Mohamed El-Erian: Should not undermine BLS' integrity by firing its chief

BLS Chief's Firing & Institutional Integrity - The market is largely ignoring a red flag in Friday's jobs report, which is problematic because the decision undermines institutional integrity [1][2] - Firing the BLS chief is interpreted as a signal of dissatisfaction with released data, raising concerns about political influence on data collection [4][5] - The BLS faces challenges in data collection, including declining response rates and insufficient incorporation of high-frequency data [3][4] Data Revisions & Economic Insights - Significant downward revisions in job creation data, reaching levels not seen in four years based on three-month moving averages, suggest potential economic problems [2][10] - Bottom-up data from individual retailers can provide valuable insights at turning points, signaling economic weakness before top-down data reflects it [8][9] - Macro data is finally catching up with microdata, leading to changes in expectations regarding the Federal Reserve's actions [11] Federal Reserve & Political Influence - Concerns exist about the increasing and deepening political attacks on the Federal Reserve, potentially impacting its financial integrity [14][15] - Preserving institutional integrity is crucial, differentiating the US from other countries [13]