BROADBAND
Comcast boosting speeds
Broadband provider Comcast is delivering another speed bump to its customers in Massachusetts and 13 other northeastern states. On Monday, the company said it will increase upload speeds for five of its service tiers and boost download speeds for three of them. Customers who currently get the company’s 50- and 100-megabit service won’t get faster downloads but will see their upload speeds doubled. Those who pay for 200-, 400- and 800-megabit service will get sizable increases in both upload and download speeds. It’s part of a trend that’s seen broadband speeds increasing nationwide. According to figures from the broadband monitoring company Ookla, the typical US landline Internet connection got 31 percent faster during 2021 as Comcast and other carriers boosted average download speed from 110 megabits per second to 144 megabits. The company also said it’s adding Apple TV Plus to the roster of streaming video services that Comcast customers will be able to watch through the company’s Xfinity cable TV service. Apple joins many other streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu, which can be accessed through a Comcast cable box or a smart TV running Comcast’s XClass software. — HIAWATHA BRAY
FRAUD
Disbarred Cape Cod attorney and wife plead guilty to mortgage fraud schemes
A disbarred Massachusetts attorney and his wife have pleaded guilty to running mortgage fraud schemes, federal prosecutors said. Barry Wayne Plunkett Jr., 61, and Nancy Plunkett, 56, both of Barnstable, pleaded guilty Friday to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office in Boston. Barry Plunkett Jr. also pleaded guilty to tax evasion. Barry Plunkett, prior to his disbarment, ran a law firm, and his wife was his office assistant and paralegal. Prosecutors said in one scheme, they defrauded six lenders and 14 refinancing homeowners and kept $900,000 for their own purposes. In addition, the Plunketts used various names, entities, and false documents to obtain three successive mortgage loans on their home in Hyannis Port in amounts of $412,000, $470,000, and $1.2 million. They told one lender that Nancy Plunkett was single and purchasing the property as a business investment when in reality they had been married since 2014 and the property was their home, prosecutors said. Sentencing is scheduled for June 10. Bank fraud carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIOTECH
Blubird Bio stock falls on CFO departure
Bluebird Bio shares dropped 11 percent Monday after it said its finance chief plans to step down, just days after the Cambridge biotechnology company disclosed a cash crunch that raises questions about its future. Chief financial officer Gina Consylman submitted her resignation effective April 3, the company said in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consylman joined Bluebird in August. After her departure, chief business officer Jason Cole will serve as finance chief on an interim basis, Bluebird said. Adding to the pressure on the stock, the company, which has faced setbacks in its efforts to bring new gene therapies to market, had said in a separate filing on Friday that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. So far this year, Bluebird shares have dropped more than 55 percent. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Kohl’s to open smaller stores, expand Sephora shops
Department store chain Kohl’s said it expects to increase sales by a low-single-digit percentage annually, with plans to open 100 new small-format stores in the next four years and expand Sephora-branded shops to 850, among other moves. Kohl’s announced its long-term goals on Monday ahead of the company’s annual investor meeting as it faces increasing pressure from activist investors. As part of its plans to spearhead sales growth, Kohl’s said it forecasts its Sephora business to become a $2 billion juggernaut. It also said it’s rolling out self-serve buy online, pick up in store areas to all stores this year, and is continuing to test self-serve returns and check-out sections. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
RETAIL
Venture firm takes a 10 percent stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, recommends sale
The investment firm of billionaire Ryan Cohen has taken a large stake in Bed Bath & Beyond and is recommending that the struggling retailer sell all or part of its business. RC Ventures has acquired a nearly 10 percent stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, according to a regulatory filing. RC stands for Ryan Cohen, a co-founder at Chewy, who was at heart of the GameStop meme saga last year. Cohen built a huge following on Reddit and on social media in 2021 as smaller investors gobbled up GameStop and other meme stocks. Bed Bath & Beyond was among those companies and news of Cohen’s interest sent its shares, which have tumbled 15 percent this year, were up more than 34 percent Monday. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIDE HAILING
Uber boosts forecast, putting Omicron in the rear-view mirror
Uber raised its forecast for earnings in the current quarter, defying concerns of a lasting impact on ride-hailing demand due to Omicron. The shares jumped about 7 percent in New York as the market opened. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization are expected to be $130 million to $150 million, the San Francisco-based company said on Monday. That’s higher than the $100 million to $130 million Uber projected when it announced fourth-quarter results last month and more than the $120.4 million analysts are projecting, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
UKRAINE
No Legos for Russia
Lego, the world’s largest toymaker, has stopped shipments of products to Russia due to the war in Ukraine. The company will no longer deliver toys to the 81 independently owned stores in Russia which sell its products, Lego said in an e-mailed reply to questions on Monday. Lego, which employs about 80 people in Russia, doesn’t own any stores in the country. The closely held company, based in the western Danish city of Billund, is due to report 2021 earnings on Tuesday. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
UKRAINE
Nickel soars to highest price ever over fears of Russian supplies
Nickel surged to a record high in one of the most extreme price moves ever seen on the London Metal Exchange, as fears over Russian supplies leave buyers exposed to a historic squeeze. The metal used in stainless steel and lithium-ion batteries rose as much as 90 percent to $55,000 a metric ton, the highest in the 35-year history of the contract. That topped a previous record of $51,800 reached in 2007. — BLOOMBERG NEWS