Deal

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Constellation Energy Group warned state regulators on Monday that imposing costly conditions on its deal with a French utility could scuttle the $4.5 billion transaction and jeopardize a multibillion-dollar project to build the first nuclear reactor in the state since the 1970s. Baltimore-based Constellation has been under pressure by Gov. Martin O'Malley to provide one-time credits to customers that could amount to more than $200 per household and to agree to other concessions. The company owns Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., which serves more than 1.1 million residential customers in Maryland.

Maryland energy regulators extended hearings Friday on Constellation Energy Group's proposed nuclear joint venture with a French utility, likely delaying yet again a decision on the fate of the deal. Additional hearings are scheduled for Oct. 14, and Oct. 15 if necessary. That means it's unlikely that the Public Service Commission will make a decision by its Oct. 16 deadline, even though the commission has tried to accommodate the companies' concerns over the timeliness of the deal's closing.

Pocono Resorts Romance Rescue offers $100 for baby sitter What's the deal?: Caesars Pocono Resorts want to give Mommy and Daddy a little bit of "we" time without the kiddies - and they're willing to pay a "baby sitter stipend" to make it happen. The three, couples-only, all-inclusive resorts are offering parents $100 in cash as part of a two-night romantic getaway package. The deal is in response to a parents survey in which 64 percent of respondents said "the romance has decreased significantly since they had kids, but they want to be more romantic," according to the resorts, which sponsored the survey.

Maryland's attorney general called Thursday for additional hearings on Constellation Energy Group Inc.'s deal with a French utility, arguing the companies didn't release final terms of the transaction until after hearings concluded on Monday, defying "any notion of fairness." Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's office asked the Public Service Commission to extend the schedule for the regulatory proceedings by two weeks. The PSC, which had planned to issue a ruling by mid-October, has been considering whether the $4.5 billion sale of nearly half of Constellation's nuclear power business to Electricite de France would hurt Constellation's regulated utility, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., and its customers.

Maryland's Public Service Commission faces a major test of its independence and wisdom as a regulator in its decision whether to approve the proposed purchase by Electricit? de France of nearly half of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear holdings. Gov. Martin O'Malley, who appointed or re-appointed the PSC members, has signaled extreme skepticism of the deal, including in an op-ed Wednesday in The Baltimore Sun in which he claimed the deal held "no real benefits" for Baltimore Gas & Electric ratepayers.

This week, the Maryland Public Service Commission is considering whether to approve Constellation Energy's $4.5 billion deal to sell half its nuclear power business to a French company. Should the PSC approve the deal? Yes 78% No 19% Not sure 3% (1,717 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Are private, for-profit health insurance co-ops preferable to a public option in health care reform? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

This week the Maryland Public Service Commission began a public hearing into Constellation Energy's proposed $4.5 billion sale of half its nuclear assets to a huge French company, EDF. As currently proposed, the deal appears to be a good one for Constellation's CEO and his shareholders but presents enormous risks and no real benefits for more than 1.1 million ratepayers who depend on BGE to provide a vital service at reasonable rates. The PSC and the state have taken an active role in this proceeding not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because we have a legal obligation to do so. If not, we would abdicate our responsibility to protect the interests of BGE customers from Constellation - the same company that brought BGE to the verge of bankruptcy almost one year ago due to speculative trading practices and a massive $1.8 billion accounting error, while simultaneously bestowing an $87 million golden parachute on its CEO, according to a 2009 SEC filing.

Constellation Energy Group has launched an aggressive public relations campaign, with advertising in print, on the radio and online, to garner support for a deal to sell half its nuclear power business to a French utility. The Baltimore company's efforts come as the first of three hearings to solicit public comment begins Wednesday in Annapolis. Maryland regulators are reviewing the $4.5 billion deal with Electricite de France to determine whether it is in the public's best interest. Constellation is trying to get in front of what had been a public tussle between the company and Gov. Martin O'Malley involving behind-the-scenes negotiations for a settlement.

This is a column about how Constellation Energy Group and Electricite de France are going to scrap the $4.5 billion deal that has filled headlines, politics and regulators' files for eight months. My apologies for not writing it sooner - like the day they announced it. We should know by now that, any time Constellation contemplates matrimony, the courtship is probably doomed to political resistance and heartache. Shame about that third nuclear reactor the companies were going to build at Calvert Cliffs on the Chesapeake.

The plans for Baltimore's slots parlor began taking shape publicly Wednesday as the Board of Estimates modified the original deal and permitted the facility to rise on valuable city-owned property that previously was considered off-limits because it had been promised to another developer. The Baltimore City Entertainment Group, the sole entity to bid for a gambling license in the city, now envisions a larger slots palace with access to 11 acres of additional property. It promises to transform a gritty section of the city into a destination, but has raised the eyebrows of developers who opted not to bid for a city slots license and were surprised that the terms of the deal could shift so significantly.