With a stabilized budget and amid stronger-than-expected revenue growth, Kansas paid off a chunk of debt and will fund some projects with cash, saving $754 million in interest costs as it builds a case for rating upgrades. The state tapped its surplus to pay down $1.6 billion of debt mostly owed to its pension system, redeemed callable bonds, and will cash fund $203 million of capital projects instead of issuing bonds, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Monday. “By prioritizing fiscal responsibility, we have put Kansas back on track and ready for the road ahead,” she said in a statement.
Source: The Bond Buyer

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he favors lifting interest rates to between 4% and 4.5% by the end of this year, and then keeping the tightening in place to reduce inflation that remains near a four-decade high. “I would like to reach a point where policy is moderately restrictive — between 4 and 4 1/2 percent by the end of this year — and then hold at that level and see how the economy and prices react,” Bostic said in prepared remarks Wednesday to Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research.
Source: The Bond Buyer