Things To Do In SW Florida

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted lower on Thursday as financial markets locked in their final moves before a highly anticipated update coming Friday about the U.S. job market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5% for its first drop in four days. After sprinting through May and rallying within a couple good days’ worth of gains of its all-time high, the index at the center of many 401(k) accounts has lost momentum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 108 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8%.

Trading activity in options markets suggests investors believe the next big move for the S&P 500 could come on Friday, when the U.S. Labor Department will say how many more jobs U.S. employers created than destroyed during May. The expectation on Wall Street is for a slowdown in hiring from April.

A resilient job market has been one of the linchpins that’s propped up the U.S. economy, and the worry is that all the uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s on-and-off tariffs could push businesses to freeze their hiring. read more

No new stores that sell certain pets will be allowed to open in Manatee County and existing pet sellers and breeders will face stricter regulations under new rules passed unanimously Tuesday by county leaders.

Supporters of the ban say that pet sales for profit lead to the mistreatment of animals and discourage adoption of shelter dogs and cats.

Despite extensive debate and concerns from some commissioners over parts of the ban, the board voted 7-0 in favor.

Several commissioners said the new ban has flaws but argued it’s a starting place to address concerns about animal welfare.

Commissioner Amanda Ballard compared it to the county regulating “sexually-oriented businesses” like strip clubs. Commissioner Jason Bearden questioned whether a retail pet sale ban was constitutional.

Mike Beltran, a former state representative and Tampa-based attorney, spoke during public comment on behalf of Petland. Two of the three stores that sell cats and dogs in Manatee are Petland franchises. “This is a compromise, which we appreciate,” Beltran said. read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in eight months last week but remain historically low despite growing uncertainty about how tariffs could impact the broader economy.

New applications for jobless benefits rose by 8,000 to 247,000 for the week ending May 31, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the most since early October. Analysts had forecast 237,000 new applications.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs.

In reporting their latest earnings, many companies have either lowered their sales and profit expectations for 2025 or not issued guidance at all, often citing President Donald Trump’s dizzying rollout of tariff announcements.

Though Trump has paused or dialed down many of his tariff threats, concerns remain that a tariff-induced global economic slowdown could upend what’s been a robust U.S. labor market. read more

Hospitality

Dimitrios Bessis was promoted to vice president of operations at Rentyl Resorts.

Real estate

Katie N. Nguyen, one of CrossMarc Service’s commercial real estate brokers based in Winter Park, was elected vice president for the Southeast Chapter of Vietnamese National Association of Real Estate Professionals.

Lauren Endsley has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Southeast Orlando, as a sales advisor.

Donna Fremont has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Port Orange, as a sales advisor.

Leslie Heimer has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Southwest Orlando, as a sales advisor.

Doug Heise has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Southeast Orlando, as a sales advisor.

Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer

Procter & Gamble will cut up to 7,000 jobs over the next two years as the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers implements a restructuring program at a time when tariffs are raising costs for American companies and consumers are growing anxious about the economy.

The job cuts, announced at the Deutsche Bank Consumer Conference in Paris on Thursday, make up approximately 6% of the company’s global workforce, or about 15% of its nonmanufacturing positions, said Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten.

“This restructuring program is an important step toward ensuring our ability to deliver our long-term algorithm over the coming two to three years,” Schulten said. “It does not, however, remove the near-term challenges that we currently face.”

Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, had approximately 108,000 employees worldwide in June 2024.

The cuts are part of a broader restructuring program. Procter & Gamble will also end sales of some of its products in certain markets. Procter & Gamble said it will provide more details about that in July. read more