Once the deal is completed, the private equity firm, Angelo, Gordon and Company, will take the restaurant chain private. Benihana currently operates 95 Japanese-themed restaurants across the United States, according to Bloomberg.

Benihana, which also owns the RA Sushi and Haru restaurant chains, had previously looked for a buying partner. It’s the second time in two years that Benihana actively sought out buyers.

According to Bloomberg News, the deal will pay stockholders $16.30 per share, which is approximately 23 percent higher than Benihana’s closing price on Monday.

Bloomberg reported that Benihana made $1.34 million in net income last year after enduring a net loss of $8.9 million the year before.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the 17-country eurozone risks falling into a “severe recession” if quick action isn’t taken to slow down the rapidly deteriorating European economy.

The OECD said the eurozone economy could contract by as much as 2 percent this year, which had been pegged as the worst-case scenario last November. The report also said Europe would fall behind other countries, including the United States which economists predict will expand by 2.4 this year and 2.6 percent next year.

This presents problems for South Florida tourism, which has reached out to European tourists while the euro has been performing well against the dollar. If the entire Eurozone continues to deteriorate, South Florida will have to look elsewhere, likely to South America, to find new areas to target for tourists.

Politically, the eurozone’s decline puts Democrats and Republicans into a precarious position on the issue of budget deficits. Republicans, led by the tea party, have waged war on any deficit spending and have instead championed austerity-like cuts to the U.S. government.

Some Democrats have also bought into the idea of reducing the size of government in the face of recession, which historically goes in the face of decades of economic theory.

But, as the eurozone continues to decline as it enacts austerity measures across the region, the question becomes, is it the best policy to call for more cuts during a recession when economic theory dictates more government spending during a recession and less during growth periods?

It’s a question that goes to the very heart of the presidential campaign between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, growth or cuts.

Government has shrunk under President Obama by more than 500,000 workers at the federal level. But Republicans, and some Democrats, want further cuts, mainly targeting discretionary spending and will not consider any additional revenues.

The eurozone decline could go a long way towards deciding the presidential election in the United States. Which side the voters in the U.S. choose to believe, will ultimately determine not only part of the fate of the eurozone; but also the fate of the U.S. economy as well.

More and more critical consumers have reported that they have received phone calls from companies who monitor their online reviews and have been asked to take down their negative comments but the angry tone has some customers on the defensive.

For Eric Winick, it all began when he left a mixed online review about a restaurant. He raved about the food, but said he grew frustrated that it took an hour to be served.

“I said in the review that they had taken a ridiculously long time to bring the food,” Winick said.

He was even more alarmed when he received an email from the restaurant’s owner which asked him to take it down.

“He said that something along the lines of ‘We’re trying to make a go of it in this area, we all have families to feed’ and sort of trying to prey on my sympathies a little bit.”

Many businesses around the country are reaching out to customers who leave bad reviews and they are not always trying to make amends. In an extreme example, an Atlanta restaurant launched Facebook and Twitter campaigns identifying a customer who left a bad review and the food fight went viral.

Social media expert Patrick O’Malley said that the effect of the web posts can make or break a company’s reputation.

“A single person can now go home and get on Facebook and tell 500 or 1000 people what they think of your restaurant,” O’Malley said.

The impact is immense. A Harvard Business School study found that even a one star increase on a businesses’ rating on the online review site Yelp led to a five to nine percent boost in revenue for independent restaurants.

“In the last few years, it has changed the way we have done business,” said Zalmi Duchman, the founder of FreshDiet.com.

He is among business owners who have requested to remove bad reviews and he explains to customers how damaging negative comments can be. He said sometimes it’s effective.

“We’ve found in the past the faster you react to the customer the better chance you’re going to have to get that customer to remove their negative review because they see you take their comments and their feedback seriously,” Duchman said.

Online review site Urban Spoon said it actually encourages businesses and reviewers to connect and warns customers many companies take what they type very seriously.

“For a small business their business is an extension of who they are. There’s a real emotional connection to that,” Kara Nortman, of Urban Spoon.

For Winick, he responded to the restaurant and indicated that he wouldn’t remove his review. The business apologized for reaching out, but didn’t offer any incentive for him to return and give them another chance.

“I thought it was a waste of time, frankly, on the part of the restaurant to do that,” Winick said.

After an anxiety-filled half-hour delay, its stock began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market for the first time as investors were finally able to put a dollar value on the company that turned online social networking into a global cultural phenomenon.

At the closing bell, the stock ended trading flat at $38.23.  That means Facebook is worth about $104 billion, more than Amazon.com, McDonalds and storied Silicon Valley icons Hewlett-Packard and Cisco.

But as many people looked for a big first-day pop in Facebook’s share price, the single-digit increase was somewhat of a letdown.

“It wasn’t quite as exciting as it could have been,” said Nick Einhorn, an analyst with IPO advisory firm Renaissance Capital. “But I don’t think we should view it as a failure.”

Indeed, the small jump in price could be seen as an indication that Facebook and the investment banks that arranged the initial public offering priced the stock in an appropriate range. It’s also a supply and demand issue. Facebook offered nearly 20 percent of its available stock in the IPO, so there was enough to meet demand. In comparison, Google offered just 7.2 percent of its stock when it went public in 2004 — and rose 18 percent on day one.

To IPOdesktop’s Francis Gaskins, it means mom-and-pop investors are becoming “much more educated and careful” about not buying into hype. And he said that the banks taking Facebook public have learned from the 10 IPOs of social media companies in the past year and are better able to gauge how much stock to make available in an initial offering.

It might not have been possible for the social network to live up to the hype that led up to its IPO. It’s Facebook, after all, a place where people are emotionally invested in endless online diversions and rekindled friendships, an endless depository of baby photos, favorite songs and fleeting memories.

“It’s probably one of the first times there has been an IPO where everyone sort of has a stake in the outcome,” said Gartner analyst Brian Blau. While most Facebook users won’t see a penny from the offering, they are all intimately familiar with the company.

Earlier Friday, the company’s 28-year-old CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, smiled as he rang the opening bell from Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Surrounded by cheering Facebook employees and wearing his signature hoodie, he pushed the button that signals the opening of the stock market in New York. The morning’s events followed an all-night “hackathon” at the company, where engineers stayed up coding software and conjuring up new ideas for Facebook and its 900 million users.

“Right now this all seems like a big deal. Going public is an important milestone in our history. But here’s the thing, our mission isn’t to be a public company. Our mission is to make the world more open and connected,” Zuckerberg said. “In the past eight years, all of you out there have built the largest community in the history of the world. You’ve done amazing things that we never would have dreamed of and I can’t wait to see what you guys all do going forward.”

Afterward, employees tried to get back to business as usual, building the company under immense new pressure to meet shareholders’ expectations. To remind everyone not to get caught up in the hoopla, Facebook’s employees were given t-shirts that read “Stay focused & keep hacking.”

On Thursday, Facebook and the investment bankers settled on a price of $38 per share. The company and its early investors raised $16 billion in the offering, which valued Facebook at $104 billion. That makes Facebook the most valuable U.S. company to ever go public.

Now, the stock market will begin assigning a dollar value to Facebook that will rise and fall with investor whims. It will be subject to broad economic forces and held accountable for profit it earns —or loses— from one quarter to the next.

But Facebook is one a rare companies whose IPO transcends Wall Street’s money lust. It is a cultural touchstone for the way technology reshapes our lives. Since its start as a scrappy network for college students, Facebook has come to define social networking by getting people around the world to share everything from photos of their pets to their deepest thoughts.

It has done so while becoming one of the few profitable Internet companies to go public recently. It had net income of $205 million in the first three months of 2012, on revenue of $1.06 billion. In all of 2011, it earned $1 billion, up from $606 million a year earlier. That’s a far cry from 2007, when it posted a net loss of $138 million and revenue of $153 million. The company makes most of its money from advertising. It also takes a cut from the money people spend on virtual items in Facebook games such as “FarmVille.”

Facebook’s public debut marks a new milestone in the history of the Internet. In 1995, Netscape Communications’ IPO gave people their first chance to invest in a company whose graphical Web browser made the Internet more engaging and easier to navigate. Its hotly anticipated IPO lit the fuse that ignited the dot-com boom. That explosion of entrepreneurial activity and investment culminated five years later in a devastating bust that obliterated the notion that the Internet had hatched a “new economy”.

It took Google’s IPO in 2004 to prove that an Internet company with a disruptive idea could be profitable. In the process, the Internet search leader is forcing other industries to adapt to a new order where people have come to expect to be able to find just about anything they want by entering a few words into a box on any device with an Internet connection.

Facebook’s IPO heralds a new phase of the Internet’s evolution. This social era makes connections among people as important as Google’s massive index of Web links. Still, the IPO will raise new pressures for Facebook to generate more revenue, perhaps by digging further into the trove of revealing information that people share on the network to sell even more targeted ads.

The IPO almost certainly will enrich other up-and-coming entrepreneurs as Zuckerberg uses the company’s cash and stock to buy other startups in an effort to being in other talented engineers and promising technology. That’s what has been doing for years. Since it went public in 2004, Google has spent $10.2 billion buying nearly 200 other companies. Those figures don’t include Google’s still-pending $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., which is still awaiting regulatory approval in China.

Zuckerberg’s biggest deal so far came when he agreed to buy Instagram, a maker of a popular mobile app for photos, for $1 billion. Because most of the deal is being paid for in stock, Instagram is already getting richer. Based on the $38 price for Facebook’s stock, Instagram is in line to receive nearly $1.2 billion.

Though Zuckerberg rang the Nasdaq opening bell from California, people outside the stock market in Times Square snapped photos of a big blue Facebook sign that lit up the building. Some of them used their smart phones to check in to the Nasdaq on Facebook. Frederick Nolde, who was visiting from Richmond, Va., said he bought 100 shares through the online brokerage eTrade.

He thinks the company is worth $100 billion. “I think Google is a good comparison and it’s worth $200 to 300 billion. The real question is how they do in mobile. If they can figure that out they’ll do well.”

In Menlo Park, some mourned the one that got away. Venture capitalist Mark Siegel visited Facebook’s headquarters to ponder. Like many of his fellow tech startup investors with offices a short drive from Facebook on Silicon Valley’s famed Sand Hill Road, Siegel said he had chances to back Facebook early on but didn’t.

He said at the time, when competing social networks like Friendster and MySpace still had clout, it wasn’t clear that Facebook would come out on top.

“In hindsight, any price would have been a good price to pay,” said Siegel, a managing director at Menlo Ventures.

There’s still time. Bruno del Ama, the CEO of asset management firm Global X Funds, is waiting until Thursday, to get in on Facebook.

“On the first day you see a tremendous amount of volatility,” he said. In three days, short-sellers will be able to sell the stock, he added, so by day five, investors should see more stability. Global X has a fund focused on social media stocks, and del Ama expects “significant growth” in the sector in the coming decade. Facebook, right now, is the crown jewel of the space. And it’s likely here to stay, by virtue of its position.

“Once companies have built a network, it’s really difficult to displace them,” del Ama said, adding that while massive companies such as Google are trying to compete with Facebook — and may have better technology — “we care about where our friends are.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Locally, Broward County’s unemployment rate dropped from 7.5 to 7.2 percent month-over-month. Broward currently has 70,551 residents on unemployment insurance. One year ago, Broward’s unemployment rate was 8.8 percent.

In Miami-Dade County, the unemployment rate in April remained steady from March at 9 percent. Miami-Dade has 115,563 workers on unemployment insurance in April. Last year, Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate in April was 12.2 percent.

Monroe County continued to pace the state with an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent. Just 2,269 people in Monroe County are on unemployment insurance. Monroe’s unemployment rate has dropped 3.2 percent year over year.

The numbers present a problem for both Democrats and Republicans.

Governor Rick Scott and other Republicans will tout the dropping unemployment rate as proof their policies are working. However, by doing that, they are also admitting the nation’s economy as a whole is improving, contrary to their attacks on President Barack Obama.

Democrats will try to hammer away saying the numbers don’t reflect the true unemployment picture because it only includes workers currently on unemployment insurance. But, by making that argument, Democrats are admitting that the overall national unemployment numbers are not as good as earlier reported.

CBS will finish the season as America’s most-watched network for the ninth time in the past 10 years, leading in viewers by the widest margin of any network in 23 years.

The new series include Elementary, a contemporary take on the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes in New York City, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu; Vegas, a drama inspired by a real-life sheriff and his battle with a powerful mobster for control of Las Vegas in the 1960s, starring Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis; Made In Jersey, starring Janet Montgomery as a smart first-year lawyer with working-class roots practicing at a prestigious Manhattan law firm; and Partners, a comedy about two very different life-long best friends and business partners and their significant others, starring David Krumholtz and Michael Urie.

“These new series feature a great range of bold concepts, rich characters, big stars and fresh faces,” CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said.  “From a new take on Sherlock Holmes to an epic battle for control of 1960s Las Vegas to a working-class point of view in a prestigious law firm, the dramas each have a unique style and sensibility.  And, our new comedy Partners fits perfectly with the CBS Monday night tradition of relationship comedies with a lot of heart and humor.”

The freshman series will be joined by 19 returning shows, including: NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, Person of Interest, Two Broke Girls, 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, Hawaii Five-O, NCIS: Los Angeles, Survivor, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Two and a Half Men, CSI: NY, Blue Bloods, 48 Hours Mystery, The Mentalist and The Good Wife.

For midseason, the Emmy Award-nominated Undercover Boss returns, plus the new reality series The Job from executive producers Michael Davies and Mark Burnett. Also for midseason are the new drama Golden Boy and the new comedy Friend Me.

Watch the following shows on CBS4:

MONDAY

8:00-8:30 PM              HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM              PARTNERS (NEW)
9:00-9:30 PM              2 BROKE GIRLS (NEW TIME)
9:30-10:00 PM            MIKE & MOLLY
10:00-11:00 PM          HAWAII FIVE-0

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM             NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM           NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 PM          VEGAS (NEW)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM             SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

THURSDAY

8:00-8:30 PM              THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM              TWO AND A HALF MEN (NEW TIME)
9:00-10:00 PM            PERSON OF INTEREST (NEW)
10:00-11:00 PM          ELEMENTARY

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM             CSI: NY (NEW TIME)
9:00-10:00 PM            MADE IN JERSEY (NEW)
10:00-11:00 PM          BLUE BLOODS

SATURDAY

8:00-9:00 PM             CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM           CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM          48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 PM              60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM              THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 PM            THE GOOD WIFE
10:00-11:00 PM          THE MENTALIST (NEW TIME)

“We’ve saved tons and tons,” said Chantay who has been able to cut down her phone, cable, utility and insurance bills.

She’s also saved on credit card and bank fees just by calling the companies and asking for a better deal.

“I reminded them of our credit scores,” Chantay explained. “I reminded them of our loyalty.”

Finance Guru Mitchell Weiss said it certainly can’t hurt to ‘check -in’ every couple of months with the companies you use.

Weiss said it costs companies more to lose a customer than to offer better deals to their existing ones.

“It costs money to get them. It costs money to keep them. Why would you want to turn that over to a competitor,” advised Weiss.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Review all your monthly bills and try calling each company. The phone is the most effective way to negotiate.

• Have two to three months worth of past bills when you call so you know what you’re paying.

“Be a great customer,” said personal finance administrator Roblee Hoffman. “A great customer is one who has been with a company for a fair number of years and pays their bill on or before the due date and pays the full balance.”

• Research what the competition is offering.

• If you can’t negotiate with a customer service rep, ask for the customer retention department or the president’s office.

Chantay said knowing what a company’s competition is offering is key to negotiating.

“It’s worth the time and it’s worth your money,” said Chantay.

Many credit card companies and banks say they welcome customers to review their services and bills.

Some cell phone providers will also review bills and suggest cheaper plans if you don’t use all your data or talk time.

The social media star is just days away from being chief executive of one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Facebook is expected to start selling stock to the public on Friday in an offering that values the company at nearly 100-billion dollars, which would make it worth more than such iconic companies as Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.

At 28, Zuckerberg is exactly half the age of the average S&P 500 CEO, according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart. With eight years on the job, he’s logged more time as leader than the average CEO, whose tenure is a little more than seven years, according to Spencer Stuart.

Even so, the pressures of running a public company will undoubtedly take some getting used to. Once Facebook begins selling stock, Zuckerberg will be expected to please a host of new stakeholders, including Wall Street investment firms, hedge funds and pension funds who will pressure him to keep the company growing.

Young as he may seem, especially in that hooded sweatshirt, Zuckerberg will be about the same age as Michael Dell and older than Steve Jobs when those two took their companies, Dell Inc. and Apple Inc., public. In his years as Facebook’s CEO he’s met world leaders, rode a bull in Vietnam while on vacation, started learning Mandarin Chinese and as a personal challenge, wore a tie for the better part of a year.

Facebook, of course, got its start in Zuckerberg’s messy Harvard dorm room in early 2004. Known as Thefacebook.com in those days, the site was created to help Harvard students, and later other college students, connect with one another online. The scrappy website later grew to include high-schoolers, then anyone else with an Internet connection. Today more than 900 million people log in at least once a month, making Facebook the world’s definitive social network.

All along, Zuckerberg has shown a maturity beyond his years. As the site grew rapidly and caught the eye of big media and rival Internet companies, Zuckerberg consistently rebuffed mouth-watering buyout offers, including those from Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

“Simply put: we don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services,” Zuckerberg wrote in his letter to prospective shareholders. “And we think this is a good way to build something. These days I think more and more people want to use services from companies that believe in something beyond simply maximizing profits.”

People who’ve observed Zuckerberg closely say his age is an asset. His is the generation that grew up with social networking, with computers all around them and the Internet as something that’s always existed. Many of his employees are younger than him, as are a lot of the up-and-coming technology entrepreneurs with whom he competes.

“I don’t think you could build a company like this if you were an old guy like me,” says David Kirkpatrick, a 59-year-old author who chronicled the company’s early history in “The Facebook Effect.”

Kirkpatrick, who is also founder of Techonomy, a media company that hosts conferences on the relationship between technology and economy and social progress, first met Zuckerberg six years ago. He says he was impressed with his vision, even then.

“It’s the willingness to take risks, the willingness to abide by a very contemporary vision … I don’t think that he’s too young. I think most CEOs are too old.”

Zuckerberg, who lives in Palo Alto, Calif. with his girlfriend and a white Hungarian Puli dog named Beast, has matured as a leader with the help of experienced mentors.

One of his closest advisers is Sheryl Sandberg, whom he hired away from Google in 2008. Zuckerberg, known for sometimes-awkward public appearances, realized that the razor-sharp, people-savvy advertising executive complements his own shortcomings. Sandberg is Zuckerberg’s No. 2, the chief operating officer who oversees advertising and often serves as Facebook’s smiling, public face.

Then there’s Donald Graham, the 66-year-old CEO and chairman of The Washington Post Co., who serves as a mentor to Zuckerberg and holds a seat on Facebook’s board of directors.

Rebecca Lieb, analyst at the Altimeter Group, says Zuckerberg has assembled a team of “truly exceptional lieutenants.” David Ebersman, Facebook’s chief financial officer, who hails from biotech firm Genentech, is another example. Zuckerberg hired him in 2009, saying that Ebersman’s previous job, helping to scale the finance organization of the fast-growing biotech company “will be important to Facebook.”

He was right. Facebook’s revenue grew from $777 million in 2009 to $3.7 billion last year. In the first quarter of 2012 it was more than $1 billion.

Even so, Zuckerberg still has a lot to learn. As part of Facebook’s pre-IPO “road show” last week, Zuckerberg visited several venerable East Coast financial institutions wearing his signature hoodie. While Silicon Valley insiders defended his fashion choice, others saw it as a sign of immaturity. Was it, as some speculated, a sign of a rebellious 20-something acting out?

For Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities, Zuckerberg’s attitude and attire symbolizes “a level of aloofness to stakeholders.”

“He seems very customer focused and very employee focused. I am not sure he cares about anyone else. … If he’s going to go public, he has to answer to shareholders,” Pachter says. “That’s why Google hired Eric Schmidt. That’s why Steve Jobs was ultimately forced out of Apple.”

Jobs, in fact, was another Silicon Valley luminary who had Zuckerberg’s ear. He was 25 in 1980 when Apple went public. He was ousted five years later after clashing with John Sculley, the former Pepsico executive Apple hired as chief executive. Jobs famously returned to lead Apple in 1997 and the company has thrived since.

Not much is known about the relationship Jobs and Zuckerberg shared, but Jobs reportedly told his biographer Walter Isaacson: “We talk about social networks in the plural, but I don’t see anybody other than Facebook out there. Just Facebook, They are dominating this. I admire Mark Zuckerberg … for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that a lot.”

When Jobs died last October, Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page, “Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.”

Jon Burgstone, professor at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley, believes that Zuckerberg will need to keep his perspective and continue developing.

“He has already become one of the world’s most famous people, and also the richest,” he says. “He walks into a room and you can feel people’s excitement and the rush to be near him. He’s already had time to learn how to deal with such fame and fortune, but now it’s advancing to an entirely new level. How will he handle it, emotionally and professionally?”

Lieb marvels at the life Zuckerberg has led so far. Imagine being in your 20s, a self-made billionaire, your life the subject of a Hollywood movie, 2010′s “The Social Network.”

“It’s a lifetime and the guy isn’t 30 yet,” Lieb says.

He’s made big mistakes, especially with regard to users’ privacy. One example is Beacon, Facebook’s misguided advertising product that broadcast user’s activities on outside websites without their explicit consent. Still, he took steps to correct them. On blog posts about Facebook’s privacy blunders, he’s admitted the company has made mistakes. His 2007 post about Beacon showed his straightforward, methodical thinking:

“We’ve made a lot of mistakes building this feature, but we’ve made even more with how we’ve handled them. We simply did a bad job with this release, and I apologize for it. While I am disappointed with our mistakes, we appreciate all the feedback we have received from our users. I’d like to discuss what we have learned and how we have improved Beacon,” he wrote five years ago. Facebook shut down Beacon two years later.

Zuckerberg has done well for himself so far, but he’ll be pulled in many directions once Facebook is public.

“There is going to be a tremendous amount of scrutiny on this company,” Lieb says. “Who really is qualified” to carry such a weight?

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

JP Morgan Chase’s losses came from the highly speculative and very risky derivatives market. Those were the same type of investments that caused the financial meltdown in 2008, triggering the Great Recession the world still hasn’t been able to shake.

The massive loss provoked discussion in Washington and on Wall Street over whether the very industry that had to be bailed out by taxpayers during the waning months of the Bush administration was back to taking unnecessary risks with the money of the taxpayers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission opened up an investigation into the loss immediately.

It also sparked more discussion about the Volcker Rule, which prohibits big banks from taking large risks, and brought back the discussion of a need to further regulate Wall Street.

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has led the charge against any regulation of Wall Street, consistently arguing the bankers can regulate themselves.

The losses were traced to a trader in London nicknamed the “London Whale.” The Whale managed the bets from the company’s office in London.

Former Clinton administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich said in an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor, “JP Morgan’s exposure is so large that it can’t dump these bad bets without affecting the market and losing even more money.”

In Friday trading, JP Morgan’s stock was hammered, losing nearly 10 percent of its value. Other large banks were similarly shelled as JP Morgan was the supposed leader of the banking industry.

The biggest question is what do the bank’s massive losses mean to its customers?

Maria Ferreia of Dade Federal Credit Union said banks usually only have one way to make up for their losses.

“They will have to make it up,” Ferreia said. “And more than likely, there will be fees and charges passed down to customers. So consumers will feel it in terms of extra charges and costs down the road ultimately.”

Dimon, JP’s CEO, was paid $41.99 million last year and has made $140.92 million over the last five years, according to Forbes.com.

France elected Francois Hollande who came to power thanks to his demonization of austerity. In economic terms, austerity is deficit cutting, lowering government spending and reducing benefits and public services provided by the government.

Europe has led the charge in austerity, despite previous economic theory saying that during a recession or depression it is necessary for the government to spend and run deficits to spark the economy.

In Europe, several countries have gone through austerity and none have seen their economic situation improve in the least. Greece has been the biggest example as austerity has sent the country plunging into possibly decades of recession.

Greek elections mirrored France’s where the big winners were those who rejected austerity. The big target is Germany, which has led the austerity charge. Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy joined Germany’s push, but without Sarcozy, Germany may be going it alone.

South Florida has been able to sustain itself, especially the housing market, thanks to Europeans who have more money to spend due to the Euro being worth more. But, if the Euro continues to plunge in value, it hit a low Monday of $1.29, it will curtail some European spending and tourism.

If France or other countries shake up markets with calls for changes to fiscal austerity, it will have a significant impact on the U.S. due to Europeans consuming large portions of U.S. exports and vice-versa, according to the Associated Press.

“You’re going to see a bumpy ride ahead for 2012,” said Josh Mungavin of Evensky & Katz. “We’ve not only got what’s happening in Greece and France with some concerns about reigning in their spending after the recent vote. But we’ve also got an upcoming Presidential election in the U.S> and some tax laws that might be changing around the corner.”

While not to the level of European austerity, some of the massive budget cuts called for on both sides of the political aisle in Washington could do further damage to the U.S. recovery, according to economist Paul Krugman.

It all presents a challenge for both President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. Neither candidate has weighed in much on the recent wave of European elections and the growing call to reject austerity measures.

Both candidates and both parties are watching Europe to see if the austerity measures can work in the face of the Great Recession, and if the opposition to massive spending cuts will jump the Atlantic and start to take hold in the United States.

All of it is making the 2012 election even more challenging for President Obama and former Governor Romney.

As for your retirement and investment accounts, some local money managers said the chaos in this country and abroad mean it’s critical to diversify your investments among stocks, bonds, and savings.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday the national unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent, which was the lowest rate since before President Barack Obama took office in 2009.

But, the decline was primarily because 342,000 people left the work force. The number of employed people in the nation fell by 169,000, meaning while the White House can take credit for the unemployment rate, Republicans can still say the president isn’t doing enough to create jobs.

Republican Mitt Romney pounced on the report saying it was “terrible and very disappointing.” The White House took a different approach saying that it’s “critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began at the end of 2007.

The three-month average of job growth has been roughly 170,000 jobs per month, according to the Huffington Post. The number will keep the jobless rate from growing, but not enough to build momentum to gaining more jobs.

Part of the problem lies in businesses refusing to pay employees anything extra. The BLS said hourly earnings have risen by just 1.8 percent over the past year, which isn’t even enough to keep up with inflation.

So, while corporate profits, executive pay, and worker productivity is soaring, the workers are not reaping any of the rewards of the extra work.

Currently, state law forces drivers to buy personal injury protection coverage. The coverage pays for injuries and lost wages up to $10,000 regardless of who is at fault in a crash.

Criminals then submit fake injury claims and stage fake accidents; many times with the aid of doctors and other treatment providers.

The legislation Scott signed Friday will put a two week limit on those who are seeking treatment through PIP.

Benefits would then be capped at $2,500 unless a doctor said the person who was injured had an “emergency medical condition.”

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The retailer announced Wednesday it plans to phase out the products this spring. Target will also stop selling Kindle accessories like covers and chargers.

Target is not saying why the Kindle is disappearing from shelves at its more than 1,700 stores and its website.

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said the decision to stop selling Kindles this spring came after an “ongoing review” of Target’s merchandise that evaluates quality and prices of the chain’s offerings.

The move coincides with the discounter’s plan to create mini shops of Apple Inc. products in 25 of its stores this year.

Snyder declined to comment further about its partnership with Apple, only saying, “We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of e-readers and supporting accessories.”

The Kindle was an apparent hit for Target. The company started selling Kindles two years ago and last year, the company said the newly launched Kindle Fire was Target’s best-selling tablet on Black Friday.

Target will still sell other e-readers, including the Barnes and Noble Nook.

Target’s decision to phase out the Kindle is also occurring as the retailer, along with other major merchants, are trying to fight a growing practice called “showrooming.” That’s when shoppers, armed with smart phones, browse products in physical stores and then shop online for a better price. Earlier this year, Target sent out a letter to vendors asking for help in developing exclusive merchandise and matching rivals’ online prices.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

“There is a slight advantage to the women that they are putting in longer days than men. Generally, women are working harder and longer,” said Art Papas, CEO of Bullhorn Inc., a software recruiting firm.

Bullhorn surveyed more than five thousand workers to get their pulse on the work place. Papas said the survey found that while 54 percent of women said they worked more than 9 hours a day, only 41 percent of men made the same claim. The project did not start out about gender, according to Papas.

“We were looking at work habits and out jumps this difference between men and women and their work habits and we were blown away,” said Papas.

With today’s technology, the survey found more people are taking their work with them on vacation. Sixty eight percent of women said they stayed connected to the office on their days off and while only vacation compared to 62 percent of men.

“Everyone really wants to prove themselves at their job. So if someone needs you, you want to be ready, you want to have your Blackberry,” said one women in the survey.

It seems men are willing to make one call more frequently. Twenty percent of the men surveyed admitted they really weren’t ill the last time they called in sick compared to 14 percent of women who played hooky.

Papas said while women in the workforce have made great strides over the last couple of decades, they’re still trying to catch up.

“Women have to leave the workforce to take care of kids a lot times. I think that effects their careers and they are compensating and the data says they are, they are working harder,” said Papas.

With numbers to support that, managers might start to take notice.

“I think they might be surprised when they are reviewing the results, and say OK, women work harder than men, that’s a good thing, They will think of that the next time they interview a woman,” said Papas.

Spirit Air currently charges $45 for a carry-on bag. But as of November 6, customers who wait to pay the fee at the gate will pay $100. The fee will apply to any bag that has to be placed in the overhead bin.

The price for a carry-on bag paid for at an airport kiosk will increase from $40 to $50.

Spirit said larger pieces of luggage checked at the airport will cost between $8 and $10 more, while the fee for bags checked online will rise by between $2 and $5. Spirit will also increase a handful of other fees by between $2 and $10.

Spirit is one of only two airlines that charge for carry-on bags, the other being Allegiant Airlines.

In the first fiscal quarter, Spirit’s average revenue from fees per passengers on a round-trip flight was more than $100 for the first time in the company’s history.

Spirit frequently offers fares as low as $9, but when all the fees for various other things are added to the cost of the ticket, the $9 fare is long gone.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

According to Gallup’s April Job Creation Index, 36 percent of workers nationwide said their employers are hiring workers and expanding the size of their workforce. Sixteen percent said their employers continue to fire people and reduce the workforce.

The 36 percent hiring figure is the highest since August 2008, just before the Great Recession exploded when the housing bubble and the stock market blew up. The 16 percent who said their companies were reducing the workforce is the lowest since July 2008.

Regionally, the South was the best area for net private job creation, while the Northeast was the worst.

Republicans continue to call President Obama a big government president, but the numbers from Gallup don’t back up the argument. While private workers reported better levels of hiring, the government workforce continued to contract at all levels.

Job creation in all areas of government has been negative since late 2011. The biggest loser in job creation has been at the federal level, according to Gallup.

The problem has now become how to keep private sector job hiring at a sufficient level to offset the high levels of unemployment coming from the government.

Gallup said that the combined large-scale contraction of the government workforce and the current private sector hiring is keeping the overall economy stuck in neutral.

In the past, governments hired people during deep economic downturns to spur the consumer spending which drives the economy.

However, the Great Recession saw things take a much different turn in 2010 when the tea party rode to power in the House of Representatives and insisted on European style austerity cuts to avoid problems in the future with the national debt.

In Europe, the Herbert Hoover-ideal of austerity in the face of economic downturn has yielded slumps that have nearly taken out the entire European zone.

The Ft. Lauderdale based company said new vehicle sales were up 12 percent in April.  The automotive retailer said it sold a total of 20,534 cars and trucks in April. Sales of imported vehicles increased 16 percent to 10,358, while demand for domestic vehicles rose 9 percent to 6,306.

Sales of premium and luxury vehicles rose 10 percent to 3,870, AutoNation said.

Automakers reported Tuesday that overall U.S. vehicle sales rose 2.3 percent in April to 1.18 million cars and trucks. Sales were still strong, but growth slowed a bit from earlier in the year.

Spirit promoted flights to Cartagena, Colombia with a man dressed in a dark suit and glasses that resembled a U.S. Secret Service agent and scantily clad women with a slogan of “More Bang For Your Buck.”

Spirit was lampooning the Secret Service scandal that erupted a little more than a week ago in Colombia. Secret Service agents and some military personnel were involved in a dispute with local prostitutes, which came to light after one prostitute said the agents refused to pay.

Spirit added in the advertisement ran after the scandal broke that an upfront payment was required.

Colombia’s Tourism Minister told BBC News that Spirit should apologize to the city of Cartagena and to the Colombian government.

“It is a shameful publication and we demand that the airline withdraw it and publicly apologize to Cartagena and Colombia,” Tourism Minster Sergio Diaz said.

CBSMiami has reached out to Spirit Airlines for a comment on the Tourism Minister’s statement, but has yet to hear back from the Miramar-based airline.

The new command center is part of a national program approved by Congress after the September 11th terrorist attacks to encourage private companies to improve disaster planning. AT&T’s command center was the first company in the country to be certified by the Department of Homeland Security.

AT&T’s Florida President, Marshall Criser, took CBSMiami on an inside look at its command center including its latest back-up technology to keep it’s phones and data lines running in the worst conditions possible.

“We basically are taking our teams who respond to these types of events whether it’s a weather event or some other event and we go out in the local community and we drill and we make sure the equiptment works the way we expect it to work,” Criser said. “We make sure our people are comfortable with what they are supposed to do. It’s planning, it’s preparation, and then you practice and you get ready.”

Most local AT&T customers CBSMiami spoke with like the idea of improved emergency planning. But some still remember AT&T’s dead cell phones and poor service during South Floridas’ active hurricane seasons several years ago.

“You never know how many people are going to use the cell phone towers or if they’ll have enough capacity. In the past, it hasn’t worked out,” according to Hollywood AT&T Customer Elliot Satz.

Coral Gables’ Rick Danger agreed, adding, “They’ve done a lot to improve their infrastructure, but we’ll just have to wait to see.”

AT&T said it’s spent about $2.8 billion dollars strengthening its telecommunications system in South Florida to be better prepared for bad weather. But will it be enough to keep the all the regions’ cell phones, laptops, and iPads working the next time a strong storm targets South Florida?

That’s the $64,000 question as hurricane season begins June 1.

According to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald, the 35-year-lease for the Grove Key Marina is ending and Scotty’s Landing is part of the property.

The landlord, which is the City of Miami, is seeking to upgrade both the marina and the restaurant.

The city has even published a worldwide request for proposals for an improved marina, including a “casual outdoor restaurant” that would appeal to both locals and tourists.

Scott Wessel, operator of both the marina and Scotty’s, said he’ll put in a bid for the new 40-year lease but the competition is expected to be tough.

The city is also separately seeking lease bids for Scotty’s upscale neighbor, the Chart House, a landmark Grove restaurant whose star has faded in recent years. A spokeswoman for corporate parent Landry’s, a Houston-based giant that runs casinos, owns Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and recently bought the Morton’s steakhouse chain, said the company would bid to keep the Chart House.

Scotty’s and the marina are expected to continue operating until November when the winning bids would go to a public referendum.

The request for bids comes as the city hopes to start implementing a Grove waterfront master plan designed to tidy up the urban village’s picturesque but ramshackle shoreline and to improve public facilities and provide easier public access to the bay.

The plan also calls for demolition of the obsolete Coconut Grove Exhibition Center, temporarily a studio for the hit TV series Burn Notice. The center would be replaced by a park.

(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.)

According to US Airways CEO Doug Parker, three unions that represent 55,000 American employees have agreed to terms that would govern collective bargaining agreements.

Parker contradicted a CBS News report from early Friday morning and said that no agreement on a merger had been reached.

“It only means we have reached agreements with these three unions on what their collective bargaining agreements would look like after a merger,” Parker said in a statement to employees.

The unions for American pilots, flight attendants, and ground workers believed talks with US Airways will put pressure on American to start merger talks with US Airways and ultimately save more than six thousand jobs.

“These statements in no way alter the company’s commitment to pursue our restructuring process,” American responded.

According to Bloomberg News, the terms of the agreements said American would keep its name and headquarters in Dallas.

One of American’s largest hubs is at Miami International Airport. American Airlines has roughly 9,000 employees employed in South Florida.

Miami curbside baggage handler Manuel Barrios said American’s parent company has always been good to him.

“The benefits,” Barrios said. “A lot of people are here for the benefits and stuff like that.”

AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy protection last November. Since then, the company has announced plans to fire more than 14,000 workers including 13,000 jobs held by union members.

AMR reported a $1.66 billion loss for the first quarter mainly coming from the costs of bankruptcy-reorganization.

The filing of an 8-K form could stop AMR’s scheduled presentation in bankruptcy court on Monday. AMR had been planning on asking the court to allow it to throw out union contracts and impose new pay, benefits, and work rules. A decision was set to be made by the court by early June.

In the past, U.S. Airways had tried to take over Delta Airlines but was unsuccessful. US Airways said the lesson they learned from the failed Delta takeover attempt was to gain support from the unions at the targeted airline.

“To get to an actual merger, many more things must happen including gaining support of AMR’s creditors, its management team and its Board of Directors,” Parker said. “But this is obviously an important first step along that path and we are hopeful we can all work together to make this happen.”

Some passengers were cautious with their opinion on the possible merger.

“I guess my prime concern would be are we going to have quality service,” said US Airways passenger Mike Evanko. “Are we going to have on-time flight schedules? Are bags going to be routed properly and so on. If they can make that happen, I don’t have a real big problem with it.”

Others were fully supportive of the potential move.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said American Airlines passenger Saj Habib. “You have more responsibility and resources, plus it’s a good stock.”

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The cruise line, based at PortMiami, said bookings are down “middle single-digits”, possibly because passengers are spooked by the high profile cruise problems. RCCL said bookings are slowly improving.

The other problem RCCL and other cruise lines face is high fuel costs. Royal Caribbean told investors their fuel costs had jumped 38 percent, a major issue because fuel is one of the biggest cost of operating a ship.

In the past when fuel prices jumped, companies tried to recover costs by imposing daily fuel surcharges, usually when oil prices jumped over $70 a barrel. While oil prices are well above that figure, RCCL and other lines have resisted imposing the surcharges again because they angered passengers and had an impact on bookings.

This means companies like RCCL are absorbing the costs, and that showed in the latest quarterly report.

“First quarter results were satisfactory given the difficult and uncertain operating environment and we continue to see gradual improvement in the demand for our great vacations,” CEO Richard D. Fain said in a statement. We did not expect the impact of the tragedy to be long term and we are seeing evidence the effects are waning.”

The Miami said it earned $47 million, or 21 cents per share, down from $78.4 million, of 36 cents per share, in the first quarter of last year. The earnings topped the 14 cents per share that analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast.

Revenue during the quarter rose 9.7 percent to $1.8 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations.

The March unemployment rate was 1.7 percent lower than last year, but it still lagged far behind the national unemployment rate of 8.2 percent through March. The difficulty of celebrating the unemployment rate drop is its unknown how many people just lost their benefits or how many people just left the workforce.

Based on numbers from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the Florida unemployment rate is mirroring the job growth nationally.

Politically, it poses a tough question for Republicans targeting President Barack Obama on his jobs record. If jobs have grown in the states and the unemployment rate has dropped over the last three years, it undercuts Mitt Romney’s primary argument against President Obama.

But governors want to tout their success on the jobs front, which means Republican governors will have to pitch the job growth as completely separate from the national numbers, even if they mirror them exactly.

Locally, Broward County saw its unemployment rate continue to fall in March. Broward County ended March with a 7.5 percent unemployment rate, down 0.4 percent from February and down 1.6 percent from last year.

Based on Broward’s numbers, there are 73,961 workers looking for work in the county.

In Miami-Dade County, the unemployment rate continued tumbling to 9 percent in March. The unemployment rate in Miami-Dade dropped 0.7 percent from February and was nearly three percent less than it was in March 2011.

Monroe County was nearing ideal unemployment rates in March. Monroe had an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent in March, which was a drop of 0.3 percent from February. The jobless numbers have dropped more than one percent from March 2011.

The company plans to close 50 stores across the United States. Employees at the stores set for closure were informed of the decision Wednesday morning. But, NO South Florida stores made the list.

In fact, only two Florida locations will be shut down by May 12. The two Best Buy stores closing in Florida will be in Fort Myers and Tampa.

“This was not an easy decision to make. We chose these stores carefully, and are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible, while serving all customers in a convenient and satisfying way. But we also recognize the impact this news has on the people who deserve respect for the contributions they have made to our business,” the company said in a statement.

Best Buy said all of the impacted stores will be closed by May 12. An additional three locations will close later in the summer.

For the full list, click here.

NCL’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sheehan, along with Miami-Dade County officials, made the announcement Tuesday morning on board the Norwegian Spirit.

Norwegian Getaway, which will be the largest ship ever to home port year-round in Miami, will embark on weekly cruises beginning in the spring of 2014.

“PortMiami is pleased to be the home of the most modern and innovative ships on the seas today. Norwegian Getaway will be a great addition to our fleet,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “We are anxious to welcome Norwegian Getaway to the Cruise Capital of the World.”

Norwegian Cruise Line was the first cruise brand to sail from Miami.

“Miami has been the home of this Company since our beginning in 1966. Therefore, we are so excited to bring one of our two new Breakaway-class ships here to Miami to homeport year-round,” said NCL CEO Kevin Sheehan.

PortMiami Director Bill Johnson said, “Norwegian vessels will generate more than one million passenger moves annually through the Port once Norwegian Getaway arrives, contributing an estimated $500,000,000 each year to Florida’s economy. Norwegian Getaway alone is expected to generate 450,000 passenger moves each year.”

The Norwegian Getaway is being built at Meyer Werft in Germany. Norwegian will announce the ship’s inaugural itineraries and on-sale dates later this year. Norwegian Getaway’s sister ship, Norwegian Breakaway, will begin sailing from her year-round home port of New York City in May 2013.

It’s a story of a local boy and a South Beach taco stand that made it big by offering fresh ingredients at affordable family pricing.

The “Lime Empire” started back in 2004 off Alton Road in South Beach.

Despite the success and opening several new locations nationwide, it still offers local deliveries using lime-green bicycles.

Who’s the man behind the Lime?

It’s Miami Beach’s John Kunkle. He built his “Lime-Fresh” empire one franchise at time. It’s grown to 16 stores stretching from South Beach to Washington, D.C.

“It’s amazing, I mean I started literally as a dishwasher when I was a teenager and it’s an amazing opportunity and Lime has definitely been my baby as every restaurant has been to me, every concept. To see this chain to continue, to be on the board still operating our founding store, just makes it that much sweeter for me,” said Kunkle.

As part of the deal, Limes’ founder joins Ruby Tuesday’s Board of Directors and will retain control over his original SoBe location.

Local customers aren’t surprised his formula for success is going national.

Still, Coral Gables customer Phillip Mervis is nervous.

“The food’s great, it’s always fresh, I just hope they can maintain the quality outside the Miami area,” said Mervis.

Kunkle wants to reassure his customers that nothing’s going to change

“The same people who served you a burrito last week will be serving you this week. The same produce vendors who delivered stuff locally are still delivering thru the back door. So we’re excited to continue on the same path,” said Kunkle.

Under new ownership, the Lime chain is expected to expand dramatically over the next 2 years.

Under Ruby Tuesday’s ownership, Lime Fresh is expected to open possibly as many as 50 new locations across the country over the next two years.

Albertsons spokesperson Christine Wilcox said employees at the affected stores and the distribution center were notified Tuesday that the closings would take place.

The Key West store will start it’s liquidation sale Wednesday, and is expected to be closed by April 28th. The remaining 12 stores, which are scattered across the West coast, central Florida, and the Treasure Coast, will start liquidating May 9th and are expected to be closed a month later.

An estimated 1100 people will be affected by the closings.

“We are working with associates on their individual situations to determine what options may be available to them in our company,” Wilcox said in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon.

The virtual abandonment of the state by Albertsons will leave just 4 of the chain’s stores operating in the state.In addition to the Oakland Park Store, which is the only South Florida location, stores in Clearwater, Largo, and Altamonte Springs will continue to operate.

Once a major presence in Florida, Albertsons has been scaling back in the state for years, unable to gain traction against Publix, the state’s dominant food chain.

Albertsons tried modernizing existing stores and pulling out of whole sections of the state to concentrate on others, but was not able find a formula that worked.

On a Monday afternoon Miami Seaquarium’s new ropes course is packed with tourists. Attendance is climbing, new attractions are opening, and Seaquarium President Andrew Hertz is hiring.

“Anytime you can give someone a job. Any chance you have to give someone an opportunity to wear the uniform with pride, it’s a wonderful thing.” Hertz said.

The surge in tourism at the Seaquarium is not isolated.

It can be seen across South Florida. Port Miami is booming, collecting four million passengers a year. That’s the most of any port anywhere in the world.

“I think it quite simply has to do with the Miami brand. People want to be in Miami,” Paula Musto with Port Miami explained.

Before cruising Monday, Sheila McNulty spent $800 over the weekend to be here.

“The kids were egging me on to stay here just because it’s a fun place.” McNulty said.

With three new cruise lines and three brand new ships arriving later this year the port is headed for a record year.

“Record expenditures, record number of visitors, record satisfaction levels,” said Bill Talbert of Miami’s Greater Convention and Visitor Bureau.

Records is all Talbert talks about these days. The numbers don’t lie; for 20 months tourist taxes have been rising, and it’s not chump change.

Tourist taxes are up 16% for February over last year. It also appears to be speeding up. Miami International traffic for February was up nearly 10%.

“We are very bullish on the future; very bullish,” Talbert told CBS4. “Travel and tourism is going to keep increasing.”

So what changed? The weather? The sand? CSI Miami viewership? Talbert believes it’s simply Miami’s brand.

“The world can’t get enough of Miami…right now,” Talbert said.

Some would call that a bubble. Even if it is though, it appears to be just beginning.

“Miami is on the forefront. Miami is the ice cutter going through the glaciers. We are clearing the path for the rest of Florida to follow,” Hertz said.

How hot is Miami? New York’s Kennedy Airport is the busiest airport in the nation for international flights. Predictions are Miami will surpass it this year though. It means the future looks bright if the trend continues.

So you are probably wondering where is everyone coming from? According to the Department of Transportation our number one visitor comes from New York. That’s followed by Atlanta, Brazil, Chicago and Dallas.

According to the Labor Department, U.S. hiring slowed in March as employers added just 120,000 new jobs. Most analysts had predicted job gains of roughly 200,000 in March.

Still, the overall unemployment rate in the United States dropped to 8.2 percent, which is the lowest rate since January 2009 when President Obama was inaugurated.

Political pundits have said for Obama to get re-elected, the unemployment rate will need to drop below eight percent.

Overall, the economy has added 858,000 jobs since December. It’s the best four months of hiring in two years, but Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the current pace is unlikely to continue if consumers don’t spend more.

The ship is the Azamara Quest, a 1 thousand passenger liner operated by Azamara Club Cruises of Miami. 590 passengers and 411 crew members were aboard, according to information supplied by the captain to the Philippine Coast Guard. 201 of the passengers are American, but it’s not known if any are from South Florida.

Fire struck the engine room Friday night, and while passengers were concerned, they said they were never in danger and were kept well informed by the captain and crew.

There were reports some crew members suffered from smoke inhalation.

Reporters were kept away from the area where passengers were arriving.

Azamara president Larry Pimentel is expected to meet with the passengers and crew in Sandakan by Monday.

The company said the cruise would be canceled, each guest would get a full refund, and all passengers would get a certificate for a free future cruise.

Engineers on Saturday morning restored electricity in the ship to re-establish essentials including running water, plumbing, refrigeration and food preparation, the company said.

It’s been a tough time for Miami’s cruise line operators. 32 people died when the Costa Concordia, operated by a unit of Doral’s Carnival Cruise Line, ran aground and partially sang near the Italian Island of Gimli. Passengers complained of massive confusion during evacuation efforts, and the captain has been charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship.

Then, the Costa Allegra caught fire in the Indian Ocean, leaving it adrift and without power for 3 days until it could be towed to port.

Azamara positions itself as a luxury brand and operates just 2 ships, the now-damaged Quest and the Azamara Journey.

The companies, which are the two largest global credit card processors, has alerted bank and law enforcement officials and said the breach is related to a third party vendor. The company is advising cardholders who have concerns to contact the bank that issued their cards.

Credit card companies generally protect customers against fraudulent transactions, and Visa said specifically Friday that its U.S. customers were not at risk.

Both Visa and MasterCard said their own systems had not been compromised.

“The incident is currently the subject of an ongoing forensic review by an independent data-security organization,” a MasterCard spokesman said in a statement. “MasterCard is concerned whenever there is any possibility that cardholders could be inconvenienced, and we continue to both monitor this event and take steps to safeguard account information. “If cardholders have any concerns about their individual accounts, they should contact their issuing financial institution.”

Discover Financial Services said it is also monitoring accounts for suspicious activity and will reissue cards “as appropriate.”

The breach reportedly took place between Jan. 21, 2012, and Feb. 25, 2012, and involved data that could be used to counterfeit cards, according to the blog Krebs on Security.

MasterCard said it notified law enforcement officials and has hired an independent data-security organization to review the possible breach. A U.S. Secret Service spokesman said the agency was investigating, but declined to give any specifics about the breach.

Last June, hackers stole information for 360,000 credit card accounts at Citigroup.

In the past year, there have been high-profile data attacks against the International Monetary Fund, National Public Radio, Google and Sony’s PlayStation Network.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

For Miami machinist Julio Geraldo, that optimism about the local economy hasn’t really materialized for him this year.

“It probably got a little better last year, but it’s slowed down some,” Geraldo said.

But Miramar’s Raquel Aquirre disagreed, “I can’t complain, I hope it’s going to get better”

As the first quarter ends, Wall Street and South Florida have seen solid gains.

South Florida’s real estate recovery’s is among the best in the nation, thanks mainly to foreign cash sales. But over the past few months, some local selling prices are growing again.

Layoffs have slowed down, and some hiring’s improving while foreign trade and tourism around the area remained strong.

So what can we expect thru the second quarter?

With the local economy growing, but no major new companies opening branches here, new job growth will remain slow. Local spending may be cautious following April’s tax season.

Rising consumer prices, including prices at local gas pumps and stagnant saleries will continue to hurt family finances and with possible spending cuts by consumers, Wall Street’s growth may retreat as well.

But South Florida’s economy should continue to see solid gains in tourism, foreign trade, and financial services boosted by the continued slow recovery of our real estate and construction sectors.

But the big wildcard remains those rising gas prices and it’s effects on the entire national recovery.

What does that mean to our family finances?

Decide if you need to increase your income tax witholding right now while tax season is fresh in your mind. You may end up owing less next year.

See if you can afford to put more money into your savings or investment accounts, and try paying down any credit card debt as soon as possible and if you’re planning for a summer vacation, now’s the time to start looking for the best deals.

It may be 9 months away, but it’s also a good time to consider a “Christmas Club Account” to start saving for all that end of the year spending.

Consider using cash rather than charging up your credit cards. It’s all possible, if you can start planning right now.

According to state numbers, the unemployment rate meant 869,000 workers in the state of Florida were looking for jobs.

Locally, Broward County continued to outpace the state. In February, Broward’s unemployment rate dropped from 8.2 percent to 7.9 percent. That means out of a workforce of 985,573, just 77,592 people in the county were without work.

In Miami-Dade County, the numbers were a little worse with the unemployment rate standing at 9.7 percent. Miami-Dade’s workforce is larger than Broward, 1.29 million, and the unemployment rate translated to 125,427 workers on unemployment insurance in February, or roughly 15 percent of the state’s total unemployed workers.

Put another way, if you drop Miami-Dade County’s numbers from the overall state numbers, the unemployment rate in Florida would be 7.9 percent.

Monroe County again had the best unemployment rate in the state at just 5.4 percent, or roughly 2,532 people in the Keys on unemployment insurance.

But, the numbers haven’t been broken down to see how unemployment law changes have affected the jobless numbers. The state cut benefit weeks last year and it’s unknown how those cuts are impacting the unemployment rate which only measures those qualifying for unemployment.

Florida’s Senators were split with Democrat Bill Nelson voting in favor of ending the subsidies and Republican Marco Rubio voting to let the tax subsidies continue.

Obama has targeted the oil company subsidies and profits as Americans continue to get squeezed harder and harder at the pump. As gas prices rise here and around the world, economists fear the oil companies could force the world economy back into recession.

“Last year the three biggest U.S. oil companies took home more than $80 billion in profits. Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour. And when the price of oil goes up, prices at the pump go up, and so do these companies’ profits,” Obama said. “In fact, one analysis shows that every time gas goes up by a penny, these companies usually pocket another $200 million in quarterly profits.”

Breaking those numbers down further, according to Obama’s numbers, Exxon-Mobil made roughly $1,305 every second in the 2011 fiscal year.

Republicans counter that ending the tax subsidies for big oil companies could further increase prices at the pump.

So how hard is it to check out the internet and find places offering to give you new cash for your old tech? It turns out it’s not hard at all, but you still have to be careful.

CBS Miami’s Dave Game is a long-time techie. He found several online websites offering to buy older computers, smart phones and just about anything electronic.

“You can find them pretty easily; they’re all over the Internet. In fact, some Big Box Electronics Stores like Radio Shack, will go ahead and if you buy something from them, they will take your electronics in trade. The question is, is it a good value,” Dave warned.

To get to the bottom of that answer, try to get several bids on what they’re offering and see what company offers the best price with the fewest restrictions.

Try to send back the all the devices’ accessories in the original box and make sure to erase all your private data before selling it. It’s also a good idea to insure your shipment and even pay extra to make sure it gets delivered and you can prove it.

Here’s another option to consider: Older electronics make great pass-me downs for new users who may not need the latest, greatest technology.

They also may be good charitable contributions to help lower your tax bill next year.

For more information on getting “New Cash” for “Old Tech” just do an online search for “Selling Old Electronics” on you favorite on-line search engine. You can also check out the latest selling prices on popular online auction services like EBay.

The company said the closing and consolidation of the call centers is needed to be competitive, and while jobs will be lost, T-Mobile said it will still employ 2600 people in the state of Florida.

The move will see the company close just under a third of it’s 24 call centers nationwide. In addition to Ft. Lauderdale, centers in Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Oregon will be closed.

Overall, 1900 people will lose their jobs in the consolidation.

T-Mobile notified the State of Florida about the layoffs Friday as required by law. The loss of the jobs in Ft Lauderdale will be the second largest layoff in the state for 2012, topped only by the 920 layoffs announced at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The company is offering some employees the chance to transfer to other call center, including one in Tampa. The company said it woulod be expanding employment in the call centers which remain.

For the last 7 years, Consumerist.com has staged a “brackets-style” competition to select the nation’s worst company. The website starts by pitting banks against banks, airlines against airlines, etc. The second round matches different companies against each other. Eventually, as in the NCAA tournament, two are left standing, and 1 will claim the “Worst Company” crown.

In this year’s competition, Spirit was matched against Delta, but the website said Spirit edged Delta by a dozen points.

Spirit is known for low fairs and news-based promotions some have criticized as tacky, but it makes up for the low fares by charging fees for just about everything, including carry-on luggage.

Other companies in the running are Apple, known for it’s customer service friendliness, Facebook, and AT&T.

The website said the award is modeled after a “pile of poo”.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, sits on $97.6 billion in cash and securities. The decision to return some of that money to investors is a clear signal that Apple is taking a different approach in the post-Jobs era.

Former CEO Steve Jobs resisted calls to issue dividends for years. He used to say the money was better used to give Apple maneuvering room to, for instance, make strategic acquisitions. Apple paid a quarterly dividend between 1987 and 1995, a period when Jobs was not involved with the company.

Jobs died in October after a long fight with cancer.

On Monday, new CEO Tim Cook said that, with as much cash as Apple has on hand, a dividend won’t restrain the company’s options.

“These decisions will not close any doors for us,” he told analysts and reporters on a conference call.

Had it kept amassing cash and low-yielding securities, Apple eventually could have opened itself to a legal challenge from shareholders, who could have argued that it was misusing their money.

Cook also suggested that the dividend could have been larger if U.S. tax laws were different.

Apple said that it will pay a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share, starting in its fiscal fourth quarter, which begins July 1.

The dividend works out to $10.60 annually, or 1.8 percent of the current stock price. By comparison, Microsoft Corp., pays 2.5 percent of its stock price in dividends, and Hewlett-Packard Co. pays 2 percent.

However, in absolute terms, Apple will pay one of the richest dividends in the U.S. It will spend more than $10 billion on dividends in its first year, placing it just below companies including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., for whom the dividend is the main way of attracting investors.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s second largest company by market capitalization, pays about $9 billion in dividends annually.

Apple generated $31 billion in cash in the fiscal year that ended in September, and is on pace to generate even more in the current year. That means its cash pile will continue to grow even with a dividend and a buyback program, albeit at a lower rate.

Even if it had no net cash, Apple would hardly be financially constrained, since it could borrow all the money it needs.

The dividend opens up ownership of Apple shares to a wider range of stock mutual funds, potentially boosting the stock price in the long term. Many “value-oriented” funds are not allowed to buy stocks that don’t pay dividends

Apple said the $10 billion share buyback program will begin next fiscal year, which starts Sept. 30, and run for three years.

Investors had been expecting the announcement, driving Apple’s stock up 37 percent since management hinted in January that a dividend was in the works.

Buybacks are a popular alternative to dividends, since they reduce the number of shares outstanding. That means every remaining investor has title to a larger share of the company.

Cook said the main point of Apple’s buyback is to offset the shares issued to reward the Cupertino, Calif., company’s employees.

In late morning trading, Apple shares rose $7.93, or 1.3 percent, to $593.50. Last week, the shares hit an all-time record of $600.01. The company is worth $553 billion.

The dividend and buyback announcement comes three days after the launch of Apple’s latest iPad tablet in the U.S. and nine other countries.

Cook said the company also considered splitting its stock, and continues to look at that option. Stock splits increase the number of shares while reducing their value, potentially making it easier for small investors to buy them. But Cook said “there’s very little support” for the idea that this helps the stock overall.

Cook said that as Apple analyzed how much it could give out to shareholders, it looked solely at the cash it has in the U.S. Like many big exporters, Apple has much of its cash overseas —some $64 billion, specifically.

Apple is reluctant to bring back overseas profits. In addition to being taxed in their respective countries, those profits would be subject to the 35 percent U.S. corporate tax rate.

“Current tax laws provide a considerable economic disincentive to U.S. companies that might otherwise repatriate a substantial amount of foreign cash,” Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said.

Cook said Apple looked at how much domestic cash it had, then set aside enough for planned investments and unforeseen outlays. What was left over would be given out to shareholders, he said.

That suggests that if Apple could bring back its $64 billion in overseas money, the rewards to shareholders could be larger. Corporations have been clamoring for a change in tax laws, or a repeat of a 2004 tax amnesty on repatriated earnings.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Wendy’s edged out Burger King in U.S. sales volume for the first time since Wendy’s was founded in 1969, according to a report by the food industry research firm Technomic Inc. that’s set to be released next month.

Wendy’s had sales of $8.5 billion in 2011, compared with $8.4 billion for Burger King. McDonald’s remained far larger than both with $34.2 billion in sales.

The figures are based on Technomic’s estimates of system-wide sales at franchise and company-owned restaurants, rather than corporate revenue, which includes fees from franchise operators.

Worldwide, Burger King still has far more restaurants than Wendy’s and remains the second biggest hamburger chain behind McDonald’s.

Both Burger King and Wendy’s have struggled in recent years to keep up with the growth of McDonald’s, which has managed to keep prices low through the recession, while also introducing new menu items and remodeling restaurants. Sales are up 26 percent in the past five years at McDonald’s, up 9 percent at Wendy’s and flat at Burger King, according to Technomic.

Burger King has been reevaluating its business since it was acquired by investment firm 3G Capital in 2010. The privately held company that’s based in Miami recently retired its mascot “The King” last year and launched a new advertising campaign focused more on food.

Despite its edge over Burger King, Wendy’s also been on a mission to reinvent itself as a higher-end hamburger chain with new items like the Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy burger introduced last fall. CEO Emil Brolick, has called the Dublin, Ohio-based company’s poor performance in recent years “self-inflicted wounds,” also laid out plans this year to raise standards for employees and update stores with an airier, more modern look.

The sales rankings for the top five restaurant chains have undergone another dramatic shift in the past five years, according to Technomic. In 2006, the No. 2 and No. 3 spots were held by Burger King and Wendy’s respectively, making the top three companies all hamburger chains.

Subway now is No. 2 with $11.4 billion in sales last year and Starbucks is No. 3 with $9.8 billion. U.S. sales at both companies have grown at a much faster rate than the top three hamburger chains, with Subway sales up 48 percent from five years ago and Starbucks sales up 39 percent.

The final Technomic report with sales for the top 500 restaurant chains is set to be released April 13.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

According to new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers in Florida held 1,231 mass layoffs in 2010 that ended up with 88,776 workers filing for unemployment insurance.

While the numbers for 2010 were high, it was a decline of 42,414 firings from 2009, which was the largest decrease measured since 1996 when data was first recorded. The 2010 numbers were also down slightly from 2008.

The industries that saw the largest decrease in mass layoff from 2008 to 2010 were the administrative and waste services industry, manufacturing, and retail trade.

Still, agrictulture, forestry, fishing, and professional and technical services saw initial claims jump in 2010 and set an all-time high for jobless claims.

The BLS said California recorded the biggest jump in jobless claims in 2010, followed by New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Florida.