Things To Do In SW Florida

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising Friday after an encouraging update on inflation helped calm a Wall Street that’s been wracked by worries about how artificial-intelligence technology may upend the business world.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, a day after tumbling to one of its worst losses since Thanksgiving. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 89 points, or 0.2%, as of 2:55 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Stocks got a boost from easing pressure from the bond market, where Treasury yields fell after a report showed inflation slowed last month by more than economists expected. U.S. consumers paid prices for groceries, clothes and other costs of living that were 2.4% higher overall than a year earlier.

While that’s higher than anyone would like and above the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve, it wasn’t as bad as December’s 2.7% rate. And an underlying measure that economists see as a better predictor of where inflation may be heading slowed to its least-painful level in nearly five years. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key measure of inflation fell to nearly a five-year low last month as apartment rental price growth slowed and gas prices fell, offering some relief to Americans grappling with the sharp cost increases of the past five years.

Inflation dropped to 2.4% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.7% in December and not too far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose just 2.5% in January from a year ago, down from 2.6% the previous month and the smallest increase since March 2021.

Friday’s report suggests inflation is cooling, but the cost of food, gas, and apartment rents have soared after the pandemic, with consumer prices still about 25% higher than they were five years ago. The increase in such a broad range of costs has kept “affordability,” a topic that helped shape the most recent U.S. presidential election, front and center as a dominant political issue. read more

One of the hottest retail sites in Orlando is back on the market after White Castle backed out of plans to build a fifth Central Florida location near the entrance to Epic Universe.

The slider giant had initially filed plans to build a restaurant on Universal Boulevard in October 2024 and continued the permitting process throughout most of 2025, submitting revised plans and architectural drawings. At 6,450 square feet, it would have been the largest White Castle on the planet. But the company withdrew its application last October, leaving the landowner, Comterra Group, to search for a new user.

Comterra Principal James Nashman told GrowthSpotter he’s listening to other offers.

He said he won’t rule out the possibility White Castle will end up putting a restaurant on the property, which is at the northeastern corner of Universal Boulevard and McKenna Drive.

“They for now pulled out of our site, but they’ve done it on some other sites, as well in Florida, and that’s recent,” Nashman said. “Groups like White Castle, it could be any number of factors. It could be priorities in other areas, it could be their capital allocation, it could be economics, you just don’t know.” read more

NASA has let Axiom Space make four visits to the International Space Station and a fifth next year, but on Thursday the agency announced a new private company would be allowed a mission as well.

Vast, based in Long Beach, Calif. and on track to build its own space station, has signed an order with NASA for what would be the sixth private mission to the ISS with a launch no earlier than summer 2027 from Florida.

“Private astronaut missions represent more than access to the International Space Station — they create opportunities for new ideas, companies, and capabilities that further enhance American leadership in low Earth orbit and open doors for what’s next,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a press release. “We’re proud to welcome Vast to this growing community of commercial partners.”

Vast’s goal with the mission is to gain insight into the infrastructure and processes that will be needed to support its own human spaceflight missions. Vast was not chosen by NASA in its original pursuit of commercial companies developing space stations, but it hopes to play a game of catchup with its eventual planned station, called Haven-2. read more

The Space Coast’s first human spaceflight of the year is on tap for early Friday morning as NASA and SpaceX aim to send up a mission to the International Space Station, and also bring back the rocket’s booster that could bring with it a sonic boom across Central Florida.

The launch of Crew-12 atop a Falcon 9 rocket is targeting liftoff at 5:15 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 90% chance for good conditions at the launch site, but there remains a moderate risk of poor conditions along the launch corridor. Poor weather along that path would force a delay as it would violate NASA’s needs in the event of an emergency abort before it gets to orbit.

“After detailed weather briefings Thursday morning, forecasters and mission managers opted to continue into the Crew-12 launch countdown,” reads an update from NASA. “They will again review the forecast around 10 p.m. Thursday, a few hours before the crew suits up.” read more