Things To Do In SW Florida

By KEN SWEET, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is concerned about the health of the nation’s regional banks, after a few of them wrote off bad loans to commercial customers in the last two weeks and caused investors to wonder if there might be more bad news to come.

Zions Bank, Western Alliance Bank and the investment bank Jefferies surprised investors by disclosing various bad investments on their books, sending their stocks falling sharply this week. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon added to the unease when he warned there might be more problems to come for banks with potentially bad loans.

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“When you see one cockroach, there are probably more,” Dimon told investors and reporters on Tuesday, when JPMorgan reported its results. read more

Q. What are common mistakes individuals make related to divorce?

A. One common mistake is to divorce prior to 10 years of marriage. If you are contemplating a divorce and you have been married for close to 10 years, you should be aware of the following. If your current spouse has worked under Social Security for many years and earns more than you, and if your marriage lasted at least 10 years, your spousal benefit and survivor benefit will possibly surpass any benefit you would be entitled to based only on your work record. If your marriage does not last at least 10 years, you will not be entitled to a spousal or survivor benefit. Instead, you will only be entitled to a benefit based on your work record. Obviously, the decision to divorce prior to marriage is not generally a financial one, but the timing is important.

Q. Can a second marriage reduce benefits I would otherwise receive from Social Security?

A. If you remarry prior to age 60, it can be very costly. If you were married for at least 10 years prior to a divorce, and you remarry prior to age 60, you can no longer receive a survivor benefit from the first marriage. Social Security regulations allow you to receive a survivor benefit from a prior marriage that lasted at least 10 years if you are single, or if you remarried after age 60, even if your current spouse is still living. read more

Chinese artisans who make the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center are welcomed to the resort on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans work, during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A Chinese artisan carves a toy airplane, during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Welcome ceremony for the Chinese artisans who make the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans carve an elf and a dog during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Welcome ceremony for the Chinese artisans who make the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Members of the Wah Lum Kung Fu Temple Demo Team perform a Chinese lion dance as part of the welcome ceremony for the Chinese artisans who make the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A Chinese artisan carves Hermey the Elf during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans work, during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Members of the Wah Lum Kung Fu Temple Demo Team perform a Chinese lion dance as part of the welcome ceremony for the Chinese artisans who make the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) An incompleted Rudolph, during the media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans carve an elf and a dog during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A Chinese artisan works, during a media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans and Gaylord Palms staff pose for a photo after a ceremony to welcome the artisans who make the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans work during the media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans work on the nativity scene, during the media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Chinese artisans work on the nativity scene, during the media preview of the annual Ice! event at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

An alleged victim of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is suing Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. in New York, claiming they financially supported his sex trafficking operations for years.

The woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other victims Wednesday against Bank of America in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A similar case was filed concurrently against Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The suits are brought under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, federal anti-sex trafficking statutes, and common-law tort claims under New York law.

The lawsuits allege that the banks provided the late financier Epstein and his associates with essential financial services and lent them an air of legitimacy, which aided their international sex-trafficking operation. In exchange, the banks benefited from their relationship with Epstein, the lawsuits allege.

The lawsuit against Bank of America alleges that the bank knew of Epstein’s activities but “chose profits over protecting victims.” The victims accuse the bank of failing to file required reports that could have alerted authorities to Epstein’s crimes. read more

The impact of Spirit Airlines’ campaign to streamline itself to profitability is extending more deeply into the ranks of the troubled carrier as management has informed employees that up to 365 more pilots may be furloughed in early 2026 along with non-union support workers at corporate headquarters in Dania Beach and elsewhere.

The news was delivered to employees Wednesday in a note from John Bendoraitis, the chief operating officer. The company affirmed the moves in a statement issued Friday.

“As part of our ongoing restructuring, we are taking additional steps to align staffing across our organization with our previously announced capacity reduction and smaller operating fleet size,” Spirit said in the statement.

“Over the past several weeks, we’ve made a number of difficult decisions reflecting the previously announced 25% capacity reduction and smaller operating fleet,” Bendoraitis told employees in the note bearing his letterhead.  “The effects of that reality are being felt across our teams.” read more