US Labor Department Statistical Agency Hiring Part-Time Economists for the CPI Report

Economic

Summary:

The Labor Department's inspector general's office said last week it was initiating a review of challenges the statistical agency faced in collecting and reporting economic data.

The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, under fire for recent sharp downward revisions to U.S. nonfarm payrolls and reductions to inflation data collection, is hiring about 25 part-time assistant economists, job postings showed.

The positions advertised on USAjobs.gov, scattered across the country, are in the BLS's Division of Price Programs, namely the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program.

The Labor Department's inspector general's office said last week it was initiating a review of challenges the statistical agency faced in collecting and reporting economic data.

Sharp downgrades last month to May and June payrolls figures totaling 258,000 jobs angered U.S. President Donald Trump, who fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her, without evidence, of faking the employment data. Trump has nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, to replace McEntarfer.

The BLS has suffered from years of inadequate funding under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Like all government agencies, it has been severely affected by the Trump administration's mass firings, voluntary resignations, early retirements and hiring freezes, part of an unprecedented campaign by the White House to drastically reduce the size of government.

Last week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an interview with Axios, criticized Elon Musk's mass firings of federal workers when the billionaire headed the Department of Government Efficiency. The BLS, whose workforce is estimated to have been reduced by about 15%, has suspended data collection for portions of the CPI basket in some areas across the country.

It has also ended the calculation and publication of about 350 indexes in the producer price report.

That has raised concerns over the quality of the data, including the closely watched monthly employment report, which has recently been the subject of big downward revisions. U.S. economic data has long been viewed as the gold standard.

The BLS is using imputations, a statistical method used by economists to estimate values and fill in the missing information in the CPI basket. The share of different cell imputations in the CPI data increased to 36% in August from only 9% in August 2024.

The Commerce Department's Census Bureau is also hiring about 46 field workers and supervisors. Field workers with the Census Bureau assist with the collection of data for the CPI and the household survey component of the employment report.

Source: Reuters

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Manuel

Cryptocurrency

France signaled it may challenge the right of some crypto firms licensed in other European Union countries to operate domestically, escalating pressure for centralized oversight of the bloc’s digital asset industry, Reuters reported on Sept. 15.

Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, president of France’s financial regulator AMF, said the agency is increasingly concerned that under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, firms are seeking out jurisdictions with looser standards to gain quick entry into the 27-nation market.

MiCA, which came into effect this year, allows companies to secure a license in one EU state and use it as a “passport” to operate across the bloc. While designed to harmonize oversight, the regime has already exposed wide differences in how national watchdogs interpret the rules.

Push for EU-level supervision

According to a position paper seen by Reuters, France joined Italy and Austria in calling for the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to directly supervise major crypto firms.

The regulators warned that inconsistent national practices could undermine investor protection and market stability. Barbat-Layani said France is prepared to use an “atomic weapon” by refusing to recognize licenses granted elsewhere in the EU.

She said: “It’s very complex legally and not a very good signal for the single market… but it’s still a possibility we hold in reserve.”

The AMF did not name specific firms, though Coinbase has received a MiCA license in Luxembourg and Gemini obtained one in Malta during the transition period.

National differences under scrutiny

ESMA, which has previously urged lawmakers to consider pan-EU supervision, said it continues to work to ensure consistent authorizations across member states.

Malta, one of the first countries to embrace digital asset rules, was criticized by ESMA earlier this year for shortcomings in its licensing process.

France, Italy and Austria also urged lawmakers to tighten MiCA rules, including stronger oversight of firms’ activities outside the bloc, enhanced cybersecurity standards, and clearer rules for new token offerings.

The push faces resistance from some EU members who prefer to keep national control, but ESMA chair Verena Ross has said she would welcome broader authority.

At stake is oversight of a rapidly expanding multi-trillion-dollar industry, which regulators fear could destabilize financial markets if left unevenly supervised.

Source: Cryptoslate

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Manuel

Stocks

Political

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman on Monday advocated to provide public companies the option to report either quarterly or semi-annually, as the exchange operator reinforces its support for reforms to reduce reporting burden on publicly listed companies.

The comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday renewed calls for ending quarterly reports for companies, a move that would mark a major shift for corporate America if approved.

Trump's idea, which revisits a similar call he made in 2018, is subject to the approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Thank you, President Trump for shining a light on a key challenge that leaders of public companies face: short-termism, exacerbated by quarterly reporting," Friedman said in a post on LinkedIn.

Friedman said that minimizing friction, burden and costs associated with being a public company could further inject energy into the U.S. capital markets and spur economic growth.

Nasdaq has also previously publicly made the case for streamlining reporting requirements, suggesting giving companies the option to report semiannually instead of quarterly.

It had also suggested standardizing guidelines for the earnings press release to allow the document to replace the quarterly Form 10-Q entirely, according to its white paper.

Currently, Wall Street's top regulator requires companies to report their financial statements every 90 days. Half-yearly reporting would put the U.S. in line with the UK and several other countries in the European Union.

Top Wall Street executives in the past have also called for reforms to ease public company regulations.

In 2018, top corporate bosses Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that short-termism was harming the U.S. economy.

U.S. exchange operators have also been in talks with the SEC on easing regulatory burdens for public companies from reducing the quantum of disclosures and the costs of going public, Reuters reported in June.

Source: Reuters

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Manuel

Economic

Political

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the Trump administration would not impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods to halt China's purchases of Russian oil unless European countries hit China and India with steep duties of their own.

Bessent told Reuters and Bloomberg in a joint interview that European countries needed to play a stronger role in cutting off Russian oil revenues and bringing its war in Ukraine to an end.

"We expect the Europeans to do their share now, and we are not moving forward without the Europeans," Bessent said, when asked whether the U.S. would impose Russian oil-related tariffs on Chinese goods after President Donald Trump slapped an additional 25% duties on Indian imports.

Bessent said he pointed out in talks with Chinese officials in Madrid on trade and TikTok that the U.S. had imposed tariffs on Indian goods and that Trump has been urging European countries to impose tariffs of 50% to 100% on China and India to cut off Russian oil revenue.

He said the response from the Chinese side was that oil purchases are a "sovereign matter."

Bessent criticized purchases of Russian oil by some European countries, while others buy petroleum products refined in India from Russian crude purchased at discounted rates, saying they were helping finance a conflict in their own back yard.

"I guarantee you that if Europe put on substantial secondary tariffs on the buyers of Russian oil, the war would be over in 60 or 90 days" because it would cut off Moscow's main revenue source, Bessent said.

The Treasury chief said the tariffs on Indian goods over Russian oil purchases had brought "substantial progress" in talks with India. New Delhi and Washington will hold another round of talks with the U.S. on Tuesday amid a recent thaw in rhetoric between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bessent said the U.S. would be willing to work with European countries to consider steeper sanctions on Russian entities, including oil majors such as Rosneft and Lukoil, along with steps to prepare for greater use of Russian sovereign assets that have been frozen since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

This could be achieved by seizing small portions of the $300 billion in frozen assets to start, or placing them in a special purpose vehicle that could serve as collateral for a loan to Ukraine, he said.

Source: Reuters

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Manuel

Cryptocurrency

Base officially announced exploration of a native network token during its Base Camp event on Sept. 15, marking a potential milestone for Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network as it targets global adoption.

Base founder Jesse Pollak delivered the announcement during his presentation at the event, outlining the network’s vision to scale from tens of millions to billions of users globally.

Pollak positioned the token exploration within three core principles: achieving complete decentralization, aligning builders and creators as economic participants, and pushing the boundaries of crypto to unlock new systems.

He stated: “The economy can only work if we’re the ones shaping it and benefiting from it.”

Additionally, he explained the rationale behind creator and developer alignment through tokenization.

Base currently operates as a stage one rollup, consisting of a decentralized fraud or proof submission system and a security council.

However, it is not fully decentralized, requiring additional work to achieve complete decentralization in stage two. The potential token represents a mechanism to accelerate this transition while incentivizing ecosystem participation.

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, confirmed the development via X, stating the token “could be a great tool for accelerating decentralization and expanding creator and developer growth in the ecosystem.”

Armstrong emphasized that no definitive plans exist, referring to the announcement as a philosophical update as the team explores possibilities.

Three key commitments

Pollak made three explicit commitments regarding token development. Base remains committed to building on Ethereum, rejecting speculation about alternative blockchain foundations.

Further, the team pledges to “do this right” by collaborating with regulators and legislators, drawing on Coinbase’s 15-year compliance track record.

Finally, Base commits to transparent development, building “in the open” through community engagement and feedback.

The announcement follows Base’s decision to embrace transparency over secretive development. Pollak acknowledged receiving advice to keep exploration private but chose the “Base way” of open development without predetermined answers.

Base plans to gather community input during the two-day Base Camp event to inform token development in accordance with the network’s values.

Pollak described the announcement as “a new day one” opportunity to leverage tokenization for building a global economy.

The exploration phase begins without specific timelines or implementation details, as Base will prioritize community consultation and regulatory compliance before advancing the development of the token.

Source: Cryptoslate

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Adam

Economic

Optimism over Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts is putting anxiety over a global trade war firmly in the rearview mirror for many on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 Index has surged 32% since President Donald Trump first outlined his onslaught of global levies in April, with most forecasters expecting further gains before year-end. Measures of projected volatility look dormant, and analysts’ profit views for the first half of 2026 are climbing back toward where they stood at the beginning of the year.

While Trump’s tariffs weigh on business confidence and are slowly creeping into consumer prices, Wall Street is acutely focused on the Fed’s path for borrowing costs and continued enthusiasm around artificial intelligence to keep the S&P 500 rally afloat.

“It’s almost as if the trade war was a bad dream that lived mostly in Wall Street’s imagination,” Bloomberg Intelligence strategists Michael Casper and Wendy Soong wrote in a Sept. 9 note to clients.

Wall Street All But Abandons Its Trade Angst as Rate Cuts Near_1

Improving Outlook | Analysts' 2026 profit views have been recovering since July

Analysts are rapidly upgrading their profit outlooks after slashing them at the fastest pace since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The trend highlight confidence in Corporate America’s growth engine that has supported the S&P 500 during its bull run.

Since bottoming in July, 2026 earnings estimates for the S&P 500 have climbed in each of the past nine weeks. At $295 per share, they’re in line with where they stood in late April, according to BI data.

“While tariff concerns may bubble back up should inflation numbers pick up, it isn’t enough to kill the positive vibes,” said Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Financial Inc. “The high likelihood of rate cuts and strong earnings are driving stocks, with the AI boom providing the tailwind.”

Analysts are growing more optimistic after second-quarter profits grew by 11%, more than triple the pre-season estimate as consumers showed resilience and AI spending continued. As a result, earnings projections are now rising for each of the next three quarters.

Most recently, United Airlines Holdings Inc. touted improved demand for travel, with the company’s chief executive officer saying he feels better about the global economy than just several weeks ago.

Data last week showed inflation rose in line with expectations in August, keeping the Fed on track to reduce borrowing costs. The core consumer price index, excluding the often volatile food and energy categories, increased 0.3% from July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On an annual basis, it advanced 3.1%.

Some companies on an individual level are being negatively impacted by tariffs, and their effect so far is showing up more in ISM prices data than CPI, according Michael Kantrowitz, chief investment strategist at Piper Sandler & Co. Trade policy is “like many macro concerns, a micro issue,” he said.

Some of the market’s resilience, he added, can be attributed to reduced uncertainty around tariffs rather than outright nonchalance, with a Bloomberg index that tracks global trade uncertainty falling to the lowest level this year, easing from April’s spike as the S&P 500 gained.

Wall Street All But Abandons Its Trade Angst as Rate Cuts Near_2

Moving in Opposite Direction | S&P 500 has advanced as global trade uncertainty subsided

Over at Citigroup Inc., global head of macro and emerging market strategy Dirk Willer points out that the US effective tariff rate is running at 9% compared to the theoretical announced rate of closer to 18%. That’s due to one of two reasons, he says: transshipments — when goods are rerouted through lower-tariff countries — or official exemptions from new or existing levies.

Whether the trade war flares up again in the future depends on which of the two it is. If it’s the former, Willer says, that risks further targeted tariff changes down the line. If it’s the latter, a softer trade war may be a policy objective of the administration.

“The tariff issue has moved from the top of the focus list for investors,” said Miller Tabak & Co.’s Matt Maley. “However, when the next earnings season comes around, it will likely come into focus once again. The impact of the tariffs was always going to be a second half phenomenon, so investors will focus on what companies have to say about this issue once again in October.”

Source: Bloomberg

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Adam

Economic

South Korea's negotiations with the U.S. on a trade deal to lower tariffs have stalled amid concerns over the foreign exchange implications of a $350 billion investment fund, part of an agreement reached with President Donald Trump in July.

WHAT HAS JAPAN AGREED TO?

South Korean officials, who had argued that the package would mostly comprise loans and guarantees with limited direct investment, said last week they could not accept terms similar to those of a $550 billion investment package finalised this month by Japan.

Tokyo agreed to transfer money within 45 days after the U.S. selects a project, and that available free cash flows from investments would be split evenly until they reached an allocated amount, after which 90% would go to the U.S.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday that there would be no flexibility for Seoul. "The Japanese signed the contract. The Koreans either accept that deal or pay the tariffs. Black and white, pay the tariffs or accept the deal."

HOW IS SOUTH KOREA'S SITUATION DIFFERENT FROM JAPAN'S?

Since South Korea's deal was announced in late July, there have been concerns among market participants that the resulting dollar demand will overwhelm the domestic currency market, depressing the won .

Since suffering traumatic capital flight during a financial crisis in the late 1990s, South Korea has retained a tight grip on its currency market. It started opening it to foreigners last year but there is still no offshore market to trade the won.

The daily average global won trade stood at $142 billion in 2022, compared with $1.25 trillion for the Japanese yen, according to a triennial survey by the Bank for International Settlements. The won accounted for 2% of global market share, against 17% for the yen.

WHY IS IT SOUTH KOREA PARTICULARLY WORRIED?

The won hit a 15-year low at the end of last year at around 1,476 to the dollar and now stands around 1,390.

Market participants say the $40 billion needed by the state pension fund every year for its overseas investments is already a heavy burden on the currency. Citi estimated that the investment package would generate dollar demand of around $100 billion each year from 2026 to 2028.

South Korea's economy is much smaller than Japan's. It had a current account surplus of $99 billion last year, compared with Japan's surplus of nearly $200 billion, and central bank foreign reserves of $416 billion in August, compared with Japan's $1.3 trillion.

HOW IS SOUTH KOREA TRYING TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT?

The idea of seeking a foreign exchange swap line with the U.S. was raised publicly by Presidential Policy Secretary Kim Yong-beom last week, when he said the yen's status as a key international currency and an unlimited swap line between Japan and the U.S. put Tokyo in a stronger position.

Finance Minister Koo said last week there would be an announcement on foreign currency when tariff negotiations conclude and he told Reuters on Monday he thought the U.S. would "contemplate" a currency swap line, after a local media outlet said the government had passed the request to the U.S.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE FX SWAP LINES WITH THE US?

The U.S. Federal Reserve has standing swap line arrangements with the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan, the European Union and Switzerland.

It established temporary swap lines of $60 billion each with the Bank of Korea and eight other central banks in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the swap line expired in December 2021, the Fed offered the Bank of Korea a safety net of $60 billion through repurchase agreements, enabling it to borrow dollars with its holdings of U.S. Treasuries as collateral.