Business

The Office of Naval Research awarded Morgan State University a five-year, $9 million grant to address a critical Department of Defense (DoD) need for research in building diverse knowledge bases related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, especially with respect to cybersecurity. The resources will be administered through Morgan’s Division of Research and Economic Development (D-RED) to fund collaborative research conducted by the newly launched Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Systems (CEAMLS) and the Cybersecurity Assurance & Policy Center. The centers will study the development of formal standards and best practices to test and design new AI and ML innovations that mitigate algorithmic bias.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the rescue programs that came with it have driven a surge of interest in tax credits, with small-business owners increasingly scouring for opportunities they may have overlooked in the past. The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, which gave out 11.3 million forgivable loans worth about $786 billion, as well as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and others, made it to clear to small-business owners they should pay attention to government programs and apply for the ones that fit them, said Brent Johnson, co-founder of Clarus Solutions, which helps businesses access federal employment tax credit programs.

Morgan Stanley plans to expand its presence in Baltimore’s Harbor Point, the landlord for the global financial services firm said Monday. Armada Hoffler said it has finalized a lease extension and expansion with Morgan Stanley at the company’s Thames Street Wharf office building. The firm leased an additional 46,000 square feet, bringing its total office space to 242,000-square-feet, and extended until 2035. Thames Street Wharf is now 100% occupied. A representative of Morgan Stanley could not be reached Monday. The company’s website describes the Baltimore office as one of its largest in the U.S. outside the New York headquarters. Morgan Stanley opened its Baltimore office in 2003 with 60 people, a number that has grown to close to 2,000 employees, according to the website.

Baltimore weight loss company Medifast Inc. plans to increase prices on all its products amid a drop in profits and a slowdown in revenue. Medifast (NYSE: MED) revenues declined in the third quarter by 5.6% to $390.4 million compared to $413.4 million a year ago. The company reported a profit of $36.2 million, or $3.27 per share, compared to $42 million, or $3.56 per share, a year ago, a drop of nearly 14%. On an adjusted basis, Medifast saw a profit of $36.8 million or $3.32 per share. The company also cut its full year outlook for both revenue and profit. The decline comes after a 15% jump in revenue in the second quarter and follows a year of massive growth for the Harbor East company when it hit a record $1.5 billion in sales. It marks the second straight quarter Medifast saw profits decline as inflation, supply chain and the cost of raw materials affected its bottom line.

Communication is a critical ingredient in the remote-work era, and experts say it’s particularly important as open enrollment season begins. Remote workers are more anxious about their finances than onsite or hybrid workers, according to a recent survey by MetLife, and experts say gaps like that illustrate why it’s pivotal for companies to ensure remote workers have access to the same information and opportunities as their in-office counterparts. Continued recruiting and retention challenges only further underscore the stakes when it comes to communication about benefits. “We’re at a critical moment in the employee-employer relationship. As we look to build more inclusive cultures and further support today’s workforce – including how and where our employees work – benefit communication is vital,” said Jenn Kischell, vice president, workforce engagement at MetLife, in a press release. 

America’s employers kept hiring vigorously in October, adding 261,000 positions, a sign that as Election Day nears, the economy remains a picture of solid job growth and painful inflation. Friday’s report from the government showed that hiring was brisk across industries last month, though the overall gain declined from 315,000 in September. The unemployment rate rose from a five-decade low of 3.5% to a still-healthy 3.7%. A strong job market is deepening the challenges the Federal Reserve faces as it raises interest rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s to try to bring inflation down from near a 40-hear high. Steady hiring, solid pay growth and low unemployment have been good for workers. But they have also contributed to rising prices.

Frontier Airlines is adding a nonstop flight to Dallas-Forth Worth — the airline’s eighth destination from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The new service is a win for BWI, which is celebrating a slew of new flights and three new airlines this year — PLAY, Icelandair, and Avelo Airlines. Frontier, which started flying out of BWI in March 2019, will start the new Texas flights on May 21, with four flights per week. The Denver-based airline is stepping up its presence at BWI and at its 10 airports nationwide. The airline is also starting nonstop flights from Dallas to LaGuardia Airport in New York, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, Orange County, California and Montego Bay, Jamaica.