20080130 联邦基金利率再降50个基点
2008年1月29-30日，美联储召开例会，采取强有力的措施降低利率，继8天前降息75个基点之后，再降50个基点。公告内容如下：
联邦公开市场委员会今天决定将目标利率下降50个基点，至3.0%。
金融市场处于相当大的压力之下，对企业和家庭的信贷在继续紧缩，而且，最近的信息表明，住房紧缩加深和劳动力市场出现缓和。
委员会预期未来几个季度的通货膨胀将温和，但是，有必要继续密切监视通货膨胀的发展。
今天和此前所采取的政策行动，将有助于改善经济增长，并缓解经济行为的风险。不过，经济增长进一步下滑的风险依然存在。委员会将继续评估金融市场效应和其他发展的影响，并将及时采取措施应对这些风险。
为FOMC货币政策行动投票的理事：本•S•伯南克主席；T•F•盖特勒副主席；唐纳德•L•库恩；南代尔•S•克罗斯内尔；弗雷德里克•S•米西金；桑德拉•皮亚拉托；查尔斯•I•普罗彻；格雷•H•斯特恩；凯文•M•沃西。里查德•W•费西投了反对票，他认为此次会议应保持联邦基金利率不变。
与此相关的政策行动是，委员会一致同意将贴现率降低50个基点，至3.5%，采取该项决定是同意波士顿、纽约、费城、克里夫兰、亚特兰大、芝加哥、圣路易斯、堪萨斯城和旧金山联邦储备银行的理事所提交的请求。
此次降息公告与8天前的措辞几乎没有区别。表明此次例会决策继续沿袭上次会议的基调，在12个联邦储备银行分行中，居然有9个分行（波士顿、纽约、费城、克里夫兰、亚特兰大、芝加哥、圣路易斯、堪萨斯城和旧金山联邦储备银行）的理事要求降息，这是美国经济形势非常严峻的表现，伯南克和他的同事们深感“事态”严重。由此，我们可以断定，目前的FOMC的技术官僚们正在对付“衰退”这个棘手的问题。不过，里查德•W•费西投反对票，也说明美联储内部存在分歧。至于此举对金融市场的作用，相信不会产生太大的影响，市场本身会有技术性的反弹，这一次降息也暂时不会改变市场下降的中长期趋势。
Release Date: January 30, 2008
For immediate release
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 50 basis points to 3 percent.
Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households. Moreover, recent information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets.
The Committee expects inflation to moderate in coming quarters, but it will be necessary to continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.
Today’s policy action, combined with those taken earlier, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate the risks to economic activity. However, downside risks to growth remain. The Committee will continue to assess the effects of financial and other developments on economic prospects and will act in a timely manner as needed to address those risks.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Timothy F. Geithner, Vice Chairman; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Frederic S. Mishkin; Sandra Pianalto; Charles I. Plosser; Gary H. Stern; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against was Richard W. Fisher, who preferred no change in the target for the federal funds rate at this meeting.
In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 50-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 3-1/2 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston, New York,