Fed in rate cut panic
by Brian Turner
The US Federal Reserve has made a shock and unscheduled announcement of a three-quarter cut in interest rates, reducing them to 3.5%.
The move is seen as a panic reaction to a continuing collapse in world stock markets, which threatens to create a crash on Wall St.
The announcement was made only 30 minutes before the New York stock exchange was due to open, and is aimed at being a last ditch attempt to prevent a panic rout among investors.
The announcement shows just how panicked the US Treasury is, the only other recent surprise rate cuts having followed the 9/11 attacks, and the dotcom bust.
The last time that the Fed have cut rates by three quarter of a percent was in 1982.
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