COVID-19

Congress Aims for Small-Business Aid

Congress is meeting for a two-day session to discuss changes to Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses. The proposed legislation would give small businesses more time to use federal subsides for payrolls and other business costs. Senate Majority Leader… more

Q&A With … Paul Holewinski, Academy Bank

Paul Holewinski is the president and chief executive officer of Academy Bank. Q. What are you seeing in terms of loan-request volume since COVID hit? A. Loan volume and applications have been down the last 60 days as businesses try… more

Boeing Laying Off Close to 7,000

Boeing is laying off 6,770 employees, which will reportedly reduce the aircraft manufacturers' headcount by 10 percent. “Following the reduction-in-force announcement we made last month, we have concluded our voluntary layoff (VLO) program,” CEO Dave Calhoun said in a memo… more

About 31 Percent of Small Businesses Closed

About 31 percent of small businesses have closed during the pandemic, and only 45 percent will hire back their workers, according to a Facebook survey. But more than half of those companies are encouraged by the reopening of the economy… more

Another 2.1 Million File for Unemployment

Just over 2.1 people filed for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 23, which was a decline of 323,000 from the prior week. The insured unemployment rate actually dropped to 14.5 percent, which was a decline of 2.6 percent,… more

Rent Growth in Kansas City Slows

Apartment rents in Kansas City have slowed down in their increases year over year, but not as much as in other parts of the country. Rent growth was at 3.3 percent year over year in the metro, down from the… more

Bills Are the Biggest Spend for Stimulus

The number one item that people are spending their stimulus checks on is bills, despite the run-up of shopping at various mass-merchandise retailers. About 30 percent of those receiving checks spent them on bills, according to a recent survey. Read… more

U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Surpass 100,000

There have been 100,000 Americans killed by COVID-19 since the spread of the pandemic in the United States. An average of 900 Americans have died every day from the virus since it first appeared here four months ago. Read more… more

Q&A With … Owen Buckley, LANE 4 Property Group

Owen Buckley, Managing Partner, LANE4 Property Group, which specializes in commercial real-estate within the retail sector. Q. A number of encouraging metrics indicate economic activity is picking up on multiple fronts, even if slowly. Will it come in time to… more

New-Home Sales Actually Increased

Month-over-month April new-home sales were up 0.6 percent after a downturn that took place from the outbreak of COVID-19. Says Zillow: "The coronavirus pandemic has generated any number of nasty surprises over the past few months, but the unexpected strength… more