"Federal Reserve Megaphone": The first rate cut of 50BP marks a bold start to the rate cut cycle

Nick Timiraos, the "Federal Reserve mouthpiece": The Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by 50BP, the first rate cut since 2020, marking a bold start to the rate cut campaign. Eleven of the 12 Fed voting members supported the decision to cut interest rates, bringing the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%. Quarterly forecasts released on Wednesday showed that most officials expect to cut interest rates by at least 25BP at meetings in November and December. This rate cut decision firmly puts the Fed into a new phase: trying to prevent last year's rate hikes (which pushed borrowing costs to a two-decade high) from further weakening the U.S. labor market. (Jinshi)