A weak jobs report earlier this month revealed a sharp slowdown of the labor market, which could prompt the Fed to reduce borrowing costs as a means of warding off an economic slo

A Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, the first this year, followed perhaps by another before year-end remains the base forecast for most economists polled by Reuters amid rising concerns about the health of the world's biggest economy.

Fed cuts would immediately make borrowing cheaper on credit cards and auto loans, since those products are based on the short-term interest rates the central bank heavily influences. Mortgages are a different story,