The puzzle of the US jobs data

The US jobs data paints a gloomy picture of the state of the American economy. That's having an effect on the markets, says John C Burford. But not as you might expect.

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the US, and trading will be curtailed. So this morning, I will cover a critical macro topic that seems to get many investors worked up - the US jobs picture.

Stock markets have zeroed in on this subject above most others. Now, even the Fed has changedits emphasis from suppressing inflation to promoting employment.It haspledged to do everything to bringunemployment down.

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John is is a British-born lapsed PhD physicist, who previously worked for Nasa on the Mars exploration team. He is a former commodity trading advisor with the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and worked in a boutique futures house in California in the 1980s.

 

He was a partner in one of the first futures newsletter advisory services, based in Washington DC, specialising in pork bellies and currencies. John is primarily a chart-reading trader, having cut his trading teeth in the days before PCs.

 

As well as his work in the financial world, he has launched, run and sold several 'real' businesses producing 'real' products.