Day: August 18, 2023

Disney filed a countersuit this week against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), accusing the board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis of breach of contracts. 

The company’s late Thursday 55-page state court filing that claims the board is trying to unlawfully void an agreement that gave Disney broad construction powers over its land before DeSantis’ board took over, comes days after the Republican governor called on Disney to drop their lawsuit, saying they were “going to lose,” according to Forbes and CNBC. 

“I would just say go back to what you did well, I think it’s going to be the right business decision,” DeSantis told CNBC Monday of what he’d tell CEO Bob Iger of their public feud. “We’ve basically moved on, they’re suing the state of Florida, they’re going to lose that lawsuit. So, what I would say is drop the lawsuit.

“Your competitors all do very well — here at Universal SeaWorld, they have not had the same special privileges as you have,” DeSantis added. “So all we want to do is treat everybody the same and let’s move forward. I’m totally fine with that. But I’m not fine with giving extraordinary privileges to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else.”

DISNEY BATTLE WITH RON DESANTIS ONE OF INVESTORS’ TOP ISSUES 

In its countersuit, Disney is asking for a court order to force CFTOD to uphold the agreement, and is also seeking unspecified damages. The filing also denies the board’s claims of Disney’s wrongdoing in its previously filed state lawsuit. 

DeSantis replaced Disney’s former Reedy Creek Improvement District (RDID), which had allowed the theme park giant to self-govern since the 1960s before Disney World first opened, with allied board members to the new CFTOD this year. 

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Disney first sued the board in federal court in earlier this year, accusing the DeSantis of replacing the RDID in retaliation for the company speaking out against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. 

The board then sued Disney in state court, asking that the agreements that gave Disney broad construction powers be voided, after the board voted to void the development contracts that Disney had made before the board to over amid what it called a “climate of escalating retaliation,” according to CNBC. 

On Wednesday, the CFTOD asked a judge to issue a summary judgment against Disney to a avoid a trial in its federal case. 

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“That Disney, a private entity, effectively governed itself through RCID for decades does not change the fact that RCID was a local government. As such, RCID was required to comply with Florida constitutional, statutory, and common law in exercising its governmental functions,” the CFTOD wrote in its filing.

Fox Business has reached out to Disney and DeSantis’ office for comment. 

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Retirement millionaires saw a jump in their numbers in the second quarter, according to a Fidelity Investments report. 

In its second-quarter retirement analysis of its accounts, the financial services company reported double-digit growth in the number of people holding seven-figures in their 401(k) accounts and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), with the former rising by 10% and the latter climbing by 13%. 

There were 378,000 401(k) millionaires and 349,100 IRA millionaires in the quarter, according to Fidelity.

The increase in retirement millionaires came as the report also found the average amount socked away in three types of retirement accounts experienced a boost for the third quarter in a row.

AMERICANS OVER AGE 55 PLAN TO DELAY RETIREMENT: SURVEY

IRAs had a 5% quarter-over-quarter jump, hitting $113,800 for the average balance, the report said. The balances of 401(k) accounts on average saw a slightly smaller lift of 4% to $112,400 in the second quarter. For 403(b) accounts, their balances averaged $102,400, a 5% spike, according to the financial services company. 

The limit for how much Americans under the age of 50 can add to their IRAs this year has been set to $6,500, according to the IRS. For 401(k)s and 403(b)s, the max is $22,500.

Fidelity said “steady employer and employee contributions and positive market conditions” played a major role in average retirement account balances rising.

As of Friday, the S&P 500 has seen an increase of over 14% from where it opened at the start of the year, while the Nasdaq Composite was up nearly 28%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose roughly 25.8% in the same time frame.

Among baby boomers, millennial, and the X and Z generations, the youngest group posted the largest increase in 401(k) account balances on average, at 66%, Fidelity found. The average balance for millennials with that type of account went up 24.5%, and Generation X’s rose 14.5%. 

401(K) HARDSHIP WITHDRAWALS ON THE UPSWING AS INFLATION SQUEEZES CONSUMERS

While boomers experienced the smallest increase in their 401(k) account balances compared to the other three generations, those still working posted the highest total savings rate, the report showed. Theirs was 16.6%.

The report pegged the total 401(k) savings rate at 13.9%.

“As we begin to see improvements in market conditions, maintaining high contribution and savings rates is an essential component of improving one’s retirement readiness,” Fidelity Investments Workplace Investing President Kevin Barry said in a statement.

12 STEPS TO RETIREMENT

In a separate study put out in June, Northwestern Mutual found just over half of U.S. adults expressed expectations of being “financially prepared for retirement when the time comes.” They anticipate staying in the workforce a year longer than they did last year, until the age of 65, according to that study.

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In the lawsuit, American accused Skiplagged of tricking consumers into believing they can tap “some kind of secret ‘loophole.’” Read More