Business Services

Carroll high school seniors who are the children of small-business owners are eligible to apply for a scholarship offered by Padgett Business Services of Howard County.Padgett offers $500 scholarships to graduating seniors who plan to attend college or other post-secondary school.The student's legal guardian must be an active owner of at least 10 percent of the stock or capital in a local business that employs fewer than 20 people.The deadline for applications is March 1.Regional winners become eligible for a grand prize scholarship of $4,000.

Maryland employers added 6,700 jobs in January, picking up the pace from the end of last year, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday. Businesses added 5,300 jobs in December, according to the agency's revised estimates. In both December and January, all gains came from the private sector as government agencies cut back — eliminating 1,500 jobs in each month. January's uptick wasn't large enough to lower the unemployment rate, which held steady at 6.7 percent. The U.S. jobless rate was 7.9 percent that month.

Scott Sedmak of Arnold will take over as chief of business services for the Anne Arundel County Public Library starting Sept. 2.He comes to the library from the city of Baltimore, where he had worked since 1990 as special assistant to the director of finance. He represented the finance director on several key projects, including the renegotiation of the city employees' benefits package and the acquisition of a $62 million multiagency radio communications systems.Pub Date: 8/07/97

Maryland is throwing a business competition to encourage startups to take root in the state -- the event is called the Invest Maryland Challenge. The prizes total $300,000 in grants and business services. So far, the competition has attracted 37 companies to pitch for a piece of the prize money, include a company from Washington DC and another from Virginia. The categories are computer hardware and software, life sciences and general. Only the general category is open nationally.

FTI Consulting Inc.'s stock price hit a 12-month low Wednesday after the business services company fell short of financial analysts' expectations for first-quarter earnings. The company, which has its corporate headquarters in Baltimore, said it earned 43 cents per share in the three months ending in March. That was up slightly from 42 cents per share a year earlier but 18 cents a share short of what analysts had anticipated. The company attributed the gap to a range of factors, including "expenses and investments that should not recur in 2012.

Unemployment in Maryland ticked up last month as the state lost 9,200 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department said yesterday, though it added that it does not believe the number reflects a reduction in year-round work. The jobless rate rose to 4.4 percent last month from 4.3 percent in July, adjusted for seasonal variations. Gerald Perrins, a regional economist for the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, said local fluctuation in jobs between July and August is generally related to public education.

Maryland employers added 6,700 jobs in January, picking up the pace from the end of last year, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday. Businesses added 5,300 jobs in December, according to the agency's revised estimates. In both December and January, all gains came from the private sector as government agencies cut back — eliminating 1,500 jobs in each month. January's uptick wasn't large enough to lower the unemployment rate, which held steady at 6.7 percent. The U.S. jobless rate was 7.9 percent that month.

The Baltimore region showed nearly double-digit growth in export goods and services in 2010, with room to grow, according to a study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based public policy organization. The report, titled "Export Nation," reviewed data collected from the 100 largest U.S. metro areas. Baltimore was ranked 27th, with exports valued at $9.7 billion. U.S. exports, led by manufacturing, grew faster than at any time since 1997, said Emilia Istrate, the study's lead author.

AT&T plans to raise ratesAmerican Telephone & Telegraph Co., signaling it believes the long-distance pricing wars are history, said yesterday that it was raising rates on its business and consumer long-distance services.It said rates for most business services would increase an average of 3.9 percent, while rates on direct-dialed consumer calls would increase overall by less than 1 percent.

In its drive to become a one-stop shop of financial services, American Express Tax and Business Services Inc. of Towson said yesterday that it has acquired Wolpoff & Co. LLP, one of Baltimore's largest accounting firms.The move follows American Express' purchase last October of Baltimore's Walpert, Smullian & Blumenthal and its July acquisition -- its largest to date -- of New York's Goldstein Golub Kessler & Co. PC, the country's largest single-office accounting firm."The world is changing very quickly; you can either lead change or be left behind," said Alfred Whiteman, a managing director at the former Walpert, now known as American Express Tax and Business Services in Baltimore.

FTI Consulting Inc.'s stock price hit a 12-month low Wednesday after the business services company fell short of financial analysts' expectations for first-quarter earnings. The company, which has its corporate headquarters in Baltimore, said it earned 43 cents per share in the three months ending in March. That was up slightly from 42 cents per share a year earlier but 18 cents a share short of what analysts had anticipated. The company attributed the gap to a range of factors, including "expenses and investments that should not recur in 2012.

The Baltimore region showed nearly double-digit growth in export goods and services in 2010, with room to grow, according to a study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based public policy organization. The report, titled "Export Nation," reviewed data collected from the 100 largest U.S. metro areas. Baltimore was ranked 27th, with exports valued at $9.7 billion. U.S. exports, led by manufacturing, grew faster than at any time since 1997, said Emilia Istrate, the study's lead author.

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said profit was down 33 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier but would have risen if not for the effect of one-time charges from layoffs. FTI warned investors in July that the "special charges" would affect earnings initially, but officials said the reduction in executive management would lead to about $9 million in savings during the second half of the year. The business services firm, which has divisions across the world that help companies restructure, find financial fraud and deal with other corporate challenges, reported $16.9 million in profits during the three months ending in June, down from $25.1 million a year earlier.

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to acquire three practices from LECG Corp. — the majority of its remaining European operations — for an undisclosed amount. FTI is acquiring LECG Corp.'s market-leading competition policy practice, financial advisory services practice and tax consultancy group. FTI, which provides business services ranging from forensic accounting to corporate restructuring, purchased LECG's international arbitration and airline competition practices earlier this year.

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said Tuesday that it had acquired part of competitor LECG Corp. for an undisclosed amount. FTI, which provides business services ranging from forensic accounting to corporate restructuring, purchased LECG's international arbitration and airline competition practices. FTI said it was considering the possibility of acquiring several other divisions of the Pennsylvania-based LECG, which was pressed into a sale by an impending deadline to repay about $28 million in outstanding principal for a maturing loan.

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said Wednesday that its profits declined 55 percent in the first quarter compared with the comparable period a year ago, to $14.2 million. The company took a $30.2 million hit in special charges, three-quarters of that in cash, because it laid off 144 employees and consolidated offices "to eliminate redundancies resulting from acquisitions completed over the last two years," it said. FTI, provider of forensic accounting, restructuring and other business services, said revenues increased about half a percent to $350 million in the first quarter.

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said Tuesday that it had acquired part of competitor LECG Corp. for an undisclosed amount. FTI, which provides business services ranging from forensic accounting to corporate restructuring, purchased LECG's international arbitration and airline competition practices. FTI said it was considering the possibility of acquiring several other divisions of the Pennsylvania-based LECG, which was pressed into a sale by an impending deadline to repay about $28 million in outstanding principal for a maturing loan.

Officers named for professional staff at hospital Dr. Kiran J. Parikh, a surgeon trained at Goa Medical College in India and St. Agnes Healthcare in Baltimore, has been appointed president of the professional staff at Howard County General Hospital. He has been a member of the hospital's medical staff since 1985. Dr. David Nyanjom, who received his degree from Howard University College of Medicine, will be vice president, and Dr. Tuvia Blechman, who joined the staff in 1990 as director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, will be secretary-treasurer.

FTI Consulting Inc., a Baltimore-based provider of forensic accounting, corporate restructuring and other business services, said its chief financial officer has resigned "to pursue other opportunities." Jorge Celaya left Thursday and was replaced by David G. Bannister, formerly the chief administrative officer, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday. Celaya, who agreed to work as a consultant through May, will receive a year's salary as severance plus $700,000.

FTI Consulting Inc., a Baltimore-based provider of forensic accounting, corporate restructuring and other business services, said its chief financial officer has resigned "to pursue other opportunities." Jorge Celaya left Thursday and was replaced by David G. Bannister, formerly the chief administrative officer, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday. Celaya, who agreed to work as a consultant through May, will get a year's salary as severance plus $700,000.