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Orlando’s hotel market continued to show improvement last month, as demand for hotel rooms drove prices up.

Hotels in the Orlando area filled 63.8 percent of their rooms during November, compared with 60.2 percent during the same month a year ago. The average daily rate climbed 4.3 percent to $92.66, according to data released Tuesday by Smith Travel Research.

The year-over-year improvement came on top of big gains a year ago. Last November, Orlando-area hotels posted their best showing for the month since 2007, as the nation was headed into a record-long recession.

“Across the board, everything looks good. Occupancy has increased over last year.

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With Facebooks IPO on the way, Mark Zuckerberg is looking to the future. Over the past year and a half, the sites CEO has worked toward a more mature company, reports the Wall Street Journal. Hes seeking blue-chip status and beyond. “There was a period in Microsofts evolution where they said, we want to put a computer on everyones desk,” he tells the newspaper. “Thats the way that I want to run Facebook,” with a “longer vision of where we think the world should be.”

To that end, the firm has been practicing for a bigger stage. In addition to hiring a strong executive and legal team in recent years, Facebook workers have been training for the IPO, taking simulated analysts questions and writing up scripts for earnings calls.

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At this time of year, mid-season network television shows are coming to a small screen near you. Returning hits like American Idol premiere along with a batch of new shows launched to replace canceled titles from the fall. Jim Hibberd, who covers television for Entertainment Weekly, talks to Linda Wertheimer about some of the new replacement shows.

YAKIMA — A Boeing Co. subsidiary that designs and builds aerial drones announced plans Wednesday to expand and centralize its operations in southwest Washington.

Insitu Inc. had been considering proposals from other states to move its operations, but the company said it will build a 70,000-square-foot production facility and a 30,000-square-foot engine testing building in Bingen.

Once those facilities are occupied, the small town in the picturesque Columbia River Gorge that has been home to Insitu for years will be the sole location for all of the company’s production operations.

The company employs about 800 people in the area straddling Washington and Oregon.

“Insitu has achieved extraordinary growth due in no small part to its agility,” President and CEO Steve Morrow said. Read full post…

BIRMINGHAM — Alabama’s annual auto production is expected to near 900,000 in the next few years, a mark that could push it into the top three auto-making states in the country.

Currently No. 5, the state’s auto industry will get a capacity boost with planned expansions at the plants operated here by Mercedes-Benz and Honda, as the automakers aim to keep pace with projected sales and make room for new additions on their assembly lines.

And Hyundai, while it hasn’t announced an expansion, already has surpassed the capacity at its Montgomery factory this year, and growing demand for its vehicles should help that trend continue.

It’s a notable turnaround from just two years ago, when Alabama’s auto production bottomed out at just under 468,000 in the midst of the global industry downturn.

“It’s significant to be No.

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Being a landlord you need to find good and responsible tenants, who will not cause you problems in future. Nobody wants to deal with “tenants form hell”. This problem may arise even if you rent an apartment. For instance, you need to move out as soon as possible, but there are a few months left on your lease agreement. Then finding a tenant who can take over the lease is a way to solve this problem successfully.

Being able to recognize the competence of a tenant before renting problems begin is very important. The Read full post…