Swiss President, Economy Minister to Fly to US for Trade Talks
The purpose of the trip is to 'facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks,' the government said in a statement. Switzerland is racing against the trade levies' Thursday deadline.
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Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
8 Key Signs You Should Switch Financial Advisors in Current Economic Landscape
The economy that you're earning and investing in can change radically from decade to decade, and even year to year. So, you want to be sure your financial advisor is keeping up with the times. Of course, if their advice never changes, their suggestions are sketchy or something's missing from the relationship, it's in your best financial interest to change. Explore More: Read Next: Here are eight key signs to consider switching financial advisors in this current economic landscape, which is shaped by market volatility, persistent inflation and increased concerns about the viability of Social Security. Poor Communication A critical red flag indicating it may be time to switch financial advisors is poor communication, according to Richard McWhorter, Managing Partner and Private Wealth Advisor from SRM Private Wealth. 'Trying to track down the person who is managing your financial portfolio should not be a game of cat and mouse,' he said. Make sure you find an advisor that you can communicate with regularly, especially at the beginning of the relationship. McWhorter recommended vetting between three and four advisors before settling on one. I'm a Financial Advisor: Swings Too Big Whether working with a new advisor or one you've been acquainted with for a while, be cautious, listen, and do your own research, McWhorter advised. Don't go into the relationship trusting everything that is said. Be discerning. 'Do not hire an advisor that is always swinging for the fences or tells you about how they are consistently outpacing the markets,' he said. 'These types of advisors […] strike out many more times than they get a home run, in my experience.' Not Evolving With the Times When it comes to your financial future, especially in today's volatile market, you need an advisor who evolves with the times. 'If they don't, it may be a red flag,' according to Melissa Murphy Pavone, a CFP and owner of Mindful Financial Partners. Be concerned if an advisor is ignoring recent legislation and policy changes. 'From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) to the impact of tariffs, your advisor should be proactively adjusting your plan, not waiting for you to ask,' she said. No Stress Testing Another worrisome sign is if your advisor is not stress-testing your retirement plan, Murphy Pavone said. 'With persistent inflation and Social Security uncertainty, your advisor should run multiple scenarios so you know your plan is built to last.' Ignoring Tax Strategy Any advisor who is not thoughtfully crafting a tax-advantaged strategy for you is not doing you any favors, Murphy Pavone said. 'In this environment, tax-efficient planning is essential. If they're not helping you maximize after-tax returns or plan for upcoming tax law changes, you're missing opportunities.' Not Tailoring Guidance Additionally, financial advice is not one-size-fits-all. If they fail to offer tailored guidance, it's a problem. 'Your advisor should understand your personal goals, risk tolerance and life stage — not just manage a portfolio,' Murphy Pavone said. Additionally, a good financial advisor should be doing more than focusing only on your investments, Murphy Pavone said. She urged 'holistic guidance from a certified financial professional,' which means your financial advisor should be trained to integrate investments, tax strategy, retirement planning and even healthcare costs. 'Because health is wealth, and your financial plan should reflect that.' If your advisor is still giving you the same advice they gave your dad 20 years ago, it's time for an upgrade, she said. Claim To Be Market Gurus Be especially wary of advisors who position themselves as market 'gurus' or claim to know what's coming next, suggested Sean Babin, a CFA, founder and CEO at Babin Wealth Management. 'No one can predict the future, and basing your financial plan on guesswork isn't planning — it's gambling,' he explained. 'Constantly adjusting your investments based on someone's crystal ball can also do more harm than good.' Don't Understand Your Goals Lastly, a good advisor should not give you generic advice, but should understand your goals and make an effort to communicate with you. 'If your current advisor has gone silent or made you feel like just another number, it may be time to move on,' Babin cautioned. At his company, Babin said they often hear from new clients that they hadn't heard from their previous advisor in months or even years. 'That's not a relationship; that's a red flag,' he said. More From GOBankingRates 5 Old Navy Items Retirees Need To Buy Ahead of Fall 5 Types of Cars Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying This article originally appeared on 8 Key Signs You Should Switch Financial Advisors in Current Economic Landscape
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says US jobs report was 'rigged' — here's how it actually works
Recent data on the health of the nation's job market cost Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, her own employment after President Trump lashed out when revisions to earlier months' numbers suggested the economy could be in worse shape than previously thought. 'Last weeks Job's Report was RIGGED,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. The July employment numbers, released last week, showed the US added 258,000 fewer jobs in May and June than what was reported previously. Economists were quick to note the changes, while larger than normal, are routine, factoring in survey data from employers that's slower to arrive, while Trump's actions risk politicizing a crucial economic indicator. Here's how the jobs report is pieced together and why data within it is regularly updated. How 'jobs data' works Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes an 'employment situation' report that includes employment, hours, and wage data for workers on nonfarm payrolls from an 'establishment survey' of businesses representing varied sectors of the economy. The report also includes data from a separate 'household survey' on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The report is closely watched by economists, traders, and businesspeople because it can move markets, influence monetary policy, and reflect the overall health of the economy. The revisions that upset Trump were from the establishment survey, which relies on a survey of about 121,000 businesses and government agencies across the week or pay period that includes the 12th of the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Estimated data from this survey is always revised twice in the succeeding two months after it's initially published 'to incorporate additional sample receipts from respondents in the survey and recalculated seasonal adjustment factors,' the BLS says in a 'frequently asked questions' page. Put simply, some businesses are slow to respond, so their survey answers are added as they're received, leading to revisions — up or down — in the estimates of new jobs. Importantly, the most recent revisions were within the BLS's confidence interval — the measure of uncertainty in its own estimates — of 'plus or minus 136,000' for the monthly change in total nonfarm employment, said Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. May payroll data was revised down by 125,000 jobs to 19,000 jobs gained, while June was revised down by 133,000 to 14,000 jobs gained. Sweet noted that 'if you look at the size of the revisions relative to total employment, they're not significantly larger than what we've seen historically.' In a blog post earlier this year, Michael Madowitz, principal economist for the Roosevelt Institute, wrote that while revisions can lead to some confusion, it's worth reflecting on 'why incurring some temporary confusion, in this case, contributes to the universally respected economic statistics that are central to the long-term stability of the US financial system.' The BLS is showing its work, he noted, which is a good thing. The payroll estimates from establishment surveys are also revised annually to account for wage and employment data from state unemployment insurance tax records. One of these revisions made waves last August when the BLS announced the economy had 818,000 fewer positions in the 12 months ending in March 2024 than initially reported, though that revision itself was also revised earlier this year to 598,000 fewer jobs. Trump has referenced the 818,000 data point as another example of what he perceives as data manipulation to favor Democrats, though it wasn't exactly great news for the Biden administration. 'We were pretty devastated that in August of 2024 in an election year — right kind of in the home stretch there when people were starting to pay attention — BLS did its annual benchmark revision and found that we had added 800,000 fewer jobs than we had thought at that point,' said Alex Jacquez, a former Biden official and the chief of policy and advocacy at the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive group. Why are the revisions happening? A bigger likely problem than data manipulation is fewer businesses answering the survey. Response rates for the establishment survey have declined sharply in recent years, leading to some worries that the data is becoming more vulnerable to errors. Still, researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco wrote in March of the monthly employment gains through 2024 that 'despite the substantial decline in response rates, the incoming data are reassuringly not subject to greater noise, and thus greater uncertainty, than in the past.' But 'it's becoming less of a clear picture of how the labor market is doing in the first estimate' due to the lower survey responses, Sweet said. That's not a knock on the BLS, he added. 'These revisions are normal,' Sweet said. 'It's the nature of the beast of trying to measure a $30 trillion economy.' Additionally, big revisions have occurred in other times of economic weirdness, including the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. 'This is why we had massive upwards revisions in the early months of the Biden administration, when a ton of people were coming back into the labor force after COVID lockdowns,' Jacquez said. The US indeed has some weirdness right now, including tariffs, business uncertainty, and immigrant workers leaving the labor force. '(Major revisions) tend to coincide with idiosyncratic times in the labor market, which would make sense. If there's a big recession, there's a bunch of churn and a bunch of things happening in the labor market that wouldn't normally be captured by the standard analysis and regressions that you pull out of the data,' he added. Sign up for the Mind Your Money weekly newsletter By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Keep watch That's not to say the revisions aren't worth examining, though: the two-month revision was the biggest since 1968 when excluding recessions, economists at Goldman Sachs have said, and could point to some strain in the economy. Even before the most recent jobs report, economists had been watching for recession risks and a slowing job market, making reliable data all the more crucial. In a video appearance on Yahoo Finance, William Beach, McEntarfer's predecessor, said the BLS commissioner has nothing to do with the estimation or preparation of the jobs data, but 'the damage is done' — people who don't follow the BLS that closely may struggle to trust the numbers. 'We're going to take a long time to recover from this,' Beach said. Emma Ockerman is a reporter covering the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance. You can reach her at Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter
Bloomberg
10 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Lula, Putin Discuss Stronger Brazil-Russia Ties in Phone Call
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss cooperation among so-called BRICS countries, whose loose alliance has been energized by US tariff policy. The two leaders reaffirmed their determination to further strengthen their countries' strategic partnership and coordination within BRICS, according to the Kremlin. Putin initiated the call, which included a discussion of his talks with the US on Ukraine and Brazil-Russia cooperation, Lula's office said in a statement.
