 53 metropolitan markets tracked by Torto Wheaton. Its 1.2 percent vacancy rate was up from 0.7 percent the prior quarter. The California city was followed by Oakland at 2.4 percent, down from 2.8 percent, and New York at 2.5 percent, up from 2.4 percent.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic.)
