News – Page 796 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Munis steady ahead of FOMC meeting

info2023-03-21T14:10:48-05:00March 21st, 2023|

Municipals were steady Monday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, while U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors considered the stability of the banking sector. Equities ended up. Triple-A benchmarks were little changed, no more than a basis point or two, while U.S. Treasury yields rose five to 12 basis points. ... The banking sector crisis, which erupted with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and resurfaced with the struggles of Credit Suisse, sent USTs on a flight-to-quality bid last week. "The two-year plummeted by well over 100 basis points [since March 8], after the short benchmark attained a multiyear [...]

Mission latest JoCo city to consider antisemitism measure

info2023-03-21T09:58:13-05:00March 21st, 2023|

Mission is joining some other Johnson County cities in considering the adoption of a non-legally binding definition of antisemitism. Like Leawood and Roeland Park, Mission heard from the Jewish Relations Bureau American Jewish Committee about the national rise in antisemitism — punctuated locally by two recent incidents at Johnson County high schools — and the importance of defining it. Source: Prairie Village Post

SVB Collapse Shows Smaller Banks Can Pose Risk

info2023-03-21T09:55:25-05:00March 21st, 2023|

For 15 years, regulators and legislators have assumed the biggest risks to the financial system came from a handful of “too big to fail” banks. This month’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank—and last week’s bank-led rescue of a third lender, First Republic Bank FRC 39.67% increase; green up pointing triangle—suggests that focus on size may have blinded officials to the threat posed by smaller lenders, observers and former regulators say. Source: WSJ.com: US Business

Fed Faces Tough Decision on Rate Increase

info2023-03-21T09:51:44-05:00March 21st, 2023|

Central-bank officials must balance inflation concerns with new worries about spillovers from banking turmoil. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues this week face one of their toughest calls in years: whether to raise interest rates again to fight stubbornly high inflation or take a timeout amid the most intense banking crisis since 2008. The decision over whether to raise interest rates by a quarter-percentage point is likely to hinge in part on how markets digest the forced marriage Sunday of two Swiss banking giants, UBS and Credit Suisse, and other steps to calm fears of contagion in the banking [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for March 20, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-03-21T14:36:49-05:00March 21st, 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, Beth Warren or Henry Schmidt.

Valley Center Public Library is celebrating its 100th birthday

info2023-03-20T08:22:09-05:00March 20th, 2023|

There have been many constants at the Valley Center Public Library over the years. Storytimes. Easter egg hunts. Best-selling novels. Newspapers. And the bell at the front door. "We still have it," said Terry Foster, the library's assistant director. "It's a counter. It's a patron counter," Director Janice Sharp said. "And if you're out in the stacks, you know somebody has come in," Foster added. And they've been coming in for a century. The Valley Center Public Library is celebrating its 100th birthday this month with a party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 20 and with a look back [...]

Water Wise: Hays residents meeting challenges of water conservation, quality

info2023-03-20T08:19:10-05:00March 20th, 2023|

Two water officials in Hays, Kansas say that policies put in place in the 1990s are still paying dividends for a city that is often seen as a model for water-use efficiency. Holly Dickman, a water conservation specialist with the City of Hays, said the nearly three-decade-old water policies are important because Ellis County relies on groundwater mostly from alluvial (shallow) aquifers around the Smoky Hill River and Big Creek, which flow near the city. “So, you can imagine that if it doesn’t rain, those rivers and creeks aren’t running quite as much as they would be and so our well [...]

Municipal Bond Trends for March 17, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-03-20T07:54:12-05:00March 20th, 2023|

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS "investment grade" yields. Every issuer's credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.

Fed poised to approve quarter-point rate hike this week, despite market turmoil

info2023-03-20T07:20:56-05:00March 20th, 2023|

Even with turmoil in the banking industry and uncertainty ahead, the Federal Reserve likely will approve a quarter-percentage-point interest rate increase next week, according to market pricing and many Wall Street experts. Rate expectations have been on a rapidly swinging pendulum over the past two weeks, varying from a half-point hike to holding the line and even at one point some talk that the Fed could cut rates. However, a consensus has emerged that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow central bankers will want to signal that while they are attuned to the financial sector upheaval, it's important to continue [...]

Local Banks Could Leave Gaps That Are Hard to Fill

info2023-03-20T07:07:36-05:00March 19th, 2023|

Tighter belts for smaller banks could count as a big problem for some parts of the U.S. The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank as well as questions about First Republic Bank’s future have cast a sudden pall on the banking sector. An emerging concern is that customers at community and regional banks, worrying that their deposits aren’t safe, might pull their money, putting it into money-market funds or accounts at bigger banks. Regulators’ move last Sunday to protect depositors at SVB and Signature, and big banks coming together on Thursday to shore up First Republic with a $30 billion infusion of deposit [...]