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The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
India to keep buying Russian oil despite Trump threats
INDIAN officials have said they would keep purchasing oil from Russia despite the threat of penalties that U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House, India's Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump last month indicated in a Truth Social post that India would face additional penalties for purchase of Russian arms and oil. However, he later said that he did not care what India does with Russia. On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. Two senior Indian officials said there had been no change in policy, according to the NYT report, which added that one official said the government had 'not given any direction to oil companies' to cut back imports from Russia. Reuters had earlier reported that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed in July. On July 14, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of India's overall supplies. - Reuters
The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Trump fires US labor official over data and gets earlier than expected chance to reshape Fed
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -President Donald Trump on Friday fired a top Labor Department official on the heels of a market-shocking weak scorecard of the U.S. job market, accusing her without evidence of manipulating the figures and adding to already growing concerns about the quality of economic data published by the federal government. In a second surprise economic policy development, the door for Trump to make an imprint on a Federal Reserve with which he clashes almost daily for not lowering interest rates opened much earlier than anticipated when Fed Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly announced her resignation on Friday afternoon. The two developments further rattled a stock market already reeling from his latest barrage of tariff announcements and the weak jobs data. The benchmark S&P 500 Index sank 1.6% in its largest daily drop in more than two months. Trump accused Erika McEntarfer, appointed by former President Joe Biden, of faking the jobs numbers. There is no evidence to back Trump's claims of data manipulation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the statistical agency that compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data. A representative for the BLS did not respond to a request for comment. Friday began with BLS reporting the U.S. economy created only 73,000 jobs in July, but more stunning were net downward revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in May and June than previously reported. "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. DATA CONCERNS A Trump administration official who requested anonymity said that while all economic data is noisy, the White House has been dissatisfied with how large the revisions have been in the recent data and issues with lower survey responses. The problem started during COVID and has not been addressed in the years since. "There are these underlying problems that have been festering here for years now that have not been rectified," the person said. "The markets and companies and the government need accurate data, and like, we just weren't getting that," the official said. The BLS has already reduced the sample collection for consumer price data as well as the producer price report, citing resource constraints. The government surveys about 121,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 631,000 individual worksites for the employment report. The response rate has declined from 80.3% in October 2020 to about 67.1% in July, BLS data shows. A Reuters poll last month found 89 of 100 top policy experts had at least some worries about the quality of U.S. economic data, with most also concerned that authorities are not addressing the issue urgently enough. In addition to the concerns over job market data, headcount reductions at BLS have resulted in it scaling back the scope of data collection for the Consumer Price Index, one of the most important gauges of U.S. inflation, watched by investors and policymakers worldwide. Trump's move fed into concerns that politics may influence data collection and publication. "Politicizing economic statistics is a self-defeating act," said Michael Madowitz, principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute's Roosevelt Forward. "Credibility is far easier to lose than rebuild, and the credibility of America's economic data is the foundation on which we've built the strongest economy in the world. Blinding the public about the state of the economy has a long track record, and it never ends well." FED CHANGE SOONER THAN EXPECTED Meanwhile, Kugler's surprise decision to leave the Fed at the end of next week presents Trump an earlier-than-expected opportunity to install a potential successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the central bank's Board of Governors. Trump has threatened to fire Powell repeatedly because the Fed chief has overseen a policymaking body that has not cut interest rates as Trump has demanded. Powell's term expires next May, although he could remain on the Fed board until January 31, 2028, if he chooses. Trump will now get to select a Fed governor to replace Kugler and finish out her term, which expires on January 31, 2026. A governor filling an unexpired term may then be reappointed to a full 14-year term. Some speculation has centered on the idea Trump might pick a potential future chair to fill that slot as a holding place. Leading candidates for the next Fed chair include Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and Fed Governor Chris Waller, a Trump appointee who this week dissented with the central bank's decision to keep rates on hold, saying he preferred to start lowering them now. Trump, as he was leaving the White House to spend the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, estate, said he was happy to have the open slot to fill. "I would not read any political motivation into what [Kugler is] doing, although the consequence of what she's doing is she's calling Trump's bluff,"said Derek Tang, an analyst at LH Meyer, a research firm. "She's putting the ball in his court and saying, look, you're putting so much pressure on the Fed, and you want some control over nominees, well, here's a slot." (Additional reporting by Jasper Ward and Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Daniel Burns; Editing by Chris Reese and Nia Williams and Anna Driver)
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
New Zealand will make it easier to run businesses in conservation areas
The decision is part of the centre-right government's efforts to boost the tourism industry and stimulate a limp economy. - Reuters WELLINGTON: New Zealand will make it easier to run businesses in conservation zones and charge foreign tourists to enter some areas in an effort to create jobs and increase economic growth, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday (Aug 2). The decision by the centre-right government, elected in 2023, is part of its efforts to boost New Zealand's tourism industry and stimulate a limp economy. It also comes at a time when people in countries around the world are protesting what they see as excessive numbers of tourists. "We're going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions - like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense," Luxon said in a statement. Business activities from guided walks and skiing to livestock grazing and infrastructure construction already take place in conservation areas, but permission takes too much time and effort to obtain, he said. "Unleashing economic growth on one-third of New Zealand's land will create jobs and increase wages across the country," the statement said. Foreign visitors will also be charged between NZ$20 and NZ$40 (US$12-$24) to access some popular sites, while locals will continue to go free. "Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change. But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free," said Conservation Minister Tama Potaka. - Reuters
