Things To Do In SW Florida

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slumping on Thursday, hurt by drops for midsized banks as worries flare about the loans they’ve made.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7% in its latest up-and-down day after erasing a morning gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 284 points, or 0.6%, as of 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.7%.

Zions Bancorp. tumbled 12% after the bank said its profit for the third quarter will take a hit because of a $50 million charge-off related to loans made to a pair of borrowers. Zions said it found “apparent misrepresentations and contractual defaults” by the borrowers and several people who guaranteed the loans, along with “other irregularities.”

Another bank, Western Alliance Bancorp dropped 10.4% after saying it has sued a borrower, alleging fraud. It also said it’s standing by its financial forecasts given for 2025.

Scrutiny is rising on the quality of loans that banks and other lenders have broadly made following last month’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing of First Brands Group, a supplier of aftermarket auto parts. The question is whether the hiccups are merely a collection of one-offs or a signal of something larger threatening the industry. read more

By the numbers, things are looking better for home buyers this fall.

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Active listings are up. Mortgage rates are down. October mortgage rates may drop, too, thanks to a widely expected cut to the federal funds rate at this month’s Federal Reserve meeting. In fact, the economists at Realtor.com say Oct. 12-18 will be the best week to buy a house all year, pointing to friendlier trends in inventory, competition and seasonal price cuts.

Still, that doesn’t mean it’s easy out there. Despite recent growth, inventory is still 13% below pre-pandemic levels. As the market improves, what’s still standing in the way of today’s buyers? When hopes are high and your budget is tight, how do you know when to compromise? read more

The 85th orbital launch from the Space Coast in 2025 also marked a milestone for SpaceX with the 500th successful landing of a Falcon 9 rocket booster.

The early Thursday morning launch came as the workhorse rocket for Elon Musk’s company lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:27 a.m. carrying 28 more Starlink satellites into space.

The first-stage booster made its third flight with a recovery landing downrange on its droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic.

Falcon 9 completes its 500th landing after lifting off from pad 40 in Florida pic.twitter.com/TYBhMYpuEp

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 16, 2025

It marked SpaceX’s 130th Falcon 9 launch of the year including 80 from its Space Coast launch pads at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral with the other 50 from California. It has also flown its in-development Starship and Super Heavy on five suborbital launch attempts from Texas this year.

The company managed its first successful Falcon 9 landing in 2015, five years after the rocket’s debut. read more

Q: I’m about to sell our condo, and the new buyers want to rent it for the weekend before closing. Have you ever heard of this? Should I say yes, or is this a reason for them to cancel the sale if they don’t like staying there? — Doug

A: While it is not uncommon for buyers to ask for early access to a property before closing, you should approach it with caution.

Sometimes, buyers want to move in a few days early or, as in your case, rent the condo for a weekend before the sale is finalized.

Although this might seem like a simple request, there are significant risks and considerations to keep in mind.

First and foremost, remember that until the closing is finalized, you are still the legal owner of the condo.

If you allow the buyers to stay in the property before the sale is complete, you are essentially becoming their landlord, even if only for a short period.

This can lead to legal issues if something goes wrong. For example, if the buyers damage the property, refuse to leave, or find something they dislike, you could end up in a challenging situation. read more