Oil price goes negative as demand collapses; stocks dip

Oil futures plunged below zero on Monday, the latest never-before-seen number to come out of the economic coma caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Stocks and Treasury yields also dropped on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 down 1.8%, but the market’s most dramatic action by far was in oil, where the cost to have a barrel of U.S. crude delivered in May plummeted to negative $37.63. It was at roughly $60 at the start of the year.
Traders are still paying $20.43 for a barrel of U.S. oil to be delivered in June, which analysts consider to be closer to the “true” price of oil. Crude to be delivered next month, meanwhile, is running up against a stark problem: traders are running out of places to keep it, with storage tanks close to full amid a collapse in demand as factories, automobiles and airplanes sit idled around the world
(Read more: McPherson Sentinel)

Ranson Financial2020-04-21T09:03:47-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Pandemic costs are ‘blowing massive holes’ in cities’ budgets

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the National League of Cities (NLC) conducted a survey of more than 2,400 local officials, of which 88% of respondents said they anticipate the novel coronavirus pandemic will lead to “painful reductions in revenue this year.” Of these respondents, 1,968 represent cities with populations of less than 500,000, which did not receive support from the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) stimulus package.
(Read more: Smart Cities Dive – Latest News)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:43:39-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Municipal bonds settle into steady after whirlwind weeks

The municipal market was mostly quiet Friday as participants came off a week of a strong rally, an awakened new-issue market and the first fund inflows since February as they cautiously await another week with more deals on tap and continued questions of support out of Washington.
Triple A benchmarks showed slight weakness with most off a basis point or two.
While many new-issues are still on the day-to-day calendar for next week, more are being slated to price on specific days, signaling that dealers and issuers are ready to again test the primary.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:44:16-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

The Case for Rental Assistance: Why It is Necessary and How Cities Can Fund It

Housing instability plagued many Americans long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the global health crisis has recently pushed it to the forefront of many policymakers’ minds as more families are urged to shelter in place. With orders to stay-at-home to help curb the spread of the virus, the question of who has a home to stay in, and how long they can afford it, is increasingly pertinent in light of the millions of individuals filing for unemployment or having their work hours significantly reduced. Given that nearly half of renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities and almost 11 million are severely cost burdened by spending more than half their income on rent, the housing affordability crisis is threatening to quickly become a public health crisis.
(Read more: CitiesSpeak)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:50:46-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Derby Public Library becomes temporary manufacturer

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has become part of the common vernacular during the coronavirus pandemic, as the need for that gear among medical professionals continues to rise.
Recently, the Derby Public Library jumped in to help address the current PPE needs – starting the 3-D printing of ear guards for health care workers about two weeks ago.
DPL Technology Coordinator Justin Ball said the ear guards are intended to create support/relief in regards to the face masks (with elastic bands) medical personnel are required to wear.
(Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:50:55-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Caution advised in buying protective equipment

Reno County’s EMS director offered a warning to participants in a daily conference call on Friday about the purchase of protective equipment during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“We were contacted by a local vendor who gained access to what he believed was a large quantity of N-95 masks and was wanting to sell those to us,” said Dave Johnston. “They appear to be KN-95s out of China.”
“We’ve done additional follow up and they are nowhere close to the standard we need for N-95 masks,” he said. “They would work fine as a simple mask, but they would not work as a respirator. They do not meet the standards we need.”
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:51:04-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Western Kansas records massive spike in COVID-19 cases

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rocketed up in western Kansas this week from infection clusters involving at least six private businesses, state health officials said.
The most dramatic increase was in Ford County, where the number shot up from just two cases on April 9 to 84 cases on Friday, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new cases in the state for the past two days.
The increase moved Ford County into the fifth-highest case count in the state, behind Wyandotte, Johnson, Sedgwick, Leavenworth and Shawnee counties.
More than two dozen cases are also now confirmed in Finney and Seward counties, putting them 11th and 12th, respectively, on the state’s case count list.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:51:21-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Shawnee County to take ’step-wise approach’ to eventual easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Shawnee County health officer Gianfranco Pezzino shared several nuggets of good news — at least, relatively speaking — at the health department’s weekly COVID-19 news conference Friday.
But Pezzino added an important backdrop to his hopeful update: Now is not the time to get complacent.
“I want to warn you: I decided to share these somewhat positive numbers with you, but also with some concern that they could be misinterpreted,” Pezzino said, “and could lead to people to lower their guard and think, ‘Oh, we are done. We don’t need to stay home anymore. We can just go out and get with our friends.’ We are not at that point yet. Those numbers can turn around in a matter of hours or a few days. It’s important that we keep monitoring those numbers in the next few weeks.”
Shawnee County announced 90 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its residents, up eight from Thursday’s total. Of those individuals who tested positive, 43 remain active cases, 42 have recovered and five have died.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:53:00-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Police, firefighter unions challenge city of Topeka on pay cuts

The unions representing Topeka’s police officers and firefighters are at odds with the city over a 3% pay cut announced last week.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 and the International Association of Firefighters Local No. 83 sent letters on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, to city manager Brent Trout requesting additional information about the pay cuts and questioning how the city concluded that action was the most appropriate to address potential budget shortfalls stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:53:51-05:00April 20, 2020|News|

Topeka Metro to receive $6.58M in relief funding

Topeka Metro announced Friday it expects to receive millions of dollars in economic relief from the $2 trillion federal coronavirus response bill passed in late March.
Efren Mazas, president of the local transit union group that represents Topeka’s metro workers, announced in a news release Friday morning that Topeka Metro has been allocated $6.58 million in relief funds. Of the $2 trillion accounted for in the relief package, $25 billion had been earmarked for transit agencies across the U.S.
Mazas said he expects Topeka Metro to use some of the funds to offset revenue losses resulting from decreased ridership during the pandemic. Funds will also be used to purchase personal protective equipment, such as masks, for metro workers.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Ranson Financial2020-04-20T08:54:04-05:00April 20, 2020|News|