The financial crisis has turned into a tryout of sorts for the next president, an unexpected chance for Barack Obama and John McCain to shine - or stumble - just as most voters are deciding whom to back. ...more

September 22, 2008

Financial advisers and brokers in the Tampa Bay area found themselves caught up in the turmoil of Wall Street this week as anxious clients called looking for help making sense of the breathtaking sweep of events. The tumult culminated Friday with a federal government plan to cleanse banks of the bad mortgages that had touched off a world financial crisis. The government plan ignited a two-day rally on Wall Street on Thursday and Friday that erased shattering losses earlier in the week when insurance giant AIG, swept up in the mortgage mess, teetered on bankruptcy. ...more

September 20, 2008

A year ago, as the outlines of the current financial crisis were just becoming clear, I suggested that this crisis, unlike a superficially similar crisis in 1998, wouldn't end quickly. It hasn't. ...more

August 6, 2008

Hernando County Commissioners still don't get it. Neither, apparently, does our new county administrator. ...more

July 19, 2008

For most of the past 20 years, Carolyn Roberts has helped oversee Florida's university system. She has fought plenty of battles, but always on the side of what she thought was best for Florida's students. ...more

July 4, 2008

SEBRING — Sun 'n Lake Golf & Country Club is selling $250 covered tables to watch its July 5 fireworks event, and it's sponsoring a July 26 golf tournament. Megan L. Klootwyk, director of membership and marketing, said the money will go to the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce. Robert and Heide Miller of Cherokee Janitorial Service in Avon Park are donating a percentage of its revenues to the Red Cross, the American Cancer Society and the Sebring chamber. And Shawn Marler of the Boy Scouts is planning a joint fundraiser with the chamber. "If there's ever been a time for community support, it's now," said Interim Chamber President Sarah Pallone. ...more

June 11, 2008

It's halftime. What's the score? Last week, I turned 45. (Don't feel bad; only my mother ever remembers.) By my reckoning, that puts me halfway through my working career and, hence, halfway to retirement. ...more

January 6, 2008

When a buyout shop chooses to pay $100 million just to walk away from a committed deal, that tells you how deep today's financial crisis is running. ...more

November 24, 2007

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledges he failed to see early on that an explosion of mortgages to people with questionable credit histories could pose a danger to the economy. ...more

September 14, 2007