Florida has the Country's Second-best Business Climate

September 19, 2017     0    97

Texas had held on to the top spot since 1999. For years. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has jokingly jabbed at a rivalry with fellow Republican-controlled Texas as an arch-rival, pointing out whenever the Sunshine State boasted superiority in job creation or luring companies here. Florida took second place with 22 percent of the respondents naming it as the state with having the most favorable business climate. In 2014, Florida bumped North Carolina out of the No. 2 spot. According to the survey, respondents keen on Florida's favorable business climate mentioned the state's pro-business environment, favorable tax climate and its strategic location. This year, for the first time, the survey also includes findings about how the current political climate affects business perceptions. A majority of executives surveyed, 57 percent, reported that the Trump presidency hasn't impacted their investment plans and 33 percent said they were more likely to explore domestic expansion.

Should Power Lines Go Underground?

September 19, 2017     0    161

WHERE SHOULD RATEPAYER MONEY GO? Electric utilities do not provide service for free, as everyone who opens their utility bill every month can attest. All of the costs of providing service are ultimately paid by the utility’s customers, so it is critical that every dollar spent on that service provides good value for those customers. Utility regulators in every state have the responsibility to ensure that utilities provide safe and reliable service at just and reasonable rates. But what are customers willing to pay for ensuring reliability and mitigating risk? That’s complicated. Consider consumer choices in automobile insurance. Some consumers choose maximum insurance coverage through a zero deductible. Others blanch at the higher premiums zero deductibles bring and choose a higher deductible at lower premium cost. The damage from Hurricane Irma on the Florida Keys was extensive. Putting power lines underground will make electricity service more resilient to wind damage but also make flooding a bigger concern.AP Photo/David Goldman To provide insurance for electricity service, regulators and utilities must aggregate the preferences of individual customers into a single standard for the grid. It’s ...

Here's What to Expect from Gas Prices in the Wake of Hurricane Irma

September 12, 2017     0    285

"Harvey may be long gone, but his wrath continued to drive gasoline prices up in much of the country in the last week. However, the effects are finally starting to weaken as refineries return to production and fuel begins to flow once again from many Houston refineries," DeHaan said. "The national average gasoline price appears to have peaked last week Thursday at $2.67 per gallon and is beginning to slowly decline for the time being." "Once again, motorists shouldn't expect to see any impact from Irma on gasoline prices due to the path being a considerable distance from sensitive areas of the energy sector. With summer driving season now over, motorists stand to benefit from falling demand, which will help refineries bring gasoline inventories back to normal and thus gas prices, but as many Americans are now acutely aware, the impact on gas prices can outlive a storm, especially one like Harvey." Florida gas prices were averaging $2.72 a gallon yesterday, according to The Auto Club Group, the second largest AAA club in the U.S. The most expensive gas price averages ...

National Summit on Natural Gas Comes to Jacksonville

September 12, 2017     0    168

The tours will visit Eagle LNG's Maxville Plant, Crowley's LNG Bunker Terminal, Tote Maritime's LNG vessel, Florida East Coast Rail's LNG locomotives, Jacksonville Transportation Authority's compressed natural gas operation and UPS LNG trucks and refueling station. “Jacksonville has become the world’s most progressive and active marketplace for natural gas HHP operations in 2017,” said Erik Neandross, CEO of Gladstein, Neandross & Associates which puts on the conference. The conference will focus on growth markets and opportunities, LNG and CNG supply chains and long-term industry issues. There will also be a variety of natural gas engines, equipment and technology accessible at the event. Tickets for the event costs between $395 and $895 if bought before Oct. 1.

Florida's July Employment Figures Released

August 18, 2017     0    270

Florida’s Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted) The number of jobs in Florida was 8,634,300 in July 2017, up 226,200 jobs compared to a year ago. July 2017 was the 84th consecutive month with positive over-the-year job growth. The industry gaining the most jobs was construction (+35,800 jobs, +7.5 percent). Other industries gaining jobs included education and health services (+35,600 jobs, +2.9 percent); professional and business services (+35,400 jobs, +2.7 percent); leisure and hospitality (+32,900 jobs, +2.8 percent); trade, transportation, and utilities (+30,600 jobs, +1.8 percent); other services (+19,100 jobs, +5.5 percent); government (+14,200 jobs, +1.3 percent); manufacturing (+11,700 jobs, +3.3 percent); financial activities (+10,700 jobs, +2.0 percent); and information (+100 jobs, +0.1 percent) over the year. Local Area Unemployment Statistics (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In July 2017, Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate (2.8 percent); followed by St. Johns County (3.3 percent); and Okaloosa and Walton counties (3.4 percent each). Hendry County had the highest unemployment rate (10.9 percent) in Florida in July 2017, followed by Hardee County (7.5 percent); and Glades County (6.5 percent). Area Nonagricultural Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In July 2017, ...