HCI Group (NYSE: HCI) plans to raise up to $150 million by selling stock or issuing debt. In a registration statement filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the company said it may offer and sell from time to time securities in one or more offerings in amounts, at prices and on terms determined at the time of the offering. It said it would describe how it used any money it raises in additional SEC filings. The filing came a few days after Paresh Patel, CEO, told analysts on a quarterly earnings call that the company might file a registration to be prepared to take advantage of potential acquisition opportunities that might arise. HCI is a a Tampa-based company with insurance, technology and real estate operations,
OneBlood is testing all donations for the Covid-19 antibody. The antibody test is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and will indicate if the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to the virus, regardless of whether they ever showed symptoms, the nonprofit blood center said. Donors will be able to see their results about 48 hours after donating by logging into their donor portal at www.oneblood.org. The tests will provide important statistical information to public health officials, OneBlood said. Additionally, the organization will be identifying people who can be Covid-19 convalescent plasma donors. By transfusing plasma that is rich with coronavirus antibodies into a patient still fighting the virus it can help boost the patient’s immune system and potentially help them recover, according to OneBlood. OneBlood began collecting and distributing COVID-19 convalescent plasma in April. OneBlood is one of the first blood centers to begin testing for the coronavirus antibody and plans to provide the antibody testing for the foreseeable future.
The Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach laid off 213 workers due to the Covid-19 crisis and now says it might take more time than expected to bring them back to their jobs. In a May 13 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the hotel said it initially thought the layoffs would be temporary. "However, the duration of the current crisis, and its continued impact on our business, is unclear. Travel for both business and pleasure will take some time to rebound, so unfortunately it is impossible to predict with any certainty when we will be able to recall affected employees," Thomas Fraher, general manager, said in the WARN, made public late Friday. "Impacted employees are being notified, beginning May 13, 2020, that the duration of the layoffs may be extended beyond the time originally thought."
S&P Global Ratings expects Bloomin' Brands operating performance and credit quality to sharply deteriorate this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The credit agency lowered Bloomin's issuer credit rating to 'B+' from 'BB-' and also lowered the issue-level rating on the company's secured credit facility to 'BB-' from 'BB+'. Both are considered non-investment grade speculative ratings. S&P said has a negative outlook for Bloomin' (Nasdaq: BLMN), the Tampa-based parent company of Outback Steakhouse and other casual dining brands. The negative outlook reflects the risk of a lower rating if the company experiences prolonged operating pressure that limits its ability to improve cash flow and credit metrics to appropriate levels for the current rating, S&P Global Ratings said.
The Nielsen Company has temporarily furloughed 178 workers at its Global Technology and Innovation Center in Oldsmar. The unpaid furloughs started the week of April 27 and will continue indefinitely, the company said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Additionally, at least six employees were laid off permanently, the WARN said. Most of the workers impacted by the furloughs are research interviewers. Program managers, a software engineer, a business analyst and a marketing and communications employee were among those laid off. The company cited Covid-19 related business circumstances for the job actions.
Most foreclosures and evictions remain on hold in Florida until June 2. Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended the executive order he initially issued on April 2 until then. The order suspends mortgage foreclosures and evictions solely for non-payment of rent by residential tenants due to the Covid-19 emergency.
Think Big for Kids, a nonprofit founded by Tampa tech executive and entrepreneur Tony DiBenedetto, has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast on a workforce development program. The partnership is designed to expand career development planning and will include career showcases, skill-building workshops, mentoring program, internships, scholarships and more. The programs will be offered at all Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast locations serving teens in Pinellas County. Think Big for Kids, launched four years ago, initially partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, which serves Hillsborough County
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint in federal court in Tampa against Turbo Global Partners and its CEO, Robert Singerman. The complaint, filed Thursday, follows an earlier action by the SEC to suspend trading in the Tampa company’s stock, which trades over the counter under the ticker symbol TRBO. The complaint said Turbo Global issued false and misleading press releases on March 30 and April 3 claiming the company had an agreement to sell technology that could be used to look for early signs of Covid-19. The complaint said Singerman drafted the releases, and the day after they were issued the company’s stock price and trading volume increased. The SEC wants a permanent injunction barring the company from violating federal securities laws as well as civil penalties. The SEC also said Singerman, who previously was enjoined from violating federal securities laws, should be prohibited from serving as a director of a publicly traded company.
The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners have extended the county's local state of emergency to 3 p.m. on May 22. The resolution allows the county to enforce social distancing on the beach and at pools, as well as keep playgrounds closed, County Administrator Barry Burton said. Commissioners approved the resolution unanimously after getting reports on Covid-19 cases in Pinellas County, including at long-term care facilities; beach crowd control; and testing sites. Burton said Pinellas County plans new dashboard that will provide daily updates on Covid-19 testing.
The South Clearwater Beach Jolley Trolley will start running again beginning Friday, May 15. Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority suspended the service on March 30, due to a lack of ridership brought on by beach, business and hotel closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Beaches now are open, although crowds are being limited, and PSTA also is being cautious about returning to full service, said Brad Miller, CEO of PSTA. PSTA is asking everyone to board and exit the rear door, if they are able to do so, and to wear protective face coverings while riding the bus. There also are limits on passengers. PSTA weekday services currently are running on a Saturday schedule and weekend services are running on a Sunday schedule. All services will end by 10 p.m., including paratransit.
Floridians filed 221,905 first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended May 9. Only two other states — Connecticut and Georgia — had a larger number of initial claims last week, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Since March 14, when many businesses started to reduce their operations to slow the spead of Covid-19, 1.98 million Floridians have filed first-time unemployment benefit claims. Nationally, there are about 36.5 million newly unemployed Americans since the start of the pandemic, according to The Hill. That includes 2.6 million people nationally who applied for initial unemployment claims last week.
Nearly 95 percent of Floridians favor limits on public gatherings as a way to slow the spread of Covid-19. There's also strong support for other mitigation policies, including closing restaurants and bars (89 percent), limiting gatherings in houses of worship (87 percent), stay at home orders (86 percent), closing beaches (82 percent), instituting nightly curfews (63 percent) and requiring face masks in public (80 percent), according to a statewide survey by University of South Florida and Nielsen. The survey of 600 Floridians, taken between April 15 and April 24, found that just over half worry they will get sick in the next three months, while 76 percent are concerned someone they know will contract Covid-19. About 87 percent of resondents said public concern related to coronavirus is justified, but four in 10 people surveyed said public reactions to the pandemic would do more harm than the disease itself. A little under half of those surveyed — 48.9 percent — approve of the federal government's response to the pandemic, while just over half, or 51.5 percent, approve the state's response and nearly 70 percent approve their local government's response.
