Investment

Tidewater Yacht Service Center in Port Covington was named winner of the 2012 Maryland Clean Marina contest in the large boatyard category. The business was commended by the Department of Natural Resources for taking steps to protect the environment such as: having a recycling program for plastic shrink wrap, oil, cardboard, glass and plastic; taking part in oyster aquaculture to help clean the water; installing fixed and portable pump out stations; and...

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it raised $191.3 million in its latest auction of TARP securities, including $5.8 million for its stake in Delmar Bancorp in Salisbury. The Troubled Asset Relief Program was created more than four years ago to infuse cash into banks at a time when the country's financial system was near collapse. In exchange for cash, the government received securities from banks that paid dividends and interest. The government is winding down the TARP program, and this latest auction is the first in which securities were sold at banks that were behind in payments.

Mark E. Stoeckle has been named CEO of Baltimore-based Adams Express Co. and Petroleum & Resources Corp., replacing Douglas G. Ober, who last year announced his intention to retire. Stoeckle, 56, has been the chief investment officer of the U.S. Equities and Global Sector Funds for BNP Paribas Investment Partners, a Boston investment management firm. "With his outstanding record of achievement, he has the leadership ability and experience that are ideally suited to lead our portfolio management team and the companies," said Daniel E. Emerson, the lead independent director for the two companies, in a statement.

A division of the World Bank Group announced Wednesday that it has invested $150 million in Laureate Education Inc., giving the international development organization a small stake in the Baltimore-based global higher education company. "It's an incredibly strong endorsement for the company," said Douglas L. Becker, Laureate's chairman and CEO, of the investment by the International Finance Corp. and its affiliate, the IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund. With annual revenue of about $4 billion, Laureate does not need the money but is eager to have the backing of an investor led by members of international governments, he said.

Somewhere in the third year of Tribune Co.'s marathon Chapter 11 proceeding, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey looked out at a Delaware courtroom packed with high-priced attorneys and conceded the case had broken down into what he called a "multiconstituent melee. " "The parties are represented by some of the best lawyers in the field," he said. "You know how to fight well ... but nobody ends up the better for it, really. " Carey was trying to make a point about the foundation of bankruptcy law, which recognizes that a company and its creditors are better off hammering out a settlement than fighting endless court battles.

The New York real estate firm that purchased Harborplace in November paid close to $100 million for the iconic Inner Harbor shopping center, according to Baltimore land records. Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., through an affiliate company called AAC HP Realty LLC, spent $98.5 million to buy the two shopping pavilions from General Growth Properties, records show. AAC borrowed $76 million from UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. to finance the transaction, records show. Although news of the sale of Harborplace did not become public until last fall, Ashkenazy and General Growth, according to land records, entered into a sale agreement in March.

The current political divide in Congress offers an opportunity for Americans to have a conversation about federal spending, which should not be confused with investing federal dollars to grow the economy ("Trouble ahead," Jan. 2). Are continuing to rebuild our infrastructure and educating our children an appropriate use of federal dollars? I believe they are, and here's why: College affordability remains an issue for most students and their families, despite the 2012 Pell Grant appropriation of $30.3 billion.

The state's technology development arm said Monday that it has changed key investment programs, will be managing new funds and has launched a program to help companies seeking patents. The Maryland Technology Development Corp., known as TEDCO, said the changes include raising to $100,000 the amount of funding a startup company can receive for a project from the Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund - newly renamed the Technology Commercialization Fund. The maximum had been $75,000.

Legg Mason Capital Management's chief investment strategist, Michael J. Mauboussin, resigned as of Jan. 2, said Mary Athridge, Legg Mason Inc.'s spokeswoman. Mauboussin's resignation is not a surprise, and he's expected to announce his plans in the next couple of weeks, she said. Right now, Athridge said, he is focused on promoting his newest book, "The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing. " Before joining the Capital Management subsidiary of Baltimore-based Legg Mason in 2004, Mauboussin was the managing director and chief U.S. investment strategist at Credit Suisse.

Over the past decade many studies have reached the conclusion that investing in high-quality early childhood education is a successful hedge against poverty. Students who attend Head Start, America's comprehensive early childhood education and development program for poor children, are far better prepared to learn when they enter kindergarten. They are referred for special education services less frequently and they are also more likely to graduate high school. As adults they are less likely to be incarcerated and more likely to be successful, contributing members of society than those who do not attend such programs.