Things To Do In SW Florida

By HALELUYA HADERO (AP Business Writer)

U.S. regulators and 17 states are suing Amazon over allegations the e-commerce behemoth abuses its position in the marketplace to inflate prices on and off its platform, overcharge sellers and stifle competition.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Amazon’s home state of Washington, is the result of a yearslong investigation into the company’s businesses and one of the most significant legal challenges brought against it in its nearly 30-year history.

The Federal Trade Commission and states that joined the lawsuit allege Amazon is violating federal and state antitrust laws. They are asking the court to issue a permanent injunction that they say would prohibit Amazon from engaging in its unlawful conduct and loosen its “monopolistic control to restore competition.”

The complaint accuses the company of engaging in anti-competitive practices through measures that deter sellers from offering lower prices for products on non-Amazon sites, an argument mirroring allegations made in a separate lawsuit filed last year by the state of California. read more

The reigning title holder for world’s most powerful rocket saw action on both its center core and its two solid rocket boosters this month, with pieces for the Artemis II launch coming together as NASA aims to send humans on a trip around the moon next year.

Arriving by train to Florida on Monday were all 10 segments for the two side boosters of the Space Launch System rocket that will launch the Orion spacecraft with four humans on board from Kennedy Space Center as early as November 2024. The core stage of that booster remains in New Orleans, but teams last week installed the last of four converted space shuttle engines to the base of the stage.

The core stage’s primary contractor Boeing still has more work to do before it can be shipped by barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility to KSC, currently on track for a November arrival, but the tail end finally got the last of its four R2-25 engines stuck in place. Aerojet Rocketdyne, which was recently acquired by Melbourne-based L3Harris, manufactured all four engines that were originally designed for the Space Shuttle Program, but have since been converted for use on the SLS. read more

By MATT OTT (AP Business Writer)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The confidence of American consumers slipped this month, particularly about the future, as expectations persist that interest rates will remain elevated for an extended period.

The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 103 in September from 108.7 in August. Analysts were expecting a smaller decrease, to a reading of 105.

The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.

Most troubling was the decline in the index measuring future expectations, which tumbled to 73.7 in September from 83.3 in August. Readings below 80 for future expectations historically signal a recession within a year.

Relatedly, consumers’ perceived likelihood of a recession in the next year rose, after it declined over the summer.

“Consumers may be hearing more bad news about corporate earnings, while job openings are narrowing, and interest rates continue to rise — making big-ticket items more expensive,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. read more

Downtown Orlando’s newest high-rise apartment tower — one of the metro area’s largest mixed-use residential development projects ever — is set to open soon at Orange Avenue and Livingston Street with a new Esports gaming business and dining concept from a local restaurateur on the bottom floor.

Reaching 27 stories with 462 units, Society Orlando has started pre-leasing with the expectation that residents will begin moving in by January, the project’s development team of New York-based Property Markets Group and Raven Capital Management, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

Velocity Esports, an entertainment company that offers arcade games, esports lounges, bowling, social gaming, esports tournaments as well as food and craft beverages, is set to open its first East Coast location within the building.

Society Orlando will also feature a new dining concept by Thriving Hospitality, the local operator of several cocktail lounges and eateries. The company operates Bounce House, located at 12100 Challenger Parkway in Orlando, and Thrive, located at 13 S. Orange Avenue. read more