FED SLASHES FED FUNDS RATE BY 3/4%

We didn't get the full point, but I will take 3/4%. Lowers my payments! Let's hope this starts to stimulate the real estate market and brings liquidity to the financial markets!


Fed Lowers Rates 3/4 Point, Fueling Huge Stock Rally
By Reuters 18 Mar 2008 02:19 PM ET

The Federal Reserve slashed a key U.S. interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, but Wall Street didn't seem to care that the cut was smaller than many had expected.
After initially pulling back from a morning rally, stocks resumed climbing and ended sharply higher.
CNBC.com
The Fed's action, taken on an 8-2 vote of its policy committee, took the bellwether federal funds rate down to 2.25 percent, the lowest since February 2005. Financial markets had largely priced in a full point reduction.
"Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and the tightening of credit conditions and the deepening of the housing contraction are likely to weigh on economic growth overthe next few quarters," the central bank said in a statement outlining its decision. (Click here to read the full statement.)
The Fed also said downside risks to economic growth remained even in the wake of the rate cut, suggesting an openness to a further lowering of borrowing costs if needed. http://www.cnbc.com/id/23691022