Things To Do In SW Florida

One of the worst blighted areas in Orlando’s tourism corridor could be transformed into a sprawling new entertainment district called Ovation with luxury hotels, dining and attractions, including a 175-foot-tall Ferris wheel that can be seen from Interstate 4.

“It’s going to be very cool,” said Bill Shewalter, vice president of development for Meyers Group, which wrapped up more than two years of planning to create the Ovation master plan on a 77-acre abandoned hotel site at the I-4 interchange with U.S. Highway 192 in Kissimmee.

The developer filed the site plan with Osceola County earlier this week for a compliance review. It’s the first step for projects in the county’s W192 tourism corridor. Shewalter told GrowthSpotter that Meyers plans to develop the entire project in one phase.

Owned by Fortuna Realty in New York, the one-time Hyatt resort is in a prime location across from Celebration and just minutes from Disney World.

“It’s a location and a project that seems to attract all the big names that you want versus kind of what’s currently available in Orlando — and there’s a lot of good stuff, but nothing quite like this,” Shewalter said. read more

By Sally French | NerdWallet

Inflation has hit most of the economy, but that’s hardly the case with airfare. Not only are airfares down 6% year-over-year based on January 2024 prices, but they’re even down 15% versus a decade ago. That’s according to consumer price index data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published in February. Some experts predict airfares to international destinations will drop even lower in 2024.

According to the American Express Global Business Travel Air Monitor 2024 report, prices on certain international routes may drop as much as 12%.

Here’s how AmEx GBT anticipates average economy airfares will change in 2024 versus 2023, for a sampling of regions:

• South America to North America: Drop by 11.9%.
• North America to Central America: Drop by 7.8%.
• North America to Asia: Drop by 7.5%.
• Asia to North America: Drop by 5.2%.
• North America to Europe: Drop by 3.5%.
• Europe to North America: Drop by 1.2%.

So, why are airfares dropping?

Existing airlines are offering more flights and routes

2023 was a huge year for travel, with several records broken. The U.S. State Department issued a record 24 million passport books and cards during the 2023 fiscal year, signaling increased interest in travel abroad.

Katy Nastro, a spokesperson for airfare tracking website Going, has seen an increase in international flights booked as well. read more

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s orchestration of one of history’s largest financial frauds in his quest to dominate the cryptocurrency world deserves a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years, federal prosecutors on Friday told a federal judge.

Prosecutors made the recommendation in papers filed in Manhattan federal court in advance of a March 28 sentencing, where a judge will also consider a 100-year prison sentence recommended by the court’s probation officers and a request by defense lawyers for leniency and a term of imprisonment not to exceed single digits.

Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted in November on fraud and conspiracy charges after his dramatic fall from a year earlier when he and his companies seemed to be riding a crest of success that had resulted in a Super Bowl advertisement and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David.

Some of his biggest successes, though, resulted from stealing at least $10 billion from investors and customers between 2017 and 2022 to buy luxury real estate, make risky investments, dispense outsized charitable donations and political contributions and to buy praise from celebrities, prosecutors said. read more

By DAVID KOENIG (AP Airlines Writer)

Boeing is telling airlines to inspect switches on pilots’ seats in its 787 Dreamliner jets after a published report said an accidental cockpit seat movement likely caused the sudden plunge of a LATAM Airlines plane flying to New Zealand.

Boeing said Friday it recommended that airlines inspect the motorized cockpit seats the next time they perform maintenance on their 787s. The aircraft manufacturer pointed to instructions that include how to disable motors that move the seats.

The company described its advisory as a “precautionary measure.” It did not link the memo to what happened this week on a LATAM Airlines flight between Australia and New Zealand.

The Federal Aviation Administration said, however, that the Boeing memo was issued “in response to the incident on LATAM Flight 800.” The FAA said it was convening a panel of experts to review Boeing’s message to airlines.

LATAM Airlines, based in Chile, initially said there was “a technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement.” In an update Tuesday, the airline said the plane “experienced a strong shake during flight, the cause of which is currently under investigation.” read more

Molly Smith | (TNS) Bloomberg News

Fresh data on inflation and unemployment filings gave Federal Reserve officials more reasons to hold off on cutting interest rates, even as retail sales suggested a slowdown in consumer spending.

Prices paid to U.S. producers topped forecasts in February, and fewer people applied for and received jobless benefits than previously thought, according to separate reports Thursday. That followed data earlier in the week that showed underlying consumer prices also rose at a brisk pace last month.

While another release indicated a weaker start to the year in consumer spending, the strength in the inflation and labor data support policymakers’ view that they need to see more progress before lowering borrowing costs. Fed officials, who have a dual mandate to maintain price stability and maximum employment, are widely expected to leave rates unchanged at a two-decade high for a fifth month at next week’s meeting.

“When the Fed is contemplating a series of rate cuts and is confronted by suddenly slower economic growth and suddenly brisker inflation, they will respond to the new news on the inflation side every time,” Chris Low and Mark Streiber of FHN Financial said in a note. “As long as wholesale inflation has stabilized or shifts higher and retail inflationary pressures continue, the Fed pause will stretch on.” read more