A jumbo US rate cut of 50 points in September is back on the table, and possibly several cuts in a quick succession as the Federal Reserve is forced into a screeching hand-brake turn.

Markets have been caught off guard by a drastic revision of non-farm payrolls, the worst miss since the Lehman crisis. Labour economists can justifiably say “I told you so”. They have been warning all year that instant headline figures do not catch early signs of trouble in the US jobs market when the economic cycle rolls over. You have to look under the bonnet.

The “flash crash” on markets........

© The Sydney Morning Herald