Things To Do In SW Florida

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale inflation rose last month on higher energy prices.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.2% last month from November, down from a 0.4% gain the month before. Compared to a year earlier, producer prices rose 3.3%, biggest jump since February 2023 and up from a 3% gain in November.

A 3.5% November-to-December increase in energy prices — led by a 9.7% increase in gasoline prices — pushed the overall index higher. Food prices dipped 0.1% in December.

Still, the overall increases were slightly less than economists had forecast. U.S. markets leapt higher immediately on the new inflation data.

Excluding food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale inflation was unchanged from November but up 3.5% from a year earlier.

The producer price report came out a day before the Labor Department reports on consumer prices. Its consumer price index is expected to rise 0.3% from November and 2.8% from December 2023, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. read more

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts again kicks off the special-event season for Walt Disney World. The daily fest showcases visual, theatrical and culinary arts for theme park visitors.

A new element for the festival is “Once Upon a Stage: Celebrating 30 Years of Disney on Broadway,” a walk-through exhibit in the new CommuiCore Hall in the World Celebration neighborhood of Epcot. It features costumes, set models and behind-the-scenes items from the company’s stage productions.

It is exciting “for us to be able to expand this and introduce more of an audience to our Disney on Broadway community, literally right down there in Orlando, right in front of you,” said Michael James Scott, who was raised in Orange County and currently plays Genie in the Broadway production of “Aladdin.”

Scott has first-hand knowledge about some of the costuming skills that will be seen in the Epcot exhibit.

“I think what people will be surprised about my costume is the detail, the intricate detail that goes into the costumes,” he said. “You know, it is sewn and made within an inch of its life to my body. And when you are up close, you get to see literally every snap, every hook, every little detail that goes into that.” read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is saying goodbye to “Try Before You Buy.”

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

If you want to hang out or use the restroom at Starbucks, you’re going to have to buy something.

By DAVE COLLINS

A company linked to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is now offering over $7 million to buy his Infowars platforms, more than double what it proposed when it lost to The Onion satirical news outlet in a bankruptcy auction that was later voided by a judge, a lawyer in the case said Monday.