ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: August 4-8

Compared to last week’s dramatic data surprises, this week’s offerings are decidedly of the slim-pickings variety. But boring, the days ahead will not be. While we’re still of the thinking that President Donald Trump won’t fire Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair’s fate could be written between the lines of any data series that undershoots expectations. 

Following Friday’s weaker-than-expected July employment report, Trump wasted no time posting on social media that “Powell should be put out to pasture” for not easing already. That same day, Trump wrote that “IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!”