Maryland Financial Briefs: March 9, 2007

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Mar 9, 2007 by Maryland Daily Record Staff

Payment to BCSB

BCSB Bankcorp Inc., the holding company for Baltimore County Savings Bank, announced it received a $3.35 million payment from its insurer to cover a portion of the losses sustained in a check-fraud scheme last year. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, BCSB lost $10.8 million, or $6.9 million after taxes. The bank said it will continue to pursue further recoveries, but expects those will take an extended period of time.

Rash Field decision

The Baltimore Development Corp., the Parking Authority of Baltimore City and several city agencies jointly said five teams have been chosen from an initial 14 that responded to a Request for Proposals to design a new Rash Field at the Inner Harbor's south shore that incorporates an underground parking facility. Selected to make presentations are: Hord Coplan Macht Inc.; PB Americas Inc./ Halvorson Design Partnership Inc.; Timothy Haahs & Associates Inc./ EDSA; Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP/ Mahan Rykiel Associates; and Ziger/Snead Architects/Thomas Balsley Associates.

$100 million grant

A $100 million grant from the Stanley Medical Research Institute, of Chevy Chase, will enable the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass., a genomics venture by MIT and Harvard, to examine the genetics behind severe mental illness by collecting and analyzing thousands of DNA samples from people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The institute, with an endowment of over $300 million, calls itself the world's biggest private source of philanthropic support for psychiatric research. It is funded by Ted Stanley, 75, the founder of direct marketer MBI Inc., and his wife, Vada.

J. Bank sees sales increase

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., of Hampstead, a manufacturer and retailer of upscale menswear and accessories, said its total sales for the four weeks ended March 3, 2007, increased 13.3 percent to $38.3 million, versus $33.8 million for the comparable period in 2006. Same-store sales - sales at stores open at least a year - rose 2.8 percent. Combined catalog and Internet sales increased 28.2 percent.

Blast-proof truck bid

Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense company, has joined a bid by Armor Holdings Inc.

for a U.S. Marine Corps program to build blast-resistant trucks that may eventually award contracts totaling $2 billion. Bethesda- based Lockheed will be a subcontractor to Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings and offer capabilities in systems integration, according to Kathryn Hasse, Lockheed's director of tactical wheeled vehicles.

Cardin to co-chair CSCE

Freshman Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., was named co-chairman of the prestigious Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the American arm of the largest regional security organization in the world. The CSCE is part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is also known as the Helsinki Commission. The organization was formed in 1975 and now includes 56 nations in North America, Europe, Africa and Central Asia, collectively working to address military security, human rights violations, environmental concerns and economic issues.

Language skill at an early age

The National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland said it will launch this summer a new, federally funded initiative that will send as many as 1,100 students in 21 states and the District of Columbia to intensive camp and school programs to learn Arabic and Chinese, part of an effort that the Bush administration began in 2006 to teach critical, uncommonly taught languages at an earlier age. The program will also help train as many as 600 Arabic and Chinese speakers to teach the languages in high schools.

Medical mistakes costly

A lack of comprehensive oversight of medications is contributing to an increased risk of harmful medication errors throughout the surgery process, from the time a patient enters the hospital to the time of departure, according to a report issued by a team of medical organizations led by the Rockville-based United States Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit, nongovernmental, standards-setting organization established to ensure good pharmaceutical care.

Out of this world

Hughes Network Services Inc., of Germantown, an international provider of satellite broadband services, said it has awarded a launch services contract to Arianespace for the launch of its next- generation Spaceway 3 satellite, with an expected launch date of August from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. This will be the world's first commercial satellite with on-board switching, and will deliver broadband services throughout North America. Arianespace is a private European commercial space consortium that has launched more than 240 satellites using its Ariane launch vehicles.

WeatherBug: Vista compatible

WeatherBug, of Germantown, a provider of live, local weather information, announced the availability of the newly Windows Vista- Certified WeatherBug desktop application and WeatherBug Vista Gadget, which allows users to view weather information even when their laptop or PC is turned off. Available for free, each product offers live, local weather conditions, radar, forecasts and severe weather alerts from the WeatherBug Network of 8,000 tracking stations and 1,000 cameras across the United States.