Business

Citing inflation, problems with hiring and retaining employees, and supply-chain issues, business leaders in Maryland and across the country are pessimistic about the economy in the coming year, according to a survey from JPMorgan Chase. Only 19% of business leaders are optimistic about the economy over the next year, the lowest figure in the survey’s 12-year history. A year ago, 75% of business leaders said they were optimistic about the year ahead.

A small cut of Baltimore’s hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic stimulus will go toward initiatives by nine nonprofits, Mayor Brandon Scott said Wednesday, in the first of multiple funding rounds expected for the city’s nonprofit sector. The grants include programs for workforce development, educational opportunities for refugee youth and violence prevention in Baltimore’s LGBTQ community. The $7.3 million in funding comes out of Baltimore’s total $641 million allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act, President Joe Biden’s massive pandemic recovery package.

In response to a precipitous slide in attendance during the 2021-22 season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has canceled 10 concerts originally scheduled to be performed next season at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The schedule change will affect about 800 subscribers and will reduce the total number of BSO concerts next season from 123 to 113. Of those, 81 will be performed at the Meyerhoff and 32 will be performed at the symphony’s second home at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda.

Maryland’s six privately run casinos brought in $162.7 million in revenue last month, with the state receiving a contribution of $68.4 million, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency said Wednesday. June’s revenue figures were a slight bump from the same period a year ago, increasing by $1.2 million, or 0.8%.

New York City software company Diligent is looking to open a hub in Baltimore, with plans to hire around 100 people and launch a free training program for local residents. The company has not yet decided on a specific location in Baltimore, but is currently looking for a space downtown, said MarKeith Allen, senior vice president and general manager of mission driven organizations. He hopes to establish a permanent physical presence in Baltimore by next summer.

Baltimore County officials “appeared to give” prominent developer David Cordish preferential treatment when handling plans for an indoor tennis facility, he wanted to build next to his Greenspring Valley home, an investigation released Tuesday by the county’s inspector general concluded. The report by Inspector General Kelly Madigan said the county issued a building permit without requiring Cordish to go through a special hearing before an administrative law judge. However, county officials dispute that, saying a building permit was “never fully approved or issued.”