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Facebook lost a record $119 billion in one day. Let's put that in perspective.

 
Facebook's share price tumbled on Thursday, erasing $119 billion from the company's value. Associate Press
Facebook's share price tumbled on Thursday, erasing $119 billion from the company's value. Associate Press
Published July 30, 2018

You probably heard that Facebook's stock price tumbled 19 percent on Thursday. The fall cleaved $119 billion off the tech company's value, the biggest one-day loss in history.

So how much is $119 billion? It's nearly the total value of McDonald's. It's close to what GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler are worth, combined.

Take Tampa Bay's 10 biggest publicly traded companies, including Raymond James, Wellcare Health Systems and Jabil. Add their values together, and then double it. That still doesn't add up to $119 billion.

More Business: What would happen if Florida 2.4 million college dropouts completed their degrees

Intel set the previous record in September 2000 when it lost $91 billion. Microsoft lost $77 billion in one day, also during the dot.com bust.

Facebook's huge loss came after it announced less-than-expected revenue growth in the second quarter. Its revenue prospects for the rest of the year were curtailed as well.

No need to feel sorry for Facebook. The company's share price had surged 35 percent since the end of March. Even with the record-breaking hit, the behemoth remains one of the country's largest companies, worth about $625 billion.

Facebook is projected to command 19.6 percent of the country's digital ad market this year, second only to Google's 37.2 percent.

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A lot of us are less than thrilled with our homeowners insurance, according to the latest consumer survey from Clearsurance. Florida ranked last in the research firm's look at the states with the happiest policyholders.

It's no wonder: The state had the highest average rate at $1,993, $800 more than the national average; price hikes are common; and our insurance companies also ranked low in claims service. We also worry whether our policies will cover everything that could need covering.

The annual hurricane threat doesn't help, either.

"The happiest states are generally states that are less susceptible to extreme weather and natural disaster threats," according to the report. "In fact, some of the happiest states have never experienced a hurricane."

Florida was joined in the bottom five by Colorado, Iowa, Mississippi and Kansas. West Virginia had the happiest policyholders, followed by Washington, D.C., Ohio, Kentucky and Alabama, according to the report .

Clearsurance is an independent online community of insurance customers providing review, ratings and educational content for consumers

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Here's some good news for Florida Power & Light customers: The state's largest electricity provider said earlier this week that it does not expect to increase its base rate for up to two years after the current rate expires in 2020.

FPL made the announcement as part of its quarterly financial report. The company said it earned $626 million on $2.9 billion in revenues for the three months ending June 30. That compared to $526 million on $3.09 billion in the same quarter last year.

FPL, which has about 4.9 million customers, mostly in the southern part of the state, already has some of the lowest rates. FPL recently lowered its monthly bills to $99.37 for 1,000 kilowatt-hour, about what typical residential customers use each month. That's about $7 less than Tampa Electric and $25 less than Duke Energy.

Contact Graham Brink at gbrink@tampabay.com. Follow @GrahamBrink.

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