Fed Officials Seen as Likely to Push Back Against Half-Point Cut

A weak July jobs report has fueled fears the Federal Reserve has already waited too long to lower interest rates, but policymakers are unlikely to respond with a jumbo-sized cut in September that might signal alarm.

US hiring slowed markedly in July and the unemployment rate rose to the highest level in nearly three years, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday.

“We’d never want to overreact to any one month’s numbers,” Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Michael McKee and Sonali Basak.

Some major Wall Street Banks, including JPMorgan Chase ...