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On Nick Markakis as a No. 3 hitter Interested to see what the opinion is now about Nick hitting third? The board was kind of split over it a month back. My two cents says he is doing just fine hitting there. He is hitting to all fields and looks very patient at the plate. I stand by what I said before - it is too early to make major changes in the order. Let it be for a while. Change up the lower half of the order based on injuries and who's hot (or more often who do we need to get out of the lineup)

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Service Merchandise Co., a troubled jewelry and home-products retailer, said the company obtained $750 million in financing and chief executive Gary Witkin abruptly quit as it struggles to pay lenders.The company said it will use the financing from Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank unit to improve operations and repay bank loans and debt obligations. Last month, it failed to make a $13.5 million bond interest payment, triggering a default.Sales have slumped and the company has been trying to attract customers by shifting to traditional stores from catalog stores.

Alarmed at indications of widespread real estate fraud across the country, a Senate subcommittee has quietly launched an investigation that could throw a national spotlight on property flipping in Baltimore.Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations staffers have begun interviewing state and federal criminal investigators who are looking into property flipping and mortgage fraud in Baltimore, as well as others familiar with the problem.More than 2,000 Baltimore properties have been bought and quickly resold over the past three years for at least double the original purchase price.

PRESIDENT Clinton's attorneys recently asked the judge in the Paula Corbin Jones case to move up the trial date, arguing that the case needed the controlled setting of a courtroom, away from "gossip, innuendo and hearsay being passed off as fact."But their aggressive tactics are the last thing the president needs. Instead, the better tactic would be to walk away from the matter tomorrow, by taking immediate steps to get the sordid lawsuit off the front page.How to do this? The president would simply tell his attorneys to stop defending the case.

Returning home after two weeks spent climbing mountains in Ecuador, Joe De Francis declined yesterday to shed light on the possible sale of a minority interest in Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park.De Francis, principal owner of the tracks, said the loan agreement between the Maryland Jockey Club, of which he is president and chief executive officer, and the estate of former Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke contains a confidentiality clause."I have to respect that," De Francis said.

SEOUL, South Korea -- With South Korea careening toward a possible default on its foreign debt, the three leading presidential candidates abruptly took the economic risks more seriously yesterday and signed a pledge promising to put into effect a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund.Yesterday's agreement may modestly help to raise the confidence of foreign investors and bankers, stabilizing the financial markets and reducing the risk of default. But there are still widespread doubts about whether South Korea is ready to accept the pain of a major financial restructuring.

Baltimore took over an empty, graffiti-covered apartment building yesterday, 11 years after developers refurbished it at taxpayers' expense only to default on a federally insured loan.Ashley Apartments is one of at least four troubled rental complexes that the federal government is turning over to the city because the owners failed to pay back their loans. Even as the owners stopped making payments, their properties deterioratedfrom vandalism, drug dealing, high vacancies and poor upkeep.

WITH IDEOLOGUES in both parties eager to sidestep a budget agreement even if it means government-by-stopgap until the November elections, the specter of a federal default grows greater by the day. Despite Congress' refusal to raise the $4.9 trillion debt limit, Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin has made do by borrowing from retirement trust funds to pay government bills. But his options may soon run out.Last week three former Republican Treasury secretaries -- Nicholas Brady, James A. Baker III and Donald Regan -- warned Mr. Rubin that by early February he might be required to take "broader actions" (undefined)

Interstate General Co. Ltd. Partnership may be forced out of business because of federal fines and loan defaults stemming from its conviction on felony wetlands violations, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed by the company.The Charles County developer, scheduled to be sentenced in June, could be liable for millions of dollars in both criminal and civil penalties for violating four counts of the Clean Water Act.In addition, the convictions have resulted in loan defaults on $5.5 million in debt owed to Signet Banking Corp.

IF THE HOUSE Republican leadership has its way, the United States would do something it has never done in its more than 200-year history. It would default on its almost $5 trillion debt, placing this nation in an economic crisis that would take years to overcome.In a game of political hardball, Speaker Newt Gingrich and his supporters devised a strategy that they believed would force President Clinton to accept their budget priorities. The Republican leadership decided in the fall that by refusing to increase the debt ceiling they could force an acceptance of their more controversial budget items, namely deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment and large tax breaks for wealthier Americans.

Developer and banker Edwin F. Hale Sr. is asking a Baltimore court to stop Constellation Energy, the parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., from shutting off the lights of First Mariner Tower and 15 tenants occupying the Canton Crossing building. It is the latest challenge for Hale, whose First Mariner Bancorp has suffered in the past two years after making bad mortgage loans at the height of the housing bubble. Baltimore's largest independent bank reported a $2.4 million loss in the three months that ended June 30. Hale has said he wants to raise capital to shore up the company's finances.

A challenge to the ex-smoker in chief Dear Mr. President, I feel your pain. It is no fun being judged by others for a personal habit, regardless of whether it's bad for your health or not. I cringed the other week when, under the guise of wondering whether your new anti-smoking law will be effective, McClatchy reporter Margaret Talev rattled off a series of nosy questions about your own smoking habits during your first afternoon news conference....

The economic tailspin ensures that 2009 will be a travel year like no other. We're already seeing hefty discounts, but beyond that, who knows? So, rather than deliver dubious prognostications about prices and trends, I offer five New Year's resolutions for the savvy vacationer. I will beware of bankruptcies. Not a personal financial collapse, although few dare to discount that risk these days. I'm talking about airlines, cruise lines, tour companies and travel agencies that suddenly go out of business, stranding customers and collectively devouring thousands, or even millions, in trip deposits.

Oil prices spike on new Wall Street bailout SIOUX FALLS, S.D. : Oil prices jumped about $5 to nearly $55 a barrel yesterday, riding the coattails of the broader market on news that the U.S. government will bail out Citigroup. Light sweet crude for January delivery rose more than 9 percent, or $4.65, to $54.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices hit $55.30 at one point. Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said oil initially seemed to be heading downward, dropping to $48 overnight even amid talk about possible production cuts by OPEC.

The Maryland Insurance Commission said yesterday that it approved a restructuring plan for troubled bond insurer ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. after months of regulatory review and oversight, which was triggered by the company's involvement in the subprime mortgage market. The plan calls for ACA, which is incorporated in Maryland but based in New York, to settle its riskier obligations and focus solely on the municipal bonds it has already insured, paying all claims and administrative expenses until the last commitment matures in 2045.

Throughout the unfolding crisis in subprime mortgages, an industry mantra has been repeated over and over: that it is necessary to charge high interest rates to borrowers who are at greater risk of default. The implication is that lenders expect more defaults from subprime borrowers, but the additional money collected from these loans will cover the higher losses. This reasoning is common in many industries that profit from taking risks. It is the same reasoning that automobile insurance companies use to justify charging higher rates to teenage drivers.

Employers rushing to automatically enroll workers in retirement plans and directing the money to one-stop life-cycle funds are leaving old-fashioned investment advice behind in a cloud of so much dust. That may be a mistake, say advice providers, who are trotting out performance figures that seem to make the case for giving workers access to more advice, not less. While about half of workplace retirement plans offer advice and an equal number automatically enroll workers into a default investment option, the default system is the one with all the momentum, said David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k)

On Nick Markakis as a No. 3 hitter Interested to see what the opinion is now about Nick hitting third? The board was kind of split over it a month back. My two cents says he is doing just fine hitting there. He is hitting to all fields and looks very patient at the plate. I stand by what I said before - it is too early to make major changes in the order. Let it be for a while. Change up the lower half of the order based on injuries and who's hot (or more often who do we need to get out of the lineup)

The powerful and thoroughly documented expose on abuses in Baltimore's archaic system of ground rents, by Fred Schulte and June Arney of The Sun, raises four key points: People who fall behind on ground rents should not be put in danger of losing their houses. It is an outrage that an unpaid debt of as little as a few hundred dollars can lead to the loss of a home. With a mortgage foreclosure, the defaulting homeowner at least gets the difference between the debt and the sales price of the house.

THE SO-CALLED greatest generation that ever lived -- the American generation that prevailed in World War II and then led this nation to worldwide economic dominance -- now appears likely to be the last to enjoy a broad degree of retirement security. Like no others that came before, members of this generation generally have been able to count on the fruits of guaranteed pensions and expanding Social Security and Medicare in their later years. But that is changing so rapidly that it appears their children and grandchildren cannot look to such assurances.