Things To Do In SW Florida

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Inside a Walmart store in New Jersey, a worker puts the finishing touches on a cake with an edible ink Sponge Bob on top. A colleague creates a buttercream rosette border for a different cake, while another co-worker frosts a tier of what will be a triple-deck dessert.

It’s graduation season, the busiest time of year for the 6,200 employees the nation’s largest retailer trained to hand-decorate cakes per customers’ orders. The cakes themselves come, pre-made, frozen and in a variety of shapes and sizes, from suppliers, not Walmart’s in-store bakeries.

But there’s no sugar-coating the importance the company places on its custom cake business. Its army of icing artisans are the highest paid hourly workers in a typical U.S. Walmart, excluding managers. Cake decorators earn an average of $19.25 per hour, compared with $18.25 for all non-managerial store workers, a company spokesperson said.

Melissa Fernandez, 36, started working in the electronics area and then the wireless services department of the Walmart in North Bergen, New Jersey, before she transferred to the deli area in search of better pay. But Fernandez had her eye on a cake decorating job and after spending two months getting trained by a store colleague, she picked up a piping bag full-time in 2021. read more

By JEFFREY COLLINS

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing “policy and market uncertainty.”

While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. didn’t specify what those problems are, South Carolina’s Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump’s administration.

“What we’re doing is urging caution — let things play out because all of the these changes are taking place,” Gov. Henry McMaster said.

AESC announced the suspension in construction of its plant in Florence on Thursday.

“Due to policy and market uncertainty, we are pausing construction at our South Carolina facility at this time,” the company’s statement said.

AESC promised to restart construction, although it didn’t say when, and vowed to meet its commitment to hire 1,600 workers and invest $1.6 billion. The company said it has already invested $1 billion in the Florence plant. read more

By DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street following a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market. The S&P 500 climbed 1% Friday, marking its second weekly gain in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%. U.S. employers slowed their hiring last month, but still added a solid 139,000 jobs amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade wars. Lululemon Athletica sank after lowering its profit forecast for the full year. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.51%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Friday following a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.2% in afternoon trading. The benchmark index remains on track to notch a second consecutive winning week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 448 points, or 1.1% as of 3:03 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.4% read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

Midea is voluntarily recalling about 1.7 million of its popular U and U+ Smart air conditioners because pooled water in the units may not drain fast enough, leading to mold growth.

The news comes as temperatures are rising across the U.S. and the official start of summer rapidly approaches.

The Midea air conditioners fit in windows and resonated with consumers because of their unique design, which allows consumers to close their window ‘through’ the unit.

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By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers slowed hiring last month, but still added a solid 139,000 jobs amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

Hiring fell from a revised 147,000 in April, the Department of Labor said Friday. The job gains last month were above the 130,000 that economists had forecast.

Healthcare companies added 62,000 jobs and bars and restaurants 30,000. The federal government shed 22,000 jobs, however, the most since November 2020, as Trump’s job cuts and hiring freeze had an impact. And factories lost 8,000 jobs last month.

Average hourly wages rose 0.4% from April and 3.9% from a year earlier – a bit higher than forecast.

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