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Economy

UMB Revises Financial Forecast for 2020

A year that started on with a booming U.S. economy is now certain to include a recession. That’s the take-away from UMB Bank’s chief investment officer, KC Mathews, who has issued a 2020 economic forecast updated to reflect the impact… more

Unemployment Filings Top 6.6 Million

Unemployment claims were in excess of six million for the second week in a row, due to COVID-19, bringing the numbers to nearly 17 million over the last few weeks. For the week ended April 4, claims were 6.06 million,… more

Waddell & Reed Assets Under Management Plunge

Overland Park-based wealth-management firm Waddell & Reed's assets under management took a plunge from February to March, dropping from $65 billion to $56 billion. The fall has taken place as the stock market saw extreme volatility during that time frame.… more

CDC Issues Worker Guidance for COVID-19 Exposure

The CDC has issued guidance for critical infrastructure employees who might have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to return to work. Critical-infrastructure employees are considered those who work in 16 different sectors, including those in law enforcement, janitorial staff,… more

Report: One in Four Rural Hospitals Could Close

A recent report has some disturbing news for rural hospitals saying one in four of them could close to do worsened conditions heightened by COVID-19, and Kansas is one of the most at-risk states. An annual report by Guidehouse says… more

Q&A with: John  Petersen, Polsinelli

John Petersen of the Polsinelli law firm in Kansas City is one of the biggest names in real-estate development law. He took some time to chat with Ingram’s about current megatrends shaping the market before the COVID-19 outbreak, but addressed… more

Home Prices Were Up Before the Storm

It may be sore consolation to anyone cooped up at home these days, but if they own the property, at least they know its value was increasing before the Great Coronavirus Lockdown of 2020. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price… more

Employment Falls By 700,000 in March

Total payroll employment in March fell by 701,000 primarily due to COVID-19, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, and the unemployment rate hit 4.4 percent, up 0.9 percent from the previous month. That marks the biggest… more

Banks Cleared to Make Relief Loans

Federal relief for small businesses slammed with cash-flow challenges during the COVID-19 recession has begun flowing, as banks have the green light to begin making loans under the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program. PPP has set aside $349 billion for… more

KC Housing Listings Drop Dramatically

Much as they have nationwide, home listings in the Kansas City area have dropped dramatically due to the COVID-19 outbreak. A report by Realtor.com says that home listings in the metro have dropped by 24.6 percent. That makes places it… more