Good morning. Weekly jobless claims fell last week, the US labour department reported yesterday. While the lower-than-expected number looks reassuring, it may have been due to seasonal quirks — fewer US auto plants shut down this year than in a typical summer, according to multiple economists. Meanwhile, the rise in continued claims indicated that hiring is slowing. The labour market is still holding up, but we worry that some small cracks might become bigger. Email us: [email protected].

Friday Interview: Michael Froman

Michael Froman is president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as US Trade Representative in the Obama administration and in a variety of senior economic positions in the Clinton and Obama administrations. We spoke with him about the latest news on tariffs, the US-China relationship and the outlook for global trade.

Unhedged: It’s been an interesting few weeks of tariff news: threats on Brazil, higher tariffs on Japan and Korea and new information on EU tariffs. How are you thinking about the tariffs? Where are we? Where are we going?