New group helps artists brush up biz skills

A new hub for artists trying to mix their creativity with business savvy is holding its annual Marketplace tomorrow in Somerville.

Jessica Burko, a mixed-media artist, photographer and founder and director of Boston Handmade, is holding the event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow in Union Square.

"Our group exists to support creative entrepreneurs in their microbusinesses," said Burko, 40, of Roslindale. "When you go to art school, you don't necessarily get any business training. So our group is all about filling that gap."

Boston Handmade also offers workshops on topics such as how to use social media to market your business.

"I really wanted to meet a group of fellow artists and crafts people like that to bounce ideas off of," said Dana Garczewski, an illustrator whose studio, The Patterned Peacock, is in Watertown.

Garczewski, 36, sees events like the Boston Handmade Marketplace as a chance to show people the value of buying goods handmade locally.

"It's an opportunity to get to know the artists in your own backyard," she said, "and experience art and crafts in a very hands-on way."

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Traditional exterior hides modern home

This stylish new townhouse is one of six similar available units that's bringing a contemporary look to a traditional but highly desirable Somerville neighborhood between Davis and Teele squares.

Each unit at 39-43 Elmwood St. has four levels of living space and features a private outdoor deck carved into its roof. The exteriors of the two buildings are Hardieplank clapboard with white trim with gables as a nod to the existing neighborhood. But the interiors are completely contemporary.

The units feature high-tech components such as iBot smart-home technology, Nest learning thermostats, Sonos music systems and Kohler digital shower valves. Units also come with induction cooktops, Navien tankless water heaters and high-efficiency gas heating and central air-conditioning systems.

In the staged model unit, you enter via a small front porch into a 15-foot high foyer and step up into an open, recessed-lit living/dining area with 13-foot ceilings, oak-stained floors and lots of tall windows with transoms above. In one corner sits a horizontal gas fireplace with a metallic porcelain finished surround. And overhead is built-in surround sound with a Sonos music system that can be operated through a smartphone or iPad.

It's a half flight up to a high-end kitchen, which features custom maple cabinetry including a recipe desk. There are white quartz countertops with glass mosaic backsplash and a quartz island/breakfast bar with contemporary pendant light­ing. High-end Energy­Star appliances include a Sub Zero refrigerator, a Bosch dishwasher and wall ovens and a Bosch electric induction cooktop. Off the kitchen is a half-bath.

The second floor features two bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a closet with a washer/dryer hookup. The oak-floored master bedroom has a walk-in closet with built-in wardrobe system. The en-suite porcelain-tiled bathroom has a walk-in shower with a stylish rolling glass door and a Kohler DTV digital shower valve.

The second bedroom is a bit on the small side, but there is a second full porcelain bathroom with a white subway tile surround for a tub/shower.

The third floor features a third bedroom, a flex space that could also be a home office, study or gym. It opens out onto a private deck cut into the roof of the building.

The lower level features direct access to a one-car garage and a half flight farther down to a carpeted space, ideal for a family room, with an adjacent half bathroom.

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Mohegan deal NETS hub $30M upfront

Mayor Martin J. Walsh cut a casino deal with Mohegan Sun that contains lower minimums and maximums than his predecessor's — but pays Boston a higher percentage of gaming revenues up to $1 billion — but he will let the gaming panel decide what the Hub gets if Wynn Resorts' Everett bid wins the area's sole gambling license.

Walsh signed a surrounding community agreement with Mohegan yesterday that pays $30 million upfront, a minimum of $18 million in gaming revenue, and 
$45 million to improve Route 1A traffic and infrastructure.

"Everything that we pretty much wanted, we were able to achieve," said Walsh, who reached a separate pact with Suffolk Downs, Mohegan's landlord, to keep the track open for the life of the casino.

Mohegan CEO Mitchell Etess said the deal is "yet another clear demonstration why Mohegan Sun Massachusetts is the best choice for the commonwealth."

Walsh had said the deal would be "minus taxes, a little bit better" than Mayor Thomas Menino's defunct host pact with Suffolk Downs. Both pay Boston about the same upfront for projects in East Boston, but some terms are less favorable.

Under Menino's deal, Boston would never receive less than 
$32 million annually, a figure that included property taxes. Walsh agreed to an $18 million minimum, but increased the percentage Boston will get on up to $1 billion in gaming revenue.

Menino's deal paid Boston between 0.5 and 0.7 percent of gaming revenues of as high as $880 million, and 
2 percent between $1 billion and $1.009 billion. Walsh's deal pays 2.09 percent of revenues between $850 million and $875 million, and the maximum 
2.25 percent of revenues of $1 billion. Menino's revenue scale maxed out at $1.24 billion, of which the city would have reaped 4.4 percent.

Also yesterday, Walsh said he will not take part in arbitration with Wynn Resorts because, he said, the Las Vegas company hasn't divulged project details the city needs. Thus, Walsh said, the law calls on the commission, whose prior decisions he has slammed, to decide.

"They've made all the decisions along the way for Boston up to this point," Walsh said. "I'm going to let them make the decision."

Spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the commission hopes Boston will still negotiate with Wynn, but "failing that, the commission has a number of alternatives."

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GFC builds striking, sustainable condos

It's not easy to get contemporary architecture built in the area's traditional neighborhoods of two- and three-family houses.

But one local development company has created a niche by hiring architects to create housing to attract design-conscious buyers. For Charles Aggouras and Daniel DiPierro of GFC Development, progressive design along with a focus on sustainability differentiates their condos from others on the market.

"We've developed a successful niche by appealing to buyers who want a contemporary look with stylish details and high-efficiency green systems," said GFC president Aggouras.

Aggouras thinks contemporary design is "cool," and he sees it going hand-in-hand with sustainable development.

Aggouras said designing green does more than just save energy: "You build with better windows, insulation, roofing, and in the end create a better product." At 57 Endicott Ave., just off Teele Square in Somerville, GFC built a contemporary-style three-unit eco-friendly building whose exterior was clad with red corrugated steel in a neighborhood of two-family wood homes.

"The neighbors were aghast, but the project sold out very quickly," said architect Jim Zagewitz of MZO Group, who has designed a number of GFC's developments. "A lot of this is driven by millen­nials looking for something different, and there's also a lot of buyers from overseas who feel more comfortable with contemporary design than our traditional gables."

Aggouras' belief in sustainability led him to do a zero net energy house, one that produces more energy than it uses, on city-owned land at 64 Catherine St. on the Jamaica Plain/­Roslindale line. The two-unit project, part of Boston's E+ demonstration program, had to have optimal south-facing roofs for solar photo­voltaic panels, making for a nontraditional shape.

GFC's 15-unit Maxwell's Green townhouse condos near Magoun Square and the five units at 6-8 Beacon St. in Somerville had contemporary design and sold quickly at high prices. They are designed with what's become GFC's signature look, an exterior that combines corrugated metal, cedar, Hardieplank and architectural stone block with very tall windows.

The three/four level interiors have high ceilings, staircases with glass railings, flex rooms for third bedrooms, private balconies and attached one-car garages on the bottom floor. And they include home auto­mation, music systems, Euro-style appliances and fixtures and tankless water heaters — along with such touches as showers with linear drains.

"When we come to the neighborhoods with our designs, they aren't drawn on a cocktail napkin," Aggouras said. "A lot of thought goes into the design of each one. It's a lot more work and takes more time. But we do it because we want to be proud of what we do."

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Mayor Walsh joins federal push for vet housing

The city's homeless veterans should all have roofs over their heads by the end of 2015, Mayor Martin J. Walsh vowed yesterday as he challenged real estate owners and landlords to help make it happen.

"I don't think it's a daunting promise. I think it's our obligation to do it," Walsh said. "We need the entire city to pull together."

The initiative called "Boston Homes for the Brave" seeks to house the city's 400 homeless veterans and is part of the federal Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. Walsh said landlords may need to offer discounts or whatever it takes to help vets.

Jamie Maddox, 59, a homeless vet, tearfully described his return to the New England Center for Homeless Veterans in Boston where he found "a lot of love" — and the help he needed to get back on his feet.

Federal, state and city agencies will begin putting together the technology and strategies that will help identify veterans and connect them to supporters, housing and employment.

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Experts see job growth for CEOs, other execs

Massachusetts executives are on track to switch jobs at a greater rate than last year as the companies prepare to emerge from their recession-induced hibernation and start expanding again, experts said.

"As a general rule, when there's a lot of management change, (the economy is) actually better," said Richard Jacovitz, senior vice president of Liberum Research. "It's starting to trend up again,"

So far in 2014, 126 executive positions in public companies have been filled either through promotions or new hires, compared to 221 over the entirety of 2013, according to Liberum.

CEO changes around the country this year have also outpaced 2013, with 661 through June compared to 1,246 in 2013, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an employment research firm. Massachusetts companies account for 19 of the CEO departures.

Included in the departures this year are William Swanson, former CEO of Raytheon, Robert Kauffman, chief medical officer for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and James Malerba, executive vice president of State Street.

"You've got an economy that has stabilized," said Rick Cobb, executive vice-president of Challenger, Gray and Christmas. "The company management team tends to shift from maintenance to, 'Let's see if we can up our game and take it to the next level.' "

As the economy has improved, companies are moving away from stopping losses and saving every penny to looking for potential investments and longer-term growth opportunities.

Since the beginning of 2014, the unemployment rate has dropped .5 percent and the S&P 500 is up 6.73 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen nearly 2.5 percent.

Companies are willing to make changes and make a different, strategic change," Jacovitz said.

Retirements are not necessarily related to the economy, but lately many have been, Cobb said.

"There's a lot of people who took the reins in 2008, 2009," Cobb said. Those executives who put off retirement to bring their firms through the recession are now stepping down, in part because their jobs seem to be done, but also in part because improvements to the stock market make various stock options and their pension more lucrative.

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Four Hub-area Crumbs Bake Shops shut down

The nation's cupcake craze could be crumbling given Monday's abrupt shutdown of the nation's largest specialty chain dispensing the baked goodies.

New York's Crumbs Bake Shop closed its 48 stores a week after disclosing Nasdaq was delisting its stock — a move that would trigger defaults on nearly 
$14.5 million in loans.

The 11-year-old company, which lost $23 million in the past two fiscal years, tried to boost sales in April by selling its cupcakes and other treats at Westboro-based BJ's Wholesale Club's stores.

While being publicly traded likely pressured Crumbs to grow quickly, multiple factors are working against cupcake bakeries, including market saturation, the economy and a fad that's "fading out," said Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst at market research firm NPD Group. "(The cupcakes) are very pricey. It's a highly discretionary purchase, and it's also something that you don't buy on a regular basis. The market is just not big enough to sustain a number of these concepts."

With four shops in Boston, Burlington and Natick, Crumbs competed locally with Hub-based Sweet Cupcakes, Somerville's Kickass Cupcakes, Needham-based Treat Cupcake Bar and Washington, D.C.-based Georgetown Cupcake.

But for Sweet — Boston's first dedicated cupcake chain in 2008, now with six locations — sales still are going strong, said owner Courtney Forrester: "I don't think of fresh baked desserts as being a fad. We are fortunate to be enjoying success ... and just continue to focus on really good, fresh baked products, the best services and really nice store environments."

Sweet opened in Newton in May. "We had been getting a lot of delivery requests out in the western suburbs, which in the past has been a good, solid gauge for us of customer demands," she said.

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China inflation eases to 2.3 percent in June

HONG KONG — China's inflation rate eased to 2.3 percent in June as politically sensitive food prices softened.

Inflation remains below the 3.5 percent annual target set by the ruling Communist Party. That gives authorities room to cut interest rates or use finely tuned boosting measures if needed to shore up the slowing economy.

Government data Wednesday showed that food costs rose 3.7 percent last month after surging 4.1 percent the month before on a rebound in prices for pork, a staple meat in China.

Excluding food costs, June inflation was 1.7 percent.

Inflation fell from 2.5 percent in May, the highest rate since January, when it was at the same level.

Economists said they expected Chinese consumer prices to remain largely stable this year.

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Asian stocks drift after US pulls back from highs

TOKYO — Asian stock markets drifted lower Tuesday after U.S. indexes pulled back from record highs and investors awaited fresh data from China.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index tracked Wall Street's declines, slipping 0.2 percent to 15,351.25 despite fresh data showing the current account surplus was larger than expected in May.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.1 percent to 2,003.21 after Samsung announced its operating profit fell 24 percent from a year earlier in the April-June quarter due to the strong won and slowing smartphone sales in China.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent to 23,509.77. Elsewhere in Asia, shares were lower in Shanghai, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan but rose in Indonesia and Malaysia.

China is due to release inflation figures, which are a key indicator for both policy and economic performance, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, investors are also watching for the outcome of a presidential election Thursday in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and the third-largest democracy.

"With a lack of strong catalysts for the market today, investors are likely to position themselves for tomorrow's data from China ... and developments from the Indonesian elections," IG said in a market commentary.

Global stock markets fell Monday after U.S. indexes last week rallied to new highs following a government report that showed the world's largest economy generated a stronger-than-expected 288,000 jobs in June.

As investors began bracing for earnings reports in the coming weeks, the Dow fell 0.3 percent to 17,024.21, having closed above 17,000 for the first time on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 1,977.65.

In Europe, France's CAC-40 fell 1.4 percent to close at 4,405.76 while Germany's DAX dropped 1 percent to 9,906.07. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent to 6,823.51.

In energy markets, U.S. crude for August delivery was down 8 cents to $103.435 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 53 cents to close at $103.53 on Monday.

In currency trading, the euro slipped to $1.3603 from $1.3608 on Monday. The dollar was little changed at 101.83 yen from 101.82 yen.

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Samsung earnings hit by slowing China sales

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics Co. said operating profit declined to a two-year low in the second quarter, hit by the strong local currency and slowing demand for smartphones in China.

The result highlights how dependent the company has become on smartphones for its earnings. Sales growth in high-end Android devices has waned after several years of rapid expansion. Growth remains robust in emerging markets where cheap competitors have sprung up.

The South Korean electronics giant said Tuesday its operating income was 7.2 trillion won ($7.1 billion) for the three months ended June 30, down 24 percent from a year earlier. That was significantly below analysts' expectations of about 8 trillion won. The company releases its full quarterly financial results later in the month.

The figure was the lowest since the second quarter of 2012 when Samsung's income was 6.5 trillion won. Since then, Samsung's operating profit hasn't fallen below 8 trillion won, largely driven by robust sales of Galaxy smartphones.

Quarterly sales fell 10 percent from the previous year to 52 trillion won.

Samsung, which usually doesn't elaborate on its financial performance until its full report later in the month, issued a rare statement to explain its result, which Nomura analyst Chung Chang-won described as "very disappointing."

The company blamed the lower profit on the South Korean currency's appreciation against the U.S. dollar and the euro, as well as most emerging market currencies. The won hit a 6-year high against the U.S. dollar earlier this month.

It also said sales of medium- and low-end smartphones were weak in China and in some European countries because of stronger competition and sluggish demand. Fewer consumers in China bought handsets that run on 3G mobile networks as they waited for faster 4G networks.

Samsung, which earlier this year vowed to aggressively expand its tablet sales, acknowledged it faced some challenges in selling tablet computers. Consumers weren't replacing their tablet PCs as often as smartphones, while smartphones with a giant screen of 5 or 6 inches, such as Samsung's Galaxy Note series, replaced demand for smaller tablets that measure about 7 or 8 inches.

"Expectations have been lowered on Samsung," said Will Cho, an analyst at KDB Daewoo Securities. "With intensified competition in the mid- and low-end smartphones, it will be tough to stay as lucrative as in the past."

About three in every 10 smartphones sold globally were made by Samsung in 2013 and the company's handset sales will likely improve during the current quarter. But Cho said how much profit it can take would be more important than how many handsets it can sell because most sales growth would come from cheap smartphones.

In the cheap smartphone market, Samsung faces an uphill battle against brands such as Xiaomi and Lenovo.

Xiaomi, an upstart Chinese company that is moving into other Asian countries, surprised the industry with its $100-level smartphones that were snapped up by fans. Counterpoint Technology Market Research said last month that Xiaomi's $130 smartphone Redmi was the most-sold mobile device in China in April, beating Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy.

Samsung shifted its focus to affordable smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, such as the Gear smartwatches, to offset falling profit but they are yet to arrest the declining earnings from smartphones and components in mobile devices that Samsung supplies such as memory chips and display screens.

Shares of Samsung traded 0.5 percent higher in Seoul as the company gave an outlook that appeared to reassure investors.

"The company cautiously expects a more positive outlook in the third quarter with the coming release of its new smartphone lineup," it said. "Samsung expects stronger smartphone sales and this will have a positive impact on the company's display panel businesses."

But some analysts were not convinced about Samsung's long-term prospects.

"Though we anticipate some positive earnings impact for the component businesses (in the third quarter), we see growing uncertainty over Samsung's future earnings in the long-term," Chung, the Nomura Financial Investment analyst, said in a commentary.

Chung cited Apple's upcoming release of the iPhone 6, the increasing difficulty in standing out from a plethora of other Android devices and the falling appeal of premium smartphones, a reminder of the PC market that came to be flooded with cheap almost identical products.

Samsung is expected to announce an upgrade of the Galaxy Note series in the fall around the time when Apple usually upgrades its iPhone.

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