Internal Revenue Service

Just two days after the Panama Papers were leaked to the press the IRS headquarters in Washington announced that they will remain closed for one week following a fire in the basement.  Ap.org reports: IRS headquarters in Washington will remain closed for the rest of the week while repairs are made after a basement fire in the building. The agency said in a news release Tuesday that Monday afternoon’s fire affected the air handling system. No one was hurt in the fire. The IRS says telework-ready employees are expected to telework from their approved location.

As we detailed previously, the growth of federal income and employment tax withholdings, the broadest and most timely read on the health of the job market "has been sinking at an alarming rate." What is worse, as ConvergEx's Nick Colas notes, IRS and Treasury data show refunds tracking 2-3% below last year’s levels - not good news for companies that focus on the low-end consumer, the cohort that tends to spend (rather than save) their refunds.