How important are rate cuts to the bull case on equities? It’s a pressing question for investors in risky assets, who’ve lately struggled to ignore the bond market’s agitated reaction to inflation risk.
Key evidence comes in the form of the December US employment report. Economists predict that non-farm payrolls increased by 165,000, based on the median forecast, with the unemployment rate steady at 4.2%. Bloomberg Economics puts the number of new jobs a lot higher — at 268,000 — while Nomura Securities cites indicators including hiring surveys and jobless claims in pegging it at 180,000.
