Transkaryotic sharestumble
Transkaryotic Therapy Inc. shares dropped 23.52 percent yesterday, to $13.04, on news that it would abandon efforts to seek U.S. approval of its Fabry disease treatment, Replagal. The Cambridge company would have had to prove that its treatment is better than that of its crosstown competitor, Genzyme Corp. – STAFF
Perini lands contract
WASHINGTON – Massachusetts-based Perini Corp is among companies awarded 10 construction contracts with a ceiling value of up to $15 billion to support U.S. military operations in nations from Iraq to Afghanistan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday. Other winning companies included units of Fluor Corp., oil services company Halliburton and privately held engineering giant Parsons Corp. – REUTERS
Feds revisit Fleet loan
A FleetBoston Financial Corp. construction loan of $10 million is under review by federal bank regulators after the New Jersey borrower complained he was pressured to buy other products by the bank to get the loan. The loan was made by Summit Bank, which Fleet bought in 2001. – BLOOMBERG
Trades surprised Putnam
Putnam Investments wasn’t aware of the “seriousness” of the improper trading by managers, which led to civil fraud charges against the sixth-biggest U.S. mutual fund company, said George Putnam III, president of the fund’s board of trustees since 2000. His grandfather founded the firm, now owned by Marsh & McLennan Cos. – BLOOMBERG
Ad shop buys S.C. firm
Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos Inc., a unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., said yesterday that it acquired South Carolina’s biggest advertising and marketing firm, Erwin- Penland Inc., for an undisclosed sum. Erwin-Penland’s clients include Verizon Wireless, Michelin North America and BMW. – STAFF
CVS benefits from flu
CVS Corp. said yesterday that profit for the year just ended rose more than the company forecast because an early flu season helped boost drug sales 9.1 percent last quarter. Profit for the year ended Jan. 3 is expected to exceed an estimate of as much as $2 a share, the company said in a statement. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast profit of $1.98 a share. – BLOOMBERG
Tyco trial focuses on fee
NEW YORK – A hedge fund manager testified yesterday that Tyco International Ltd.’s former CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski, assured in a January 2002 conversation that the company’s board had signed off on a $20million investment banking fee for a director. Several directors have testified that they didn’t find out about the payment until they saw a draft proxy in January 2002. – DOW JONES
