U.S. Federal Reserve cuts rates for first time since 2008

Brian Cheung for Yahoo Finance:The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points in its policy-setting meeting on July 31, marking the first time the central bank has reduced the benchmark interest rate since it battled the financial crisis in 2008. The Fed also decided to pre-emptively end its process of shrinking its balance sheet, a process known as quantitative tightening, two months ahead of schedule.
The cut comes as the Fed continues to worry about a possible slowdown in the U.S.