Things To Do In SW Florida

By James Royal, Ph.D., Bankrate.com

While Bitcoin spent the last decade soaring and making millionaires out of many people, other owners of the world’s largest cryptocurrency have missed out. Why? One major reason: They’ve lost access to their account. In fact, more than $400 billion in Bitcoin is estimated to be lost — but some is recoverable, says at least one firm.

A 2023 report from Unchained Capital, a Bitcoin financial services company, estimated that up to 3.8 million bitcoins have been lost. That’s out of a total of about 19.9 million in existence today, and a maximum supply of 21 million tokens when Bitcoin is fully mined. That could mean as much as 19% of today’s supply is gone forever. Or is it?

Traders who have lost access to their Bitcoin or other digital currencies and assets may have the ability to recover them, at least with the help of one high-tech firm.

Bitcoins may be recoverable

Bitcoin’s vaunted security cuts both ways, preventing the bad guys from getting your stash but also — and often — you, too! read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes remained sluggish in August, even as a late-summer slide in mortgage rates brought home loan borrowing costs to a 10-month low.

Existing home sales slipped 0.2% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s the slowest sales pace since June.

Sales rose 1.8% compared with August last year. The latest sales figure topped the 3.96 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

The national median sales price increased 2% in August from a year earlier to $422,600. That’s the 26th consecutive month that home prices have risen on an annual basis and the highest median sales price for any August on data going back to 1999.

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. Through the first eight months of this year, home sales are down 1.2% compared to the same period last year. read more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress, according to a report released Wednesday.

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The number of homes for sale in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia region, also known as the DMV, is up by 64% since June 2024, and the region’s unemployment rate is the highest in the nation, according to the DMV Monitor, a real-time data interactive created by the Brookings Institution with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. read more

Disney announced on Tuesday it will raise the subscription prices for its streaming services, amid widespread calls for a boycott following Jimmy Kimmel’s abrupt suspension from Disney-owned ABC.

The increase is set to go into effect for new subscribers beginning Oct. 21. Current subscribers will see the change to their first bill on or after that date.

Disney+ with ads and Hulu with ads will both increase by $2 to $11.99 per month, while Disney+ Premium will increase by $3 to $18.99.

The Disney+ with Hulu bundle is going up by $2 to $12.99 per month, and ESPN Select will increase by $1 to $12.99. Hulu’s Live TV Only plan will increase by $7 to $88.99 per month.

Many of the company’s bundles that include services from non-Disney providers will start costing more, too. But the price for Hulu Premium, ESPN Unlimited and the Disney+ with Hulu Premium bundle will not go up.

The announcement of the price hikes comes a day after the company said “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return to its late-night time slot — though not on affiliates owned by conservative companies Nexstar and Sinclair — as many in Hollywood have pushed for subscribers for cancel Disney’s services in the wake of Kimmel being pulled of the air last week. read more

For decades, home sellers typically covered both their own agent’s commission and the fee for the buyer’s broker, a structure that left little room for negotiation. But a recent legal settlement has shaken up that system, opening the door for buyers and sellers to haggle over who pays what — and how much.

In the Bay Area, many agents ask for a 2.5% or 3% commission — a rate they say is justified given their experience and market knowledge, and the time they take to help clients navigate the process of buying and selling a home. Agents may also face pressure from brokerages, which may receive anywhere between 15% to 30% of that commission, to keep fees close to 2.5%.

Although some agents don’t budge on their rates, some will under the right circumstances. Here’s how a buyer or seller can strengthen their hand in negotiations:

Show that you’re serious. Matt Castillo, an East Bay agent, said that part of the reason agents set their fees around 2.5% is because it’s so uncertain whether their client will actually close — and the agent will get paid. “You might be working with someone for a year, and they may never buy,” he said. read more