WASHINGTON — Two days before the government’s much-anticipated jobs report, a snapshot of employment trends in the service sector flashed an ominous sign. Hotels, restaurants, banks and other service companies, which employ 90 percent of Americans, reduced the size of ...

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FREDERICK — The potential in downtown Frederick and the challenge of turning an industrial area into a shopping mecca brought a young Texan to the city nearly 40 years ago. Bert Anderson, who had served as a naval officer for ...

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RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s revenues continued a steady, modest climb in August, topping the same month in 2010 by nearly 8 percent, the 13th consecutive monthly increase in general tax collections. Finance Secretary Ric Brown’s monthly memo to Gov. Bob ...

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Converting Maryland’s ‘capacity’ to thrive into actual growth Any conversation about business climate among Maryland economic development experts and policymakers inevitably gets around to the topic of Virginia, our neighboring state and competitor that ranks higher than Maryland on most ...

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WASHINGTON — U.S. consumers grew more cautious last month amid wild stock market swings, zero job growth and heightened concerns that the economy has weakened. Retail sales were flat in August. At the same time, wholesale inflation leveled off. The ...

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WASHINGTON — Confronted with an economy that has decidedly underperformed this year, economists are scaling back their growth forecasts for 2011 and next year. In their latest forecast, top economists with the National Association for Business Economics predict that the ...

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WASHINGTON — Service firms that employ 90 percent of the U.S. work force expanded at a slightly faster pace in August. But the sector remains too weak to help an economy that is barely growing and struggling to create jobs. ...

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WASHINGTON — U.S. factory orders rose strongly in July on the biggest jump in demand for autos in more than eight years and a surge in commercial airplane orders. The increase suggests supply chain disruptions created by the Japan crisis ...

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LA PLATA — In a business park of red brick buildings and ornate marble fountains, programmers at Zekiah Technologies are engineering the next generation of software that will help the U.S. government and military respond to natural disasters and terrorist ...

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WASHINGTON — Shoppers won’t shop. Companies won’t hire. The government won’t spend on economic stimulus — it’s cutting instead. And the Federal Reserve is reluctant to do anything more. Without much to invigorate growth, the economy may be in danger ...

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