Publications

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (“JOLTS”), a closely-watched measure of labor market health, indicated there were 6.2 million job openings at the end of July, little changed from June.  Hires edged up to 5.5 million and the quits rate inched up to 2.2%.  BLS Report

According to the Wall Street Journal, OPEC oil production fell last month for the first time since April. OPEC production declined by 0.24% or about 79,000 barrels per day in August, mostly due to production cuts by Libya, Gabon, Venezuela, and Iraq. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says that the Republican tax reform plan will aim to exclude service-sector firms from enjoying “pass-through” tax rates. Secretary Mnuchin emphasized that any Republican tax plan would seek both to eliminate tax loopholes and to encourage job creation. WSJ

According to Ian Talley of the Wall Street Journal, economic sanctions have a mixed track record in achieving their desired geopolitical outcome. Talley says that the success of sanctions against North Korea will depend on cooperation from the international community and the forcefulness of specific sanction measures. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that damage from major hurricanes in the U.S. will worsen the global oil supply glut as large areas of the U.S. are shut-down, weakening demand for energy. Market watchers say that millions of barrels of crude oil will be forced into oil caverns and tankers, likely serving to depress oil prices despite efforts from OPEC countries to prop them up. WSJ

Jennifer Levitz of the Wall Street Journal writes that companies struggling to hire qualified workers are opening offices in cities with high levels of underemployed workers. Levitz says that tech firms are especially desperate for workers and are moving to cities that traditionally have not been hubs for high-tech jobs as workers are increasingly unwilling to relocate to a new city. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that the House has passed a combined three-month debt ceiling extension and disaster relief bill that passed the Senate yesterday. The bill, which comes after President Trump reached an agreement with Senate Democrats, gives Congress much-needed time to formulate a longer-term debt ceiling extension. WSJ

Gregory Meyer of the Financial Times writes that both the Panama Canal and U.S. east coast ports have been expanded in recent years to accommodate larger ships, which could reshape the flow of goods across North America. The expansions that have been completed this year may make it cheaper to ship goods from Asia to Atlantic ports instead of Pacific ports. FT

According to the Wall Street Journal, persistently low inflation readings have forced Federal Reserve officials to reconsider the path of future rate hikes. While the Fed was planning another rate hike for this coming December, officials recently have indicated that they would like to see prices begin to rise before enacting another rate hike. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal writes that only 49% of Americans believe that earning a four-year college degree will lead to a good job and higher lifetime earnings. The skepticism about the value of a four-year degree is concentrated especially amongst people under the age of 30 and people with less than a college education. WSJ

According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump has agreed to a plan put forward by Congressional Democrats to raise the debt ceiling for three months and increase disaster relief for the Gulf Coast area. If the plan is approved by Congress, the threat of a government default or shutdown would be delayed until mid-December and Congress could work on a longer-term solution to the debt ceiling. WSJ

The Financial Times reports that Federal Reserve vice-chair Stanley Fischer will resign in October before his term ends in 2018. Fischer has chaired the Fed’s committee on financial stability and recently criticized attempts to loosen financial regulations put in place after the  financial crisis. FT

The Financial Times reports that Fed governor Lael Brainard says that persistently low inflation is “troubling” and that the Fed should be cautious about future rate hikes. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the core personal consumption expenditure index, has largely remained below the 2% target for the last five years, and Brainard argues that this may be a result of underlying shifts in the economy rather than short term factors. FT

Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal argues that jobs lost in the brick and mortar retail industry are likely to be regained in other industries such as warehousing and shipping. Ip contends that automation and other productivity-boosting technologies usually create more jobs than they destroy by lowering prices and increasing demand for the goods or services produced in a given industry. WSJ

The New York Times writes that the U.S., Canada, and Mexico have concluded the second round of talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) but have made little progress. While the U.S.’ main goal is to reduce trade deficits, other key sticking points are minimum wages in Mexico and increased cross-border energy investment. NYT