The much weaker-than-expected rise in payrolls truly confirms the cautious demeanor expressed by various Federal Reserve policy officials.

Inflationary pressures are starting to percolate --and the Federal Reserve is going to react to this,

With a fall in the yearly rise in average hourly earnings, both investors and policy-makers can avoid pushing the panic button for a little while longer. In other words, while a (May interest rate hike) remains all but assured, this report did little to nail further tightening beyond this stage.

With increasing signs of a slowdown in housing, the Federal Reserve and investors should still be cautious about over-indulging their hopes for economic growth or fears of future inflation.

reduce the urgency for the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve will be meeting on Sept. 30. It will be an easy decision to leave policy unchanged. There is no sign of accelerating inflation, and there are arguments and evidence that growth is in the process of slowing somewhat.