A lonely housing bear predicts a big fall

Talk to Mark Hanson about the housing market for five minutes and you may find yourself wanting to sell your home and park the cash in a suitcase. The real estate analyst predicts a decline of 20 percent in housing prices in the next 12 months. Half the gains since the latest housing bottom in 2011 could be erased in the hot areas -- Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia -- by rising interest rates and a thinner herd of speculative private-equity buyers, he says. More at Businessweek.

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Largest Latina-owned firm in US forms key alliance

Fort Lauderdale's SDI International, the largest Latina-owned business in the U.S., is poised to get even larger. The tech-services company led by Carmen Castillo has formed an alliance with a peer, London-based Xchanging, to tap into a broader group of customers worldwide. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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Libraries evolving into technology and community centers

Tourism and Trade Games Selling Jacksonville Abroad The venue is venerable, the city old, the game — well, we call it football, too, but it’s the NFL kind. The bright lights and cheers from the famous Wembley Stadium in London could create winning business opportunities for Jacksonville. That’s the hope of economic and city leaders as they gear up for a major outreach effort as the Jaguars prepare to travel to London to play on Oct. 27 » Full story from the Florida Times-Union

The local library is no longer a graveyard-quiet place for browsing through shelves of dusty old volumes. Orange County's library system has won national awards for its transformation into a high-tech center with a focus on education and job-skills training. More at the Orlando Sentinel.

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Small Business Advice
Recruiting relatives poses a serious workplace risk

Nepotism is always disruptive in the workplace. Even if there is no preferential treatment, there is a perception of unfairness that you cannot erase. Bottom line: not only does nepotism affect morale – a significant enough problem in its own right – it can have serious legal and economic ramifications. Read Jerry Osteryoung's full column.

» Editor's note: Ron Stein's column on sales and marketing will return next week. Stein's earlier columns can be found in his archive, here.

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Hertz begins move to Florida

Executives at car rental company Hertz are moving to new headquarters in southwest Florida. Hertz Chairman and CEO Mark Frissora will be among the company executives starting work Monday at temporary offices in Naples. More at the AP and the Fort Myers News-Press.

Out of the Box More companies opt to give workers payroll debit cards More companies in Florida and across the nation are paying their employees with plastic. The use of payroll debit cards, which are automatically loaded with money each pay period, is skyrocketing. The cards save employers money and time. They can be a convenient option for workers who don't have checking accounts, a common situation for many restaurant or retail workers. » Full story from the Orlando Sentinel