interest rate cut

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Stocks Up on Rate-Cut Hopes
Stocks Up on Rate-Cut Hopes
MARKETS

Stocks Up on Rate-Cut Hopes

Investors look for grim housing numbers to lead to a cut

(Newser) - Stocks finished in positive territory today, riding hopes that grim new housing numbers will lead the Fed to cut interest rates this week. "The main event for the week will be the Fed-rate decision on Wednesday," a strategist tells MarketWatch. The Dow was up 176.72 to 12,...

World Money Chief Calls for Global Action

IMF head foresees widespread slowdown, backs US stimulus

(Newser) - With a global recession looming, the head of the IMF has warned bankers meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that lower interest rates alone won’t avert a crisis, the Financial Times reports. Dominique Strauss-Kahn called on governments to follow the US in easing fiscal policies, reversing a quarter-century of emphasis on...

How Low Will Bernanke Go?
How Low Will Bernanke Go?

How Low Will Bernanke Go?

Fed meets Wednesday to decide if another rate cut is needed right now

(Newser) - The Fed’s emergency three-quarter percentage-point cut Tuesday to the short-term interest rate was a boon to US markets, but whether the Fed will go lower in its interest-rate lambada remains to be seen. Most analysts expect a half-point cut, to 3%, at the Fed's meeting Wednesday, reports the Wall ...

Did Fed Freak With Emergency Rate Cut?
Did Fed Freak With Emergency Rate Cut?
OPINION

Did Fed Freak With Emergency Rate Cut?

Decision smacks of panic—and worse trouble yet to come

(Newser) - Yesterday's steep interest rate cut—just a week ahead of a scheduled policy meeting—made the staid Federal Reserve come across as spooked and jumpy, leaving many to wonder if the Fed knows of worse news to come, Reuters' Ros Krasny writes. The surprise .75-point cut "is a declaration...

Stocks Plunge, Battle Back
Stocks Plunge, Battle Back
MARKETS

Stocks Plunge, Battle Back

Markets decline, but emergency rate cut moderates effect

(Newser) - Stocks declined today but ended the session up from the depths of their initial plunge, as the Fed's emergency rate cut seemed to calm freaked-out investors. "This at least gets people from piling in on the short side of things," one strategist told MarketWatch. The Dow fell 128....

Fed Slashes Key Interest Rate by .75%

Emergency three-quarter-point cut drops prime rate to 6.5%

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve, confronted with a world-wide sell-off triggered by fears of a US recession, cut a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point today. The benchmark overnight lending rate was cut to 3.5% from 4.25%, which drops the prime rate to 6.5%. The Fed...

IBM Leads Stock Surge
IBM Leads Stock Surge
MARKETS

IBM Leads Stock Surge

Hopes for another rate cut also contributed to the rally

(Newser) - Stocks surged today, propelled by hopes for an interest rate cut and expectation-busting fourth-quarter results from IBM. "The Fed has a very hard job right now, but I think the market is saying it thinks they are up to the task," a trading exec told the Wall Street ...

Bernanke Hints at Hefty Interest Rate Cuts

Fed hopes to thwart troubled markets, unemployment

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve may make "substantive" cuts to interest rates later this month in the face of rising economic difficulties, Ben Bernanke said today. Citing troubled financial markets and rising unemployment, the Fed chairman implied that it might drop its target short-term interest rate by .5% from 4.25%....

Goldman Predicts Recession
Goldman Predicts Recession

Goldman Predicts Recession

Wall Street's top firm sees two unhappy quarters ahead

(Newser) - Goldman Sachs is predicting that the economy will slide into a recession this year—which has Wall Street worried, because Goldman’s been right about everything else. The investment firm forecasts a mild pullback extending over two quarters, driving up already-growing unemployment. “If we don't get job growth we...

Fed Remains Open to More Rate Cuts
Fed Remains Open to More Rate Cuts

Fed Remains Open to More Rate Cuts

Minutes from last meeting display growing concern about markets

(Newser) - Fed officials will consider deeper rate cuts and a "substantial further easing of policy" if the turmoil in the credit and housing markets continues, according to minutes of last month's meeting. Officials displayed surprise at the extent of the housing crisis and acknowledged that market strains "could persist...

Oil Hits Record $100 a Barrel
Oil Hits Record $100 a Barrel

Oil Hits Record $100 a Barrel

Disruptions in Nigeria, Mexico stoke supply concerns

(Newser) - Crude oil prices jumped $4.02 today to push past $100 a barrel for the first time as Nigerian violence, disrupted Mexican exports, and the specter of dipping US stockpiles stoked supply fears in the face of ever-rising energy demands, CNNMoney reports. The previous record was $99.29, set November...

Stocks Plunge After Rate Cut
Stocks Plunge After Rate Cut
MARKETS

Stocks Plunge After Rate Cut

Investors had hoped for half-point cut

(Newser) - Stocks plunged today after the Fed cut a key interest rate by only a quarter-point, Bloomberg reports. Investors who had hoped for a half-point fear the smaller cut won't do enough to stave off a recession. "They're thinking that the Fed doesn't get it," said a strategist. The...

Fed OKs Quarter-Point Cut
Fed OKs Quarter-Point Cut

Fed OKs Quarter-Point Cut

Federal funds figure drops for 3rd month

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve cut two key interest rates at this afternoon's meeting, lopping a quarter-point off both the federal funds rate and the discount rate. The federal funds rate now stands at 4.25%, which represents a drop of 100 basis points over the past 3 months, the Wall Street ...

Stocks Even to Close Week
Stocks Even to Close Week
MARKETS

Stocks Even to Close Week

Mixed data, Fed anticipation stall markets

(Newser) - The markets ended mostly even today as mixed data and anticipation of next week’s Fed meeting kept investors cautious. Given the suspense over a potential rate cut, “who is going to make a big bet now?” asked one strategist. The Dow closed up 5.69 at 13,625....

UK Cuts Interest Rates, But EU Holds Steady

Subprime woes force first rate cut in Britain in over two years

(Newser) - The Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over two years today, reducing the bank rate by a quarter-point to 5.5%. The cut drove the pound down to about $2.02, its lowest in 2 1/2 months. The European Central Bank in Frankfurt,...

Fed Slashes Key Interest Rate Another Quarter-Point

Board signals further cuts are no sure thing

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate today by 25 basis points, to 4.5%. The expected reduction is the second of the federal funds rate in two months. The board asserted, however, that growth and inflation risks are now “roughly balanced,” a signal that further cuts...

Asia Stocks Surge After Fed Cut
Asia Stocks Surge After Fed Cut

Asia Stocks Surge After Fed Cut

Prices soar to highest levels in a month

(Newser) - Asian stocks rebounded after the US Federal Reserve announced a half point cut in its key lending rate in a bid to bolster growth and avoid a consumer spending slowdown. Toyota, Samsung Electronics and Honda, among those companies with the most to lose from a loss of consumer confidence, led...

Fed Slashes Benchmark Rate
Fed Slashes Benchmark Rate

Fed Slashes Benchmark Rate

Larger-than-anticipated drop drives stocks up, dollar down

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve aggressively cut its benchmark rate today, dropping the federal funds rate a half-point to 4.75%. The larger-than-expected cut was “intended to help forestall” the ballooning credit crisis, the central bank said in a statement. The cut in the key interest rate, the first in 4...

US Lost Jobs for First Time in 4 Years

August payroll drop shows subprime crisis affecting economy

(Newser) - In the first drop since 2003, the US lost 4,000 jobs in August, surprising experts and putting more pressure on the Fed to reduce rates at its upcoming meeting. Economists had predicted an increase of 100,000 or more jobs. The decline in employment is the clearest signal to...

Interest Rate Cut Triggers Panic in Iran

President goes over finance minister's head, ignites sell-off

(Newser) - Iran's erratic president has set off a stock market scare by ordering banks to slash interest rates, despite high inflation and lots of expert advice to the contrary. The move sparked panicked selling and fears of a full-blown financial crisis, the Guardian reports. The new decreed rate is 12%, down...

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