RE: rate cutSorry I was so excited I forgot to past the announcement:
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said new steps announced by the central bank Sunday should help squeezed financial institutions get cash infusions— a fresh effort to provide relief to a spreading credit crisis that threatens to plunge the economy into recession.
The central bank approved a cut in its lending rate to financial institutions to 3.25 percent from 3.50 percent, effective immediately, and created another lending facility for big investment banks to secure short-term loans.
“These steps will provide financial institutions with greater assurance of access to funds,” Bernanke told reporters in a brief conference call Sunday evening.