Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates To 0-0.25%

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Federal Reserve took emergency action on Sunday to combat the rapidly accelerating Covid-19 crisis.

The Fed slashed its benchmark lending rate from 1-1.25 percent to 0-0.25 percent and also launched a new round of quantitative easing worth $700 billion to help the U.S. economy deal with the effects of the virus.

'The coronavirus outbreak has harmed communities and disrupted economic activity in many countries, including the United States,' the Fed said in a statement accompanying the decision.

The U.S. stock markets did not react well to the news as the depth of the danger to the global economy becomes more apparent; Dow futures suggest a slide of 1,000 points wen it opens on Monday morning.

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX