Things To Do In SW Florida

By Brian Baker, CFA, Bankrate.com

The investment world can be difficult to navigate, especially if you’re just starting out. There are lots of confusing terms and complicated acronyms that can turn off someone who’s looking to learn more about financial concepts.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of investing books that can help you learn what you need to know to become a savvy investor. Books can be read at your own pace and are typically written by experts who have spent years in the industry researching investments.

Here are some of the best investment books for beginners to consider adding to their reading lists.

1. “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need” by Andrew Tobias

If you are truly just starting out in your investing journey, this book is a great place to start. You’ll learn tips on how to save and invest for your future and get excellent advice on what to avoid in the financial world. Tobias has a great sense of humor, so the book is fun to read even if finance and investing aren’t your favorite subjects.

“The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need” was first published in the 1970s, but was recently updated and has stood the test of time. It’s a great first step on your journey to being a knowledgeable investor. read more

Florida legislators will be called on again this year to navigate a solution to the state’s housing affordability crisis that balances the intent of the groundbreaking Live Local Act with the needs of cities and counties, after modifications last year were blasted for undermining the housing incentives in the law.

Florida approved the Live Local Act in 2023 as a response to record-high rent escalation immediately after the COVID pandemic, and multifamily developers jumped on board, taking advantage of zoning flexibility and tax breaks codified by the act.

But last year, the Legislature modified the law to allow cities and counties to deny property tax exemptions for “missing middle” housing — rental units restricted to tenants who earn less than 120% of the Area Median Income. And last year, every municipality in Central Florida that could opt out of the program did, so only a handful of apartment complexes qualified for the exemption.

Cities and counties could deal a huge blow to Live Local affordable housing projects read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — There’s a sense of urgency among NASA and its partners aiming for the first human spaceflight of the Artemis program.

Artemis II is slated to launch four astronauts on an 10-day trip to the moon by April 2026. But with President Trump and his adviser and SpaceX founder Elon Musk beating the drum for Mars, the Artemis schedule suddenly seems slow, and the program’s expense great.

And the future of the country’s first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years may hang in the balance.

“Every day we are pushing, and not only days, we’re pushing hours and minutes,” said Lockheed Martin’s Kent Shireman, head of its Orion spacecraft program, at an Artemis media event Friday. “If we can get ahead a minute, it’s precious. Absolutely. 24/7 we’re on every day.”

It all adds up to the potential for big changes for the decades-old, multi-billion-dollar Artemis program as it seeks the blessing of a new presidential administration. While pressing for an earlier launch date could help in the short-term, bigger changes may come down the road: ditching the costly Space Launch System rocket, which is not reusable, and pitching the Orion capsule as a candidate for Mars travel in addition to its moon duties. read more

Disney executives shared more details Saturday about upcoming projects at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme parks, including a dramatic start for its “Monsters, Inc.”-based roller coaster.

The announcements were built into the “Future of World-Building at Disney” presentation at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas. It was headed by Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, but there were appearances by multiple Imagineers, movie studio executives, knee-high droids and actor Robert Downey Jr.

The coaster, announced in August, will be a part of a “Monsters, Inc.” land designed for Hollywood Studios. Its theme will spin off from the elaborate door factory scene from the 2001 Pixar animated film.

“We can’t use the traditional lift hill where you kind of click and clack up an incline. It’s not going to cut it,” Michael Hudgen, Walt Disney World portfolio executive producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, said before showing an animation of the attraction’s loading area Saturday. read more

When you are young and don’t expect to retire for 30 years or more, I can understand why you make a great deal of conservative investments such as money-market funds or Treasury bills.

When you are retired, or close to retirement, these sorts of investments make much more sense, protecting you from the risks of over-valued and volatile equity markets.

Even Warren Buffett keeps a significant part of his portfolio in safe investments such as money market funds and Treasury bills when he feels the stock market may be overvalued.

Personally, I maintain a significant portion of my portfolio in equities, and I don’t try to predict highs and lows in the stock market. When the rates of return for conservative investments such as money-market funds are relatively high, I do maintain a portion of my portfolio in these investments. I do this especially after long periods of significant equity appreciation, as volatility risk in the stock market grows.

When the Federal Reserve becomes concerned about inflation, which was their concern last year, they used their influence to reduce short-term interest rates, and as a result the returns for safe, conservative investments such as money-market funds and Treasury bills fell somewhat in 2024. read more