Source: Golden Ten Data

Biden's administration is being plagued by a scandal. An economist from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics was exposed and$JPMorgan (JPM.US)$und$Blackrock (BLK.US)$When Wall Street giants communicated data on a key inflation indicator, this raised questions about fair access to economic information.

Records obtained by Bloomberg show that in recent months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics economist answered many detailed questions about the Consumer Price Index (CPI), mainly involving calculations in key categories such as housing and used cars.

The conversation between the economist, who has worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for many years, and a financial giant was first revealed by the New York Times. He was directed at a broader group of economists and in one of them he referred to them as “my super users” (my super users). As a result, economists learned that there is a smaller, more unique group called “superusers,” and that this is a “super secret group” that can receive economic data on a priority basis.

In mid-February, a user asked if they could be added to the “super user email list” (super user email list). A few minutes later, the economist answered, “Yes, I can add you to the list.” But the Bureau of Labor Statistics said it doesn't have a so-called “superuser” list.

As soon as the news came out, a recipient of the email said that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics “tried to withdraw this email and was told to ignore the content”. The agency also said that the email was “a mistake,” as if they were trying to conceal it afterwards.

Although the names of this group of email recipients have been removed from the request, details of their email signatures or information disclosed by the employer can be seen in some records. In addition to BlackRock and J.P. Morgan Chase, other banks, hedge funds, and research firms also appeared on the list, including Brevan Howard, Millennium Capital Partners LLP, Citadel (Citadel), Moore Capital Management (Moore Capital Management), High Frequency Economics (High Frequency Economics), and Nomura Securities International (Nomura) Securities International) and$BNP PARIBAS SPON (BNPQY.US)$Wait for a refusal to comment. Pharo Management and Wolfe Research were also mentioned in the email, and there was no comment.

In February of this year, staff at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics sent an email to these “superusers”, implying that behind the sharp rise in CPI in January, there was a change in the weight of the underlying data in a key measure of rent inflation. Since then, economists have been trying to learn more about these “superusers.”

As the list of the giants involved comes to light, it may trigger a deeper scrutiny of the dissemination of economic information. This information has an impact on major asset transactions and the Federal Reserve's policies. Emily Liddel (Emily Liddel), the Bureau of Labor Statistics's deputy director for publications and special research, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics encourages people to ask questions and keep its staff in touch with the public at any time, but they work to create equal access to information for everyone.

“Obviously, this is an embarrassment for the agency,” Liddell said. “The public has a lot of trust in our fairness, and our data providers trust our data security. Our goal is to repair that trust.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics economist involved is responsible for pointing users to relevant links on the agency's website. But at least once, he shared information that was not disclosed at the time. That information was related to the calculation of the used car index in the CPI. Liddell said whether the employee shared other non-public information “is still under investigation,” and the question appears to be limited to this employee. She said he is currently not answering questions from users. The economist also did not respond to requests for comment.

Although the economist's identity remains unclear, the New York Times reports that emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the agency — or at least the economist who sent the original email, a long-time but relatively low-ranking employee — maintains regular contact with data users in the financial industry, which apparently includes analysts from major hedge funds. They implied the existence of a list of superusers, which contradicted the Bureau of Labor Statistics's denial.

Although there is currently no evidence that the employee provided early access to upcoming statistics or directly shared data not available to other members of the public, in several instances, the employee did have lengthy one-on-one email conversations with data users to discuss how the inflation data was combined. While these details are very technical, they may be significant for forecasters vying to forecast inflation data. These estimated data are in turn used by investors to bet on a large number of securities linked to inflation or interest rates.

Jeff Hauser (Jeff Hauser), executive director of the Revolving Door Project, said analysts regularly interact with government economists to ensure they understand the data, but “when such access can impact the market, the access process needs to be transparent.” “This stuff is valuable, and then someone sends it away.”