Fed Cuts Rates by a Half of a Percentage Point
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Federal Reserve announced it would cut rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday.
The Details: The decision puts the federal funds rate into a range of 4.75%–5%, down from its highest range in 23 years.
For Context: This was the first interest rate cut in four years and the largest cut since the 2008 financial crisis. Following the cut, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 hit all-time highs before falling again.
Key Quotes: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said, "This decision reflects our growing confidence that with an appropriate recalibration of our policy stance, strength in the labor market can be maintained in a context of moderate growth and inflation moving sustainably down to 2%."
How the Media Covered It: Business Insider (Lean Left bias) emphasized voices who supported a large rate cut, saying, "Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, John Hickenlooper, and Sheldon Whitehouse wanted Powell to go even further, urging him in a Monday letter to cut interest rates by 75 basis points."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Fed slashes interest rates by a half point, an aggressive start to its first easing campaign in four years
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic, slicing half a percentage point off benchmark rates in an effort to head off a slowdown in the labor market.
With both the jobs picture and inflation softening, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee chose to lower its key overnight borrowing rate by a half percentage point, or 50 basis points, affirming market expectations that had recently shifted from an outlook for a cut half that size.
From the Right
Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by half-point; first rate reduction in four years
he Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a long-awaited interest rate cut, lowering the benchmark rate by 50 basis points from what was the highest level in 23 years as the central bank eased borrowing costs following progress in the fight against inflation.
The Fed's first interest rate cut since March 2020 lowers the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%.
Interest rates had been at a range of 5.25% to 5.50% since July 2023, the highest level since 2001, as the central bank monitored economic data for signs...
From the Left
The Fed gives the US its first jumbo interest-rate cut in 4 years
An interest-rate cut has arrived — and it's a big one.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee announced it would be cutting interest rates by 50 basis points. It's the first time the Federal Reserve has cut rates since March 2020.
This puts an end to the central bank's aggressive inflation fighting during the pandemic and confirms Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks during his address at Jackson Hole last month, during which he said that "the time has come for policy to adjust": The economy is continuing to inch toward...
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