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Maryland's home foreclosure rate last month climbed 9.6 percent from January, and was up 80.5 percent from February 2009, according to new data from RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif.

The February rate of one filing per 407 households was the 10th highest in the nation. The U.S. rate last month — one filing per 418 households — was down 2.3 percent from January, but up 6.2 percent from a year earlier.

Prince George's County had the highest rate in the state last month, with one filing per 180 households. That was up 58.7 percent from January and 71.0 percent from a year earlier. For years, the county had the highest rate in the state, briefly falling to No. 2 in January.

Employers cut 2,500 jobs in January

Maryland employers cut about 2,500 jobs in January, as the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent from 7.4 percent in December, according to federal figures released this week.

Alexander M. Sanchez, the state's labor secretary, said officials are seeing "signs of improvement," as employment in construction, retail, and hospitality rose in January from December. Declines were seen in health care services and financial services.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in January, down from 10 percent in December.

Marriott intends to double its presence in Europe

Marriott International said this week that it plans to double its European portfolio in the next five years.

The Bethesda hotel company has 174 hotels in Europe and intends to increase its presence from 40,000 to 80,000 rooms. Its brands there include Ritz-Carlton, Bvlgari and JW Marriott. New hotels expected to open this year are ones in Moscow; Budapest, Hungary; and Anakara, Turkey. All told, almost 30 European projects are in the works.

"We see strong opportunity throughout Europe to grow our portfolio," Arne Sorenson, president and COO, said in a statement. "We have tremendous opportunities to grow, with over a third of our current pipeline and about half of our full-service openings this year located in markets outside North America."

State starts new initiative to help boost exports

The state is launching a new export program designed to help its small businesses increase their exports and add jobs.

The Maryland Export Initiative includes full funding next year for Export MD grants, a state program that awards $5,000 grants to help small and mid-sized companies do business overseas. The program, which awarded 40 grants in fiscal 2009, was temporarily suspended this fiscal year due to budget challenges, according to a statement from the office of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). The program also includes a new education campaign for state businesses.

Businesses may apply for the grants starting April 1 at www.choosemaryland.org.

Montgomery County bolsters loan fund by $2 million

Montgomery County this week added $2 million to its Small Business Revolving Loan Fund, bringing its balance to more than $2.4 million for fiscal 2011.

The money was originally committed by the government of Chungbuk Province, South Korea, during a 2008 trade mission by County Executive Isiah Leggett, to help develop a bioscience industry center in the eastern part of the county. But with those plans slow in coming to fruition, the county persuaded the Koreans to instead beef up the loan fund for the time being, said Kristina Ellis, a spokeswoman with the county's economic development department.

The fund, established in 2002, has provided $1.88 million in loans to 30 county businesses, many of which are minority owned. The loans have generated more than $90 million in real and personal property tax revenue to the county and have leveraged more than $43 million in state funding and more than $1 billion in private capital investment, according to county information.

Biotech expands in Gaithersburg

With the help of recently awarded state and Montgomery County money, privately held biotech Zyngenia on Thursday officially launched the build-out of its new 14,000-square-foot headquarters and research center in Gaithersburg.

The state Department of Business and Economic Development has approved a $1 million conditional loan for the company, while the county is providing a five-year, $1.5 million conditional grant tied to fundraising milestones, according to a DBED statement. The company, founded in 2008, received a $10 million investment in November from New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm in Chevy Chase.

Zyngenia, which develops antibody drugs to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, plans to add at least 20 employees this year.

"The State of Maryland has been very supportive and cooperative to us as we have sought out a home for our corporate headquarters and laboratory space," CEO Peter A. Kiener said in the statement. "It's clear that the County and State are committed to building a vibrant biotechnology industry, and we are pleased to be a part of that initiative."

Company rebuts patent suit claims

Mobile payment services company MobileNow! LLC of Whitestone, N.Y., has rebutted a suit filed last month in U.S. District Court by Christopher J. O'Donnell of Bethesda, who claims the company, which has a "virtual" office in a Rockville incubator, has infringed on his patent.

MobileNow! recently won a $9,950, five-month contract with Montgomery County to provide its cell phone technology for paying parking meter fees in select meters in downtown Bethesda. It provides similar services elsewhere, including Decatur, Ga.

"The services Mr. O'Donnell claims in his patent are totally unrelated to our system," said Krista Tassa, president of MobileNow! "We have been doing business six years before [O'Donnell's patent] was awarded. We fairly won the [Montgomery County] bid over six other contractors. There is no case here. This guy is just out for money."

"We did not know of Chris O'Donnell's patent. We were never made aware of this case until now," county spokeswoman Esther Bowring said. "MobileNow! won the original bid we put out for a company that wanted to participate in this pilot program. This contract did not have any intellectual property claims. We always put responsibility [of maintaining intellectual property] with the contractor."

O'Donnell is former CEO of EZscores of Silver Spring, which provided sports scores via cell phones.

12th defendant charged in mortgage scam

Another executive at Metropolitan Money Store in Lanham has been indicted in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in which 11 others have already been sentenced to prison.

Rolando Alonzo Cousins, 31, of Bowie was indicted by a federal grand jury this week on 11 counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, according to prosecutors.

Cousins was a senior loan officer at the store, which offered foreclosure consultation and credit services to financially distressed homeowners. The scheme promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, but instead left them homeless and with no equity, prosecutors said in a statement. Cousins' proceeds totaled $1.5 million.

He faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the conspiracy and each of the two mail fraud counts; plus 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of eight counts of money laundering.

Rosecroft sale at issue in ongoing bankruptcy hearing

The latest in a series of U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearings on Cloverleaf Enterprises, owner of Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, began Wednesday, with closing arguments scheduled for March 18.

After that, a judge will rule on the proposed sale of the harness track, said J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission, whose approval of a sale would also be required.

Cloverleaf wants to sell the track to developer Mark R. Vogel for $10.5 million. Vogel owned the track in the 1980s and wants to bring casino-type gambling to Rosecroft.

Cloverleaf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June amid financial disputes with Maryland horsemen and horse breeders and a simulcast license issue with the state commission.