Wallingford-based manufacturer Amphenol Corp. has purchased Halo Technology Limited for approximately $715 million, Amphenol announced Wednesday.

Halo, which is based in California, makes fiber-optic interconnect components. Halo anticipates its 2021 sales to be in the vicinity of $250 million.

Amphenol has locations around the world, and it makes products such as electronic and fiber-optic connectors and high-speed specialty cable. Its customers are in an array of industries, such as aerospace, military, automotive and broadband communications. Read More

Rent and house prices are still up in Connecticut compared to last year, although the real estate market may be slowing down from earlier in the year, new data shows.

Average rent prices for two-bedrooms in Connecticut were $2,349 in October, up about 17 percent from October of last year. For one bedrooms, the prices increased about 13 percent to $1,862, according to a new report from Apartment Guide.

And the House Price Index showed a nearly 18 percent increase in house prices in Connecticut for the July, August and September quarter. The jump was the 22nd-highest increase in the nation. Read More

The new home COVID-19 test from Guilford’s Detect can recognize the Omicron variant of the virus and will go on sale within weeks, the company announced Wednesday.

“Detect’s comprehensive bioinformatics analysis indicates that the Detect COVID-19 test will identify Omicron as accurately as it recognizes the other major COVID-19 variants,” the company said in a statement.

Harry Kemble, Detect’s informatics and nucleic acids group lead, said, “We are constantly monitoring new variants for potential interactions with our test by computational surveillance. Detect has access to wet lab testing to confirm strong test performance should any potentially problematic new variants arise in the future.” Read More

President Joe Biden has approved Gov. Ned Lamont's request to add New Haven County to the existing FEMA Individual Assistance presidential major disaster declaration due to the damage caused by remnants of Hurricane Ida in early September.

Lamont's office said the portions of the declaration that were approved include the FEMA Individual Assistance Program for individuals and households in New Haven County, which is an addition to the existing declaration for Fairfield County and New London County, including the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribal Nation. Read More