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Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
The extortion economy: How insurance companies are fueling a rise in ransomware attacks
Ransomware is proliferating across America, disabling computer systems of corporations, city governments, schools and police departments. Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. The FBI and security researchers say paying ransoms contributes to the profitability and spread of cybercrime and in some cases may ultimately be funding terrorist regimes. But for insurers, it makes financial sense. More from ProPublica.
Surge of hotel development leads to declines in occupancy, revenue in South Florida
South Florida hotel occupancy rates fell slightly in the first half of the year as the supply of rooms increased faster than bookings, recently released data shows. “It’s positive to see that more people traveled here … It’s just that hotel developers are building too many rooms, for now,” Paul Weimer, a Miami-based senior vice president of CBRE said. More from the Real Deal.
Florida Trend Exclusive
$70 million CytoSen deal
Central Florida, which has invested heavily in life sciences over the past decade and a half, reached a milestone in June: Kiadis Pharma, an Amsterdam-based cell-therapy company, bought Winter Springs-based CytoSen Therapeutics in a deal that could eventually be valued at $70 million — the biggest biotech sale in the region’s history, eclipsing the region’s previous record, set in 2015 when VaxDesign sold for $60 million. More from Florida Trend.
The last sliver of undeveloped beachfront land in Miami Beach sells for $40 million
Miami Beach is officially sold out of vacant oceanfront real estate. The hotel developer Urbanica Management has paid $40 million, or roughly $1,000 per square foot, for a 0.98-acre lot at 6747 Collins Avenue. The brokerage firm APEX Capital Realty represented the buyer. The sale closed on Tuesday. More from the Miami Herald.
Stock prices of Tampa Bay’s largest companies unsettled by U.S.-China trade war
So far, the S&P 500 is holding its own, up about 15 percent this year. But since the beginning of May, when trade tensions escalated, the picture isn’t so rosy. The S&P is down almost 2 percent in that time. The same pattern holds for the stock prices of many of Tampa Bay’s largest publicly traded companies. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Tech Trends
Spirit Airlines to offer customers text message option for booking flights
Spirit Airlines customers soon will be able to book and change their flights over the WhatsApp text messaging service. The company said the service will start Sept. 1, the day before Labor Day.
» More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Out of the Box
‘Teatscrubber’ for dairy cows spurs Sanford company’s rapid growth
The job of milking cows at a Hardee County dairy farm used to involve someone manually cleaning their udders with iodine using dip cups and wash cloths. That process has been replaced at C.R. Melear Dairy, which has 2,000 cows, with “Teatscrubber” devices made by a Sanford company called FutureCow. The handheld machines are helping the Seminole County manufacturer to grow. FutureCow moved to a new plant in Sanford earlier this year from a smaller space in Longwood and has gained recognition as one of GrowFL’s 2019 50 Florida companies to watch.
» Read more from the Orlando Sentinel.
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