The Daily Money: A fight over Hawaiian ancestral lands
Sara Kehaulani Goo's family has owned land in Hana, Maui, for nearly 200 years. It was a gift from a Hawaiian king in 1848, but several years ago, they almost lost it all.
In 2019, while working as a journalist in Washington, D.C., Goo received an email from her father saying the property taxes on the 10 undeveloped acres had skyrocketed over 566%, from $300 to $2,000 in a year.
So began a four-year-long journey for her family to fight for their ancestral lands.
Private equity is coming to your 401(k)
In the past, the private equity world has been largely populated by ultra-rich investors, endowments and pension funds. That may be about to change.
Retirement savers with 401(k) accounts are gaining access to the private investment market, which mostly pivots on privately held companies, rather than public ones. And the Trump Administration is expected to sign an executive order in coming days that would call for federal guidance on adding private investments to 401(k) plans.
Here's a rundown of what it means, and what retirement savers should do.
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This could be good news for fans of Mexican Coke: President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar for its sodas sold in the U.S.
"I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added, "This will be a very good move by them — You'll see. It's just better!
When can cola fans expect the change?
About The Daily Money
Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.
Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.
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New York Post
20 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump fires Biden-appointed Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after bad jobs report: ‘Numbers were RIGGED'
President Trump ordered the dismissal Friday of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), hours after the economic data collection agency released a report showing unemployment ticked up last month. Now-former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, triggered Trump's fury after her agency announced lower than expected employment gains in July and revised the numbers for May and June downward by a total of 258,000 jobs. The president accused McEntarfer of manipulating the data and charged that she had done so in the past. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden to head BLS in 2023. She was confirmed by the Senate for the post last year after previously serving in the Biden White House. Bureau of Labor 'I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election,' Trump told reporters as he left the White House to spend the weekend at his Bedminster, NJ club. 'So you know what I did? I fired her.' A BLS spokesperson confirmed McEntarfer 'was terminated today' and Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will take over on an acting basis. McEntarfer, a career federal employee, was confirmed by the Senate to lead BLS in January 2024 after previously serving as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisors under Biden. Trump explained in a Truth Social post that he was 'just informed' that the nation's employment reports were 'being produced by a Biden Appointee' and charged that McEntarfer 'faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory.' 'This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000,' the president wrote. 'These were Records — No one can be that wrong?' Last August's revision of job growth for the 12 months ending in March 2024 – the largest downward revision to US payroll figures since 2009 – drew outrage from some Republican lawmakers, who suggested the numbers were intentionally fudged to boost the Harris-Biden administration. 'We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump wrote, noting that McEntarfer would be 'replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' 'Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes,' he continued. 'McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months.' 'Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative.' Trump argued the numbers were 'rigged' to make him and Republicans 'look bad.' AP Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who demanded testimony from McEntarfer last year over the Biden-era job stats revisions, praised Trump for removing her from the top BLS post. 'I have been raising concerns for the past year about inaccurate job numbers put out by Dr. Erika McEntarfer,' Marshall wrote on X. 'Her cooked-up numbers have misled the American people for too long.' 'Glad President [Trump] is going to clean this up.' Trump doubled-down in a separate social media post, arguing that the July BLS report was 'RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' Trump told reporters Friday he has 'about three' people in mind to replace McEntarfer. 'I have a lot of good candidates. I will say, everybody wants it,' he said. 'We're gonna put someone in who can be honest.'
The Hill
20 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump rages over bad jobs report
Trump claimed without evidence on Truth Social that the commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, had 'faked the Jobs Numbers' before the 2024 election in order to boost former Vice President Kamala Harris's White House bid. Trump cited labor statistics revisions during the Biden administration that boosted job numbers ahead of the election. The jobs report released Friday showed a significant downturn during Trump's administration in May and June, indicating the U.S. added 258,000 fewer jobs over those months than had initially been reported. The move was met with outrage from Democrats. 'That's some weird Soviet s‑‑‑,' Sen. Martin Heinric h (D-N.M.) said. 'Blaming the messenger? Nothing's ever his fault.' Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posted on social media that, 'Instead of helping people get good jobs, Donald Trump just fired the statistician who reported bad jobs data that the wanna-be king doesn't like.' McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the Senate in 2024 as the 16th commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is part of the Department of Labor. She was confirmed in the Senate in a bipartisan 86-8 vote. Notably, Vice President J.D Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who were both senators at the time, voted in favor of her nomination. The Hill's Alex Gangitano has more here.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
President Donald Trump removes official overseeing jobs data after dismal employment report
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government's economic data, which has long been seen as the 'gold standard' of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have long accepted the data as free from political bias. Trump's move to fire McEntarfer represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the world's international trade system, media companies, America's top universities and Congress' constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions. 'Firing the Commissioner … when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics,' Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. 'I can't stress how damaging this is.' After Trump's initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs. 'What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,' Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from a previously revised 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%. 'No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,' Trump wrote. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.' Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on June 6 when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs. 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!' Trump posted at the time. That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most-recent revision down to just 19,000. The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5% lower Friday. The revisions to the May and June numbers were quite large and surprising to many economists. At the same time, every monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures. Those revisions occur as the government receives more responses to its survey, which help provide a more complete picture of employment trends each month. In the past decade, companies have taken longer to respond, which may have contributed to larger monthly revisions. The monthly jobs report has long been closely guarded within the BLS, with early copies held in safes under lock and key to prevent any leaks or early dissemination.
