Tuesday's Daily Pulse

Posted 12/24/2013

Updated 1 decade ago

Building Bitcoin use in Florida and beyond

The U.S. Senate has deemed it legitimate. Detractors dismiss it as unstable and a vehicle for criminal trade. China has banned new deposits on its largest exchange. Bitcoin, the international digital payment system and currency and one of the hottest technology and finance topics this past year, could become a widespread vehicle for trade, believe the leaders of a Miami group. [Source: Miami Herald]

The secret math behind early retirement

Early retirement often seems impossible. It's difficult enough these days to retire at age 65, so the thought of retiring early is a pipe dream for most people. Yet somehow this dream has become a reality for some diligent savers. In extreme cases, a few people have retired at an age when most of us are just getting started. [Source: US News and World Report ]

More students are taking college classes in their high schools

College classes on high school campuses are becoming more prevalent because a change in state law now requires school districts to pay tuition and fees for students who take dual enrollment at the college campus. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

AAA predicts a record number of holiday travelers

The last holiday travel season of 2013 began on Saturday and AAA predicts it will be a record-breaker. AAA believes a record 94.5 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home during this holiday season, which ends Jan. 1. [Source: Ocala Star-Banner]

Foreclosure rate falls again across Florida

Florida’s foreclosure rate fell to 6.98 percent in October from 10.65 percent a year earlier. The national average was 2.15 percent, down from 3.06 percent in October 2012. More from the Miami Herald and the South Florida Business Journal.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida university won't appeal court ruling on guns [AP]
A Florida university is going along with an appeals court ruling that says universities can't regulate guns on campus. University of North Florida President John Delaney told students and faculty that the university would not appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

› Entrepreneurs' Organization: Not your typical business network [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Running your own company can be a lonely pursuit. It takes long hours, constant attention and often requires decisions that would benefit from the input of fellow business owners. Enter the Entrepreneurs' Organization, a peer-to-peer support group whose South Florida chapter now ranks as the fourth largest of more than 130 chapters worldwide.

› Florida Real Estate Developer Trims Fat, Estimates Rise [Forbes]
The St. Joe Company (JOE) is a real estate developer with more than 500,000 acres of land, concentrated primarily in Northwest Florida between Tallahassee and Destin.

› Two Miami sisters create Spanish-language kids books [Miami Herald]
Like so many U.S.-born Hispanics of her generation, Marianne Arellano Pazos struggled to teach her daughters the language she learned as a child. Her efforts went beyond the usual, too.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› The Comprehensive Plan is Gainesville’s Vision for Growth [North Central Florida Business Report]
The City of Gainesville Planning & Development Services Department is responsible for making sure that the land in Gainesville is put to proper use according to a set of standards. And those standards are laid out in a massive, meticulously written document called the Comprehensive Plan.

› New activist investor pushes for more change at Darden [Orlando Sentinel]
Starboard Value has acquired 5.6 percent of Orlando-based Darden's stock. The New York firm said in documents filed Monday that Darden's plans to get rid of Red Lobster, announced on Thursday, do not go far enough.

› Port Manatee workers to take unpaid furlough days in 2014 [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The port's 54 full-time employees will be furloughed without pay one work day each month beginning in January, to cut expenses. The port made the decision to furlough workers after one of its biggest customers, fertilizer maker Mosaic Co., elected to pull out of the port.

› Bollywood Oscars awards show scheduled for April 26 at Raymond James Stadium [Tampa Bay Times]
The Bollywood Oscars are coming to the Tampa Bay area the last weekend in April, with the awards show being broadcast worldwide from Raymond James Stadium on April 26, 2014, according to the organizers' web site.