The Ticker

Aereo to close Southie office, lay off 43

Streaming Internet television startup Aereo will close its South Boston office and lay off 43 employees to cut costs after a series of losses in court.

Aereo said it will close its Hub engineering office next Wednesday, but will not shut down completely.

In a letter to employees, CEO Chet Kanojia said the company had been pursuing acquisitions and additional investment, but potential investors balked after a federal court in New York last month said Aereo did not qualify for a cable license.

Aereo attracted the ire of every major broadcaster for retransmitting over-the-air channels to customers' computers or mobile devices for a monthly fee. The Supreme Court ruled against Aereo over the summer.

3 arrested in Hub co. securities fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged an attorney in Orange County, Calif., and two men in Massachusetts behind a pump-and-dump scheme that defrauded investors in a Boston-based ticket brokering business.

The SEC alleges Richard Weed, a partner in a Newport Beach law practice, facilitated a scheme to pump and dump the stock of CitySide Tickets Inc., which he helped structure into a publicly traded company through reverse mergers. Weed created backdated promissory notes and authored false legal opinion letters that enabled Boston stock promoters Thomas Brazil and Coleman Flaherty to obtain millions of purportedly unrestricted shares of stock in the company, the SEC said. Investors were then allegedly blitzed with a false and misleading promotional campaign touting CitySide Tickets.

Dow, S&P hit new record highs

U.S. stocks edged up in a volatile session yesterday, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting fresh record closing highs on an indication that the European Central Bank would take more policy action if needed to boost a struggling euro zone economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 69.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,554.47, the S&P 500 gained 7.64 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,031.21 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.75 points, or 0.38 percent, to 4,638.47.

Today

• Labor Department releases employment data for October.
• Mark Diodati, left, a certified public accountant, has been promoted to partner at Damon & Associates Inc., a Pembroke-based accounting and tax firm. For five years previous, Diodati was an associate at the firm and served as the audit manager, responsible for managing projects, the budget and the accounting staff.

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Aereo lays off staff in Boston, New York

Aereo, which put its service on hold after it lost a Supreme Court ruling in June, is laying off a majority of its staff, including employees in New York and Boston, although the company says that it is continuing to "chart our path forward."

Several media outlets reported that the company informed employees in Boston that it was closing its office there and laying off 43 employees as of Nov. 12.

Virginia Lam, a spokeswoman for the company, said that "in an effort to reduce costs, we made the difficult decision to lay off some of our staff in Boston and New York. We are continuing to conserve resources while we chart our path forward. We are grateful to our employees for their loyalty, hard work and dedication. This was a difficult, but necessary step in order to preserve the company."

A small executive team of about a dozen people will remain.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that Aereo's service -- which offered digital broadcast streams to subscribers via dime-sized antennas -- violated the Copyright Act. The company has so far been unsuccessful in pursuing another approach in the courts, that because it resembles a cable service it should be entitled to transmit broadcast programming.

The FCC, meanwhile, is mulling a proposal in which Internet TV providers, including Aereo, would receive the same classification as a cable or satellite company, something that would give over-the-top services access to broadcast channels. But it is likely that Aereo would still have to pay restransmission fees to local stations.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Expert: Home Depot email hack may lead to ID thefts

Two months after it revealed that 56 million of its customers' debit and credit cards had been compromised, Home Depot yesterday disclosed that hackers also stole 53 million email addresses — information that, coupled with customers' financial data, could be used to hack their family and friends, as well as banks, businesses and government agencies, one expert said.

"This is the new crime wave of the 21st century," said Anthony Roman, president of Roman & Associates, a global investigative and security consulting firm. "It's an emerging style of robbery and warfare."

Home Depot said the hacked file containing the email addresses did not contain passwords or other sensitive personal information. However, Roman said that once hackers have an email address, they can send emails embedded with a virus, and if the recipients open the attachment, their computers become infected, allowing the hackers access to those people's passwords, contacts and all of the other information on their computers.

"With financial data like your debit or credit card, the implications are clear. If they now have your email address, it makes it easier for them to assume your identity because they can now communicate with your family, your friends, your bank, your mortgage company, your place of business, posing as you," he said. "And by embedding viruses in all of those people's computers, they can create a super computer called a botnet and use that computing power to steal corporate secrets and business plans and attack institutions and government agencies."

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Good things come in small packages at North Point

A new AvalonBay Communities' apartment complex features micro-unit and larger studios carved out of a former hot dog factory in East Cambridge, with access to first-class amenities at its luxury rental tower across the street.

The Avalon North Point Lofts have 103 units in the six-story former Maple Leaf Franks building. AvalonBay purchased the rights to redevelop the building as part of a deal with Archstone to buy the adjacent North Point luxury apartment complex with 426 units that was built in 2008.

The lofts are a different type of apartment for Avalon­Bay, whose local portfolio includes traditional luxury apartments and its tech-­focused AVA brand geared to millennials.

"We did a complete gut rehab of the factory and added a lot more windows to make unique loft spaces," said Michael Roberts, vice president for development at AvalonBay. "The rents are also lower than our luxury or AVA apartments."

The loft rents, which range between $1,850 and $2,400, include free use of Avalon North Point's extensive amenities, including an indoor pool, gym, yoga and massage studio, hospitality room with kitchen and movie theater. Parking at the garage runs an extra $175 a month.

"People like the price point and efficient use of space, and we're getting a mix of grad students and professionals who work nearby," said property manager Sarita Gonzales, who said that 57 percent of the lofts have been rented after just a few months on the market.

Ranging in size from 329 square feet to 700 square feet, some studios have separate living and sleeping areas, while others are open-plan lofts. The apartments have ceilings over 11 feet high, and most have floor-to-ceiling windows.

The LEED Silver building emphasizes its factory origins, with polished concrete floors, large columns and exposed ductwork.

We took a look at two model units. Unit 105, a 450-square-foot micro studio with separate living and sleeping areas that's renting for $1,900, makes efficient use of space with a kitchen area with white quartz counters, about a half-dozen cabinets, a G.E. refrigerator and an electric cooktop with a microwave above. The adjacent living room is divided from a sleeping area by a three-quarter wall. There's a full bathroom with ceramic tile shower as well as an in-unit washer and dryer.

Unit 103, a 379-square-foot corner micro-unit, has a full kitchen with quartz counters, and an open plan living and sleeping area for $1,850 a month.

AvalonBay also is planning a six-story 300-unit apartment building in the NorthPoint neighborhood scheduled to break ground next year.

"We think NorthPoint has its momentum back," said Roberts. "There's still a lot of pent-up apartment demand and the long-term prospects for this area are good."

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US employers add 214K jobs; rate dips to 5.8 pct.

WASHINGTON — Three days after voters registered their sourness about the U.S. economy, the government said Friday that employers added a solid 214,000 jobs in October, extending the steadiest pace of job growth in nearly 20 years.

In addition, a combined 31,000 more jobs were added in August and September than the government had previously estimated. Employers have now added at least 200,000 jobs for nine straight months — the longest such stretch since 1995.

The burst of hiring lowered the unemployment rate to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent. It is the lowest rate since July 2008.

"This was a great month for the American labor market," said James Marple, an economist at TD Bank. "The U.S. job engine is not just chugging along; it is gaining speed."

At the same time, Americans' average hourly pay rose only slightly last month, a negative note in an otherwise solid report. Stagnant wages have been a chronic weakness in the job market since the recession officially ended more than five years ago.

Voters listed the economy as their top concern in Tuesday's elections, and the sluggish pace of pay growth is a likely factor. Average hourly pay rose 3 cents in October to $24.57. That's just 2 percent above the average wage 12 months earlier and barely ahead of a 1.7 percent inflation rate.

Still, the streak of consistently healthy job growth is highlighting a disconnect between the U.S. economy's steady gains and stumbling economies overseas. Europe is on the brink of its third recession in the past seven years. Growth in China and Japan has weakened.

That's why the U.S. Federal Reserve has finally begun to ratchet back its economic stimulus while other central banks, like the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, have been ramping up their efforts to fuel growth. Though the United States is a vital trading partner for other major nations, few think the U.S. expansion will be enough to help rejuvenate economies abroad.

Last month, the brightening U.S. jobs picture led more people to start looking for work. The percentage of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one rose in October to 62.8 percent. And 267,000 people who had been out of work said they were now employed. Their hiring reduced the number of unemployed to just under 9 million.

The job gains were broad-based, though many lower-paying industries posted especially large increases. Retailers added 27,100 jobs. Restaurants, hotels and entertainment firms gained 52,000.

Some higher-paying industries also showed progress. Manufacturers added 15,000 jobs, up from 9,000 the previous month. Transportation and shipping companies gained 13,300. And professional and business services, which includes accountants, engineers and other higher-skilled fields, added 37,000.

XPOLogistics, a shipping company, has hired 250 people in the past three months and has 300 open jobs. The company connects manufacturers, retailers and other firms that need shipping with independent trucking firms. It has opened a new office in Kansas City, Missouri, where it plans to hire 125 people.

Scott Malat, the company's chief strategy officer, said that rising manufacturing output has helped drive growth.

"The economy has been better, and that plays right into our hands," he said.

Analysts say the economic expansion remains strong enough to support the current pace of hiring. Over the past six months, the economy has grown at a 4.1 percent annual rate.

U.S. manufacturers are expanding at the fastest pace in three years, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. A measure of new orders showed that factory output will likely continue to grow in coming months. A separate survey by the ISM found that retailers, restaurants and other service companies grew at a healthy pace last month.

Home sales rose in September at their fastest rate this year, a sign that housing could pick up after a sluggish performance for most of this year.

Still, faltering global growth could create trouble for the U.S. economy in the months ahead. Exports fell in September, the government said this week, widening the trade deficit. That led many economists to shave their predictions of economic growth in the July-September quarter to an annual rate of 3 percent or less, down from the government's initial estimate of 3.5 percent.

___

Contact Chris Rugaber at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber .

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AG probes hospital closure plan

The Attorney General's Office is investigating whether Steward Health Care System violated the terms of a 2011 agreement when it announced yesterday that Quincy Medical Center will shut down operations by the end of the year, a spokesman said.

"We have just been notified about this decision and are currently reviewing it in the context of Steward's legal obligations," said Brad Puffer, a spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley.

When Steward bought the 196-bed Quincy hospital in a bankruptcy auction in 2011, it signed an agreement with Coakley that included a 10-year "No Close Period" requiring that it "maintain an acute care hospital in Quincy providing at least the same scope of services as Quincy Medical Center currently provides."

Steward could close Quincy Medical in the last three-and-a-half years of that 10-year period if it could show the hospital "experienced two consecutive fiscal years of negative operating margins" and provide the state's Department of Public Health with "at least 18 months prior written notice of its intent to close," according to the agreement.

A Steward spokeswoman declined to comment when asked about the no-close clause last night.

The Quincy hospital, which has 680 employees, reported a $19.7 million loss last year and has projected a $20 million loss for 2014.

"This positions us to be stronger," said Dr. Mark Girard, president of Steward Hospitals. "Quincy Medical Center has been losing about $20 million (annually) and ... that $20 million comes from the other hospitals in diversion of resources. So, to the extent that we're not diverting those resources, we're allowed to reinvest in our other locations."

Quincy Medical Center's financial losses, Girard said, forced Steward Hospitals to delay the development of an emergency room at Morton Hospital in Taunton and stalled construction projects at Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley in Haverhill.

"Health care has evolved ... technology allows you to do a lot of things that historically required inpatient care or extended inpatient care that now you can do either in one day or out of the hospital altogether," Girard said. "That's one big trend that we're all facing and certainly one that has been part of the issue for Quincy Medical Center."

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Cambridge company gets orphan-drug status

The Food and Drug Administration has given Cambridge-based Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' second treatment for pancreatic cancer orphan-drug status, a designation that entitles therapies for rare diseases to tax credits and seven years of market exclusivity if the FDA approves them.

The drug, MM-141, blocks two proteins from signaling the survival of cancer cells, thereby making chemotherapy more effective at killing them, said Ulrik Nielsen, Merrimack's chief scientific officer.

"When tumor cells don't continue to get survival signals, they die on their own when you treat them with chemo," Nielsen said.

The drug, which will begin testing in pancreatic cancer patients next year, could hold promise for the 46,000 people diagnosed each year in the U.S., 40,000 of whom die, typically because they don't respond well to chemotherapy.

Merrimack's other pancreatic cancer drug, MM-398, has completed its final phase of testing in patients, he said. The company is filing for FDA approval for that drug, which also has orphan-drug status.

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State eyes fee hikes on beaches, rinks, parks

It's going to get more expensive to hit the beach, rent ice time and camp on state property in Massachusetts under proposed fee changes that also include new charges for other activities.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation hasn't raised its fees since 2008 for day-use areas such as state parks, 2007 for ice rinks and 2003 for campgrounds, according to spokesman Bill Hickey. It's holding public hearings this month on the proposed changes, which would take effect next year.

"Even with these proposed modest increases, Massachusetts will be on the lower end of the median when compared to other New England state park fees," Hickey said.

MassParks Passes, which cover parking for a year at DCR properties including beaches, would jump from $35 to $60 for residents and from $45 to $85 for nonresidents.

Nonresidents using DCR properties also face new charges that are higher than those proposed for Bay Staters. DCR cabin rentals in state forests, for example, would rise from $30 per day for a one-room cabin for all campers to $50 for residents and $55 for nonresidents.

Daily coastal campsite fees, meanwhile, would increase from $15 to $22 for residents, and from $17 to $27 for nonresidents. Electric and water hookups would double to $6 and $4 per day.

Ice rink rentals would jump between $15 and $25 in peak season, to $200 to $250 per 50 minutes.

Among the proposed new fees are $50 per day for group picnic areas, $250 to $2,000 per day for outdoor venue rentals for company events at a DCR property, and $250 per day for commercial film productions.

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Foxwoods sees new mall as competition for visitors

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — Foxwoods Resort Casino says the mall it's building will ratchet up the competition for gamblers and shoppers being lured by Massachusetts.

Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council that runs Foxwoods in eastern Connecticut, said the $120 million Tanger Outlets will set Foxwoods apart. He says casinos planned in Massachusetts will be "spectacular," but will not offer shopping.

Mashantucket and Foxwoods officials offered a tour of the mall construction site Thursday. They estimate the outlet center will draw 3 million to 4 million more people a year.

The opening is set for May 21, 2015.

Stores will include Nike, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store and several others.

Massachusetts awarded the first resort casino licenses Thursday to Wynn Resorts in Everett and MGM Resorts International in Springfield.

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Jon Stewart sells New York City penthouse off-market

As far as we can tell, the eagle-eyed real estate gossips at The Real Deal were the first to sort out and report that Jon Stewart surreptitiously sold his suburban macmansion-sized duplex penthouse in lower Manhattan's trendy and trés pricey TriBeCa 'hood in an off-market deal for $17.5 million.

The buyer was identified in earlier reports as a corporate entity (Kliban LLC) that Your Mama quickly and easily linked through publicly accessible property records and other documentation to a big wig executive at a major hedge fund operation and his former Miss India finalist turned actress, fashion designer and film producer wife.

SELLER: Jon Stewart
LOCATION: New York, NY
PRICE: $17,500,000
SIZE: (approx.) 6,000 square feet

Property records indicate the sassy, sharp-witted and savvy satirist, political pundit and comedian paid $5.8 million for the approximately 6,000 square foot duplex in March 2005. When Mister Stewart and his missus, Tracey McShane, acquired the penthouse it was open, raw space with, as per digital marketing materials from the time, 40 windows, three exposures (north, west and east), a couple of massive sky lights, three bathroom spaces, a 600-square-foot terrace on the lower level and a 1,200-square-foot roof terrace with open city views.

An October 2005 blurb in the New York Observer, thoughtfully relayed to Your Mama by a snitch we'll call Candy Apples, revealed that Mister Stewart engaged the services of masterful minimalist architect Deborah Berke to transform the blank slate penthouse in to a comfortable family residence. According to the architect's website, the massive urban aerie was finished with high-grade materials that include wide plank reclaimed oak floors stained a luscious chocolate-brown, jatoba wood cabinetry and bookshelves, brushed stainless steel upper cabinetry in the kitchen and statuary-grade marble counter tops.

Prior to buying the TriBeCa penthouse -- in the same building where Jeremy Piven also owns an apartment -- Mister Stewart owned another, much smaller 2,200-square-foot-plus apartment in Greenwich Village he bought in April 2002 for $2.612 million and sold in late 2005 for $3,995,000 to wickedly rich fashion designer Michael Kors.

In late 2009 he paid $3.8 million for a 1.26-acre estate with a nearly 5,000-square-foot home on the Navesink River in Red Bank, NJ, and as far as this property gossip can tell he continues to own a relatively humble home in the Hamptons near Sag Harbor, NY, that he picked up over the summer of 2000 for $675,000.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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