Smooth sailing for local cruise business in 2022

The cruise ship business in Boston bounced back in 2022 after two dry years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions. The cruise season at the Massachusetts Port Authority’s Flynn Cruiseport terminal in South Boston just wrapped up, with about 310,000 passengers and 128 ship visits for the year. Many of the ships this year came close to reaching their sailing capacity, particularly in July and August. The numbers have not yet returned to pre-COVID numbers, but they’re not far away either: In 2019, Massport reported about 400,000 passengers, an all-time record for the then-33-year-old terminal, and 138 ship visits. (There were no ship visits in 2020 and only seven in 2021.) In October of this year, the passenger count actually surpassed the passenger count in October 2019 by 5 percent, according to Massport. The largest ship to visit this year was Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Sea, an 1,100-foot-long vessel with capacity for nearly 4,200 passengers. — JON CHESTO
Get Innovation Beat Boston Globe tech reporters tell the story of the region’s technology and innovation industry, highlighting key players, trends, and why they matter. Enter Email Sign Up
SOCIAL MEDIA
Advertisement
Elon Musk risks giving a helping hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin if Twitter’s recent staff cuts prevent the platform from rooting out propaganda about the war in Ukraine, one of the European Union’s top officials warned. Failing to take on fake or misleading content online could “lead to the very quick abuse” of Twitter, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova, who’s spearheading efforts to tackle online disinformation, said in an interview with Bloomberg. This includes making sure the platform doesn’t become a hub for Russian propaganda. The comments are the latest warning shot over the possible side effects of mass resignations and layoffs after Musk closed his $44 billion purchase of the world’s most influential social media platform — including its ability to abide by a raft of EU legislation including the bloc’s strict General Data Protection Regulation and new Digital Services Act. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Advertisement
MORTGAGES
Rates fall again
The average long-term US mortgage rate ticked down for the third week in a row and have fallen more than a half-point since hitting a 20-year high less than a month ago. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate fell to 6.49 percent from 6.58 percent last week. A year ago the average rate was 3.11 percent. The rate for a 15-year mortgage, popular with those refinancing their homes, edged down to 5.76 percent from 5.90 percent last week. It was 2.39 percent one year ago. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
LABOR
UK to face strikes every day until Christmas Eve
The UK will be affected by strikes every day this month in the run-up to Christmas, with trade union leaders increasing threats to coordinate industrial action and cause maximum disruption in their quest for higher wages. Workers from the country’s rail network, buses, postal service, health sector, and schools are among those staging walkouts amid high inflation and government plans to rein in public spending. The day with the least expected disruption is Dec. 4, this Sunday, with only a walkout on some bus services expected to spill into the morning. Otherwise, full strikes are currently scheduled on every date until Dec. 24. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
Google fighting EU antitrust fine
Google is challenging a record European Union antitrust fine that took aim at the Android operating system’s role in restricting mobile competition and consumer choice. The company said Thursday that it filed the appeal against the 4.125 billion euro ($4.3 billion) penalty “because there are areas that require legal clarification from the European Court of Justice,” the EU’s top court. Google previously appealed to a lower tribunal, which had slightly lowered the original 4.34 billion-euro penalty in a decision largely siding with the European Commission. It’s the largest-ever antitrust fine issued by the commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top competition watchdog. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Advertisement
LEGAL
Prosecutors say former Theranos president should get 15 years in prison
Ex-Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani should spend 15 years in prison for defrauding investors and patients, prosecutors said. His lawyers countered he should be spared jail entirely. The recommendations were filed at federal court in San Jose, Calif., one week before Balwani’s sentencing by US District Judge Edward Davila. Last month, the judge handed ex-Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes an 11-year jail term. Davila’s decision will reveal whether he views Balwani’s role in the fraud as deeper and more involved than Holmes’s. Whereas Holmes was acquitted of charges she defrauded patients, Balwani was convicted on those counts, potentially making him more vulnerable to a stiffer prison sentence. Prosecutors also want a court order requiring Balwani to pay $804 million in restitution to investors. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Want to dress like your avatar? Forever 21 thinks so
There’s no shortage of skepticism about the metaverse, but one legitimate business strategy could be using virtual worlds as a testing ground for physical products. That’s a hypothesis Forever 21 has been incubating since it set up a shop in Roblox a year ago. In the virtual world, the fast-fashion giant made a splash selling digital goods that users buy to outfit their avatars. A black beanie, a product it didn’t offer in the real world, selling for about 70 cents is on track to be purchased 1.5 million times this year, making it one of the brand’s top-performing items ever. Forever 21 is now bringing that beanie and other digital-first items to its stores and website in what it has called the first clothing line tested in the metaverse. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Advertisement
LUXURY
Rolex to authenticate preowned watches
Rolex will begin issuing certificates of authenticity to authorized dealers selling its preowned watches in a move that will give the Swiss company more oversight of its products and shake up the $20 billion market for secondhand luxury timepieces. Swiss dealer Bucherer will be the first to begin selling preowned Rolex watches that are certified as authentic by the company at stores across Europe, Rolex said on its website. The move to authenticate its own preowned watches marks a significant shift for Rolex, whose timepieces dominate secondhand sales at dealers and online. The luxury preowned watch market is expected to grow to $35 billion by 2030, according to Deloitte. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
CURRENCY
Yellen vows you will be able to read her signature on dollars
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, whose signature will soon appear on US currency, joked with talk show host Stephen Colbert that she worked hard to avoid the ridicule faced by some of her recent predecessors over their sloppy handwriting. “Tim Geithner and Jack Lew signed the currency and their signatures were so illegible that people made fun of them,” Yellen said Wednesday during a taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS. “Secretary Lew, he signed it with something that looked like eight circles that were connected,” she said with a laugh. “So, I knew this was something you could really screw up, and I wanted to get it right, and I practiced and I practiced.” The Treasury chief is scheduled to visit a Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 8 where she’ll unveil the first dollars bearing her signature. — BLOOMBERG NEWS