BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Florida aims to boost credit to small businesses with `Economic Gardening'

Florida's Economic Gardening Program -- designed to help high-growth companies with loans and training -- is now taking applications.

Florida's citrus country producing new vodka

Standing in the heart of citrus country, where the trees are just beginning to yield the baseball-sized fruit that is Florida's signature crop, it's natural to thirst for a cold glass of orange juice. But when Palm Beach Gardens entrepreneurs Chester Brandes and Timo Sutinen came to this Central Florida town, they had another beverage in mind. Namely, vodka. A Florida-made, orange-flavored vodka, to be exact. So, they set out to create just that spirit, hoping to capitalize on the sun-kissed fascination for all things Florida. Within about a year, 4 Orange Premium Vodka was born.

JOB LOSSES

Boston Scientific to close Doral plant

Even as Miami-Dade officials try to build the county's life sciences industry, Boston Scientific is planning to close a plant in Doral and send the jobs overseas.

THANKSGIVING

You may have to skip pumpkin pie

Because of problems with the harvest, there is a shortage of pumpkin pie filling on supermarket shelves this holiday season.

BANKING

Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida seized, promptly sold

Banking regulators seized Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida and sold the tiny Fort Myers bank to Central Bank, of Stillwater, Minn., marking the 124th U.S. bank to fail during 2009 and the 12th in Florida.

ENTERTAINMENT | OPRAH WINFREY

Void left in afternoon TV

After 25 years on the air, an emotional Oprah Winfrey announced her decision to end her hugely popular daytime talk show in 2011. Stations that carried her show may have difficulty filling the hour.

TAXATION

Study calls Florida tax system unfair

Because Florida mainly depends on sales taxes and property taxes, a study says the tax system is unfair to people with low or moderate incomes.

FEDERAL COURT

Floridian gets 68 months in fraud scheme

Men from Miami and Boca Raton were also involved in an outfit that was charged with using faxes to defraud small-business owners.

Study: Florida tax system one of least fair in nation

If you are a Florida resident with low to moderate income, you are paying a disproportionate amount of state and local taxes.

So says a nationwide study of state tax systems that shows Florida has the second worst tax system in the United States in regard to fairness.

HOTEL INDUSTRY

Study: Minority hotel workers face more risks on the job

A study finds female, Hispanic and Asian hotel workers more likely to be injured on the job.

SMALL BUSINESS

Entrepreneurs seek success in a minute

Entrepreneurial UM students and alumni competed this week in a contest of `elevator pitches' -- 60-second explanations of their businesses.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Unemployment compensation tax will surge for employers

The state's trust fund for unemployment benefits is depleted, and employers will have to pay much higher taxes to refill it.

HOUSING

U.S. home-building falls sharply

Housing starts took a surprise dip in October, highlighting how reliant the sector recently has become on government stimulus programs.

INVESTMENT FRAUD

Man to settle charges he stole millions from Haitian Americans

A self-proclaimed investment guru has agreed to a settlement with federal securities regulators over charges he bilked hundreds of fellow Haitian Americans out of $23.4 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.

FONTAINEBLEAU LAS VEGAS

$102 million bid offered for Fontainebleau Las Vegas

A Pennsylvania casino chain offered 5 cents on the dollar for the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas, but developer Jeffrey Soffer's team hopes to get higher bids.

RESTAURANTS

New pressure on Burger King brass

The fight between Burger King franchisees and corporate management continues to escalate. Franchisees want the board of directors to intervene.

Oasis: World's largest ship arrives

On a brisk October morning amid the clink of champagne glasses, Richard D. Fain took ownership of the $1.4-billion Oasis of the Seas on the southwest coast of this nation where shipbuilding is a proud tradition.

BANKING

2 more Florida banks fail

A Louisiana institution, IberiaBank, won the bidding to acquire two failed Florida institutions -- Orion Bank in Naples and Century Bank in Sarasota -- from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. A California bank also failed.

Michael T. Moore is the man to call for any kind of legal matters involving yachts or planes

If you were about to be convicted of engineering a $65 billion Ponzi scheme and needed a lawyer to help unload your yacht in a flash, who would you call?