-
Jobs report could prevent rate hike — but unlikely to ensure one
A jobs report less than a month before a key Federal Reserve interest-rate decision is always a big deal, but the looming report on August payrolls probably can only move sentiment by central bankers in one direction. That’s because the Fed, in official pronouncements, public speeches and interviews, has spelled out the conditions for lifting rates. One is confidence (theirs) that inflation will return to its target. The other is for “some further improvement” in the jobs market. Heading into the jobs report that will come out on Friday, it’s really the first sentence that is a mystery. Jobs growth already ... (full story)