Washington, Aug 5 (UNI) Former US President and Republican candidate for the November election, Donald Trump, on Monday blamed last week's market collapse on the "inept" incumbent US administration.
"Stock markets crashing. I told you so!!! [US Vice President] Kamala [Harris] doesn't have a clue. [Incumbent US President Joe] Biden is sound asleep. All caused by inept US leadership," Trump said on Truth Social.
On Friday, Wall Street finished with its biggest weekly loss since April as a softer-than-forecast US jobs report for July triggered worries over the economy instead of a rally expected from rate-cut hopes. The S&P 500 Index, which tracks stocks of the top 500 US companies, fell 2% on the day and 2.1% on the week. That marked the biggest drop since a 3% weekly tumble in mid-April.
The United States added 114,000 jobs in July, the fewest since the jobs boom that began after the pandemic, while unemployment rose to two-and-a-half-year highs, the US Labor Department said Friday in laying out one of the most compelling data sets for an interest rate cut in September.
The jobs report came a day after the release of unexpectedly soft US manufacturing data that triggered more worries about the economy than optimism over a potential rate cut that would also be good overall for business. The last time the Federal Reserve cut US rates was four-and-a-half years ago.
UNI SPUTNIK GNK