All but a handful of Bay State towns and cities ended 2011 with lower unemployment than a year earlier, according to figures from the governor’s labor office. Only 11 communities, most in western Massachusetts, had higher unemployment rates in December when compared to the same month in 2010. Read More
Wall Street ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service on Friday downgraded Connecticut’s general obligation bond rating, airing concerns about the state’s heavy debt load, unfunded pension liabilities, and depleted reserves. Moody’s lowered its rating on $14.6 billion of Connecticut’s outstanding general obligation bonds to Aa3 from Aa2. The move could make the state’s future borrowing more expensive. Read More
Northeast Utilities and NSTAR wasted no time seeking Connecticut approval for their planned merger Thursday, submitting an application one day after regulators decided the utility companies needed state approval to consummate the deal. The companies repeated their claim that the deal will benefit consumers in their petition to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority — directly addressing the suddenly sensitive issue of storm recovery.
“Although we disagree with PURA’s reversal of its prior rulings on jurisdiction, we are confident the Authority will see the benefits that will come to Connecticut through the combination of our businesses,” said Gregory B. Butler, NU’s senior vice president and general counsel, in a written statement.
Massachusetts employers cut 6,200 jobs last month but the state’s unemployment rate still fell again last month to 6.8 percent. The jobless rate dropped from an even 7 percent in November, the lowest monthly rate since December 2008 and below the national rate of 8.5 percent, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said today. The job estimates and unemployment rate can go in different directions because they are based on separate surveys of employers and households, respectively. Read More
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has formed a nine-member Business Tax Policy Review Taskforce that will look atConnecticut’s current laws with an eye toward expanding job growth. The task force, to be headed by Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith and Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Kevin Sullivan, was formed Thursday by an executive order. Malloy asked the group to offer ideas that would build on legislation that came out of the October 2011 economic summit in Hartford at which the governor and legislature agreed on steps to encourage business growth. Read More
Connecticut’s economy will grow between 3.5 percent and 4 percent this year, bolstered by global trends such as increasing exports, a chief economist in the state said Friday.
“I wouldn’t break out the champagne yet, but you won’t need to drink a bottle of scotch to get through the year,” Connecticut Business and Industry Association Vice President and Economist Peter Gioia said during a regional economic forecasting breakfast at the Hilton Mystic hotel. “I’m very optimistic.”
The first quarter may be “a bit slower” than the rest of the year, Gioia said. He cited trends including a “burgeoning” middle class worldwide, changes in energy markets, improved profitability among Connecticut manufacturers and increased exports.
Unemployment fell from October to November in most regions of Massachusetts, except for Cape Cod and the islands, according to a detailed breakdown of jobless rates from Gov. Deval Patrick’s labor office. That’s good news at a time of year when jobs usually drop in construction, tourism and other weather-dependent fields, said Christian Weller, an economist and public policy professor at UMass-Boston and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “We generally think of October, November as kind of dull months due to depressing seasonal factors,” he said. As of November 2011, Malden’s unemployment rate was 6 percent, leaving about 1,893 residents unemployed. That puts Malden lower than the state average of 6.4 percent—but still higher than many surrounding communities. Read More
State and city officials hope a proposed $16 million Vestas research facility in Marlboro won’t just blow away after learning yesterday the Danish wind turbine maker would lay off 182 U.S. and Canadian workers, with the possibility of another 1,600 U.S. manufacturing jobs on the chopping block this year. Read More
A new town website aimed at attracting business to Stratford will launch in early February.
The project is more than a year in the making but has matured rapidly over the last month, according to Dave Lostracco, an Internet marketing consultant hired by the town to spearhead the website.
“It’s been a back-and-forth project,” Lostracco told members of the Economic Development Commission Tuesday night. “By the beginning of February we’ll have the first number of pages.” Read More
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The Swiss drugmaker Novartis is cutting nearly 2,000 jobs in the United States, anticipating the impending loss of patent protection on its blockbuster drug Diovan.
Novartis (NVS) said it is reducing its “field force” by 1,630 positions and cutting an additional 330 jobs at its headquarters. Though the company did not specify where exactly these job cuts would take place, its U.S. headquarters is in East Hanover, N.J., and it also has facilities in Massachusetts and California. Read More
Enter your e-mail address to receive notifications when there are new posts.
