Asian Stocks Set for Subdued Open Ahead of Fed: Markets Wrap
Futures for Tokyo and Hong Kong equities pointed lower, while Sydney contracts were flat after the S&P 500 snapped a six-day rally, slipping 0.3%. Treasuries climbed, led by longer-dated notes, following a solid $44 billion sale. Oil held gains early Wednesday after President Donald Trump's reiteration that further levies on Russia remained on the table without a Ukraine truce.
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US president Donald Trump sacks jobs data chief after dismal employment report
US President Donald Trump on Friday fired the head of the government agency in charge of monthly jobs data after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. In a post on his social media platform, Trump alleged that the figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics were manipulated for political reasons, saying Erika McEntarfer, the director of the agency who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. '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.' The US leader later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' While Trump provided no evidence, the charge that the data was faked was seen as an explosive reaction that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the US government's economic data. For decades, Wall Street investors and economists have mostly believed the data to be free from political bias. McEntarfer's removal condemned After Trump's initial post, Labor 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. But condemnation soon followed. A group that included two former BLS commissioners, including William Beach, who was appointed by Trump to the position, berated McEntarfer's firing. They particularly objected to the charge that the data was altered for political reasons. 'This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers,' the statement from the group, the Friends of BLS, said. Beach and former President Barack Obama's BLS commissioner, Erica Groshen, signed the letter. 'Firing the Commissioner ... when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions and all government statistics,' Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. 'I can't stress how damaging this is.' Report shows 73,000 jobs were added in July Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report indicated that the US economy has weakened significantly under Trump, following a slowdown in economic growth in the first half of the year and a spike in inflation in June, which appeared to be a result of the pressure on prices brought on by the president's tariffs. 'No one can be that wrong? We need accurate job 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.' Related Fed's Powell leaves interest rates unchanged despite Trump demands Trump administration partners with Big Tech to launch health data tracking programme Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on 6 June, when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs. 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!' Trump posted at the time. That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, and then further revised to just 19,000.
CNN
17 minutes ago
- CNN
Did the Fed just royally screw up?
It took only a few days for the Federal Reserve's latest decision on interest rates to age like milk. The central bank on Wednesday said it was holding borrowing costs steady yet again, extending a wait-and-see pattern that began in January. That same day, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that a 'solid' labor market means central bankers still have the luxury of waiting to see how President Donald Trump's tariffs affect prices before resuming rate cuts that could help boost jobs but could also reignite inflation. Just two days later, it turned out that the job market is on shakier ground than Powell had suggested. It may take a bit more time to know if that's really the case. But the Fed may walk away with egg on its face. The Fed did not respond to a request for comment. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, well below the threshold of monthly job growth necessary to keep up with population growth. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. And the monthly report was even worse than it seems: The Labor Department also massively revised downward the job gains for the prior two months. It's now clear that job growth has been anemic, based on the newly revised data: The average pace of monthly job growth from May through July was the weakest than any other three-month period since 2009, outside of the pandemic recession in 2020. 'Powell is going to regret holding rates steady this week,' Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, said in commentary issued Friday. But not everyone at the Fed shared Powell's view on the labor market. The Fed's latest decision generated pushback from within like it hasn't seen in decades. Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman cast dissenting votes, marking the first time that more than one Fed governor has done so since 1993. In statements issued Friday, both officials pointed to signs of weakness in labor market as a major reason why they dissented, while downplaying the potential effects of Trump's tariffs on prices. The Fed is tasked by Congress to address both high inflation and a weakening labor market. 'The labor market has become less dynamic and shows increasing signs of fragility,' Bowman wrote, adding that just few industries have propelled job growth this year, which remained the case in July, according to the latest data. Still, it may be too soon to conclude that the Fed has royally screwed up. 'It was a disappointing report to be sure, but when I look at the data, we try not to make too much out of any one individual report,' Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told Bloomberg on Friday after the July jobs report was released. 'I feel confident with the decision we made earlier this week.' Last year, after the unemployment rate climbed quickly in a short period of time and there were similar calls that the central bank was too late to lower rates, the Fed stepped in with a bold, half-point rate cut to stave off any further weakening. By the end of last year, it turned out that the labor market wasn't falling off a cliff: In December, employers added a massive 323,000 jobs as the unemployment rate edged down from the prior month to 4.1%.
CNN
17 minutes ago
- CNN
Did the Fed just royally screw up?
It took only a few days for the Federal Reserve's latest decision on interest rates to age like milk. The central bank on Wednesday said it was holding borrowing costs steady yet again, extending a wait-and-see pattern that began in January. That same day, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that a 'solid' labor market means central bankers still have the luxury of waiting to see how President Donald Trump's tariffs affect prices before resuming rate cuts that could help boost jobs but could also reignite inflation. Just two days later, it turned out that the job market is on shakier ground than Powell had suggested. It may take a bit more time to know if that's really the case. But the Fed may walk away with egg on its face. The Fed did not respond to a request for comment. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, well below the threshold of monthly job growth necessary to keep up with population growth. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. And the monthly report was even worse than it seems: The Labor Department also massively revised downward the job gains for the prior two months. It's now clear that job growth has been anemic, based on the newly revised data: The average pace of monthly job growth from May through July was the weakest than any other three-month period since 2009, outside of the pandemic recession in 2020. 'Powell is going to regret holding rates steady this week,' Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, said in commentary issued Friday. But not everyone at the Fed shared Powell's view on the labor market. The Fed's latest decision generated pushback from within like it hasn't seen in decades. Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman cast dissenting votes, marking the first time that more than one Fed governor has done so since 1993. In statements issued Friday, both officials pointed to signs of weakness in labor market as a major reason why they dissented, while downplaying the potential effects of Trump's tariffs on prices. The Fed is tasked by Congress to address both high inflation and a weakening labor market. 'The labor market has become less dynamic and shows increasing signs of fragility,' Bowman wrote, adding that just few industries have propelled job growth this year, which remained the case in July, according to the latest data. Still, it may be too soon to conclude that the Fed has royally screwed up. 'It was a disappointing report to be sure, but when I look at the data, we try not to make too much out of any one individual report,' Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told Bloomberg on Friday after the July jobs report was released. 'I feel confident with the decision we made earlier this week.' Last year, after the unemployment rate climbed quickly in a short period of time and there were similar calls that the central bank was too late to lower rates, the Fed stepped in with a bold, half-point rate cut to stave off any further weakening. By the end of last year, it turned out that the labor market wasn't falling off a cliff: In December, employers added a massive 323,000 jobs as the unemployment rate edged down from the prior month to 4.1%.
