Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ view of the U.S. economy worsened in June, resuming a downward slide that had dragged consumer confidence to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

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The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index slid to 93 in June, down 5.4 points from 98.4 last month, which represented a brief uptick.

The regression surprised economists, who had expected a small uptick this month.

In April, American consumers’ confidence in the economy sank to its lowest reading since May 2020, largely due to anxiety over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. read more

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ

LINDEN, New Jersey (AP) — At a trucking school in New Jersey, students are maneuvering 18-wheelers around traffic cones. Other future drivers look under hoods to perform safety checks, narrating as they examine steering hoses for cracks and leaks.

An instructor glides between speaking Spanish and English as he teaches Manuel Castillo, a native Spanish speaker, how to inspect a school bus. They’re using a printed script of English phrases to practice what Castillo would say during a roadside inspection.

Brushing up on English has taken on new urgency for future and current truck drivers after President Donald Trump issued an executive order saying truckers who don’t read and speak the language proficiently would be considered unfit for service.

“A driver who can’t understand English will not drive a commercial vehicle in this country. Period,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last month while announcing enforcement guidelines that take effect on Wednesday. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman on Monday said the central bank should consider cutting its key interest rate as soon as its next meeting in July, underscoring deep divisions among Fed officials as they endure sharp criticism from the White House.

Bowman said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs have so far not caused the jump in inflation that many economists feared, and any upcoming increase in prices would likely be just a one-time rise.

“It is likely that the impact of tariffs on inflation may take longer, be more delayed, and have a smaller effect than initially expected,” Bowman said in a speech Monday in Prague. “Should inflation pressures remain contained, I would support lowering the policy rate as soon as our next meeting,” which is scheduled for July 29-30.

Bowman, who was appointed to the Fed’s board of governors by Donald Trump in 2018, is the second high-profile official to express support for a potential July cut in as many days. On Friday, Christopher Waller, also a Trump appointee to the Fed’s board, said in a television interview that the Fed should consider cutting borrowing costs next month. read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press

Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow over its policy to ban private home listings.

In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Compass claims that “Zillow has sought to rely on anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly and revenues in violation of the antitrust laws.”

Compass says that Zillow has implemented an exclusionary policy that says if a home seller and their real estate agent market their property off Zillow for more than one day, that Zillow and its allies, Redfin and eXp Realty, will ban that home from being listed on their search platforms.

“The Zillow Ban seeks to ensure that all home listings in this country are steered on to its dominant search platform so Zillow can monetize each home listing and protect its monopoly,” Compass said in the lawsuit.

Compass alleges that the ‘Zillow Ban’ was enacted to prevent rivals from competing against it and reduces homeowner choice. read more

Jason Kephart and Susan Dziubinski of Morningstar

Why do target-date funds make ideal IRA investments?

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Here to discuss this topic is Jason Kephart, a senior principal with Morningstar’s manager research team. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Target-date funds tend to be great investments for an IRA, because if investors choose the target-date fund that fits their time horizon, then that IRA effortlessly fits in with the rest of a portfolio. Delve into that.

A: Target-date funds are a great set-it-and-forget-it for investors who don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about: How much of my portfolio should be in stocks versus bonds? What funds should I pick to fill those buckets?The target date takes all that off the hands of investors. read more