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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Why the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics boss is bad news for your money
President Trump's sudden firing of the nation's top labor data official may seem like political drama — but experts warn it could have very real consequences for your wallet. The president ousted Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer on Friday, just hours after the release of weak jobs figures. Trump believes the federal agency had previously manipulated figures to appear worse than they really were. The president accused McEntarfer of 'faking' jobs numbers in a blistering post to Truth Social that did not provide evidence to support the accusations. The sacking undermines confidence that independent agencies are putting out accurate data, a fact that could have damaging effects on trillions of dollar of assets including 401(k)s. Despite the potential severity of the situation financial markets did not appear to react much to the firing of McEntarfer, who was appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden. Damaging the BLS's reputation could mean markets don't trust the economic data it puts out, which affects how they price assets and therefore the overall direction of stock indices. As well as the political firing of McEntarfar the BLS has raised alarm bells over its collection of recent inflation data. Due to staff shortages the agency stopped collecting figures from certain cities and began to estimate more prices rather than checking them directly with sold goods or services, the Wall Street Journal reported. If investors believe this data is being tampered with politically or is simply not trustworthy it could reduce the allure of the $2 trillion Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) market. The return on these Treasury bonds are largely determined by BLS reports. Further to this investors who own other types of bonds and mortgage securities look to the TIPS market to determine their own rates of return versus inflation. If inflation data is less trustworthy it could also cause dissent from the tens of millions of Americans who receive Social Security checks that are linked to inflation. It could be the same case for millions of state and local retiree pension benefits. Taxpayers could also sound the alarm if their exemptions, tax brackets, retirement-account contribution limits and deductions that are linked to the rising cost of living could be effected by untrusted data. McEntarfar's firing comes after months of threats from Trump against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates fast enough. Firing Powell before his term ends in May 2026 would likely cause a rout in financial markets who insist the independence of the Fed is critical for stability. Trump has targeted Fed Chair Jerome Powell claiming he is 'too late' on lowering interest rates A new Fed chair seen as under Trump's influence would also concern Wall Street. 'Whomever is appointed, the key thing to monitor is whether they are perceived as being a political appointee,' Eric Winograd, chief U.S. economist at Alliance Bernstein told Reuters. 'And by that, I mean someone whose views change with the whims of the president.' Even if Trump does not fire Powell appointing a shadow chair could blur the Fed's message and direction. Markets respond not just to official Fed decisions, but also to hints about future moves — meaning mixed signals could cause turmoil.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Donald Trump strengthens foothold on tournament golf
Good luck with that. During the weekly trial of chiselling out these back page bletherations, for instance, your correspondent tends to approach the task in hand with about as much relish as a Cocker Spaniel that's being reluctantly ushered into the vet's clinic for a neutering procedure. It's a dog's life, eh? 'It's more like a dog's bloomin' breakfast,' sneered the sports editor as he worked his way through these opening few paragraphs with his head buried in his hands as usual. For the golf writers, the work goes on. This week, the DP World Tour returns to Scottish soil for the Nexo Championship, which is being held at, whisper it, Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen. A late addition to the circuit's schedule, the event was originally called the Scottish Championship before a title sponsor hopped on board. In case you're wondering, Nexo is a premier digital assets wealth platform with its high heid yins proudly stating that, 'golf is a natural fit for our brand: elevated, global, and principled.' Is that not what Trump says about himself? Anyway, the Nexo Championship is the second significant event to be staged on Trump's golfing turf in the space of a few days following the Staysure PGA Seniors' Championship, which concluded on Sunday. The other week, a petition urging the R&A not to take The Open back to Trump's Turnberry course was launched and earned upwards of 50,000 signatures. I've not found a petition against the staging of the Nexo Championship – the Scottish Government has chipped in with £180,000 of funding for it - or the golden oldies event on a Trump property yet. Amid all the fist-shaking, harrumphing, placard-waving and handwringing that greeted the US President's visit to these shores last week, the actual golf events themselves clatter and batter on unhindered. Slowly but surely, Trump continues to establish a foothold in the business of championships on this side of the pond. My learned colleague, Ewan Murray of The Guardian, suggested in his own column recently that it would be no surprise to see a Scottish Open at Turnberry within the next few years. As Trump cut the ribbon on his second course at Balmedie last week, Guy Kinnings, the chief executive of the European Tour Group, was part of the ceremonial party. Presumably, any discussions about tournament golf at Trump-owned venues moved beyond the staging of the Nexo Championship? We all, meanwhile, know the championship Trump desperately craves. Despite all the 'dialogue' and 'feasibility work' about an Open at his treasured Turnberry, however, we all also know that there's probably more chance of the game's most celebrated major being held at Littlehill municipal while Trump is still around. In his homeland of the USA, Trump had a major, the PGA Championship, booked in at his Bedminster course in 2022 until the PGA of America stripped him of the honour after his incitement of the Capitol insurrection. PGA Championships are assigned to venues until 2032 while US Opens are already locked in at various courses until 2043. The R&A, meanwhile, has announced Open venues only through 2027. Even if the prospect seems as remote as Point Nemo, The Open still remains Trump's best crack at a major championship. He may not be around to see it, mind you. It's hard to think that 10 years have hurtled by since we all trotted off down to Turnberry for the Women's Open of 2015 and the bold Donald hijacked affairs by birling about over the Ailsa course in his helicopter before making a grand entrance. That first morning of play was probably one of the most sigh-inducing days of my working life. Well, apart from the time there was no press lunch at an Amateur Championship one year. The bizarre circus unfolded not long after Trump had made his outlandish comments about Mexicans as his Presidential campaign became more volatile and divisive. Poor Lizette Salas, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who had spoken with quiet dignity on the eve of the championship about Trump's inflammatory rant, was encircled by cameras and microphones upon completing her opening round. In an elbowing, barging scrum of news reporters, she faced barking, salivating questions like, 'is he a racist?' instead of the more genteel, 'what club did you hit into the seventh?' It was all spectacularly unedifying on the first day of a women's major championship. About a year earlier, Peter Dawson, the then chief executive of the R&A, suggested that, 'it would be ludicrous if something said on the Presidential campaign trail dictated where an Open is held.' That observation didn't age particularly well, did it? Amid the general pandemonium that engulfed the Women's showpiece that day, a teenage Lydia Ko adopted an air of shrugging nonchalance to the whole palaver. 'I was on the 16th and saw the helicopter and I was like, 'man, that's a really nice helicopter, I'd love one,' she said at the time. Here in 2025, Trump's own heart's desire remains an Open Championship. For the time being, though, a Nexo Championship will do him. It's a telling foot on the DP World Tour ladder. He may climb a few rungs yet.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Speaker Mike Johnson visits occupied West Bank to support Israeli settlers
Mike Johnson became the highest ranked US official to visit the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Republican House speaker drawing measures of praise and condemnation for his trip in support of Israeli settlements amid a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza. The excursion followed Johnson's arrival in Israel on Sunday on an unannounced visit with other Republican lawmakers, and his meeting with Israeli defense minister Israel Katz and foreign minister Gideon Saar. Johnson's visit to the West Bank is the highest profile by a senior US political figure since then secretary of state Mike Pompeo went to Psogat in November 2020 during the final months of Donald Trump's first presidency. It is a private trip hosted by a pro-Israel advocacy group, an Axios report said, and not an official congressional delegation. The outlet said Johnson traveled with fellow Republican representatives Michael McCaul, Nathaniel Moran and Michael Cloud of Texas, and Claudia Tenney of New York. Johnson told Israeli settlers on Monday that Israel was the 'rightful owner' of the contested Palestinian territory, according to a report published on the pro-Palestinian website Common Dreams, and separately, Marc Zell, the chair of Republicans Overseas Israel. Common Dreams quoted Johnson as saying that 'the mountains of Judea and Samaria are the rightful property of the Jewish people' and that the territory was at 'the front line of the state of Israel, and must remain an integral part of it'. 'Even if the world thinks otherwise, we stand with you,' he reportedly added, an apparent reference to recent proclamations by France and the UK that they would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel did not commit to a ceasefire in Gaza. His visit was immediately condemned by the Palestinian foreign ministry, which issued a statement calling Israel's annexation of the West Bank a 'blatant violation of international law'. Johnson's stance in support of the settlers, it said, 'undermines Arab and American efforts to stop the war and [the] cycle of violence, while flagrantly contradicting the declared US position on settlements and settler violence'. According to a post on X by Zell, Johnson also said the US should use the 250th anniversary of its independence next year 'to remind the American people of its Judeo-Christian foundations that were formed here in the land of Israel'. Johnson's trip comes as pressure builds on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, which some critics have called a genocide orchestrated by Israel. It also comes shortly after a Palestinian American from Florida was killed in the West Bank by Israeli settlers while visiting family. The Trump-appointed ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the killing a 'terrorist attack'. Johnson is expected to meet Netanyahu before returning to the US on Sunday.
