Overview

• The Labor Department reported that employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, and May and June gains were revised sharply lower.
• Traders pushed the odds of a September Fed rate cut to around 80%, up from 38% before the jobs data, according to the CME Group FedWatch tool.
• Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman registered a rare dual dissent at the July 30 FOMC meeting, each advocating a 25-basis-point cut.
• Governor Adriana Kugler said she will resign early on August 8, creating a vacancy on the Fed’s seven-member board.
• President Trump urged the Fed board to override Chair Jerome Powell and implement rate cuts, increasing scrutiny of the Fed’s independence.