First, we head into the (delayed) September payrolls report on Thursday with the market in a very tolerant mood for a weak number. Normally, if there was a market expectation for a number of about 50k it would be a huge miss relative to the clearing number of 150k. But that clearing number is acknowledged to be lower now, partly on account of supply-side shocks being applied to the labour market. Also, with a new Bureau of Labor Statistics head in place (post the firing of the former one), there is likely a tendency to come out with a conservative estimate for employment numbers, to avoid the downward revisions that ... (full story)