Monday's Daily Pulse

Posted 3/12/2012

Updated 1 decade ago

Lobbying pays off big for business in Florida's 2012 session

From shop owners, who know little about Tallahassee politics, to the powerful business lobby that thought up many carefully crafted tax breaks, the Legislature this year proved a friendly place. The total package of business tax relief approved during the 60-day legislative session that ended Friday totaled about $750 million this year, and more than $2.5 billion over the next three years. Everyday consumers received a much smaller package of direct tax relief — another back-to-school tax holiday, small homestead exemptions and no tax increases. [Source: Times/Herald]

Like Florida, the US posts record international tourism in 2011

It's not just Florida that set a record for international tourists last year: The United States hosted more visitors from abroad than ever before, the U..S. Commerce Department announced. A record 62 million tourists came to the United States from other countries last year, up 4 percent from 2010 levels. New York, Miami and Los Angeles were the three biggest entry points, Commerce officials said. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel ]

Getting the cruise industry back on course

Could the timing have been any worse for the cruise industry? Just as cruise companies were hoping for a stellar year after the recent economic slump depressed prices — and hardly two weeks into the peak booking season — the deadly shipwreck of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy cast a pall over an industry that touts its safety record. [Source: Miami Herald]

Facing the financial facts of getting a divorce

Divorce is a life-changing event. It puts everything in turmoil, including your financial future. Although it’s a time when emotions run high, it’s vital for you to keep a clear head, so you can make good decisions. An objective financial advisor can help you through this difficult time, just as a good attorney can guide you through the legal process. Here are some of the important financial and investment issues to consider in a divorce. [Source: Miami Herald]

UF helps put state on map for blueberries

BlueYouth Berries owner Carleen Gunter was a third-generation citrus farmer, but pressures on her Odessa orange groves from pests and disease proved to be too much. In searching for a replacement crop, Gunter found that blueberries faced fewer problems and allowed for a quick turnaround between planting and production. She credits the University of Florida for developing varieties of blueberries that thrive in the state, which historically hadn't been a hotbed for the fruit. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Sinking feeling might be over for First Coast's boating industry [Florida Times-Union]
While the automobile industry appears to be on the rebound from a stubborn recession, there is no advertisement with Clint Eastwood declaring it’s “Halftime in America” for the boating industry. But watercraft retailers on the First Coast say there are early indications that the boating industry is experiencing a possible rebound from what has been a dismal half-decade of sales.

› RNC may be a mixed bag for Tampa Bay restaurants [Tampa Bay Times]
"There will be winners and there will be losers." Bill Morrissey of Morrissey Hospitality Cos. in St. Paul, Minn., is not talking about candidates, but rather how local businesses might fare during the 2012 Republican National Convention this August in Tampa. He knows a thing or two about collateral successes and failures at the Republican Party's biggest shindig. His hotels and restaurants were at the epicenter of the Twin Cities convention in 2008, where many reaped handsome payoffs. Others, not so much.

› South Florida's highest paid CEOs [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The highest paid leaders of publicly traded companies based in South Florida range from the well-known — Carnival's Micky Arison — to those known mainly within their industries, such as Wellington entrepreneur Amin Khoury who turned B/E Aerospace into a leading manufacturer of airplane seats and other cabin supplies.

› Money in the beanbag [Gainesville Sun]
Business for Gainesville-based Corda-Roy's Beanbags has done nothing but go up since the recession started. Owner Byron Young is not exactly sure why. "It must be a lot of word of mouth because we haven't done a lot of advertising," he said from his showroom and office building.

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› Southwest Florida market is showing signs of recovery [Fort Myers News-Press]
We are finally seeing signs of recovery in the long-slumping commercial real estate market in Southwest Florida. A full recovery will certainly take some time, but recent statistics from Costar show that we bottomed out over 2011 in the three main sectors of commercial real estate in Southwest Florida.

› Sarasota Sun-n-Fun wellness center a tribute to green building [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Sarasota's newest architectural landmark brings the city's modernist tradition to an unlikely place: a resort and campground.

› Venus Williams: Star power drives her interior design firm V*Starr [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
When tennis star Venus Williams launched V*Starr Interiors in 2002, her on-court celebrity drove instant name-brand recognition to the company. The Jupiter-based interior design firm's steady growth in the decade since has been a bit more subtle than when she burst onto the tennis scene in the 1990s.

› Miami Beach gambles on radical remake of convention center [Miami Herald]
After more than a decade of discussion about rejuvenating a convention center that slumps like a dowager next to a state-of-the-art symphony hall, the city of Miami Beach has gone all-in this year — pushing $334 million in prime South Beach real estate to the center of the table.

› Florida attorney general selects lawyers to help handle BP oil spill claims [Tampa Bay Times]
The Florida Attorney General's Office announced Friday that it has selected a legal team to help represent the state as it makes economic claims related to the BP oil spill. The legal team will be composed of lawyers from four law firms, including Tampa-based Fowler White Boggs.