Massachusetts homes sales down in March

BOSTON — Massachusetts homeowners still appear reluctant to put their houses on the market, driving sales volume down and prices up last month, two organizations that track the real estate market said Wednesday.

The number of single-family homes sold dropped almost 12 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago, while the median price jumped more than 8 percent to more than $314,000, according to the Waltham-based Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

The Warren Group, a Boston publisher of business data, reported an 8 percent decrease in sales volume and a nearly 9 percent boost in the median price to $315,000, the 18th consecutive month of higher year-over-year prices.

"The low inventory of single-family homes in the market is the primary cause of the decreasing sales activity," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., chief executive of The Warren Group. "Motivated buyers, however, are eagerly bidding for the limited supply which accounts for the increasing sales prices. People want to buy homes before prices and interest rates rise further."

The organizations use slightly different figures in their calculations.

The future is positive, said Realtors' President Peter Ruffini.

"While the market still needs more homes for sale — including both existing homes and new construction — the increase in new listings in March is a good sign," he said. "With home values on an upward trend, it gives homeowners the opportunity and incentive to take advantage of the current buyer demand and list their homes for sale."

Condominium sales remained strong.

The Warren Group reported a nearly 13 percent increase in condo sales last month compared with March 2013, while the Realtors reported a 4 percent jump.

Both groups reported an increase in median condo prices in the 10 percent to 11 percent range.

"As we see from the sales numbers, condos continue to be an attractive option for first-time home buyers or empty nesters," Warren said.

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Spacewalking astronauts complete urgent repair job

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts easily replaced a dead computer outside the International Space Station on Wednesday and got their orbiting home back up to full strength.

The two Americans on board, Rick Mastracchio and Steven Swanson, hustled through the urgent repair job, swapping out the computers well within an hour. The new one tested fine.

"Excellent work, gentlemen," Mission Control radioed.

The removed computer, a critical backup, failed nearly two weeks ago. The prime computer has been working perfectly, but NASA wanted to install a fresh spare as soon as possible.

Mission Control waited until after the arrival of a capsule full of fresh supplies Sunday.

Replacing the computer — a compact 50-pound box — involved just three bolts, hardly anything for a spacewalking chore.

Engineers do not know why the original failed. Mission Control asked the spacewalkers to keep an eye out for any damage that might explain the breakdown. Nothing jumped out.

Flight controllers were trying to load software into the spare computer on April 11, but it failed to activate. That set into motion a frenzy of ground meetings and tests to fix the problem.

NASA feared that if the primary computer went down as well, the entire space station would be in jeopardy. These two computers — the primary and backup — control the pointing of the solar wings and radiators, as well as the movement of the robot-arm rail cart.

It was the first failure of one of dozens of so-called MDMs, or multiplexer-demultiplexers, in and outside the space station.

Mission Control kept the spacewalk short and straight-to-the-point; it lasted a mere one hour and 36 minutes. All routine spacewalks by U.S. station crew have been on hold since last summer's near-drowning by a spacewalking astronaut. His helmet filled with water from the cooling system of the suit, and NASA is continuing to investigate the problem.

NASA hopes to reuse the bad computer, once it's inspected indoors by the astronauts and updated.

Their mission accomplished, Mastracchio and Swanson exchanged a few jokes and laughs as they got ready to go back inside.

"My arms are too short for a selfie," Mastracchio said with a chuckle, his camera pointed at himself.

Mission Control spotted a small object floating over Mastracchio's right shoulder as the spacewalk drew to a close. He said he didn't think he lost anything. The NASA commentator, Dan Huot, later said it appeared to be a tiny wire tie.

The space station is home to six men: the two Americans, three Russians and one Japanese.

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Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

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Amazon snares classic shows in deal with HBO

NEW YORK — Fans of classic HBO shows like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" will soon have access to those series and more through Amazon Prime in the first online streaming deal signed by the cable network.

Starting on May 21, Amazon Prime members — who pay $99 a year for streaming entertainment, two-day shipping and other perks— will also have access to "Six Feet Under," ''Big Love," as well as early seasons of "of Boardwalk Empire" and "True Blood." Past seasons of newer shows such as "Girls," ''The Newsroom" and "Veep" will also become available throughout the multi-year deal, about three years after airing on HBO.

Original movies including "Too Big to Fail" and "Game Change" will also become available, as will original comedy specials from Lewis Black, Louis C.K., Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Maher.

There was no mention of "Game of Thrones," one of the most pirated shows in history. Other shows such as "Sex and the City" and "Entourage" were also left out of the deal.

The exclusive HBO deal is a big win for Amazon, which is competing with Netflix and Hulu for streaming viewers as more people cut the cord on cable services. Time Warner, which owns HBO, has long seen Netflix as a threat to HBO and has steadfastly refused to license even its old shows to the company for streaming.

Netflix announced its first price hike in three years this week to help pay for more original programming, such as "House of Cards." Shares of Netflix dropped nearly 4 percent Wednesday following the announcement.

Amazon, too, raised the price of Prime in January from $79 a year, which had not changed since the company introduced the service in 2005. Back then, Prime did not include online streaming. But Amazon steadily expanded into new areas, not just movie streaming but e-readers and grocery delivery. There are even reports of a new, Amazon smartphone.

Amazon and HBO did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, nor its duration.

HBO Go, the network's streaming service that's currently only available to subscribers, will also be offered on Amazon's new streaming device, Fire TV, likely by the end of the year. The $99 device streams online video, music and other content to televisions, competing with the likes of Apple Inc. Roku.

The deal "positions Prime Instant Video as a viable competitor and potentially more appealing alternative to Netflix," said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. "Through the HBO deal, in addition to its own original content, Amazon has the potential to offer close to 70 different series that we believe HBO owns outright, with multiple seasons available for the more successful shows. In comparison, we believe that Netflix's original series figure is closer to 10, with up to only two seasons available."

Glenn Whitehead, executive vice president of business and legal affairs at HBO, said that the company has always wanted to capitalize on its position as owners of its original programming.

The Amazon-HBO deal comes the same week that TV broadcasters are facing off at the U.S. Supreme Court with TV-over-the-Internet provider Aereo, which offers live broadcast television for a monthly fee.

Shares of Seattle-based Amazon fell $3.92 to 325.40 in late morning trading amid a broader market decline.

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Governor seeking direct flight from Boston’s Logan to Mexico City

Gov. Deval Patrick is working to establish a direct flight between Boston and Mexico City this year, which would be the latest nonstop flight aimed at economic development in the state.

"Mexico is a powerful economy and a growing one, and our trade relationship has itself been growing. There's opportunity there and we need to seize it," Patrick said.

Patrick said the administration is in talks with Interjet and AeroMexico about a nonstop flight.

Massport said in a statement that businesses are interested in direct flights to Mexico and it "is on our short list for new international service."

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Faster production brings Boeing $965M 1Q profit

Boeing's increased rate of commercial jet manufacturing is starting to pay off for shareholders.

In the first three months of this year, 161 new airplanes rolled off the company's assembly lines — more jets than the same period last year. That increased rate contributed to a $965 million profit for Chicago-based Boeing Co. post in the first quarter.

The net income was actually down 12.7 percent from last year's $1.1 billion first quarter profit, but that is because Boeing took a $330 million accounting write-off related to changes in its retirement plans. The company also noted that its 2013 earnings were inflated by a one-time research and development tax credit.

Net income per share dropped to $1.28 per share from $1.44 during last year's first quarter. But adjusted to exclude the write-off, earnings were $1.76 per share, beating the estimate of $1.56 per share from Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet. Shares rose $2.38, or 1.9 percent, to $129.93 in midday trading.

The company reported $20.47 billion in revenue, more than the $20.15 billion expected by Wall Street. That's up 8 percent from the $18.9 billion in revenue during the same period last year.

Revenue at Boeing's commercial plane unit rose 19 percent. The business grew thanks to increased production rates on its 737 manufacturing lines. In April, the 737 program reached a production rate of 42 per month. Boeing hopes to increase that to 47 airplanes a month in 2017 to help feed a worldwide demand for the narrow-body jet.

The company's much delayed 787 Dreamliner also showed progress, reaching a production rate of 10 per month — although only 18 were delivered during the first quarter. Still, that's a major improvement over last year, when only one Dreamliner was delivered due to a worldwide grounding of the fleet over concerns about its lithium-ion batteries catching on fire.

Boeing has backlog of 5,100 airplanes on order with a combined book value of $374 billion.

On the defense side, revenue fell 6 percent and Boeing lowered its full year revenue guidance for military aircraft to $14.2 billion, down from $15 billion. Its global support and services revenue is expected to climb, however, from $7.8 billion to $8.6 billion. Both changes reflect a realignment within the defense unit.

Boeing also repurchased 19.4 million shares for $2.5 billion during the first quarter.

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Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

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Delta navigates nasty winter, tops profit forecast

DALLAS — Delta Air Lines Inc. is making more money by filling more seats on its planes and paying a bit less for fuel.

Delta's first-quarter profit beat expectations and underscored how most big airlines are prospering with a combination of strong business travel, slightly higher fares and money from extra fees.

Even bad weather couldn't stop Delta from boosting profit, although it canceled more than 17,000 flights in January and February — double the number from a year ago — which cost the company $90 million in revenue and $55 million in pretax income.

The Atlanta-based airline said Wednesday that it expects solid demand throughout the year, and it predicted that a key statistic of revenue per mile will grow in the mid-single digits during the April-through-June second quarter.

Delta shares jumped $1.72, or 4.9 percent, to $36.67 in midday trading after hitting an all-time high of $37.41 earlier in the session. They began the day up 27 percent in 2014.

Delta said that net income in the first quarter was $213 million, or 25 cents per share, up from $7 million, or a penny per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items such as fleet-restructuring costs and fuel-hedging, Delta earned 33 cents per share. Analysts, who usually exclude one-time costs and benefits like that, were expecting 29 cents per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $8.92 billion, matching analysts' forecasts.

Passengers flew 4 percent more miles than in early 2013, which helped boost occupancy to 82.7 percent on the average flight, up from 81.2 percent a year ago. The average fare per mile rose 1 percent.

Including Delta Connection regional flights, the company spent $2.70 billion on fuel, its largest expense in the quarter. Still, that was a savings of $109 million, or 4 percent, as Delta paid $3.03 per gallon instead of last year's $3.24. The company expects total fuel costs of $2.97 to $3.02 per gallon in the second quarter.

The break on fuel spending more than offset an increase of $58 million, or 3 percent, in labor costs, the company's second-biggest expense at $1.97 billion.

As long as travel demand holds up, Delta should be able to cover those costs.

The company overcame severe winter weather and the shift of Easter travel into April.

The airline's president, Ed Bastian, said Delta saw gains from corporate travel accounts and passenger fees — and predicted that money from fees will rise.

In the 12 months that ended last Sept. 30, Delta took in $1.66 billion just in fees for checked bags and changing reservations — the most of any airline and 22 percent more than runner-up United — according to government figures.

Bastian said that "merchandising" — that's other fees such as charging extra for priority boarding, economy seats with more legroom, and upselling to first-class — grew 20 percent in a year to $165 million.

"We think we can grow this high-margin revenue stream by $500 million annually over the next three years," he said on a call with analysts.

Helane Becker, an analyst with Cowen and Co., said Delta was aggressively controlling costs other than fuel and said the company's outlook for the second quarter was stronger than expected. Standard & Poor's analyst Jim Corridore said Delta was driving the entire industry to focus more on return for shareholders.

The financial strength of U.S. airlines has increased as mergers have reduced competition and made it easier for the carriers to control the supply of seats. Later this week, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are expected to report that their first-quarter profits also rose sharply from last year. Among the largest four U.S. airline companies, only United Continental Holdings Inc. is expected to report a loss.

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Contact David Koenig at http://www.twitter.com/airlinewriter

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Microsoft expands ad-free Bing search for schools

LOS ANGELES — Microsoft is expanding a program that gives schools the ability to prevent ads from appearing in search results when they use its Bing search engine. The program, launched in a pilot program earlier this year, is now available to all U.S. schools, public or private, from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

The program is meant to create a safer online environment for children, but also promote use of Bing, which trails market leader Google.

Microsoft Corp. is also giving away a first-generation Surface tablet computer to schools where community members sign up to use the ad-supported version of Bing outside of the school.

The program is tailored so that 60 parents and friends who do 30 Bing searches a day can earn their school a Surface in a little over a month. There is no limit on the number of Surface devices a school can earn.

Microsoft has some unsold inventory of the first generation Surface in stock after booking a large write-down on the devices last year.

Matt Wallaert, a Microsoft employee who created the "Bing in the Classroom" program, said the company hopes that some of the program's goodwill leads to more Bing usage.

"We absolutely are an ad-supported business, but we think that schools are not the time and place for that," he said. "Obviously we hope that parents will hear that message and want to use Bing at home."

Google Inc. says it has offered ad-free search and email for schools through its Google Apps for Education product since 2007.

Microsoft also has created some 500 lesson plans that encourage the use of search to answer questions. The questions aren't the kind that can be answered by just typing them into the search field.

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US stocks edge lower after a six-day rise

NEW YORK — The stock market slipped Wednesday, after rising for six straight days, as investors worked through another round of quarterly earnings reports from U.S. companies. Intuitive Surgical was among those announcing disappointed results. A worse-than-expected report on the housing market also weighed on the broader market.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell one point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,878 as of 12:05 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 21 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,495 and the Nasdaq composite lost 20 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,141.

ROBOT REPAIR: Surgical robot make Intuitive Surgical dropped $41.40, or 10 percent, to $381.18 after the company reported a 77 percent drop in first-quarter earnings. Intuitive Surgical sold only half has many robots in the last quarter as it did in the same period a year earlier. The company warned two weeks ago that earnings would come in far below expectations, causing its stock to fall sharply from a recent high of $540.63 reached April 3.

FLYING HIGHER: Airline stocks were among the biggest advancers. Delta Air Lines rose $1.80, or 5 percent, to $36.68. Delta's first-quarter earnings climbed after the company filled more seats on its planes and paid less for fuel. Boeing rose $3.25, or 2.5 percent, to $130.80. The company's quarterly earnings beat expectations as it boosted airplane production.

AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY...The S&P 500 had risen six days in a row before Wednesday. It is not unusual for the stock market to pause after such a rally, investors said.

THE $84,000 PILL: Gilead Sciences rose $2.56, or 4 percent, to $75.41 after the company reported a surge in first-quarter earnings. Gilead's drug Sovaldi, a new treatment for Hepatitis C, had $2.3 billion in sales in the first quarter alone, which beat the record for any drug in its first whole year on the market. While Sovaldi has a 90 percent success rate in curing Hepatitis C, the drug has a price of $1,000 per pill, or around $84,000 for a typical course of treatment.

HOUSING STALL: The Commerce Department said that new home sales fell 15 percent in March, their worst level in nearly a year. The number of home sold slowed to an annual rate of 384,000, well below economists' forecasts of 450,000. The news hit homebuilder stocks hard. KB Home fell 44 cents, or 3 percent, to $16.10 and Ryland Group fell $1.28, or 3 percent, to $36.91.

GAME OF SHOWS: Netflix fell $15.60, or 4 percent, to $357.21. Time Warner and Amazon.com announced that HBO's award-winning shows such as "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under" would be available exclusively for Amazon Prime subscribers, a big loss for Netflix. HBO had been one of the biggest holdouts in bringing its content to streaming video services. Time Warner rose 96 cents, or 2 percent, to $65.89.

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Court-ordered tobacco ads will include black media

WASHINGTON — The nation's tobacco companies and the Justice Department are including media outlets that target more of the black community in court-ordered advertisements that say the cigarette makers lied about the dangers of smoking, according to a brief filed in U.S. District Court in Washington on Wednesday.

The advertisements are part of a case the government brought in 1999 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled in 2006 that the nation's largest cigarette makers concealed the dangers of smoking for decades and ordered them to pay for corrective statements in various advertisements in newspapers, as well as on TV, websites and cigarette pack inserts.

The companies involved in the case include Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., owner of the biggest U.S. tobacco company, Philip Morris USA; No. 2 cigarette maker, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., owned by Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc.; and No. 3 cigarette maker Lorillard Inc., based in Greensboro, N.C.

Wednesday's briefing revises a January agreement outlining the details of those ads to address concerns raised by the judge and black media groups, which argued the ads should be disseminated through their outlets because the black community has been disproportionally targeted by tobacco companies. The court must still approve the agreement, which was signed off on by several public health groups that intervened in the case.

The new agreement proposes revising the list of where the ads will run to include newspapers in the 10 cities with the highest black populations in the U.S., as well as an additional 14 black newspapers. Companies also will also have the option of airing one-third of the anti-tobacco ads on TV stations other than ABC, CBS and NBC as long as they reach the same overall number of people and an increased number of black viewers. Those could include Fox Broadcasting, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.; Viacom Inc., the company behind MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 and BET; and other networks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 18 percent of U.S. adults smoked in 2012, the same percentage as blacks. But 21.5 percent of black adults were smokers in 2005, compared with 20.9 percent of adults. The federal agency also says the annual incidence of lung cancer was highest among blacks between 1998 and 2006 with a rate of 76.1 per 100,000 people, compared with 69.7 per 100,000 among whites.

Each corrective ad is to be prefaced by a statement that a federal court has concluded that the defendant tobacco companies "deliberately deceived the American public." Among the required statements are that smoking kills more people than murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes and alcohol combined, and that "secondhand smoke kills over 38,000 Americans a year."

Tobacco companies have called the corrective statements "forced public confessions" designed to "shame and humiliate" them. A federal appeals court rejected efforts by the tobacco companies to overrule Kessler's ruling requiring the corrective statements but they are appealing the actual content of the advertisements. Companies also may be required to display the statements at stores that sell their products.

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Michael Felberbaum can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/MLFelberbaum

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First lady announces one-stop job site for vets

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — First lady Michelle Obama has announced a new online effort to link soldiers leaving the military with jobs that match their skill sets.

She said Wednesday that the new Veterans Employment Center provides one-stop shopping for troops as they transition to civilian life.

The move comes as the U.S. winds down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the administration seeks to lower unemployment among veterans.

Mrs. Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, made the announcement at Fort Campbell along the Kentucky-Tennessee state line.

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Kuhnhenn reported from Washington.

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