Just before Joe Biden leaves the White House and Donald Trump returns, two prominent Republican members of the Federal Reserve Board are weighing in on how fast interest rates should come down. The two — Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller — say rates can come down in a measured way.

Friday’s unexpectedly big increase in December nonfarm payrolls was leading to a reduced market-based likelihood for any rate cut by the Federal Reserve until September, based on one method of calculating expectations — and one big bank sees the risks tilting toward a rate hike.

Before the strong December jobs report was released, the odds were already low for an interest rate cut in the next Federal Reserve decision on January 29.

Traders on Friday bet the Federal Reserve will wait until at least June to reduce its policy rate, and end its rate-cutting cycle there after government data showed employers added far more jobs than expected in December.

US job growth surged in December, surpassing expectations. The services sector drove gains, but wage growth slightly slowed. Click for more on the December jobs report.

The odds of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve are getting slimmer by the day. Markets are pricing in a 95% chance that the Fed keeps borrowing costs unchanged at its Jan. 30 decision. That’s up from 94% yesterday,

Two top Federal Reserve officials on Thursday questioned the need for many more interest rate cuts. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman and Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid both said the 100 basis points in rate cuts since September has brought the Fed’s benchmark rate down to “neutral,” where it neither dampens or boosts demand.

Canada's economy added nearly four times the number of jobs forecasted for December and reached its highest number in almost two years, shrinking bets for a rate cut later this month though one is still expected by the majority of economists.

Soaring payroll growth and low unemployment in December are more than likely to keep the Federal Reserve from cutti