By Alice Atkins and Sujata Rao-Coverley The Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 275 basis points next year, nearly four times more than what markets are pricing, strategists at UBS Investment Bank predict. A continued decline in inflation will enable the central bank to start easing policy as soon as March, with rates likely to be cut in the large increments […]
By Thomas Lee When OpenAI debuted its ChatGPT bot earlier this year, the startup attracted enormous attention and launched a wave of interest in artificial intelligence. But Google,which has long led the way in rolling out new technologies to support its search business, was caught flat-footed.Now, as the tech giant celebrates its 25th anniversary amid […]
By Augusta Saraiva The average 30-year mortgage rate plunged last week by the most in more than a year, helping generate the biggest advance in home purchase applications since early June. The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage slid 25 basis points to 7.61%, the lowest level since the end of September, according to the Mortgage Bankers […]
By Michael Sasso Renters in some of the fastest-growing US cities are finally getting some relief after a few years of dizzying increases as developers roll out droves of new apartments. The Boise City, Idaho metro area has seen rents drop 6.2% over the past year after the local supply of apartments increased by about 1,600 […]
By Greg Ryan Massachusetts is building significantly less housing than it was in the mid-20th century. Not coincidentally, the median home sale price has nearly doubled in the past decade to $600,000, far outpacing income growth. More people are leaving Massachusetts for other states than are moving here. Those problems are what the MBTA Communities zoning […]
By Greg Ryan Procter & Gamble revealed Tuesday it would move Gillette’s century-old South Boston manufacturing operations to the company’s Andover property, opening up as many as 31 acres on Fort Point Channel to redevelopment. Cincinnati-based P&G (NYSE: PG) plans to maintain the headquarters for the Gillette business and roughly 750 corporate, research and engineering employees […]
By Meera Raman The CEO and president of Cambridge Savings Bank, which recently cracked the top ten list for largest banks in Massachusetts, told staff he plans to retire after over decade in the position. Wayne Patenaude recently announced his retirement internally to the company, the bank confirmed. “We are immensely grateful for Wayne’s exceptional leadership and […]
By Greg Ryan Battery maker Factorial Inc. formally opened a 67,000-square-foot facility to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles in Methuen on Monday. The deal was the latest in a series of real estate expansions locally for clean energy companies. Democrats in Washington have sought to encourage the domestic production of EV batteries by including financial incentives for […]
By Lucia Maffei Form D Friday is a Boston Business Journal feature highlighting regulatory filings from Boston-area companies raising capital for new projects or expanding their businesses. Form D reports are a type of SEC form used to file a notice of exempt offerings of securities. The SEC requires companies file the notice within 15 days […]
By Augusta Saraiva US retail sales increased in September by more than forecast in a broad advance that suggests durable household demand as the third quarter drew to a close. The value of retail purchases, unadjusted for inflation, increased 0.7% after an upwardly revised 0.8% gain in August, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. Excluding gasoline, September sales […]
