Malden Station fits occupants to a T

With hundreds of new apartments already built and hundreds more in the pipeline, the area around the Malden Center T station and the city's square is a transit-oriented hub that's attracting a lot of younger renters.

Boston's Corcoran Jennison has just opened the 80-unit Residences @ Malden Station, with 22 already rented even as construction finishes up on the five-story project on Florence Street diagonally across from the T.

"The pipeline of prospects has been huge," says property manager Luke Rumsey. "We have a lot of grad students and young professionals coming from Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, and a good number are relocating here from out of state."

Studios start at $1,795 a month, one-bedroom units start at $2,085 and two-­bedrooms at $2,575, and rents include heat and hot water. Parking costs $50 a month outside and $80 for covered spaces.

The units have com­puter nooks for the tech savvy, washers and dryers­, and good-size walk-in closets.­ The kitchens feature cherry­wood cabinets with wine racks, granite counters and Whirlpool stainless-steel appliances.

The complex has a just-completed fitness center, and a Wi-Fi clubroom with flat-screen TVs, a kitchen with a floating table and a faux fireplace will be ready by December. There are two common roof decks, one of which will be landscaped, and the second one affords views of the Boston skyline.

Corcoran also has purchased the nearby Romanesque-style Masonic building on Pleasant Street, with plans to add apartments above the commercial space.

The '70s-era City Hall and police station complex, which has long blocked off lower Pleasant Street from Malden Square's offerings, has been sold to Newton-based Jefferson Apartment Group. Jefferson will raze the buildings, and has proposed a two-building complex that includes 245 apartments on both sides of the reopened street.

Kevin Duffy, the city's strategy and business development officer, says there are hundreds more new apartments in the pipeline, including about 200 units slated for 100 and 150 Exchange St. and 195 rentals at the Residences @ Malden Square on Main and Dartmouth streets.

"Malden Square's big draw is lower rents, its established city feel, the T and the area's thriving restaurant scene," said Duffy. "Many millennials don't have cars and they don't cook."

Duffy says that eateries such as All Seasons Table, Oppa's Kitchen & Bar, the Exchange Street Bistro, FuLoon and others that offer cuisine from Cuban to Indian to Ethiopian have put the square on the map as a dining destination.

"All the new apartments will bring more density and even more restaurants," said Duffy. "Malden is becoming the new Somerville."

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The Ticker

Dow down 334 points, its worst day of 2014

Just one day after the market had its best day of 2014, it had its worst day of 2014.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 334 points yesterday as a decline in energy stocks and worries about the global economy sent investors fleeing out of the market. It was the biggest point drop since June 2013.

It was also the third straight day investors have been taken on a wild roller coaster ride. On Tuesday, the Dow fell 272 points, only to jump 275 points on Wednesday.

By the end of the day yesterday, the Dow had lost 334.97 points, or 2 percent, to 16,659.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 40.68 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,928.21 and the Nasdaq composite fell 90.25 points, or 2 percent, to 4,378.34.

Worries about the global economy, particularly in Europe and Asia, were again center stage.

Providence Phoenix closing down

The Providence Phoenix, a 36-year-old alternative news and entertainment weekly, is ceasing publication next week.

Stephen Mindich, the Phoenix Media/Communications Group's owner and publisher, announced yesterday the last issue will be distributed Oct. 16.

Chief Operating Officer Everett Finkelstein said shrinking print advertising revenue and increasing production costs led to the decision.

The paper had survived for more than a year after the closing of the Boston Phoenix, the group's flagship publication. According to its website, the publication began as NewPaper and was acquired by the Phoenix in 1988. The group also publishes the Portland Phoenix in Maine.

Developers propose 94 housing units on East Boston property

Two local developers, Michael Merullo and Joseph Ricupero, who own Revere-based EZ Disposal and Recycling, have filed notice with the city to build a 126,000-square-foot mixed use project at 135 Bremen St. in East Boston, which would have 94 residential units, 7,700 square feet of commercial space and 126 parking spots.

Amazon to open first physical store

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. plans to open its first physical store in midtown Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The store will be located at 7 West 34th St., across from the Empire State Building, the Journal reported. The store, expected to open in time for holiday shopping, would function as a mini warehouse with limited inventory allowing for same day delivery within New York City, product returns, exchanges and pickup of online orders, according to the report.

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McGladrey LLP, a provider of assurance, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market, with 550 employees in Boston, recently announced the promotion of 39 employees to partner and principal roles. Three of those employees are based in the firm's Boston office: Chris Goguen, principal, Chris Ladue, partner, and Greg Natalucci, partner.

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Some changes Olive Garden customers might see

NEW YORK — Changes are likely in store for Olive Garden with a new board of directors at the helm.

Activist investor Starboard Value on Friday succeeded in its push to replace all 12 seats on Darden Restaurants' board with its own nominees. It's not clear yet how Starboard will try to shake up the company right away. But last month, it issued a 294-page presentation detailing what it thought Darden's management was doing wrong.

Here are some of Starboard's criticisms that might give a clue on changes diners might see:

—SALTIER PASTA: Starboard took issue with Olive Garden for failing to salt its pasta water. "How does the largest Italian dining concept in the world not salt the water for pasta?" it asked. It cited a cookbook that said "... it's simple: the water should be salty, Atlantic Ocean salty ... "

—BREADSTICK CONTROL: Olive Garden's famous unlimited breadstick policy also came under criticism. Starboard says servers need to be more disciplined in how many they bring out at a time. The hedge fund says the chain could reduce waste by bringing out one breadstick per guest, plus an extra for the table — in line with the official policy.

Starboard CEO Jeff Smith made clear on Friday that he didn't want to stop people from asking for more, however. "I love Olive Garden's unlimited breadsticks," he said at the shareholder meeting.

—SIMPLER ITALIAN MENU: Menu items like burgers, Spanish tapas and fried foods like "Lasagna Fritta" were criticized for being inauthentic or unappealing. It also noted Olive Garden's menu has mushroomed to 96 items. Darden executives have acknowledged the need to simplify.

—WINE WITH THAT? Alcohol should account for a higher percentage of sales, given how well it pairs with Italian food, according to Starboard. Alcohol only accounts for 8 percent of sales, which Starboard said is "unacceptable" and less than half that of some of its competitors.

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Ex-wife of Glock founder sues him over millions

ATLANTA — After working decades to build a wildly successful firearms company, Gaston Glock conspired with associates to push out his ex-wife and business partner of almost 50 years and steal millions of dollars she was entitled to, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Atlanta.

They participated in a worldwide racketeering scheme over decades aimed at taking money from Helga Glock, who was divorced from her husband in 2011, through various criminal methods, including improper royalty payments, laundering money through fraudulent billing companies, and sham lease and loan agreements, the lawsuit claims.

A woman who answered the phone Thursday in the media relations department at Glock Inc., the company's U.S. headquarters, referred questions to the company's lawyer but then hung up before giving a name or contact number. She did not answer when called back and did not immediately respond to a voice message.

Several lawyers who have previously represented Glock Inc. in legal disputes did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The lawsuit details what it claims are the exploits of a man who regularly engaged in unscrupulous business practices and kept a stash of "fun money" used to "cavort with women around the world," going so far as to buy homes for some mistresses in the Atlanta area.

Glock's actions toward his family "resemble the senseless and self-destructive rage of Shakespeare's King Lear, when he foolishly mistreats a loyal but candid daughter, Cordelia, in favor of cunning and ruthless flatterers," the lawsuit says. "Perhaps neither pathology nor psychology can provide a satisfactory explanation for why an aging billionaire would spend his twilight years seeking to terrorize members of his own family."

Other defendants include companies owned by Glock around the world and several former Glock executives.

Helga Glock's lawsuit asks for a jury trial and seeks potential total damages of approximately $500 million, as well as attorney fees. She also asks a judge to remove Gaston Glock and others from their roles in the company, reorganize the companies owned by Glock and restore a larger ownership interest for Helga Glock.

Helga and Gaston Glock met in 1958 and married in 1962. They started a company in 1963 that eventually became a gun manufacturer called Glock Ges.m.b.H. in 1983, according to the lawsuit. Gaston Glock established a U.S. subsidiary of the company in Smyrna, just outside Atlanta, in 1985.

Glock's pistols quickly became popular among law enforcement officers and civilians alike, and the U.S. subsidiary became a main economic engine for the company, the lawsuit says.

Gaston Glock and his associates had complete disregard for any form of corporate structure and set up a network of sham companies in locations that included Bermuda, Curacao, Hong Kong, Ireland, Liberia, Luxembourg and Panama, the lawsuit says. They transferred money out of Glock Inc., and into shell companies he owned or controlled to hide the origins of the money, the lawsuit says.

Gaston Glock avoided questions from his wife and business partner using intimidation and demanding trust, telling her it would be better if she wasn't involved in their finances, the lawsuit says. She trusted and relied on him.

"While Glock Sr. had been promising his wife that all of his efforts were directed at building up the Company, and preserving it for the family's future, he and his associates had instead been systematically stealing from, and laundering the proceeds through separately-owned business entities and bank accounts," the lawsuit says.

Until 1999, Gaston Glock owned 85 percent of the shares of the Austrian parent company and Helga Glock owned 15 percent.

Gaston Glock and his associates created foundations and convinced Helga Glock and their children to contribute their assets and waive inheritance rights, ostensibly to benefit them and protect the family's control of the company, the lawsuit says. Helga Glock was left with a 1 percent interest in the company, and Gaston Glock had complete control of the trusts, the lawsuit says.

After they divorced, Gaston Glock removed his wife and three adult children as beneficiaries of the foundations and said they and their descendants could not have any further association with the company, the lawsuit says. Shortly after the divorce, Gaston Glock married a woman roughly 50 years his junior.

Thursday's lawsuit is not the first time Helga Glock has turned to this U.S. federal court in a dispute with her ex-husband. In March 2013, she asked the court to help her get financial records for Glock's American companies so she could use them in the couple's divorce proceedings in Austria to establish marital assets and the amount he should pay her in support. The judge in that case granted her request for subpoenas.

Lawyers for the company have responded in court filings that there's no basis for the federal court to compel the company's U.S. entities to turn over the financial documents because Helga Glock can't use any of them in the Austrian proceedings.

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Asian stocks sink after Wall Street plunge

BANGKOK — Asian stocks sank Friday after Wall Street suffered its worst day of the year and weak German trade data fueled worry Europe is sliding into recession.

KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index plunged 1.3 percent to 15,286.25 points and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.6 percent to 23,144.81. China's Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.6 percent to 2,375.28. Seoul fell 1.3 percent and Sydney and Singapore also declined.

WALL STREET: Volatility returned to U.S. markets as stocks had their worst day of the year just 24 hours after recording their best. Prices fell after members of the Federal Reserve board expressed concern about inflation, tempering suggestions in minutes of a recent Fed meeting released Wednesday that suggested interest rates would not be raised for now. The Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite both lost 2 percent and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 fell 2.1 percent.

EUROPE: Concerns Europe is headed for recession rose after Germany, the continent's biggest economy, reported its weakest year-on-year export growth in five years. The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, gave no indication of any further monetary stimulus, suggesting in a speech in Washington that governments need to do more on the fiscal side.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Markets are markets are rather unimpressed with the state of global growth (EZ in the most unflattering state) and equally unimpressed with potential policy response," said Mizuho Bank in a report.

HONG KONG: The government called off talks with pro-democracy protesters, possibly extending demonstrations that have blocked streets for almost two weeks. The protesters want a bigger public voice in the selection of the territory's next leader in 2017. The impact on this Asian financial center's economy has been limited but analysts warn it could rise if protests erode its appeal to foreign companies and investors.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude plunged $2to $83.77 per barrel on concerns slowing global economic growth will reduce demand while production stays high. The contract lost $1.56 on Thursday to $85.77. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost $2.08 to $88.29.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 107.78 yen from Thursday's 107.87. The euro held steady at $1.27.

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Boston Public Market gets fresh start

Chefs, fishermen, farmers and local specialty food producers yesterday joined public officials and benefactors to mark the start of construction of the Boston Public Market — the Hub's first indoor public food market since Quincy Market was built in 1825.

The year-round Boston Public Market, more than a decade in the making, is set to open next summer above the Haymarket MBTA station. It was hailed yesterday for its prospects of increasing city-dwellers' accessibility to fresh, local food and being a boon for New England vendors who'll supply it with fresh produce, meat and poultry, fish and shellfish, bakery and dairy products, flowers and prepared foods.

"Today is a milestone for this project," said market CEO Elizabeth Morningstar. "For many of us here, it's been 13 years of advocacy."

Organizers raised more than $15 million in public and private funds for the 28,000-square-foot market. And it's gaining national attention from the likes of the Conservation Fund and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the first in the nation of its size to have a local focus and the potential to greatly affect farmers by generating increased consumer demand for their products, Morningstar said.

The market will have 40-plus permanent vendors, including Boston Smoked Fish, which operates as the Amazing Smokehouse. The Sudbury company makes small-batch, hot-smoked local fish, including bluefish pate and salmon fillets.

"The Boston Public Market is a game-changer for the city, but absolutely for businesses like ours in terms of exposure and business opportunity," said Chris Avery, who runs the company with Matt Baumann. "This is going to give us the financial support to build our new processing facility on the Fish Pier."

The market will be a "showcase" for the city, and allow people to meet vendors and learn more about the food supply system, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said. "It shouldn't have taken 13 years," he said. "Food is obviously a key to a healthy city as well."

The Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit conservation group, will handle programming such as educational workshops for the market, which will have a 3,000-square-foot demonstration kitchen.

Gov. Deval Patrick asked Boston Public Market supporters to "remember it's for everybody."

"Make it a place where everybody feels welcomed and encouraged," he said. "I'm a foodie, so I look forward to using (it)."

The market will accept SNAP/EBT and WIC benefits from low-income customers and give them incentives to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. It also will offer nutrition classes and information on how to shop on a budget.

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Taxi interests, Uber rep clash at meeting

A group of transportation leaders met for the first time yesterday to start hashing out the differences between ride-sharing services, such as Uber, and taxis, and try to come up with new guidelines, but much of the session was dominated by finger-pointing.

"We are pitted against each other by nature," said James Endicott, representing large medallion owners.

"This is an illegal, unlicensed industry," said Donna Blythe-Shaw, representing the taxi drivers union, of Uber and other ride-sharing companies. "You want to play ball here in the city, you need to play the same way."

Meghan Joyce, general manager of Uber Boston, called for an end to hyperbole.

"I implore all of you that when we have this conversation, it is rooted in facts, in data," Joyce said.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh put together the Taxi Advisory Committee and charged it with overhauling the city's for-hire transportation regulations.

"The issues that exist in the industry today are significant," said Christopher English, chairman of the commission and part of the mayor's office of intergovernmental relations. "We have a lot to do, and we don't have a defined timeline when we want to get it done, because we want to have a comprehensive approach."

English said the regulations will center on equity for drivers and companies, access to transportation options for riders and drivers, and safety.

"This is something that's very important to us, very important to the future of the city," said Daniel Koh, Walsh's chief of staff. "Every single city in the country is thinking about how to move forward with these issues."

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HubSpot’s shares soar on first trading day

Shares of Cambridge-based software company HubSpot shot up on their first day of trading yesterday, marking the third successful initial public offering for a Boston tech company in the past three weeks.

HubSpot shares closed up 20 percent, valuing the company at nearly 
$914 million. HubSpot raised $125 million.

"We don't really see it as the finish line, we see it as a start line," said Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot co-founder and chief technology officer. "We're thinking ahead now to continue to grow our business."

HubSpot, which makes software for marketers and salespeople, has been one of the fastest growing companies in the area.

It's the second largest Boston tech IPO in the past week after online home goods retailer Wayfair, which went public Oct. 2 and raised more than 
$300 million.

Neeraj Agrawal, a partner at venture capital firm Battery Ventures in Boston, said the HubSpot IPO and recent successful public offerings from Wayfair and other companies will have a ripple effect for the Boston tech community.

"Two, three years from now you should see a wave of startups created by some folks who might cash out over time," Agrawal said. "There's a virtual cycle between successful companies, IPOs and new startups."

Chief operating officer J.D. Sherman said HubSpot wants to become a major global tech company.

"Our goal is to not only be an IPO, but be a real tech business, make a dent in the tech business and do it from Boston," he said.

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Japan court orders Google to remove search results

TOKYO — A Japanese judge has ordered Google to remove search results of a man's unflattering past in an order the plaintiff's lawyer compared to Europe's "right to be forgotten" ruling.

The Tokyo District Court ordered Google Japan on Thursday to remove search results that hinted at the man's relations with a criminal organization after he complained his privacy rights were violated.

Google Inc. spokesman Taj Meadows said the company has a standard process for removal requests, and people can come to Google.

"We remove pages from our search results when required by local law, including Japan's longstanding privacy and defamation laws," he said. He said the company was reviewing the ruling.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Tomohiro Kanda said the case addressed privacy, defamation and other issues defined by Japanese law but also took the European "right to be forgotten" ruling in May as an example and used some of its logic and language.

In that case, Europe's highest court ruled Google should delete references to negative past information, including old debts and past arrests. Google has scrubbed more than 200,000 Web links from its European search results after reviewing nearly 145,000 individual requests submitted from 32 countries, according to statistics that the Mountain View, California, company released Friday.

"We asserted Google as a controller of the site had the duty to delete the material," Kanda told The Associated Press. "We are fighting the same battle as the one in Europe, and we won a similar decision."

Some experts say Japan needs to define the borders of privacy and search functions.

In the court injunction, Judge Nobuyuki Seki said some of the search results "infringe personal rights," and had harmed the plaintiff, according to Kyodo News.

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Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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Bose agrees to dismiss lawsuit against Beats

DOVER, Del. — Attorneys for Bose Corp. and Beats Electronics have agreed to dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Bose.

Bose alleged in federal court in Delaware in July that Beats was infringing on several Bose patents regarding noise-cancelling headphones. Bose filed a parallel complaint with the International Trade Commission seeking to halt U.S. imports of Beats Studio and Beats Studio Wireless headphones.

Attorneys for Beats had filed an unopposed motion asking that the Delaware lawsuit be put on hold pending a final determination by the ITC, which is investigating Bose's claims.

Apple announced in May that it was buying Beats Electronics for $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock, the most expensive acquisition in Apple's 38-year history. In addition to making headphones, Beats offers music streaming services.

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