The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, Aug. 19, edition that traders are unwinding bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will need to deliver jumbo-sized rate cuts in September to stave off a recession. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that futures tied to the Fed funds rate showed traders pricing a 25-per-cent chance that the central bank will lower rates by 50 basis points in September, down from around 85 per cent on Aug. 5, CME FedWatch data showed. The probability of a 25-basis-point cut stood at 75 per cent, in line with expectations that the Fed will kick off an easing cycle in September. "You can't necessarily rule out the hard landing scenario outright, but there's a lot of reason to believe, that at this point, that economic momentum is being sufficiently sustained," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. The Fed's plans could become clearer this week when chairman Jerome Powell speaks at the central bank's annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. BNP Paribas economists said on Thursday, "We think a key highlight of Powell's speech will be the acknowledgment that progress on inflation has been sufficient to allow the start of rate cuts."