Mark Zandi: Fed independence is critical for markets and the economy

• Underlying job growth is estimated to be soft, around 50,000 jobs, despite the headline number possibly being higher due to technical factors.
• Wage growth is decelerating and is now well below inflation, which Zandi believes indicates inflation will eventually ease.
• The Federal Reserve's 'tough talk' on inflation has successfully anchored inflation expectations, supporting a scenario where they may not need to raise interest rates further.

Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics, anticipates a soft underlying job growth in the June report, with decelerating wage growth. He believes inflation will eventually align with this weaker wage growth, suggesting the Federal Reserve will likely avoid further interest rate hikes.