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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Fed cuts interest rates to 3.5% | Fed cuts interest rates to 3.5% |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to 3.5%, a shock three-quarters of a percentage point reduction. | |
| Aiming to reduce the risk of the US falling into recession, the decision comes after sharp stock market declines on Wall Street and around the world. | |
| The Fed said incoming information indicated a deepening of the housing market slump and a softening of the labour market. | The Fed said incoming information indicated a deepening of the housing market slump and a softening of the labour market. |
| One analyst said the Fed was "obviously panicked" by the threat of recession. | One analyst said the Fed was "obviously panicked" by the threat of recession. |
| "Unfortunately they have no power to reverse what in my opinion is the worst post-war recession," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in New York. | "Unfortunately they have no power to reverse what in my opinion is the worst post-war recession," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer in New York. |
| 'This is huge' | |
| The Fed's interest move came as a complete surprise, as it was taken outside its timetabled rate-setting Open Market Committee meetings. | |
| The last two such surprise cuts were on 17 September 2001, shortly after the attacks of 11 September, and on 3 January 2001, in the wake of the dotcom bust. | |
| The last time the Fed cut rates as much as three-quarters of a percentage point was in August 1982, almost 26 years ago. | |
| "This is huge," said the BBC's business editor Robert Peston. | |
| "And it is a big risk. If this doesn't work, then people will say they have nothing left in their locker." |