This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg3xrrzdr0o

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Trump says he will fire head of BLS as stocks shudder Trump fires BLS head as tariffs cause stock market drop
(about 1 hour later)
Watch: Trump defends firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics head over "wrong" numbers
US President Donald Trump said he would fire the head of the agency charged with publishing some of America's most closely watched economic data, after a weaker-than-expected jobs report stoked further alarm about his tariff policies.US President Donald Trump said he would fire the head of the agency charged with publishing some of America's most closely watched economic data, after a weaker-than-expected jobs report stoked further alarm about his tariff policies.
His decision to move forward with plans to sharply raise tariffs on goods from countries around the world had already sent financial markets in the US shuddering. In a post on social media, Trump - without evidence - accused the commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, of manipulating jobs figures for political reasons.
In the US, the three major indexes dropped, with the S&P falling 1.9% by mid-afternoon. The decision shocked Wall Street and raised alarm about White House interference in economic data at a time when many forecasters are predicting Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy.
That followed earlier sell-offs in Europe and Asia, as investors dumped shares of firms such as South Korean steel manufacturers and German truck-maker Daimler. It came as global stock markets shuddered, after Trump moved forward with plans to sharply raise tariffs on goods around the world.
Trump's plans leave most goods coming into the US facing new taxes of 10% to 50%, depending on their origin, and will lift tariff rates in the US to the highest levels in nearly a century. In the US, the three major indexes dropped, with the S&P closing 1.6% lower, following earlier sell-offs in Europe and Asia.
Trump says the measures will rebalance global trade and boost US manufacturing. Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, said the decision to fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was concerning, noting that high-quality economic data is essential to businesses and not easily replicated with private sources.
But analysts say they will raise prices for businesses and consumers in the US and weigh on the US and global economies, as sales, hiring and investment slow. "Clearly, this is a step in a very bad direction," he said. "If there are any questions around the integrity of the data ... it's going to create a lot of problems."
This week has revived fears about economic damage, as companies update investors on their costs and new data points to slowdown in the US. Trump has dismissed concerns about his tariff plans, which he says will boost manufacturing in the US and rebalance global trade.
Employers in the US added just 73,000 jobs in July, according the monthly Labor Department report published on Friday. But new data this week and a string of updates from companies on tariff costs have made those forecasts harder to ignore.
It also dramatically revised estimates of job growth in May and June, with far fewer gains than previously thought. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers in the US added just 73,000 jobs in July. It also dramatically revised estimates of job growth in May and June, reporting 250,000 fewer jobs created than previously thought.
"The economic data since the Liberation Day announcements did not reflect that sharp deterioration in economic activity, or at least not in obvious ways. This was the week that changed," analysts at Wells Fargo wrote on Friday. Trump cited the revisions as he announced his decision to fire Ms McEntarfer.
The revisions appeared to spur Trump to fire the commissioner of labor statistics, Erika McEntarfer, in a post on social media. "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," he wrote on social media.
"We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," he wrote on social media, referring to the large revisions to the May and June jobs numbers. The head of the Labor Department, which oversees the BLS, wrote on social media that the agency's deputy commissioner William Wiatrowski would step into the role during the search for a replacement.
Trump also lashed out at Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, whom he has angrily criticised in recent months. The Labor Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The BLS revises jobs numbers every month as new data comes in, typically adding or subtracting ten of thousands of positions.
Shares in the US opened lower in the morning, with losses accelerating over the course of the afternoon. Though this month's changes were significantly larger than usual, analysts said the updates were consistent with other data showing slowdown.
France's CAC 40 closed down 2.9%, while German's DAX fell 2.6%. In the UK, the FTSE fell 0.7%. Some speculated that they could reflect a hit to small businesses, which are typically slower to respond to surveys and are especially vulnerable to tariffs.
Earlier the leading index in South Korea fell 3.8%, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 1% and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6%. "Revisions are normal," Mr Sweet said. "They're trying to get this right."
When Trump first put forward his plans in April, shares in the US tumbled more than 10% in a week, the concerns spreading to the dollar and bond markets. Ms McEntarfer had worked for the government for more than 20 years before being nominated to lead the BLS in 2023. She was later confirmed near unanimously by the US Senate.
Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, defended Ms Entarfer, saying she had conducted herself with "great integrity".
"It is imperative that decisionmakers understand that government statistics are unbiased and of the highest quality. By casting doubt on that, the President is damaging the United States, " he wrote on social media.
Jed Kolko, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the firing raised serious alarm. It comes after the government has scaled back its collection of economic data, including information on inflation, amid government spending cuts.
"For six months, I've said that threats to economic data have been more collateral damage than intentional harm. No longer. Firing the head of the BLS is five-alarm intentional harm to the integrity of US economic data and the entire statistical system," he wrote on social media.
Trump defended the decision and said her departure was needed to ensure there were "people that we can trust" in these posts.
"Why should anybody trust numbers?" the president told reporters when leaving the White House on Friday. "I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election, and there were other times - so you know what I did? I fired her, and you know what I did? The right thing."
Tariffs hit global markets
The fight over the data comes as Trump is remaking trade policy, hitting goods from countries around the world with new tariffs ranging from 10% to 50%.
When Trump put forward similar plans in April, shares in the US tumbled more than 10% in a week, the concerns spreading to the dollar and bond markets.
The stock market recovered after he suspended some of the most drastic measures, leaving in place a less punishing, more expected 10% levy. In recent weeks, indexes in the US have been trading around all-time highs.The stock market recovered after he suspended some of the most drastic measures, leaving in place a less punishing, more expected 10% levy. In recent weeks, indexes in the US have been trading around all-time highs.
"The reality is Trump got emboldened by the fact that markets came right back," Michael Gayed, portfolio manager for The Free Markets ETF told the BBC's Opening Bell. "Now he's going to try his luck again." The latest measures are less extreme than what Trump first put forward in April, but they will still push the average tariff rate to roughly 17%, up from less than 2.5% at the start of the year.
The latest measures are less extreme than what Trump first put forward in April, when goods from key players in southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, were facing tariff rates of more than 40% and a tit-for-tat exchange with China drove US tariffs on its exports surge to at least 145%. "The reality is Trump got emboldened by the fact that markets came right back," Michael Gayed, a portfolio manager for The Free Markets ETF told the BBC's Opening Bell. "Now he's going to try his luck again."
But the tariffs still make for a radical change for the US, for decades a champion of free trade. Shares in the US opened lower in the morning, with losses accelerating over the course of the afternoon. The S&P 500 closed down 1.6%, while the Dow dropped 1.2% and the Nasdaq fell 2.2%.
The plans include a minimum 10% tax on most goods entering the US, with major trade partners, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam face tariffs in the range of 15% to 20%. France's CAC 40 closed down 2.9%, while German's DAX fell 2.6%. In the UK, the FTSE fell 0.7%.
Goods from China are set to facing new 30% levies, while exports from some other countries, including Switzerland and Laos face even higher duties. Earlier, the leading index in South Korea fell 3.8%, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 1% and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6%.
The changes, which are set to go into effect on 7 August, will lift the average tariff rate to roughly 18%, up from less than 2.5% as recently as January. In the aftermath of the jobs report, Trump also launched another attack Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who he says is moving too slowly to lower borrowing costs.
Investors had been taking the impact of tariffs in stride, sending shares in the US and elsewhere to new highs in recent weeks. Powell leads the 12-person committee that sets the central bank's interest rate policy, which influences interest rates for loans across the economy.
Mr Gayed said markets had become less sensitive to Trump's rapidly changing trade policies, but he saw risks ahead. On Friday, one of the voting members of that committee, Adriana Kugler, whose term was due to end in January, said she would resign, giving Trump an opportunity to install someone new.
"The more he just whips around policy, the more the markets will not care, but as the old saying goes, nothing matters 'til it matters and then it's the only thing that matters," he said.