Fed Cuts Rate 0.75% and Stocks Swing - New York Times

SURPRISE!! I confess I thought I was still asleep when I heard this news on the radio this morning. And then I thought the announcer had misspoken. But no, it was 75 basis points. Wow.

Fed Cuts Rate 0.75% and Stocks Swing - New York Times:

"The Fed’s policy-making group, known as the Federal Open Market Committee, lowered its target for the federal funds rate, which regulates overnight loans between banks, to 3.5 percent, from 4.25 percent.

The surprise move, unusual in both its scale and its timing, underscored the severity of the current strains facing the economy.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation event,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. In recent years, the Fed has rarely acted between scheduled meetings of the committee, and almost always in increments of one-quarter or one-half point. It was the biggest single cut since October 1984."