Speaking of Inflation

 It appears that staff at the Bureau of Labor Statistics have been leaking advance notice of inflation data to large financial firms for years.

The so-called "Super Users" could then use this data to profit.

There is no evidence of payoffs to get this data, it was done simply to please the titans of Wall Street:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shared more information about inflation with Wall Street “super users” than previously disclosed, emails from the agency show. The revelation is likely to prompt further scrutiny of the way the government shares economic data at a time when such information keenly interests investors.

An economist at the agency set off a firestorm in February when he sent an email to a group of data users explaining how a methodological tweak could have contributed to an unexpected jump in housing costs in the Consumer Price Index the previous month. The email, addressed to “Super Users,” circulated rapidly around Wall Street, where every detail of inflation data can affect the bond market.

At the time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the email had been an isolated “mistake” and denied that it maintained a list of users who received special access to information.

But emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the agency — or at least the economist who sent the original email, a longtime but relatively low-ranking employee — was in regular communication with data users in the finance industry, apparently including analysts at major hedge funds. And they suggest that there was a list of super users, contrary to the agency’s denials.

Of course officials at the BLS denied it.

It's not like they are going to say, "We are Jamie Dimon's butt-boy, and we are proud of it," even though they are Jamie Dimon's butt-boy and they are proud of it. 

………

In at least one case, emails to super users appear to have shared methodological details that were not yet public. On Jan. 31, the employee sent an email to his super users describing coming changes to the way the agency calculates used car prices, at the time a crucial issue for inflation watchers. The email included a three-page document providing detailed answers to questions about the change, and a spreadsheet showing how they would affect calculations.

………

The Bureau of Labor Statistics had announced the change in a news release in early January, but did not publish details about it on its website until mid-February, two weeks after the email from the employee.

Yadda, yadda, frog-march office handcuffs.