Latest news with #SenateFinanceCommittee
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: That's not how revisions to jobs numbers work
After U.S. jobs figures for May and June were revised significantly downward by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — slashing a combined 258,000 from previous figures — President Donald Trump, imputing political bias and data manipulation to BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, revised her employment status to "terminated." Government officials from both sides of the political aisle had plenty to say about that. "Bottom line, Trump wants to cook the books," said Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Rand Paul told NBC News that "you can't really make the numbers different or better by firing the people doing the counting." The move, indeed, does have a whiff of the Chinese government, in August 2023, stopping the release of youth unemployment rates because they were spiking to record highs. (Beijing resumed disseminating the data in January 2024.) A falling tree makes a sound, regardless of whether there's anyone around to hear it. Terminating the person who reports that noise won't suck sound waves back into a vacuum either. Markets, too, were vocal in their response to Trump's firing of McEntarfer as well as the dismal jobs report. On Friday, the three major U.S. indexes had their worst day in months, a sharp turn from the week prior, which saw consecutive days of record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. This changes the calculus. With new tariffs due to take effect Aug. 7 — which could further slow hiring in the U.S. because of increased costs and uncertainties for companies — both the economy and markets might weaken further. Then it becomes a matter of whether the "TACO trade" — "Trump Always Chickens Out" — will, in the words of The Terminator, be appear in the U.S. jobs market. Nonfarm payrolls in July grew 73,000, lower than the Dow Jones estimate of a 100,000 gain. Unemployment edged up 10 basis points to 4.2%. June and May's jobs numbers were revised dramatically lower. Trump fires commissioner of labor statistics after jobs report. In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of being a political appointee who "faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election" and providing inaccurate data. BYD posts its first monthly delivery decline in 2025. China's largest EV maker shipped 341,030 units in July, a 9.7% drop from the previous month. Other domestic competitors, such as Li Auto and Nio, also recorded a month-on-month decline in July deliveries. U.S. stocks suffer their worst day in months. On Friday, the S&P 500 lost 1.6%, its worst day since May 21, breaking a 26-day streak when the index's moves remained within a 1% range. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday, while oil prices dipped on an output increase. [PRO] Robotaxis are becoming a reality. Waymo is, in the U.S., the market leader thus far, while Pony AI, WeRide and Baidu have been operating rides in China's larger cities. Analysts give their assessment on which company is likely to win the robotaxi race. Singapore's stock market is soaring. And the bull run is just getting started, experts say Once seen as a small, "unexciting" market for income-seeking investors, Singapore equities have taken a sharp turn upwards, surging to record highs. Major banks and market watchers signaling that the rally is just getting started. Building on its strong gains from last year, the benchmark Straits Times Index has advanced nearly 10% so far in 2025, outperforming the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 and several regional peers.
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: There's no return policy for jobs numbers
After U.S. jobs figures for May and June were revised significantly downward by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — slashing a combined 258,000 from previous figures — President Donald Trump, imputing political bias and data manipulation to BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, revised her employment status to "terminated." Government officials from both sides of the political aisle had plenty to say about that. "Bottom line, Trump wants to cook the books," said Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Rand Paul told NBC News that "you can't really make the numbers different or better by firing the people doing the counting." The move, indeed, does have a whiff of the Chinese government, in August 2023, stopping the release of youth unemployment rates because they were spiking to record highs. (Beijing resumed disseminating the data in January 2024.) A falling tree makes a sound, regardless of whether there's anyone around to hear it. Terminating the person who reports that noise won't suck sound waves back into a vacuum either. Markets, too, were vocal in their response to Trump's firing of McEntarfer as well as the dismal jobs report. On Friday, the three major U.S. indexes had their worst day in months, a sharp turn from the week prior, which saw consecutive days of record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. This changes the calculus. With new tariffs due to take effect Aug. 7 — which could further slow hiring in the U.S. because of increased costs and uncertainties for companies — both the economy and markets might weaken further. Then it becomes a matter of whether the "TACO trade" — "Trump Always Chickens Out" — will, in the words of The Terminator, be appear in the U.S. jobs market. Nonfarm payrolls in July grew 73,000, lower than the Dow Jones estimate of a 100,000 gain. Unemployment edged up 10 basis points to 4.2%. June and May's jobs numbers were revised dramatically lower. Trump fires commissioner of labor statistics after jobs report. In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of being a political appointee who "faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election" and providing inaccurate data. Stocks suffer their worst day in months. On Friday, the S&P 500 lost 1.6%, its worst day since May 21, breaking a 26-day streak when the index's moves remained within a 1% range. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 1.89%, its biggest drop since April. Berkshire Hathaway's operating profit drops. Year over year, Warren Buffet's conglomerate experienced a 4% drop in second-quarter earnings to $11.16 billion. Berkshire warned of Trump's tariffs and their impact on its businesses. [PRO] August is historically the second worst month for the S&P 500. That's according to the Stock Trader's Almanac, which tracks data back to 1988. Tariff developments and AI-related earnings during the week will give a sign of whether history will repeat itself. Switzerland's tariff shock: The 39% U.S. hit no one saw coming The U.S.' imposition of a 39% tariff rate on Switzerland's came as a shock to the Alpine nation. Indications in the Swiss press had been that the country was close to negotiating an outline deal similar to those struck by the European Union, the U.K. and Japan, which set baseline tariffs between 10% and 15%. Instead, it has received one of the highest rates of any country. That is a significant blow, with the U.S. accounting for around a sixth of Switzerland's total exports.
Hamilton Spectator
01-08-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Democrats decry firing Bureau of Labour Statistics director
Senate Democrats are quickly jumping on the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics, warning that it shows Trump is acting like a dictator. In a Senate floor speech, Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said, 'Donald Trump sometimes admires dictators, he admires them. Well, he sometimes acts just like them. It's classic Donald Trump. When he gets the news he doesn't like, he shoots the messenger.' Other Senate Democrats said it showed Trump was not facing up to the realities of the economy. 'This is the act of somebody who is soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy,' said Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
Politico
01-08-2025
- Business
- Politico
A wind and solar tax mystery solved
The sudden emergence of a new wind and solar tax during the debate over Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act was shrouded in mystery. But some answers are starting to emerge. The tax, which aimed to penalize wind and solar projects that used parts from China and other U.S. adversaries, popped up in a late June draft of the Senate Finance Committee's portion of the bill. It was panned by the industry and its backers as a 'kill shot' and an attempt to further hobble wind and solar after ending the technologies' tax credits. Senators removed the tax days later, thanks to a push from some Republican clean energy supporters. But its journey to the bill remained a head-scratcher, with many lawmakers and observers pointing fingers and hazarding guesses about it, and no one taking credit. 'I brought it up at the lunch [soon after the text's release] and leadership had not heard about it,' Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), a key negotiator pushing to save renewable energy incentives, told our Kelsey Brugger. 'Some members of Finance got surprised when I brought it up.' Kelsey spoke with lawmakers, congressional aides, lobbyists and others, and pieced together new details about what happened: Finance Committee staff worked and took meetings for more than a year, trying to find a policy to support domestic manufacturing jobs while rolling back the tax incentives in a way that Senate Republicans could support. The aides came up with the tax after talking with the Joint Committee on Taxation and legislative counsel. But with President Donald Trump's July 4 deadline for passing the bill fast approaching and staff juggling numerous other changes, the committee didn't have time to discuss the ideas broadly and get consensus. 'It was a perfect MacGuffin for the most frenzied point in the process,' said Liam Donovan, a political strategist at the firm Bracewell. He called it a 'reminder to industry that things could get worse.' Adrian Deveny, founder of Climate Vision and a former top energy aide to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said there 'aren't that many tools in the toolbox' if lawmakers want to reshore domestic manufacturing without the tax credits. 'The truth of how a lot of this stuff happens, much of the policy is not requested by a member, it's committee staff, it's not a new phenomenon,' Deveny added. Senate GOP leadership referred questions to the Finance Committee, which did not return requests for comment. Nonetheless, there was no shortage of finger-pointing around the excise tax. Prominent fossil fuel supporter Alex Epstein, who had been vocally pushing to end the tax credits quickly, was one person being blamed, but he said he opposed it. 'We don't want to punish solar and wind, but we don't want to give it special preferences,' he said, characterizing his advocacy. The Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition offered some support for the excise tax — but also wanted to retain the tax credits to incentivize domestic solar production. But Mike Carr, the group's executive director, said SEMA did not play a role in formulating it. 'The first time we saw the excise tax provision was the same time as everyone else. We didn't provide any input on that provision,' he said. It's Friday— thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Timothy Cama. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to tcama@ Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Zack Colman breaks down the legal outlook for EPA's move to roll back the endangerment finding. Power Centers Full steam ahead for offshore wind project The largest offshore wind project in the U.S. is on track to start producing electricity next year — a bright spot for an industry that has been under attack, Benjamin Storrow writes. Dominion Energy officials said in an earnings call Friday that their project named Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is 60 percent complete. And a turbine installation vessel that is the first American-flagged ship of its kind could arrive as soon as this month. 'This project remains consistent with the goal of securing American energy dominance and is part of our comprehensive all-of-the-above strategy to affordably meet growing energy needs,' Dominion CEO Robert Blue said on the call, echoing Trump's language. FEMA boss has two jobs The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency also holds a senior position at the Department of Homeland Security, raising questions about disaster response as hurricanes enter their most active season, Thomas Frank writes. DHS oversees both FEMA and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, and the department confirmed to Tom that David Richardson leads both. Trump appointed Richardson in January to oversee the DHS weapons office and put him in charge of FEMA in May. At the time, the president did mention Richardson's status at DHS. Heading FEMA 'is 24/7, every day of the year and requires your full attention every single day, every single minute,' said Peter Gaynor, who led the agency in Trump's first term. CO2 storage site gets ready to reopen Archer-Daniels-Midland expects to resume carbon dioxide injections later this summer at an Illinois site that was shuttered last year after a possible leak was detected, Carlos Anchondo writes. The company is the first to operate this kind of permanent storage site under EPA permitting. The well was regularly being injected with 2,000 metric tons of CO2 before EPA sent the company a notice of violation last September. The agency at the time said ADM had failed to comply with the terms of its permit. ADM is still in talks with EPA about meeting the compliance measures for the site. 'We take our commitment to safety and being transparent in reports we submit to the government and in relevant information we share with stakeholders very seriously,' ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson said in a statement. In Other News In the market: ExxonMobil is considering purchasing other oil companies, its CEO Darren Woods told The Wall Street Journal. More information: Duke Energy is planning to give electricity bill data to its North Carolina customers after years of lobbying from clean energy advocates. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Samuel L. Jackson is lending a hand to offshore wind in an advertisement for a Swedish power company. Elon Musk may be gone, but DOGE is still cutting funding for energy projects. Senate Democratic climate hawks slammed the White House AI action plan for the environmental impacts of favoring coal and gas. Exelon is in talks to build new generation in six states as concerns grow about energy shortages. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
Mint
01-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Epstein's Work for Leon Black Deserves IRS Probe, Wyden Says
(Bloomberg) -- A key Senate Democrat broadened his attack on the Trump administration's handling of records about the financing of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network, urging the Internal Revenue Service to investigate his tax and estate planning work for private equity titan Leon Black. Ron Wyden, the Senate Finance Committee's top Democrat, wrote Thursday to IRS Commissioner Billy Long to question why the agency had not audited at least $158 million in payments that Black made to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for complex tax-related transactions. A spokesman for Black denied that he engaged in wrongdoing. 'It is unthinkable that transactions amounting to tens of millions of dollars paid to a known criminal for the purpose of helping a mega-wealthy individual dodge billions in taxes were never audited or investigated,' wrote Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. 'When Americans think the system is rigged, this is the kind of abuse they think about.' Wyden is accelerating his attack on President Donald Trump's Treasury Department for failing to release any information about more than $1.5 billion in Epstein transactions that flowed through several US and Russian banks. His criticism comes amid widespread pressure for the Justice Department to release criminal records about the investigations of Epstein, who died in prison as he faced sex-trafficking charges, and Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime associate who is serving a 20-year prison term. Black retired as Apollo Global Management Inc.'s longtime chief executive officer in 2021 amid controversies. An independent review done by an outside law firm for Black four years ago concluded that he 'had not engaged in any wrongdoing,' according to a spokesperson for Black. It says he 'had no awareness of Epstein's criminal activity and all of the fees paid were for legitimate tax, estate and philanthropy planning services and were vetted and approved by outside law firms.' Wyden began investigating Black's activities with Epstein in 2022, when Joe Biden was president and Democrats controlled the Senate. A spokesman for the Treasury Department said Friday in a statement: 'IRS takes all requests seriously and will review Senator Wyden's letter. That said, clearly the Senator's antics are politically motivated. If this was so pressing, where was the Biden administration the last four years and Senator Wyden when he was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee?' Wyden's staff has pursued a 'follow the money' strategy as it investigates the flow of funds in and out of Epstein's accounts before his 2019 death in prison. In a July 21 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, he said his investigators found the Treasury Department has documented 4,725 wire transfers. The transfers were detailed by banks in so-called suspicious activity reports that are supposed to serve as an early-warning system to investigators about possible criminal activity. Some of the banks did not file the reports until years later. In his letter to Bondi, Wyden urged the Justice Department to 'immediately investigate' evidence in the Treasury files and subpoena records on Epstein from Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Deutsche Bank AG. Spokespeople for Bank of America and JPMorgan declined to comment. A Justice Department spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 'The bank regrets our historical connection with Jeffrey Epstein,' Deutsche Bank said in a statement. 'We have cooperated with regulatory and law enforcement agencies regarding their investigations and have been transparent in addressing these matters in parallel.' In 2023, JPMorgan reached a $290 million settlement with Epstein's victims. It separately reached a $75 million settlement over Epstein with the US Virgin Islands, where he had a private retreat and took some of his victims. Deutsche Bank also agreed to pay $75 million to Epstein's victims. Black agreed to pay $62.5 million to the US Virgin Islands. That settlement agreement said Epstein 'used the money Black paid to him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands.' Wyden spoke to reporters on Thursday, accusing the Treasury Department under Trump of suppressing critical information about Epstein's suspicious financial transactions, while he said banks were 'sleepwalking' over the matter. 'The longer this administration stalls, the more it becomes clear that there is something to hide,' Wyden said. 'There has been a concerted effort by the Trump administration to play down that these important records are at the Treasury Department.' Wyden said it's clear to him that banks helped fund Epstein's global sex-trafficking operations. 'I think they should be making as much of that information available as possible. I think everything should come out. Period,' Wyden said. --With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison. (Updates in eighth paragraph with Treasury Department comment.) More stories like this are available on
