Things To Do In SW Florida

Amy Arnott of Morningstar

Amid this year’s market turmoil, I’ve heard investors wonder if they should hit pause on 401(k) contributions until things settle down.

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  First look: ‘Hydro Surge’ stage show at SeaWorld Orlando

Though this approach sounds tempting, it’s better to stick with your investment strategy instead of waiting for conditions to improve.

Running the numbers

To test how a “wait and see” approach would have fared compared with continuing to invest, I looked at four different market downturns of the 21st century.

In each case, I looked at results under two different scenarios: an investor who started saving $500 per month and continued to do so throughout downturns, and another investor who stopped saving until the market started to improve. I assumed all contributions were invested in stocks. (In the first four cases below, I assumed that contributions were only paused during the bear market in question and then resumed for all the periods that followed.) read more

As two real estate giants escalate a war over how homes should be listed for sale online, both sides say they’re acting in the interest of consumers.

Both sides also stand to make a lot of money if they win.

The issue intensified at the end of 2024, when Compass, the country’s largest brokerage by sales volume, began advising its sellers to use a three-phased marketing approach — making their homes visible only to Compass agents and clients as a “private”  listing, making them viewable only via Compass.com, and reserving the option to later make them public on popular house-hunting sites like Redfin and Zillow.

In the real estate industry, listings are currency. Faced with thousands of them disappearing from its site, Zillow punched back.

The Seattle-based company, starting at the end of June, plans to block any former private listings from appearing on its site — an ultimatum it hopes brings an end to Compass’s practice of selectively sharing listings before they appear on big search portals. Redfin will follow with a similar ban in September. read more

By ADRIAN SAINZ

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The NAACP and an environmental group said Tuesday that they intend to sue Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI over concerns about air pollution generated by a supercomputer facility located near predominantly Black communities in Memphis.

The xAI data center began operating last year, powered in part by pollution-emitting gas turbines, without first applying for a permit. Officials have said an exemption allowed them to operate for up to 364 days without a permit, but Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Patrick Anderson said at a news conference that there is no such exemption for turbines — and that regardless, it has now been more than 364 days.

A 60-day notice of an intent to sue, a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act, was sent to xAI in a letter. The SELC is representing the NAACP in its possible legal challenge against xAI and its permit application, now being considered by the Shelby County Health Department. read more

The rise of new theme-park stage shows continues with “Hydro Surge,” now performed daily at SeaWorld Orlando.

The production has a kitchen-sink approach with live singers, dancers, gymnasts (aerial and grounded), puppeteers, a drummer and a variety of special effects. There’s a watery theme in song selection, costuming and the images on the enormous backdrop screen in the park’s Nautilus Theater.

Audience members may experience a mix of soothing and unnerving sensations during “Hydro Surge.” Here are five ways my mind drifted during a recent performance.

Crowded house

It’s a big stage, but there’s a bunch of people on it. The dancers keep things moving, especially in transitions from one segment to another.

But there are moments when there’s a lot of competition for attention. Should I look at the dancers, at the woman dangling from a ribbon or the gymnastics pass across the stage? Oh, look, a drummer. At times, it made me forget that there were two live singers up there to appreciate. (They keep moving, too). read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped on Tuesday under the weight of another jump for the price of oil. It was a return to form for financial markets after Wall Street’s worries about Israel’s fighting with Iran had seemed to calm a bit on Monday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% following signals that the Israel-Iran conflict may be worsening and that one of the U.S. economy’s main engines is weakening. The swing sent Wall Street’s main measure of health nearly back to where it started the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 299 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%.

Stocks sank under increasing pressure from crude oil prices, which climbed in their latest see-saw move. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 4.3% to $74.84. Brent crude, the international standard, added 4.4% to $76.45 per barrel.

Their gains accelerated after President Donald Trump raised the temperature on Israel’s fight with Iran by calling for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” on his social media platform and saying, “We are not going to” kill Iran’s leader, “at least for now.” read more