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Natural gas price explodes Natural gas prices have nearly doubled in the past 12 months, reaching $5.06 per million British Thermal Units (BTUs) early Friday morning. (A BTU is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.) It has been over 12 years since prices were this high, and they could fly sharply higher in the event of a colder than usual winter. Gas, which is the main source of home heating in the U.S., is also used to generate electricity for manufacturing industrial products, chemicals and fertilizers. Supply ...

Town & Country Credit Union named one of the Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in America

Town & Country Credit Union recently received an A+ financial health grade and was named one of the Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in America for 2021. DepositAccounts.com, a subsidiary of LendingTree, analyzes financial institutions nationwide and publishes the Top 200 list for healthy banks and credit unions each year. “Our members trust us with their money and we don’t take that responsibility lightly,” said Jeremiah Kossen, president/CEO of Town & Country Credit Union. “This A+ financial health grade recognizes our efforts to maintain a strong credit union and keep our ...

Futures Files

Jackson Hole talk moves financials higher Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s annual Wyoming speech sent metals, stock indexes, energy, and Treasury bond futures sharply higher on Friday. His talk was mainly “dovish” in tone. Toward the end, Powell implied the Fed would delay tapering or raising interest rates soon, partially due to the COVID delta variant’s dampening effect on our economic recovery. If the Fed holds off on raising rates, inflationary expectations tend to rise and pull commodities upward, especially precious metals. December gold traded at $1,819 per ounce ...

Five tips for fostering a successful hybrid workplace

(AP) — Businesses figured out how to work remotely on the fly when COVID-19 rapidly disrupted our way of working. Those planning to adopt a hybrid work model when they return to the office still have time to prepare. But managing a distributed team comes with its own unique challenges, like: — What does hybrid look like for your company? — How do you keep remote employees engaged? — What apps and software do you need to create a seamless experience? These are tough questions to answer and you’re unlikely to please everyone. But you get a chance to build a new office ...

City hires retail consultant

A retail consultant will be analyzing local shopping metrics and helping to recruit more stores to Minot. The Minot City Council on Monday approved a one-year contract, with two potential annual renewals, with Retail Coach for $47,500. Funding will come from economic development dollars set ...

Main Street Boutique partners with Liverpool Los Angeles

RUGBY – Main Street Boutique, Rugby, has been selected as one of 86 independent retail stores across the United States to partner with fashion apparel brand Liverpool Los Angeles. These Destination Liverpool Shops will serve as premier Liverpool specialty stores, with Liverpool helping the small businesses thrive and grow while offering consumers the in-store experience they have been missing. “Specialty stores are the heart and soul of our business and retail is where brands get discovered. Even as DTC (direct to customer) grows, nothing will ever replace the in-store ...