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Bloomberg
13 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Myanmar Remains Upbeat on Trade Talks Despite 40% Trump Tariffs
Myanmar 's military government said it remains upbeat on reaching a deal with the US to see a decrease in Trump's new tariffs of 40% on goods from the Southeast Asian country. 'The US continues to negotiate with us on this so it's still in a stage of negotiation,' Zaw Min Tun, chief spokesman of the ruling State Security and Peace Commission, told Bloomberg News on Saturday.
CNN
17 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump fires a senior official over jobs numbers
Donald Trump Job market EconomyFacebookTweetLink Follow President Donald Trump has fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whom he accused, without evidence, of manipulating the monthly jobs reports for 'political purposes.' The BLS' monthly labor report Friday showed that the US economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, far below expectations. It also sharply revised down the employment growth that had been previously reported in May and June – by a combined 258,000 jobs. After the revisions, the jobs report showed the weakest pace of hiring for any three-month period since the pandemic recession in 2020. 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,' Trump said in a Truth Social post. Although the May and June jobs numbers were worse than initially believed, revisions are normal in this process. The BLS' initial monthly jobs estimates are often based on incomplete data, so they are revised twice after the initial report — followed by an annual revision every February. Additionally, BLS economists use a formula to smooth out jobs numbers for seasonal variations and that can exacerbate revisions when they fall outside economists' expectations. Trump on Friday incorrectly called the revisions a 'mistake.' 'McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under 'TRUMP.'' Trump said McEntarfer 'faked' the jobs numbers before the election to try to boost former Vice President Kamala Harris' chances in the 2024 presidential election. 'We're doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election, and there were other times. So, you know what I did? I fired her, and you know what? I did the right thing,' Trump told reporters Friday on the South Lawn. McEntarfer was confirmed by the Senate 86-8 in January 2024 for a term of four years. CNN has reached out to McEntarfer for comment. Until Trump replaces McEntarfer, Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as Acting Commissioner, the administration said. Trump has previously criticized the BLS for its jobs data and revisions, and he told reporters Friday evening he's 'always had a problem with these numbers.' In 2016, during his first presidential campaign, Trump claimed that the unemployment rate was significantly higher than the BLS let on. In 2024, he accused former President Joe Biden's administration of orchestrating a cover-up, after the BLS reported that it had overcounted jobs by 818,000 over the previous 12 months. 'I was thinking about it this morning, before the numbers that came out. I said, 'Who is the person that does these numbers?' And then they gave me stats about before the election,' Trump said Friday. 'We need people that we can trust,' he added. But Trump and his administration have also praised the BLS data when it has been favorable to them. During Trump's first term, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in March 2017 that the jobs data was no longer 'phony' after the BLS issued a strong jobs report. And a month ago, current White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media that the economy had beat expectations for jobs in four straight BLS labor reports. The BLS is nonpartisan, and businesses and government officials rely on the accuracy of its data to make determinations about investment, hiring, spending and all sorts of key decisions. 'It's outrageous for anyone in government to question the integrity of the BLS,' said Jason Furman, a Harvard professor and former Obama economic adviser. 'Accurate statistics are essential to the economy.' Furman doubted that replacing McEntarfer would compromise the BLS, but he said even the possibility or appearance of that notion 'would be bad.' 'Countries that have tried to fake those statistics have often ended up with economic crises as a result,' Furman said. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said the BLS' data is at the 'highest standard,' and 'as accurate as it can be.' 'Anything that undermines that or even the perception of that high standard is deeply worrisome,' Zandi said. 'I've never seen anything even close to this.' At Moody's, Zandi said he has hired a number of former BLS economists whom he called 'fantastic.' 'They do great work,' Zandi said. 'They are critical to a well-functioning economy.' Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner accused Trump of working the referees. 'Firing the ump doesn't change the score,' Warner said in a statement. 'Americans deserve to know the truth about the state of the Trump economy.' But Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a post on social media that she supports replacing McEntarfer. 'A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner,' Chavez-DeRemer said on X. '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.' The BLS jobs survey is widely considered by economists to be robust. It samples more than 100,000 businesses and government agencies each month, representing roughly 629,000 individual worksites. But, as part of larger cost-cutting taking place around practically every part of Trump's government, the BLS is laying off staff — and, as a result, reducing the scope of its work. For example, the BLS posted a notice in June stating it stopped collecting data for its Consumer Price Index in three cities (Lincoln, Nebraska; Buffalo, New York; and Provo, Utah) and increased 'imputations' for certain items (a statistical technique that, when boiled down to very rough terms, essentially means more educated guesses). That worried Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In testimony before Congress in June, Powell said he believed the BLS data to be accurate, but he was upset about what could become a trend. 'I wouldn't say that I'm concerned about the data today, although there has been a very mild degradation of the scope of the surveys,' Powell said at the time, in response to a question about survey data quality. 'But I would say the direction of travel is something I'm concerned about.' This story has been updated with additional developments and context.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump steps up attacks on Fed's independence amid interest rates row
Donald Trump called on top Federal Reserve officials to seize control from its chair, Jerome Powell, if he fails to cut interest rates, stepping up his extraordinary attacks on the central bank's independence. The US president called Powell 'a stubborn MORON' in a series of critical social media posts on Friday, days after the Fed held rates steady for the fifth consecutive time. It comes as Trump faces heightened questions over the impact of his aggressive economic policy, and the White House presses forward with plans for a fresh wave of tariffs next week. Hours before the federal government released data which underlined a significant deterioration in the jobs market, Trump again broke with precedent to pin blame on the Fed – and urge it to change course. 'Jerome 'Too Late' Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social network. 'IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!' Related: Divided Fed leaves interest rates unchanged despite Trump pressure The Fed chair does not unilaterally set interest rates, which are decided by its rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. Presidents typically respect its independence, leaving the central bank to make an objective decision – without political interference – about the best policy on interest rates for the US economy. 'Too Little, Too Late. Jerome 'Too Late' Powell is a disaster,' Trump wrote, minutes after Friday's lackluster jobs report. 'DROP THE RATE! The good news is that Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!' Powell has repeatedly argued that the best approach for the Fed right now is to wait and see the impact of Trump's aggressive tariff strategy before cutting rates. But Trump has increasingly used the Powell, whom he appointed during his first term, as something of a piñata – repeatedly accusing him of damaging the US economy. Two members of the Fed's rate-setting committee dissented from its other policymakers' call to hold rates steady this week, and – to the president's delight – published their reasons on Friday. 'STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD,' Trump wrote, claiming: 'IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER!' By Friday evening, however, Trump's tone appeared to have changed as he told Newsmax during an interview that Powell will 'most likely' stay in his position. Trump said he would remove Powell 'in a heartbeat' and said the Fed's interest rate was too high but added that others have said Powell's removal would 'disturb the market'. 'He gets out in seven or eight months and I'll put somebody else in,' Trump said. On Friday afternoon, another member of the committee abruptly resigned. Adriana D Kugler, whose term was set to expire in January, announced she would step down next week. She did not provide a reason for the move, and will return to Georgetown University as a professor in the fall. 'I am especially honored to have served during a critical time in achieving our dual mandate of bringing down prices and keeping a strong and resilient labor market,' Kugler said in a statement. Her resignation creates a vacancy for the White House to fill. Reuters contributed reporting Sign in to access your portfolio
