Thursday's Daily Pulse
Professional, business services lead Florida's economic rebound
The state's economy is showing signs of life and growing at "the speed of a tortoise," with professional and business services expected to grow 4.4% over the next four years while construction is projected to make a comeback, starting with a 3.6% increase in 2014, according to projections by the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Read more from Miami Today and see also:
» Measure of Florida's economy creeps up [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The business of being a political businessman
Mitt Romney is a business guy. That is the core of his campaign. He promises that he will balance budgets, spend wisely and manage complexity just as he did in his 25 years at Bain. His wise attention to money is so thorough it even extends to his personal habits. On the campaign trail he does his own laundry in hotel sinks along the way so as not to waste a single dime (literally). Will voters buy this pitch? In Florida they already have a model they can look at. [Source: CBS News]
See also:
» Attacks on Romney's business past not sticking
Recent stock market gyrations makes many nervous about retirement accounts
Younger workers are especially nervous: 29 percent of those between 18 to 34 plan to pull money out of the market, with only 11 percent of older Americans indicating they would do so. Jenny Rothstein, a Fort Lauderdale-based financial consultant for Charles Schwab, suggests younger investors are more risk averse as many have seen their own parents’ retirement savings take hard hits in the last four years. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
As FCAT's importance grows, the test changes
With a school's reputation and bonus money riding on the results, as well as a student's ability to advance a grade, the FCAT has been a high-pressure focus of the school year since it was introduced in 1998. Yet even as the FCAT grows in importance, state officials have raced ahead with wholesale changes that some students, parents, teachers and administrators say have made it more difficult to cope. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Real estate turnaround in downtown Tampa?
Dennis Udwin's Lake Worth-based In-Rel Properties owns and manages 6 million square feet of office and retail space in the United States, including 21 properties in Florida. If Udwin has a favorite property, he won't say, but he admits to particularly liking one of his most recent acquisitions, the Rivergate Tower in downtown Tampa. He considers the 31-story round tower "iconic," "museum quality" and an "architectural wonder." It was also a relative bargain. Read full story...
 New owner Dennis Udwin upgraded the building's interior, including the rotunda. [Photo: Willie J. Allen Jr./Tampa Bay Times] |
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Eagle Brands sold to St. Louis company [Miami Herald]
A beer and liquor distributor out of St. Louis is buying one of South Florida’s largest beer sellers, according to published reports.
Trade publication Beer Marketers Insights says Major Brands has reached a deal with Anheuser-Busch to buy Eagle Brands, a Doral-based company that sells Budweiser and other Anheuser brands to stores and restaurants throughout the region.
› Tampa tourism officials focus marketing efforts overseas [Tampa Bay Times]
As Tampa International Airport celebrates its first new European service in 15 years, tourism officials here are working hard to make the flights a big a deal over there.
That's because they expect most of the passengers on the twice weekly round trips to Zurich to come from Switzerland and Germany.
› Herpetology keeper at Jacksonville zoo handles all kinds [Florida Times-Union]
Emily Mikus is a herpetology keeper at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. That means she gets the amphibians and reptiles: that's snakes, gators and frogs.
Read a Q&A with her.
› International appeal fueling Miami recovery [Miami Today]
While the situation in Europe bears watching, economists and business leaders say Miami's international appeal should continue to aid its recovery.
"Miami-Dade's economy is starting to pick up because of the global component," said J. Antonio Villamil, dean and research professor of economics at St. Thomas University's School of Business and president of Washington Economics Group.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› HCA hospital nurses win wage, staffing concessions in union agreement [Tampa Bay Times]
Reinforcements and higher wages are on the way for nurses at 10 of the 15 Florida hospitals owned by Hospital Corporation of America.
The union representing roughly 3,100 nurses at the hospitals reached a contract agreement with Tennessee-based HCA earlier this month that will guarantee pay increases and bolster nursing ranks.
› April brought mixed results for South Florida hoteliers
[Miami Herald]
Average hotel rates rose in April compared to the previous year throughout South Florida, but occupancy and revenue dropped in Broward.
Hotels were 74 percent full in Broward, down 2.8 percent from last April, according to a report released this week by Smith Travel Research. It’s the first time Broward hotel occupancy has dropped compared to the previous year since November of 2009.
› UF, other universities can seek $200M for faster Internet networks [Gainesville Sun]
An alliance of research universities that includes the University of Florida now has $200 million available for up to six projects bringing ultra high-speed Internet service to their communities.
A start-up company, Gigabit Squared, announced Wednesday that the money would be available for projects building broadband networks with speeds 100 to 1,000 times faster than available now in the United States.
› Miami's downtown authority funds UM business incubator [Miami Today]
Weary of seeing young entrepreneurs get educations here and then accept jobs elsewhere, Miami's Downtown Development Authority will partner with the University of Miami's Launch Pad to create a business incubator in the Terremark Network Access Point of the Americas on Northeast Ninth Street.