Things To Do In SW Florida

By JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway is buying back shares for the first time in nearly two years, and new CEO Greg Abel said he has no immediate plans to sell off Kraft Heinz shares now that the packaged food giant has shelved its plan to split the company into two.

Abel appeared on CNBC Thursday — less than a week after releasing his first letter to shareholders after taking over the top job at Berkshire from legendary investor Warren Buffett in January. Berkshire also took the unusual step of filing a formal notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had begun repurchasing its shares Wednesday for the first time since May 2024.

When Kraft first announced its plan to split the company in two last fall, Abel and Buffett expressed concerns about that because of the costs involved and the current struggles for some of the brands. So Abel said he agreed with new Kraft CEO Steve Cahillane’s decision to pause the split.

“For Steve to come in and say we’re pausing it, there’s opportunities within Kraft Heinz to fix things and get the business back on track and then he’ll evaluate things. We thought that was absolutely the right approach,” Abel said. read more

Norwegian Cruise Line got ahold of its newest ship at a ceremony in Italy on Thursday ahead of its transatlantic crossing to Miami.

The Norwegian Luna became the 21st ship in NCL’s fleet, a sister to the Norwegian Aqua that arrived in 2025.

The sister ships are larger versions of the Prima class of vessels known as Prima Plus, 10% bigger than 2022’s Prima and 2023’s Viva. They come in at 1,056 feet long, 156,000 gross tons and a 3,565-passenger capacity based on double occupancy.

Luna and Aqua are still smaller than the line’s popular Breakaway Plus class ships Escape, Joy, Bliss and Encore.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri delivered the vessel Thursday at its shipyard in Marghera, Italy.

The ship has 1,809 staterooms, 17 dining options and 18 bars and lounges.

“This ship represents the continued evolution of our vision and the incredible work behind an award-winning class of ships,” said NCL President Marc Kazlauskas in a press release. “We are deeply appreciative of the world-class architects and designers, as well as our talented partners at Fincantieri who brought Norwegian Luna to life.” read more

By BARBARA ORTUTAY

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk continued to defend his actions in the months leading up to his 2022 purchase of Twitter in court Thursday as he faces a class action lawsuit claiming he misled investors and caused them to lose millions of dollars.

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The civil trial in San Francisco centers on a class-action lawsuit filed just before Musk took control of Twitter, a social media service he renamed X, in October 2022, six months after agreeing to buy the embattled company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share.

The case, which represents Twitter shareholders who sold the stock between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022, revolves around allegations that Musk violated federal securities laws while taking a series of calculated steps to drive down the company’s stock price in an attempt to either blow up the deal or wrangle a lower sales price. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate came off its lowest level in three and a half years this week, as bond yields marched higher following a spike in oil prices due to the war with Iran.

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  Berkshire Hathaway resumes buybacks and CEO supports Kraft’s decision to pause its split

• 
  NCL takes delivery of Florida-bound Norwegian Luna cruise ship

• 
  Elon Musk defends tweets in lawsuit alleging they caused Twitter stock to fall before acquisition

• 
  Theme parks perking up plantlife after freezes

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  Best tax software of 2026

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate ticked up to 6% from 5.98% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.63%.

The modest increase ends a three-week slide in the average rate, which has been hovering around 6% this year. Last week’s average rate marked the first time it dropped below 6% going back to September 2022.

Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, fell this week. That average rate slipped to 5.43% from 5.44% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.79%, Freddie Mac said. read more

The colder-than-usual winter for Florida has been a challenge to homeowner lawns and to horticulture teams at Central Florida’s theme parks.

At Walt Disney World, it meant covering up elaborate topiaries with frost cloths overnight. At Legoland Florida, heaters were set up around the base of the park’s famed banyan tree, a natural staple since the property’s Cypress Gardens days.

“We did do many things to help with our preparation, and we were able to save many things through covering with frost cloth to protect our tender bedding plants and some of our more precious plants,” said Michele Czerkies, a manager for Walt Disney World horticulture.

Disney maintains on-property greenhouses, where some topiaries were stowed along with its flower towers, decorative stacks of blooms.

The two rounds of extended freezing temperatures came as WDW prepared for the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, which is now underway.

“You can’t cover all of Walt Disney World. So we just covered our critical points of service,” Czerkies said. read more