LABOR
Constant Contact cuts 200-plus jobs
The Waltham e-mail marketing firm Constant Contact Inc. has eliminated more than 200 jobs across its worldwide operations days after it was acquired for $1.1 billion by Endurance International Group Holdings Inc. of Burlington. “Constant Contact is an exceptionally strong business and will play a key role in Endurance’s family of brands,” Endurance’s chief operating officer, Ron LaSalvia, said in a statement. “Any time you bring together two strong public companies, there is naturally going to be some overlap.” Constant Contact, which manages e-mail marketing campaigns, had about 1,400 employees as of late 2015. LaSalvia said the company has cut 15 percent of the workforce, which is at six US facilities and a London office. The company did not disclose how many jobs were cut in Waltham. Endurance agreed to buy Constant Contact for $32 a share, a 23 percent premium over Constant Contact’s stock closing price on Oct. 30. The acquisition raises Endurance’s debt to around $2 billion, giving it a strong incentive to cut costs. Endurance is the second-largest US provider of Internet hosting services for small businesses, after GoDaddy Operating Co.
HIAWATHA BRAY
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ENERGY
Gas prices fall 4 cents in Mass.
Gasoline prices in Massachusetts fell for a 10th consecutive week, sliding another 4 cents, according to AAA Northeast. The average price for self-serve regular unleaded was $1.73 a gallon, down from $1.77 the previous week and $2.21 a year ago, the auto club reported Monday. Nationally, the average was $1.70 Monday. Massachusetts prices ranged from a low of $1.57 to a high of $1.99. Average prices for other grades were $2.15 a gallon for mid-grade unleaded and $2.31 for premiums. Diesel averaged $2.05 a gallon.
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MARKETS
Stocks rally on hopes for more economic stimulus
HONG KONG — World stocks rallied Monday, led by a jump in Japan’s main index, amid hopes for more stimulus from central banks in Europe and Japan. Wall Street was closed for Presidents’ Day. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 soared 7.2 percent, rebounding from last week’s slump to post its second-biggest one-day gain in three years. That led to big gains in Europe: Britain’s FTSE 100 closed 2 percent higher and Germany’s DAX gained 2.7 percent. France’s CAC 40 rose 3 percent. Stocks began rallying after government data showed Japan’s economy shrank 1.4 percent last quarter. It’s a setback, but the report gives the government more reason to open the stimulus taps wider to restore growth, economists said. Investor sentiment was also bolstered by comments from China’s central bank chief playing down the likelihood of a devaluation of the yuan.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRADE
US approves first post-embargo factory in Cuba
HAVANA — The Obama administration has approved the first US factory in Cuba in more than half a century, allowing a two-man Alabama company to build a plant to assemble as many as 1,000 small tractors a year for sale to farmers in Cuba. Partners Horace Clemmons (right) and Saul Berenthal can build heavy equipment in a special economic zone the Cuban government started to attract foreign investment. Cuban officials have enthusiastically endorsed the project. The partners said they expect to be building tractors in Cuba by the first quarter of 2017. The $5 million to $10 million plant would be the first significant US business investment on Cuban soil since Fidel Castro took power in 1959, which was followed by a US embargo. Presidents Obama and Raul Castro declared on Dec. 17, 2014, that they would restore diplomatic relations and move to normalize trade, travel, and other areas. The Oggun tractor plant is expected to open with 30 Cuban employees and grow within five years to as many as 300.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUTOMOTIVE
Mexico fines VW $8.9 million
MEXICO CITY — Mexico has fined Volkswagen $8.9 million for selling 45,494 vehicles for the 2016 model year without certificates proving they comply with emissions standards. Authorities are still investigating the sale of vehicles between 2009 and 2015 that may have software that lets them cheat on diesel emissions tests. Mexico’s fine covers a range of the company’s brands, including VW, Audi, SEAT, and Porsche. Volkswagen says as many as 11 million cars worldwide have software that enables them to cheat on tests. The company says it is working to fix the cars.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ECONOMY
Draghi says ECB will act further to aid economy
FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank will act to ensure its monetary policy reaches the real economy if that appears threatened by financial market turbulence, President Mario Draghi (left) told the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday. The ECB will also examine the impact of further declines in energy prices and “if either of these two factors entail downward risks to price stability, we will not hesitate to act,” he said. Price gains in the currency bloc are far below the central bank’s goal of just under 2 percent. Bank-led equity sell-offs in the past week threaten to choke off a fragile recovery in credit and stymie the euro area’s economy. Draghi underlined the ECB’s efforts since 2014 to repair confidence in the banking sector, saying they have “laid the foundations for durably increasing the resilience not only of individual institutions but also of the financial system as a whole.”
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BLOOMBERG NEWS
INVESTING
Sprint’s owner plans record $4.4b stock buyback
TOKYO — SoftBank Group is prepared to spend a record $4.4 billion to buy back stock after the Japanese wireless carrier saw its shares drop to their lowest since buying Sprint Corp. in 2013. SoftBank will purchase as many as 167 million shares, or 14.2 percent of its stock, using cash and the proceeds of asset sales, the company said. Saddled with $100 billion of debt, it won’t resort to more loans. Chairman Masayoshi Son has been dogged by doubts about his ability to turn around Sprint as investor concerns drove a 28 percent plunge in SoftBank stock so far this year. Sprint’s shares have fallen 27 percent this year.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
MEDIA
Comcast outage hits much of US, including Boston
NEW YORK — Customers of Comcast Corp. lost part of their cable television service for several hours in many US metro areas Monday, but the company said the problem was fixed in most places by early afternoon. The tracking site Downdetector.com reported the outage started around 6:30 a.m. Eastern time and affected much of the East Coast from Washington, D.C., to Boston. Other affected areas included Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Denver, and San Francisco. Comcast said the outage primarily affected TV service. It was unclear what caused the outage or how many subscribers were affected.
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ENERGY
Europe’s biggest floating solar array is nearly complete
LONDON — Europe’s largest floating solar-panel array, under construction on a reservoir southwest of London, will be completed by March. Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd. is building the 6.3 megawatt project for Thames Water Utilities Ltd., which provides water and sewerage to millions of homes. The array will cost about $9.3 million and consist of 23,046 Ciel et Terre International SAS solar panels. Floating solar farms are becoming attractive to water companies that want to make use in their large reservoirs. “Becoming a more sustainable business is integral to our long-term strategy, and this innovative new project brings us one step closer to achieving our goal,” said Angus Berry, Thames Water’s energy manager.
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