Inflation/stagflation Thread

If true, this is alarming:

Future numbers coming out of BLS and other bureaus will be suspect.

2 Likes

I find these very alarming already. These revisions from +291k down to +33k (basically 90% off) highlight the uselessness of the initial monthly job numbers. Is it unfair to ask for slightly less inaccurate predictions? In light of this though, the July numbers may as well have been the result of monkeys throwing darts. I’m not necessarily putting it all on the BLS Chief but still, who should be accountable for getting data this way off consistently? At the end of the day, the buck stops with her so, I’m not sure I’d want to keep her at the helm.

Timing is also abysmal to be honest. It’s bad enough to have a 2 month lag for believable job numbers (one of the two things the Fed monitors), but missing the correct numbers until the next meeting in two month is really an unforced error.

I find the fact they they only report “seasonally adjusted” numbers makes every report suspect.

Why not just report the actual numbers? Instead, let expectations be “adjusted” to account for seasonality factors.

There have been significant and increasing problems with the BLS numbers over the last couple years, including a record revision of over 800,000 jobs in 2023, 2024. I don’t follow the statistics or the process closely enough to know why this was the case, but whatever they’re doing over there, they certainly seem to be doing it worse than they used to be, or else something has changed fundamentally about the economics or the data that they’re using. In which case that process might need to be improved but I haven’t heard any discussion of that happening.

This was from last year -

2 Likes

BLS always publishes both adjusted and non-adjusted numbers (see link below for non-adjusted numbers)

BLS Employment data (with revisions) since 1979

Without seasonal adjustments, you’d need more context to interpret the data. For example, non-adjusted July 2025 job numbers was -1.06 million less jobs. Personally, I cannot quickly estimate whether that’s more or less than usual. So the seasonal adjustments account for that context (including weather, holidays, school, etc.).

Now, I agree that for transparency, they could certainly do a better job at justifying these seasonal adjustments.

Nate Silver on bls data

3 Likes

The July CPI report is out:

1 Like

And the wholesale prices came hotter than expected:

I guess consumers will be paying those tariffs after all, not Canada, Japan, and the rest.

Someone at BLS about to get fired. Again. :roll_eyes:

The firings will continue until the numbers “improve.”

1 Like

Usually the CPI moves slower than the PPI so we’ll see if that holds true for wholesale inflation caused by tariffs too.

2 Likes

Powell signals rate cuts coming…

1 Like

Stocks surge but the bond market is largely unchanged

The Fed is the next battlefield:

1 Like

More importantly, it’s a pretty bad look for a financial regulator, claiming on two mortgage applications each will be your primary residence (needed for preferential mortgages rates)… when they’re done within two weeks of each other and for properties in different states.

I don’t know how common that type of lie is, but it seems to meet the mortgage fraud rules. The president can remove Fed officials “for cause” but not at his whim. She says she won’t resign, but this sounds like good enough to me, and she was referred to the DOJ for prosecution.

Given she was a token diversify hire anyway under Biden, ala Kalama and Ketanji, the Fed would probably be better off without her. Let’s have more studies of economic growth and inflation on the resume and less race studies -

1 Like

And it seems more clear-cut than what Trump was convicted of.

Trump “fired” her, we’ll see if she leaves loudly or quietly. As for her multiple mortgages, :smiley:

Follow

The good news is Cook will soon be able to refinance at a much lower rate.

1 Like

I believe there are other cases of mortgage irregularities among the political elite. I agree this is a form of corruption, albeit me fears only certain politicians / party members will be investigated and, potentially, prosecuted. Should she be a Trump appointee, or favoring Trump’s economic policies at the Fed, she’d still be there.

2 Likes

Huh? As evidenced by the impact of the Fed’s Dec 18th 2024 rate cut on 30-yr fixed rate…. oh wait

Besides she obtained her mortgages in June and July of 2021 when prevailing rate for 30-yr fixed was less than half what it is now. I’d think the last thing she’d want to do is refi those 3% APY mortgages…

2 Likes

Digression on topic of inflation but that goes without saying for every administration though. DoJ is now basically the weaponized political tool of choice for POTUS these days, ahead of ensuring laws voted on by Congress and in the Constitution are upheld. Call it selective enforcement of laws POTUS likes ….

3 Likes