By Davide Barbuscia
U.S. Treasury yields dropped on Thursday on concerns over a weakening U.S. labor market, as well as the prospect of more economic uncertainty caused by the government shutdown in Washington and questions over the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The U.S. government shutdown, the longest on record, has forced investors to rely on private data in place of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report, which was due on Friday November 7 but has been frozen by the shutdown. On Thursday, a batch of private labor indicators pointed to a weakening economy, driving Treasury yields lower and boosting expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
U.S. employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday. The job cuts represented a 183% surge and were the highest October total in 22 years, as companies slashed costs and embraced…
