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Digest

5 big stories of the week

By ROBERT TRIGAUX
Published December 3, 2006

1. USF lands SRI

After extensive negotiations, California's SRI International agrees to open a facility at USF St. Petersburg. SRI CEO Curtis Carlson, center, celebrates with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker.

What it means: It may not rival the whopper scale of Scripps Research coming to Florida's east coast, but it's still a coup for St. Petersburg, USF-St. Pete and the Tampa Bay area to have a world-class player coming aboard that's a whiz at making university- created tech ideas into promising commercial products.

2. Hurricane season ends

In Key West, pirate re-enactors celebrate by coercing a hurricane symbol to walk the plank.

What it means: With a mild hurricane season officially over, Florida gets a breather - and a Jan. 16 special legislative session in Tallahassee to find a better fix for the devastated property insurance market in the state.

3. Bumpy road aheadforautos

In Denver, a long line of unsold 2007 Ford Fusion sedans sit on a dealer's lot.

What it means: The Big Three U.S. automakers were already struggling, but 2007 could be the worst sales year in a decade. A slumping housing market, especially in Florida, couldn't come at a worse time for GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.

4. Housing market swoons

Lots of homes for sale at the Mira Bay development in Apollo Beach is a common sight across the Tampa Bay area.

What it means: Things are going to get worse before they get better. Though Tampa Bay's median sales price in October of $225,800 remains little changed from a year ago, look for some slippage ahead.

5. What's up at Wal-Mart?

An unhappy young boy had his picture taken last week with Santa Claus at a San Francisco shopping center.

What it means: Perhaps he heard that Wal-Mart's holiday sales are weak. But take heart, Wal-Mart's woes are not a Christmas shopping bellwether this year. Many retailers are doing fine.

[Last modified December 3, 2006, 01:37:50]