NONPROFITS
Fenway rooming house to become site of affordable housing
Our Lady’s Guild House, a rooming house in Boston’s Fenway, on Tuesday was sold for $14 million to a pair of nonprofit developers who intend to renovate the property and preserve permanent affordable housing there. The Fenway Community Development Corp. and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, an affordable housing development arm of the Archdiocese of Boston, this week purchased the 140-room brick building at 20 Charlesgate West from Our Lady’s Guild Home Inc., an affiliate of the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception. The order of Catholic nuns and their property manager in 2019 faced claims of age and disability discrimination from a group of Guild House tenants after the longtime residents were served with eviction notices; the Attorney General’s office earlier this year settled the claims and confirmed all of the 140 rooms would be preserved as deed-restricted affordable housing. “We are honored to be part of a project that provides much needed affordable homes to our Boston community,” said Jeanne Pinado, an executive vice president at brokerage Colliers who arranged the sale. “We support the mission of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs to serve as a catalyst for social justice through housing development and neighborhood revitalization.” — CATHERINE CARLOCK
SOFTWARE
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HqO raises $50 million
Boston-based HqO, a maker of real estate management software, has raised $50 million in new funding, with Koch Real Estate Investments, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, as the lead investor. HqO provides software for real estate managers that helps their commercial tenants easily access building amenities, such as parking, exercise facilities, and conference rooms. — HIAWATHA BRAY
REAL ESTATE
Home sales fall again
Sales of previously occupied US homes fell for the fourth month in a row in September, held back by surging mortgage rates and a thin supply of properties on the market. Existing home sales fell 2 percent last month from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s just above the 3.9 million unit pace that economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Sales sank 15.4 percent compared with the same month last year and are down 21 percent through the first nine months of the year versus the same period in 2022. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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AIRLINES
American notched a big loss in the third quarter
American Airlines reported a $545 million loss for the third quarter in contrast with the huge profits posted by its two closest rivals. American said its results were dragged down by $983 million in charges related to a new labor contract with its pilots, but United Airlines and Delta Air Lines reached similar deals with their pilots and still earned $1.1 billion each in the quarter. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
STREAMING
Netflix added nearly 9 million new subscribers; to raise prices
Netflix stock gained the most since January 2021 after posting its best quarter for subscriber growth in years. The company credited a strong programming slate and its crackdown on password sharing. The world’s top paid-streaming service said Wednesday it added 8.76 million customers in the third quarter, far exceeding analysts’ forecasts and boosting its overall subscriber base to 247.2 million. Netflix is raising prices for some customers in the United States, UK, and France, a sign of management’s confidence in the future even as rival streaming services lose money. Starting Wednesday, the company increased the cost of its most expensive plan in the United States by $3 to $23 and its basic plan by $2 to $12, while keeping two other plans the same. It’s taking similar steps in the UK and France, two other large markets. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
EU targets Meta and TikTok
The European Union ratcheted up its scrutiny of Big Tech companies on Thursday with demands for Meta and TikTok to detail their efforts to curb illegal content and disinformation during the Israel-Hamas war. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch, formally requested that the social media companies provide information on how they’re complying with sweeping new digital rules aimed at cleaning up online platforms. The commission asked Meta and TikTok to explain the measures they have taken to reduce the risk of spreading and amplifying terrorist and violent content, hate speech, and disinformation. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEIGHT LOSS
Nestle looks for a way forward as weight-loss drugs take hold
Nestle is working on products designed to complement a new class of weight-loss drugs after revenue growth decelerated to the weakest pace in almost three years. A recent share decline in European food stocks has been partly blamed on the meteoric boom in GLP-1 diabetes treatments, namely Ozempic and Wegovy, which curb users appetites and help them to lose significant amounts of weight. Nestle chief executive Mark Schneider said the bulk of the company’s portfolio won’t be affected as Wegovy users will continue to drink bottled water as well as buy food for their pets. Even if demand for chocolate and frozen pizzas falls, Nestle is already working on a wide number of products that could serve as health aids during weight-loss treatments. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AUTOMOTIVE
Musk douses expectations for Tesla
Elon Musk is dialing back expectations for Tesla Inc. as years of rapid expansion collide with rising interest rates and a more cost-conscious consumer. After months of persistent price cuts, Tesla’s margins have fallen well below the floor once set by its recently departed chief financial officer. The company is “ruthlessly” cutting costs to keep up, according to vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy. But an unpredictable economic environment has Musk feeling “paranoid,” and as a result, Tesla is slow-walking its newest factory in Mexico. “Tesla is an incredibly capable ship,” the chief executive said Wednesday, after reporting earnings that missed estimates. “We’re not going to sink, but, even a great ship in a storm has challenges.” — BLOOMBERG NEWS
TELECOM
Nokia to cut thousands of jobs
Telecom gear maker Nokia said Thursday that it is planning to cut up to 14,000 jobs worldwide, or 16 percent of its workforce, as part of a push to reduce costs following a plunge in third-quarter sales and profit. The Finnish wireless and fixed-network equipment provider said the planned measures are aimed at reducing its cost base and increasing operational efficiency “to navigate the current market uncertainty.” Nokia’s third-quarter sales plummeted 20 percent, to 4.98 billion euros, from 6.24 billion, compared with the same three-month period last year. Comparable net profit plunged to 299 million euros from 551 million in the July-to-September quarter from a year earlier. — ASSOCIATED PRESS