Basu

Eight years after officials launched an ambitious, $100 million urban revitalization program in Baltimore, the areas that make up the city's federally funded empowerment zone remains deeply troubled. Although poverty has dropped, unemployment has increased. And, far from creating promised "neighborhoods of choice," the empowerment zone lost population during the 1990s at twice the rate of the city as a whole. This mixed picture of success and shortcomings in the empowerment zone is apparent from other indicators as well.

Spurred on by record incentives, Maryland consumers bought more new cars during August than during any month since last October, according to figures released by the Motor Vehicle Administration. Dealers sold 38,965 new cars and light trucks during August, a gain of 4 percent over a strong August 2001. For dealers, it was their best August since 1991, when the MVA resumed releasing title registration figures, which equate with sales. Anirban Basu, director of applied economics at Towson University's RESI economic research institute, said that while new-car sales are still a leading economic indicator, they are being influenced by the auto manufacturer's zero-percent financing plans and lucrative rebates.

Maryland consumers tightened their purse strings slightly in May, producing the first decline in new-car sales in the state in eight months, according to figures released yesterday by the Motor Vehicle Administration. "Maryland's economy is very sluggish at this time," said Anirban Basu, director of applied economics at Towson University's RESI Research & Consulting. "We're still seeing large-scale layoffs, but we are doing better than most other parts of the country." Basu attributed much of this to Maryland's being in the top one-third of the states in the nation in terms of job growth.

Carroll's labor force earned high marks for basic skills but was found deficient in the written communication and technology skills today's employers seek, according to the results of a county-commissioned survey. Computer literacy and employee training were the top concerns of the 128 companies that responded to the survey, which was presented yesterday to the county's Economic Development Commission. Several commission members said the study, which cost the county $6,500, shows the county's schools and colleges should offer courses to meet the technology demands of the business community.

Though the United States has clearly dropped into recession, government moves forced by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks virtually guarantee that the downturn will be milder than that of 1990-1991, a local think tank's chief economist predicted yesterday. Maryland should suffer less than it did in the last recession and benefit more from the rebound, added Anirban Basu, chief economist at RESI Research & Consulting, a Towson University think tank. The promised infusion of billions by the federal government, in tandem with the central bank's aggressive interest-rate-cutting campaign, should shorten the recession and hasten the rebound this time around, he said.

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington had little, if any, impact on employment in Maryland, during September, according to statistics released yesterday by the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, but there is likely to be bad news ahead for the state's economy, analysts said. Maryland's unemployment rates rose slightly in September, to 4 percent from the 3.9 percent in August, according to a department survey done after the attacks. The rate here compared with a national jobless rate of 4.7 percent in September.

Steve Basu wanted to attend the August funeral of Dr. Yvette Beakes, whose story was painfully familiar. But the single father couldn't find anyone to stay with his 11-year-old daughter. Basu didn't know Beakes, but he felt as though he did. Tragedy, whether singular or widespread, has a way of connecting people. It's hard to remember what constituted news before Sept. 11. But in August, Beakes' death made headlines for nearly a month. The 26-year-old pharmacist was followed to her Glen Burnie home where her Acura was carjacked.

Big incentives - in some cases $2,500 and even $3,500 - are being credited for a 4.1 percent jump in new-car sales in the state during July. Based on registration figures released yesterday by the Motor Vehicle Administration, Maryland dealers sold 35,668 cars and light trucks in July, compared with 34,271 vehicles sold during July 2000. For dealers, it was their best July since 1991, when the MVA resumed releasing sales figures. The jump in sales during July ended a five-month stretch during which sales were below the corresponding month of 2000.

House hunters in the Baltimore metropolitan area paid no heed to signs of the slumping stock market or a sluggish U.S. economy as sales of existing homes in March rose 15.66 percent over the same period last year. The rise in sales capped a first quarter in which sales soared 27.77 percent over sales in the first three months of 2000, according to statistics released by the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., the multiple-listing database used by real estate brokers. "Looking at the numbers and talking to people, the market is strong.

More than 2,700 Marylanders will lose their jobs in the coming months as cash-strapped Wards goes out of business, signaling essentially a retail shakeout across the state. The Chicago retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December, will close 16 stores in Maryland. That will amount to 2,731 workers losing their lobs starting in mid-March, according to a statement filed with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. "What that basically says is that on or about March 13 is when the associates will begin to be laid off, and it will continue through the winding down of the stores," said Joyce Pemberton, a spokeswoman for Wards.