Florida stocks took a hit during Wednesday's market sell-off

Fall-offs in technology stocks propelled the stock market’s worst decline in eight months on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial and Standard & Poor’s indexes both down more than 3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index down more than 4 percent. Florida companies both inside and outside the tech sector were not immune. The Tampa Bay Times looks at 10 of the largest public companies in the region. How are your favorite Florida stock doing? Find out here:

» List of 50 largest publicly traded companies in Florida - what their symbol is, what exchange they are on, and how their stock is doing today.

President Trump declares major disaster in Florida as state responds to Hurricane Michael

Today, President Donald Trump declared a major disaster in Florida. Assistance will be available to individuals in Bay, Franklin, Gulf, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties. Public assistance for emergency work and repair is available for the counties of Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla, All counties in Florida are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. See the declaration from President Trump, here. Also find more updates in the latest news release from Gov. Scott.

See also:
» 'There's nothing left here anymore' after Hurricane Michael makes landfall in Mexico Beach

Boeing completes acquisition of KLX Aerospace Solutions

Boeing closed its acquisition of Wellington-based aerospace parts distributor KLX Aerospace Solutions on Tuesday, a move company officials said will create a clearing house for aerospace parts and services in Miami. More in the news release.

JC Penney hiring 700 in South Florida for holiday season

JCPenney is having a hiring event Oct. 16 to fill 700 seasonal jobs in South Florida and a total of 2,500 in Florida. Positions include customer service, cashiers, replacement specialists, and beauty consultants for Sephora shops inside JCPenney stores. More from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Panel discusses effects of Red Tide on Florida

Florida International University (FIU) convened a panel of experts to help the community learn about what causes Florida Red Tide. College of Arts, Sciences & Education researchers Thomas Frankovich, Jose M. Eirin-Lopez and Kathleen Rein are studying the organism that causes the harmful algal bloom. "When it comes to the critical ingredient here – that is the nutrients going into the water – that is something we can act upon," Eirin-Lopez said. "That is the real, important element fostering the bloom, [making it] more frequent and longer in extent." Read more phys.org.