Regional News

In a Nutshell: Here We Go Again!

The Delta variant’s rapid rise in new cases and hospitalizations is stoking concerns about ever getting back to normal.  How is this new surge in cases possible, considering that so many people have been vaccinated?  Over 70% of US adults… more

In a Nutshell: Are We Seeing The First Signs Of A Slowing Economy?

GDP rose 6.5% in the still recovering second quarter, below the 8.4% consensus, but above its pre-pandemic peak in Q4 2019.  Notably, declining inventories shaved 1.13 percentage points off GDP growth. This was not as much as the 2.62 inventory… more

In a Nutshell: Consumer Price Index – A Big Surprise

June statistics provided another huge jump in (CPI) inflation numbers!  While June may also have been another month where excluding this and that might make inflation look transitory, the Fed’s patience will likely be tested.  Headline CPI rose 0.9% in… more

In a Nutshell: Market Volatility Could Continue For Quite Some Time

The primary takeaway from the latest FOMC meeting is that it expects booming Q2 consumption as well as GDP growth. However, concerning economic growth during the remaining six months of this year, Wall Street expects growth and inflation to moderate. … more

In a Nutshell: Our Newest Big Threat

The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 have announced their first-quarter results and, so far, the average sales and earnings surprises are running at 3.7% and 23.2% (respectively above consensus analyst estimates).  This is why analysts are so busy… more

In a Nutshell: Inflation Is Getting Real

Inflation is making headlines all over the country, but the mainstream media is not being honest about the true severity of the crisis. We are being told that the official rate of inflation is still in single digits, but what we aren’t… more

In a Nutshell: Just Too Much Cash?

A prolonged drop in U.S. Treasury yields is catching bond and fixed income traders as well as most investors by surprise. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield dropped below 1.3% on July 7th and fell further overnight to 1.25% (despite real… more

In a Nutshell: Strong Jobs Report Despite Trouble Finding Workers

On July 2nd The Street received the jobs data for the month of June, and those numbers did not disappoint. The Labor Department announced that job growth accelerated in June (to 850,000); however, the unemployment rate was unchanged as uncounted… more

In a Nutshell: A Very Tight & Expensive Housing Environment

Housing statistics confirm that houses available to purchase are extremely limited, so the volume of sales continues declining.  While rapidly rising prices of lumber and other components may have impacted the reduced number of housing starts, there appears to be… more

Coping with COVID: Kansas Issues COVID-19 Test Requirement for Adult-Care Facilities

Kansas adult-care facilities now are required to test staff and patients for COVID-19. Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday directed Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas Department of Health and Environment secretary, to issue a health order for the testing. “We have a… more