Coworking space manager Workbar is expanding its suburban empire with another location set to open in Woburn in July. The 22,000-square-foot spot at 500 Unicorn Park, a National Development property, will feature Workbar’s first “telepresence room,” fashioned with hybrid office work in mind and featuring smart TV monitors as well as seating that allows meeting attendees to be at eye level with each other. Workbar, owned by a group that includes principals Sarah Travers and Peter Biro, has coworking locations in the Back Bay, downtown Boston, Burlington, Cambridge, Arlington, Needham, Norwood, and Salem. — JON CHESTO
DEVELOPMENT
Beer garden proposed for Charlestown Navy Yard
Three hospitality operators have each submitted bids to the Boston Planning & Development Agency to run a waterfront beer garden and events space in the Charlestown Navy Yard, for a 16-acre area dubbed Shipyard Park. Incumbent operator Anthem Group has occupied the space for the past three years, running community events and serving alcohol and a limited food menu at a business called The Anchor. Its two competitors for the three-year license are the Lyons Group, the Boston-based restaurant and nightclub operator, and Night Shift Brewing, the Everett-based craft brewer. Lyons’ vision for the site would make it an outpost for the Sonsie restaurant in the Back Bay, while Night Shift envisions it as a good place for its newest Owl’s Nest beer garden. The city would charge $3,000 a month to cover maintenance costs and also collect at least 15 percent of the gross revenue, although the winning bidder can get credits for the cost of events held there to reduce that portion of the rent, possibly to nothing. — JON CHESTO
MILITARY
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Raytheon may sell unit with ties to Einstein
Raytheon is considering the sale of a navigation systems maker with historical links to the physicist Albert Einstein, according to people familiar with the matter. The defense giant’s Raytheon Anschuetz unit could be valued at about $200 million in a sale, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Based in Kiel, Germany, Anschuetz designs and manufacturers products including gyrocompasses. These are used to establish headings at sea as an alternative to more common compasses, which can have magnetic fields distorted by ships’ steel hulls. Dr. Hermann Anschuetz-Kaempfe invented the first such device in 1904 and two decades later his company would develop a two-gyrosphere compass with Einstein. BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AUTOMOTIVE
Another recall for Tesla, second this week
Tesla is recalling more than 817,000 vehicles in the United States because the seat belt reminder chimes may not sound when the vehicles are started and the driver hasn’t buckled up. The recall covers the 2021 and 2022 Model S sedan and Model X SUV, as well as the 2017 through 2022 Model 3 sedan and 2020 through 2022 Model Y SUV, according to documents posted Thursday by safety regulators. Federal motor vehicle safety laws require the chimes to sound when vehicles are started, and the sound stops when front belts are buckled. The US recall is the largest in the Austin, Texas, company’s history and comes as the it faces increasing scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the nation’s road safety agency. The agency this week said that Tesla would recall nearly 54,000 cars and SUVs because their “Full Self-Driving” software lets them roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt. ASSOCIATED PRESS
COFFEE
That trip to Dunkin’ may cost you more
From Seoul to Seattle, the soaring cost of coffee beans is trickling into the cups of consumers. Some of the world’s biggest roasters and sellers of coffee are upping prices, which also reflect higher wages and other costs adding to the rising charge for a daily cup. Futures for arabica coffee jumped 76 percent in 2021, hitting decade highs after droughts and once-in-a-generation frosts damaged crops in Brazil, the world’s top producer. BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AUTOMOTIVE
New GM union in Mexico tests trade pact
Workers at a General Motors assembly plant in northern Mexico have voted for a new independent union to represent them after casting off a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by an old guard union last year. The vote among the roughly 6,500 employees of GM transmission and pickup plants in the northern Mexico city of Silao was a major test of whether a measure of freedom has come to Mexican labor practices. Workers chose the Independent Union of Auto Industry Workers, known by its initials in Spanish as Sinttia, by a wide margin over two days of voting. For almost a century, Mexican unions have been largely a sham, with sold-out leaders guaranteeing low wages that drained manufacturing jobs out of the United States. Mexican auto workers make one-eighth to one-tenth of the wages of their US counterparts, spurring a massive relocation of auto plants to Mexico. Under changes to Mexican labor law required under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, workers can now in theory vote out the old, pro-company union bosses. ASSOCIATED PRESS
MORTGAGES
Rates remain flat
Average long-term US mortgage rates were flat for a third straight week after rising about a half percent early in the year. The average rate on the 30-year loan held at 3.55 percent from last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday. It stood at 2.73 percent a year ago. The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, fell to 2.77 percent from 2.80 percent last week. One year ago, the rate was 2.21 percent. Though they remain historically low, home loan rates have been rising to levels not seen since early 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was breaking in the United States. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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AUTOMOTIVE
More than 200,000 Ram pickups being recalled over windshield wiper problem
Stellantis is recalling nearly 202,000 Ram heavy-duty pickups and chassis cabs to tighten a loose nut that can stop the windshield wipers from working properly. The recall covers certain Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups and some 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs, all from the 2019 and 2020 model years. Most are in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but some are in other global markets. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted Thursday that the wiper arms may loosen, possibly causing a malfunction that can reduce visibility. That can increase the risk of a crash, although Stellantis says it knows of no crashes or injuries. Dealers will tighten the nuts. Owners will be notified by letter starting March 18. ASSOCIATED PRESS
INTERNATIONAL
Socks in Aisle 3; sex therapy in Aisle 7
Selfridges, the storied London department store, is now offering customers not only the latest fashion choices but also self-discovery and even sex counseling sessions for couples and individuals. The well-known British department store will start providing therapeutic experiences ranging from confidence coaching and empowerment sessions to sex therapy with a clinical psychologist and psycho-sexologist, according to a statement Thursday. The services will be on offer both in-store and online with Selfridges from Feb. 28 and range from 30 pounds ($41) to 150 pounds to book. BLOOMBERG NEWS
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