The Fed Cut The Discount Rate By A Half Point
The economic landscape has clearly turned to deflation not inflation, so, the half point rate cut made a lot of sense, see http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070817/fed_interest_rates.html?.v=25. Here's some of the article, due to copyright I can't post the entire article:
"The decision means that the discount rate, the interest rate that the Fed charges to make direct loans to banks, will be lowered to 5.75 percent, down from 6.25 percent.
The Fed did not change its target for the more important federal funds rate, which has remained at 5.25 percent for more than a year. The move was not expected to have an immediate impact on consumer borrowing, however.
However, it has been infusing billions of dollars in money into the banking system over the past week to keep that rate from rising above the target level.
In premarket trading, U.S. stock futures reversed previous declines after the Fed's announcement.
Private economists praised the action by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues, saying it should help steady jittery markets although many expect a cut in the federal funds rate to follow.
"This is fine for temporary relief, but I think they will still have to cut the funds rate because the markets will still be turbulent," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York.
The move to cut the discount rate will not have a major impact on consumer interest rates in the way that cutting the federal funds rate triggers an immediate drop in banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans.
However, Friday's move was expected to help with a severe cash crunch facing many businesses, including mortgage companies, which are having trouble getting loans for short-term financing needs.
In a statement explaining the action, the Fed said that while incoming data suggest the economy is continuing to expand at a moderate pace, "the downside risks to growth have increased appreciably."
White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto declined to comment on the announcement but said, "We have full confidence in the Federal Reserve on these issues and respect their independence."
The Fed said it was "monitoring the situation and is prepared to act as needed to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy arising from the disruptions in financial markets."
The Fed said that "financial market conditions have deteriorated and tighter credit conditions and increased uncertainty have the potential to restrain economic growth going forward."
The cut in the discount rate was approved by the Fed's board, which controls this rate. However the policy statement policy announcement was approved unanimously by the Federal Open Market Committee, the larger group of Fed board members in Washington and Fed regional bank presidents who set the federal funds rate.
Economists saw that as a significant signal that the Fed stood ready to cut the funds rate, which has been at 5.25 percent since June 2006 when the Fed wrapped up a two-year rate tightening campaign aimed at slowing economic growth enough to keep inflation under control.
The discount rate covers only loans that the Fed makes directly to banks. By moving it to 5.75 percent, the Fed put it closer to the funds rate. The central bank also announced other technical changes to make it easier for banks to get discount loans, such as extending the time the credit will be supplied to up to 30 days."
....... http://www.JoeFRocks.com/ .
"The decision means that the discount rate, the interest rate that the Fed charges to make direct loans to banks, will be lowered to 5.75 percent, down from 6.25 percent.
The Fed did not change its target for the more important federal funds rate, which has remained at 5.25 percent for more than a year. The move was not expected to have an immediate impact on consumer borrowing, however.
However, it has been infusing billions of dollars in money into the banking system over the past week to keep that rate from rising above the target level.
In premarket trading, U.S. stock futures reversed previous declines after the Fed's announcement.
Private economists praised the action by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues, saying it should help steady jittery markets although many expect a cut in the federal funds rate to follow.
"This is fine for temporary relief, but I think they will still have to cut the funds rate because the markets will still be turbulent," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York.
The move to cut the discount rate will not have a major impact on consumer interest rates in the way that cutting the federal funds rate triggers an immediate drop in banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans.
However, Friday's move was expected to help with a severe cash crunch facing many businesses, including mortgage companies, which are having trouble getting loans for short-term financing needs.
In a statement explaining the action, the Fed said that while incoming data suggest the economy is continuing to expand at a moderate pace, "the downside risks to growth have increased appreciably."
White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto declined to comment on the announcement but said, "We have full confidence in the Federal Reserve on these issues and respect their independence."
The Fed said it was "monitoring the situation and is prepared to act as needed to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy arising from the disruptions in financial markets."
The Fed said that "financial market conditions have deteriorated and tighter credit conditions and increased uncertainty have the potential to restrain economic growth going forward."
The cut in the discount rate was approved by the Fed's board, which controls this rate. However the policy statement policy announcement was approved unanimously by the Federal Open Market Committee, the larger group of Fed board members in Washington and Fed regional bank presidents who set the federal funds rate.
Economists saw that as a significant signal that the Fed stood ready to cut the funds rate, which has been at 5.25 percent since June 2006 when the Fed wrapped up a two-year rate tightening campaign aimed at slowing economic growth enough to keep inflation under control.
The discount rate covers only loans that the Fed makes directly to banks. By moving it to 5.75 percent, the Fed put it closer to the funds rate. The central bank also announced other technical changes to make it easier for banks to get discount loans, such as extending the time the credit will be supplied to up to 30 days."
....... http://www.JoeFRocks.com/ .
posted by Joe Ferrazzano at
6:44 AM
