While it remains up in the air whether the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 or 50 basis points next week, what is certain is that the U.S. central bank will embark on its first cycle of easing since 2019. In doing so, the Fed will join other major Western central banks – the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada – which have all cut interest rates, some more than once. While Japan has yet to join in and has in fact taken the first steps toward tightening, its benchmark policy rate of 0.25% is only a few basis points above zero.
