markets

J. Edward Moreno8/1/25

Trump fires BLS commissioner over disappointing jobs report

President Trump said Friday that he directed his team to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after the agency released jobs numbers that were below Wall Street’s expectations and painted a subpar picture of the US economy.

The BLS reported nonfarm payrolls coming in at 73,000 in July, less than the expected 104,000, and issued major downward revisions to the prior two months. The data, along with tariffs and some disappointing earnings in megacap stocks, sent major indexes sliding.

A spokesperson for the BLS confirmed McEntarfer was terminated on Friday and said Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as acting commissioner.

Trump accused McEntarfer of fudging the numbers to undermine him and bolster Democrats, but did not provide any evidence. The president has recently lauded positive jobs reports released during McEntarfer’s tenure. The weak jobs numbers for July come as the administration has sought to fend off criticisms of how its shifting trade policies have impacted the economy.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”

Update (August 1, 4:25 p.m. ET): Updated with confirmation from BLS of McEntarfer’s termination.

Update (August 1, 4:25 p.m. ET): Updated with confirmation from BLS of McEntarfer’s termination.

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J. Edward Moreno7/7/26

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

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Paige Oamek6/30/26

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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