Things To Do In SW Florida

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Debbie Carlson posed four important questions regarding retirement. Her argument was that your answers to these questions can help you decide if you’d benefit from a financial adviser. These are the questions:

Am I where I need to be with my retirement savings?

Am I ready to retire?

Will I be able to manage my investments?

Am I ready to listen to the advice?

I believe that a financial adviser can be very useful in helping you find the answers to questions one and two. To my mind, answering these questions is a matter of answering several subsidiary questions: What are my monthly and annual expenses now? How will they change in retirement? How will they change over time due to factors such as inflation?

Many of these questions cannot be answered with certainty. Consider inflation. At a 2% annual rate, which is the Federal Reserve’s target when setting interest rate policy, in 10 years time prices will be 22% higher than they are today. If inflation is closer to 3%, as it has been recently, prices will be 34% higher. And inflation in important categories of spending, such as health care, can be way in excess of the consumer price index. read more

TALLAHASSEE — As Florida lawmakers dig into issues involving artificial intelligence, state Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky wants to make sure regulators can properly oversee AI use by insurance companies.

“Responsible AI governance is crucial,” Yaworsky told the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee last week. “I’m not an opponent of AI, but I do think it needs to be responsibly deployed. There are some companies that I think are doing it in a much more responsible manner than others.”

Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach, filed a bill (HB 527) on Monday that seeks to ensure humans make decisions about denials of insurance claims. Cassel’s bill is identical to a measure (SB 202) filed in October by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island.

Yaworsky did not go that far last week when outlining his ideas to the Senate committee. He said he wants to address issues such as disclosure when artificial intelligence is being used, auditing and understanding that companies have a “human in the loop that knows what that system is doing, has expertise on that.” read more

By MAE ANDERSON

NEW YORK (AP) — At Fleece & Harmony, a woolen mill and yarn shop in bucolic Belfast, Prince Edward Island, in Canada, owner Kim Doherty used to be able to send yarn skeins to U.S. customers across the border with little fanfare.

Related Articles

• 
  Is AI making some people delusional? Families and experts are worried

• 
  9 more newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft, alleging stolen content used in AI apps

• 
  Campbell’s fires executive who was recorded saying company’s products are for ‘poor people’

• 
  Homeowner insurance cost hikes grind to near stop in September, latest data shows

• 
  The Savings Game: Four important questions about your retirement

The yarn orders usually met an import tax exemption for packages valued at under $800, meaning it could be imported tariff-free and avoid the customs process.

But ever since the Trump administration eliminated the exemption as of Aug. 29, the cost to send yarn to U.S. customers has skyrocketed. The bill for a $21 ball of yarn now includes $12 to $15 in brokerage fees that her shipper UPS charges, plus state taxes and a 6.5% tariff, all of which almost doubles her costs. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ended a three-week streak of increases, reflecting a pullback in long-term U.S. Treasury bond yields.

Related Articles

• 
  Sanford pharmaceutical company planning new facility near airport

• 
  Lion Country Safari sold to Larry Ellison Foundation; park operations to remain the same

• 
  New limits for a rent algorithm that prosecutors say let landlords drive up prices

• 
  Orlando ARB approves redevelopment plan for demolished Burger King

• 
  Apopka council seeks to raise impact fees on new homes by 42%

The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.23% from 6.26% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.81%.

Just four weeks ago, the average rate was at 6.17%, its lowest level in more than a year.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell this week. The rate averaged 5.51%, down from 5.54% last week. A year ago, it was 6.10%, Freddie Mac said. read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Thanksgiving and the formal launch of the holiday shopping season this week, Americans will again gather for Turkey Day meals before knocking off items on their Christmas gift lists.

Most big U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving Day. However, many will open early the following day, Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday gift-buying season and the biggest shopping day of the year.

Here’s what is open and closed this Thanksgiving, along with a travel forecast from the experts at AAA auto club.

Government Buildings

Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.

Banks and the stock market

U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Thursday; however, markets reopen on Friday for a shortened trading day, wrapping up at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Package Delivery

Standard FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will not be available on Thanksgiving, although some critical services will be offered at certain locations.

Retailers

Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving but most stores will open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday. read more