U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Will suspend operations during the U.S. government shutdown and will not release economic data

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has just released its contingency plan for a government shutdown, which will suspend all operations and refrain from publishing economic data during the shutdown. Currently, U.S. lawmakers are leaning toward forcing a federal government shutdown, which could deprive policymakers, business leaders, and investors of key data needed to assess the state of the U.S. economy. Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets, said the Federal Reserve's next meeting will be held on October 28-29, and without the latest government data, it would be difficult to justify another interest rate cut. Some officials are already cautious about this and hope to see more data. Neil Bradley, chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said a government shutdown would not push the U.S. economy into a recession, but it would come at a cost and increase the uncertainty that businesses and business leaders are already dealing with. (Jinshi)