In a prepared talk Tuesday morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke signaled further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve are unlikely because of growing concerns about inflation and the weak dollar. Specifically, he said that the Federal Reserves powerful doses of rate reductions that started last September along with the $168 billion stimulus package, including rebates and tax breaks, “should help bring about somewhat better economic conditions in the second half of this year.”

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Tags: Interest Rates

By an 8-2 vote, the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee cut both the Fed Funds and Discounts rates by 25 basis points this afternoon. The move lowers the Fed Funds rate to 2.00 and the Discount rate to 2.25. In lock step after the announcement, most the major banks immediately lowered the Prime rate to 5.00.

In their post meeting remarks, the FOMC said that economic activity in the U.S. remains weak and the move in rates should help promote moderate growth over time. In addition, they made a point to stress that the Fed will monitor inflation and price stability closely (as some indicators of inflation continue to rise) and will adjust their stance on interest rates accordingly.

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Tags: Interest Rates, mortgages