Things To Do In SW Florida

By TOM MURPHY

Five months after ending development of its own obesity treatment, Pfizer is accelerating its push into the rapidly growing field with a nearly $5 billion acquisition.

Related Articles

• 
  Powell signals Federal Reserve to move slowly on interest rate cuts

• 
  US stocks slip as Wall Street’s relentless rally takes a pause

• 
  Mars-bound satellites arrive to KSC ahead of Blue Origin launch

• 
  Fed rate trimmed: What does it mean for you?

• 
  More Americans think companies benefit from legal immigration, a new poll finds

The COVID-19 vaccine and treatment maker said Monday that it will pay $47.50 in cash for each share of development-stage drugmaker Metsera. That represents a premium of more than 42% to Metsera’s closing price Friday.

Pfizer also could pay an additional $22.50 per share depending on how Metsera’s product pipeline develops.

Metsera Inc. has no products on the market, but its pipeline includes four programs in clinical development and one in mid-stage testing. Pfizer said the deal will add expertise and potential oral and injectable treatments. read more

By GENE JOHNSON and SALLY HO, Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal trial beginning in Amazon’s hometown this week is set to examine whether the online retailing giant tricked customers into signing up for its Prime service and made it difficult to cancel after they did so.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon in U.S. District Court in Seattle two years ago and has alleged more than a decade of legal violations, including of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, a 2010 law designed to help ensure that people know what they’re being charged for online.

Jury selection began Monday, with opening statements to follow.

Related Articles

Disney World picks ambassadors for 2026, 2027

Seattle, a coffee haven, is watching java prices spike. Why?

Florida is set to end business rent tax; state has many new laws hitting the books

Spirit Airlines to furlough 1,800 flight attendants amid second bankruptcy

Compass to buy rival brokerage operator Anywhere Real Estate for about $1.5 billion read more

The next set of Walt Disney World ambassadors has been selected, and both members of the duo can trace their journey to the Disney College Program.

Phelicia Blake, who currently is a guest-experience manager at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, and Kylee Withers, who works in merchandise finance, will be the 2026-2027 ambassadors. They will represent the resort’s 80,000 employees in a range of settings from attraction openings to in-house celebrations.

Withers, who is from Fort Worth, and Blake, a Connecticut native, both had stints with the Disney College Program before becoming full-time cast members at Disney World. Their appointments were announced at a ceremony at Epcot.

Ambassador candidates wade through multiple rounds of interviews.

“It was several rounds over a span of a couple weeks, but we had one final interview – and then, and then the ceremony happened,” Blake said.

“I’ve gone through a number of job interviews before, but the ambassador interview process is hands down the most fun process,” Withers said. read more

By Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — How much does that morning cup of joe cost? The price may give you a jolt.

Related Articles

• 
  A jury will look at whether Amazon tricked customers into joining Prime — and made it hard to leave

• 
  Disney World picks ambassadors for 2026, 2027

• 
  Florida is set to end business rent tax; state has many new laws hitting the books

• 
  Spirit Airlines to furlough 1,800 flight attendants amid second bankruptcy

• 
  Compass to buy rival brokerage operator Anywhere Real Estate for about $1.5 billion

The price of a coffee is no longer under, like, $5,” said Emma Ueda, 27, who lives in Seattle. “It could be a $12 day, just going to a cafe.”

As the hometown of Starbucks and countless coffee shops, Seattle lives up to its reputation as a city that holds java in high regard. But, recently, coffee prices have been on the rise, brewing trouble for businesses, which are already struggling with bitter conditions and cost-sensitive customers. read more

TALLAHASSEE — A more than decadelong push by business groups will pay off next week with the end of a state sales tax on commercial leases.

The tax, widely known as the business rent tax, will go away Oct. 1 after 57 years as part of a wide-ranging tax package that lawmakers passed in June.

The change will come as nearly 30 new laws hit the books Oct. 1.

“By Florida eliminating the business rent tax, it’s going to lower the cost of doing business in Florida, which will help lower the cost of living here,” Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said.

The business rent tax began in 1968, when the state sales-tax rate stood at 4%. The rent tax rate increased as the overall sales-tax rate went up in 1984 and 1988, reaching 6%.

Over the past decade, with business groups clamoring against the tax, legislators slowly chipped away at the rent tax rate. It has been 2% since June 2024, according to a House staff analysis.

The elimination is projected to collectively save businesses nearly $1.15 billion during the current fiscal year, which will run through June 30. That amount is projected to increase to $1.53 billion next fiscal year. read more