Seres Therapeutics to become tenant at Cambridge’s ‘Research Row’
Seres Therapeutics Inc., a company working on drugs to rebalance bacteria in the gut, has become the largest tenant at a renovated biotech building at 200 Sidney St. in Cambridge, signing a lease to license 83,000 square feet from life sciences property developer BioMed Realty. Currently located at two sites on First Street in Cambridge, Seres will move in three phases to 200 Sidney, starting in the first quarter of next year. The building, formerly occupied by Boston biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., is part of an area BioMed is calling "Research Row." Seres will be joining other life sciences companies operating at 200 Sidney, including AbbVie Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics, RaNA Therapeutics Inc., and Synlogic Inc. — ROBERT WEISMAN
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Greece to get $2.1 billion of bailout loans
ATHENS — Greece was formally cleared Monday to get the next batch of bailout loans due from its third financial rescue after the cash-strapped country implemented a series of economic reform measures that European creditors had demanded. The country will get a $2.1 billion payment on Tuesday, money that will be used to meet debt service commitments, clear arrears, and cofund projects with the European Union. The formal approval came after Greece's parliament last week backed new austerity measures, including higher taxes on wine and road use as well as more limited protection for distressed mortgage holders. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Drone owners may have to register with US government
Drones are expected to be hot sellers this holiday season. Now it looks as if owners of nearly all those machines will have to register with the federal government and have the information placed in a national database, as officials look to address concerns over safety and the mischief caused by unmanned aircraft. The proposed regulations were outlined in a report released Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration. The recommendations came from a task force created by the agency and are widely expected to be approved in a few weeks, ahead of what is expected to be a big increase of drone owners after Christmas. — NEW YORK TIMES
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Walmart starting Cyber Monday deals early
For Walmart shoppers, Cyber Monday will come several hours early this year. The world's largest retailer plans to kick off its online deals bonanza at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 29, a move that is noteworthy because of what it reveals about how quickly our digital shopping habits are changing. Fernando Madeira, chief executive of Walmart.com, said in an interview that the company is adapting its sale to better meet the needs of the growing swath of shoppers who have near-constant Web access thanks to their smartphones. Madeira said Walmart has noticed that in recent years searches for Cyber Monday deals on their app and website start to pick up Sunday evening, with many shoppers staying up until midnight to pounce early. — WASHINGTON POST
Whole Foods’ Thanksgiving feast still pricier than rival
Whole Foods Market Inc. may lose ground in its effort to shed its ''Whole Paycheck'' image this Thanksgiving. A group of 20 common items used in the holiday feast was priced at $87.91 at Whole Foods versus $72.28 at Trader Joe's, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence study. The 22 percent higher cost at Whole Foods is bigger than the 0.9 percent gap it had with Trader Joe's on a similar basket of items last year. Still, both chains were less expensive than Fresh Market, where the Thanksgiving meal cost $101.83. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
October home sales fall 3.4 percent amid rising values
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans bought homes in October, a sign that rising home values may be pushing more would-be buyers to the real estate market's sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes fell 3.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million. The decline comes after strong growth in home-buying for much of 2015, bolstered by steady job gains and low mortgage rates. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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GameStop results miss estimates on weaker sales
NEW YORK — GameStop Corp., the largest video-game specialty retailer, posted earnings and a forecast that missed analysts' estimates as physical sales of titles including "Halo 5" and the much-anticipated "Star Wars: Battlefront" were weaker than the company expected. GameStop was the biggest decliner in the S&P index. Electronic Arts Inc., maker of the Star Wars game, fell 5.7 percent to $68.25 in New York. GameStop is feeling the brunt of a shift in gaming toward mobile devices. In the first three quarters of the year, digital sales outpaced physical sales in the industry, according to analysis from market research firm SuperData. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Petco to be acquired in $4.6 billion purchase
CVC Capital Partners and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board agreed to buy Petco Animal Supplies Inc. in a deal worth about $4.6 billion. The firms will acquire Petco from TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners in a transaction likely to close early next year, according to a statement Monday. The pet-supplies retailer was taken private by TPG and Leonard Green in a $1.8 billion leveraged buyout in 2006. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Gasoline prices in Mass. still on the decline
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts fell 1 cent last week, AAA Northeast said. The auto club said gas averaged $2.07 per gallon, 80 cents lower than a year ago. Crude oil was hovering around $42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, which is one reason holiday travelers will find gas prices are at their lowest levels since 2008, AAA said. Almost 47 million Americans will take advantage of the low gas prices, traveling more than 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving, AAA Travel said last week. That is an increase of 300,000 travelers from 2014 and the highest number since 2007, when 50.6 million Americans traveled for the holiday weekend, according to AAA. AAA Northeast said about 2 million New England residents are expected to travel, including more than a million Massachusetts residents. About 90 percent of those travelers are expected to drive, and will save $12 at the pump when driving 300 miles, based on the average car getting 18.5 miles per gallon. — JESSICA GELLER
Logan workers in hunger strike over wages, forming union
Logan Airport workers and their supporters are staging a 24-hour hunger strike to bring attention to the fight to raise wages and form a union at the airport, one of 14 airport-worker fasts taking place across the country this week. About 20 Boston airport workers and elected officials, including several state representatives and Boston District Councilor Timothy McCarthy of Hyde Park, will begin their strike, dubbed the "Fast for $15," Tuesday afternoon at the Irish Famine Memorial near Downtown Crossing, according to 32BJ Service Employees International Union. Last week, airport workers around the country held a day of protests, and state Senator Sal DiDomenico filed a bill to raise the minimum wage for Logan aviation service workers to $15 an hour. — KATIE JOHNSTON
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