Economics
Fed Bought Time With Emergency Cut While Eyeing New Programs
- Officials worried that contagion could exceed expectations
- Emergency lending facilities rolled out after were discussed
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building stands in Washington, D.C.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Federal Reserve officials already saw a need to get to work on novel programs to cushion the economy from the blow of the coronavirus outbreak when they announced an emergency interest-rate cut on a Sunday evening in mid-March.
At that point, policy makers at the Fed saw gathering downside risks as warranting a “forceful” response, according to a record of their unscheduled gathering via video conference on March 15.