Many investors and some economists worry that the Fed has waited too long, leaving the labor market and economic growth on thin ice and injecting volatility into financial markets. The latter was evident in the Treasury market last Friday, when traders suddenly resumed betting on a 50 basis point rate cut. The November presidential election also puts the Fed's decision-making in an unpleasant position. Republican candidate and former President Trump warned that the Fed should not cut rates before the election, while Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pressured officials to cut rates by 75 basis points. "This is a critical action," said Priya Misra, portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management. "Soft landings are very rare." JPMorgan is the only one of the largest banks in the United States to insist that the Fed will cut interest rates by 50 basis points. However, while other banks have returned to expectations of a 25 basis point rate cut, the bank's chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli reiterated in a report to clients last Friday that a 50 basis point rate cut is "the right thing to do." Misra also hopes the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points at the outset, but she said a 25 basis point cut seems slightly more likely as policymakers are concerned about the possibility of persistent inflation. She added that if the Fed does cut rates by 25 basis points, the market reaction will depend largely on how officials "interpret" the smaller rate cut. (Jinshi)