End of an Era: Fed to Cut Rates for First Time in a Decade 一个时代的终结:美联储拟降息,十年来首次 本周,全球金融界都在静候美联储是否降息的消息,一旦启动,将成为美国十年来首次降息。降息通常是各国经济放缓时刺激市场的大招,然而当前美国经济走势良好,因此外界对此次降息背后可能的政治原因议论不断。为何美联储降息影响这么大?它会对全球经济产生怎样的影响? 1 In a move to keep the economy on its upward swing, the US Federal Reserve is widely predicted to cut interest rates this week. For the first time in over a decade, so say insiders, the cost of borrowing money is set to fall. 2 If the move does materialise, it will reverse the trend of gradual rate increases that has been in place ever since the Great Recession, during which the Fed slashed rates to near zero in order to rescue the economy. 3 The Fed’s anticipated decision will come as good news to President Trump, who was critical of the Fed’s 2018 rate hike. 4 But it is the precaution against the harmful effects of global economic slowdown, instead of politics, that will likely drive a move from Fed, which works independently of the White House. 5 Concerns are already being voiced among economists, with some warning that low rates at this point in the business cycle could create bubbles and store up trouble for the future.