News

The U.S. Senate has passed an amendment that would reauthorize the popular Small Business Innovation Research program for eight years, but there are still two major hurdles to clear if a long-term reauthorization is to become a reality.For starters, there's…

The number of New Hampshire bankruptcy filings sank to their lowest level in three years last month.Some 338 bankruptcy filings were recorded in November, 31 fewer than in October and 90 fewer than in November 2010. They were at about…

The cost of health care and energy are of major concern to New Hampshire businesspeople, more than taxes, regulations and labor unions, according to a Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire survey released Tuesday.Of course, the biggest concern of…

White Mountains Insurance Group has rewarded its top executives with $6.75 million in special bonuses for their work in building up and selling off the company's Esurance and Answer Financial units, the company disclosed last week to the Securities and…

A Bedford-based Internet trading corporation is actually a Ponzi scheme run by a Canadian resident who used it to pay off previous investors and build up his Ontario horse farm, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The SEC charges…

The National Retail Federation is suing the Federal Reserve over claims that the 21-cent cap it imposed on debit card "swipe fees" for large banks isn't low enough.The debate over what is a reasonable and proportional amount for retailers to…

The bankrupt Ezenia should not pay certain professionals before all others -- especially those it owes money to -- urges the bankruptcy trustee in a matter expected to go before the U.S. Bankruptcy court on Tuesday.The Nashua-based software developer wants…

This coming Black Friday, you can skip the mad 5 a.m. shopping dash, sleep away the turkey coma and hit up locally owned, independent retailers during regular business hours. Oh, and wear plaid.That's the message of some buy-local business networks…

Nearly two-thirds of New Hampshire retailers expect that their 2011 holiday sales will be the same as or better than last year.That's according to the annual holiday survey conducted by the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire, which found that…

Manchester-based Hampshire First Bank has agreed to be acquired by Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Bancorp.The deal, valued at $45 million, is expected to close in the early second quarter, pending state and federal regulatory approval as well as approval by shareholders,…