The Bureau of Labor Statistics Is Not the Problem
The Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles what are perhaps the country's most important economic reports, including the monthly employment and inflation reports. The department's commissioner is appointed by the president, but the BLS describes its work as 'independent' and 'non-partisan.' This impartiality is key to the public and market's trust in the data, which influences the price of money not just in the US but around the world and is touted as 'gold standard' for economic statistics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bank of England set to cut rate as UK economy weakens
The Bank of England is widely expected to cut its key interest rate Thursday, with policymakers mindful of US tariffs and their potential risks to an already-struggling UK economy. With the BoE likely to trim borrowing costs by a quarter point to 4.0 percent, focus will be on potential changes to the central bank's economic growth and inflation outlooks. "There are clear signs of (UK) economic deterioration, particularly stemming from the labour market," Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, noted ahead of the latest rate call. "Yet policymakers must weigh this up against the risk of inflationary pressures particularly with rising food prices and international uncertainty around (US President Donald) Trump's tariffs and volatility in energy markets." Against this backdrop, analysts expect splits within the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee. Some argue that while the majority of the nine policymakers, including governor Andrew Bailey, will vote for a quarter-point cut, some are likely to demand an even larger reduction and others no change. A quarter-point cut Thursday would be the BoE's fifth such reduction since starting a trimming cycle in August 2024, emphasising its "gradual" approach to reducing rates. The BoE's main task is to keep Britain's annual inflation rate at 2.0 percent but the latest official data showed it had jumped unexpectedly to an 18-month high in June. The Consumer Prices Index increased to 3.6 percent as motor fuel and food prices stayed high. - Weak economy - Latest official figures also show that Britain's economy unexpectedly contracted for a second month running in May and UK unemployment is at a near four-year high of 4.7 percent. This is largely down to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government increasing a UK business tax from April, the same month that the country became subject to Trump's 10-percent baseline tariff on most goods. London and Washington reached an agreement in May to cut levies of more than 10 percent imposed by Trump on certain UK-made items imported by the United States, notably vehicles. Last month, the BoE warned in a report that tariff unpredictability and Middle East conflicts pose risks to UK financial stability. The US Federal Reserve last week kept interest rates unchanged, defying strong political pressure from Trump to slash borrowing costs in a bid to boost the world's biggest economy. Asked about US tariffs following the decision, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a press conference: "We're still a ways away from seeing where things settle down." The European Central Bank is meanwhile widely expected to keep rates unchanged at its next meeting, with eurozone inflation around the ECB's two-percent target. But that could change, according to some economists, based on how Trump's tariffs affect the single-currency bloc. bcp/ajb/rl/tc Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dollar holds losses on US economy concerns, Fed appointments
By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) -The dollar remained lower against major peers on Thursday, as expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts grew and concerns swirled about partisanship creeping into key U.S. institutions. Initial jobless claims in the United States are under scrutiny after last week's disappointing nonfarm payrolls, which triggered a slide in the greenback. Meanwhile, the euro found support ahead of anticipated talks next week to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Last week, President Donald Trump fired the official responsible for the labour data he did not like, and focus is centring on his nomination to fill a coming vacancy on the Fed's Board of Governors and candidates for the next chair of the central bank. "All those things suggest that we're seeing those political risks around the U.S. dollar increase, and on top of that you've got the weak data coming through," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Any progress in ending the war in Ukraine "is going to be a positive driver of the euro," he added. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major peers, edged up 0.1% to 98.259 in early trade in Asia, after a 0.6% slide in the previous session. The U.S. currency was little changed at 147.36 yen. The euro stood at $1.1654, down almost 0.1% after a 0.7% jump previously. The U.S. Labor Department is expected to report that initial claims for unemployment benefits likely rose by 3,000 to 221,000 for the week ended August 2. Continued jobless claims for the week that ended July 26 are expected to increase slightly. Data last Friday showed U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down considerably, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labour market conditions. Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 94% probability of a 25 basis point cut at the Fed's September meeting, up from 48% a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. In total, traders see 60.5 basis points in cuts this year. Trump could meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. kept up pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. The president said on Tuesday he would decide on a nominee to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana Kugler by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Sterling was steady at $1.33505. The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.65. Bitcoin edged 0.1% lower to $115,038.79. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Fox News
25 minutes ago
- Fox News
Dems are 'so out of touch' with the American people, says Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich touts President Donald Trump's wins and criticizes the Democratic Party on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
