Economics Daily

This Fed Rate-Cut Cycle Is Unusual, With Potentially Worrying Parallels

How the Fed’s Easing Cycle Bears a Wary Resemblance to 1960s
Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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I’m Chris Anstey, an economics editor in Boston. Today we’re looking at why the Fed’s easing cycle is historically unusual. Send us feedback and tips to ecodaily@bloomberg.net. And if you aren’t yet signed up to receive this newsletter, you can do so here.

When the Fed lowers interest rates by a whole lot, usually it’s because the economy or the financial system — or both — are in trouble. Already in its current cycle, the Fed has brought down its benchmark by some 1.5 percentage points over the space of little more than a year.