That was the case Wednesday when they voted to cut the central bank’s benchmark lending rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, exactly as investors had expected. The move nudged the federal funds rate — which influences borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards, and business loans — to the range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent, the lowest in three years.
What truly makes “Fed Day” matter is what comes after the vote: a news conference in which the Fed’s chair typically signals where policymakers see the economy heading — and how they might respond if things don’t go as planned. Four times a year, the central bank supplements its rate decision with projections on economic growth, inflation, and employment.
On Wednesday, the message boiled down to this: Inflation remains too high, the job market has gone cold, and officials were divided not only on the rate…
