Price Increases

The cost of parking in some of Baltimore's most popular neighborhoods soon will double as part of an effort to close the city's $121 million budget gap. Metered parking rates will jump to $2 an hour in Mount Vernon, Harbor East, Federal Hill, Fells Point and downtown as soon as the changes can be implemented, according to an item approved by the city's spending board Wednesday. The higher rates bring Baltimore in line with nearby cities such a Philadelphia, New York and Washington and will expedite turnover of parking spaces, making it easier to find a spot, according to the city officials.

In one of the most challenging times for supermarkets in many years, price played an important role in how well area grocery stores performed last year, according to an annual survey released by trade publication Food World. Giant Food gained market share in the Baltimore region for the first time in six years, appealing to shoppers with lower prices and other things such as renovated stores. Giant's share of the market increased to 27.58 percent in the 12-month period that ended March 31, from 27.48 percent the previous year, according to the publication.

WASHINGTON - After a couple of months of calm, nervousness returned to financial markets yesterday. Stocks slumped after the government reported that a key indicator of inflation jumped sharply in April and the Federal Reserve's second-in-charge signaled that inflation remains a threat, making further interest rate cuts unlikely. Adding to the gloom, oil prices closed above $129 a barrel for the first time - ahead of this weekend's start of the summer driving season. The day's events stood in contrast to the optimistic picture painted by the Bush administration only Monday, when Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. told the president that the worst seemed over for the slumping U.S. economy.

Penny-pinching consumers have switched from McCormick & Co.'s gourmet spices to company products that are more economically priced. They're also eating out less at the restaurants where McCormick supplies spices, flavorings and condiments. But by raising prices, McCormick managed to offset weaknesses in the economy as well as higher costs for commodities. And it allowed the local food company to report yesterday a 16 percent increase in fiscal first-quarter earnings. Net income for the three months that ended Feb. 29 was $51.4 million, or 39 cents per diluted share.

An Orioles spokesman confirmed yesterday that the club has raised season ticket prices for select seats at Camden Yards for 2008, the first such increase in several years. "Camden Yards remains affordable to everyone as a season-plan holder or on an individual basis," said Greg Bader, the Orioles' director of communications. "A select number of season tickets have increased one to three dollars for the first time in four seasons, as we remain committed to creating the premier ballpark experience to everyone who attends an Orioles game."

With all the conflicting reports on housing prices and the direction of the market, you might ask: What's really going on out there? If, as the National Association of Realtors reported last month, the median price of an existing home nationwide fell by 3.1 percent in 2006, does that mean that your house lost value as well? Or do you focus instead on the more upbeat numbers released last Friday by the federal agency that tracks value shifts in the country's largest database of existing dwellings?

MOSCOW -- Russia and Belarus traded bitter words yesterday in a dispute over natural gas prices that threatened to damage relations between the longtime allies and disrupt supplies to other European countries. The Russian state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom reiterated a threat to cut off natural gas for Belarus on Monday if no agreement on price is reached by then, and it accused Belarus of planning to steal gas intended for European Union states by tapping into pipelines carrying Russian gas west.

The remarkable rise in house prices in Baltimore is over for now. A steady and sustainable increase in prices is good news for the local economy, but the more than doubling of the average price since 1998 is probably a sign of too much, too fast. What will the fallout be? Most of us will be unscathed, except for the loss of party chatter about how much more our houses are worth this year compared with last. Those holding multiple houses that they purchased more recently, or developers of new properties not yet sold, may find themselves less sanguine.

The number of homes sold last month in metropolitan Baltimore posted the smallest decline in 10 months as sellers became increasingly willing to forgo price gains - a trend that could signal that the sales slump here may be nearing bottom. The average price of 2,733 homes sold in Baltimore and the five surrounding counties was $309,753 last month, a slight increase from the $309,291 average in November last year and the weakest performance in at least five years, according to the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. And the 12.91 percent sales decline from a year earlier was the lowest since February and a sharp improvement over the past five months, when year-over-year sales declines ranged from 22 percent to 30 percent.

East Coast passengers are likely to see fewer choices and pay higher fares if a US Airways takeover of Delta Air Lines is successful, a move that industry analysts expect will accelerate airline consolidation and further shake up air travel. Discount carriers such as Southwest Airlines are likely to make up some flight losses, but they also face pressure to raise fares to cover higher oil and labor costs. US Airways announced yesterday its $8 billion hostile bid for Delta, which is likely to spark other offers for the airline.