Friday’s jobs report will likely determine the size of the Fed’s rate cut
CNN
The Federal Reserve is expected to shift gears this month on monetary policy and enact the first rate cut since the central bank started its inflation-fighting tightening cycle 30 months ago.
The Federal Reserve is expected to shift gears this month on monetary policy and enact the first rate cut since the central bank started its inflation-fighting tightening cycle 30 months ago. Although key inflation readings, including the closely watched Consumer Price Index, are due out a week before that crucial decision, the size of the rate cut likely will be determined this Friday. The US economy is at an inflection point, and Friday’s jobs report, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release at 8:30 am ET, could very well telegraph the direction of the economy. “The next set of job numbers released this week will be among the most consequential in a while,” Tuan Nguyen, US economist at RSM US, wrote in commentary issued Wednesday. The August jobs report is expected to provide clarity as to whether the labor market is slowing gracefully or spiraling quickly. A few weeks ago, the July jobs report signaled the latter, when the economy added just 114,000 positions and the unemployment rate shot to 4.3% from 4.1%. The numbers sent a violent reaction through the stock market as fears escalated that the once strong labor market — and the economy — were buckling under the crushing weight of high interest rates.
Union members at Boeing overwhelmingly rejected a proposed a four-year contract with the troubled aircraft manufacturer, authorizing the first strike at the company in 16 years, said the International Association of Machinist (IAM) union. About 33,000 workers are prepared to walk off the job, and the strike is set to begin early Friday morning.