Fed’s Williams pushes back on market expectations of a rate cut next year

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Tuesday he expects interest rates to continue higher and to remain at those levels until inflation is subdued. Echoing recent comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Williams told the Wall Street Journal that he also is in the higher-for-longer camp when it comes to monetary policy. “We’re going to need to have restrictive policy for some time,” he said in a live interview. “This is not something we’re going to do for a very short period and then change course.” That outlook comes just a few days after Powell also used the “for some time” language to describe his expectations for benchmark interest rates. In his annual policy speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Fed chief noted that “the historical record cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds

Ranson Financial2022-08-30T23:50:53-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Fed officials renew rate-hike theme while staying vague on size

Federal Reserve officials, picking up where they left off over the weekend in Jackson Hole, stressed their commitment to defeating inflation while remaining vague on how big their policy move will be next month. Three regional Fed presidents reiterated in separate remarks on Tuesday that curbing the hottest prices in almost 40 years was their top priority, with New York Fed chief John Williams agreeing interest rates probably need to advance above 3.5% at some point to achieve their goal. “You do need to get a little bit, or somewhat above that, because you’re trying to get not just to neutral, you’re also trying to get demand back in line with supply,” he said during a virtual Wall Street Journal interview in which he pushed back against market bets that the Fed would cut rates next year. “It’s going to take some time before I would expect to see adjustments of rates downward.”
Source: The Bond Buyer

Ranson Financial2022-08-30T23:49:09-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Demand High for Investments in State’s Broadband Infrastructure

Governor Laura Kelly’s goal of connecting all Kansans to high-speed broadband internet has piqued the interest of individuals and communities throughout Kansas. It also has garnered strong attention from providers seeking to make that last-mile connection. Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced today that 141 applications have been submitted for the Capital Projects Fund-Infrastructure Program (CPF). The service providers’ funding requests total almost $600 million for the available $83.5 million in funding provided by the U.S. Department of Treasury under the American Rescue Plan Act. “The overwhelming response to the funding opportunity demonstrates the vast need for high-speed broadband across the state,” Lieutenant Governor Toland said. “Such volume shows that we must continue investing in broadband until every Kansan is connected.”
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:11:02-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Delays impacting Pottawatomie County emergency radio system upgrade

Pottawatomie County commissioners received a less than favorable status update Monday to its ongoing radio systems upgrade, that could see delays well into next year. Motorola representative Richard Nita told commissioners about supply chain delays for the shipment of generators, which had previously been noted to be around 52-weeks. He says their distributor now expects those to be available by the middle of next summer, at best. It was also noted that shelters for the three tower sites are on a 16-week wait, however Topeka-based TFM Comm, whom Motorola is contracted with, had not placed the order as of Monday.
Source: 1350 KMAN

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:11:37-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

De Soto won’t lose small town feel with construction of Panasonic battery plant

Ground breaking at the site of the Panasonic plant in De Soto, Kansas, will begin in September, according to officials. The small city, with fewer than 6,500 people, was selected as the construction site of the $4 billion battery plant expected to employ 4,000 workers. City officials say the plant is good for De Soto but there are challenges that come with it. “You know, it’s big, but you don’t realize how big it is until you start having meetings with the consultants, with Panasonic, with all the other interested parties and realize just what a complicated task it is,” said City Administrator Mike Brungardt.
Source: KCUR

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:12:18-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

3 small quakes recorded in Graham County

Three small earthquakes were reported Tuesday morning in northwest Kansas. The first earthquake hit around 4:53 a.m. and measured around 2.7 in magnitude. The second tremor happened about 3 minutes later and measured 2.6. The smallest, a 2.1, struck about a minute before 5 a.m. All of the earthquakes happened west of the city of Bogue near the Rooks County line.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:12:33-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Topeka city manager search narrows, next step is meet & greet

The City of Topeka started the next phase in its search for the next city manager on Tuesday. … The four candidates being reviewed by the city’s governing body include Mike Harmon, David Johnston, Stephen Wade, and Abbe Yacoben. Each candidate will take part in two interview panels Tuesday. One panel will be with the governing body while the other will be with community stakeholders.
Source: KSNT 27 News

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:31:02-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Shawnee Town 1929 chapel would be new events venue on historic site

Shawnee officials are considering adding a small chapel to the Shawnee Town 1929 historic site in the city’s downtown area. The chapel, intended to replace a church that was formerly located in the historic area, is included in the proposed capital improvements plan that is awaiting approval by the city council. Once built, it would be available for weddings and events, making it a potential revenue-generating source, said Tonya Lecuru, director of the city’s parks and recreation department.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:36:07-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Western Kansas’ economy threatened by reliance on Ogallala Aquifer

Tentacles of the irrigation-based agriculture economy of Kansas extend far from fields of lush, tall corn to the ethanol producers, dairy and beef facilities, meatpacking plants, and finally the homes of people living in the state’s rural areas. Earl Lewis, chief engineer of water resources with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, told state legislators Monday this chain could be broken in some areas of the state as consumption of groundwater from the Ogallala Aquifer continued to outstrip natural replenishment. “We’ve got a multibillion-dollar industry built on that economy,” said Lewis, pointing to maps showing swaths of western Kansas counties fed by the Ogallala wouldn’t sustain another generation of hefty irrigation. “That’s really where we see a significant change in the economy.”
Source: The Iola Register

Ranson Financial2022-08-30T23:30:44-05:00August 30, 2022|News|

Riley County updates social media policy, Health Dept applies for new grant

Riley County Public Information Officer Vivienne Uccello proposed an update to the employee social media policy at Monday’s Commissioner meeting. It mainly applies to the deletion of public comments on county-run sites. Uccello explains what will be deleted: She said while private companies can delete any comment they want to; the county rarely deletes comments because it is a 1st amendment right to criticize the government. Staff will flag suspicious comments, and a supervisor will review it. The policy applies to all departments. The commissioners unanimously approved the update.
Source: 1350 KMAN

Ranson Financial2022-08-31T07:36:57-05:00August 30, 2022|News|