Economy

OVERNIGHT MONEY: Labor look-see

by Peter Schroeder - 08/01/13 10:00 PM ET

THE BIG STORY:

Welcome to August! A fresh Friday in a new month can mean nothing else but a chance to sink our teeth into a fresh jobs report. Congress might be warming up the jet turbines as they prepare for the August recess, but Bureau of Labor Statistics will be keeping things fresh with the July jobs report.

{mosads}You may have noticed that Congress is pretty interested in this whole “jobs” business, so as usual, the monthly update on the nation’s labor market will be another chip lawmakers will employ as they prep for big fiscal fights this summer. And the report will further flesh out the economic portrait for the Federal Reserve, which is watching these reports like a hawk for indications about the strength of the economic recovery, and when it will be safe to slowly, very slowly, turn off the spigot of stimulus it has been pouring into the economy since the bubble burst.

While automatic sequester cuts and tax hikes continue to take a pinch out of the recovery, recent data has remained relatively promising. On Wednesday the government reported the economy grew in the second quarter by 1.7 percent, above expectations. And a private-sector job report on Wednesday, which does not necessarily track with the government data, found that 200,000 jobs were created in July.

In other words, the economy is continue to chug along, growing slowly but steadily. Economists are expecting a number slightly less than the ADP report from the Labor Department, around the 190,000 range.

WHAT ELSE WE’RE WATCHING:

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee will welcome back — well, welcome might be a touch strong — IRS acting head Danny Werfel. While lawmakers have had plenty of questions and grievances for the tax collectors recently, the topic du jour will be identify theft as it relates to tax fraud. Werfel will be on hand, as will an official from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s office, and National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson.

Fresh off the jobs report, the Joint Economic Committee will convene to chat about its contents. The bicameral panel will chat with BLS officials about the data, and what it all means — economically speaking.

BREAKING NEWS:

Fab, not so Fab. One of the more infamous figures of the financial meltdown was found liable Thursday afternoon of misleading investors over a complex derivatives deal. Fabrice “Fabulous Fab” Tourre faced the verdict in a high-profile civil case, and one of the few cases brought against a participant in the meltdown by government regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission said they were “gratified” by the ruling, and will continue to hold accountable Wall Street fraudsters.

Meanwhile, financial reform advocates were eager to tell regulators to not be too eager to pat themselves on the back.

“You would think the SEC convicted the Al Capone of Wall Street today when all it did was scapegoat a single mid-level Goldman Sachs’ trader who bragged in emails to his girlfriend,” said Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets.

LOOSE CHANGE:

In the final bit of legislative action before the break, the House will be tackling a few bills. On the docket is the REINS Act, a GOP-backed attempt to give Congress more say over the nation’s regulations. Congress would have to vote on any new regulations that cost more than $100 million under the bill, which faces long odds in the Senate, not to mention the White House veto threat delivered Thursday.

Also on tap is a bill that would bar the IRS from implementing key portions of ObamaCare, the final piece of GOP leaders’ “Stop Government Abuse” package of bills. The Senate will already have begun its recess.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

Personal income: The Commerce Department releases June figures that measure income from all sources. The largest component of total income is wages and salaries, which is estimated using payrolls and earnings data from the employment report.

Factory Orders: The Commerce Department will release June data on factory orders, which consist of the earlier announced durable goods report plus non-durable goods orders. Last week, durable orders increased 4.2 percent in June.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

– Sen. Hatch ‘mystified‘ by IRS move.

– House GOP drafting new food stamp bill with $40B in cuts.

– McConnell: No path for tax reform.

– McConnell scores win as GOP rejects bill that would bust budget cap.

– Obama to nominate corporate turnaround specialist for IRS chief.

– Bill with Paul Ryan’s backing seeks budget flexibility for Pentagon.

– Boehner: ‘Votes would have been there’ for Transportation, Housing bill.

– Senate panel clears $594B Defense appropriations bill.

– Republicans question firm filled with former CFPB officials.

– Conservative group key-votes co-sponsorship of Hensarling’s housing bill.

– Initial jobless claims fall.