CVS ranks fourth on list of top U.S. retailers

CVS Caremark Corp., of Woonsocket, is now the fourth-largest retailer in the United States, according to an annual survey by Stores Magazine, a publication of the National Retail Federation. The company landed in the number-four spot on the annual list of the nation’s 100 largest retailers, based on revenue, because of the purchase last year of Tennessee-based Caremark Rx Inc. CVS had previously ranked ninth. Discount behemoth Wal-Mart retained the top spot on the Stores list, with supermarket chain Kroger Co. moving into the second spot, ahead of The Home Depot Inc. CVS drugstore rival Walgreen Co. ranked seventh and Supervalu Inc., the Minnesota-based parent of Shaw’s Supermarkets, ranked 10th.

Brown, RISD create toys for kids at hospital

Engineers at Brown University and designers at the Rhode Island School of Design, both in Providence, have created Toys and Technology for Rehabilitation, a program for children with cerebral palsy at the Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence. Brown and RISD students and their professors have developed more than a dozen toys and radio controllers that strap to a child’s wrist or forearm and compensate for the lack of fine motor skills of the patients. The students hope the toys will strengthen limbs weakened by disease.

Amgen ex-CEO pays $7 million for Mass. home

Gordon Binder, the former chief executive officer of pharmaceutical giant Amgen, and his wife, Adele, have purchased a 44-acre property in Richmond, Mass., for $7 million in what is believed to be the most expensive residential real estate transaction in Berkshire County history. The property includes a Colonial-style home, tennis court, pool, utility sheds and adjacent land parcels. The previous owner paid $2.2 million for the property in 2002. The sale surpasses the January 2007 purchase of Southmayd Farm in Stockbridge, which sold for $6.9 million. Central Berkshire Registrar of Deeds Andrea Nuciforo said the rumor was that the estate at 311 Summit Rd. had been bought by Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The Binders are from Los Angeles.

Bath Iron Works wins $20.7-million contract

Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, has been awarded a $20.7-million contract from the Navy. According to Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, the contract will pay for more than 233,000 worker-hours for services for the Aegis destroyer program. The work is expected to be completed by July 2009. BIW is the lead builder of the DDG-51 class destroyers.

Conn. lawmakers at odds on gasoline tax cap

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has said that capping the wholesale price of gasoline that’s being taxed by the state makes sense. “If it will help people by saving money at the pumps, I’m all for it,” Rell said late last week, the Journal-Inquirer newspaper of Manchester reported. Last week, Rell’s fellow Republicans called for another special legislative session to deal with high gas prices. They want to cap the wholesale price of gasoline that’s taxed by the state at $3.40 per gallon. Without a cap, they said, motorists will continue to pay more in taxes as the wholesale price of gasoline increases. But Democrats, who control the General Assembly, were unenthusiastic about the Republican plan, calling it a gimmick. They also questioned whether the state can afford the loss in revenue. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the state Capitol in January for the regular legislative session.

Nova Scotia helps offset ferry’s fuel costs

The Nova Scotia government in Canada is investing $4.4 million in the ferry run between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor and Portland in Maine. The Economic Development Department says the money from the province’s Industrial Expansion Fund is to help Bay Ferries Ltd. offset a sharp increase in the cost of fuel. Acting department head Jamie Muir says without immediate assistance the service would not be able to continue. Muir says the province will continue to work with all partners to develop a more permanent solution.

Noise limit bad for business, shop owner says

A New Hampshire town’s crackdown on motorcycle noise may be hurting at least one business. Complaints about Milford’s 106-decibel limit for motorcycles were raised during a town forum. Zach Densmore, owner of the Chop Shop, said that now motorcyclists are circumventing the town. In a month, his shop has lost about $8,000 in business. Densmore said “this is a blue-collar working class community, and working people have louder things.” The crackdown began last year when electronic signs were posted on Route 101A entrances into the town. Town Administrator Guy Scaife said the 106 decibels is higher than many other states allow. He said the limits are a result of resident complaints.

ExxonMobil to quit selling to Bangor airport

ExxonMobil Corp. plans to stop supplying jet fuel to Bangor International Airport in Maine because of a change in the state’s corporate tax formula that led the oil giant to question the value of doing business there, company officials said. ExxonMobil notified airport Director Rebecca Hupp that it was giving the required six months’ notice to terminate its latest five-year agreement with the city, which expires Dec. 31. A company official told the City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week that a revision in the state’s unitary tax law has the corporation paying the state six times the profit it generates in the state on everything from gas stations to jet fuel. “The implications are dramatic when you are talking about six times what we are earning,” Roberto Zamora, ExxonMobil’s U.S. general aviation business development manager, told councilors.

Big business at Bangor casino opening

Penn National Gaming had a record-breaking day for the grand opening of its new Hollywood Slots at Bangor casino in Maine last week. An estimated 9,000 people tried their luck at the opening of the new $132-million gambling and entertainment complex, officials said. Jon Johnson, general manager of the casino, said about 9,000 people came through the doors in the first day. Business in the first few days, he said, has been “going great — smooth opening, continuing smooth operation.” The new casino has 1,000 slot machines, more than double the 475 machines at the old facility. It also has a 1,500-spot parking garage, two restaurants, a lounge, a gift shop and a 152-room hotel slated to open later this summer. Penn National has the option of adding another 500 slot machines at its new site.