National

NPC International to push back deadline on Pizza Hut bids

Leawood-based NPC International Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in July, has decided to move back the deadline for bids on Pizza Hut assets. The decision arrives following concern from Pizza Hut owner Yum! Brands that a group of credit-focused hedge… more

Judge says 2020 census must continue for another month

AP — A federal judge in California has stopped the 2020 census from finishing at the end of September and suspended a year-end deadline for delivering the numbers needed to decide how many seats each state gets in Congress. On… more

Federal Reserve Board issues notice on ‘approach’ to modernizing CRA rules

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Board voted unanimously during an open meeting to release an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for an “approach” to modernization of rules implementing the anti-redlining Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This approved noticed is referred… more

Weekly jobless claims bump up from last week

National jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 19 revealed a different trend, seasonally adjusted initial claims bumping up from the previous week’s total claims. For the week ending Sept. 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was… more

Coping with Covid: Missouri’s maximum COVID-19 death rate shows 1.67 percent, Kansas just over 1 percent

A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that, despite some concern in COVID-19 death rates across particular areas of the U.S., the average reported COVID-19 death rate in the U.S. is now 2.92 percent,… more

Coping with Covid: Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial advances to Phase 3 testing

Of several different vaccine trials being conducted worldwide, one of the largest trial groups by Johnson & Johnson has advanced their vaccine trial to Phase 3 testing. Numerous other vaccines have already begun final Phase 3 testing on an international… more

Terracon makes another acquisition with Phoenix-based company

With 150 U.S. offices and over 5,000 employees, Olathe-based Terracon has announced its acquisition of Phoenix-based Environmental Planning Group (EPG). This acquisition by Terracon is its tenth in the last three years, since 2017. Since being founded in the mid-60s,… more

Amazon to open delivery hubs in cities, suburbs nationwide

Amazon delivery hubs and delivery trucks are expected to make an increased appearance in cities and suburbs across the U.S., the e-commerce giant making plans to construct around 1,000 small hubs in different regions nationwide to bring products closer to… more

Olathe-based Torotel, Inc. to merge with TT Electronics

Torotel, Inc. recently entered into a definitive merger agreement with TT Electronics in a cash deal worth $43.4 million. Olathe-based Torotel specializes in the custom design, manufacture and sale of a variety of precision magnetic components for the defense, aerospace… more

Housing market sales remain high

In August, housing market sales remained on the up and up, remaining strong despite ongoing economic challenges brought on by COVID-19. Sales of existing homes in August topped an already strong July, reports Zillow, sales revealing to be the strongest… more