Boston.com -- Top business news

Hydrogen-powered win for Northeastern engineers

2009-11-30T03:03:09Z

Prototype The dream of a “hydrogen economy’’ isn’t dead yet. A group of Northeastern University students showed the judges at a competition last week in Nashville how autos can make hydrogen under their hoods - thus eliminating the need to create a new nationwide network of hydrogen filling stations.

Agriculture futures higher, livestock prices mixed

2009-11-30T16:25:49Z

Agriculture futures were mostly higher early Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for March delivery jumped 14.25 cents to $5.84 a bushel; March corn gained 2.25 cents to $4.1575 a bushel; January soybeans gained 10.5 cents to $10.635 a bushel; and March oats were unchanged at $2.685 a bushel.

Narcolepsy research triggers myriad brain studies

Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff — 2009-11-30T02:48:53Z

Research into an unusual sleep disorder is unraveling what goes awry in the brains of people who fall prey to daytime sleep attacks - and shedding light on everything from addiction to appetite.

Rates on 30-year mortgages sink, match record low

2009-11-25T16:36:01Z

Average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, matching a record low set last spring and more than a full percentage point below what they were a year ago, Freddie Mac said Wednesday.

Housing data points to rocky rebound

Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer — 2009-11-25T05:11:04Z

Sales of new homes rose more than 6 percent in October. But that was only because of strong results in the South.

Home sales rise in Mass.

Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff — 2009-11-25T03:51:41Z

Massachusetts home buyers are off the sidelines, purchasing homes in increasing numbers, despite some sellers’ reluctance to put houses on the market, real estate figures released yesterday show.

From crumbling to chic

Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff — 2009-09-30T02:40:40Z

HAVERHILL - On the once-contaminated site of a decaying shoe factory, a thriving neighborhood is growing with the opening of hundreds of chic apartments, part of a renaissance in this Merrimack River mill city, which has seen plenty of hard times.

Amid high unemployment, some positions hard to fill

Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff — 2009-11-25T03:45:25Z

Even with the country’s unemployment rate at its highest in decades, some companies are having trouble hiring highly skilled employees.

The caring community

Maggie Jackson, Globe correspondent — 2008-11-09T05:00:00Z

WINCHESTER - Anne Lang, head of human resources at Winchester Hospital, pulls out a simple, black box and flips it open. Inside is a small but telling stack of reasons why this 229-bed community hospital is the state's top place to work.

Gas prices 80 cents above year-ago levels

Mark Williams, AP Energy Writer — 2009-11-30T08:35:41Z

The gap between what drivers are paying for gasoline compared with a year ago is widening and figures to get worse between now and the end of the year.