Latest news with #USBureauofLabourStatistics
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's new statistics chief is not qualified to do the job
The internet has been quick to dig into the professional history of EJ Antoni, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. It doesn't take long. Now the chief economist for the Heritage Foundation, he got his doctorate just five years ago and has no publications or citations of note. He has no experience with large public surveys, no research about survey methodology, and no history of managing large organisations such as the 2000 people who work at the bureau. Unusually for an economist, he appears not to have a strong grasp of how recessions work. Ultimately, however, Antoni himself is uninteresting. He's just another unqualified Trump nominee. His nomination is worth paying attention to, however, because it illustrates the twin perils facing the economy: the coming slowdown, and a party that refuses to acknowledge it. If anyone needed further proof of that slowdown, it came in the jobs numbers that got the last bureau commissioner fired. The US economy added an average of just 35,000 jobs over the last three months. This came on the heels of a GDP report that showed both household spending and business investment growing at half the pace of last year. Meanwhile, prices are still rising above the target rate of 2 per cent. This is a historically dangerous combination, brought on by tariffs. There is no nightmare for the modern economy quite like slow growth and rising prices – the dreaded stagflation. And the US is closer to stagflation now than it has been in 40 years. But that's only half the problem – the less scary half, in fact. After all, it's not uncommon for economies to slow down or even go through recessions. When they do, a machinery of co-ordinated policy is put into gear to provide relief to suffering citizens. The goal is to prevent an acceleration of the downturn. Congress has expanded unemployment benefits during every recession since 1957. As the financial crisis was approaching, it passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the pandemic, there were the Cares Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Separate from this immediate relief, Congress also tries to address root causes. So, after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, there was the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, while the Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008 was aimed at the causes of the Great Recession. The vaccine efforts for Operation Warp Speed were included in the Cares Act.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's new numbers guru is not qualified to do the job
The internet has been quick to dig into the professional history of EJ Antoni, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. It doesn't take long. Now the chief economist for the Heritage Foundation, he got his doctorate just five years ago and has no publications or citations of note. He has no experience with large public surveys, no research about survey methodology, and no history of managing large organisations such as the 2000 people who work at the bureau. Unusually for an economist, he appears not to have a strong grasp of how recessions work. Ultimately, however, Antoni himself is uninteresting. He's just another unqualified Trump nominee. His nomination is worth paying attention to, however, because it illustrates the twin perils facing the economy: the coming slowdown, and a party that refuses to acknowledge it. If anyone needed further proof of that slowdown, it came in the jobs numbers that got the last bureau commissioner fired. The US economy added an average of just 35,000 jobs over the last three months. This came on the heels of a GDP report that showed both household spending and business investment growing at half the pace of last year. Meanwhile, prices are still rising above the target rate of 2 per cent. This is a historically dangerous combination, brought on by tariffs. There is no nightmare for the modern economy quite like slow growth and rising prices – the dreaded stagflation. And the US is closer to stagflation now than it has been in 40 years. But that's only half the problem – the less scary half, in fact. After all, it's not uncommon for economies to slow down or even go through recessions. When they do, a machinery of co-ordinated policy is put into gear to provide relief to suffering citizens. The goal is to prevent an acceleration of the downturn. Congress has expanded unemployment benefits during every recession since 1957. As the financial crisis was approaching, it passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the pandemic, there were the Cares Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Separate from this immediate relief, Congress also tries to address root causes. So, after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, there was the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, while the Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008 was aimed at the causes of the Great Recession. The vaccine efforts for Operation Warp Speed were included in the Cares Act.
The Age
3 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Trump's new numbers guru is not qualified to do the job
The internet has been quick to dig into the professional history of EJ Antoni, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. It doesn't take long. Now the chief economist for the Heritage Foundation, he got his doctorate just five years ago and has no publications or citations of note. He has no experience with large public surveys, no research about survey methodology, and no history of managing large organisations such as the 2000 people who work at the bureau. Unusually for an economist, he appears not to have a strong grasp of how recessions work. Ultimately, however, Antoni himself is uninteresting. He's just another unqualified Trump nominee. His nomination is worth paying attention to, however, because it illustrates the twin perils facing the economy: the coming slowdown, and a party that refuses to acknowledge it. If anyone needed further proof of that slowdown, it came in the jobs numbers that got the last bureau commissioner fired. The US economy added an average of just 35,000 jobs over the last three months. This came on the heels of a GDP report that showed both household spending and business investment growing at half the pace of last year. Meanwhile, prices are still rising above the target rate of 2 per cent. This is a historically dangerous combination, brought on by tariffs. There is no nightmare for the modern economy quite like slow growth and rising prices – the dreaded stagflation. And the US is closer to stagflation now than it has been in 40 years. But that's only half the problem – the less scary half, in fact. After all, it's not uncommon for economies to slow down or even go through recessions. When they do, a machinery of co-ordinated policy is put into gear to provide relief to suffering citizens. The goal is to prevent an acceleration of the downturn. Congress has expanded unemployment benefits during every recession since 1957. As the financial crisis was approaching, it passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the pandemic, there were the Cares Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Separate from this immediate relief, Congress also tries to address root causes. So, after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, there was the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, while the Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008 was aimed at the causes of the Great Recession. The vaccine efforts for Operation Warp Speed were included in the Cares Act.
The Sun
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Ringgit strengthens against US dollar amid US rate cut expectations
THE ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Monday as renewed expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut emerged following weaker-than-expected US labour market data. At 8 am, the local currency rose to 4.2350/2550 against the greenback, up from Friday's close of 4.2750/2815. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid attributed the ringgit's rebound to disappointing US Non-farm Payroll (NFP) figures. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported only 73,000 jobs added in July, well below market forecasts of 110,000. 'The weaker labour market strengthens the case for a Fed rate cut in September,' said Mohd Afzanizam. 'The US Dollar Index (DXY) has already dropped to 98.708 points, while the 2-year US Treasury yield fell sharply by 25 basis points to 3.69 per cent last Friday.' He added that the ringgit, which depreciated by 0.22 per cent on Friday, could trade between 4.26 and 4.27 today. However, the local currency weakened against other major currencies, slipping against the Japanese yen, British pound, and euro. In contrast, the ringgit strengthened against regional currencies, rising against the Singapore dollar but dipping slightly against the Thai baht. It also gained against the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah. - Bernama
The Star
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Star
Ringgit opens firmer against US$ amid renewed US rate cut hopes
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened stronger against the US dollar on Monday as hopes for an upcoming United States (US) rate cut increased following the latest data that showed a weaker US labour market, an economist said. At 8 am, the local note climbed to 4.2350/2550 against the greenback from Friday's close of 4.2750/2815. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama that the US Non-farm Payroll (NFP) data came in lower than expected and surprised the market. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday that NFP stood at 73,000 for July, coming in much lower than the market consensus of 110,000. Mohd Afzanizam believed that the US labour market has weakened, which would bolster the case for an interest cut in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in September. "Already, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has declined to 98.708 points while the 2-year US Treasury yield saw a steep drop by 25 basis points to close at 3.69 per cent last Friday. "On that note, the ringgit may gain some strength today, having depreciated by 0.22 per cent on Friday to 4.2782," he said, adding that the ringgit is likely to trade within a range of 4.26 to 4.27 today. Nevertheless, the ringgit was lower against other major currencies in early trade. It weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.8749/8887 from 2.8407/8452 on Friday, fell slightly against the British pound to 5.6296/6562 from 5.6208/6293, and was lower against the euro at 4.9075/9307 from 4.8752/8826. Conversely, the local unit was mostly higher versus regional currencies. The ringgit rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2873/3031 from Friday's close of 3.2907/2960, but slipped versus the Thai baht to 13.0388/1084 from 13.0058/0319. It went up against the Philippine peso at 7.28/7.32 from 7.35/7.36 last week and gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 256.4/257.8 from 258.8/259.4. - Bernama
