Thomas A. James, chairman and chief executive of St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial Inc., was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year in the financial services category. James was honored last week in Palm Springs, Calif., for the national award selected by an independent panel of judges from 400 regional award winners. Raymond James Financial has more than 4,900 advisers serving 1.8 million accounts. ...more

November 21, 2008

Lay-Z-Boy Inc. said Tuesday that it will lay off 850 workers as it reported a widening loss for its fiscal second quarter, hurt by a deteriorating economy and low customer confidence. ...more

November 19, 2008

Hillsborough Kids Inc., the agency that oversees 3,057 children in state custody, is testing a program that ensures caseworkers visit children every 30 days as required by law. ...more

October 21, 2008

Even as it battles charges of fraudulent voter registration practices in more than a dozen states, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, is negotiating to sever all ties with its founder, whose brother embezzled almost $1 million from the group. ...more

October 16, 2008

CSX Corp, reported a 40 percent increase in third-quarter profits to $382 million, or 94 cents a share, for the period ended Sept. 30 despite the gloomy national economy. ...more

October 15, 2008

Hillsborough Kids Inc., the agency that oversees 3,057 children in state custody, is testing a new computer program that ensures caseworkers visit children every 30 days as required by law. ...more

October 14, 2008

Women are becoming geeks when it comes to video games, the Entertainment Software Association's 2008 report found. ...more

October 13, 2008

BETTER SHOP AROUND "One thing to remember is that most of the secondary sites online have the same inventory," said Don Vaccaro, chief executive of TicketNetwork.com. That means an individual might try to sell the same tickets on multiple sites at different prices in hopes of getting top dollar. ...more

October 8, 2008

Asking prices for Tampa Bay Rays playoff tickets at Tropicana Field have been seen as high as $19,999. ...more

October 7, 2008

Sun Country Airlines, which announced plans to resume service at Tampa International Airport in November with seasonal nonstop flights serving Minneapolis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday. ...more

October 7, 2008