ChainCatcher reports that according to Jinshi, economists warn that the Trump administration's significant cuts to federal staff and research funding could weaken the quality and credibility of U.S. "gold standard" statistical data. From employment reports to inflation indices, U.S. data can shake Wall Street's $105 trillion stock and bond market within milliseconds and serve as the basis for policies influencing the trajectory of the world's largest economy.

Ricardo Reis, a London School of Economics professor and advisor to the Richmond Federal Reserve, stated: "All cuts to federal funding, and some layoffs driven by the government efficiency department... are often a fatal blow to already strained investigative work." He added: "The investigative work behind data such as the Consumer Price Index and GDP - I believe all these surveys could be affected."