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KISSIMMEE — Gaylord Palms Resort is entering its “Ice!” age again.

Work on the elaborate holiday ice-sculpture event is underway, as artisans from Harbin, China, chip away at big blocks of ice to form 11 colorful scenes from TV’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” They use chainsaws, scrapers and assorted sharp objects, which were all apparent during a Friday media preview.

It’s the first time “Rudolph” has been presented at the annual Central Florida event. Although it has been seen at other Gaylord hotel properties, the icy exhibition has undergone a complete redesign that is making its debut this year, said Niko Nickolaou, senior director of special events and experiences for the Gaylord resorts.

“We really invested in taking the design, elevating it to something completely different,” Nickolaou said. “People want to go be immersed in things. This is really immersive. It’s interactive. It has some incredible photo moments.”

One photo op includes popping up between icy versions of Rudolph and Hermey, the dentist-aspiring elf. The walk-through displays start off with a scene representing the storm of the century, as seen in the 1964 TV special, and also have figures to illustrate “reindeer games” and the Island of Misfit Toys. read more

The U.S. economy has largely weathered historically high tariffs so far this year, but a new study says tariffs will hit Americans in 2026.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said it expects the U.S. economy to grow 1.8% this year, and 1.5% next year. It mostly based its prediction for slower growth on tariff effects.

The organization estimated that the overall effective U.S. tariff rate on imports rose to 19.5% at the end of August from 15.4% in mid-May, reaching its highest level since 1933. Tariffs have yet to greatly hit the U.S. consumer, the organization said, because of companies using up inventories.

Yet many economists were wrong when the Trump tariffs were announced and most predicted a recession this year. “History tells us that free markets can cope with wars, plagues and revolutions,” wrote financial columnist Matthew Lynn for The Washington Post. “It was always slightly absurd to argue that 20% levies on Vietnamese-made Halloween masks would be the end of the world.” read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN

Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs globally as the Swiss food giant cuts costs as part of its efforts to revive its financial performance.

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Nestlé, which makes Nescafé, KitKats, pet foods and many other well-known consumer brands, said Thursday that the job cuts will take place over the next two years. The Swiss company also said that it is raising targeted cost cuts to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.76 billion) by the end of next year, up from a planned 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($3.13 billion).

It has been a turbulent year for the company, based Vevey, Switzerland. Last month, Nestle dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a subordinate. read more

By RAJESH ROY

NEW DELHI (AP) — India says it is looking to step up purchases of crude oil and natural gas from the U.S. as it diversifies its energy supplies and confronts criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump over its imports of discounted Russian oil.

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Trump said Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally assured him his country would stop buying Russian oil, in a move that might add to pressure on Moscow to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

“There will be no oil. He’s not buying oil,” Trump said. The change won’t take immediately, he said, but “within a short period of time.” read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage declined again this week, easing to just above its lowest level this year.

The average long-term mortgage rate slipped to 6.27% from 6.3% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.44%.

The latest dip brings the average rate to just above 6.26%, where it was four weeks ago after a string of declines brought down home loan borrowing costs to their lowest level since early October 2024.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased this week. The average rate dropped to 5.52% from 5.53% last week. A year ago, it was 5.63%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. read more