Jobless drop brings Fed reserve closer to market exit

The drop in the U.S. unemployment rate in July took the nation closer to the 7 percent threshold outlined by Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke as the point around which the central bank would likely end bond purchases, a top Fed official said Friday. "It is definitely closer," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told reporters after government data showed that unemployment declined to 7.4 percent in July from 7.6 the month before. "The chairman talked about a 7 percent ballpark figure for unemployment. He was thinking the middle of next year that we'd be around that number. We're definitely closer to that softer target," Bullard said