ICYMI: Trump’s Fed Nominees, ASA Pleads With CFP Board & The June Jobs Report

In case you missed it:

Earlier this week, President Trump said that he plans to nominate Christopher Waller, the executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, and Judy Shelton, an economic adviser to the president during his campaign, to the Federal Reserve board.

Shelton has said previously that, if appointed, she would lower interest rates to 0% in coming years, following Trump’s desire for lower interest rates.

The nominations of Waller and Shelton come after Stephen Moore and Herman McCain both withdrew from consideration. Moore, a conservative pundit, said in May, he would withdraw from consideration due to scrutiny over his personal and professional life. Cain, a former GOP presidential candidate, dropped out of contention for the Fed in late April.

ASA Pleads With CFP Board

On Tuesday, The American Securities Association sent a letter to the CFP Board urging them to provide investment advisors who hold a CFP designation with a public assurance that compliance with federal securities laws and regulations, like Regulation Best Interest, will not result in disciplinary action by the Board.

The ASA said in the letter that it was “concerned” over the Board’s efforts to establish its own, private standard of conduct for investment professionals that use the CFP designation. The CFP standards create a situation where CFPs, who are complying with SEC Rules, as well as their employer’s own supervisory policies and procedures, can still be disciplined by the CFP Board.

From the letter:

“We urge the CFP Board to provide investment professionals, who hold the CFP designation, with a public assurance that compliance with federal securities laws and regulations, like Regulation Best Interest, will not lead to a disciplinary action. This outcome will remove the confusion, and potential for harm, that a duplicative private standard would cause for investors across the country.”

Jobs Report Exceeds Expectations

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June jobs report this week and it beat all projections and guesses. The U.S. economy added 224,000 jobs in June. To put that in perspective, experts expected just 160,000 jobs during the month of June.

The unemployment rate did go up slightly, inching from 3.6% to 3.7%.

Sectors with the most job gains included the professional and business services, health care, transportation and warehousing sectors.

AdvisorNews Managing Editor Cassie Miller may be reached at cassie.miller@Adnewsfeedback.com. Cassie has an extensive background in magazine writing, editing and design. Follow her on Twitter @ANCassieM.