Video

The Federal Reserve lowered a key U.S. interest rate by a quarter percentage point in what may be the last of a series of cuts aimed at aiding an economy hit hard by a housing slump and credit market turmoil. The Feds action takes the bellwether federal funds rate to 2 percent, the lowest since December 2004. It was the seventh reduction in a campaign that began last September. Andrew Jakabovics of the Center for American Progress SOUNDBITE: Andrew Jakabovics of the Center for Amercian Progress, saying (English): "This rate cut was actually expected by most watchers on the Street. The interesting thing is they have indicated in their statement today, that this is likely to be the last cut for some time. I think they will take a pause to see how the rate cuts work its way through the economy, through the financial markets." The Federal Reserves decision came the same day that the US commerce department reported anemic growth in the first quarter. It also come as as Fed policy-makers have been confronting a bleak economic landscape. The Federal Reserves next meeting is scheduled for the end of June. Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters