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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Unemployment in Florida rises in July to 11.3%; Orlando remains worst in state
Unemployment in Florida rose slightly in July to 11.3%. Meanwhile, the Orlando metro area, where the tourism and travel industries have taken big hits, remains the worst in the state for joblessness at 15.3%. Numbers released by the Department of Economic Opportunity showed that regions that rely on tourism to prop up their local economies continue to be more affected by the coronavirus pandemic. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
System upgraded to Tropical Storm Laura as it spins toward Florida
Forecasters on Friday morning upgraded a patch of rough weather in the Atlantic to Tropical Storm Laura after a Hurricane Hunter aircraft recorded sustained winds at about 45 mph. The aircraft also found that the center of the storm was farther south than believed earlier, which will affect the National Hurricane Center’s forecast in their 11 a.m. advisory. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Shares in Miami-based car-charging firm slide after reports raise doubt about company
Shares in Blink Charging Co., a Miami Beach-based firm that sells electric vehicle charging equipment, plummeted 16% to $7.94 Thursday after two different stock research groups cast doubts about the company’s viability. On Wednesday, Mariner Research Group published a report raising questions about Blink’s “product quality, customer churn, and user experience.” More from the Miami Herald.
Universal attendance is rebounding, but Disney’s still lags, analyst report says
Universal Orlando’s theme parks are seeing an “uplift in admissions” especially on Saturdays when attendance is down 64% from 2019 crowds, the best figures since the parks re-opened, according to an analyst note from Deutsche Bank published Thursday. But Disney theme parks are operating at 80% less than last year, said Deutsche research analysts Bryan Kraft and Benjamin Soff, who looked at proprietary geolocation data to make their estimates. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
St. Petersburg residents weigh in on developing flood-risk areas
City council members last month said they wanted to hear from residents before deciding on a plan that could bring more development to the parts of the city most at risk of flooding in a hurricane. Twenty people responded to that call in a meeting that stretched into Thursday night. They were largely split on the plan, with some calling for the council to delay the conversation to next year while others said the city urgently needs to build more housing. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Business Profile
X-Chair
Tony Mazlish, CEO of ergonomic chair maker X-Chair, says Florida’s always been a good market. The company’s first bulk corporate purchase was from Florida. The state is the company’s second-largest market, and the company’s largest single retailer is the Relax The Back franchisee for Florida. The state’s proven even stronger now that the pandemic-driven WFH surge has revealed how inadequate many people’s home work spaces are.
» More from Florida Trend.
Sports Business
Daytona company puts ‘fans’ in the stands for Tampa Bay Rays
As Major League Baseball adapts to its pandemic-shortened 60-game season, a Daytona Beach business has become ground zero for Tampa Bay Rays fans. Well, two-dimensional versions of them, at least. With no crowds allowed in ball parks, the Rays and other teams have turned to selling oversized cutouts of fan photos to populate grandstands and offer an entertaining diversion amid the disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic. At Tropicana Field, home of the Rays, those graphically generated fans are the creations of DME Visual, a Daytona Beach wide-format printing company.
» Read more from the Orlando Sentinel.
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