Dinner-to-go from work is easily done

When Kelly Schaefer's five male friends hired a personal chef to cook for them once a week, passing along his recipes and prepping the ingredients for them as he went, Schaefer saw them transformed into "gourmet chefs" with very little effort.

"I wanted to see how I could do that for the everyday person, without the cost of hiring a personal chef," she said.

So Schaefer, 27, teamed up earlier this year with fellow Harvard Business School student Heidi Kim and founded Easily to deliver ready-to-cook meal kits to companies for employees to take home without ever having to stop at the grocery store.

"We were often talking about issues of work-life balance, especially for women, and thinking about our futures as professional women and, one day, as mothers," said Kim, 25. "We thought this would allow us to impact the lives of people juggling careers and home life."

The startup accelerator and competition MassChallenge thought so too and chose Easily as one of 128 finalists out of a field of 1,200 entrants to compete for 
$1.3 million in prizes.

Using about $20,000 from an HBS grant and an International Business Model Competition in which they placed third out of 1,300 teams, the two hired a chef and enlisted a core team of volunteers: a CTO, a COO and an engineering intern to build their online platform. Together, they expect to officially launch their program in two to three weeks with two companies.

People will order in the morning at eatingeasily.com, and the meal kits, which cost between $10 and $15, will be delivered to their offices by 4 p.m.

Samplings from Easily's still-evolving menu include panko-crusted salmon with asparagus and Parmesan, flank steak in a smoky marinade with minty cous cous, and manchego mushroom quesadilla with summer corn and tomato salad.

"Part of the challenge has been dumbing down delicious meals so all you have to do is enjoy them," Kim said. "Kelly and I love to eat but aren't the best of cooks, so if it passes the test with us, that's a success."

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How to get to the right price

So you've found the perfect home and now comes the hard part — figuring out how much to offer to close the deal.

As a licensed real estate agent, I'm often asked for my opinion regarding pricing — whether it's as a buyer's agent to submit an offer on a property or as a seller's agent to come up with a fair market value for a listing price.

While most times my advice is heeded, occasionally it is not. In the case of being a buyer's agent, I have represented more than a few clients who have decided to start out negotiating a property with a low-ball offer or something that is more than 20 percent lower than the list price.

In a weak market or one that is more favorable to buyers — most markets across the country up until about six months ago where supply outpaced demand — this concept might have worked. However, as the market has changed considerably to favor sellers, low-ball offers (for the most part) are a thing of the past.

If you look at two-bedroom condominium sales in the past six months for the Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the South End, you'll see that no matter which neighborhood you include, the sale-to-list-price ratio is within 4 percent of the asking price. The sale-to-list-price ratio is the final sale price of a home divided by the last list price expressed as a percentage. If it's above 100 percent, the home sold for more than the list price. If it's less than 100 percent, the home sold for less than the list price.

Beacon Hill has been the tightest market overall in terms of inventory, however
a big reason behind the ratios not being as high as the South End, for example, is because of the lack of parking. While available parking is an issue throughout the city, on Beacon Hill it's even more of a problem.

Clearly, the South End neighborhood wins the overall supply and demand award. With tight inventory and very high demand, the pressure on prices has caused almost every price sector to sell for at or above the asking price; good for sellers, not so good for buyers.

If you're looking for a new home, I would first advise you to consult with your real estate agent to get a good understanding of the market you're considering. They will typically have access to this same information and will be able to analyze the data on your behalf to give you their best estimate as to how you should price an offer.

Remember this is their best judgment. The agent can only do so much, but that's why you've hired them, right? So take their advice and listen to what they tell you.

Charlie Abrahams is a licensed real estate agent 
in Boston who works 
with buyers and sellers
and can be reached at 
Bostonrealestate@
charlieabrahams.com.

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Asian markets up on Europe, US policy optimism

BANGKOK — Optimism that easy European and U.S. monetary policy will continue boosted Asian stock markets Friday as investors awaited a key American jobs report later in the day.

The prospect of continued monetary stimulus helped offset worries earlier in the week of a Chinese slowdown, European debt woes re-emerging and disruption of energy markets due to the military ouster of Egypt's president.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese stocks posted the biggest gains in morning trade and most other major indexes were in positive territory after the European Central Bank kept its policy interest rate at a record low to combat a persistent recession and its President Mario Draghi said the rate will remain there "for an extended period of time."

The European statement plus indications that the U.S. economy is growing — but probably not fast enough for the U.S. Federal Reserve to rush into tapering off its purchases of $85 billion in bonds each month to keep interest rates low — boosted markets that had been spooked in recent weeks at the prospect of such stimulus ending.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 1.3 percent to 14,194.39. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.4 percent to 20,753.62 and Taipei's TAIEX was up 1.4 percent to 8,003.77. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.7 percent to 4,829.10. Seoul's KOSPI was in negative territory, edging down 0.1 percent to 1,837.32.

The Asian gains followed a strong rally in Europe that was sparked by the ECB's statement and the Bank of England's announcement that speculation it would raise rates was unwarranted.

Britain's FTSE 100 index jumped 3.1 percent to close at 6,421.67 while Germany's DAX rose 2.1 percent to 7,994.31. France's CAC 40 gained 2.9 percent to 3,809.31. Wall Street was closed Thursday for the Independence Day holiday.

Investors were also waiting for a U.S. government jobs report due Friday. Earlier in the week, Wall Street rallied after ADP, a payrolls processor, said that businesses added more jobs last month than analysts had expected. If the U.S. government confirms that Friday, it offers hope that the American recovery is continuing.

The strength of the jobs report may also offer clues to what the Federal Reserve will do next.

Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor, noted that while physical exchanges were closed in the U.S. on Thursday, futures were still trading, and they indicate Wednesday's rally could continue, with Dow Jones Industrial Index futures now trading above 15,000. The index closed at 14,988.50 Wednesday.

"Whether this can be sustained will clearly be reflected by what's happening on a global basis," he said in a market commentary. "The situation in Egypt remains hugely sensitive, whilst resurgent eurozone woes could knock sentiment."

The price of oil this week passed $100 per barrel due to events in the Middle East: Egypt's military overthrew Mohammed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, after he defied calls to resign despite the demands of millions of protesters.

Egypt is not an oil producer but its control of the Suez canal — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea — gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

High energy costs act as a drag on economic growth, but oil has eased somewhat from its Wednesday highs and on Friday was down 18 cents to $101.06 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In currencies, the euro was down slightly at $1.2899. The dollar rose to 100.28 yen from 100.23 yen late Thursday.

____

Toby Sterling in Amsterdam contributed to this report.

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Colleges get tough on patent infringement

Boston University's patent infringement suit against Apple — one of eight identical claims the school has filed against electronics companies in recent months — is just the latest example of an aggressive new push by colleges to not only protect their intellectual property, but also bring in more cash.

"We've definitely seen a step up in university patent lawsuits," said Mark Lemley, a patent expert at Stanford University Law School. "Universities have been cash-strapped in the last several years with the economic downturn, and this looks like a good source of revenue. They're also looking around and everyone else is doing it."

The "wake-up call" for universities, Lemley said, may have come in December when a jury awarded Carnegie Mellon University an astonishing $1.2 billion in a patent lawsuit against Marvell Technology Group and Marvell Semiconductor Inc.

"You can imagine university administrators facing a budget crisis pointing to Carnegie Mellon and saying, 'If their patent is worth a billion, surely ours is worth something,' " Lemley said.

Some universities have waited until just before their patents expire — once they're already widely adopted — to sue companies that have used them, said Arti Rai, a Duke University law professor.

"They maintain patents and then realize they made no money off them — never licensed them — and then the way to make money at the very end is by suing," she said.

Rai wrote a paper studying the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which sued 92 firms about a decade ago, just six months before the patent for a color imaging method was set to expire. The suits brought mixed results, with some being dismissed, others settled and still others ruled in the university's favor, she said.

The Herald reported yesterday that Boston University filed a suit against Apple claiming the company ripped off a computer engineering professor's patented electronic semiconductor and used it in the iPhone 5, 
iPad and MacBook Air.

BU has also filed seven identical lawsuits against companies including electronics giants Amazon and Samsung.

BU declined to comment. Apple did not return a phone call and email seeking comment.

Meanwhile, MIT has launched a number of still-pending patent battles, including a May 2012 suit against Ossur HF over an elastic actuator used in the company's "Power Knee," a prosthesis for above-knee amputees. That suit is in mediation.

The university also sued Shire Regenerative Medicine in January, alleging infringement over Dermagraft, which is used to treat diabetic foot ulcers.

MIT declined to comment. But Andrew Beckerman-Rodau, an intellectual property law expert at Suffolk University, defended the schools, saying, "Universities have ... stopped just giving everything away."

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Obamacare backers urge gov to keep state business fine

Bay State business leaders yesterday welcomed the one-year delay in a requirement in President Obama's new health care law that employers provide their workers with insurance or face fines, but health care proponents called on Gov. Deval Patrick to veto part of the state budget that would repeal a penalty on business owners who don't comply with the state's health care reform law.

"Nationally, the ACA (Affordable Care Act) is vulnerable to attack," Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, executive director of Health Care for All, wrote to the governor yesterday. "In light of the federal delay in enforcing employer requirements, it is particularly important that Massachusetts hold strong in its commitment to shared responsibility."

The Treasury Department on Tuesday announced that penalties for businesses not providing health coverage will now begin in 2015, a delay the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce called a "welcome surprise."

Meanwhile, the governor is considering a budget provision eliminating a $295 per employee assessment that employers who don't provide insurance have been paying since 2006.

Kristen Lepore of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts said the measure would reduce the administrative burden on employers and make way for the federal health law, which has larger penalties.

If the governor repeals the state provision, employers who don't provide health insurance may face no penalty for 18 months. The Executive Office for Administration and Finance said it was reviewing the issue.

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Upbeat US jobs report buoys Asian stocks

BANGKOK — Encouraging news on the US economy boosted most Asian stock markets Thursday as investors followed Wall Street's lead in shrugging off political turmoil in Egypt and worrying developments in Europe's debt crisis.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng led the modest rally, jumping 1.8 percent to 20,508.02 after reports that fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week and ADP, a payrolls processor, said that businesses added more jobs last month than analysts had expected.

China's Shanghai Composite rose 1 percent to 2,013.49. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.9 percent to 4,786.60. Jakarta's JSX was up 1.3 percent to 4,638.11 while South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.3 percent to 1,830.52.

The employment news, added to a muted report on U.S. manufacturing growth, was good enough to restore confidence that the American economic recovery s is on track — but probably not strong enough yet for the Federal Reserve to pull back on its stimulus program.

With Wall Street closed on Thursday for the Independence Day holiday, investors will be watching the U.S. government's jobs report Friday in hopes of figuring out what the Federal Reserve will do next.

Over the past few weeks, markets have sputtered amid speculation that the Fed might taper off its policy of buying $85 billion in bonds every month to keep interest rates low and encourage spending.

"We have had a period of extreme volatility, and now we have some settling going on," said Lorraine Tan, director at Standard & Poor's equity research in Singapore. "I think there's a realization that the reaction may have been overdone."

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 bucked Thursday's trend, edging down 0.1 percent to 14,046.85. Taiwain's TAIEX was also nearly flat, up 0.1 percent to 7,914.35.

Asia's mild rally came after Wall Street also entered positive territory, despite Egypt's political crisis and worries over Europe's dormant debt crisis erupting again.

In Europe, stock markets slumped as Portugal's government teetered on the edge of collapse. Investors worried about the future of the bailed-out country and its efforts to get a handle on its debt after two Cabinet members quit.

Investors around the world were also keeping a close watch on the oil price after Egypt's military overthrew the country's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, who had defied calls to resign despite the demands of millions of protesters.

Egypt is not an oil producer but its control of the Suez canal — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea — gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up 7 cents to $101.31 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The day before it climbed to nearly $102, its highest level in more than a year.

In currencies, the euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2993. The dollar slipped to 99.75 yen from 99.97 yen.

____

Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report.

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Asia stocks slide as oil jumps on Egypt crisis

BANGKOK — Asian stocks slid on Wednesday as Egypt's unfolding political crisis pushed the price of oil to its highest level in more than a year, adding to an uncertain global economic outlook.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up $2.20 to $101.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since early May last year.

Japan's Nikkei 225 edged down 0.1 percent to 14,081.35 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.8 percent to 20,281.62. Seoul's Kospi was down 1 percent to 1836.24. In China, the Shanghai Composite lost 1.3 percent to 1,979.98. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell by 2.1 percent to 4,732.40.

The sell-off came as embattled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi vowed not to resign despite the demands of millions of protesters and a threat by military to suspend the constitution, disband parliament and install a new leadership.

Egypt is not an oil producer but its control of the Suez canal — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea — gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies.

"Crude oil prices rallied up, and now some airline shares are down quite significantly," said Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.

Airlines are most immediately affected by changes in energy prices since fuel accounts for a large share of their expenses, but a sustained rise in oil prices could have a ripple effect on the global economy which is already beset by a recession in Europe and a shaky recovery in China.

"It definitely depends on the situation in Egypt now," Wong said.

The Egyptian crisis offset positive signs that the U.S. economy is slowly rebounding, causing American stocks to end slightly lower Tuesday after a morning rally.

The Standard & Poor's 500 closed down 0.88 point, or 0.1 percent, at 1,614.08 The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 14,932.41. The Nasdaq slipped 1.09 points, a fraction of a percentage point, to 3,433.40

In currencies, the euro fell slightly to $1.3000 from $1.3020 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar slipped to 100.69 yen from 100.77 yen.

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Mitsubishi UFJ to buy Thai bank for $5.6 billion

BANGKOK — Japanese megabank Mitsubishi UFJ said it plans to buy a 75 percent stake in Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya for about $5.6 billion.

Mitsubishi UFJ said in a statement Tuesday it has an agreement with GE Capital to buy its 25 percent stake in Bank of Ayudhya and will make an offer to other shareholders to secure a majority shareholding in the Thai lender.

It said it will work with Ratanarak Group, an existing group of shareholders who own about a quarter of Bank of Ayudhya, on the next stage of its development.

The Japanese financial giant said it wants to expand its commercial banking business in Asia and the investment in Bank of Ayudhya will be a platform for that.

Japanese companies are among the biggest foreign investors in Thailand, which serves as a regional production base for automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp.

Mitsubishi UFJ said the takeover offer is likely to be formally launched in November and is subject to regulatory approvals.

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Officials say 3rd day of strike likely

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Bay area commuters should prepare for a third day of transit disruptions as labor discussions with rail workers have not yet yielded an agreement, transit officials said late Tuesday.

With talks going on throughout evening, the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency said there was no indication striking workers would return Wednesday.

Talks continued late into the evening with no sign of stopping, BART spokesman Rick Rice said.

Negotiations resumed as political pressure mounted for a settlement. In a letter, the state controller, lieutenant governor and insurance commissioner urged both sides to return to the bargaining table.

Evan Westrup, a spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown, said the state was sending two of its top mediators — the chair of the Public Employment Relations Board and the chief of the State Mediation and Conciliation Service — to facilitate further talks.

Negotiations were scheduled to start at 6 p.m. between the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency and the two largest unions representing train workers. Calls seeking comment from the agency and unions were not immediately returned.

The letter from the Democratic state officials said the strike has caused "widespread personal hardship and severe economic disruption," and it noted they were disappointed "about the lack of productive proposals and counterproposals in the days leading up to the strike."

The Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored public policy advocacy organization, estimated the strike was costing the region $73 million a day in diminished productivity by workers delayed in traffic or forced into longer commutes using other forms of transit.

The figure was based on state and regional data, anecdotal evidence of commute times, and assumptions about how many people telecommute, said Rufus Jeffris, a spokesman for the group.

Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto, countered that the disruption might be annoying but the impact is minimal on the $600 billion a year regional economy.

"There are no permanent losses," he said. "People work from home, people work harder later the next day or make it up later. The money not being spent in San Francisco remains in the pockets of people who can spend it at home."

Commutes in the region were thrown into chaos when the strike began early Monday after talks with management broke down.

BART is the nation's fifth-largest rail system and carries passengers from the furthest reaches of San Francisco's densely populated eastern suburbs to San Francisco International Airport across the bay.

Freeways have choked to a standstill. Lines for ferry service tripled, and boats were crammed to standing-room only.

Buses were stuffed with riders who felt fortunate to be on board as many commuters were literally left in the dust when buses zoomed by without as much as a honk or an explanation.

About a hundred people waited single-file at the downtown Berkeley bus station. Some had watched multiple full buses cruise by for hours.

"It's already starting to wear on people," said Hilary Hartman, who arrived at San Francisco's Transbay Terminal at 6:45 a.m. Her boss sent her home to work an hour later when she was unable to get on a bus.

"You see the buses trickling in from the East Bay, and it's standing-room only, and people's faces are not super happy when they're getting off," Hartman said.

BART, with 44 stations in four counties and 104 miles of lines, handles more than 40 percent of commuters coming from the East Bay to San Francisco, said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Transit authorities have made accommodations to help during the strike, including longer carpool lane hours and additional ferries and buses. BART doubled the number of buses serving West Oakland to 36 on Tuesday.

The striking unions and management reported being far apart on key issues including salary, pensions, health care and safety.

The unions, which represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff, want a 5 percent raise each year over the next three years.

BART said union train operators and station agents average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually. The workers also pay a flat $92 monthly fee for health insurance.

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Leff and Martha Mendoza contributed to this report.

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Fenway plays defense

The Red Sox are beefing up perimeter security at Fenway Park to defend the historic ball field from terrorist car-bomb attacks.

Fifty-four security bollards will be installed in front of Gates B and C to prevent explosive-laden vehicles from being driven into the park during events.

"The weapon of choice for terrorists is still … to (take) a vehicle laden with explosives and drive it into a building," said Charlie Cellucci, Fenway's director of security and emergency services. "That happens quite frequently in other parts of the world. It's just steps to prevent that at Fenway Park."

The concrete-encased steel barriers, in the planning stages before April's Boston Marathon bombings, were among recommendations that emerged from a December security assessment of Fenway conducted with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Gates B and C are considered Fenway's most vulnerable areas for threats, according to Cellucci. Car traffic on Ipswich Street, for example, flows directly at Gate B. "(It) could continue on a straight path right into that gate," he said. "Gate C was selected because of the large number of fans that would be affected by an incident at that ... gate."

While the Red Sox conduct yearly risk assessments of Fenway, December's DHS assessment was a first. Major League Baseball has asked all clubs to obtain SAFETY (Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies) Act certification from the DHS, Cellucci noted.

The Red Sox, which are paying for the bollards, are going through city permitting with the goal of completing the first-phase installation by Aug. 15.

"We'll be looking at other vulnerable areas around the perimeter of the ballpark," Cellucci said.

Fenway also beefed up security after the Boston Marathon bombings, a Red Sox spokeswoman said. The Boston Police Department Bomb Squad sweeps the park before every home game and remains on hand with an explosives-sniffing dog.

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