Highlights
On a quiet day for scheduled economic events, markets are still buzzing about Friday's weak US jobs report, the resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, and President Trump's firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The surprisingly weak jobs report with its enormous downward revision of prior months, kicked off a powerful rally in US Treasuries and knocked the stuffing out of the dollar as it renewed expectations for US rate cuts as early as September.
Kugler's resignation gives the president an early opportunity to add another cooperative voter to his two dovish appointees already on the Fed board, governors Bowman and Waller. That too is seen as raising the prospects for near-term aggressive rate cuts. Trump's move against the BLS commissioner and his attack on its data as manipulated to support Democrats is expected to undercut the credibility of official US data. It is being seen as another reason to resume the sell-America trade and to demand a bigger risk premium on US assets. That may play out in unfortunate ways this week as the US Treasury auctions another huge batch of coupons, starting with 3-year notes on Tuesday. Yields have plunged in response to the jobs report and Fed rate cut expectations, which makes for an awkward setup for the auctions this week.
Definition
Market Focus details key factors in the coming day that will impact the economic outlook and the financial markets. These include central bank events, economic indicators, policymaker speeches as well as expected political and corporate developments.
Description
Keeping up-to-date with event schedules and the economic calendar is key to understanding the global financial system. Econoday's Market Focus allows investors and policymakers to carefully track what will be making news and moving the financial markets in the coming day.