Renewed concerns about the U.S. economy could have a major impact on Americans that go well beyond this week’s free fall in stocks.
Experts say the recent slide in financial markets, triggered by mounting evidence that the economy is bogging down, raises the odds that the Federal Reserve will aggressively ease monetary policy starting next month in a bid to avert a severe downturn. Wall Street analysts now forecast a series of interest rate cuts starting in September, and continuing into 2025.
Prior to the rout, economists polled by financial data firm FactSet had penciled in a rate cut at the Fed’s September 18 meeting, predicting the central bank would trim borrowing costs by just 0.25 percentage points. But that conviction has shifted, and economists overwhelmingly predict that the Fed will trim rates by double the prior forecast, or 0.5 percentage points, …