Things To Do In SW Florida

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s calls for lower interest rates won’t lead the central bank to change its rate decisions.

“People can be confident that we’ll continue to keep our heads down, do our work, and make our decisions based on what’s happening in the economy,” Powell said, under questioning from members of the House Financial Services Committee. Powell spoke on the second day of his semiannual testimony to Congress.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump said on social media that “Interest Rates should be lowered, something which would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!!”

Yet Powell indicated during a press conference last month that the Fed, after cutting its key rate three times late last year, would hold off on further cuts as it waited for evidence that inflation is moving closer to its 2% target.

And many Fed officials want to wait and see how Trump’s policies, including the tariffs he has proposed and those he has put in place, affect the economy. Most economists worry that tariffs will at least temporarily push up inflation. read more

Two Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of Feb. 2-8, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Lake

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Operated By Tice at 16530 S.R. 50 in Clermont shut down on Feb. 4. Inspectors found 13 violations with two being high priorities for raw sewage backing up through the floor drains and a missing vacuum breaker. A second inspection occurred the same day. Inspectors found 12 violations and issued a time extension for the high-priority violation regarding the missing vacuum breaker. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Seminole

Corwin’s Personal Chef and Catering Services at 1255 Belle Ave. Unit 103 in Winter Springs shut down on Feb. 5. Inspectors found 13 violations, two of which were high priorities for rodent activity and a dish washing machine that needed to be repaired. A second inspection occurred the same day. Inspectors found nine violations but none was a high priority. The restaurant reopened but requires a follow-up inspection. read more

By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking additional action to upset the world trade system, with plans to sign an order as soon as Wednesday that would require that U.S. tariffs on imports match the tax rates charged by other countries.

“It’s time to be reciprocal,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “You’ll be hearing that word a lot. Reciprocal. If they charge us, we charge them.”

The president had suggested that the order would come on Tuesday or Wednesday. But when Tuesday passed without the tariffs being officially announced, Trump was asked if he would sign the order on Wednesday and Trump answered: “We’ll see what happens.” On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she believes that the tariffs would come before Thursday’s visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As Trump has unleashed a series of tariffs after being in power for less than a month, he has fully taken ownership of the path of the U.S. economy. It’s a bet that his economic ideas can eventually deliver meaningful results for voters, even if by Trump’s own admission the import taxes could involve some financial pain in the form of inflation and economic disruptions. For all of Trump’s talk, the impact will likely depend on the details of the tariffs and how other nations respond. read more

A growing number of prominent companies have scaled back or set aside the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that much of corporate America endorsed following the protests that accompanied the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in 2020.

The changes have come in response to a campaign by conservative activists to target workplace programs in the courts and social media, and more recently, President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at upending DEI policies in both the federal government and private sector.

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — To its fans, it’s an undeniable force for good in a corrupt world, a groundbreaking anti-bribery statute that has brought powerful businessmen to heel for secretly paying off foreign government officials to win contracts abroad.