BIZ BITS

Port of Tampa gets $2.2 million grant

The Port of Tampa has been awarded a $2.2 million federal Economic Development Administration grant toward a $4.5 million pier reconstruction and bulkhead replacement project, the Department of Commerce announced Tuesday.

The award is funded through a $150 million EDA supplemental appropriation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It is expected to result in maintaining 281 jobs, the Department of Commerce says in a written announcement.

Consumers' mood beats expectations

Consumer sentiment rose more than expected in August, with expectations hitting the highest level since the recession began.

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence index rose to 54.1 from an upwardly revised 47.4 in July.

Still, the index is well below 90, the minimum level associated with a healthy economy.

Consumer sentiment, fueled by signs the economy is stabilizing, has recovered a bit since hitting a record-low of 25.3 in February.

Aerospace industry continues to falter

Citing slumping demand for rockets and shifting priorities in defense spending, a new study indicates aerospace-defense contractors nationwide have shed up to 30,000 jobs this year.

The job cuts were projected to affect about 4.5 percent of the U.S. aerospace work force to date and could continue into 2010, according to the study by Aviation Week magazine and several industry groups.

Central Florida's space industry alone could lose more than 7,000 jobs in the next few years as NASA retires the space shuttle program.

Sony to market an e-book reader

Sony Corp. plans to offer an e-book reader with the ability to wirelessly download books, boosting competition in a small but fast-growing market by adopting a key feature of the rival Kindle from Amazon.com.

Sony's $399 Reader Daily Edition, with a 7-inch touch screen, will go on sale by December, company executives said Tuesday.

JetBlue requesting new Jamaica routes

JetBlue Airways Corp. said Tuesday it has requested government approval to launch two new routes to Montego Bay, Jamaica, from Orlando and Boston.

It expects to start service from Boston on Jan. 9 and from Orlando on Feb. 8.

JetBlue operates about 71 daily flights to the Caribbean.

Pilots union asks for battery ban

The world's largest union for pilots said Tuesday it wants bulk shipments of lithium batteries and products containing the batteries banned from passenger and cargo planes because they are a fire hazard.

In seeking a federal ban, the Air Line Pilots Association pointed to three incidents since June in which it says lithium battery shipments caused fires aboard U.S. planes.

A staff and wire report