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Sky News AU
28 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump unhappy with grim US jobs report
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has delivered a report reflecting a significant downturn in the job market following recent tariffs. Job numbers from May and June were revised down drastically and American companies only added about 73,000 jobs in July. In response, President Donald Trump is calling for the head of the bureau to be fired.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
‘Wolf in cashmere': Billionaire's luxury empire is facing a crisis
LVMH's market value has fallen by more than a quarter over the past year, to less than €250 billion. Hermes, a luxury brand Arnault tried and failed to buy, and has eyed with envy ever since, has taken LVMH's crown as the most valuable company in the industry, despite generating only €15 billion in sales last year. Adding insult to injury, the Arnault family, which has topped France's rich list since 2017, has also been dethroned by the Hermes clan. Can Arnault turn the ship around? Loading LVMH can't blame the economic environment for all its woes. It raised prices enormously in the post-COVID 'revenge shopping' boom, irking some customers. The price of Louis Vuitton's Speedy 30 canvas tote bag has more than doubled since 2019, for example, while the average price of personal luxury goods in Europe has increased by just over 50 per cent, according to HSBC, a bank. Only a handful of designers, including Chanel and Gucci, have raised prices more. A series of scandals have also damaged the image of some of its brands. Moet Hennessy, LVMH's drinks division, has recently faced accusations of sexual harassment, bullying and unfair dismissal by former employees (which it denies). On July 14, an Italian court placed Loro Piana, an LVMH label that sells cashmere sweaters for more than $US1000 ($1500) a piece, under judicial administration for using suppliers that allegedly violate labour rights. Dior faced similar investigations last year. LVMH's response has been half-hearted: 'Transparency, control and management of this whole ecosystem can sometimes prove a bit difficult,' it said recently. Arnault is attempting to steer towards calmer waters. New bosses have been put in charge of the booze, watches and retailing units. The appointment of Jonathan Anderson as the new creative director of Dior has been cheered by fashionistas. Some investors, however, worry that the companies' problems are deeply rooted. One concern is that decades of pushing fancy clothing and accessories not just to the super-rich but also the merely well-off has made LVMH's brands more vulnerable to economic cycles and dented their image of exclusivity. Even Louis Vuitton, the company's crown jewel, has not been immune. Analysts at HSBC term the brand 'schizophrenic' for its attempt to peddle entry-level products like chocolate and make-up alongside ultra-pricey handbags and luggage. Loading The outlook for Moet Hennessy is more worrying still. As profits have shrunk, the division has announced thousands of job cuts. Analysts point out that young consumers aren't drinking as much as older generations, and when they do, they tend to shy away from spirits such as cognac, which make up a big chunk of LVMH's booze business. The wine and spirits division now contributes less than 10 per cent of LVMH's operating profits, down by roughly half over the past decade. By contrast, Hermes, which has remained focused on selling fashion to the exceedingly wealthy, has continued growing handsomely. Its market value as a multiple of its net profit is now more than twice as high as for LVMH. Brunello Cucinelli, another purveyor of ultra-luxe fashion, is valued at a similar multiple to Hermes. If Louis Vuitton were to be valued at such a multiple, it alone would be worth significantly more than the entirety of its parent company. That has led some to call for LVMH to break itself up. On July 25, reports emerged that it was exploring a sale of Marc Jacobs, a fashion label founded by a former creative director of Louis Vuitton. A bolder move would be jettisoning the troubled drinks business. Diageo, owner of tipples from Guinness to Johnny Walker, already controls a third of Moet Hennessy and has in the past expressed interest in taking the rest of it off LVMH's hands. The British company is currently grappling with its own slump in profits and recently parted ways with its chief executive, but analysts speculate that it could make a deal work by selling off its beer business at the same time. Arnault, aged 76, is navigating all this while making plans for a transition at the helm. He clearly intends to keep the enterprise under family management. All five of his children work in different corners of his empire under the tutelage of experienced executives. His daughter, Delphine, who has been tasked with turning around Dior, is his eldest and the only of his offspring on the executive committee of LVMH, making her the most likely candidate to succeed her father. Yet, there are other possibilities. In February, Alexandre was parachuted in as the deputy head of Moet Hennessy. In March Frederic was put in charge of Loro Piana.
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Trump fires jobs data commissioner after dismal report
US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation. US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation. US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation. US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.
