Feeling Burned by Facebook's IPO? Be Pissed Instead at the Stock Market, a True Sucker's Bet

Categories: Business
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Photo via bestweekever.tv
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg now faces a series of lawsuits about his company's public stock offering.
On May 9, Facebook's upper brass had a meeting with financial analysts to tell them the company's revenue should be on the low end of projections, according to the Associated Press. That was bad news, especially considering Facebook was about to sell stock publicly for the first time.

The analysts for the nation's major investment firms then took that information and handed it out to their biggest whales, according to a series of lawsuits. Regular investors -- the working man who maybe got excited about the chance to own a bit of the website he wastes time on at work -- got screwed.

And that's where you shouldn't be surprised. The stock market these days is a sucker's bet. It's built on the principle that the average worker will never pull money out of the market, no matter the cloudy
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Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care Getting New Name

Categories: Business, Health
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Gov. Rick Scott's Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care is no longer Rick Scott's... or Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care.

Scott founded the chain of health care clinics in 2001, and sold it in 2011 amid cries of conflicting interests. The company announced yesterday that it will be changing its name to CareSpot Express Healthcare to, as a release states, "represent improvements the company is making to deliver a more convenient and better healthcare experience."
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Bankrupt Twinkie Manufacturer Warns of Hundreds of Florida Layoffs

Categories: Business
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Hostess Brands, the makers of Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Ding Dongs that declared bankruptcy in January, has filed paperwork with the state warning of at least 479 potential layoffs all over the state.

And it's not just a Florida thing -- reports of layoff warnings are coming out all over the country, with the cited number looking to be 18,500 jobs that could be lost nationwide due to restructuring.
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One of Two Airlines Flying to Niagara Falls Ditches Fort Lauderdale International

Categories: Business
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Jim and Pam: If they took Allegiant, it wasn't from FTL.
Niagara Falls is one of the most recognizable natural wonders in North America, 165 feet tall in places and as majestic as a bald eagle flying in slow motion with a golden scepter in its talons.

So it was good news when Allegiant Air announced last month that it would be flying routes from Fort Lauderdale up to the small Niagara Falls International Airport -- until this month, when it said never mind.
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Spirit Airlines to Charge $100 For Carry-On Bag, Here's How to Pack

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Flickr user: Shirley Two Feathers
Wear nothing, and enjoy the ride.
The penny pinchers at Spirit Airlines have come up with a new way to ruin your flying experience. Starting in early November, the Miramar-based discount carrier will charge up to $100 for a carry-on bag. The fee only applies if, like us, you procrastinate packing, sprint through the airport, and end up having to pay for the bag at the gate.If you're one of those weirdo advance planners, it will still cost you $35 to pay for the bag online, or $50 at the airline counter. Checking a bag will cost $30 to $45.

Never fear. The staffers at the Pulp have expert advice for avoiding all such fees.

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Bride Says Spirit Airlines Ruined Her Wedding

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Alaskan Dude via Flickr
Rachael Barach and her fiancé spent months planning their dream wedding: a small ceremony on the remote Caribbean Island of Jost Van Dyke. Pulling it off would require some effort: flying from Fort Lauderdale to St. Thomas, then taking a ferry over to Jost Van Dyke; hiring a wedding photographer, a captain, and a six-foot sailboat; arranging international paperwork; renting hotel rooms; and bringing over days' worth of provisions, decorations, and champagne.

The couple plus seven of their friends spent thousands of dollars to put the plan into action. On Thursday, March 22, the bride and groom and five others in their party caught a Spirit Airlines flight to St. Thomas. The wedding was scheduled for Sunday, March 25, and the group planned to fly back Monday so everyone could be back at work on Tuesday.

But, says the bride, "It basically turned into a big disaster."

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Sunrise Company Invents Snorkeling-Proof iPhone Case (VIDEO)

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iPhones, for all their glorious, touch-screeny goodness, are fragile little things -- it hangs up on your mom if you hold it in your left hand, data speeds are spotty with some carriers, and the screen cracks easier than a jailhouse snitch with an upcoming parole hearing. But for all you folks who wrecked your iPhone in the rain or the bathtub or the Mariana Trench, there's a way to keep it from happening again.

Sunrise-based Concord Keystone company recently released the ECO MarineCase, which it says will let you bring your iPhone as deep as 20 feet underwater. We had no reason to believe the company, and the only review on Amazon is negative. But it's got a sea turtle as proof.
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'Round-the-Clock Sex-Toy Delivery Service Coming to Broward

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Kelly Perez and Orlando Moncada make a living getting people sexy bargains. They're two of the folks behind the Coconut Creek-based SensualSteals.com, which offers shoppers a different discounted item every day. (Its "Friday the 13th" special was a Jason-style hockey mask made by Fetish Fantasy Extreme at 45 percent off.)

But they're expanding past being the Groupon of dildos and into a new gig -- delivery. Once LoversLodge.com launches early next month, shoppers in Broward and Dade counties will be able to order any of about 25 products for immediate delivery, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Moncada.
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Tomorrow Is Your Chance to Buy Weird Stuff Seized by the Government

Categories: Business, Crime
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"Oh, and we're taking your washing machine too."
A warehouse in Pompano Beach is full of fancy stuff seized by the government: watches, wines, iPods, and diamond bracelets taken from criminals of every sort by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the IRS, and the Secret Service. And starting Friday, they want to sell it to you.

An auction is being hosted online by Chicago-based law firm Rick Levin & Associates that will last until noon next Tuesday; check out their website for the fine print and actual bidding program. And if you're not the type to thirst for Rolexes and motorcycles, don't worry -- there's something for everybody. Here's a quick sample:
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PIP Bill Won't Affect Injured People, Former Insurance Fraud Director Says

Categories: Business, Politics
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Facebook.com
John Askins spent 24 years in Miami investigating staged accidents, fake injury claims, and other car insurance fraud before going on to head the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud. He retired from government in September but followed this month's new personal injury protection (PIP) reform bill closely.

All Florida drivers are required to carry PIP insurance, which covers them for up to $10,000 in medical bills and lost wages if they're in an accident. The bill passed by the Legislature this month limits the medical benefits to $2,500 unless a doctor decides the injured driver has an "emergency medical condition."

Consumer advocates and trial lawyers have said the new rules could prevent injured people from getting longer-term care and won't guarantee lower insurance premiums. The Pulp outlined many of the bill's flaws here. But Askins, with his decades of experience fighting fraud, has a different view of the legislation. Here's an excerpt of what he said from his home in Tallahassee:
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