Private Capital Management, the Naples-based money management firm that pushed newspaper chain Knight Ridder to sell itself last year, has reduced its stake in newspaper stocks.As a group, the super rich are optimistic about 2007, for both their own financial well-being and that of the national economy.The Chicago-based investment firm's study is relevant for all investors, says John Skjervem, Northern Trust's chief investment officer for its Personal Financial Services division, adding that the wealthy's spending and investment habits usually trickle down. As corporate raiders such as Carl Icahn push for changes at WCI Communities, the board of directors of the Bonita Springs-based homebuilder adopted a poison pill provision to ward off unwanted takeovers.Any investor who acquires 15% or more of the company without the approval of WCI's board will automatically have their shares diluted. Icahn controls 14.57% of WCI's stock, according to the most recent securities filing.The Review is seeking the best and brightest Gulf Coast entrepreneurs for the newspaper's 10th annual Entrepreneur Award. By most major accounts, Florida continues to be a national leader in population increase. It was second to Texas in the number of new residents in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and it's the fourth largest state in the country, with 18.1 million residents. And there's the oft-cited number of 1,000 people moving to Florida a day.
