Business News

In an exclusive article, Gizmodo penned a powerful expos about how Yahoo has bludgeoned Flickr.

Washington braced Tuesday for a replay of last summer's tense battle over the burgeoning national debt as House Speaker John A. Boehner threatened again to block an increase in the federal debt ceiling without significant new cuts in spending.

Canada's banking system has been the subject of international praise from economists grappling with global turmoil, but one 12-year-old girl begs to differ.

Provexis Plc, vying for a sliver of the $42 billion sports-drink market, is counting on a lift from unsolicited athlete endorsements on the eve of the Summer Olympics.

Local search engine optimization is a specialized form of SEO focused on optimizing businesses and their websites for optimal visibility in local search engines.

Wells Fargo asked a federal appeals court to throw out a judge's order to pay California customers $203 million for manipulating debit-card transactions to boost overdraft fees.

Foreign Secretary William Hague will promise to "argue relentlessly" for free trade around the world in an effort to boost the UK economy.

MOLINE, Ill. -- Deere posted a 17 percent spike in profits for the second quarter Wednesday and boosted its outlook for the year, predicting record-high global demand for farm equipment.

LAKE MARY, Fla. --- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida recently appointed three new loan officers. Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, said Reed Laney, Kathy Desclefs and Robert Lowrie have been named to the posts. Laney a Mortgage Loan Originator for the Lake Mary-Heathrow branch, has more than 22 years of experience in the industry. Desclefs who has been named Senior Loan Originator has two years of experience in the industry and is licensed in all of the states where Integrity does business. She is working out of the firm’s Jacksonville office. Lowrie, named Mortgage Loan Specialist in Integrity’s Tampa office has 18 years of experience and is a long-time member of the National Mortgage Brokers Association.

MOUNT DORA, Fla. – First Green Bank, the Mount Dora-based community bank which was recently named one of the greenest banks in America by two major U.S. banking associations, is looking for a branch bank location in downtown Orlando.

Kenneth LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said he expects to firm up a site to open a branch location in downtown Orlando by the end of this year.

LaRoe said locations in Winter Park are being considered for another branch to follow the downtown opening.

First Green Bank also has branch offices in Clermont and recently opened Ormond Beach.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Park Square Homes, which builds new single family and town homes priced from the mid-$100s in seven Orlando area residential and resort communities, has appointed Vishaal Gupta president and chief operating officer.

Suresh Gupta, chief executive officer at Park Square Homes said Vishaal Gupta earned his B.S. Degree from Emory University in Atlanta and a Masters Degree in real estate from Columbia University in New York City before joining Park Square Homes six years ago.

Vishaal Gupta said Park Square Homes plans to open three new communities this year in the East Orlando, Kissimmee and Winter Garden areas.

Gupta said he plans to focus on a major study of post-recession homebuyer preferences and unveiling new home designs.

PALM COAST – With a four-bedroom, two-bath spec home recently completed in Palm Coast, crews for SeaGate Homes now are focusing their craftsmanship on five more new Flagler County homes.

The 2,446 square foot, four-bedroom Worthington model at 29 Bighorn Drive features 42” cabinets with crown molding, granite countertops and stainless-steel kitchen appliances, as well as ceramic tile in all areas except the bedrooms, according to Michael Sawdai, vice president of operations for the family-owned company.

“The Worthington is one of our most popular floor plans; and this one is available for $179,900,” Sawdai said.

Two other Worthington plans – also priced at $179,900 – are expected to be completed later this month at 10 Sergeant Court and 12 Langdon Drive, and a three-car garage Palm model is taking shape at 37 Frenora Lane.

Sawdai said the company also is finishing up a 1,876-square-foot Brentwood and a 2,056-square-foot Sabal II model in Grand Haven this month. Those homes, at 5 Marlin Drive and 9 Marlin Drive, are priced at $253,900 and $258,900, respectively.

For more information, please call 386-445-1616 or visit www.SeaGateHomes.com.

About SeaGate Homes: SeaGate Homes, Flagler County’s largest homebuilder, is an 18-year-old, family-owned company with headquarters in Palm Coast. SeaGate builds quality homes at communities in St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona Beach and Edgewater, as well as through their On-Your-Lot program in Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties. Prices range from the $100s to the $400s.

NEW YORK -- It's time for Congress to provide more guidance to bank regulators on exactly what kind of hedging activity will be permitted by banks, in the wake of JPMorgan Chase's JPMorgan's $2 billion loss on hedging trades -- announced by CEO James Dimon last Thursday -- is "a potential opportunity for the policy makers to conduct a public ... (more)

The ABC, NBC and CBS affiliate associations have told the Federal Communications Commission it should include online video providers in the definition of multichannel video programming distributor .

Charles Hulley has been named executive director of JP Morgan Private Wealth Management.

The difference between the interest rates demanded by investors for Spanish and German 10-year bonds has shot past the 500 basis point barrier, reflecting mounting concerns over the future of the eurozone.

Rebutting accusations that Comcast is violating the FCC's network neutrality rules, chief technology officer Tony Werner said the MSO is sending VOD to Xbox 360 consoles over a separate, additional segment of IP bandwidth but isn't "prioritizing" that over Internet traffic.

The Sports Fan Coalition, which has asked the FCC to scrap its sports blackout rule as outmoded and fan-unfriendly, is honoring six legislators and one FCC commissioner for "standing up for fans." That is coming at a Capitol Hill reception Tuesday night.

PORT ORANGE – Attorney Allan L. Ziffra recently spent a morning talking shop with a group of students about everything from the importance of bicycle safety to the consequences of lying.

Ziffra – president of the Port Orange-based law firm of Rue & Ziffra – observed National Law Day on May 2 by addressing the 4th grade students at Sugar Mill Elementary School in Port Orange.

A nationally-celebrated day, Law Day first was observed in 1958 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed it to strengthen the United States’ legal heritage of liberty, justice, and equality.

During his Wednesday morning talk, Ziffra said he explained to the students about the legal profession, the different fields of law, and the basic concept or definition of legal terminology such as depositions and mediation.

“We wanted to talk to the students about the law itself and what laws mean in our country,” Ziffra said. “We expected questions, but were surprised with the thoughtfulness of their queries and their delightful follow-up ‘Thank You’ letters.”

The students’ introspective letters ranged from words of appreciation of Ziffra’s information: “I really didn’t want to be a lawyer, but now I do because I have lots of information about it,” and “Lying is not the solution,” to compliments on his material: “I really enjoyed all your crazy stories.”

About Rue & Ziffra: Founded by John D. Rue and Allan L. Ziffra, the personal-injury law firm of Rue & Ziffra has served the Central Florida community for 30 years. The firm’s commitment to its profession and its clients has earned it a reputation as one of the top personal-injury law firms in Central Florida. Known for handling everything from automobile and motorcycle accidents to medical malpractice, wrongful death, and social security and disability cases, Rue & Ziffra has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients and their families. With a staff of nine attorneys, the firm maintains offices in Port Orange, DeLand and Palm Coast. For more information, visit www.rueziffra.com.

The Heritage Foundation's Rory Cooper tweeted that Obama had casually dropped his own name into Ronald Reagan's official biography on www.whitehouse.gov, claiming credit for taking up the mantle of Reagan's tax reform advocacy with his "Buffett Rule" gimmick.