[The Fed may notice strong consumption, but still has room to choose the extent of rate cuts] Golden Finance reported that Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X, said that after better-than-expected U.S. retail sales in August, the Federal Reserve is likely to notice the continued strength of consumers. He said: "With a CPI inflation rate of 2.5%, a real interest rate of 300 basis points may be too high, but the Fed does have freedom of action. It can cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the beginning, or it can cut interest rates by a full 50 basis points." He said that the key is that the Fed starts to cut interest rates, and the extent of the cut may have little to do with the economy. He said that in recent months, retail sales growth has been slightly below the long-term average, but it is still growing at a moderate pace.