Things To Do In SW Florida

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices came in hotter than expected last month.

The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index, which measures inflation before it hits consumers, rose 0.5% from December and 2.9% from January 2025. Economists had forecast a 0.3% increase for the month and 1.6% year over year, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet.

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Excluding food and energy prices, which bounce around from month to month, so-called core wholesale prices rose 0.8% from December and 3.6% from January 2025 — both higher than forecasters had expected. The year-over-year increase in core prices was the biggest since March of last year. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks sank Friday as Wall Street kept punishing companies that could become losers in the artificial-intelligence revolution. A surprisingly discouraging update on inflation also hurt the market, while oil prices climbed with worries about tensions between the United States and Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and staggered to the finish of just its second losing month in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521 points, or 1.1%, the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9%.

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The losses came as investors returned to knocking down software companies and other businesses they suspect could get supplanted by AI-powered competitors. read more

A recent development filing in Orange County offers insight into the new direction SeaWorld and its parent company are taking on some prime real estate around the theme park, after quietly pulling the plug on plans for two future hotels.

The company is seeking a so-called Change Determination Review that would allow it to build up to 670 multifamily units on undeveloped land along Sea Harbor Drive, across from the main parking lot, for a project called SeaWorld Vacation Village. The application identifies four parcels that would be affected, according to a report in GrowthSpotter: two owned by SeaWorld and two adjacent properties. One is home to the Renaissance Orlando Resort, and the other is occupied by the Sea Harbor Office Center, which houses the Visit Orlando and Wyndham Vacations offices.

Winter Park-based apartment developer, Epoch Residential, is listed as the developer in the project documents. The applicant is working with engineering firm Kimley-Horn on the planning and entitlements and FK Architecture. According to the preliminary plan, the new development would be built on the SeaWorld and Renaissance properties. The office parcel would be used only for its existing entrance drive and for emergency access. read more

Joe Rohde, formerly of Walt Disney Imagineering, is releasing a book about creativity. “Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible” will be available in September.

“I’ve had a career as a creative person, and I finally have written a book,” Rohde said in a video posted on his Instagram account. He is seen surrounded by art books and wearing his elaborate trademark earring.

“This is a book about how creative we can be when we are creative together,” he said.

Rohde worked for Imagineering for 40 years, starting in 1980 as a model designer for Epcot. Eventually, he moved into roles that included the development of the Adventurers Club at the now-defunct Pleasure Island; Aulani, a Disney Vacation Club resort in Hawaii; and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, plus, subsequently, the addition of Pandora — the World of Avatar land there. The book’s cover may suggest to readers the gravity-defying, arching, mountainous structure seen above the Pandora attractions, which debuted in 2017. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery has determined that Paramount’s latest takeover offer is superior to the streaming and studio agreement it struck with Netflix, marking a stark shift in momentum in the fight for the storied Hollywood giant.

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The owner of HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles like “Harry Potter” had backed Netflix’s proposal for months. But after Skydance-owned Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to $31 per share, in addition to other revisions, Warner’s board on Thursday said that the offer “constitutes a ‘company superior proposal.’” read more