A new survey finds more than 90-percent of bankers surveyed expect to see the Federal Reserve increase rates again at its meeting next month.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says while the Fed is focusing on fighting inflation, bankers believe the real threat is a recession. Goss says bankers believe that the Fed is likely to overdo it, and they’re going to overdo it in terms of raising rates, making sure inflation is stamped out.
The survey also shows a slowing of economic growth in rural areas, which Goss attributes to drought conditions, interest rate hikes and higher energy prices. But he says there is a hope for some economic expansion. He says one of the things that could really reinvigorate the economy, particularly in Nebraska, would be the opening up of the Japanese beef market, and of course, that would ripple throughout the Nebraska economy, also Kansas where it’s very important.
The professor of economics says hiring remains strong in rural areas, and Goss says ethanol production and expansions in manufacturing have boosted job growth.