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September 5, 2008 9:44:08 PM CDT

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Bernanke Signals New Rate Cuts

Posted Feb 27, 08 9:15 AM CST in US,  Business 

(Newser) – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today said that the board stands ready to cut interest rates again to give the economy "adequate insurance against downside risks," reports the Wall Street Journal. The move, which follows 2.25% in cuts to the key rate since September, is widely expected at the Fed's March 18 meeting.

The Fed "will need to judge whether the policy actions taken thus far are having their intended effects," Bernanke told a House finance committee. The chairman also indicated that he is much more worried by the slowing economy than he is about the prospect of inflation, suggesting that inflation could in fact be lower than predicted.

Source Wall Street Journal

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The chairman indicated that a cut may come at the Fed's coming March 18th meeting.   (Getty Images (by Event))
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Feb. 14, 2008 file photo. Bernanke suggested today that the Fed is gearing...   (Associated Press)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008, to discuss the state of the economy. (AP Photo/Dennis...   (Associated Press)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, right, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, left, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008, before the Senate Banking Committee to discuss...   (Associated Press)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the 2007 Charlotte Chamber annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)   (Associated Press)
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US economy  • Federal Reserve  • housing market  • Ben Bernanke  • inflation  • credit market  • interest rate cut  • energy prices  • testimony  • House Financial Services Committee  • Federal Open Market Committee


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