Products

Roberto Pagan-Franco didn't have a bank account for decades. His employer paid him in cash or with a check that the Baltimore resident took to a check-cashing store. A few years ago he lost his job after a severe illness and for a time was homeless. Not exactly the type of customer you'd expect a big bank to court. But Pagan-Franco enrolled in a PNC Bank program that targets consumers who otherwise might be shut out of the banking system. And today, the 54-year-old has checking and savings accounts at PNC and is in the process of getting a credit card.

Long before the throngs of audience members generate "oohs" and "ahhs," the staff of the UniverSoul Circus begins to craft its unusual performances, spending months combing the globe for fresh acts. The result includes performers such as the Shaolin Kung Fu acrobats from China and hip-hop contortionists from Guinea. With this array of international talent, it's fitting that this year's tour has been entitled "US. " "In our mind, when you come to UniverSoul, you see a culture that really mirrors society," said Paula Murphy, executive vice president of the traveling circus, which performs at Security Square Mall through Sunday.

The Under Armour brand is poised for continued growth with a soon-to-be-released football cleat that's expected to drive footwear sales, as well as plans to keep expanding into international markets, executives told stockholders Tuesday. Consumers who choose Under Armour over other sports apparel brands do so because the products help solve problems for athletes, said Kevin Plank, the company's chairman, president and CEO, during the company's annual stockholders' meeting at its South Baltimore headquarters.

  Need a new paella pan or a souffle dish? Best Buy Co.and Cooking.com have teamed up to launch an online store for cooks. The Best Buy Kitchen Shop, a microsite run by Cooking.com, offers more than 3,000 cookware and kitchen products and is accessible within the bestbuy.com online store, the companies said this week. Executives at Best Buy, which sells small and large appliances along with electronics, said the partners hope to offer customers  a “one-stop shop for all of their cooking needs - including a broader assortment of housewares, food and even recipes,” a Best Buy statement said.

No one can expect to escape childhood without a few bumps and scrapes. But federal regulators, manufacturers and parents are still grappling with ensuring the safety of products for babies and toddlers. Several widespread product recalls this year have stoked the debate — and made navigating the consumer market potentially heart-wrenching. At least half of more than 500 recalls by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission each year are for children's products, said Don Mays, senior director of product safety for Consumer Reports.

WASHINGTON - Fifteen phony products - including a gasoline-powered alarm clock - won a label from the government certifying them as energy efficient in a test of the federal Energy Star program. Investigators concluded the program is "vulnerable to fraud and abuse." A report released Friday said government investigators tried to pass off 20 fake products, and only two were rejected. Three others didn't get a response. The program run by the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to identify energy-efficient products to help consumers.

Martek Biosciences Corp., a Columbia-based maker of infant formula nutritional supplements, said Thursday it will pay $200 million for a consumer health and wellness product company that will for the first time help give their products a direct pipeline to store shelves. Martek is buying Amerifit Brands Inc. from Charterhouse Group Inc., a New York-based private equity investment firm, in a deal that is being funded with $120 million in cash reserves and the rest through loans, the companies said.

Ever wonder what happens when you spray fabric protector onto fabric? Squeeze clear adhesive onto a broken edge? Paint typewriter correction fluid onto paper? What makes the stuff wet when it is wet? And where does the wet go when it dries?What makes the stuff wet is solvent. Sometimes a product's solvent is water. Usually, it's one of a number of chemicals, often petroleum distillates, called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. What VOCs have in common is that they volatilize -- turn to gas -- at normal room temperatures.

Yurie Systems Inc., a Landover provider of high-speed network-access equipment, yesterday announced a resale agreement with Ericsson Inc.Under the three-year deal, Ericsson will market Yurie products worldwide under its own name. Ericsson Inc. is the Richardson, Texas-based American subsidiary of Sweden's LM Ericsson.The agreement, which goes into effect immediately, does not compel Ericsson to purchase any specific quantity of Yurie products.Kwok Li, Yurie vice chairman and chief technical officer, said, "We need a way to leverage our growth and part of the way to do that is to partner with global players.

CINCINNATI -- A product that stops runs in pantyhose is among the best new products of the year, while chocolate-flavored salsa is among the biggest duds, according to a study by AcuPoll, a product idea screening company.The annual survey, which looks at more than 500 products, is designed to show which products are the best and worst new products of the year based on initial interest by those surveyed, not by potential for sales or product performance.AcuPoll said most of the products that were given a thumbs up by consumers provided convenience, like DowBrands' Baker's Mate nonstick ovenware line, which quickens cleanup.

From Norman Rockwell and Leonard Bernstein to Baltimore's Cab Calloway, no one does biography like "American Masters" on PBS. I've been reviewing these superb productions for all of the 26 seasons that "American Masters" has been on the air, and have written some variation of that line for at least 25 of them. And tonight's "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night" is one of the 10 greatest biographies this sublime series has delivered. Maybe one of the five best. But let's not quibble.

He pioneered one the most influential, far-reaching musical genres of the past 50 years. He became a galvanizing force, too, in the cause of human rights. When he died, more than a million people turned out to witness his funeral cortege. Among those mourning his loss were the 27 women who had once been his wives. The extraordinary story of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti inspired the 2009 musical "Fela!" which garnered three Tony Awards. Judging by the ecstatic reviews, the international touring production that comes to Baltimore this week has only increased the show's reputation.

Summer is just around the corner, but its damaging rays and humidity have already arrived. We all know too much sun can damage skin and speed aging, while too much moisture can clog pores. With the right products, you can keep your skin safe from the sun and harness the season's humidity. Here are five ways to make sure your skin stays healthy this season: 1. Pick a broad-spectrum sunscreen. New sunscreen labeling laws require companies to reveal whether their products block UVA rays, UVB rays or both.

Now you can bake like Duff Goldman and the gang at Charm City Cakes. A new line of cake decorating products has just been released by Gartner Studios, a Minneapolis-based stationery company. Duff Essentials include cake mixes, decorating kits, pans and tools. Decorate With Duff includes sprinkles, decorating tools and cake "tattoos" and "graffiti. " And Duff Fondant includes everything you need to make your own extravaganzas. You can see the new Duff products here and here on the Charm City Cakes website.

The Under Armour brand is poised for continued growth with a soon-to-be-released football cleat that's expected to drive footwear sales, as well as plans to keep expanding into international markets, executives told stockholders Tuesday. Consumers who choose Under Armour over other sports apparel brands do so because the products help solve problems for athletes, said Kevin Plank, the company's chairman, president and CEO, during the company's annual stockholders' meeting at its South Baltimore headquarters.

HBO renewed its two new Sunday-night comedies 'VEEP' and "Girls' for a second season, and that's great news for the Baltimore TV and film production community. HBO made the announcement Monday afternoon via Twitter: "We're happy to announce #Veep and #Girls have both been picked up for a second season. @GirlsHBO. " The second season order on "VEEP" is for 10 episodes, which should mean about $15 million to the local economy.   I predicted an announcement within days after seeing the premiere week ratings for "VEEP.

The Food and Drug Administration has rescinded Kirschner Medical Corp.'s right to export some of its orthopedic products, a move that could jeopardize the Timonium company's pending sale to Henley International Inc.After inspecting Kirschner's plant in Fair Lawn, N.J., the FDA rescinded a certificate needed to export products made at the plant. The certificate assures foreign countries that there is no problem with manufacturing procedures, according to FDA spokeswoman Sharon Snider.The FDA has not released details of the alleged problems.

The concept of protecting the Earth is easy to sell; the household products that make it possible are not. That's the consensus of many in Maryland and nationwide whose businesses provide consumers with "green" gadgets, cleansers, beauty products and hardware."

Loyola's rise to the top of the rankings, a 12-0 record and being a part of the conversation for the top seed in the NCAA Tournament is a result of the laborious, on-field work of the players and coaches. But that success can also be traced to a greater sense of accountability within the program. Coach Charley Toomey said the coaches have emphasized to the players the necessity of taking care of non lacrosse-related details to clear their minds of distractions. “When they come down here, all they're thinking about is lacrosse,” he said Thursday.

University of Maryland business professor Rafael Corredoira's claim that higher domestic oil production won't affect prices is flat wrong ("More domestic production won't lower gas prices," April 20). The only way that a cartel, such as OPEC, can exist is if it controls a large enough proportion of production of the product, in this case, oil. If another large supplier enters the market, OPEC must reduce its output to maintain the world price, which means that the revenue to the OPEC members will decrease.