Verizon agrees to stake from Vodafone for $130B

NEW YORK — Verizon will own its wireless business outright after agreeing to a $130 billion deal to buy the 45 percent stake of Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone carrier Vodafone.

The buyout, the second-largest acquisition deal on record, would give Vodafone PLC additional cash to pursue its expansion ambitions in Europe. It would also give Verizon Communications Inc., the opportunity to boost its quarterly earnings, as it would no longer have to share a portion of proceeds from the nation's No. 1 wireless carrier with Vodafone.

The deal isn't expected to have much of an effect on Verizon consumers or on the company's operations. Vodafone had little influence on Verizon Wireless' day-to-day operations, and the two companies have kept out of each other's territory.

The Verizon-Vodafone partnership started in 2000, when what was then Bell Atlantic combined its East Coast wireless network with Vodafone's operations on the West Coast. Vodafone had entered the U.S. market a year earlier by outbidding Bell Atlantic to buy AirTouch Communications Inc. of San Francisco.

Verizon has had a long-standing interest in buying out its partner, but the two companies hadn't agreed on a price until now. Analysts said Verizon wanted to pay around $100 billion for Vodafone's stake, while reports suggested that Vodafone was pressing for the $130 billion.

The largest deal on record is Vodafone's $172 billion acquisition of Mannesmann AG in 2000, according to research firm Dealogic. Verizon's buyout of Vodafone should be completed in the first quarter of 2014, the companies said.

Vodafone is already one of the world's largest cellphone companies and has its sights set on dominating media services in Europe, its biggest market. The company is making a takeover bid for Germany's biggest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland.

The deal comes amid a changing telecommunications landscape in the U.S. The wireless business has been lucrative for Verizon Communications as traditional landline services decline. But the company faces growing competition in a saturated market. No. 4 T-Mobile US Inc., for instance, is making a resurgence after shattering industry conventions, including two-year service contracts.

In the April-to-June quarter, Verizon Wireless added 941,000 devices to its contract-based plans, exceeding analyst estimates and continuing a strong run. It boosted service revenue by 8.3 percent from a year ago. Its closest rival, AT&T, is seeing revenue increases of around 4 percent.

But almost all of Verizon's gains on the wireless side resulted from customers upgrading to higher-priced plans or adding more devices to their existing plans, rather than an influx of new customers.

Meanwhile, No. 3 wireless company Sprint Corp. received a $21.6 billion investment from SoftBank Corp. in July, giving the Japanese investment firm a 78 percent stake. T-Mobile grew larger through a merger with smaller rival MetroPCS on April 30.

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Chef goes for home plate

For six years, Steve "Nookie" Postal was the executive chef for the Boston Red Sox, but last March he left to pursue his real dream: to open a farm-to-table restaurant and market of his own named Commonwealth.

The 37-year-old found the perfect location at 11 Broad Canal Way in Cambridge's Kendall Square and managed to raise more than $2 million from private investors — just enough to pay for rent and construction, but not enough to pay for kitchen equipment and basics like silverware, plates, glasses and servingware.

So last Monday, Postal launched a monthlong Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for Commonwealth. Within four days, he was nearly halfway toward his goal, with 72 backers pledging $19,910.

"We really need to keep pushing along," he said. "Every little bit really does add up. If we don't reach our goal, we get nothing."

Crowdfunding is used to support all manner of things, from art to political campaigns to citizen journalism. But Massachusetts Restaurant Association President Bob Luz has never heard of it funding an eatery and market.

"It's a very unique approach, relatively low-risk, spread across a lot of people," Luz said. "I don't know what's in it for them, but if I have a great idea for a restaurant, I can't find a bank that's going to finance it, but I can find a lot of people who agree with me that it's a great idea. I can build the American dream with that. If it works, it'll be a kick in the pants to all the young entrepreneurs looking for a way to go out on their own."

So what is in it for Postal's backers? Try a jar of his homemade jam and a bag of his Killer Barbecue Rub for a pledge of $25, or a pig roast for up to 100 people on the restaurant's roof deck for $10,000 or more.

"You get the reward," Postal said, "and then you get to support a local business that supports local farms."

If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, Commonwealth will open in mid-October with a different menu every day, depending on what's in season, he said.

Meals will be served family-style, with takeout as an option, making the market the only one in Kendall Square where you'll be able to buy basics like farm-fresh vegetables, milk and eggs, as well as pasta, sandwiches and ice cream — all in a setting that, with its reclaimed furniture and tables made of recycled pallets, could be a welcome contrast to the neighborhood's sleek modernism.

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The Ticker

Dealers OK Foxwoods contract by big margin

Dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino have overwhelmingly ratified a contract that raises salaries and preserves what the union says is the dealers' right to decide how to distribute tips.

Local 2121 of the United Auto Workers said on its website following voting on Thursday and Saturday that dealers voted 908 to 102 in favor of the contract. The union represents nearly 2,000 table game dealers.

Dealers will receive a 25-cent-per-hour raise retroactive to March 1, 2012 and an additional 90 cents an hour more over three years, through 2015. Wages in total are set to rise 11.5 percent.

Foxwoods, which is proposing a resort casino in Massachusetts, has been under financial pressure since the recession in 2008 and the weak recovery.

Group to protest Mass. nuke plant

The recent announcement that the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant would close at the end of 2014 has focused renewed attention on the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth. Both are owned by Entergy Corp.

An anti-nuclear group called Cape Downwinders plans a rally today near the Sagamore Bridge, hoping to catch the attention of visitors leaving Cape Cod at the end of the Labor Day weekend. The group says Cape residents and tourists could be trapped if a serious accident ever occurred at Pilgrim.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted last year to relicense Pilgrim through 2032. The plant's operators say the facility is safe and secure, adding that it produces 10 percent of Massachusetts' electrical needs.

Gov. Deval Patrick said recently that it wasn't clear to him whether the state needed Pilgrim.

TODAY

 U.S. stock and bond market is closed for Labor Day.

TOMORROW

 Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for August.

 Commerce Department releases construction spending for July.

 OECD updates its world economic outlook with interim assessment of its May 2013 forecasts.

 Hebrew SeniorLife, a provider of senior health care and communities in New England, announced the appointment of Helen Chen, left, as chief medical officer for Hebrew SeniorLife Health Care Services and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. She served as CMO at the Center for Elders' Independence in Oakland, a nonprofit program of all-inclusive care for the elderly.

 Desalitech, a provider of high-efficiency water and effluent treatment solutions, has appointed Mike Spinhirne to be the company's senior vice president of sales. Spinhirne will be responsible for managing the company's market strategy and overseeing U.S. industrial sales.

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David Frost's most memorable interviews

LONDON — Veteran British broadcaster David Frost set a milestone in TV history when he drew extraordinary admissions from disgraced former President Richard Nixon in 1977. Armed with ambition, talent and a remarkable contacts book, Frost sat down with many other world leaders and the biggest names in show business over half a century. Here are some highlights from some of his most prominent interviews.

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RICHARD NIXON, 1977

Over almost 30 hours of interviews with Nixon, who resigned three years earlier in disgrace over the Watergate scandal, Frost pressed the ex-president to acknowledge and apologize for his wrongdoing in office. Frost managed to get the following remarkable responses.

Frost: "I think people need to hear it, and I think unless you say it, you're going to be haunted for the rest of your life."

Nixon: "I let down my friends. I let down the country. I let down our system of government and the dreams of all those young people that ought to get into government but will think it is all too corrupt and the rest. .... And I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life."

Frost: "So what you are saying is that there are certain situations ... where the president can decide that it's in the best interest of the nation or something, and do something illegal?"

Nixon: "Well when the president does it that means that it is not illegal."

Frost: "By definition?"

Nixon: "Exactly."

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MUHAMMAD ALI, 1974

Frost interviewed the legendary heavyweight boxer, then 32, inside a boxing ring, ahead of his landmark fight with George Foreman, when most people wrongly thought Ali would lose. But Ali was animated and brimming with confidence in the interview.

Ali: "I think it is befitting that I go out of boxing just like I came in, defeating a big, bad monster that nobody could destroy... Listen David, when I meet this man, if you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whip Foreman's behind."

The boxer continued, partly talking directly to the camera, then standing up to caricature Foreman: "Listen, George Foreman, people are afraid of George Foreman. They talk about how hard he hits. The world has been deceived. You listen to me. You listen to me now, I never told you wrong. The man don't hit hard."

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MARGARET THATCHER, 1985

In 1985 Frost grilled the prime minister about the sinking of the Argentine ship Belgrano by a British submarine that killed 323 sailors during the Falklands conflict.

As Frost pressed on with questions about what had happened, a visibly ruffled Thatcher sternly defended her decision to attack the ship. After being confronted with a barrage of questions, Thatcher finally said in frustration: "Do you think, Mr. Frost, that I spend my days prowling round the pigeon holes of the Ministry of Defense to look at the chart of each and every ship? If you do you must be bonkers."

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MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, 1993

In an interview with the former Soviet Union leader, Frost asked about communism, his legacy, and his relationship with, and views of, Thatcher.

Gorbachev: "It was not too easy to begin with ... but I felt from the start I could deal with her. I regarded her as an outstanding woman and a major political force. I was far from sharing all her opinions. ... Many sharp words were exchanged. I could never agree to the way she felt about nuclear weapons. She was too attracted to nuclear weapons."

Frost: "Were you alike in character, do you think?"

Gorbachev, after a pause and a shrug: "That's difficult to answer. I think it's up to you to try to answer that. But she was an interesting human being."

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TONY BLAIR, 2002

Frost seemed to catch the British prime minister off-guard when he asked an unexpected question about his relationship with President George W. Bush in an interview.

Frost: "Do you pray together?"

Blair: "Pray together? How do you mean?"

Frost: "Do you say prayers together for peace, you and the president."

Blair: "Well we don't say prayers together, no, but I'm sure he in his way hopes for peace. I hope for peace too."

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BILL CLINTON

In an undated clip shown by the BBC Sunday, Frost was seen interviewing the former U.S. president about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

Frost: "Did you love her?"

Clinton responded: "No. I don't think that's what that was about. On either side. But I liked her very much."

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China's new leaders exert control over oil company

BEIJING — China's new leaders are asserting their authority over the country's biggest company with a corruption investigation that has netted five former and current top oil executives, including the latest — the former chairman of the company.

The announcement by the Ministry of Supervision on Sunday of an investigation into Jiang Jiemin, director of the Cabinet's commission that runs state companies, marks the latest high-profile corruption case to be launched after China's new leader Xi Jinping took power in November.

The investigation into Jiang, who was previously chairman of the country's biggest oil company, China National Petroleum Corp., comes after similar probes were announced over the past week into four executives at the state-owned company.

The widening probe into top oil executives comes as reports say China's top leaders have endorsed a corruption investigation into Zhou Yongkang, a former security czar who was perceived as being influential in the oil sector. Zhou built his career in the state-run oil sector, rising to becoming general manager of CNPC.

Ahead of a key Communist Party meeting in November that in years past has been a platform for the announcement of economic programs, the administration of Xi, China's president, and Premier Li Keqiang, appears to be making a stab at tackling the powerful interest groups many experts say have hamstrung the government.

Such vested interest groups are linked to state industries that benefit from monopolies, low-cost bank loans, free land and other favors — and are therefore opposed to the market reforms experts say China needs to prevent growth from stagnating.

The crackdown on China's biggest company — also the second-largest oil company in the world — signals the new administration's determination to exert control over the powerful sector, said Cheng Li, a Brookings Institution scholar.

The leadership wants to show "that they've got a certain degree of consensus in the party's highest levels. That's not so easy to get, but they did," Li said. "There's also a clear message that Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang want to undermine these vested interest groups therefore to pave the way for more market-oriented reform."

Chinese authorities said Sunday that Jiang is being investigated over suspected serious disciplinary violations. The vague term is often shorthand in official Chinese announcements for allegations of corruption by a government official or manager of a state company. Jiang left his post as chairman of CNPC in March to head the Cabinet's Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

"The leadership is acutely aware that they must reel in the opposition or disarm it. They have gone on a concerted anti-corruption quest, which appeals to the general public, but is also a way of eliminating the opposition," Lombard Street Research said in a recent report. "A lot of the big state firms' senior managers sit on the Central Committee and they will need to be brought into line or discredited."

Jiang is the first current member of the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee, which includes the country's top 200 officials, to have fallen since the party's generational handover in November. Two other officials who are also under investigation were alternate members of the committee.

Authorities have announced a series of investigations into senior and lower level officials as President Xi Jinping has made a crackdown on corruption and extravagant, wasteful work styles a key feature of his first few months in power.

A general manager at state-owned phone company China Mobile was detained last month in connection with suspected discipline violations.

In July, former railways minister Liu Zhijun was given a suspended death sentence for bribery and abuse of power.

Last Monday, a high-profile corruption trial wrapped up for Bo Xilai, former party boss of the megacity of Chongqing.

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Surveys: China manufacturing improves in August

HONG KONG — Chinese manufacturing improved last month, two surveys showed, in the latest signs that a painful and prolonged slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy may be stabilizing.

The private HSBC purchasing managers' index released Monday showed a slight expansion in August after three months of contraction while an official survey the day before showed that output jumped to the highest level in 16 months.

"The two series are both on an improving trend, serving as another confirmation of a much-strengthened growth momentum in the third quarter," Societe Generale's China Economist Wei Yao said in a research note.

HSBC's PMI rose to 50.1 in August, after falling to an 11-month low in July, as output and new orders edged up slightly and order backlogs rose at the fastest pace in two years.

On Sunday, an official survey by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed manufacturing expanded for the second month in a row, rising to 51.0 from July's 50.3.

Both indexes use a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate contraction.

Domestic demand looks to be driving the improvement in manufacturing. HSBC's survey, which is tilted to small- and medium-sized private enterprises, found new export orders continued to decline because of sluggish demand in the U.S. and Europe. The federation's survey, meanwhile, gives an outsize representation to China's big state-owned enterprises, which hardly compete in export markets.

The signs of improvement in China's massive manufacturing industry will offer encouragement to China's leaders, who are trying to reverse a slowdown that's pulled economic growth to a two-decade low of 7.5 percent in the latest quarter.

"Growth in China's manufacturing sector has started to stabilize on the back of a modest rebound of new orders and output," said HSBC's chief China economist, Qu Hongbin. "This was mainly driven by the initial filtering through of recent stimulus measures and companies' restocking activities."

China's leaders say they're comfortable with slower growth as they try to steer the economy away from an export-driven model to one based on domestic consumption. They've opted for measures to bolster individual areas of the economy such as railways and small businesses rather than an across-the-board stimulus.

Analysts said the upbeat manufacturing reports ease pressure on policymakers to unleash more stimulus.

HSBC's survey, based on responses from 420 companies, confirms a preliminary version released last month.

Other recent signs of possible improvement in China's economy include a 10.9 percent surge in July imports that beat expectations, while exports grew 5.1 percent.

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Some flu vaccines promise a little more protection

WASHINGTON — It's time to get your flu vaccine, and this fall some brands promise a little extra protection.

For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three.

They're called quadrivalent vaccines, and they're so new that they'll make up only a fraction of the year's supply.

All the nasal spray vaccine sold in the U.S. this year will be the four-strain kind, and a few varieties of shots.

Specialists say that's just one of many flu vaccine options to choose from, not necessarily a better one.

The government recommends a yearly flu vaccine for nearly everyone, starting at 6 months of age.

Early fall is the ideal time, so protection kicks in before flu starts spreading.

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Grange membership falling, recruitment a challenge

DEER ISLE, Maine — At its peak, the Deer Isle Grange had close to 100 members. But this summer, the fraternal organization folded because it couldn't attract even seven members to its meetings, the number required to keep its state charter.

In an age when the Internet and television have replaced potluck dinners as a favored pastime, the Deer Isle Grange is the latest grange to go by the wayside. The Maine State Grange once had more than 60,000 members and was one of the most powerful lobbying forces in the state. Now there are about 135 community granges with just under 5,000 members, said Vicki Huff, master of the Maine State Grange.

Declining membership is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Grange, the nation's oldest farm and rural public interest organization. Nowadays, it's hard to persuade younger people to join, she said.

"It's a concern for any fraternal organization," she said. "To keep things going, you need new members. To get word out to the community, that's sometimes difficult."

Nobody knows that more than Jeanette Taylor, who headed the Deer Isle Grange for 11 years before it shut down in July. That grange was started in 1888, but its membership this year had dwindled to just 20.

"But most of them are well over the age of 70, so it was hard to keep it going," Taylor said.

The national group, officially called the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, was the first nationwide farm organization when it was founded in 1867, advocating for the causes of farmers. Local chapters, or granges, popped up across the country, their grange halls offering places where farmers could hold community events, meet neighbors, compare farm prices and band together for the good of the community.

But since topping out in the 1950s, membership has fallen steadily. From 1991 to 2012, active membership fell from about 270,000 to 70,000, and the number of local granges declined from roughly 3,900 to 2,000, according to the National Grange.

The heyday for Maine granges was in the 1950s, said Stanley Howe, a longtime grange member who wrote a book about the history of Maine's granges.

"For years the Grange ran the Maine Legislature. It was a very powerful organization. Almost everybody belonged to the Grange up until the 1950s," he said.

But membership started falling when television became popular in the '50s, giving people something else to do with their time, he said.

The latest two casualties were the Victory Grange in Orland, which closed last spring and merged with a Blue Hill grange, and the Deer Isle Grange.

But not all is doom and gloom, with several new granges opening up across the country the past couple of years.

In Maine, a new grange formed in Montville last summer, and a grange was revived in West Bath in June after being closed for a few years.

The West Bath Seaside Grange now has about 30 members, said John Brigance, 46, the grange master who helped get it off the ground. The grange, he said, will provide a place where people can get involved in the community by working together to help local organizations, schools and people in need.

The grange has a Facebook page and members as young as high school age. Still, it's difficult to recruit people, he said.

"In this day and age, to get people away from their television and computers for five minutes is a challenge," he said. "It's a challenge to show people it's still relevant."

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US probes Nissan Pathfinder fluid leak

NEW YORK — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that transmission cooler lines can leak fluid in some 2013 Nissan Pathfinders and Infiniti JX models, leading to a sudden loss of transmission power.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received reports of problems from five owners of Pathfinders. No injuries have been reported. The probe covers an estimated 110,000 cars.

The NHTSA has begun an evaluation to assess the size and safety-related consequences of the issue. Such probes can often lead to recalls.

Nissan said it has received a request for information from the NHTSA stemming from the reports of leaks. Spokesman Steve Yaeger said the company is working with the agency to address questions.

In addition, he said a repair procedure has already been developed for use by authorized Nissan and Infiniti dealers for vehicles that have the problem.

The Nissan Pathfinder and the Infiniti JX are both sport utility vehicles.

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Online: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/RecentInvestigations

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Chinese, European growth signs support stocks

LONDON — Evidence of a rebound in manufacturing activity in China and Europe helped global stock markets rise Monday, though Wall Street's closure for Labor Day kept trading volumes light.

The possibility of a U.S. military strike against Syria in retaliation for alleged chemical weapons use against civilians continued to overhang markets but the initial concern has abated. U.K. lawmakers voted against involvement and President Barack Obama decided to seek approval from Congress.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 added 1.5 percent to close at 6,506.19. Most of that gain was thanks to cellphone company Vodafone which said it was with in talks with Verizon to sell its U.S. mobile business. Confirmation of the $130 billion deal came after trading in London had finished for the day, but Vodafone's shares closed up 3.4 percent at 2.13 pounds on expectations of the purchase.

Meanwhile, Germany's DAX index ended the day up 1.74 percent to 8,243.87 while France's CAC-40 was up 1.84 percent to 4,006.01. Italian and Spanish stocks were also up after surveys showed manufacturing activity rose in the two countries, which are in recession and have been focal points of Europe's debt crisis.

Global sentiment was also earlier boosted by two surveys that showed China's manufacturing sector also improved last month after prolonged weakness.

The HSBC purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 points in August, a level that indicates expansion as output and new orders edged up slightly and order backlogs rose at the fastest pace in two years. The official China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing PMI rose to 51.0 from July's 50.3, which was the highest level and biggest increase this year.

Both indexes use a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate a contraction.

The signs of improvement in China's massive manufacturing industry are encouraging news for its overseas suppliers as Chinese leaders try to reverse a slowdown that's pulled economic growth to a two-decade low of 7.5 percent in the latest quarter.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 1.4 percent to close at 13,572.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2 percent to 22,175.34. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1 percent to 5,188.30. Benchmarks in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines fell.

Last week, markets had been buffeted by weak U.S. economic data. The U.S. government reported Friday that Americans' income and spending both increased just 0.1 percent in July. The scant rise suggested that economic growth was off to a weak start in the second half of the year. It followed other reports showing steep drops in new-home sales and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in July.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down $1.08 at $106.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as fears of military strikes on Syria continued to fade. The contract fell $1.15 on Friday.

In currencies, the euro dipped to $1.3190 from $1.3202. The dollar rose to 99.35 yen from 98.19 yen.

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