Federal Reserve Announces Emergency Rate Cut Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, First Unscheduled Cut Since 2008 Recession

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half percentage point Tuesday morning to push back against a recent economic downturn directly tied to the coronavirus illness. Tuesday's cut lowers the federal-funds rate to between 1 percent and 1.25 percent in order to deliver a "booster shot," as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell described it, to potential economic disruptions tied to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. Powell announced the cut from Washington Tuesday—the largest of its kind since the 2008 financial crisis—signaling the central bank's concerns that the COVID-19 illness is hampering the economy and may promote instability. Despite President Donald Trump's repeated...