Business

Over the past year, the Maryland Department of Commerce has awarded more than 100 small and midsize Maryland companies with ExportMD grants to help promote their products and services in the global marketplace. In Washington County, Cornerstone Genomics and Land Cruiser Heaven have been awarded grants.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has consolidated six office locations across D.C. into one new headquarters at the recently renovated Met Square building located at 655 15th Street in Northwest. The new headquarters does not reduce CareFirst’s footprint across D.C. but does incorporate the not-for-profit health care company’s hybrid work model, allowing employees from different locations to use the space as needed.

South Baltimore’s Yacht Basin Marina has been acquired by a local investment group with plans to construct 150 boat slips and a building on the Middle Branch. The newly named BYB Marina sits near the emerging Locke Landing townhome and apartment development at Port Covington next to Nick’s Fish House. The property sold for an undisclosed price to BYB Prop Real Estate Partners.

Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab beat market expectations for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday and issued a rosy sales forecast for the third quarter, signaling that robust digital-ad spending on its social media platforms can cover the cost of its artificial-intelligence investments. Shares of the company were up 6.8% after the bell. The Facebook and Instagram parent said it anticipates third-quarter revenue in the range of $38.5 billion to $41 billion, the midpoint of which is higher than analysts’ estimates of $39.1 billion, according to LSEG data.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the U.S. central bank could cut interest rates at its September meeting if economic data continues on its current path. “If that test is met, a reduction in our policy rate could be on the table as soon as the next meeting in September,” Powell said. Recent economic data has pointed toward inflation data falling back toward the central bank’s 2% target, while the unemployment rate has crept up above 4%.

The ornamental stone eagle is gone. So are the carved faces on either side of the entrance, the stone basket-weave detailing under the pediment and numerous other architectural flourishes. Stripped-down as they are, the grand north and south-facing facades of the red-brick Hendler Creamery Building are still standing. But not for long.

Two local law firms have inked deals to relocate to a recently renovated building in the York Road corridor that is now nearing capacity. Bodie, Friddell & Grenzer P.C. and Coon & Cole LLC will occupy close to 13,000 square feet in the nine-story tower at 1301 York Road, formerly known as Heaver Plaza. The tower at York Road and the Beltway has been overhauled under a $7 million restoration by new owner ARLS Properties over the past few years.

This week’s Federal Reserve meeting is not much about the present but potentially very much about the future. If things go according to expectations, policymakers again will keep short-term interest rates on hold roughly from where they’ve been the past year. However, with a raft of cooperating inflation data under their belts in recent months, central bankers are widely expected to lay the groundwork for interest rate cuts to begin in September.