Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Monday's Daily Pulse

Increased natural disaster threats put businesses on edge

Companies well-prepared for a hometown hurricane aren’t necessarily disaster-proof: As natural-disaster threats worldwide increase, so do the risks for companies’ customers and suppliers. According to the Miami Herald, the supply-chain business Ryder (based in Doral) took a big hit after Japan's tsunami in 2011. Besides tsunamis, other disasters that can affect Florida businesses are earthquakes, wildfires and floods. [Source: Miami Herald]


What trends will impact investments in second half of 2014?

For many investors, the first half of 2014 has generated modestly positive results. Stock indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 have gone up in the past six months thanks in part to economic growth. Looking ahead to the second half of 2014, the health of the U.S. economy and the status of interest rates will continue to affect the investment climate. [Source: Miami Herald]


Florida economic yearbook
The riverfront in Jacksonville is waiting for redevelopment.
[Photo: City of Jacksonville]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Jacksonville is waiting for its ship to come in

The Jacksonville Jaguars call the former shipyards property in Jacksonville the “front door” to EverBank Field. Mayor Alvin Brown also says he wants to see development that will bring people downtown. So far, however, those shared interests haven’t generated any concrete proposals to move dirt. Access full story here.


Back in the USA: Call center jobs return

Much has been made the last several years about "Made in America," but how about "Answered in America?" After years of sending call center jobs to India, the Philippines, Mexico and other countries, companies are bringing them back to the U.S. [Source: Florida Today]


Cuban women say their businesses are doing well

Five Cuban women are on a 10-day swing through the United States to talk about their experiences and meet with U.S. micro-businesses in their same fields. The trip was arranged by the Cuba Study Group, which favors closer U.S. relations with Havana. [Source: Miami Herald]


ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› UM football players get ‘mind,’ body training to prepare for season
Researchers are giving the UM football team ‘mindfulness’ training to help its performance on the field and want to do the same with U.S. soldiers who go to combat.

› Lawyers, state in showdown over dealers' tips
State regulators are putting a new interpretation to a state statute and the results mean more taxes are being collected on tips to poker dealers. The Isle Casino and Racing in Pompano Beach filed suit Thursday, calling its recent change in policy "arbitrary and capricious."

› Florida's only feminist bookstore hopes not-for-profit status will ease finances
Florida’s only feminist bookstore is looking to make a change to help compensate for the growing difficulty in keeping such a business open. By switching from retail to corporate nonprofit status, Wild Iris will be able to pursue grants and donations, offer intern scholarships and volunteer recognition, and create a board.

› New Novel Features Florida Citrus Industry
The Florida citrus industry could use a hero, even a fictional one, as it fights for survival against the bacterial disease citrus greening. Allen Morris has provided that hero, Jack Thomas, in his recently self-published historical novel, "Florida Gold."


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› Medical marijuana ballot issue may draw new voters
Getting young people engaged in politics is never easy, but voter-registration volunteers say the medical-marijuana amendment on November's ballot is attracting new voters who otherwise might not bother with a midterm election.

› Tallahassee no longer fits as Florida's capital
For nearly 100 years it's been hard to argue that Tallahassee — at least a four-hour drive from Tampa and about eight from Miami — remains a logical spot for Florida's seat of government. Geographically, the center of Florida is Brooksville, while the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research pegs southern Polk County as the population center of Florida based on 2010 census data.

› In multilingual South Florida, nonprofit services offered in Portuguese
Fleeing domestic violence, a sufferer surely doesn't want to be forced to speak a foreign language. That's why nonprofit Women in Distress of Broward County now offers its services in four languages in South Florida, where one in three residents was born outside the United States.

› Development past, present and future on the ballot in Miami
Miami voters will consider a 1,000-foot tower on Biscayne Bay, a new process for leasing submerged land and a new rule to prevent development projects from stalling on city property.