DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Kamala Harris swipes at DeSantis using his 'vanguard of freedom' quote, on the governor's home turf, as she announces new moves on abortion pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

said Harris, who didn't use DeSantis' name but was quoting directly from his 2022 State of the State address. The vice president, who has been at the forefront voice for the administration's on abortion rights, announced that President Joe Biden would be signing a memorandum to make abortion pills easier to access. Sunday would have marked the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed a national right to abortion. Wilfredo Lee/AP PhotoFlorida has other ways of expanding abortion rightsAbortion rights proved to be a liability for Republicans in the November midterms. Reproductive rights groups are working to put the issue of abortion before Florida voters through a 2024 ballot measure.

☆ Can Miami Beach Stay Hot After Covid? The Shore Club Redevelopment Might Hold the Answer.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Katherine Clarke | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Architect Robert A.M. Stern is best known for designing buildings for the wealthiest New Yorkers. Some of the largest residential deals in the U.S. have been at his towers overlooking Manhattan’s Central Park. Now, Mr. Stern’s eponymous firm is putting the finishing touches on the design for a Miami Beach project that is seeking to entice those same buyers to the Sunshine State. The project will be the firm’s first oceanfront residential building. Sales of the units are expected to begin later this month.

☆ Why Orange Juice Is So Expensive Right Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ryan Dezember | David Uberti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Florida orange growers are harvesting their smallest crop in nearly 90 years, the result of an ill-timed freeze, two hurricanes and citrus disease that is laying waste to its groves. The Sunshine State is expected to produce just 18 million 90-pound boxes of oranges, the Agriculture Department said last week. That would be less than half the size of last year’s poor crop and a 93% decline from Florida’s peak output in 1998.

☆ See inside the Yankee Candle Founder's former home, a compound that features a Bellagio-inspired indoor water park, two-story arcade, and private concert venue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Kittredge had three outdoor tennis courts and one indoor court constructed at the estate. The indoor tennis court also doubles as a concert venue, which has hosted such bands as The Doobie Brothers, as well as KC and The Sunshine Band. Yankee Candle founder's estate hits the market Courtesy of Surette Media Group

☆ Floridians can blame vacation homes and 'oppressive' homeowners associations for their high rents, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Too many vacation rentals and strict homeowners associations are pushing up housing costs, a study said. According to Johnson, there are too many vacation rentals in the Sunshine State. It's this particular combination of strict HOA rules and the sheer number of vacation rentals is a mixture that is affecting housing affordability negatively, he said. According to Johnson's study, Florida is now home to 9 of the 21 most overpriced rental markets in the US. The number of vacation rentals in the state is only making it harder for people to find affordable places to rent, the study suggests.

☆ One U-Haul manager believes lots of people will still move to Florida in 2023—but not to the popular cities of Miami and Tampa Bay
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Florida was the second-most-popular destination for U-Haul movers in 2022. Florida was the second-most-popular destination for U-Haul movers last year, second only to Texas, per a new report by the national truck-rental company. In a twist, these movers were less likely to embrace the popular cities of the pandemic era, like Miami and Tampa. People in the past year were choosing smaller, less expensive Florida areas — such as Clermont, Ocala, and The Villages, both moveBuddha and U-Haul found. It's a trend mirrored nationally, as movers sought exurban areas — suburbs with a rural feel in close proximity to cities.

☆ 6 reasons why moving to Florida can be a major disappointment, from surprisingly high tax bills to severe storms that 'should be an eye opener'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"The appreciation rates that we've seen in South Florida have been much higher than the national average," Bordenaro said. Newcomers moving to Florida have also been shocked at property tax bills that are higher than they expected, Insider's Kelsey Neubauer reported. Because of rising sea levels, many homes in South Florida are at a higher risk for disaster, which makes it more expensive to insure them. According to Bordenaro, Miami is attempting to alleviate the traffic issue by constructing more lanes and new exits, but the going road work only leads to more traffic. "Depending on where you come from, it can be tough to make friends with the locals," Bordenaro said.

Ron DeSantis will seek to bring Disney's special governing district under direct state control in a bid to end the entertainment giant's multi-decade arrangement with the Sunshine State. In a document posted to the website of Osceola County, which also borders Orange County and Reedy Creek, notice was given that the proposed legislation would leave no current aspect of Reedy Creek untouched. Florida legislators already voted in a special session last year to dissolve all special districts like Reedy Creek in Florida by June 2023. In response, DeSantis and his allies in the Florida legislature announced they would seek to end the privileges Disney had enjoyed through the special district. “The state of Florida has been very important to us for a long time, and we have been very important to the state of Florida,” Iger said last month.

☆ Who is Rep. Byron Donalds — ultra-conservatives' latest pick for House Speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida is the far-right faction's latest choice for House Speaker. The 44-year-old is a second-term lawmaker and one of only five Black Republicans in Congress. Donalds graduated from Florida State University with a degree in financing and marketing. After an unsuccessful 2012 Congressional bid, Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. One of only five Black Republicans in Congress, Donalds expressed excitement about the number of Black Republicans running for Congress in 2022.

☆ Moving to Florida could save you on taxes — but cost more overall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Many Americans have seen the lack of a state income tax as a way to get ahead financially. Many have also been drawn there because it's one of nine states with no state income tax, which could potentially save them thousands of dollars per year. Despite the lack of an income tax, Florida has higher sales and property taxes than some of its peers, and due to Florida law, newcomers are seeing higher property tax increases than longstanding residents. Before moving to the Sunshine State, it's worth considering how Florida's cost of living compares to where you live now, and to your potential employment opportunities. Indeed, the lack of an income tax is a major financial perk for Floridians.

☆ The most honest man in real estate thinks the housing market isn't going to crash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Here's how Miller, who doesn't think the housing market is going to crash, became a beacon of trust. The call was from a journalist at an international paper asking for Miller's comment on the US housing market for a story. The 62-year-old founder of the real-estate-appraisal and data firm Miller Samuel is probably the most-quoted man in real estate, with some 2,469 news citations, according to the database LexisNexis. Today, Miller Samuel has replaced Scantrons with iPods, iPhones, and a CoreLogic appraisal software called A La Mode. Today, there's much more data than there was when he started Miller Samuel, but also a lot more "crap," Miller said.

Last year, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, labeled 2021 the “worst year” for LGBTQ rights in modern U.S. history, citing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country. “The LGBTQ+ community is really under siege right now,” said Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas. One bill that was successfully implemented, and gained national headlines for months, was Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. Those losses came after some conservative groups ramped up misleading or inflammatory campaign ads targeting transgender rights.

☆ Millions of people are still moving to Florida. They might regret it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The state's population has been steadily increasing for decades. But some that have moved to Florida will come to regret the decision — and may ultimately move out. A nearly 14,000-member Facebook group for people moving out of Florida has cited severe weather, low wages, crowded beaches, changing politics, and steep housing prices as reasons people left. Nicole Panesso lived in Florida her whole life until moving to Tennessee earlier this year, she previously told Insider, citing low wages and high expenses as reasons why. For Greg May, Florida's high temperatures were the main reason he left for North Carolina, he previously told Insider.

☆ Americans are still moving to Florida. They might regret it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Upset the sun sets so early? Blame the House for not voting to make daylight savings time year-round.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The House could have voted this year to make daylight savings time permanent. The chair of the relevant House committee told Insider he still wants to find "consensus" on the issue. "It's polarizing as hell," Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a key sponsor of the bill, told Insider at the Capitol in December. "I'm just trying to reach a consensus," he told Insider at the Capitol. "The problem is, half the people want standard time, others want daylight [savings time], others don't want to change it at all."

☆ Ron DeSantis outflanks Trump on the right with his call for Covid vaccine probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Ron DeSantis was positioning himself to get to the right of the former president over the issue of Covid vaccines. DeSantis, who is mulling whether to challenge Trump in the 2024 Republican primary for president, deepened those suspicions Tuesday. That’s his record,” said Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to Trump and an outspoken critic of DeSantis. The poll also showed DeSantis ahead of President Joe Biden in a theoretical general election matchup by 47%-43%, but Biden topped Trump 47%-40%. “So the only option for DeSantis to pose a challenge to Trump is to attack him on the vaccine.

☆ Citadel's anniversary extravaganza: Billionaire Ken Griffin treats employees to Disney World and a Coldplay concert amid a stellar year for the hedge fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire Ken Griffin treated Citadel employees and their families to a weekend at Disney World. The 20th-anniversary event for Citadel Securities is one of many lavish events for the firm. This weekend, founder Ken Griffin treated Citadel and Citadel Securities' employees and their partners and children to an all-inclusive weekend in Disney World. The Disney World extravaganza was the 20th-anniversary celebration of market maker and trading firm Citadel Securities, and a belated event for hedge fund Citadel's 30th anniversary, which was in 2020. Citadel employees and families gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on Saturday night for a party that featured a concert headlined by Coldplay.

☆ Florida homeowners got swindled by brokers who paid them a paltry sum in cash upfront for the rights to sell their properties for 40 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Florida brokerage had offered homeowners upfront cash payments in exchange for exclusive rights to sell their property. Florida's attorney general alleges MV Realty's 40-year homeowner agreement is "deceptive" and "unconscionable." Roy Brightwell, 70, is one complainant that the Tampa Bay Times interviewed about his experience with MV Realty. The lawsuit claims that MV Realty's agreement is illegal under Florida law because it does not meet the statutory requirements for liens. When asked about the pending litigation, a spokesperson for MV Realty responded to Insider suggesting that the practice is perfectly legal.

☆ Florida woman sues Kraft for $5M, saying Velveeta shells & cheese takes longer to prepare than packaging claims
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Joseph Lamour | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

On Nov. 18, Florida resident Amanda Ramirez sued the Kraft Heinz Company for at least $5 million over what she claims is deceptive and fraudulent packaging. Ramirez says that since Kraft’s Velveeta Shells & Cheese Microwavable Shell Pasta takes longer than 3-and-a-half minutes to prepare even though its packing states “ready in 3½ minutes,” that constitutes fraud. What the plaintiff focuses on is the fifth instruction, “cheese sauce will thicken upon standing” which they say constitutes a longer “ready” time than the packaging claims. “Consumers seeing ‘ready in 3½ minutes’ will believe it represents the total amount of time it takes to prepare the Product,” the suit reads. “However, the directions outlined above show that 3-and-a-half minutes is just the length of time to complete one of several steps.

☆ Florida's attorney general says Americans from blue states are moving to the Sunshine State because it's tough on crime: 'It's not rocket science'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Florida AG Ashley Moody says Americans are moving to Florida because it's a law and order state. Americans have flocked to the Sunshine State largely due to its low taxes, and business-friendly policies, according to the state's CFO, Jimmy Patronis. Using data from the FBI's 2018 Uniform Crime Reporting Program, USA Today ranked states from lowest violent crime rate to highest. Florida ranked 21st with a violent crime rate of 384.9 per 100,000 people, while California — the most populous state — ranked 14th with a violent crime rate of 447.4 per 100,000 people, according to the news outlet. New York was 25th on the list with a violent crime rate of 350.5 per 100,000 people.

In the early 2010s, Mr. Mellow set out for still more distant shores, traveling to many famous surf breaks in the South Pacific. Mr. Abdul-Rashed and Mr. Danian traveled to Hawaii to connect with Mr. Mellow, their spiritual guide and Pacific expedition leader. Mr. Mellow posted an ad on Facebook and Craigslist offering $10,000 for passage to the South Pacific. Mr. Schmidt was in sync with the young seekers when it came to fear of Big Brother and vaccines, but dreading port officials brandishing nasal swabs struck even Mr. Schmidt as a little unhinged. When asked if he was at all responsible for what had happened to Mr. Danian and Mr. Abdul-Rashed, Mr. Mellow looked genuinely confused.

☆ Daylight Saving Time debate sheds light on growing racial inequities in sleep health
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society and other medical groups have advocated for ending the practice, calling for the adoption of a permanent standard time that would not involve shifting forward each spring and falling back each autumn. She authored a paper, published in September in the journal Sleep, detailing the potential health benefits of adopting a permanent standard time. Now, some sleep researchers worry about the potential effects that continuing to change standard time twice each year may have on sleep health inequities. “Fortunately, sleep health is largely modifiable.”As for the inequities seen in sleep health, it’s not that White adults don’t also experience a lack of sleep and its health consequences – but people of color appear to disproportionately experience them more, and that’s believed to be largely due to social systems in the United States. Improving sleep health has been a national objective in the federal government’s past two Healthy People programs, noted Caraballo-Cordovez, who is not involved in the programs.

☆ They Loved the Diversity of Oakland. Could They Find a House They Loved There, Too?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Mark Kreidler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“The Seattle experience really solidified that thought for us, that this was something we all needed,” said Ms. Meredith, 43, an author and freelance writer. The younger Mr. Meredith spent his formative years in Jackson, Miss., and later did graduate work at the University of San Diego. “We loved the grittiness, the sunshine, and the diversity,” Ms. Meredith said. “Initially I think we were dumbstruck — awe-struck,” Ms. Meredith said. And they were willing to exhaust the Oakland market before they considered looking anywhere else.

☆ Brian Kemp Is GOP’s Best Bet for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Scott Westcott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ron DeSantis the new standard-bearer for the Republican Party, political pundits passed over the more logical choice: Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia. Mr. DeSantis’s re-election margin was wider, but Florida is a red state and its Democratic Party is a shambles. Charlie Crist was a weak opponent, and the Sunshine State’s U.S. Senate race was barely competitive. Goofy could have won the Florida governorship if he switched parties and put “R., Magic Kingdom” after his name.

☆ Wall Street's love language is coding. Here are the ones you need to know.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider's Bianca Chan and Carter Johnson dug into the most sought-after coding languages across Wall Street. C++, which was created in 1983, is still a mainstay despite being older than a good chunk of the people using it on Wall Street (and the person writing this newsletter). While that's certainly true, plenty of programming languages have sticking power. Perhaps the best example is COBOL, a 63-year-old programming language still being used today. But what would be a smart decision is reading this story mapping out the top programming languages for a variety of roles and industries across Wall Street.

Search resuls for: "The Sunshine"

25 mentions found