Business in Brief
Oct 23, 2007Advertising sales slide continues at Boston Globe
Sales at The Boston Globe and the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester continued to slide in September, but the papers' parent company posted a surprisingly strong third quarter.
The New York Times Co.'s stock rose by 10 percent on Tuesday after the media company beat Wall Street's expectations with its earnings report, largely because of strong ad sales at its flagship newspaper and related operations. Ad sales at the company's New York Times Media division rose 11.3 percent in September and 3.7 percent for the quarter.
But advertising sales continued to fall at the company's New England Media group, which includes the Globe and the Telegram & Gazette. In that division, ad sales fell to $32.6 million in September, down 3.8 percent from the same time a year ago. The division's ad sales were also off 5.7 percent for the quarter compared with the third quarter of 2006.
The company reported a sharp slowdown in real estate ads across its news divisions, with a 14.8 percent drop in September.
Confidence declines in global markets
BOSTON - Institutional investors became increasingly downbeat about the global markets in the last month, according to the latest State Street Investor Confidence Index report. The index fell 6.1 points from September to 82.6 this month, with investors in North America showing the most caution. Institutional confidence levels are now at their lowest point since February, according to the index.
Google regional headquarters to open in February
CAMBRIDGE - Google plans to finish work on its new regional headquarters in Cambridge by February. The Mountain View, Calif.- based Internet company is renovating a 59,000-square-foot space spread among three floors at Five Cambridge Center in Kendall Square. The company hired Wise Construction Corp. of Winchester to oversee the work, along with the project design team of Visnick & Caufield Associates Inc. of Boston.
Verizon's Boston office staying in city
Verizon Wireless is moving its regional corporate sales office from 28 State St. around the corner to One Washington Street in the Government Center section of Boston. The cell phone company plans to lease 8,000 square feet, representing a full-floor in the 16-story office building. A series of extensive renovations at the mid-rise building are expected to be finished by sometime next month.
Blue Cross executive leaving in February
BOSTON - A top executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts plans to leave his job at the insurer in February. Peter Meade, executive vice president at the Boston-based insurer, will continue to have a consulting role with the company. He has worked for the insurer for more than 11 years, and has overseen public relations, legislative affairs and corporate communications.
Menino opposes car insurance change
Boston Mayor Tom Menino has joined the critics of state Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes' plan to increase competition in the state's auto insurance market. The State House News Service reported that Menino wrote a letter to Burnes, predicting a major negative impact for urban drivers under the proposed changes. He has expressed concerns that the changes will allow insurers to use drivers' credit scores to set their rates, although a spokeswoman for Burnes says the commissioner has decided to indefinitely extend a one-year ban on using credit scores to set rates.
Patriot Ledger staff
(c) 2007 Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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