Henry Schmidt2023-11-30T10:08:42-06:00November 30th, 2023|
The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.
info2023-11-30T10:06:21-06:00November 30th, 2023|
Merriam is the latest Johnson County city to discuss short-term rentals like AirBnBs or Vrbos and how to potentially regulate them. With city staff over the past year receiving questions and listening to concerns about short-term rentals from councilmembers, planning commissioners and residents alike, the city council decided to discuss the issue for the first time on Monday night. ... Bryan Dyer, the city’s community development director, told the city council on Monday that there are currently 13 licensed short-term rentals that the city knows of in Merriam city limits. While it is difficult to track short-term rentals, Dyer said, he [...]
info2023-11-30T10:01:52-06:00November 30th, 2023|
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Wednesday that policymakers need to retain the option of raising interest rates if inflation doesn't show enough progress coming down. Markets largely expect the Fed has stopped raising rates and will start cutting in 2024. But Barkin said he's not ready to commit to a particular policy path with so much uncertainty in the air. "If inflation comes down naturally and smoothly, awesome, you know, there's no particular need to do anything with interest rates if inflation steps down," he told CNBC's Steve Liesman during an interview at the CNBC CFO Council Summit. "But [...]
info2023-11-29T12:53:55-06:00November 29th, 2023|
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday he's growing more confident that policy is in a place now to bring inflation back under control. There was nothing in Waller's prepared remarks for a speech in Washington, D.C., that suggests he's contemplating cutting interest rates, and he noted that inflation currently is still too high. But he pointed out a variety of areas where progress has made, suggesting the Fed at least won't need to hike rates further from here. "While I am encouraged by the early signs of moderating economic activity in the fourth quarter based on the data in hand, [...]
info2023-11-29T12:50:24-06:00November 29th, 2023|
Wall Street is gearing up for rate cuts. Twenty months after the Federal Reserve began a historic campaign against inflation, investors now believe there is a much greater chance that the central bank will cut rates in just four months than raise them again in the foreseeable future. Interest-rate futures indicated Monday a 52% chance the Fed will lower rates by at least a quarter-of-a-percentage point by its May 2024 policy meeting, up from 29% at the end of October, according to CME Group data. The same data pointed to four cuts by the end of the year. Investors, battered by the Fed’s efforts [...]
info2023-11-29T12:47:57-06:00November 29th, 2023|
The Gleaner, the local newspaper in Henderson, Ky., has sections focused on features, sports, news and opinion. What it doesn’t have: a single reporter on staff. The publication is one of the “ghost newsrooms” that increasingly dot the American media landscape—newspapers that have little to no on-the-ground presence in the localities whose name they bear. It is a sobering development in an industry that has been brought to its knees by the rise of digital media and large technology companies. The Gleaner newsroom once bustled with a staff of around 20. Now, it doesn’t have an office—it was closed a few [...]
info2023-11-29T12:45:44-06:00November 29th, 2023|
Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $5 million has been awarded to eight internet service providers (ISPs) in the latest round of Broadband Acceleration Grants for 2023. The awards will be paired with an additional $6.6 million in matching funds, resulting in an investment of nearly $12 million for high-speed broadband access projects across 10 rural Kansas counties. “We’re steadfast in our commitment to achieving the ambitious goal of making Kansas a top 10 state for broadband access by 2030,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Access to affordable broadband is critical for our communities to stay vibrant and competitive, and every Kansan deserves [...]
info2023-11-29T12:43:46-06:00November 29th, 2023|
Pottawatomie County officials voted Monday to extend a moratorium, set to expire at the end of the year on commercial solar farms, for three more years. Uncertainty over the financial benefits of such operations and property rights have been at the center of discussion since the county began writing regulations for solar in early 2021. Solar farms provide solar power greater than one megawatt with the potential of generating several hundred megawatts of electricity and encompassing several thousands of acres of rural Pottawatomie County. Commissioner Greg Riat initially had hoped for a five year moratorium after this year, but settled on [...]
info2023-11-29T12:41:55-06:00November 29th, 2023|
Foreign cybercriminals launched the attack on the Kansas judicial branch’s information system in October and stole records of appellate cases and judicial administration files potentially regarded as confidential under state law, officials said in a Nov. 21 announcement. Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court issued a joint statement confirming perpetrators “stole data and threatened to post it to a dark website if their demands were not met.” The release didn’t say whether the judicial branch complied with demands of the attackers, nor did it disclose whether evidence existed Kansas court information was forwarded to secretive illicit portions of the web. “This [...]
info2023-11-30T10:03:15-06:00November 29th, 2023|
Governor Laura Kelly and Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed announced that more than $12 million state dollars will be awarded to 16 transportation construction projects across Kansas through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Cost Share Program for fall 2023. This investment will leverage $7.2 million in community matching dollars for a total investment of over $19 million. Fall 2023 Cost Share recipients are: City of Abilene – 14th Street and North Van Buren Street intersection City of Baldwin City – U.S. 56– Pedestrian Crossing Safety improvements City of Deerfield – Main Street reconstruction project City of Halstead – North Street reconstruction and sidewalk improvements City of Harper – [...]
