The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point Tuesday in an effort to support the economy in the face of the spreading coronavirus, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell cited risks to economic activity from the spreading coronavirus.
The action signals concern that the spread of the coronavirus, which is depressing economic activity across the world, poses a threat that could trigger a recession in the U.S.
The cut is the largest since the 2008 financial crisis and the first since last year.
