SPORTS
By Dan Connolly | January 8, 2009
As spring training approaches, the Orioles and Brian Roberts have moved no closer to a contract extension, but the second baseman's agent believes there is still a chance. "We certainly haven't made any progress recently, but neither side has closed the door," said Roberts' agent, Mark Pieper. Although neither Pieper nor the club will comment on specifics, an industry source said the Orioles have offered a multiyear deal worth about $10 million per season but that the sides are still significantly apart in terms of both years and money.
SPORTS
By ROCH KUBATKO | December 2, 2007
I'm still blown away that the New York Yankees gave catcher Jorge Posada a four-year, $52.4 million deal. He'll turn 40 in the final year of his contract. Aging catchers don't usually increase in value, though Posada apparently has. How long before he's moved to first base? Oh, yeah: So much for all that talk about players leaving the Bronx out of loyalty to Joe Torre. Money talks, and catchers in their late 30s are especially eager to listen. roch.kubatko@baltsun.com For more Roch Around the Clock, go to baltimoresun.
NEWS
By Tricia Bishop | April 24, 2007
London's AstraZeneca PLC said yesterday that it will pay $15.6 billion in cash to acquire FluMist developer MedImmune Inc. in a deal that highlights how far the pharmaceutical industry is willing to go to shore up its future by tapping into biotechnology. The $58-per-share price tag is the highest paid for a Maryland-based company. And it's significantly more than most investors had predicted when MedImmune, whose headquarters is in Gaithersburg, announced this month that it was considering a sale.
NEWS
By John Spano | July 15, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- Negotiators completed a historic deal yesterday that settles the legal claims of more than 500 victims of alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Victims will receive a total of $660 million, by far the largest of any settlements arising nationwide from the five-year-old clergy abuse scandal, representatives of both the church and the plaintiffs confirmed last night. The average payout will be in excess of $1.3 million. "The settlement is complete," announced Raymond Boucher, the lead attorney for victims.
NEWS
By Andrew A. Green | July 8, 2007
Last week's debate over an Eastern Shore land deal brought to the surface tensions that have been brewing between Gov. Martin O'Malley and Comptroller Peter Franchot for months over how Maryland's chief tax collector plans to change the structure and scope of his office, a problem some political observers believe became inevitable when voters elected the two highly ambitious Democrats last fall. A day after Franchot demanded a halt to an open-space purchase in Queen Anne's County until the administration answered his 11-point query about the deal, the governor directed some unusually pointed public barbs at Franchot, who represented Montgomery County in the House of Delegates for two decades.
BUSINESS
By Andrea K. Walker | June 28, 2007
The parent of Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice said yesterday that the sale of the food distributor remains on track despite the failure of a bond sale intended to help finance the deal. Dutch food company Royal Ahold, which also owns Giant Food, agreed in May to a $7.1 billion deal to sell U.S. Foodservice to private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. On Tuesday, U.S. Foodservice postponed plans to sell $650 million in senior notes because of weak market conditions, an Ahold spokeswoman confirmed yesterday.
SPORTS
By Jeff Zrebiec | February 1, 2007
While continuing to discuss a long-term contract extension with Brian Roberts, the Orioles are closing in on a one-year deal with the second baseman that, in the short term, will help the two sides avoid salary arbitration. The one-year deal, which could be finalized and announced as early as today, according to a source close to the negotiations, likely will be for about $4.2 million, the midpoint of the arbitration figures filed by both parties in mid-January. Roberts asked for $4.6 million, and the Orioles offered $3.8 million.
BUSINESS
By Jay Hancock | July 18, 2007
As psychological trauma goes, losing a job ranks with divorce and the death of a loved one at the top of the scale. Shame there's so much paperwork. The 11-page contract that laid-off employees from PNC Financial Services Group must sign is the most complicated severance deal I've seen for anybody without a regular seat on a corporate jet. Hundreds of former Mercantile Bankshares workers have to think about whether to select "Option A" or "Option B" in their PNC separation deals. They're supposed to apply for state unemployment benefits, even while collecting severance checks from the company.
BUSINESS
By Andrew Leckey | August 26, 2007
What do you think of my shares of Finish Line Inc.? Will the company's recent acquisition help or hinder it? - F.M., via the Internet Success doesn't always breed success. The giant footwear retailer was successful recently in outmaneuvering rival Foot Locker Inc. to strike a deal to purchase Genesco Inc. for $1.5 billion. This deal, slated to close in the fall, would make its product mix more diversified and upscale, something Foot Locker also was trying to accomplish. Finish Line operates more than 800 Finish Line, Man Alive and Paiva stores.
NEWS
By Matthew Mosk | May 8, 1999
The Anne Arundel County state's attorney has launched an investigation into former County Executive John G. Gary's decision to have his staff pay a campaign contributor $1 million for 7 acres in Maryland City, the prosecutor's office said yesterday.A spokeswoman from that office confirmed that the investigation is under way but would not discuss it. Two county officials, speaking on the condition they not be named, said investigators visited county offices this week and collected documents relating to the deal.