Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Wednesday's Daily Pulse

In Florida and everywhere else, a new day for business schools

The business landscape has shifted shape in ten years. Young people have lived through the Great Recession, seen banks collapse and corporate leaders hauled away in handcuffs. They've watched the housing bubble burst, their parents endure layoffs and foreclosures. They've entered a world of burgeoning student loans and new technologies. And now, when they go to college for a business degree, their standards of learning will change with the times. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

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Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida's Economic Yearbook 2013

In the last installments for our series on Florida's economy, today we look at how business is faring in these two regions:

» Northwest Florida:

Northwest

 

» North Central Florida:

North Central

 


Stressed out! 83% say they are at work

While many Americans are happy to have jobs, most are stressed out about something at work and even more stressed than they were just a year ago. The most common stress triggers for workers are unreasonable workloads, low pay, commutes and annoying co-workers, according to a newly released 2013 Work Stress Survey. [Source: Miami Herald]


Is 2013 the year of the office condominium?

Is this the year of the office condominium? Investors in Southwest Florida continue to gobble up the properties, which proliferated much to many of their owners' later chagrin during the real estate boom. Many of the properties now changing hands are doing so at discounts and are being bought of out foreclosure. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]


Florida's Genetic Tarpon Tracking Study keeps tabs on silver king

It's like fingerprinting fish and Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has gleaned some interesting data points from its Tarpon Genetic Recapture Study. The research arm of Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FWRI uses DNA samples with a unique genetic ID, or fingerprint for each fish to study silver king migration patterns. [Source: Outdoor Life]


ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Duke Energy hires economic development director for Florida
Duke Energy announced Tuesday that the utility has picked a new Orlando based manager for the company's business and economic development programs. John Fremstad joined Duke after spending the past decade as the vice president of KBR Building Group-Florida and vice president of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

› Southwest Florida leads the state in job growth
Southwest Florida leads the state in job creation. Collier County was first in the state last year, with 3 ½ % growth over 2011. Business and professional services, along with tourism and construction helped to add nearly 4,000 jobs there. Lee County came in second, with tourism, construction, transportation, information and utilities leading the way.

› Final Four inventions selected for Cade Museum Prize
The Final Four inventions for the 2013 Cade Museum Prize include an artificial finger prosthetic, mobile software for taking bar inventory, a machine that burns waste to produce energy and flat-panel displays for electronic devices.

› Office Depot merger under FTC review
In a regulatory filing Tuesday, Boca Raton-based Office Depot and Naperville, Ill.-based OfficeMax provided details on their merger process, including a $30 million termination fee if either party pursues alternatives to the proposed merger.


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› Regulators approve FPL biomass-power deal
The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved Juno Beach-based Florida Power & Light Co.’s contracts with U.S. EcoGen, LLC to purchase renewable power. U.S. EcoGen plans to construct biomass facilities in Okeechobee, Clay, and Martin Counties, with service expected to begin in 2019.

› Lawmakers re-direct money dedicated to low-income housing
Despite a cash-flush budget that has policymakers considering a grab-bag of corporate and stadium incentives, Florida lawmakers are still raiding a fund created two decades ago to help provide low-income housing.

› Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix will go on
The Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix will take place in Sarasota again this summer after all, with the Sarasota County Commission voting unanimously on Tuesday to provide $79,200 for the event.

› Smart marketing, community engagement help fuel Seraphic Fire
Surviving, let alone thriving, in the performing arts is a daunting proposition, but Miami’s Seraphic Fire seems to have been on a fast track over the past year and a half.