US Interest Rate Cuts, Impact and Meaning for the Economy and Election

Finally, the US Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, have reached the moment that the business and financial worlds have been waiting for. The decision to cut interest rates not by 0.25% but by 0.5% lets industry and money markets breathe a sigh of relief after two years of stress and turmoil. Interest rates had been raised to their highest levels in nearly 25 years with the aim of cutting inflation, which soared after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. This had weighed heavily on economies around the world, not least on oil and metal prices, banks, stock markets,…