baltimoresun.com - Business

Celebrity Mercury a boost to the port

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

A Mercury ship departing today brings cruise lines in the city to five

The open deck of the Celebrity Mercury has two pools and three whirlpools. The Celebrity cruise line is making Baltimore a departure port for the first time in five years, bringing the number of cruise lines in the city to five. The Mercury is heading out for a 12-night cruise to several Caribbean ports of call. Celebrity discontinued cruises out of Baltimore in 2004 as part of a corporate plan to offer more trips to Europe and Alaska and fewer to the Caribbean. But now, with the recession prompting more cruise passengers to drive, rather than fly, to departure cities, Celebrity is seeing an uptick in interest in its Caribbean trips.

October area home sales up 36 percent

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:28:00 -0500

Some of spike can be attributed to rush to qualify for first-time homebuyer tax credit

Some of spike can be attributed to rush to qualify for first-time homebuyer tax credit

Walmart to open 24 hours on Thanksgiving to ease crowds

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:48 -0500

BRAC fuels office building boom at Aberdeen Proving Ground

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Aberdeen area exception to the recession

Aberdeen Proving Ground area exception to the recession

Magna seeks extension to reveal bid for Maryland tracks

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The bankrupt owner of Maryland's Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park filed Monday a motion seeking to extend the deadline to provide a lead, or "stalking horse," bid for the Maryland assets to Wednesday. Magna Entertainment Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection in March, was scheduled to reveal the lead bidder Monday. According to court documents, Magna said it's working to finalize a purchase agreement with an unnamed party, but negotiations were not expected to be completed by Monday's deadline. Magna received initial bids on the tracks and the Preakness last week. Under the Jan. 8 auction procedures, any party submitting a bid for the Preakness must agree not to move the race outside Maryland.

Tax credit sparks potential homebuyers' questions

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Eileen Ambrose -- Personal Finance

A s soon as Congress passed legislation to expand the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit, readers started sending in questions about whether they would qualify under the new rules.

Job openings stuck near record lows as firms hesitate to hire

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:39:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) — Job openings are at rock-bottom levels, according to government and private surveys released Tuesday, a trend that could keep the unemployment rate high even as layoffs slow.

Thousands more could get help with energy bills, BGE says

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

City Hall panel to vote on energy assistance proposals

More than 130,000 households in the Baltimore area are eligible for assistance with energy bills but are not currently receiving help, a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. representative told members of a City Hall committee Monday.

T. Rowe Price to buy 26% of Indian fund firm in $138M deal

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

$138 million deal will add to its global presence

T. Rowe Price Group has agreed to purchase a 26 percent stake in India's oldest mutual fund firm for $138 million, giving the Baltimore money manager a big presence in a growing market and expanding its global footprint.

Judge sides with Exxon over state gas station operators

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

A federal judge has sided with ExxonMobil Corp. in a case where 65 Maryland gas station operators recently sought to block the oil company from potentially selling their franchises out from under them. The gas station operators, who lease the stations across Maryland from ExxonMobil, filed a lawsuit in September to block what they believed was an imminent sale of their businesses. The station operators have alleged that Exxon is violating laws that would require the company to give the gas station operators the first right to buy the stations. In his ruling Friday, Judge Alexander Williams Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt decided that because Exxon had not yet made moves to sell those gas stations, he could not decide on whether a potential transaction would violate federal law.