Tesla Inc. will expand battery production in Nevada, opening a small facility using idle equipment from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.
Oviedo’s growing foodie cred takes two giant leaps forward this week as Kai Asian Street Fare‘s long-stalked spot at The Food Factory will start serving on Friday, Feb. 2. Brock’s Florida BBQ, the popular local food truck, has signed on to have a permanent spot there as well, with owner Jason Brock’s pulled pork, mojo pork steak and more enjoying service through The Factory Bar.
“It’s been a long time coming,” says Kai chef/owner Quan Van, whose plans were delayed first by COVID-19, then post-pandemic issues including shortages in construction materials and labor.
“But things began picking up toward the end of 2023 and now, finally, here we are.”
Fans can expect all the Kai favorites, including the multiple Orlando Sentinel Foodie Award-winning wings (soy garlic, spicy tang, Vietnamese garlic, habanero and dry rub) along with garlic noodles, drunken noodles, ramen and some small bites.
“We’re going to start with the core menu we’ve had at Winter Park and will expand the offerings as we get comfortable,” says Van.
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney’s free speech lawsuit accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials of political retaliation in response to the entertainment giant’s criticism of a law limiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled that Disney did not have legal standing to sue DeSantis and Florida’s commerce secretary.
He also wrote that Disney’s claims against members of the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board “failed on the merits.”
Disney issued a statement signaling that it will appeal the decision.
“This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” a company spokesperson said in an unsigned statement. “If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.”
Here’s one solid assumption for mortgage rates for 2024 – they’ll act like a yo-yo. Again.
To see the extremes that home loans go through, my trusty spreadsheet looked at swings in Freddie Mac’s weekly 30-year average fixed rate going back to 1972.
And over the past half-century, the average year’s highest rate was 8.4% vs. a 7% low. That translates to a typical 12-month period having a 1.4 percentage-point swing between the top and bottom mortgage rate.
Yes, rate volatility is fairly normal.
But the size of rate gyrations during the past three years has not been normal.
Remember, the Fed aggressively used interest rates to first stimulate a coronavirus-chilled economy, only to then hike rates to fight an overheated business climate.
Well, 2023 was sort of mainstream with rates running from a 7.8% high to a 6.1% low. That’s a slightly above-average 1.7-point spread, top to bottom.
Still, this was the 11th widest gap in any year during the past half-century.
Yet those fluctuations look tame vs. 2022 when rates ranged from 7.1% to 3.2% as the Fed ended its cheap-money policy. That 3.9-point chasm was the third-largest rate swing in a half-century. Bigger swings were seen in 1980 and 1982, another period when rate hikes were used to battle inflation.
By Dalia Ramirez | NerdWallet
For some, the new tax season might serve as a stressful reminder of past taxes that have yet to be filed and paid. Taxpayers owed over $120 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest in 2022, according to the IRS. And there soon may be more concrete reminders coming: The IRS resumed sending automated collection notices for unpaid taxes in 2024 after pausing them “due to the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic” in February 2022.
If you’re one of the many taxpayers who owe tax debt this season, addressing the issue sooner rather than later can save you from penalties, interest and other more serious consequences. And you can get started even if you can’t afford to pay in full. Here’s what you can do to get back on track.
The longer you delay reading and responding to unpaid tax notices, the more serious your tax situation could become.