HOUSING
Rents in Boston may have finally peaked
After years of going up, rents in Boston’s superheated real estate market may have finally reached a peak. Data released Thursday show that apartment rental prices fell slightly at the end of 2016 — the first drop since 2010 — amid a surge of new buildings that have opened in Boston and neighboring cities such as Cambridge, Chelsea, and Somerville. The decline was modest, just 1.7 percent — or $36 a month on the average lease of $2,038, according to the rental-tracking firm Reis Inc. But it was the latest and clearest sign that the flood of construction in Boston is putting a lid on prices, at least at the upper end of the market. “When you put that much supply on the market, you’re going to disrupt the equilibrium,” said Sue Hawkes, chief executive of Collaborative Cos., a real estate marketing firm in Boston. “That’s what’s happening.” During the first nine months of 2016, more than 5,100 apartments, most renting for top dollar, opened in the heart of the Boston area. Another 7,200 are under construction in Boston alone, according to city figures. While rents may no longer be uniformly escalating, city apartments remain unaffordable for many people, something unlikely to change over the next few years. Only New York City and San Francisco have higher average rents than Boston. — TIM LOGAN
RETAIL
Macy’s to close stores in Brockton, Taunton
Macy’s stores anchoring malls in Brockton and Taunton are among 68 nationwide that are scheduled to go dark, eliminating about 160 jobs in the two struggling Southeastern Massachusetts cities. The closings of Macy’s at Westgate Mall in Brockton and Silver City Galleria in Taunton are part of a major cost-cutting move announced in August by the nation’s largest department store chain. Twenty other Macy’s stores in Massachusetts will remain open. The only other New England location slated to be shuttered is in Bangor, Maine. Officials from Brockton and Taunton did not respond to requests for comment on the store closings, which were disclosed Wednesday. The retailer says it plans to eventually shut 100 underperforming locations — out of more than 700 — and lay off 10,000 employees, or 7 percent of its workforce. It estimates the savings at $550 million, starting next year. The latest round of store closings comes as Macy’s continues to face slowing sales amid a shift by consumers to online shopping. Disappointing results from the holiday season indicate that the company hasn’t been able to slow the exodus of customers from its stores. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUTOMOTIVE
First public trip by a self-driving car in Massachusetts
The start of a new era in technology in Boston began inauspiciously enough. A white compact hatchback, a Renault ZOE, pulled out from a loading dock Wednesday afternoon and zipped down an alley inside the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, turned effortlessly, and merged into traffic on Drydock Avenue. There was someone in the driver’s seat, but the car at times was steering itself, crisscrossing a path around the industrial park and blending in with buses, delivery trucks, and pedestrians going about their day. It was the first public trip by a self-driving car in Massachusetts, and it concluded — without incident — an hour later. NuTonomy Inc., a Cambridge startup that is a leading developer of technology for autonomous vehicles, launched the pilot program on the industrial park’s 3 miles of roads, using a car guided by artificial intelligence software and fitted with cameras and other sensors, including a laser-based technology called LIDAR that detects nearby objects. Two engineers inside the car monitored the ride. One was in the driver’s seat, but it was unclear how often that engineer took control. The only obvious signs that something new was taking place were the gadgets affixed to the car’s exterior and the lettering declaring “autonomous vehicle” on the door.
— CURT WOODWARD
ECONOMY
Mass. grew at moderate pace in 2017, economists say
The state’s leading economists expect the Massachusetts economy to grow at a moderate pace this year, but warn that the low unemployment rate could create worker shortages in certain fields, including construction and skilled manufacturing. “The Massachusetts economy is fast approaching full capacity,” the editorial board of the economic journal MassBenchmarks — made up of economists from the state’s colleges and universities along with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston — said in its 2017 forecast. “As the labor market for qualified workers becomes ever tighter, the state faces the challenge of helping low- to moderately-skilled unemployed workers slot in to available job openings.” The unemployment rate in November in Massachusetts dropped to 2.9 percent, the lowest since January 2001. The state’s economy likely grew at a rate of 2 percent in 2016, according to Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics professor and a senior contributing editor of MassBenchmarks. Clayton-Matthews anticipates that the state’s economy will grow at nearly the same pace in 2017. The board released the forecast Wednesday and acknowledged that much remained uncertain under a Trump presidency with a Republican-controlled Congress. Changes in national economic policy, along with weak global growth, could remain a challenge for the Massachusetts economy. The Massachusetts defense industry, which includes employers such as Waltham-based Raytheon, could benefit if the new administration boosts military spending, the economists said. But the outlook is muddier for the state’s health care sector, which has benefited from and been influenced by the Affordable Care Act. If Congress repeals or replaces the health care law, everyone from pharmaceutical researchers to medical manufacturers could be affected, according to the economists. — DEIRDRE FERNANDES
HEALTH CARE
Rates going up for Medicare Advantage plans
Thousands of seniors enrolled in Medicare plans through the state’s largest health insurer will see their monthly premiums jump by as much as one-third this year. The increases for Medicare Advantage customers of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts range from $10 a month to about $60 a month, depending on the plan. Blue Cross said it had to raise premiums to make up for a decline in federal reimbursements and to contend with the higher costs of medical care and prescription drugs. Blue Cross also offers Medicare options that don’t require members to pay any premiums, and about 4,800 people are enrolled in these plans. But far more Blue Cross members, about 36,000, pay premiums for more comprehensive Medicare plans, and they will see steep increases. Their monthly rates will rise as much as 34 percent, far above the increases at other insurers. Medicare is the federal health care program for Americans 65 and older. Seniors have the option of enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans, which usually charge premiums but include some additional benefits and limits on out-of-pocket spending. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay private health insurers for providing Medicare Advantage plans. The reimbursements are calculated each year according to a formula that accounts for how sick plan members are and where they live. According to that formula, Blue Cross said, it is set to receive less money from the federal government this year. The insurer also blamed rising premiums on the high costs of specialty medications, including new drugs to treat high cholesterol. Ken Arruda, executive director of Medicare markets at Blue Cross, said the company’s Medicare plan rates were mostly stable before rising sharply in 2017. He said he realizes the increases may be difficult for some seniors to afford. — PRIYANKA DAYAL MCCLUSKEY