financial and business services

• Maryland

Janney Montgomery Scott opens Westminster branch

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, a full-service financial services firm, opened a Westminster branch

• Maryland

Meet Mia Romeo: Finalist in the CCPS Business Challenge

Westminster High School senior Mia Romeo, 18, who has spent her teenage years working in restaurants, has developed a business plan to start one on her own, earning her a spot as a finalist in the second annual Carroll County Public Schools Business Challenge.

• Maryland

Meet Matthew Bosley: Finalist in the CCPS Business Challenge

Matthew Bosley is one of 10 students who will compete in the CCPS Business Challenge final competition.

• Maryland

Tegeler named to Masters Council

Harvey Tegeler, co-owner of Interstate Financial Services, in Westminster, was honored as a member of the Prudential Annuities' Masters Council, an exclusive program that recognizes achievements of financial professionals within the area of retirement income planning

• Opinion

Short sales need a tax break

Homeowners with mortgages bigger than the value of their property deserve a tax break

• Business

Maryland added 500 jobs in January

Maryland employers added 500 jobs in January, a marginal gain dragged down by losses in the leisure and hospitality industry, according to federal data released Tuesday.

By Natalie Sherman

Mar 17, 2015

• Maryland

NAIFA celebrates organization's anniversary

The National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors celebrates the 125th Anniversary of the organization in 2015

• Business

Citigroup to sell OneMain Financial to Springleaf Holdings

Personal finance company Springleaf Holdings is buying Citigroup's OneMain Financial for $4.25 billion.

• Business

Obama: Financial advisers must act in clients' best interest

President Obama on Monday proposed tougher regulations on investment brokers who handle retirement funds, saying it is time to curb hidden fees, "back-door" payments and conflicts of interest that eat into middle-class Americans' savings.

• Politics

Delaney joins Obama, Warren in announcing White House retirement proposal

WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Delaney, who spent a career in financial services before running for Congress, joined President Barack Obama on Monday in calling for tougher regulations on brokers who help people plan for retirement -- offering his endorsement of a plan that is unlikely to sit well with some on Wall Street.

• Business

Home sales show best January in eight years

Home sales in the Baltimore area had their best January in eight years, and all signs point to a strong spring market, real estate analysts said. Numbers released by the RealEstate Business Intelligence and the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors — reflecting slightly different spans of time — show January sales up by 18.4 and nearly 17 percent respectively compared with a year before. The sales figure was the best since 2007, RBI reported.

By Arthur Hirsch

Feb 10, 2015

• Finance

Baltimore middle-schoolers learn stock market basics

One recent morning, the eighth-graders in Jesse Chacona's class at Hampden Elementary/Middle received a primer on concepts foreign to many adults — how to evaluate a publicly-traded company's balance sheet, what's cash flow, why a CEO issues an annual letter to shareholders.

By Carrie Wells

Feb 9, 2015

• Entertainment

Basic, easy-to-follow money-saving tips most people overlook

Again, it's financial experts to the rescue!

• Business

More private lenders looking at real estate

Banks pulled back on lending to real estate investors after the housing crash and recession, slowing real estate activity, but a new crop of private lenders has popped up in an effort to fill the gap.

• Maryland

Local NAIFA chapter presents awards

The National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors-Carroll/Howard presented awards

• Business

Financial advising firm focuses on professional athletes

To many, the high salaries of professional athletes can be a source of envy. But their big paydays come with a darker side – many face bankruptcy or financial distress after spending too freely, going through a divorce or failing to line up a job upon retirement.

• Opinion

Postal Service gets high marks from public

The U.S. Postal Service, beset by financial woes and cuts in service, still gets high marks from customers. Participants in a Gallup survey recently rated the Postal Service best among 13 major federal agencies.

By Pamela Wood

Dec 15, 2014

• Finance

Baltimore County again earns coveted AAA bond ratings

Baltimore County's government bonds again received the highest marks from the three major bond rating agencies.

By Pamela Wood

Dec 10, 2014

• Maryland

Jobs picture improving [Editorial]

• Features

Short sales on the decline as economy improves

• Business

Home sales jump but distressed properties drag down Baltimore area prices

Home sales in the Baltimore area jumped in October for the third straight monthly increase over last year, as median prices continued to be dragged down by a sharp jump in distressed property sales, according to a real estate analyst's report.

• Business

New IRA would target small businesses without employer-sponsored retirement plans

Small business owners often balk at the expense and liability of offering their employees a retirement plan, few financial firms offer plans to small businesses and rarely do employees without an employer-sponsored plan sign up for one on their own.

• Business

Wal-Mart offers checking account aimed at the 'unbanked'

Walmart has long been in the business of serving low-income customers with discount goods and now plans to enter a new frontier – checking accounts targeted at those who have been blacklisted by traditional banks.

• Business

Five questions for financial adviser Jonathan Murray

With volatility in the stock market shaking up investors, Jonathan Murray, a financial adviser at Hunt Valley-based UBS Financial Services, says people should keep a long-term outlook and accept such corrections as normal.

• Business

Maryland unemployment dips to 6.3 percent

The state added fewer than 3,000 jobs in September, enough to make a slight dent in the unemployment rate, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By Natalie Sherman

Oct 21, 2014

• Opinion

Financial gerontology: a tonic for retirees

Susan Reimer on financial gerontology

By Susan Reimer

Oct 8, 2014

• Maryland

Motley Fool Buck Hartzell to rundown smart investing at McDaniel College

Buck Hartzell, who graduated with a degree in sociology, will be joining McDaniel President Roger Casey for a SmartTalk conversation Wednesday on investing.

• Business

Home prices dip in August, as number for sale rises

The median home price in the Baltimore metro area fell for the second month in a row in August, as the number of the homes on the market continued to increase, according to a monthly report published Wednesday.

• Baltimore County

Liquor license approved for new Italian bistro and wine bar in Catonsville

Franco's Italian Bistro and Wine Bar, a partnership between two Arbutus restaurant owners and a Catonsville financial advisor, is expected to be open in time for the Catonsville Arts and Crafts Festival Sept. 7

• Baltimore City Paper

Just Business?

• Maryland

Glen Burnie man pleads guilty in theft of thousands of aluminum postal carts

A 57-year-old Glen Burnie man pleaded guilty Tuesday to theft of thousands of aluminum carts from the U.S. Postal Service that will cost more than $2.8 million to replace, according to the U.S. State's Attorney's Office.

• Harford

Veteran receives mortgage-free home in Harford

John Laursen, an Army veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his wife Casey have spent about than a year handling his recovery after being medically evacuated from Afghanistan, but they are able to begin moving forward, with the first steps being across the threshold of their new home in Harford County Wednesday.

• Baltimore City Paper

Exelon to buy PEPCO—what's the deal?

• Harford

Harford County youth cash in during Freedoms' Youth Month celebration

Harford County Youth Cash in During Freedoms' Youth Month Celebration

• Business

SunTrust settlement to bring $33 million to Maryland

Maryland will receive $33 million from a nearly $1 billion joint state-federal settlement reached with SunTrust Mortgage Inc. over problems with its mortgage servicing and foreclosure procedures, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said Tuesday.

• Baltimore City Paper

News & Media

• Opinion

Corporate wrongdoers must be prosecuted as a deterrent [Commentary]

The only way to stop lawbreaking at General Motors or any other big corporation is to prosecute the people who break the law.

• Baltimore City Paper

Primer on the Federal Bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

• Baltimore City Paper

Victim Mentality

• Baltimore City Paper

Gaithersburg NonProfit Called Out for Role in Foreclosure Crisis

• Baltimore City Paper

Andrews' Omission

• Baltimore City Paper

HAFAssed

• Baltimore City Paper

HAMP Re-default Rates Higher Than First Reported

• Baltimore City Paper

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Audits!

• Baltimore City Paper

In This Week's City Paper

• Baltimore City Paper

Under the Abacus Deals

• Baltimore City Paper

Mortgage Fraud Foreclosure Fraud, Part III

• Baltimore City Paper

Fannie-Freddie Updates

• Baltimore City Paper

The Senator Theatre Passes the Hat

• Baltimore City Paper

Mortgage Fraud Collection Fraud