‘It’s never been this bad’: One-fourth of Faneuil Hall businesses haven’t reopened due to the COVID-19 pandemic

As summer winds down, the vacancies are adding up quickly while tenants await help from City Hall and the marketplace’s developer.

College moving day is almost here, but many Boston-area apartments sit empty

Rents are down by more than 3 percent, compared with this time in 2019, according to one report. Concessions granted to renters are up, with landlords and brokers sweetening deals.

Major Kendall Square developer pays $330m for Waltham office complex

The deal continues a trend toward more life sciences expansion in the suburbs.

MGM Springfield tells 1,000 laid-off workers that their jobs may not return

The number represents half of the casino’s employees prior to the pandemic.

Latest Business headlines

Spotty broadband challenges Western Mass. schools

Six years after the state completed a $90 million data network to serve the region, thousands of Western Massachusetts families and small businesses still do not have access to reliable high-speed Internet service.

Despite lower infection rates, Mass. economy continues to take a hit

Big job losses and reductions again strike several key industries.

Computers, desks, lockers: Back-to-school shopping is different this year

Parents are planning, and spending, “for all possible scenarios.” And retail analysts expect them to keep buying through the fall.

Pandemic job losses level off, but at very high levels

Here’s where we stand on the economy, the prospects for improvements, and additional aid for the unemployed.

Encore received COVID-19 warning after big hotel party

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission sent the notice on Aug. 20, four days after the party that authorities said drew more than 100 people — far more than the state’s 25-person limit on indoor gatherings.

Sponsored by Rockland Trust Bank

Flipping Wahlburgers across the country

Famous family's burger chain success is more comfort food basics than Hollywood sizzle.

This content was produced by Boston Globe Media in collaboration with the advertiser. The news and editorial departments of The Boston Globe had no role in its production or display.

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Top Places to Work

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/11/14/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/intro2018tptw.jpg The 2018 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts

These 128 businesses have the happiest employees in the state. Here are sortable lists of the winners, and how we compiled them.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2019/05/02/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/gel.jpg Developing new antibiotics requires new incentives, experts say

The private sector is unwilling to take on the financial risk, experts say, despite desperate need.

More Business headlines

Two lawsuits challenging Mass. eviction ban get their day in court

A state judge denies an attempt by landlords to halt the moratorium, but a federal judge steers both sides toward a compromise.

South Shore Health hires investment bank to explore strategic options

Interim CEO Rose Di Pietro says "no decisions have been made," but a merger is among possibilities that will likely be considered.

State regulators take up Encore oversight following big bash in crowded suite

The casino says it's put measures in place to make sure COVID-19 safety rules aren't violated again.

Boston Public Library in Copley Square will allow people inside to use computers

Officials say Wi-Fi will be boosted outside nine branches, too, in an effort to increase online access.

Raytheon’s time in the Dow spotlight is coming to an abrupt end. What does it mean?

The Waltham aerospace company’s time in the most often-quoted stock index lasted all of five months. Here's what happened.

Boston startup finds US gigs for African software developers

Despite the region’s reputation for poverty and political instability, African countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana have thousands of capable software developers.

IRobot launches new software platform aimed at making its robots smarter

Chief executive Colin Angle said this is the first time the company has done a software launch of this scale. "It is about driving loyalty," he said.

Why Trump’s Approval Ratings on the Economy Remain Durable

It is an enduring political question amid a pandemic recession, double-digit unemployment and a recovery that appears to be slowing: Why does President Donald Trump continue to get higher marks on economic issues in polls than his predecessors Barack Obama, George W. Bush and George H.W.

TALKING POINTS

Moderna to provide 80 million doses of would-be vaccine to EU

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

How hedge funds profited off the pain of malls

A handful of investors have, collectively, made hundreds of millions of dollars on trades this year that bet on the demise of malls.

US stocks join global rally amid COVID treatment hopes

Stocks plowed higher on Wall Street Monday, as hopes for a COVID-19 treatment and vaccine had investors looking ahead to the possibility of a healthier economy that has shed the virus.

Zoom glitches, briefly grinding US schools to a halt

Teachers and parents got a brief glimpse of a new kind of pandemic-era nightmare Monday when Zoom — the video-conferencing service that powers everything from distance learning to business meetings to casual, socially distant get-togethers — abruptly went dead.

TikTok Sues US Government Over Trump Ban

SAN FRANCISCO — TikTok sued the U.S. government Monday, accusing the Trump administration of depriving it of due process when President Donald Trump used his emergency economic powers to issue an executive order that will block the app from operating in the country.

Protesters slam lack of diversity in vaccine trial, but Brigham disputes numbers

The Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition says only 4 percent of volunteers for the late-stage trial of Moderna's vaccine candidate are Black. Brigham and Women's Hospital says the figure is 12 percent.

Massachusetts says extra $300 a week in jobless benefits will be paid soon

The state’s request for money to pay the added benefit was granted last week by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Boston to consider looser zoning for affordable housing

Two city councilors are calling for a hearing to streamline Boston’s arcane zoning code for some kinds of affordable housing developments.

INNOVATION ECONOMY

Tech startups pivot to solve new problems in the pandemic

From learning pods to restaurant safety to remote work, this year's crop of MassChallenge companies has moved into new markets born of COVID-19.

THE FINE PRINT

Black family that may have been racially profiled by Boston hotel receives apology

Marilyn Mathieu noticed the Cambria Hotel had charged an extra $250 on her credit card. A manager said it was for smoking in their room, but she believes her family had been racially profiled based on the hotel’s swift determination of their guilt and unwillingness to consider their denials.

Headspace’s popularity is ahead of its science

Demand for the mindfulness and meditation app has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic and its ripple effects began taking a brutal toll on mental health. Downloads have jumped dramatically in recent months, and Headspace has been flooded with requests from companies looking to buoy their staffs’ well-being while they work from home.

Union shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, ended a 63-day strike Sunday, voting 87 percent in favor of a new contract.

Maine shipbuilders approve 3-year pact, ending monthslong strike

A 63-day strike at Bath Iron Works came to an end Sunday with shipbuilders voting to return to their jobs producing warships for the United States Navy.

TALKING POINTS

TikTok lawsuit could coincide with Trump’s convention kickoff

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

E-mails show businesses held sway over state reopening plans

Thousands of pages of e-mails provided to the Associated Press under open-records laws show that governors across the country were inundated with COVD-19 reopening advice from a wide range of industries — from campgrounds in New Hampshire to car washes in Washington.

As GE tumbles, board eases Culp’s path to a $230 million payday

As GE tumbles, board eases Culp’s path to a $230 million payday

S&P 500 ticks higher to record, powered again by tech stocks

The S&P 500 ticked higher to close at another all-time high Friday, powered by strength for technology stocks and a couple reports on the U.S. economy that were better than expected.

Another smashing public debut by a local biotech: Kymera stock soars by 66 percent

Kymera is working on treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and eczema.

Weinstein seeks to pursue arbitration over firing

Disgraced Hollywood film mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein is asking a bankruptcy judge in Delaware to allow him to pursue arbitration in New York over what he claims is his wrongful termination from the company he co-founded.

Amazon’s retail chief, viewed as a possible CEO, will instead retire next year

Amazon’s retail chief, viewed as a possible CEO, will instead retire next year

Serious mortgage delinquencies soared to a 10-year high last month

Serious mortgage delinquencies soared to a 10-year high last month

chesto means business

Boston’s $5B insurance tech firm is an overnight success story, two decades in the making

Duck Creek Technologies, which went public on Aug. 14, has the potential to be a flagship company for Boston’s burgeoning "insurtech" scene.

State adds 72,100 new jobs, shrinks employment rate but still highest in country

Massachusetts remained almost 6 percentage points above the national average of 10.2 percent last month.

Business diaries

Brockton Stop & Shop reinvents itself to meet COVID-19 needs

The once-shuttered Belmont Street store has been reinvented to meet shopping needs during the pandemic.

TALKING POINTS

Drizly raises $50 million in funding round

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

If the court had not granted a stay, Lyft and Uber said they would have discontinued service in California.

Appeals court gives reprieve to Uber, Lyft in California

An appeals court has allowed ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors in California while an appeal works its way through the court.

American Airlines to cut service to 15 cities once terms on billions in pandemic aid expire

The change, announced Thursday, means nine airports will lose their only airline service.

Electricity supplier reaches $10M settlement with Attorney General Healey over sales practices

A Connecticut-based electricity supplier has agreed to pay up to $10 million to settle allegations by Attorney General Maura Healey that the company used deceptive sales tactics to persuade consumers to sign up for overpriced electric plans.

SHIRLEY LEUNG

Another plea for a corporate titan to do the right thing: Reopen Haverhill’s Brooks Brothers factory

But so far, the new owner has been silent about its plans for the site.

US jobless claims jump back above 1 million in face of virus

In Massachusetts, new claims rose to 16,700 from 14,700 a week earlier.

Kamala Harris seizes historic moment in accepting nomination for vice president

Kamala Harris made history on Wednesday as the first Black woman and first Asian American to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket, a moment intended to galvanize Democratic voters heading into the fall campaign against President Trump.

TALKING POINTS

Brightcove names HBS professor, Google exec to board

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

During Tim Cook’s nine years as Apple’s CEO, he has increased the company’s value fivefold. Cook has focused on earning money through services, rather than new products.

Apple hits $2 trillion in market valuation

It is the first US public company to reach that milestone.

Tavis Smiley, a former PBS host, was accused of sexual harassment by six women.

Judge orders Tavis Smiley to pay $2.6m

The amount was about $1 million more than what PBS originally argued in court that Smiley owed after it was forced to cancel his contract upon learning six female employees had accused him of sexual harassment.

Innovation Economy by Scott Kirsner

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Kirsner’s Innovation Economy column appears in the Boston Sunday Globe, and he contributes to the Globe’s Beta Boston website.