Mass. pension fund drops $4 billion more

The turmoil on Wall Street is translating into dramatic losses for Massachusetts’ pension fund. The fund, which covers the retirement costs of state employees in Massachusetts, plummeted nearly $4 billion in September, according to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill. That’s on top of the $4 billion the fund lost during the first eight months of the year. Since January, the fund has tumbled more than 15 percent, from $53.7 billion to $45.7 billion. Despite the losses, the fund actually outpaced the market, which has fallen 19 percent through September, Cahill said, and the fund now stands at the same level it did at the end of 2006. Cahill also announced that the state on Wednesday successfully sold $750 million worth of bonds to pay state bills. The sale, at an interest rate of 2.2 percent, had been delayed twice over the last two weeks due to uncertain credit markets. “Today’s results show that investors still see the Commonwealth as a very strong credit,” he said. Cahill said the sale was likely the largest municipal bond sale in the past month and would allow Massachusetts to pay off some short-term borrowing and replenish the rainy-day fund.

Premium Peruvian beer available in R.I.

Beginning this week, legal-drinking-age consumers in Rhode Island can try Cusqueña, Latin America’s premium all-malt lager and the best-selling premium beer in Peru. Known for its natural ingredients, Cusqueña is made from Saaz hops and pure glacier water from 18,000 feet in the Andes Mountains. Mike Browne, a marketing vice president for MillerCoors, said, “We’re sure that the beer’s quality and crisp flavor will create a demand that will reach beyond Rhode Island in a short amount of time.”

Tyco gets OK to freeze Kozlowski’s assets

Tyco International Ltd. has persuaded a federal judge in Concord, N.H., to freeze the assets of the company’s imprisoned former CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski, claiming he may be using a divorce settlement to put his money out of reach. U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro, who is overseeing all federal civil securities suits relating to former Cumberland resident Kozlowski’s time as Tyco chief, ordered him not to transfer any assets until Oct. 17. The order comes after Kozlowski paid off a $70-million fine and a New York judge dissolved an asset freeze there. Tyco claims Kozlowski is trying to improperly shelter money through his former wife, Karen Mayo Kozlowski, according to court papers. Lawyers for the two said in July they’d reached a confidential divorce settlement after five years of marriage, but public statements by the couple’s divorce lawyers raise “the clear suspicion that the divorce settlement is actually an asset transfer arrangement designed to take assets out of Kozlowski’s name and place them in the hands of a ‘supporter,’ but out of reach of this court and his creditors,” Tyco said in court documents. The company, the world’s biggest maker of industrial valves and security systems, is suing Kozlowski for the return of money it paid him and other damages from what it called his “seven-year rampage through Tyco’s treasury.”

Historic Colt pistol sells for $800,000

An anonymous bidder in Fairfield, Maine, has paid a record $800,000 for a historic .44-caliber revolver, and auctioneer James Julia said it was a bargain. The Colt Walker pistol made for U.S. marshals in the 1840s belonged to University of Maine graduate John McBride’s great-great-uncle. McBride, of Libby, Mont., returned to Maine for Tuesday’s auction. The 80-year-old McBride, who will get most of the money from the sale, said it was a tough decision to let go of a piece of family history. “It was in a box until 1941, then we moved to Worcester, Mass., and had it on display on the wall,” McBride said. He said his family will use some of the proceeds to buy land in Montana.

Greyhound cutting trips between N.Y., Vt.

Greyhound Lines is reducing the number of bus trips between New York City and Vermont. The company plans to cut its early morning route from Vermont to New York City via Boston and its last return trip in the evening to Burlington starting Tuesday. A Greyhound spokeswoman says the company is reducing frequency due to low ridership. Michael Coffin, who manages Greyhound’s bus station in Montpelier, said he will have to close next week because of the cuts. Greyhound, which owns the Vermont Transit line, canceled service to Rutland last month.

3 Maine ski resorts oppose proposed casino

Three of Maine’s biggest ski resorts are joining the effort to defeat a proposed casino, saying it would detract from the state’s image as a family-friendly place to enjoy the outdoors. Sunday River, Sugarloaf and Saddleback all announced their opposition to the casino on Wednesday. Sunday River is the only one in western Oxford County, where the $150-million casino would be built if state voters give their approval on Nov. 4. Dana Bullen, general manager of Sunday River, told workers in a memo that “Maine is known for its rugged outdoor image, uncompromised natural beauty, family-friendly environment and Yankee originality. There is a stark contrast between these attributes, for which Maine is known, and those associated with casino gambling.” Pat LaMarche, casino campaign spokeswoman, said the ski resorts are opposed to the casino because its higher wages would siphon away ski resort workers.

New manager named at airport in Rutland, Vt.

A Pennsylvania man is the new manager of the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport. David Carmen is coming to Vermont from Harrisburg, Pa., where he has worked as an airport operations specialist at Harrisburg International Airport, the third-busiest airport in Pennsylvania. The Rutland airport is Vermont’s second busiest. Carmen, 33, is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a commercial pilot and flight instructor. He is expected to help the airport finish a new lighting system that will make it possible to land in bad weather.

Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy is No. 1 in Maine

A coffee-flavored brandy made in Massachusetts has become the first brand of alcohol to sell more than 1 million bottles in Maine in one year. Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy is made by M.S. Walker of Somerville, Mass. According the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, 1,024,282 bottles of various sizes of the brandy were sold in Maine last year. That’s about 30,000 more bottles than in 2006. The 1.75-liter bottle was the top-selling size. Because Maine tracks the sales of different sizes of alcohol brands separately, Allen’s was ranked as number one, two, four and five among the state’s best-sellers in terms of bottles sold. Allen’s has been the top-selling brand of alcohol in Maine for more 20 years.

Axsys doubling size of plant in Nashua, N.H.

Axsys Technologies is doubling the size of its Nashua, N.H., plant. The publicly traded company has hired 100 people so far this year, bringing its work force to 360 employees. The company makes high-performance cameras and optics and is a longtime supplier to BAE Systems in Nashua and Merrimack. An Axsys spokesman said the company will move its program for gyro-stabilized camera systems used to mount on law enforcement helicopters from its Grass Valley, Calif., site to Nashua. The Nashua-operation is part of the company’s Surveillance Systems Group. The corporate headquarters is Connecticut.

Maine PUC fines Northern Utilities $2 million

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has fined Northern Utilities $2 million for a series of safety problems including a pair of home explosions. It also approved the Portland company’s acquisition by a New Hampshire utility. PUC chairwoman Sharon Reishus cited numerous probable violations of state and federal safety regulations that were “systemwide and compromised public safety.”