Million

The France-Merrick Foundation confirmed yesterday that it is pledging $5 million to help turn the shuttered Hippodrome Theater in downtown Baltimore into a showcase for Broadway shows - but with strings attached. Under the deal, the Towson foundation will guarantee $1 million. The remaining $4 million must be matched by other private donors, said Walter D. Pinkard Jr., France-Merrick's vice president. Planners hope to complete the $56 million renovation, a public-private expense, by fall 2003.

USinternetworking Inc., the Annapolis company that leases business management software over the Internet, lowered financial forecasts for the year yesterday and said its losses for the second quarter widened even as revenue increased. The company reported a net loss of $51.5 million, or 37 cents per share, for the quarter, including a charge of $7.8 million for the cost of layoffs and closing some facilities during the first and second quarters. Revenue in the quarter, which ended June 30, was $32.2 million.

Howard County is to receive $1.1 million in federal Homeland Security funding - a 4.5 percent share of $25 million being distributed across Maryland. The money will go to the county Department of Fire and Rescue Services' emergency management office, according to Victoria Goodman, a county spokeswoman. "It was anticipated," she said of the funding, but is important because it will pay for training on new equipment and for simulated cyber, biological and explosive attacks on the county.

Department heads have told Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker they want $108 million in capital projects -- $14 million more than they asked for last year and $34.7 million more than what they were actually granted.Their requests for fiscal 1994 were forwarded to the Planning Board on Monday for its perusal. The board will conduct a public hearing on the requests Feb. 18.A majority of projects, $67 million worth, would be financed through the sale of general obligation bonds.The county's bond affordability committee, which recommends ceilings on bond sales, has yet to issue a report for the coming fiscal year.

Maryland's Venture Capital Trust, the state's tool for placing government money in venture capital partnerships, invested about $3.6 million last year and now has invested a total of $15.8 million.The trust bought shares in eight limited partnerships committed to investing in businesses in Maryland. Through the end of last year, the venture funds had put $50.6 million into 29 emerging Maryland companies.Venture Capital Trust still has more than $3 million to invest. It has been financed for several years with $19.1 million in commitments: $2 million from the state's general fund; $15 million from the Maryland Retirement and Pension System; $1.26 million from the Baltimore Fire and Police Employees Retirement System; and $840,000 from the Baltimore Employees Retirement System.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland announced yesterday that it earned $37 million in the second quarter, a record high achieved largely because of a one-time event -- the sale of its Green Spring Mental Health Services Inc. subsidiary.Without the sale in May for $37.2 million, the insurer's earnings would have dropped considerably over the same period last year. The company said it would have earned $9 million in the three months that ended June 30 compared with earnings of $20.7 million for the same period in 1992.

NEW YORK -- Salomon Bros. Inc. said yesterday that its profits from improper bids in eight Treasury bond auctions amounted to between $3.3 million and $4.6 million, far less than had been speculated.The announcement came after a three-month internal investigation by Salomon as part of a report on its improper actions to various federal agencies investigating the activities.Because of the complexity involved, Salomon had not been able to determine the economic impact of its misconduct or the profitability of its government bond operations.

Human Genome Sciences Inc., the Rockville genomics and biotechnology firm, reported yesterday a net loss of $8.5 million, or 38 cents a share, on revenue of $3 million for its fourth quarter which ended Dec. 31.By comparison, the company had a net loss of $9.5 million, or 51 cents a share, on revenue of $3 million during the corresponding quarter in 1996.For the year, HGSI reported a loss of $21.4 million, or 99 cents a share, on revenue of $25.6 million. For 1996, HGSI reported a loss of $7.8 million on revenue of $36.5 million.

WASHINGTON -- Vonage Holdings Corp., unprofitable since it began offering Internet phone service four years ago, is seeking $563.4 million in an initial public offering to boost advertising and fend off new competitors. Vonage will sell 31.3 million shares, or 20 percent of its stock, for $16 to $18 each, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The sale would value Vonage at about $2.82 billion. The money will allow Vonage to continue a marketing campaign as competition increases from cable and telephone companies.

Shares of Baltimore-based Caliber Learning Network Inc., a money-losing, development-stage distributor of education and training programs for working adults, rose as much as 21 percent yesterday in their first day of trading.The company rose $2 to finish at $16 as 1.6 million shares changed hands on the Nasdaq stock market. Earlier, the stock touched $16.88. The company and selling shareholders sold 5.7 million shares, a 47 percent stake, at $14 each, raising $79.8 million. The sale gave Caliber a market capitalization of about $168.