But a notably weak run of jobs data, including the August employment report the previous Friday, had convinced Chair Jerome Powell that a bigger-than-usual rate cut was necessary to insure against rising risks to the labor market. A pair of inflation ...

According to Powell, "The real issue with housing is that we have had, and are on track to continue to have, not enough housing."

Would Fed chair Jerome Powell opt for a measured, quarter percentage point change in rates, as he had for the last year? Or would he go big with a double-sized cut, signaling that the economy might be deteriorating faster than expected?

All but one of the 12 voting members supported Powell’s bid to start big with a half-point cut. That’s a key victory for the chair.

The chair always has enormous power,” said Mark Spindel, founder of Potomac River Capital and co-author of a book on the Fed and Congress. “There is a clear success story in Powell’s ability to get all but Bowman on board,

Gold rate today is oscillating around the record high as investors await Jerome Powell's speech for the US Fed rate cut cues