The Ticker

Wall Street sees rally

Wall Street rallied yesterday after Russia said it ended military drills near Ukraine, soothing investor nerves over regional tensions, but bond yields fell in key markets worldwide after President Obama authorized airstrikes in Iraq.

U.S. equities extended gains in late trading, with major indexes hitting session highs. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had finished military exercises in southern Russia, which the United States had criticized.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 185.66 points or 1.13 percent, to 16,553.93, the S&P 500 gained 22.02 points or 1.15 percent, to 1,931.59 and the Nasdaq Composite added 35.93 points or 0.83 percent, to 4,370.90. The rally marked the best one-day performance for the Dow and S&P 500 since March 4.

FCC votes to require text-to-911

The Federal Communications Commission voted yesterday to require U.S. mobile carriers and many text-messaging apps to enable users to text emergency dispatch centers, even after questions about whether the centers will be ready by the deadline.

The commission's vote requires mobile carriers and some texting apps to put emergency text-to-911 functionality in place by the end of the year.

•  FORGE Worldwide, a Boston-based brand strategy and advertising agency, has promoted Nicholas Vitale, left, to studio manager from designer/production. Vitale will be responsible for all print production and vendor management at the agency, which he joined in 2008.

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Boston trackers chart outbreak

HealthMap.org, a high-tech infectious disease tracking system run by Boston epidemiologists, has emerged as a critical tool in the battle against Ebola in West Africa — tracking its rapid and unusual spread ahead of official reports by monitoring thousands of local news and social media sources.

'It's been doubling up for months now," Harvard Medical School professor John Brownstein, co-founder of HealthMap, said about the rising Ebola numbers, with nearly 2,000 cases and nearly 1,000 deaths. "These things are generally fairly well contained in time and space, but this wasn't. June is when the cases really started to pile up."

HealthMap, run by Boston Children's Hospital researchers, began tracking the current outbreak March 19 when it picked up on local news reports from Kenya.

The group started putting out alerts and feeding information to the World Health Organization, which reported its first confirmed case March 23. Since then, the HealthMap team has created an interactive Ebola map.

"Part of our effort is not just to help governments, but also to give people a better idea of what's happening," Brownstein said. "This type of tracking is an important piece to understanding what's happening in places without very good public health infrastructure."

When HealthMap was launched in 2006, it was met with some skepticism from some epidemiologists, co-founder Clark Freifeld said, because its information, while fast, is not officially verified like World Health Organization alerts. But, he said, "Now this type of stuff is almost taken for granted in the field, and there's a lot more people doing work with these sources."

Dr. Brad Crotty, a clinical informatics expert at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who is not part of HealthMap, said there is still work to be done to tune out "background noise" — inaccurate or misleading information.

"You can get early signs, but they're not always right," Crotty said.

Sumiko Mekaru, who oversees HealthMap operations, said it's meant to complement traditional public health reports, not replace them.

"It's not the gold standard, but we get things close and we get things fast," she said.

Members of the HealthMap team are now working on software that will allow researchers to forecast where an outbreak is headed and when, and plan to test a model this coming flu season.

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Subaru creates a new Legacy

It would be crazy for a New England driver to not check out the 2015 Subaru Legacy when considering a new midsize sedan. Subaru has completely redesigned the Legacy, giving it a streamlined exterior, increased cabin space and greater fuel efficiency.

The 2015 Legacy yields 26 city/36 highway in fuel economy, which is superb for an all-wheel-drive sedan. The boost in fuel economy is attributed to a combination of a spirited four-cylinder, 2.5-liter Boxer engine that generates 175 horsepower, a grille that closes to reduce drag and a continuously variable transmission.

I was initially disappointed when Subaru replaced their conventional automatic transmission with the more fuel efficient CVT several years ago. Early versions of the CVT were quirky — the engine ran at a high rate when accelerating, never seeming to shift. I found a noticeable refinement with Subaru's CVT on the 2015 Legacy. Our Legacy tester also had a six-speed manual mode with steering wheel paddle shifters.

The Legacy with its wide stance felt more like a full-size sedan when it came to city driving and parking where a high-resolution backup camera came in handy. Despite its size, the Legacy had a sporty feel yet remained level through tight turns and highway ramps. I was impressed with how quiet the sedan's cabin remained while traveling at highway speed.

Our "limited" edition tester with a MSRP at just under $30,000 included an abundance of safety technology that would be hard to live without. Features that use radar included blind spot detection and lane change assist that combine to allow for confident lane changing. The system also included a rear cross-traffic alert, which helps to prevent a collision when in reverse.

Our tester had a $2,195 option package that included a moon roof, keyless access, and a push-button starter. I could live without the moon roof and push-button starter, but keyless access, which unlocked the sedan as I approached with the key fob in my pocket, was great when my hands were full.

Perforated light brown leather upholstery contrasted with a black dashboard and wood paneling along the doors gave the Legacy an upmarket character. Interior highlights included soft-touch coverings on arm rests, heated front and rear seats, dual zone climate controls and a 12-speaker audio system. I found ample head and foot room with the back seats, which easily accommodated three adults.

Actual radio dials for tuning and volume control were appreciated. The 7-inch touchscreen with swipe and scrolling gesture controls made the Subaru's media center easy to use.

All-wheel-drive helps this more fuel efficient, sixth-generation Legacy stand out among the convoluted midsize sedan market. Subaru has certainly won me over with its greatly improved CVT.

If gas mileage is your biggest concern, there's plenty of other midsize sedans to consider, but when it comes to driving through New England's worst weather, the Subaru Legacy makes sense.

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Arthur T. Demoulas nixes board’s offer

Ousted Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas strongly rebuffed an offer from three board directors yesterday to return to work — but not at the helm — brushing it off as a ploy to prop up the teetering supermarket chain while the company considers a sale to another bidder.

A spokeswoman for Demoulas in a statement last night dismissed as "disingenuous" the directors' late afternoon bid to get the fired CEO and his team to help co-CEOs Felicia Thornton and James Gooch end the job walkouts and protests that have left shelves bare in the 71-store chain and sent customers elsewhere.

"This is an attempt to have (Arthur T.) stabilize the company, while they consider selling it to another bidder," spokeswoman Justine Griffin said. "This is far too serious a situation for these games and attempts at window dressing. ... Market Basket's associates, customers, vendors and communities deserve better than that."

The statement was the last in a series of statements fired off yesterday, first by the governor, urging the two sides to come to a swift resolution, then by the three directors, who said they were offering "a path forward that would allow a return to normal" while Arthur T. pursues buying out his rival cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, who controls 50.5 percent of the chain.

"There is no reason to not meet in the middle," the directors said in a statement. "Mr. Demoulas gets his management team back in place, associates can get back to doing their job, customers can get back to shopping and the company gets the breathing room needed to create an orderly and productive way forward."

But Tom Trainor, a fired Market Basket supervisor who worked for the company for 41 years, said it was an empty offer.

"We want Arthur T. Demoulas back as CEO — nothing less," said Trainor. "Unless he's CEO, I have no plans on going back."

In their statement, the directors also offered to meet with Patrick and New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan after the Massachusetts Democrat sent a letter to the board yesterday, saying the dispute "has gotten out of hand" and offering his help to resolve it.

"I do not express a view about who the CEO of Market Basket should be," Patrick said. "However, I also believe that your failure to resolve this matter is not only hurting the company's brand and business, but also many innocent and relatively powerless workers."

Market Basket workers have been protesting Arthur T.'s abrupt ouster by the board for three weeks, and calling for his reinstatement.

Gary N. Chaison, professor of labor relations at Clark University in Worcester, said the governor would be the "perfect" mediator because he has the "credibility of someone who is friendly to labor and to companies."

"He can walk into this dispute and tell both parties he's the only thing standing between them and disaster," Chaison said. "If something isn't done in the next few days, jobs will be lost, and the company will go under."

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Local zoos finding exotic ways to increase revenue

Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo, which both once faced tough financial times, are thriving like never before, according to Zoo New England President and CEO John Linehan.

"Things are really going well," Linehan told Boston Herald Radio's "Morning Meeting" yesterday, while sharing the spotlight with Benny, a blue-tongued skink that lives at Franklin Park Zoo. "We've been getting stable funding from the commonwealth (which owns both zoos) and we've been increasing our self-generated revenue."

Linehan said both zoos offer guests the opportunity to spend money on exhibits in order to keep admission prices low.

"At Franklin Park, you can go in and buy a little seed stick for $2 and have the experience of your life as these birds fly down to feed off of your seed stick. We keep (the cost) reasonable, but we use them to diversify our revenue streams and have it coming in from multiple directions."

Among those "revenue streams" are the annual beer tasting event, "Brew at the Zoo" set for next Saturday, and even the occasional wedding.

But in the end, Linehan said what brings people to the zoos are the animals.

"Everyone wants to interact with the animals," he said. "If we can create a way for that to be positive for both the visitor and the animal, that's the best of all worlds."

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Uplifting digs in former factory

This stylish duplex loft is the largest unit in Porter 156, a former bra factory converted to 216 condos in 2005 that's in the up-and-coming Jeffries Point area of East Boston.

The current owners of Unit 408 have done a lot of upgrades, including adding a brick wall, storage and spice cabinets as well as a full-wall bookcase unit, surround sound and custom lighting with digital dimmers.

The 1,398-square-foot fourth-floor penthouse condo has bamboo floors, a living/dining area with 19-foot ceilings and a steel spiral staircase up to a second-level loft bedroom.

Off the unit's entry hallway is a custom-built mirrored shoe storage cabinet in addition to a coat closet. There are also a full bathroom with black ceramic tile floors, a mounted sink, a white-subway-tiled shower/tub and a recently added custom medicine cabinet.

The open kitchen/dining/living area features a kitchen recently upgraded with new lighting and a custom-built spice rack. There are cherrywood cabinets, stainless-steel counters and green glass-tile backsplash. A black granite-topped center island has more stainless-steel and back-lit frosted glass cabinets. Appliances include a Bosch gas stove and dishwasher and Frigidaire refrigerator.

The living/dining area features double-height 19-foot ceilings and transom windows on the second level. There's a custom bookcase wall unit and an entertainment center with a full 7.1 surround-sound system.

From here, you step down into a den/office area with a wall of tall windows with canvas curtains, overlooking a large East Boston park out front. Along one side the current owner added a beige river clay brick wall and a speakeasy-style chandelier overhead.

The spiral staircase winds up to the second-level loft bedroom. This room has mahogany floors, a wall of front windows and block dividers — but no railing — at the edge of the double height living/dining area. There's an en-suite bathroom with black ceramic tile floors, a mounted sink, a white subway tile walled shower/tub and a newly installed custom medicine cabinet.

An adjacent utility room holds a new LG combination washer/dryer, a water heater and the unit's gas-fired heating and central air-conditioning systems.

The unit comes with three deeded on-site parking spaces, two tandem spaces in the garage and one outside.

The Porter Lofts has a fifth-floor community room with a kitchen, library area, Wi-Fi and flat-screen TV. Across the hall is a common roof deck with panoramic views of downtown Boston, the Seaport and out over East Boston.

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Ex-Microsoft manager: 2 years for insider trading

SEATTLE — A former senior Microsoft manager who pleaded guilty to feeding inside information to a stock trader was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for insider trading.

The U.S. attorney's office says the two men made $415,000 from three trades.

Brian Jorgenson, 32, was a senior manager in Microsoft Corp.'s Treasury Group when he provided the information to his friend Sean Stokke, 28, of Seattle, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court. They were accused of trading on three corporate developments: two quarterly earnings reports and Microsoft's 2012 investment in Barnes & Noble Inc.

"I cheated," Jorgenson told the court Friday. "I tried to take a shortcut for my own financial gain ... I persuaded myself it was a gray area, when it clearly was black and white."

Jorgenson's codefendant, Stokke, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison.

"Western Washington abounds in publicly traded companies with thousands of insiders who have daily access to market-moving information," U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said. "The sentence in this case should serve as a warning to others who might be tempted to engage in this conduct."

The pair accumulated Barnes & Noble stock options in advance of Microsoft's announcement that it was investing in the company's digital book business, the FBI said. The announcement caused Barnes & Noble's stock to jump by nearly half, and the pair made $184,000.

They are also accused of trading on Microsoft's failure to meet earnings expectations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 and Microsoft's increased first-quarter profit in fiscal 2014.

Jorgenson, a married father of four from the north Seattle suburb of Lynnwood, joined Microsoft in January 2011.

When Jorgenson was charged last December, Microsoft said in a written statement that the company has no tolerance for insider trading. "We helped the government with its investigation and terminated the employee," the statement said.

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Nevada complaint seeks to require condoms in porn

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China's inflation stays at 2.3 percent in July

BEIJING — China's consumer price index rose 2.3 percent in July from a year earlier, well below the ruling Communist Party's 3.5 percent target for the year.

The latest inflation rate was unchanged from June, according to data released Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The rise in the index was driven largely by higher food prices, which increased by 3.6 percent. Prices for fruits and eggs rose the fastest.

Experts expect the inflation to stay stable this year, leaving room for interest rate cuts or other measures to stimulate the economy if necessary.

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Judge grants preliminary injunction to Lionsgate over 'Expendables 3' piracy

Lionsgate was granted a preliminary injunction on Friday in its attempt to limit the scope of piracy of "The Expendables 3" after a leaked high-quality copy of the film showed up on file-sharing sites.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow earlier this week issued a temporary restraining orderbarring six sites from linking or hosting copies of the movie. But she extended that to an injunction after none of them responded.

Her order also prohibits any third party from "taking any action that induces, causes or materially contributes to" the infringement of Lionsgate's copyright, including hosting, linking or providing access to such things as torrent files and trackers. She also ordered banks, payment processors and advertisers to shut down accounts connected to the sites.

In court filings, Lionsgate said that the copy of the movie was obtained through "fraudulent or otherwise unlawful means." Within days of its July 24 discovery of the leak, the film was available on hundreds of websites. As of July 31, it was downloaded 2.1 million times worldwide on peer-to-peer networks, including 247,000 downloads in the U.S., according to the studio. About 21,000 of them were in the Los Angeles area.

Lionsgate also estimates that the movie was downloaded or streamed on "hundreds of thousands, or millions" of time outside of peer-to-peer networks. The studio's contractor, MarkMonitor, sent 2,770 takedown notices, and while most complied, the studio named some of those that did not in its complaint. They include limetorrents.com, billionuploads.com, hulkfile.eu, played.to, swankshare.com and dotsemper.com.

Lionsgate said that an investigation of the leak is ongoing.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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