Things To Do In SW Florida

By PAUL WISEMAN and TOM MURPHY

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has plastered tariffs on products from almost every country on earth. He’s targeted specific imports including autos, steel and aluminum.

But he isn’t done yet.

Trump has promised to impose hefty import taxes on pharmaceuticals, a category of products he’s largely spared in his trade war. For decades, in fact, imported medicine has mostly been allowed to enter the United States duty free.

That’s starting to change. U.S. and European leaders recently detailed a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff rate on some European goods brought into the United States, including pharmaceuticals. Trump is threatening duties of 200% more on drugs made elsewhere.

“Shock and awe’’ is how Maytee Pereira of the tax and consulting firm PwC describes Trump’s plans for drugmakers. “This is an industry that’s going from zero (tariffs) to the potentiality of 200%.’’

Trump has promised Americans he’ll lower their drug costs. But imposing stiff pharmaceutical tariffs risks the opposite and could disrupt complex supply chains, drive cheap foreign-made generic drugs out of the U.S. market and create shortages. read more

SpaceX remains on track to surpass 100 launches on the Space Coast for 2025 after knocking out No. 70 on Sunday morning with four months to go.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 10-14 mission with 28 satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 7:49 a.m.

The first-stage booster made its 23rd flight with a recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.

It marked the ninth launch in August for the Space Coast with eight from SpaceX and one from United Launch Alliance. Among those launches were the final crewed mission from Florida this year, the Aug. 1 launch of Crew-11, and the return of Boeing’s X-37B mini space shuttle to space for a classified Space Force mission. ULA’s lone mission was its first national security flight for its new Vulcan rocket.

1,549 days ago, B1067 took flight for the first time carrying CRS-22. Now 4 years and 30 flights later, it makes yet another arrival into @PortCanaveral this morning. pic.twitter.com/S9YdX7akIq read more

In California’s Moss Landing, more than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate in January when one of the largest storage facilities for lithium-ion batteries in the world caught fire. Days later, the toxic metals nickel, cobalt and manganese were found at a nearby estuary, Elkhorn Slough, in unusually high concentrations. One county supervisor called it a “wake-up call” for battery safety in the ongoing push for sustainable energy. Local residents sued several companies involved with the batteries and their storage, claiming negligence and that the lithium-ion batteries being stored there were “prone to thermal instability.”

Though the federal government deems lithium-ion batteries “generally safe,” law enforcement agencies periodically remind the public of their risks, such as fires and explosions. But one company opening its new headquarters in Alameda, California, says they have created the “next generation” of batteries that are safer and will revolutionize industries from portable devices to electric vehicles. read more

By Christine Benz of Morningstar for Associated Press

I was chatting with a friend the other day about his retirement — possibly an early one. At age 60, he has worked hard and invested well — and he’s burned out.

He’s received wonderful guidance from his financial advisor, with whom he’d discussed the viability of his investment portfolio. But as he and I talked, it was clear that the key inputs were more nuanced than his portfolio value and asset allocation. There were lifestyle decisions, too.

Will you continue to work in some fashion?

Working longer wasn’t my friend’s first choice. But continuing to earn an income would help him worry less about his portfolio’s ability to last.

Even if he downshifted into a lower-paying or part-time position and couldn’t save as much, he’d still be forestalling portfolio withdrawals. So, when he did fully retire, he could spend without worry.

It would also help him delay Social Security. If he continued to work in a position with healthcare benefits, he could avoid paying health insurance out of pocket until Medicare coverage kicks in. And as much as his job has been exhausting him, he’s had a wonderful career and his professional life seems intertwined with his identity. read more

In a recent report to stockholders, insurance giant Progressive used a word that every company would prefer to avoid: Refund.

A statement filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warned that premiums collected from its auto insurance policyholders could exceed what’s allowable by Florida law over three years, Insurance Journal first reported earlier in August.

If that turns out to be the case through 2025, the third year, Progressive might have to issue cash refunds or provide credits toward future premiums, the company said.

Refunds on insurance premiums? What a concept. Where can Florida home insurance customers sign up?

It turns out there is a law that would require property insurers to provide refunds if they make excess profits. But those profits would have to come from insurers’ underwriting activities — the nitty gritty of evaluating and pricing risk.

And experts say the state’s top insurers generate the majority of their profits from investments and spin-off companies that perform the bulk of their functions, like communicating with policyholders, providing reinsurance coverage, offering finance terms and repairing damage — activities that aren’t subject to any refund law. read more