Weakening Economic Data Is "Exactly What Markets Needed"

Weaker US labor market data has fueled expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel forecasting three reductions this year, Eleanor Pringle reported for Fortune.

Markets, however, are cheering the slowdown, seeing it as a trigger for lower borrowing costs.

Job growth has slowed, raising concerns about fragility, though Goldman Sachs’ chief economist Jan Hatzius expects a rebound by 2026 as tariffs ease and policy becomes more supportive.

Markets, however, are cheering the slowdown, seeing it as a trigger for lower borrowing costs. Fed rates currently stand at 4.25–4.50%.

“The market got exactly what it needed last week: confirmation that the economy is slowing — not collapsing — and that the Federal Reserve has the green light to start cutting rates,” Siegel wrote for WisdomTree