PODCAST: John Aidan Byrne on Odeon Capital Conversations on the current jobs and economic situation in the US

DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, says calculating the number of people working in America every month is a mammoth task – and it’s a task that cannot be properly done. That’s why this veteran industry analyst is skeptical of the latest jobs report for January, and of the labor numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The surprising report shows a white hot jobs market in America far exceeding market expectations. With some 11 million job openings, almost twice as many jobs as available workers, BOVE describes the governmental reporting as, ‘the greatest farce known to mankind’ and he attacks the methodology.

MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner, disagrees. What is important, he points out, is the quality of the trend line in the labor statistics which he sees as holding up.

Also on this episode, the Conversation examines how US banks may face pressure from the ranks of  government to raise interest rates on deposit and savings accounts for customers. BOVE offers historical context, noting how a former House Banking Chair, HENRY GONZALEZ, was outraged when banks did not pass along price increases to customer as loan rates were rising. Joining the wide-ranging Conversation is JOHN AIDAN BYRNE.