A television station broadcasts Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaking on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergFed Ready to Unshackle US Economy With Soft Landing at Stake
The central bank’s first interest-rate cut is widely expected on Wednesday, but investors are more focused on what will happen immediately after the announcement.
The Federal Reserve will begin a crucial pivot this week, lowering interest rates for the first time in more than four years as it pursues a rare soft landing for the US economy.
With inflation seemingly under control and weakness showing in the US labor market, officials are widely expected to drop their benchmark lending rate by at least a quarter percentage point when they wrap up a two-day gathering on Wednesday. Traders — plus economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and former New York Fed President William Dudley — are even preparing for a larger, half-point move.