Lakeland Real Estate & Winter Haven Homes for Sale

Rail Spur Project Started


Construction has begun on a new half-mile rail spur that will connect the Port Manatee Commerce Center to CSX Transportation's nationwide network of rail lines. The Commerce Center, located near Port Manatee, will have three of its seven warehouse buildings directly served by rail, according to a press release. Mulberry-based CJ Bridges Rail Road...
Posted: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:40:00 -0500

Mortgage Rates Steady


Mortgage rates held below the 5 percent threshold for the second straight week, a report said Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 4.95 percent this week, down from 4.97 percent a week earlier, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said. This week, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.32 percent, down...
Posted: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:44:00 -0500

Foreclosure Rates Ease


RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday that the number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in February grew 6 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual increase in four years. On the state level, foreclosures declined on a monthly and yearly basis in the hard-hit states of Nevada, Arizona and California, but still grew rapidly in Florida. Among...
Posted: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:43:00 -0500

Mattel's New Barbie Dolls Inspired by Hit TV Show
By STUART ELLIOTT THE NEW YORK TIMES

After three seasons, "Mad Men," the television series about advertising in the 1960s, has attained a level of popular-culture cachet.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:42:00 -0500

MySpace Makeover Focuses on Entertainment
By RYAN NAKASHIMA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Long-ago lapped by Facebook in popularity and with fast-growing Twitter on its tail, social networking site MySpace is planning a series of updates over the next months that will link its users' posts to those sites more easily and carve out its niche as an entertainment hub more clearly.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:43:00 -0500

Federal Reserve: Net Worth Gains 1.3 Percent in Fourth Quarter
By JEANNINE AVERSA & DAVE CARPENTER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON | Americans regained more of their shrunken wealth last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was less than in the previous two quarters.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:42:00 -0500

University Head Takes Heat For Role at Goldman Sachs
By GRAHAM BOWLEY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Across this quiet quadrangle, behind the wrought iron gates and beyond University Hall, lurks a bogeyman of Wall Street.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:42:00 -0500

Unemployment Worsens in Polk; Joblessness Rises to 13.3 Percent in January
By KYLE KENNEDY THE LEDGER

LAKELAND | Shane Davis had a job, but let it go. He left a steady job at a lumber yard for a promising position in Ocala. But when that didn't work out, Davis came home to Lakeland and joined the 37,000 Polk County residents who were unemployed in January.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:28:00 -0500

Cadillac Looks to Distance Itself From Struggling GM
By KEITH NAUGHTON BLOOMBERG NEWS

Cadillac, the luxury brand General Motors acquired in 1909, is distancing itself from the Detroit-based automaker to avoid the stigma of the parent company's $50 billion U.S.-backed bankruptcy last year.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:43:00 -0500

House Panel Explores Full-Scale Casino Resorts for Fla.
By MARTIN MERZER THE Associated Press

Are cash-strapped Florida lawmakers ready to roll the dice on Las Vegas-style gambling resorts - or is it just a bluff?
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:52:00 -0500

Job Fair Is Set For Tuesday at Hillsborough Community College in Plant City


Hillsborough Community College's Plant City Campus will host its annual job fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday. The free event, also offering career-skills training and job placement, will be in the John R. Trinkle Center at 1206 N. Park Road.
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:50:00 -0500

The Insider: Polk Latino Biz


Coming soon from the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Polk County is Polk Latino Biz, a specialized Hispanic business directory. Advertising participation with payment is due by March 25 for the publication, which comes out in June. E-mail anipooh@tampabay.rr.com for information and rates. -Barb Stuewe
Posted: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:42:00 -0500