Friday's Daily Pulse

› Use of Coupons, Bargains for Purchases a Major Consumer Trend [Lakeland Ledger]
Searching for deals is expected to be one the top 12 crucial consumer trends this year, according to Trendwatching.com, a Web site that tracks consumer habits globally. Getting a bargain is no longer embarrassing and shoppers like Lakeland's Terri Harrison flaunt their savings.

› New rail link between Miami, Orlando planned by 2014 [Miami Herald]
A company whose affiliate operates a rail line for cargo trains announced plans Thursday to run passenger trains between Miami and Orlando by 2014. Florida East Coast Industries, a Coral Gables real estate and transportation company, said in a statement that it intends to develop a $1 billion passenger rail service that would use existing tracks north to Cocoa and then build a new rail extension from Cocoa to Orlando.

› Circus performance in Venice aims to boost arena funding [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Cirque Italia will become the first international circus to open in Venice in more than two decades when a show named "Aquatic" makes its splashy debut Friday. The show will open in a new $2.3-million set donated by the famed Italian circus, the third-largest in the world, which extended a helping hand from across the Atlantic Ocean after owner Manuel Rebbechi learned the Venice circus arena could be torn down in lieu of repairs estimated at $10 million.

› Kings Point to celebrate $30 million insurance settlement [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The Kings Point retirement community in Delray Beach, devastated by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, is receiving the last of $30 million in insurance payments next week. The 3,120 units in the Independent Condominium Association had major damage during Wilma. When the insurer, Poe Financial Group, went bankrupt, the association’s management company and a public adjuster pursued payment from a state-backed insurance fund that pays claims for insolvent insurers.

› Quebec businesses head to Miami to strike deals [Miami Today]
The Quebec-Florida Chamber of Commerce is bringing ten Quebec companies from all business sectors wishing to develop the Florida market or to expand during its third mission to the state.