Things To Do In SW Florida

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and HALELUYA HADERO, AP Business Writers

Sales rose this year during the holiday shopping season even as Americans wrestled with elevated prices for many groceries and other necessities, according to new data.

Holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, outpacing the 3.1% increase from a year earlier, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. The last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending.

This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Michelle Meyer, chief economist at Mastercard Economics Institute, said the holiday shopping season “revealed a consumer who is willing and able to spend but driven by a search for value” as seen by concentrated online spending during the biggest promotional periods.

Sales growth was higher than the 3.2% increase Mastercard SpendingPulse had projected this fall. The data released Thursday excludes the automotive industry and is not adjusted for inflation. read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years.

Jobless claim applications ticked down by 1,000 to 219,000 for the week of Dec. 21, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 223,000 analysts forecast.

Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, climbed by 46,000 to 1.91 million for the week of Dec. 14. That’s more than analysts projected and the most since the week of Nov. 13, 2021 when the labor market was still recovering from the COVID-19 jobs wipeout in the spring of 2020.

The rising level of continuing claims suggests that some who are receiving benefits are finding it harder to land new jobs. That could mean that demand for workers is waning, even though the economy remains strong.

The four-week average of weekly claims, which quiets some of the week-to-week volatility, inched up by 1,000 to 226,500. read more

Chapter 7

Central Florida individuals and businesses that have filed for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code include:

TNT of Central Florida Inc., 2540 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, #2217, Melbourne. Filed: Dec. 12. Assets: $0. Liabilities: $97,527. Major creditors: Eastern Metal, Lake Worth, $17,117; Philip Howe, Melbourne Beach, $8,000; Margo Lozito, Satellite Beach, $7,000. Creditors meeting: Jan. 7.

Chapter 11

Central Florida individuals and businesses that have filed for reorganization and protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code include:

Cornerstone Home Care Services LLC, 2903 New Haven Ave., #404, Melbourne. Filed: Dec. 10. Assets: $90,038. Liabilities: $307,643. Major creditors: RLJ Enterprises Inc., Titusville. $106,141; Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, $77,000; South State Bank, Melbourne, $48,898. Creditors meeting: Jan. 13.

Knights Hourglass LLC doing business as Double Decker Warehouse, 1230 Hillcrest St., Suite 101, Orlando. Filed: Dec. 11. Assets: $0-$50,000. Liabilities: $500,001-$1 million. Major creditors: U.S. Small Business Administration, Charlotte, N.C., $457,000; Thomas R. Otto, Pompano Beach, $75,000; U.S. Small Business Administration, Birmingham, Ala., $74,444. Creditors meeting: Jan. 8. read more

Six Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of Dec. 15-21, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Cornerstone Pizza at 1513 E. Michigan St. in Orlando shut down on Dec. 17. Officials found 18 violations, two of which were high priorities for flying insects and backed-up sewage. A second inspection occurred on Dec. 18. Inspectors found four violations but none was a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Osceola County

Mystic Dunes Resorts And Golf-Kenzie’s at 7600 Mystic Dunes Lane in Kissimmee shut down on Dec. 16. Inspectors found 12 violations, eight of which were high priorities. Those violations included rodent activity, a stop-sale on food due to it not being in wholesome condition and fish not being packaged correctly. A second inspection occurred on Dec. 17. Inspectors found nine violations, issuing several time extensions to the six remaining high priorities. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Seminole

Stefano’s Trattoria at 1425 Tuskawilla Road #205 in Winter Springs shut down Dec. 17. They found 10 violations, four of which were high priorities. Those violations included roach activity, a stop-sale on food due to temperature abuse and food held at the wrong temperature. A second inspection occurred the same day. There were two violations but neither one was a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards. read more

By Abby Badach Doyle, NerdWallet

It won’t be impossible to buy a house in 2025 — just be prepared to play on hard mode.

According to a November 2024 report from ICE Mortgage Technology, the monthly principal and interest payment on an average-priced home is $2,385. While that’s not the highest it’s ever been, it’s still a sharp increase — nearly 80% — from just three years ago. In November 2021, when mortgage rates averaged 3%, the monthly principal and interest on an average-priced home was $1,327 per month.

So here’s the key to buying in 2025: Look ahead, not back. Regret won’t help you budget for today’s new normal.

And with this year’s election also in the rearview mirror, so is some uncertainty among buyers and sellers that historically slows the market during every presidential election cycle.

“People have just been kind of sitting waiting to see what’s going to happen,” says Courtney Johnson Rose, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, an industry group for Black real estate agents. “I’m hopeful that the new year will bring more attention to real estate, more excitement to real estate, and more opportunities for first-time home owners to get in the game.” read more