Week in review- Business edition

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Relief for needy

Ten Baltimore organizations will receive $2.6 million in grants from Open Society Institute-Baltimore to provide relief from the economic downturn to low-income people, the group announced Monday. The one-time grants will create yearlong jobs for 200 youths, furnish apartments for the homeless and provide services to women leaving prison, among other projects.

Erickson files Chapter 11

Erickson Retirement Communities filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday and said it had agreed to be purchased by Redwood Capital Investments LLC. The actions require court approval. Erickson spokesman Mel Tansill said Catonsville-based Erickson filed for bankruptcy in Dallas, and the agreement with Redwood, which is controlled by Baltimore businessman Jim Davis, is contingent on the company restructuring its debt. Erickson operates 19 retirement communities with 23,000 residents.

City OKs sale of casino land

Baltimore officials Wednesday approved the $13.67 million sale of land for a proposed slots gambling and entertainment facility. The Toronto-based partners in Baltimore City Entertainment Group LP, the developer, were at the Board of Estimates meeting for the vote. The proposed $212 million casino is to be built south of M&T Bank Stadium. ; Mayor Sheila Dixon says revenue from the project will allow the city to cut property taxes. But the state Video Lottery Facility Location Commission still must approve a gambling license, and it urged the developer to get moving to complete its application.

State nixes bond refinancing

Maryland will wait for interest rates to fall again before trying to refinance more than $600 million in municipal bonds, officials said after aborting plans to resell the bonds Wednesday. The refinancing was projected to save Maryland $23 million, a sizable amount of money for a state dealing with budget shortfalls. But interest rates increased over the last week and made refinancing less advantageous. “We plan to find the right time to sell refunding bonds,” state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp said.

St. Joseph names new CEO

St. Joseph Medical Center named Jeffrey K. Norman as its new president and CEO Tuesday, eight months after the previous chief executive took leave because of a federal investigation into the hospital. Norman, 57, was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Scottsdale Healthcare in Arizona. He will begin work at Towson-based St. Joseph Nov. 9. John K. ; Tolmie, the hospital’s former CEO, and two other executives left in February, when St. Joseph disclosed that it was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

M&T profit skyrockets

M&T Bank Corp. said Tuesday that its profit rose 40 percent, aided by acquisitions and wider margins. Third-quarter net income increased to $127.7 million, or 97 cents a share, from $91.2 million, or 82 cents, in the same period a year earlier, the Buffalo-based lender said. The per-share results beat the 73-cent estimate of analysts. M&T, which accepted $600 million from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, has remained profitable even as U.S. bank failures reached 99 this year. After paying TARP dividends, net income available to common shareholders was $113.9 million.