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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida banks buck profit trends
Florida commercial banks and savings institutions outperformed their counterparts nationwide in 2014. As a group, 179 Florida financial institutions posted $1.19 billion in net income in 2014, up 14 percent from $1.04 billion in net income in 2013. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]
See also:
» Why You Shouldn't Dump Your Brick-and-Mortar Bank
Consumer confidence slides after big Jan. gain
U.S. consumers are feeling a bit less confident this month, but their spirits are still at the highest levels since before the Great Recession. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dropped this month to 96.4 from a revised 103.8 in January. More from AP and Reuters.
DHS shutdown would affect thousands of Florida workers
More than 12,000 airport screeners, border patrol officers, and other Homeland Security employees working in Florida would be affected if Congress doesn't agree this week on funding the agency for the rest of the fiscal year. [Source: Florida Today]
Pilot shortage means business for Florida flight schools
About 35,000 pilots are expected to retire within the next six years, the result of captains and first officers facing mandatory retirement at 65. Regional airlines already are feeling the pinch. Several last year said they were forced to cut routes because they didn't have enough pilots. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Help wanted: Construction workers
A widening labor shortage in the construction trade has threatened the future of a building industry long considered one of Florida's largest economic drivers. Homebuilders are falling short despite surging buyer demand, unable to meet market expectations. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› In Florida, 18.3% still don't have health insurance
The Sunshine State still has an uninsured rate of 18.3 percent in 2014, ranking it in the highest quintile in the nation. Many states in the South rank in the highest two quintiles.
› Fitness centers beefing up presence around Gainesville
A growing number of fitness businesses are opening or expanding in Gainesville in recent years with new options that include a handful of CrossFit operations, small personal training and group class studios, and no-frills budget gyms.
› Singularity University opens competition in Miami to address sea-level rise
With the clock ticking, Silicon Valley’s Singularity University, a teaching organization and accelerator, launched its Global Impact Competition in Miami on Monday calling on innovators to find solutions for South Florida’s sea-level rise by using technology.
› How 3D heart imaging saved a life
UM’s 3D mapping technology — in existence for less than three decades — allows doctors to map exactly where the extra heartbeats are coming from. It does so through a catheter that snakes up the leg, using local anesthesia.
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