New England jobless rate drops to 6.1 percent in April

The unemployment rate in New England fell to 6.1 percent in April, which is slightly below the U.S. average.

The New England information office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the rate for the six-state region on Tuesday. It ticked down from 6.3 percent in March. A year ago, it was 7 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate for the month was 6.3 percent.

Rhode Island had the worst jobless rate in New England, at 8.3 percent. That’s also the highest rate in the nation.

Connecticut’s rate was 6.9 percent, Massachusetts’ was 6 percent, Maine’s was 5.7 percent, New Hampshire’s was 4.4 percent and Vermont’s was 3.3 percent.

Inquirer’s buyers pledge return to journalistic glory

Two business moguls who won control of The Philadelphia Inquirer at an insider sale Tuesday pledged to support serious journalism over so-called click-bait, but they conceded that advertising and circulation gains remain elusive.

Lewis Katz and H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, a former cable magnate-turned-philanthropist, bought out their partners with an $88 million bid for the company, which also operates the Philadelphia Daily News and the news website Philly.com. In 2012, the current ownership group paid $55 million.

The winners vowed to fund in-depth journalism to return the Inquirer to its former glory and to retain its editor, William K. Marimow.

Bank of America says it’s corrected stress test errors

Bank of America Corp. told stockholders that it has corrected errors in an annual stress test overseen by the Federal Reserve, saying the changes had almost no effect on its financial strength rating.

The news on Tuesday sent Bank of America shares higher by 46 cents to $15.18, a gain of more than 3 percent, in afternoon trading in New York.

The mistake, disclosed last month, caused the bank to overstate its capital cushion against losses by $4 billion.

As a result, Bank of America was forced to postpone plans to raise dividend payouts to stockholders and repurchase shares for the first time since the financial crisis, sending its stock into a tailspin.

Starbucks to open cafe with burgers on the menu

Starbucks is dipping its toe into the burger business, with plans to open an outpost of its La Boulange chain that caters to the dinner crowd.

A spokeswoman for Starbucks, Linda Mills, said the Los Angeles restaurant is scheduled to open June 11 and will be open until 10 p.m. It will also serve beer, wine, cocktails and milkshakes.

Starbucks Corp. purchased the La Boulange chain of bakery-cafes in 2012. The cafes are based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Los Angeles cafe will be the first outside of the San Francisco area with a significantly expanded menu.