Brian Dake

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) delivered another 25-basis-point interest rate cut at its October meeting. The cut is the second this year and was not a surprise, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled its likelihood in a recent speech. However, there were two dissenting votes—one in favor of a 50-basis-point  rate cut and one opposed to any cut. The lack of consensus on the committee raises doubts about the future path of Fed policy.  In addition to the rate cut, the Fed indicated that it will end its quantitative tightening program–the process of allowing its balance sheet to shrink–as of December 1st.

In its accompanying statement, the Fed indicated that it lowered the federal funds rate—the rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans—to a range of 3.75% to 4.0% in response to growing evidence that the labor market is weakening. However, it noted that inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and that lack of government data was a challenge in setting policy.

The statement also said that balance sheet runoff will end on December 1st. The Fed will stop redeeming maturing Treasuries and maturing principal payments for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) will be reinvested in Treasury bills. This move had been widely anticipated. The Fed’s balance sheet has declined by over $2.2 trillion in the past few years and reserves now stand at about 10% of gross domestic product (GDP). The Fed had indicated that it viewed a level of 8% to 10% of GDP as sustainable longer-term as it would leave enough reserves in the banking system to allow for proper functioning. The Fed’s goal has been to reduce reserves from an “abundant” level to “ample.”

Ahead of the announcement, the market had been discounting a series of rate cuts by the Fed with the federal funds rate falling below 3% by mid-2026. However, Powell indicated in the press conference following the meeting that there is no set path for monetary policy. With the committee increasingly divided on the outlook, short-term interest rate expectations may become more volatile. Intermediate- and long-term interest rates will continue to respond to expectations about economic growth and inflation.

Wisconsin homeowners and businesses hit by flooding and other natural disasters would have a new avenue to help rebuild under bipartisan legislation moving through the state Capitol.

The proposals would create a $30 million grant program offering aid for those not covered by federal disaster assistance.

They’re a direct response to flooding that hit southeastern Wisconsin in August after storms dropped up to a foot of rain in some places.

The legislative package directs the state Department of Military Affairs to create a grant program for individuals and businesses impacted by disasters in which the governor declares a state of emergency. It would set aside $10 million for grants to individuals and another $20 million for businesses through 2026.

Because the bill retroactively applies to declarations after January 1, 2025, individuals and businesses hit by August’s floods could qualify. Grants for individuals would max out at $25,000 for qualified property repairs. Businesses could get up to $50,000.

Lawmakers on the committee were generally supportive of the idea, though there were questions about what happens if a person or business gets a state grant and later qualifies for federal assistance. Knodl said if that were to happen, the legislation requires the state money to be paid back.

The United States announced finalized trade deals Sunday with two Southeast Asian nations — Cambodia and Malaysia — that contain provisions aimed against China, and further progress with two others in the region, Thailand and Vietnam.

The news came as President Donald Trump was in Malaysia for a regional leaders summit, and just days before he is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two final deals and two framework agreements announced Sunday cover about 68 percent of approximately $475 billion in U.S. two-way trade with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“These landmark deals demonstrate that America can maintain tariffs to shrink the goods trade deficit while opening new markets for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and manufacturers,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for 75 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2026. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $56 per month starting in January.

Over the last decade the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase has averaged about 3.1 percent.  The COLA was 2.5 percent in 2025.

Nearly 71 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 2.8 percent COLA beginning in January 2026. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2025. (Note: Some recipients receive both Social Security benefits and SSI).

Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. For example, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) is slated to increase to $184,500 from $176,100.

OpenAI and Oracle are behind the massive data center campus in Port Washington, a Wednesday statement from Vantage Data Centers confirmed.

Vantage Data Centers, which was previously the only known company behind the project, had originally said it would spend $8 billion on the development. The companies’ latest announcement said they plan to invest more than $15 billion at the new campus, which will include four data center buildings.

OpenAI is the company behind ChatGPT; Oracle is a software and cloud computing company. The Port Washington location is part of the companies’ Stargate program, a $500 billion push to expand artificial intelligence capacity across the nation. That initiative was announced in January by President Donald Trump.

OpenAI and Oracle’s data center campus in Port Washington joins sites in Texas and New Mexico as part of the Stargate program. It is the only Midwest site in the program. The tech giants recently agreed to develop 4.5 gigawatts of additional power capacity for the initiative, according to a July news post from OpenAI.

Wednesday’s announcement said the data center campus in Port Washington, named “Lighthouse,” could create more than 4,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs. Construction on the data center buildings will start soon and could be complete in 2028, according to Vantage.

Patients with UnitedHealthcare insurance once again have in-network coverage at Ascension Wisconsin hospitals and doctors’ offices.

United and Ascension Wisconsin announced Tuesday that they reached a new multi-year agreement to give United members access to Ascension’s hospitals and providers in Wisconsin.

According to United, the deal is effective immediately and retroactive to October 1, the day the insurer’s members lost coverage when the two sides failed to reach an agreement in a dispute over reimbursement rates.

According to an Ascension Wisconsin spokesperson, services that patients received from October 1 to October 13 will be covered at in-network rates and patients should not be billed for out-of-network costs.

Before reaching a deal Ascension and United had been locked in a months-long contract dispute. Ascension argued United was not offering reimbursement rates that covered rising health care costs, while United argued Ascension was asking for large price hikes that would raise costs for customers and employers.

A popular tax break for workers nearing retirement age to make extra catch-up contributions is changing next year, which will limit access to some high earners.

The IRS issued new regulations last month to implement a provision of a 2022 law known as the SECURE 2.0 Act, which requires that high earners who earned $145,000 or more in gross income as an individual the prior year make 401(k) catch-up contributions to after-tax Roth accounts starting with the 2026 tax year.

Under the rules that will remain in effect through the 2025 tax year, workers aged 50 and up were eligible to make their 401(k) catch-up contributions to either a before-tax traditional account or an after-tax Roth account, depending on their preference and what their retirement plan allows.

Making catch-up contributions on a before-tax basis allowed workers to receive an upfront tax break by using a deduction to reduce their taxable income — but the change means that high earners over the income threshold won’t have that option starting in the 2026 tax year.

Catch-up contributions are made in addition to normal contributions to 401(k) accounts.

In 2025, eligible workers over the age of 50 can make an extra $7,500 in contributions to their 401(k) in catch-up contributions in addition to the standard contribution limit of $23,500 for workers under 50.

There’s also a higher limit for workers between the ages of 60 and 63, who can make up to $11,250 in catch-up contributions in 2025.

Wisconsin lawmakers are debating Republican-backed bills designed to cut back on the number of state regulations.

One of the bills would cause state regulations to expire after seven years unless officials take the steps needed to re-adopt them.

State Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, an author of the bill, said the goal is to make sure old regulations are still relevant.

“We cannot afford to let regulations linger on the books for decades without scrutiny, particularly when they impose real costs on employers, consumers and taxpayers alike,” Neylon said. “The red tape reset bill is not about eliminating necessary protections. It’s about ensuring that every rule is up to date and justified in serving the public good.”

Another proposal would affect any new regulation that’s expected to cost businesses or local governments more than $0 to implement. Under that proposal, the new rule could not be added unless Wisconsin first repeals an old rule to offset the compliance costs of the old one.

That differs from existing Wisconsin law, which only requires expenses to be offset if compliance with a new rule is expected to cost more than $10,000 over two fiscal years. As is the case with the existing law, that bill would include an exception for new emergency rules, as well as for new rules needed to comply with federal air and water quality standards.

Another part of the package would require the state to pay back legal costs if someone successfully challenges an administrative rule in court. Additionally, a fourth bill debated on Thursday would change the process for putting out a new rule, by requiring an agency to put out a separate statement describing the scope of each new proposed rule. That differs from the current practice, in which an agency can put out a single scope statement to cover multiple related rules.

Republican backers have said their goal is to increase transparency while ensuring regulations are put up to public scrutiny.

But state Rep. Mike Bare, D-Verona, suggested the package could run afoul of the state constitution by attempting to create a “new legislative veto.”

In a ruling this summer, the state Supreme Court found that a GOP-led legislative committee had violated the constitution’s separation of powers principle by indefinitely blocking rules advanced by executive agencies.

Lawmakers first introduced the bills in April. Neylon said they may be altered to comply with the July ruling.

“We probably will need to do amendments to tighten up the language to make sure that it is in line with the current law of the land,” Neylon said.

But Neylon said that doesn’t mean lawmakers should “cede” their authority to state agencies.

Wisconsin has a lot of areas to improve on when it comes to cybersecurity, including gaps in statutory definitions, AI use and collaboration between groups, experts say.

A panel of experts during an Assembly Science, Technology, and AI Committee informational hearing yesterday provided several hours of insight into the current state of cybersecurity in Wisconsin. While the state does a good job with responding to and investigating cyberattacks, there is room for improvement when it comes to proactively preventing cyberattacks, experts said.

Mike Wyatt, Deloitte’s cybersecurity leader for state, local and higher education, noted the FBI identified cyber crime cost Wisconsin about $160 million of the roughly $16.6 billion in losses across the country.

But the state could work to improve its outlook by working toward a whole of state model where municipal, county and state governments collaborate and share data.

“From a policy perspective, whole-of-state is absolutely critical and needs to be top of mind,” Wyatt said. “Legislators in New York, Oregon, Iowa, Texas and a number of other states have established cross-government cyber policies with common standards, shared funding and statewide training. A robust, scalable approach that Wisconsin may wish to consider.”

Wisconsin, like everywhere else nowadays, is also vulnerable to cyberattackers using AI to glean as much information as possible from public reports and meetings, Trevor Johnson, head of Google’s midwest division for state and local government, said.

“There were references [earlier in the hearing] to using AI in order to read some of the Legislative Audit Bureau reports,” he said. “Unfortunately, malicious actors will also use AI to read those reports and understand, ‘Where might I be able to find a nugget that will help me get into this particular system.’ They’re using it for research. They can even use AI on top of videos or recordings of sessions such as this one; understand what things might be said that might give me a vector to get at some information.”

And while companies such as Google, Microsoft and others have created safeguards to block malicious actors from prompting AI to create a piece of code to penetrate a system, those malicious actors are also always working on ways to circumvent the safeguards, Johnson added.

A recent federal court order outlines a new additional required poster: SSDI Notice Poster (Publication UCB-20040-P), available on October 14, 2025 (new date). Go to dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/ui/ssdi.htm to print the new additional required poster. Display the poster where workers will easily see it or share directly with each person. Posting is required from October 14, 2025 until Jan 12, 2026 (new dates).

The Notice to Employees About Applying for Wisconsin Unemployment Benefits (Publication UCB-7-P) will be updated with the latest identity verification information on October 31, 2025. Go to dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/ui/notice.htm to print the updated required workplace poster. Display the poster where workers will easily see it or share directly with each person.