The Fed gives the US its first jumbo interest-rate cut in 4 years

An interest-rate cut has arrived — and it's a big one.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee announced it would be cutting interest rates by 50 basis points. It's the first time the Federal Reserve has cut rates since March 2020.

This puts an end to the central bank's aggressive inflation fighting during the pandemic and confirms Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks during his address at Jackson Hole last month, during which he said that "the time has come for policy to adjust": The economy is continuing to inch toward the Fed's 2% inflation target, and it would soon be appropriate to ease off of the restrictive monetary policy.