Pushing Back, Full Speed Ahead, or Something Else?

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

"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.

"Given Fed officials' hawkish bias, I would anticipate this seals the deal for a September cut, but there will be resistance to a 50-basis-point cut," said Gregory Daco, chief economist for Ernst & Young LLP.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, in an interview with the New York Times, also leaned away from the notion that any cut exceeding a quarter percentage point would be appropriate.

"There have to be a few members of the FOMC who believe that they are now behind the curve on policy, although the majority still seem to favor a cautious approach," said Kathy Jones, chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab. "If the economic data continue to be weak, then a 50 basis-point cut is possible."