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Talking Points

Eleven things you may have missed in business on Wednesday

Emerson College

Danvers company acquires British firm

Copyright Clearance Center, a Danvers company that helps publishers license copyrighted material, has acquired a British company that sells online publishing and content-management software. Copyright Clearance Center said the addition of London-based Ixxus could give it a valuable new channel for licensing copyrighted content. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ixxus says its clients include major publishers such as Oxford University Press, Pearson, and Reed Elsevier. Copyright Clearance Center said it has more than 35,000 customers and manages the rights for more than 950 million protected works, including books, journals, and movies. Copyright Clearance Center is led by president and chief executive Tracey Armstrong, who joined the company as a clerk in 1989. — CURT WOODWARD

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COMPENSATION

Qatari couple agrees to pay $3,000 in wages to nanny

A Qatari couple living in Cambridge has agreed to pay $3,000 to resolve allegations they failed to pay a live-in nanny and threatened to send her back to Qatar, against her wishes, after she asked for her wages, Attorney General Maura Healey said. The investigation began in March following allegations that the worker was being held against her will by her employers, Healey said. Mohammed and Adeela Alyafei allegedly brought the Filipino nanny to Cambridge with them from Qatar and failed to pay her minimum wage and overtime, in violation of the state’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, Healey said. After not being paid for several weeks, the woman allegedly requested her wages and asked to return home to the Philippines. The family allegedly demanded her passport, bought her a plane ticket back to Qatar, and threatened to punish her. — BETH HEALY

UNIONS

Emerson College employees vote to unionize

A group of about 70 Emerson College clerical, technical, and professional employees voted Tuesday to form a union with the Service Employees International Union Local 888. The vote comes a month after another group in Emerson’s academic affairs unit also voted to form a union with the SEIU. In total, the newly formed unions have 150 members. The workers who voted Tuesday were split into four bargaining units: communications and marketing; institutional advancement; information technology; and diversity and inclusion. Because the diversity and inclusion group vote ended in a tie after a ballot challenge, the outcome will be decided at a later date. Emerson College officials said they looked forward to entering into collective bargaining. — KATHELEEN CONTI

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ENERGY

Eversource names new chief financial officer

Phil Lembo has been named the new chief financial officer of Eversource Energy, succeeding Jim Judge, who was recently elevated to chief executive of the New England utility. Lembo was Eversource’s treasurer, a title he will retain. The promotions follow the recent retirement of Tom May, the utility’s longtime chief executive, who helped create Eversource through the merger of Northeast Utilities and NStar. Lembo, of Melrose, served as vice president and treasurer for Eversource, and had been vice president and treasurer at NStar since 2009. He has been with the company for 33 years. — KATHELEEN CONTI

MEDIA

Tribune board rejects Gannett’s takeover bid

Tribune Publishing Co.’s board unanimously rejected Gannett Co.’s $815 million takeover offer Wednesday, saying the bid undervalues the owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Gannett last week offered $12.25 in cash per Tribune share, a 63 percent premium to Tribune’s closing price on April 22. The owner of USA Today publicly announced its proposal two weeks after unsuccessfully making a private offer, putting pressure on top Tribune shareholder Michael Ferro to make a deal just three months after he became chairman. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

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ENERGY

Home batteries made available in Vermont

Green Mountain Power in Vermont said Wednesday it has begun installing home batteries that enable customers to store power for use during outages. The Tesla Powerwall batteries, when paired with rooftop solar panels, allow customers to generate and store their own energy. They can power essential items — such as lights, refrigerators, and furnaces — for several hours, making them useful during storms or emergencies. The batteries also would be used during peak energy times, such as hot summer days, to cut costs. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

RETAIL

Aeropostale files for bankruptcy

Yet another retailer has cracked under the weight of teen’s changing shopping habits. Aeropostale on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying in the filing that it was seeking approval to immediately close 154 of its more than 800 stores. Just two weeks ago, its stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because it was trading for just pennies a share. — WASHINGTON POST

AUTOMOTIVE

Rear hatch door prompts Nissan recall

Nissan is recalling more than 108,000 Rogue small SUVs in the United States because the rear hatch door could fall on people without warning. The recall covers Rogues from the 2014 to 2016 model years. The company says in government documents that saltwater can get into the rear lift gate supports and cause rust. The supports can lose gas pressure and break, increasing the risk of injury. Nissan says there have been no incidents in the United States, but the Rogues have support struts that are similar to those in another country that have malfunctioned. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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SHAREHOLDERS

1.8 million view Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting online

The first online broadcast of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting was viewed 1.8 million times. Yahoo Finance broadcast the meeting Saturday where Berkshire chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger answered questions for more than five hours. Buffett’s wit and his successful investing record while building Berkshire into a conglomerate that owns more than 90 companies and employs more than 350,000 people always attract a crowd. In addition to the online audience, Buffett said roughly 40,000 people attended the event in Omaha. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

GEMSTONES

Tennis-ball-size diamond could sell for more than $70 million

It’s a rock for the ages. A 3-billion-year-old diamond the size of a tennis ball — the largest discovered in more than a century — could sell for more than $70 million, auctioneer Sotheby’s said Wednesday. The auction house plans to offer the Lesedi la Rona diamond in London on June 29. The diamond was unearthed in November in Botswana at a mine owned by Canada’s Lucara Diamond Corp. It measured 1,109 carats, the second-largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered. Its name means ‘‘our light’’ in the Tswana language of southern Africa. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

CURRENCY

ECB to end 500-euro note

In a move aimed at hampering cash transactions by terrorists, drug dealers, and money launderers, the European Central Bank on Wednesday announced an end to the 500-euro bank note, worth roughly $575. When it comes to moving money nefariously, the 500-euro note has been especially handy. It is a large denomination in a widely circulated and easily convertible currency. In the United States, the largest denomination is $100, after the Federal Reserve discontinued the $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills in 1969. Switzerland has a 1,000-franc note, worth about $1,050, but its supply is limited. — NEW YORK TIMES

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