Wall Street shares soared after the Federal Reserve, the powerful US central bank, stunned markets by cutting interest rates from an already 50-year low of 1 per cent to minus 1.5 per cent.
The unprecedented move to combat a slump that threatens to turn into a Thirties-style Depression far exceeded a more modest half-point rate cut predicted by experts.
“We’ve got people jumping out of windows all over the place. Minus 1.5% is the lowest we’ve ever had it. The Fed is just gonna have to print more money and somehow get us outta this mess,” Reuben Phuckah, an NYSE trader told Bloomberg.
Some experts are even suggesting the US interest rate should be cut to minus 2.5%, however this has been discounted by other experts who say that the Fed should wait for at least another week before reducing rates again.
It came alongside a raft of other ground-breaking steps as the Fed fought to kick-start the debt-ridden bankrupt American economy.
The aggressive measures have caused consternation amongst bank savers because with the interest rates at a minus number, their money is slowly being siphoned out of their accounts.
